Spell Struck by Ariella Moon Read Free Book Online

a race. "Why aren't you eating in Mr. Ross's room?" Evie and Parvani usually hid out in the video production room to avoid Evan MacDonald and Tommy Deitch. Maybe the bullying had calmed down since Evie had started dating Jordan and had reached a truce of sorts with Evan.
    Evie swallowed a bite from her peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwich. "Parvani is freaked out over a new assignment in Honors Geometry. She has Hindi class and piano after school, so she and Jordan and Zhù are holed up in the library."
    A commotion arose from the long, restless line at the hot lunch counter. Tommy Deitch cut to the front of the line and shoved a ninth-grade boy out of his way. The boy crashed into the kid behind him, and soon the line disintegrated like falling dominoes.
    Evie rolled her eyes and reached for a shiny apple. "Besides," she continued, "I would much rather be on stakeout with you."
    "Whom are you staking out?"
    My abdomen fluttered. Aidan had approached us from behind and stood so close his jacket brushed my shoulder. He stuck out his hand, which was covered in angry-looking scratches, and said to Evie, "Hi. I'm Aidan."
    To her credit, Evie didn't scream — at least not out loud. Instead, a dazzled expression lit her, as if she had just come face-to-face with Shay Stewart, her movie star crush. She half rose from her chair and shook Aidan's hand. "Hey. I'm Evie."
    "Mind if I join you?"
    "Suit your—"
    "Please!" Evie's blush fast-tracked to her strawberry blond hairline.
    Aidan scraped back a chair and sat next to me. "Thanks. New school," he explained to Evie in a conspiratorial whisper. "This is my first full day. Salem and I have Art together."
    "Really?" Evie sounded so surprised, she almost convinced me. "Cool."
    Aidan fished a sack lunch out of his black messenger bag and pulled out some spring rolls, a plastic container of chicken salad, a small jar of what smelled like ginger-sesame seed dressing, and an orange. For a second he just stared at the feast. His expression of wonder and gratitude tugged at me, as though a spell link connected my heart to his.
    Oh no, the love spell.
    Evie broke the silence. "Your salad looks awesome. Who made it?"
    "My neighbor did. I rescued her dog this morning from the jaws of two holly bushes." He held out his hands. "I think the bushes won."
    "Oh my." I brushed my fingertips across his skin near a particularly deep scratch. The contact sent a lightning jolt up my arm and a troop of fairies took flight within me. "Do they hurt?"
    "Nah. I'll live." He pushed back his hoodie sleeves, revealing a narrow bracelet of woven cloth strips.
    "Was the dog okay?" Evie asked.
    "I think she spent the whole night freezing and in terror. Otherwise, Artemis is fine."
    "Artemis? Your neighbor named her dog after a goddess?"
    Aidan's lips lifted in an impish smile. He leaned closer and my breath caught low in my throat. His finger, cool and calloused, brushed across my temple, tracing my eyeliner swirl. "I knew you would like it."
    I shivered. He thought of me!
    "Isn't Artemis a guy's name?" Evie asked. "You know, like the character in The Wild, Wild West."
    "Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt and protection." I ran my hand down my poufy mauve scarf with its tiny white stars, trying to flatten it. I felt too conspicuous in the muted color, even though the rest of my outfit was black. This morning when I had looped it around my neck, the grimoire had chirped.
    "A maiden huntress—" Aidan pretended to draw back an invisible arrow notched in a bow "—whose aim never erred."
    "The Temple to Artemis at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the World." The scarf puffed up again. What had I been thinking, taking fashion advice from a spell book?
    "Sounds like a good place to photograph."
    "Evie is the photo editor for Yearbook," I explained.
    Aidan's brows lifted. "Too bad the temple was destroyed centuries ago. Arson."
    "Wow." Evie slid me a sideways glance. "You two sure have a lot in common.