"I'm delusional," I wail.

"That's not the word I would use," Emma Kim says from underneath her clarifying mask. 

"Your pores are literally invisible," Harley says from the seat on my other side, glancing over at Emma. "I'm glad I'm finally on that Kim Skincare train. What's the motto? 'Kim Skincare: Cruelty-free and kind to your skin'?"

"Can we talk about something else?" Emma says, a little too fast. "Like how we're going to help Press mend his broken heart?"

"Yeah, babe," Harley says, turning to me, her own mask shimmering with a rose gold tint. "You're not delusional. You're in love. And love's not easy to get over."

We're at Lumière, the most exclusive glamour spa in the Heights. Crystal chandeliers float overhead, rotating slowly to catch the afternoon light. The walls are lined with magic mirrors that show you your best self, which feels like false advertising when you're mid-breakdown. Harley said she and Emma were already planning on getting enchanted facials, but when I called her sobbing about the Mateo swapping spit with Xander, she quickly invited me along. She said I was in dire need of some self-care. I told her I was in dire need of a furnace to stick my head in, but she wouldn't let me do anything like that.

Unfortunately, per Dr. Santos's rules, I can't get any magical treatments done. So while Harley and Emma get the full enchanted experience, I'm stuck with a boring pedicure like a regular human. The woman working on my feet keeps glancing up at me with a mixture of pity and concern. She gets it.

"I really thought Mateo wanted to get back together," I continue, throwing my head back against the cushioned headrest. "The way he looked at me at Mint Society. The way he put up that privacy bubble so we could talk. That meant something, right?"

Silence all around me.

I lift my head. "Right?"

Harley nibbles her bottom lip.

"How long has this thing with Xander been going on?" I demand.

And though the look is subtle, I catch it. A glance between Emma and Harley. Since when are they exchanging secret looks?

"I wanted to tell you..." Harley begins.

I turn and glare at her with as much ferocity as I can muster while wearing a fluffy spa robe. "You knew?"

"We didn't know for sure," Emma cuts in quickly, sitting up straighter. "But a couple of weeks ago at Bodied, we saw them together. They looked...close."

Bodied is the gym all the mages go to "work out" when really they just want to see and be seen. I wasn't there because I was locked up in Halcyon, worried that my friends lives would go on without me. That I'd be forgotten and irrelevant. And would you look at that? My anxiety became reality.

But Harley knew? My best friend? My ride or die?

"Et tu, Bruté?" I say, glaring at her.

She sits up straight and even through the mask, I can tell she's sorry by the way her shoulders hunch.

"I wanted more info first, babe," she says. "I didn't want to tell you something that might not be true. You were already going through so much."

"Oh, I don't know," I say, slapping my thigh hard enough that the pedicurist jumps. "How about something like, 'Press, don't go up to that rooftop to talk to Mateo. He's literally dating someone else now.'"

"She did try to stop you from going to him," Emma says gently. "You didn't listen. And to make it worse, Xander came by Mint Society after you left. He was there to meet Mateo."

I sink back into my chair. "What am I supposed to do now?" I mutter, staring at the ceiling.

Taking a breath, I force myself to look at Harley. She's back to reclining in her seat, but she's doing that the thing where she jiggles her feet while crossing her ankles. Which means one thing: she's anxious. And Emma keeps fidgeting with her bracelet, which she only does when she's over-thinking.

"Okay, enough about my disaster," I say. "What's going on with you two? And don't say 'nothing.' I've been so wrapped up in my own drama that I haven't even asked."

Harley and Emma exchange a glance.

"We're fine," Harley says.

"Harley."

She sighs like she's thinking about changing the subject. "It's just...the content grind is exhausting. Everyone expects you to be 'on' all the time. And the comments..." She trails off, shaking her head. "And there are some...boy concerns. But we don't have to talk about that. Anyway. It's nothing compared to what you're dealing with."

She and Emma exchange another glance that I ignore.

"Boy stuff?" I echo. "Bayer?"

Harley's face goes carefully neutral.

"It's not about Bayer," Emma says too quickly. 

"Then what is it?" I press. 

Emma sighs. "Connelly's been...weird. Weirder than usual. All summer. Snapping at people and canceling plans. She won't talk about it." 

"You think it's about Bayer and Harley?" I ask her. 

"That's what I thought at first," Harley says. "But Emma says--" 

"It's not about him," Emma cuts in, firm. "Trust me. It's something else. Something she won't talk about. And you already know how I feel about dating within the friend group."

"Harley, what is going on with you and Bayer?" I ask directly. 

"Nothing." She picks at her cuticle. "He's just...clingy. He wants to hang out a lot. And he asks a lot of questions." 

My stomach drops to my toes. "What kind of questions?" 

"It's not even that serious." Harley waves her hand like she's waving my words away. 

"Your stuff matters too," I say firmly. "Don't do that. Don't shrink yourself to make room for my problems."

