16.Touch, Touching, Touched

16. Touch, Touching, Touched

Under the warm glow of a lamppost on Primrose University's campus, I stand with my hands shoved deep in my pockets, waiting. I exhale slowly, taking in the quiet night around me.

The path leading into campus is empty. It doesn't matter. I know Az will come. He hasn't been returning my calls, but this time, I'm confident he won't be able to ignore my message.

Sure enough, less than an hour later, I hear thundering footsteps approaching. Before I can even turn to face him, Az appears, his eyes blazing. "What do you mean you confronted the man who ruined my life and he tried to kill you? "

I smirk. "Thought that would get your attention."

Getting him here was the first battle. At least that's over, but we aren't done yet.

"Dammit, Marty," Az snaps. "Did you really meet Ric? He actually met with you and then he attacked you? What the, why did he, why did you go meet him?"

If he let me get a word in, I could answer. Me confronting Ric one on one seemed like the best chance at getting something useful from him. As someone who has received two nasty strikes from the electricity clinging to Az's skin, however, I wasn't eager for another zap. I understood how easily this plan could backfire on me, so Mrs. Blanchard and her son Jack were nearby for backup.

They saw the lightning that Ric conjured and ran over, reaching me right after I knocked his ass out.

But he won't let me start explaining. Az doesn't even stop to take a breath as he turns a judgmental stare on me. "Did you meet him alone? He's an electricbrand, that's so dangerous."

"Az—"

"Are you alright? What were you thinking? How—"

"Whoa," I interrupt, holding up a hand. "You're going to have to stop asking questions if you want any of them answered. Are you done? "

"Not even close," he admits. "I don't even know where to start."

"Let me help you with that," I say, unable to suppress a grin. "I know how to undo it."

Az freezes, anger draining out of him in an instant. "You can lift the curse?"

"No."

"What?" he winces. "Don't play with me, Marty."

"It's not a curse, so it doesn't need to be lifted."

Az has reached his limit for shocking news and needs a minute to process that. He shakes his head and mutters to himself, eyes wider than I've ever seen them.

We're together under the light from the lamppost. I savor having him here with me again. I savor him. There were more than a few moments where I worried he'd be gone for good.

"What?" Az stammers, getting a second wind for questions. "How...what..."

"Hey, here's an idea," I say, sensing the million questions he wants to ask but can't find the words for anymore. "Let's start with the good part. I can undo the spell Ric cast on you. Give me some of your hair."

He opens his mouth to say something, then gives me a funny look. "How the hell am I supposed to give you a strand of hair?"

I raise an eyebrow, letting him figure it out .

Az sighs in defeat. "Fine," he grumbles.

I focus in on the dark locks of hair near his forehead. My eyes narrow, as I imagine that I can see the individual strands. Reaching out with my power, the air answers my call. A gentle gust swirls around us, readying itself for more precision. The air targets Az and then— "Ow!" yanks a few strands from his head. The air current drifts them into my outstretched hand. He rubs his head, grumbling under his breath. Big baby dragon.

I came prepared, so I have a vial with a dark blue potion inside. Well, after Jack and Mrs. Blanchard secured Ric and I gathered the necessary resources—which was its own whole thing where I did DoorDash for the ingredients and they looked on in amazement—we had a mini potion making and spellcasting session. Everything I need is laying on top of my satchel bag in the grass next to the edge of the sidewalk we're on.

The vial floats up to me. I grab it and uncork the stopper, then drop the strands of hair into the potion. "Here goes nothing," I murmur, gingerly grabbing a small lightbulb by the stem. This is the final ingredient, a little hair of the dog that bit him.

"We're outside," Az reminds me. "There's nowhere to plug in a lightbulb."

I roll my eyes. "Not an ordinary lightbulb. Branded casters like myself have to buy or trade for the power we need when it falls outside of our element's range."

I tap the bulb against the potion. The crackle of electricity fills my ears, and the vial buzzes in my hand, sending small shocks coursing through my palm. Nothing dangerous, more like static electricity.

Sparks erupt inside the vial, glowing and buzzing with such force that I nearly drop the damn thing. Okay, the reaction is a little violent, but I manage to hold on. The golden light created by the sparks fades a second later.

"Is that it?" he wonders. "You think that little bottle of liquid can solve this when no one else could?"

"Yes," I answer without hesitation. "Because I know I'm dealing with a horse and not a zebra."

"What, why the hell are you going all animal kingdom on me?"

"Haven't you heard that expression—" I stop and shake my head. "No, never mind. Look, Mrs. Blanchard was so satisfied with the result that she said she'd give me her mansion if this didn't work."

