Page 14

“Well, you’ve read your Shakespeare, haven’t you?”

“If you mean A Midsummer Night’s Dream , then yes.” In high school, so it’s probably time to reread it.

He bends closer, voice low. “‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.’”

“In flowers?”

“And under acorn caps.” His dark eyes shimmer as he smiles. “Oh, and don’t forget, Titania, the Queen of the Faeries, sleeps in a snakeskin.”

“But those are pixies, aren’t they?” They’d have to be to fit in flowers. “You told me not all fairies are that small.”

“No, they come in all sizes.”

“So there could be fairies here right now, walking among us, and I’d never know it.” The very idea makes me wistful.

“And you’d never know it,” Leo confirms, and when he chuckles, I feel the vibrations under my hands.

Wait, how did my hands end up on his chest?

We both seem to notice them at the same time. With a gasp, I snatch them away and step back, the cool air attacking my thighs where a moment ago they’d been pressed against his. He blinks at me and scrubs a palm down his face.

As I try to come back to reality, I see Lara out of the corner of my eye, her mouth twisted in a malicious smile. “Oh shit.” I put more distance between Leo and me and glance at her again, only to find her squinting like she’s not sure what she’s seen.

Leo clears his throat, calling my attention back to him. There’s an awkward smile on his lips and an apology in his eyes. “So, uh, I actually can’t stay very long, but I wanted to stop by and give you something.”

“Give me something?”

“Yes.” He dips his head and studies my eyes. “How drunk are you? ”

Excuse me? Is he blaming me for getting too close? He was the one who was holding me and reciting Shakespeare.

I must’ve flinched because he quickly apologizes, giving my chin a gentle brush with his thumb. “I’m not judging. I just want to make sure you’ll remember why I’m giving this to you.” He digs into the front pocket of his jeans.

“I won’t forget.” I’m nowhere near blackout drunk. Trust me. I’m an expert.

“Looks like I picked a good color.” He opens his fist and smiles. In his palm lies a necklace with a silver pendant.

He nods when I reach out with hesitant fingers, assuring me it’s mine to take. Up close, the pendant is exquisite. Delicate silver vines weave together to form a cage around a purple, heart-shaped crystal just a shade darker than my dress.

I turn it in and out of the light, admiring the swirling shapes in the stone—some opaque, others clear as glass. “It’s beautiful.” It really, really is.

“It’s an amethyst, a protective crystal like Avery’s obsidian.” He forces down a tight swallow. “It’s not much, but it’s something that might help you feel a little less vulnerable.”

I look up to into his earnest eyes. “What does it do?”

“It absorbs negative energy. In the same way the earth grounds electricity.”

I only vaguely understand what he means. The last time I studied physics was in the eighth grade and I’ve forgotten ninety percent of what I learned.

“So it’ll help me?”

“It’ll help some. But first you need to charge it.”

“Charge? Avery said ‘charm.’”

A half-smile plays on Leo’s lips. Here I go, asking a thousand questions again. “Crystals already have their own energy,” he says. “You just need to give it some of yours and tell it what you want it to do.”

“How do I do that? ”

“It’s easy. When you have some quiet time alone, take it in your right hand—that’s your projective hand—and hold it like this.

” He folds my fingers around the pendant and peers up at me, making sure I’m following him.

At my nod, he goes on, “Then imagine what it would feel like if it was pulling all that harmful energy—all those negative emotions—away from you and into itself.”

“I can’t do that.” I feel whatever feelings happen to come by, I don’t direct them.

“Yes, you can,” he gently insists. “You’d be amazed by what you can do.”

My hand is cocooned in both of his, and for a heartbeat, I feel strong and safe. Like I can be all the things he believes me to be.

“Here—” He takes the necklace from me and unclasps it. “For the time being.”

I turn around and lift my hair off my shoulders. When the stone touches my chest, I shiver, and again when Leo’s fingers brush the back of my neck.

“Charge it as soon as you can, but even uncharged, it’ll still help a little.”

Leo gave me a necklace. To protect me.

I turn to face him again, my fingers tracing the silver vines. “Thank you.”

“Promise me you’ll charge it.”

“I promise.” Right now, I’m game for just about anything he asks.

“I wish I didn’t have to go, but Robin needs me to help her with something.”

I nod.

“I’m glad I got to see your costume.”

Stupidly, I nod again. I’m lost in thought, trying to formulate a reply, when out of nowhere, a wave of fury crashes over me, stealing my breath.

What the hell? I tense up, head swiveling over one shoulder then the other. Where is that rage coming from ?

“Betts, what’s…” Leo’s gaze flicks from my face to somewhere behind me. “Oh.”

Someone barks, “Z! Chill out!”

More voices join in:

“C’mon, man.”

“Get the fuck off me!”

“Dude!”

Out of the crowd bursts Zander, his eyes shooting fire, and two of the biggest O-Chi brothers behind him, gripping his shoulders. He points at Leo and snarls at me, “Who the fuck is that ?”

God, I hate Lara. “It’s…it’s…” I glance behind me. Leo’s back has gone straight and his gaze is now a glare.

Zander yells at him, right over my head, “Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

All around us, people go still, their eyes huge and shining. They’re salivating for a good fistfight, but that’s the last thing I want to see. Zander has rage on his side, but Leo’s bigger and sober. And he looks plenty pissed off, too.

Zander strains against Trevor and Jake’s hold. “You’re that dickhead from the library, aren’t you?”

I intervene. “He’s just a friend.”

“A friend? You expect me to believe that?”

Leo cuts in, “She’s telling you the truth.”

Zander jerks an arm free and lunges for him, but Jake hauls him back.

Both my arms shoot out so that I’m standing between Zander and Leo, one hand on each of their chests.

It’s a ridiculous thing to do. If they want to fight, I’m physically incapable of stopping them.

But I can’t just stand here and do nothing.

“Zander, stop,” I plead.

But it’s as though I’m not even there. He hisses at Leo, “Like you wouldn’t fuck her if you could.”

Leo, thank god, is too much of a gentleman to respond to that. With his feet firmly planted and his shoulders squared, his body language says enough.

Confident in Leo’s self-control, I turn all my attention to Zander. In contrast, his eyes are wild and his whole body is coiled tight, ready to spring. I dare to touch him. “Zander.”

He yanks me up against him and shouts at Leo, “She’s mine! Do you hear me? Mine! So just stay the fuck away from her!”

“It’s okay,” I tell Zander, stroking his hot face. “I’m yours. Everyone knows I’m yours.”

He’s got a vise grip around my ribs, and I have to push against him to get a good breath. I feel his growl as he hollers over my head, “Why the fuck are you still here?”

I look behind me to find Leo still standing by the counter, alert and defensive.

His eyes flit to me and I read them loud and clear.

He’s not leaving until he’s sure I’ll be okay.

I give him a slight nod and even manage a faint smile.

A smile he doesn’t return. Instead, he unclenches his jaw, sucks in a sharp breath, and turns to go.

Like a greedy kid with a favorite toy, Zander clasps me to his chest. “Who the fuck does he think he is? If he touches you again, I’ll break his face.”

I can feel my wings hanging, limp and mangled, down my back. Zander has destroyed them.