Read Online The First Midnight Spell by Claudia Gray - Free Book Online Page A

matter as much as the destination.
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    In late July Nat came to the house nearly every night, until the evening when he refused to leave.
    â€œNow, Nat, you know we have to get the children to sleep,” Aunt Ruth said, eyes darting nervously toward Elizabeth, who kept her face serene.
    â€œI’ll stay,” he repeated. “Elizabeth can sit here with me.”
    The children all giggled, but Aunt Ruth went pale. “I’m sorry, but no. You can come back tomorrow.” She paused, obviously realizing she’d given him permission to do something she didn’t want him to do.
    Nat’s expression clouded. The suggestibility within Elizabeth’s spell made him want to obey Aunt Ruth, and yet his compulsion to remain near Elizabeth still won out. “I can’t go,” he said; he looked so confused, almost lost. “I . . . can’t.”
    â€œWhy don’t I walk you out?” Elizabeth said sweetly, brushing his arm with her fingers. She knew that moment of contact would be enough to convince him to do what she said, anything she said, for the hope of touching her again. “Come along.”
    She walked out into the warm night. Midsummer had thickened the air, stilled the breezes. Insects’ chirps had found their rhythm, slow and pulsing, surrounding them like high grass. There wasn’t much moonlight that evening; clouds hung low, silvering the night sky. Yet the glowing windows of her house and others nearby gave enough light for Elizabeth to see Nat by. He stared at her so intently that it took her breath away.
    Finally they were alone. Finally he was ready. She could quit pretending. They could begin.
    â€œYou have to be more careful, Nat,” she whispered. “The others don’t understand us. They’d keep us apart. We have to keep this a secret. Do you understand?”
    â€œA secret.” His face lit up as he realized that she longed for him, too, and he repeated, “Us.”
    In that moment, when he was smiling down at her in the new delight of love returned, he looked like himself again. Down deep, he was still her Nat. Elizabeth hadn’t allowed herself to doubt that—but seeing the proof that she’d been right, that the spell hadn’t fundamentally changed who Nat was on the inside, filled her with joy.
    â€œYes. Us. You and I.” Elizabeth turned her face up to his. Her entire body trembled with hope. She couldn’t look away from Nat, from the lines of his mouth as he leaned down toward her and parted his lips.
    When they kissed, she gasped. It’s really happening. He’s really mine. And the kiss felt so different from the way she’d thought a kiss would feel—warmer. Wetter, too. Nor had Elizabeth guessed that she wouldn’t only feel it on her lips, but throughout her whole body, her skin and gut and breasts and bones all responding immediately to the nearness of him.
    Nat’s arms slid around her as he pulled Elizabeth against his body. The kiss deepened, and she felt as though her mind were spinning, as though they should never be any farther apart than this.
    Inside she heard Aunt Ruth talking to her cousins, and that reminded her— not yet. Not quite yet.
    Elizabeth pulled back. Nat didn’t so much let go as he froze, hands still outstretched, as if he didn’t understand how she could have left his arms. She didn’t understand, either, really, but she said, “Remember. We have to keep this secret.”
    â€œWhen can I see you?”
    â€œTomorrow,” Elizabeth said, feeling hope’s warmth like sunshine on her cheeks. “Find me tomorrow by the far west field.”
    Nat nodded, but he still stood there, mutely refusing to leave.
    This part was a bit annoying, honestly; at least it didn’t have to last forever. “Run back home, Nat. Be sweet to your mother. Let her feel like everything’s all right.”
    â€œYes.” He seemed