She looks at me for a long moment, like she's considering my words, then smiles. "When did you get so wise?"

"Three months of therapy and herbal tea," I say. "Turns out it actually works. Who knew?"

"Well, enough about Bayer," Harley says, peeling off her mask and dropping it into a floating disposal bin, "I do have an idea for your situation. You may not like it, though."

"Does it involve arson? Because I'm open to arson."

"No arson." She swings her legs off the chair and faces me fully. "This morning, I stopped by Vale to switch my Statistics class. Can you believe they tried to stick me with old Mr. Krimp?"

We all shudder at the mention of Vale College's most hated professor. The man's been there since the Reagan administration and his idea of teaching is reading directly from the textbook in a monotone voice.

"Totally not cheeky," Harley continues. "So I'm up there begging the registrar not to condemn me to his hellscape of a classroom, and guess who I ran into? Allegra Shaw. She was also switching some of her classes."

"And this is good news how?" I ask, fixing a hard stare on her.

"What's Allegra's family magical ability?" Harley responds, wiggling her eyebrows.

I don't answer. Allegra and I have an understanding. I don't like her and she doesn't like me. We pretend the other doesn't exist. It works for us.

"Verity Magic," Harley says proudly, reaching for a bottle of Kim Skincare toner on the side table. "The ultimate lie detector and un-locker of blocked memories."

"For better or worse, that girl's gonna tell the truth," I mutter.

The Shaws are Old Magic but social pariahs. Their inherited magic compels them to expose lies and break curses. The problem is, they tend to blurt out truths at the most inopportune times. Allegra once told a family friend at the wedding reception that the new husband was cheating. During the toast. In front of two hundred people.

When I first started making content a couple years ago, I made a viral video about her. The caption said: POV: Allegra Shaw Says The Quiet Part. Because that's exactly what she did to me. My sixteenth birthday. Back when my parents were still married and Mom could get through a day without a drink. Allegra walked right up to her and said, "I can tell by the way you look at your son, you wish he'd never been born." My mom laughed it off, but I saw her face. And I saw Allegra's face too. She wasn't being malicious. The truth just falls out of her and she can't stop it. The video went viral. It made Allegra even more of an outcast than she already was. I was trying to make a joke about an embarrassing situation, but she didn't see it that way. She hasn't spoken more than two words to me since.

"But Press, maybe she'd help you anyway. The Shaws are... honorable. Even if they don't like you," Harley points out. 

Emma pipes up, "You have a point. Her family stayed out of all the--" but she stops herself. 

"All the what?" I ask. 

Emma shifts in her seat. She won't face me directly.  "There's been rumors," she says carefully. "About families getting affinities from...unofficial sources. Black market stuff." 

I can't help it. I bust out laughing. "The black market? That's a conspiracy theory. Something Old Magic families made up to scare New Magic kids." 

"Is it though?" Harley asks. "Because where else would people get affinities that powerful? The legal market doesn't sell anything close to what some people have been using." 

"Like who?" I ask. 

Harley hesitates. "And Bayer's Voicecraft . And--" She fiddles her fingers but stops talking. "Never mind." 

Emma shifts uncomfortably, tightening her robe around her small frame. "My family doesn't mess with that stuff. We stay clean." The way she emphasizes it sounds like she's trying to convince herself. 

"Well, the Shaws definitely don't touch black market anything," Harley says. "That's why they're safe. They can't be bought." 

"I don't understand how this is supposed to help me," I whine.

"Allegra was at the garden party," Harley says, splaying her fingers in front of her, talking slowly as if I'm a child. "She sees through lies, Press. And she can break curses. Maybe she can help you see through whatever's blocking your memory. Or at least give you some clarity about what's really going on."

Emma shrugs and studies her cuticles. "I know you're having a...hard time with everything. But what if you just, like, dropped it? Like don't do anything at all. I bet whoever's doing this to you is all just a big joke."

I narrow my eyes at her. That's a weird thing to say. Since when does Emma Kim, ShadowWeaver by blood, suggest anyone drop anything?

"So Emma knows about the blackmail?" I ask, looking between them.

"Harley told me," Emma says, nodding. "And Press, I hope you know it's not any of us. We're your friends. We would never do something like that to you."

I ignore the cold sensation that sweeps across my skin. They've been discussing my predicament behind my back. Talking about my relationship. Keeping secrets about Mateo. Suddenly, everyone feels suspicious.

"Well, I don't know who to believe anymore," I say. I know I'm pouting, but I don't care.

"You can believe Allegra," Harley says. "She literally cannot tell a lie."

I scowl, hating that she's right. But if I have to talk to someone I despise to get information I desperately need, I guess I'll have to do it. 

"Fine," I say. "I'll talk to Allegra. But she better actually help me." 

"She will," Harley says confidently. "The Shaws don't lie." 

I just hope I can handle whatever truth she tells me.