Page 21

21

EMBERLYNN

I ’ve never slept as peacefully as I do the hours after I almost get murdered. What that says about me, I’m unsure. Probably not good things.

But as I wake up well-rested, I can’t find the will to care.

I wake up in my bed, any aches in my body nonexistent. My mind is wired, and I sit up feeling so reenergized that I almost break out in song.

Almost, thank God. I’m not living in a cartoon.

My bubbly demeanor dims a bit when I climb out of bed and wander into the kitchen with my arms stretched above my head.

Wylder is awake and informs me that Kaiden had to go away for a few days when I ask him what happened after I fell asleep.

I frown, my arms falling to my side. “Did he get into trouble? ”

Wylder is the portrait of reluctance. “Sort of.” He scoops up an apple from a bowl, sniffs it, then tosses it to me. “That’s not poisoned. You should eat it. It’s from my mother’s garden. The juices will help clear out any effects the werewolf venom may have left behind.”

I skim my thumb along the shiny apple. “Did you just smell this for poison?”

He smiles, but it’s a ruse. “I did.”

“What does werewolf venom smell like?”

“Rot.”

“Ew. Why didn’t we smell it in the doughnuts?”

“The abundance of sugar masked it. The baker knows Nico and is aware of his particular taste for sugar, so he triples the quantity.”

I rotate the apple around in my hand. “Maybe he put even more in it because he was aware of the werewolf venom.”

Wylder freezes then jerks his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, why didn’t any of us think of that? I mean, I doubt James did it himself—he’s a sweet old man who’s never been in any sort of trouble—but the connection could be in that store. We’ll go there later today after Nico and Phoenix get here.” He beams with pride as he stares at me in wonderment. “You’re smart.”

“It was just one idea that came from being around humans that are obsessed with true crime podcasts. You’d be surprised how many people poison each other through food.” I bite into the apple, juice drizzling down my chin.

Wylder wanders around in the kitchen, doing odd things, like rummaging through the fridge without actually grabbing any items. He’s distracted by something else other than the potential attempt at murdering me.”.

“You’re acting weird,” I note as I sink my teeth into the apple again.

He closes the fridge with a weighted sigh then turns to me. “I’m just worried about everything else we need to figure out. What your powers are, why anyone would try to kill you, Kaiden being detained.”

I wipe up droplets off the apple’s juice off my chin as guilt gnaws in my gut. “All of this is my fault.”

Shaking his head, he walks to me and splays his fingers across my cheeks. “None of this is your fault. Don’t ever think that.”

“All of it happened because I’m here.”

“So? It doesn’t make it your fault. Kaiden’s been detained before. And the poisoning—” He grinds his teeth. “Bad things happen in this world, just like I’m sure it does in the human world. And just because it centers around you, doesn’t make it your fault. It’s the creature who chose to try to poison you. And Kaiden, while I get why he used his magic, he made the choice to do so.” The rough pad of his thumb flutters across my cheek. “And, as for your powers, they’re amazing and, one day, you’ll realize that.”

He’s so sweet for trying to convince me, but he isn’t aware of all the terrible things I’ve done.

“Kaiden got in trouble for using his magic? Is that a thing here? ”

“It can be, but Kaiden didn’t get in trouble with the council. He got in trouble with his father.” He bites out the last word.” It happens sometimes … when he gets really pissed off and loses control. His father … doesn’t like him losing control. Neither does Kaiden, and he believes he deserves to be punished.”

“I understand that feeling,” I whisper, clutching the apple. “Can we help him at all?”

“Not at the moment, but maybe one day.” He fleetingly becomes enthralled with my mouth before stepping back and lowering his hand from my face. “After we visit the baker, we need to focus on preparing you for classes tomorrow. I’m not sure how we’ll do that without Kaiden, but we’ll figure it out.”

Right. Classes. Through all the chaos, I somehow forgot I have to attend school.

“I’m nervous,” I disclose. “Going to school … let’s just say that there were a lot of people like Liam loitering around the hallways.”

“It won’t be like that here.” He grabs a bottle of juice from out of the fridge and gives it to me, apparently determined to fill me up with fruity sweetness this morning.

“But aren’t there like a bunch of creatures roaming around?” I start counting off on my fingers. “So far, you’ve mentioned vampires, werewolves, faeries, pixies, ghosts, and I’m guessing there’s more.”

“There is, but witches and warlocks have covens that offer protection. And we have a connection to each other beyond just covens.” He places his hand on his chest, and then the other on mine right above my heart. “Ours has been broken for a while, but you can feel it now, right?”

I lick my lips as I nod. Flashing sparks of his magic hum across my body. I can’t breathe, but not because of poison. No, this is different. This is blissful.

“Your heart’s beating really fast,” he utters, his gaze searing into mine.

My chest lifts and falls against his hand in the desperate rhythm of my breathing.

“Emberlynn.” My name is sweeter than frosting coming off my tongue as he leans in toward me.

Is he going to kiss me?

Are we supposed to kiss?

I don’t even know how to kiss.

Do I want him to kiss me?

Shit, I’m a real basket case.

My lack of mobility might have an answer hidden in it.

I stand motionless, gripping the apple, debating whether to allow him. I want to, but I’m terrified for so many reasons, one being I don’t even know how to kiss.

“There’s a goddamn glitter storm going on,” Nico announces as he barrels in through the front door.

Wylder and I both jump away from each other, and, in a panic, I chuck the apple. It flies over to the living room, rolls across the floor, and smacks the toe of Nico’s boot.

A pucker forms between Nico’s brow as he glances from Wylder to me then at the apple. “Okay, what the hell did I miss?” He bends down to scoop up the apple. He examines it, turning it around in his hand as he squints at the red, waxy exterior.

