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Chapter Four

If Annise hadn’t packed the crystals in her pocket and forced her to take a cleansing bath before leaving her small condo, Niera would have pulled theI’m not feeling wellcard and been done with the night. She was never one for crowds, especially this shoulder-to-shoulder turnout, and it didn’t make her already unsettled spirit feel any better. Her glamour worked overtime to hide the points of her ears and the sharper contours of her face, as well as mute the brightness of her eyes. Annise assured her several types that paranormal and mystical creatures resided in Cat’s Paw Cove. The admission didn’t comfort Niera.

All this effort to counter the effects of the ocean only pushed harder at her barriers. She was shrouded in the promise of a curse in the next day or two, and she was helpless to stop it.

Unless…

Plucking at the warm cheese on her pizza, she scanned the immediate area once more, waiting to see Alistair appear. It’d been twenty minutes since they arrived at Wilshire Park. She’d learned more about Danny’s friend’s hot-rod than she could process. Made it halfway through a slice of pizza when she wasn’t trying to wash away the effects of the ocean with a beer.

And still no Alistair.

Niera forced herself to eat a dainty bite of pizza beneath the hard scrutiny of Annise’s watchful gaze.

You’re here for her. Not for some stranger. You’ll be leaving to return to the forest. No point wasting time.

Besides, the guy didn’t seem too impressed with her. Everything that had knocked her for a surprise retracted when Alistair bid them farewell with barely a word or a glance at Niera.

Shaking off the disappointment—so foolish to feel disappointment over someone I don’t know—she resumed her analysis of what was between Annise and Danny. She’d noticed the faint thrum of woven energy almost instantly upon Danny’s approach at the pizzeria. There was certainly no mistaking that initial bond. As time went on, that energy wove tighter and tighter, falling into place with the comfort her friend exuded in Danny’s presence.

Annise’s intuition had been correct. The two were an enviously compatible couple. A perfect, complimenting match.

The way Danny doted on her friend left nothing to doubt.

Annise wiped her fingers on a paper napkin and cleared her throat. “Bray, did Al tell you where he was going? The parade is about to start.”

Danny’s friend took a swig from his beer can and shrugged. “Got me, sister. He dropped off the beers and disappeared. Thought maybe he was relieving himself.”

A low beat of music cut through the crowd. The streetlights dimmed and the snowflake decorations attached to the poles lit up with a flickering silvery-blue glow. A roar of excitement, applause, hoots, and whistles filled the park, making Niera cringe. Her ears rang as the cheering toned down to a tolerable level.

Annise squeezed her knee and bounced in her lawn chair. “It’s starting! Oh, you’re going to love this!”

Niera forced her lips to curl into a semblance of a smile, but struggled to keep it in place.

“I’m sure I will.”

If the blasted stranger would leave my thoughts alone.

What was it about Alistair that hooked her curiosity, her concern, and refused to let go? He was handsome, with his ash-blond hair ruffled by the breeze and his cross between beach and prep school attire. The man pulled off khaki pants, a white sweater with a plaid collared shirt, and deep brown loafers like a dream.

She mentally smacked herself.

So not my type.

She almost laughed. She didn’thavea type. Who was she fooling?

“Bray, stop hoarding the beers. Pass a few this way,” Annise said. Her enthusiasm over the parade, along with the natural pixie magic that had a tendency to rub off on everyone around her, infused Niera with a tinge of giddiness. Maybe that’s what she needed. A bit of magic in her life. Magic that was not her own.

“Beers for the boss!”

Bray dug out a few cans and handed them to Niera, one-by-one. His dark gaze never left her, his expression openly contemplative. Inquisitive and probing as it was, his curiosity didn’t bother her as she expected. Maybe because there was something truly honest about the way he tried to silently pick her apart.

He cracked open the last can before handing it to her, his shaggy hair rippling across his forehead. “A drink can make all the difference between spectating and having fun.” He whipped up his own can and tapped hers. “Cheers!”

Niera happily took a swig, face pinched, breath held, as she gulped the cold brew. Fizzy and bitter, the drink went down smooth and far quicker than she planned.

“Look at your friend go!” Bray raised his beer to Niera as she finished half the can, wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, and grinned. “Girl can hold her beer.”

“We’ll see about that,” Niera countered. A giggle bubbled up from her belly and ended in a tiny burp. She smacked a hand over her mouth, darting a look between Annise and the others. “Oh, gods.”