He makes a face. "You realize I have no idea who that is, right?"

"Well, do you think rich people go around handing out mansions?"

"If they do, I need to meet more rich people."

"This will work," I promise .

While we debated trying to get more answers out of Ric, we had enough information that we didn't need to risk trusting him. We know what Ric did, his true intentions, and that he used electric magic. And while we don't know the exact ‘how,' we do know the type of spell Ric cast. It falls under the attraction and repelling category, which involves simple magical principles. That gives us enough to create a potion to remove the spell on Azure.

Curses are tailor-made and require a specific unlocking condition. Spells are different. This spell is more like a house of cards. All the particulars like the who, what, why, and how are the structures that support the magic. To undo a spell, a caster just needs to knock down multiple supports and the whole thing will collapse.

We created a potion designed to attack the foundations of Ric's spell. I was going to explain all this to Az, but I don't think he'll hear me. He's staring at the potion, realizing how much rests on this little bottle of liquid.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks quietly.

"Absolutely," I respond immediately.

Az watches me intently, hope and fear warring in his expression. We're really here, on the verge of ending this.

This brought me and Az together. His last hope for some relief from the electric magic that's plagued him. His heart must pound in his chest as loud as my own does in mine.

Offering the vial to him by the stem, he takes it from the bottom and holds it in both his hands. "What now? Do I need to drink this?"

"No, you're already connected to the potion since we used your hair. Holding it should be enough…"

I trail off when Az jolts like the vial shocked him. There's a crackle of energy, a yellow spark of light that seems to come from him and then the sound of glass breaking. The vial has several cracks, blue potion oozing out from inside.

"It's done," I say.

He sets the vial aside, not knowing what to do now.

This is it. The curse, the curse that wasn't a curse, has been lifted. It's over. Az is free to live his life without restrictions again. He's free. But as I look at him, standing there unmoving, I realize he doesn't seem to know this yet.

"Shall we?" I ask, taking a step closer to him.

"Are you sure?" he hesitates, unsure which direction to go in.

I nod, offering him a smile of encouragement. "Find out for yourself."

He slowly raises his hand. I raise my own, our palms inching closer, until they finally touch—and get a shock. We both jump back, staring at our hands wide-eyed.

The devastation on Az's face is like a sucker punch to my gut. He withdraws from the lighted area we stand in, retreating into the darkness.

My heart aches. Oh god, did I do it again? Did I get his hopes up only to crush them?

I was so sure. What went wrong? My hands clench into fists at my sides.

Well, my left-hand clenches into a fist. My right-hand clenches around the bulb. The bulb imbued with electric power. What a relief. I drop the bulb down to the grass which harmlessly cradles the bulb.

"Sorry," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "The bulb reacted when we touched. It's okay."

I reach out again, hoping that Az will return the gesture, but he remains motionless.

"Marty, don't…"

"You won't hurt me," I assure him.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

Taking a deep breath, I reach out again, my hand searching in the dark until I find his face. I place my hand on Az's cheek.

Our skin makes contact, and time seems to slow down as we both stay still, letting the sensation sink in.

Az's stunned face appears as he drifts back into the circle of light with me, his eyes searching mine. " It… it's broken?" he asks, his voice trembling. "You won't get hurt?"

I remove my hand from his cheek for just a second to prove the electricity is gone, and no shock happens upon withdrawing. His eyes widen with amazement, and I put my hand back on his face because I can. Because I want to.

The warmth of his skin feels amazing.

"I can feel you," he says, leaning into the touch.

"Yeah," I reply quietly. "How does it feel?"

"Best feeling in the world." He shakes his head and steps back, putting some distance between us. "No, never mind."

"Wow, are you tired of me that quickly?"

"No. I just have a feeling we can top that." He straightens up and gives me a serious look. "There's something I've been meaning to do."

"Oh yeah?" I ask, already leaning into him.

Without another word, Az reaches for me and draws me into his arms. Our breaths mingle as he leans in, closing the gap between us.

It's impossible to describe the kiss because the usual metaphors don't feel appropriate. Sparks flying. Fireworks. Skin tingling with electricity when you finally touch the guy who makes your heart beat faster.

We kiss hungrily, making up for the lost time, our mouths exploring each other's as if it's the most important thing in the world .

After what feels like an eternity, we finally break apart to catch our breath. Az pulls back enough to look into my eyes and gives me a soft smile. His hands stroke my hair tenderly before resting on my face as he gently kisses my forehead.

"I've missed you," he whispers into my hair.

"I missed you too." I smile and place a hand over his heart, feeling its steady beat under my fingers. "Seriously. I'm just glad you're back."

"I'm not going anywhere."