Nadia wanted to go there tomorrow and just smack him. Mateo didn’t get to ignore her for a whole week and then just command her to show up at his convenience. No way.

And yet—seeing the message made Nadia feel as if something tight around her chest had finally gone slack and let her breathe.

Even if she did only show up to give him hell—she knew she’d show.

It was the kind of a Saturday that felt like a Monday. The sky hung low with gray, rain-thick clouds that threatened to burst at any moment, and the gusty wind was a reminder that winter wasn’t too far away. Dad took Cole to see some movie with computer-generated frogs or something, so she didn’t have to make up an excuse about where she was going.

Of course, she could have just told her father she was meeting Mateo—but that would have led to more Mr. Sensitive. No thanks.

Nadia hugged her shearling jacket around her as she walked from Oceanside Road toward the patch of beach nearest Mateo’s house. The homes here weren’t like beachfront property she’d seen elsewhere; normally, only the wealthiest could afford houses with ocean views, and the architecture proved it—vast decks of gleaming wood, windows so huge they appeared to be glass walls, that kind of thing. But it was obvious that the homes here were as ordinary and weather-beaten as any others in Captive’s Sound.

Apparently there’s tons of summer vacation business in towns nearby, Dad had said, back when he was explaining the big move. But it’s never taken off in Captive’s Sound, for some reason. That makes it cozier. And more affordable.

Yeah, Dad probably got a bargain on the house in the town being eaten alive by dark magic. Nadia could imagine the real estate listing. Cursed Victorian! 3 bd/2 bth, zoned inside soul-sucking net of evil. Act now!

As she neared Mateo’s house, she heard the now-familiar roar of a motorcycle and turned to see him driving up. Nadia hugged herself more tightly and stood very still the whole time he shut off his bike and dismounted. She took not one more step toward him. He’d have to bridge the rest of the distance.

“Hey,” Mateo said as he took off his helmet. His expression was hard to read. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for asking me.” Nadia didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands all of a sudden, so she stuffed them in her jacket pockets. “How are you doing?”

Mateo opened his mouth, closed it, then shrugged. “Great. Terrible. Both at once, most of the time.”

“Yeah. I know how that feels.”

For another moment they just stared at each other. This was worse than the few haunted glances they’d exchanged in the halls at school, on the days when Mateo bothered to show up. Then Mateo finally said, “Come on. Let’s walk.”

They went to the shoreline, where the sand was no longer loose enough to drag against their shoes but packed hard by the departing tide. The ground underneath was still soft enough to hold the faint impressions of their footsteps, side by side.