“I—” I start. I don’t know what I mean. I don’t know what happened. Do I tell them just how frightened I am? How the magic not coming when I call reminds me so intensely of the day Finn stole my power from right out of my chest?

I don’t want to cry in front of them.

Maxine laughs, attempting to lighten the mood. “I’m going to tell Florence you need to be enrolled in Basic Manipulation class the moment we return to school. Put you with the baby witches.”

The joke doesn’t quite land. Lena lays a reassuring hand on my shoulder as I hold back a wince.

Maxine magicks a set of neatly folded men’s pajamas from a drawer, levitating them through the air and right into her own hands.

She helps me out of my dress next, her fingers kind and careful. There are no errant pinches, none of the small swats I’ve come to expect from Maxine. She must sense how on edge I am.

That night, Lena and I sleep on our own beds, side by side in the dark.

“I’m here,” she says. “If there’s anything you need to speak about.”

“Same to you,” I reply.

The ship rocks me, but my eyes stay wide open, staring at the ceiling, afraid of dreams and who might wait for me in them.

Lena, Maxine, and I fill the next two days on the pool deck, sunning ourselves, despite the cold Atlantic breeze, or in our quarters, reading novels, catching up with Lena. Letters are well and good, but did nothing to stop us from missing her fiercely.

Over breakfast the third morning she shocks us both.

“There’s a boy back home,” she says as nonchalantly as if she was telling us the weather.

My fork clatters to the marble table. Maxine nearly chokes on a bite of French omelet.

“A boy?” I ask.

“Tell us everything,” Maxine demands.

Lena takes a sip of her coffee and grimaces. Maxine reaches over and plops two more sugar cubes into her cup.

“Fine, fine,” Lena says reluctantly, as if she weren’t the person who brought the topic up in the first place. If she were Maxine, I’d kick her under the table, but she’s not Maxine.

“His name is Mark. He’s kind, works in lumber, his grandmother is my grandmother’s best friend. I came home from Haxahaven and the fix was in. They’d spent months conspiring to fix us up.”

“What happened next?” I prod.

“We went on a walk. He was… sweet. He’s continued to be sweet.” Lena looks at the ground and smiles softly. My chest warms at seeing my friend so happy.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Maxine asks.