Life's A Witch

Chapter Twenty-Six

As soon as people realized they weren't actually the targets of my spell, and that Asher and Emory had been singled out instead, the reaction was immediate. People were confused, angry, frightened—all the emotions that came along with betrayal—and no one bothered to hide their feelings.

Except for me. Because this was the first time I'd ever been in this sort of situation. And I had no idea how to deal with it.

I'd always rolled my eyes when my friends said it, but at that moment I truly understood what they meant when they said they could feel their heart breaking. Because that's what it felt like to see the stream of light hit Asher straight in the chest. It was a deep ache, unlike anything I'd felt before. When I'd lost my mom, the pain was more like despair, like the feeling that nothing would ever be right again. But the betrayal of someone you cared about romantically? If I didn't know it was impossible for a heart to physically bust in half, I would have bet that's what was happening now.

I'd never felt so incredibly let down in my entire life, not by anyone. A dozen different thoughts started racing through my head, one worse than the last. How was this possible? Had our whole flirtation been a part of the Parrishables' evil plans to overtake the Cleri? Would everyone hate me because I'd been the one to bring Asher into our coven? How had I been so stupid to fall for a stranger when I knew from the beginning that there was something sketchy about the way he kept turning up everywhere I went? And worst of all, what was I possibly going to do about the fact that the only boy I'd ever kind of loved was playing for Team Evil?

Because as much as I didn't want to admit it, that's what it had come to. I could no longer deny the fact that my feelings for this beautiful dark-haired boy, who had the most magnetic eyes I'd ever seen, had grown into something like love. Could I really turn my back on that? And if I could manage to ignore my feelings, how was I ever going to be able to trust another guy with my heart again?

Trust. It was such a small word that held so much power—and potential for pain. Asher had taken my trust and stomped all over it. So even if I did have certain feelings for him, he obviously didn't feel the same about me. Otherwise he wouldn't have conned me into thinking he cared about me when he'd just been planning to hand me over to the Parrishables.

That's when it dawned on me: someone like that didn't deserve my forgiveness or my love.

Asher was a traitor and there was no way of atoning for that. And I wasn't about to let my feelings put my coven in danger any longer. I narrowed my eyes at him as I came to my decision.

Asher looked down at where the light was illuminating his body and then back up at me. He ignored the madness that had erupted around us and kept his gaze steadily on my face. Despite the yelling and arguing that filled the air, Asher just stood there, mouth slightly open as if he was stunned into silence. And maybe he was. It was the first time I'd ever performed that spell, and for all I knew, it'd knocked the wind out of him on impact.

For the first time since we'd met, he looked guilty. Gone was the cocky confidence and sexy smirk I'd come to associate with him. Now he looked more like a deer caught in headlights. I was tempted to let him know there was nowhere he could run to escape my wrath, but it was too loud around us with everyone asking questions and threatening Emory and Asher for me to respond. And truthfully, I didn't trust my voice just yet.

Movement to my right diverted my attention just in time for me to see Jasmine and Peter grab hold of Emory. Right away she began to struggle, but they just held on tighter. I'd never seen Jasmine as angry as she looked now and I was thankful that I wasn't in Emory's position.