Rafe's gaze burns into me, threatening to undo me.

And then his mother is in front of him, blocking him from my view. The spell breaks. I turn back around quickly, sucking in the air that I'm suddenly able to breathe again.

The whole thing has happened in a matter of seconds, and no one else appears to have noticed anything, thank goodness. I drink the rest of my water and pretend to listen to Luca's story.

A couple of minutes later, I can feel Rafe's ...