“Don’t read that,” Wylder warns. “I swear to the gods, Nico …”

A grin spreads across Nico’s lips. “Too late.”

“Wait, what?” Once again, I’m lost in a sea of I-so-don’t-get-this. “Read what?”

Wylder fires a glower at Nico. “Nico can read memories on objects. At least ones that happened within a few minutes prior to when it touched it.”

“It doesn’t always work.” He tosses the apple in the air and catches it. “Like with the doughnuts—I couldn’t read anything on those. This, though.” He holds up the apple. “This one has a juicy little story on it.” He throws the apple at Wylder, and he catches it. “I’m guessing you might want to keep that as a souvenir.”

“Ew, don’t keep my half-eaten apple.” I make a barf face.

Wylder sets it by the sink, not throwing it away.

Nico saunters into the kitchen then, and as he steps underneath the lights, his skin begins to sparkle with hints of blue and silver.

“You have glitter all over your arms and clothes,” I state. “Why?”

“I told you when I came in, but I guess I can see why you don’t remember, seeing as you were a bit distracted.” His eyes zero in on my mouth. “With yummy things. ”

Wylder shoves him by the arm, and Nico blinks before scowling at Wylder.

“What the hell, dude?” he gripes, rubbing his arm.

Wylder ignores him, focusing on me. “There’s a glitter storm happening.”

My gaze darts to the window. “Holy freakin’ wow.” I hurry over and peer out at all of the blue and silver glitter showering from the cloudy sky. It’s covering the leafy trees, the muddy ground, and the peaked roofs of the houses. “It looks like a faerie threw up all over everything, but in like a cool way,” I say as I stare at the scene in awe.

A trickle of silence, and then Wylder and Nico howl with laughter.

I spin around. “What’s so funny?”

“Your description of a glitter storm.” Nico dabs the tears of laughter from his eyes. “I can assure you, pretty eyes, that faerie vomit doesn’t even remotely resemble glitter. It resembles vomit.”

“The worst kind of vomit,” Wylder tacks on with a shudder.

“What does the worst kind of vomit mean, anyway?” I throw my hands in the air. “All vomit is equally gross.”

They chuckle again. Apparently, I’m a regular comedian these days.

“Aren’t we supposed to be interrogating a baker?” I remind Wylder. “Not laughing at my lack of vomit knowledge. ”

Every ounce of hilarity fades from his eyes. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Huh?” Nico flicks him a quizzical glance.

“The baker who made the doughnuts,” Wylder explains. “Emberlynn came up with the idea.”

Like with Wylder, Nico grins at me with pride.

Between all the prideful smiles and the almost kisses aimed my way, I need a breather. So, I excuse myself to get dressed, worried I’m in over my head, not only with magic but with these guys.

About an hour later, Nico, Wylder, and I are hiking up a dirt path that will take us to town. We left after Phoenix called and informed Wylder that he couldn’t make it this morning due to a family meeting. When I asked Wylder and Nico what the meeting could be about, Wylder explained that Phoenix’s father was a hustler and part of a secret organization referred to as Underground Cursed Moon Society that dabbles in all sorts of sketchy activity, like smuggling illegal substances, creatures, and they also make creatures “disappear” for the right price, of course.

“Phoenix is into that sort of stuff?” I ask as we walk.

The glitter storm has settled down, leaving only remnants of glitter puddles on the ground that prettily glitter against the traces of sunlight escaping through the cracks of the thinning storm clouds. The air weirdly smells like cake and has a frosty nip to it.

Nico loops his arm through mine. “No, but his father forces him to participate while he lives under his roof. That’s why we need to find our own place where we can all live.” He tangles our fingers together and twirls me around, causing me to laugh.

“I don’t think he’s attending this meeting because he has to.” Wylder stuffs his hands into the pocket of his button-down black jacket. “He was pretty vague on the phone, but from what he said … I got the feeling he’s suspicious that the werewolf venom may have been smuggled through the society and that it may have even been a hired hit. And he’s trying to investigate that.”

Nico’s face falls. “He better be careful. The society will end him if they find out, even if he’s the leader’s son.”

“I’m sure he will be.” But the frown on Wylder’s face suggests he’s worried, too.

“He never is.” Nico kicks his foot through a puddle of glitter, sending fragments scattering through the air.

“He will with this,” Wylder says, confidently squaring his shoulders. “I know he will because it’s important.”

They both glance at me.

“I’m guessing I make it important.” Uncertainty fills me over how I feel about that and how they could even feel that way when they know only the part of me I’m allowing them to see.

Nico smiles then slips his arm through mine again, and we pick up the pace as the town comes into view. The breeze picks up as we near it, and dressed only in my baggy jeans, sneakers, and a gray crop top shirt, I’m a shivering mess.

Nico halts near a cluster of trees to remove his hoodie. Then he drapes it over my shoulders.

“I’m fine.” I move to hand it back.

He refuses to take it. “You have goosebumps all over your arms. You’re not fine.”

“It’s our job to take care of you,” Wylder adds, settling his hand on my lower back to steer me around a large glitter puddle.

I begrudgingly put on the jacket and zip it up, Nico’s earthy scent encompasses me just as warmly as the fabric of the jacket. He draws the hoodie over my head and smiles contently as he grazes his knuckles across my cheek.

While the dirt path was empty, the cobblestone sidewalks that weave through the brick shops and stores are crowded with creatures bustling around. It’s worse than when Lila and I went shopping.

When I state this, Wylder explains that many creatures are probably shopping for the Moon Festival that’s occurring this coming weekend when the moon will be bleeding into the stars.

“It’s a huge party event,” Nico twines our fingers together as we cross the street. “All witches and warlocks attend to eat, drink, dance, worship the moon and, of course, offer a sacrifice.”

I misstep, scuffing the tip of my sneaker on a brick. “Sacrifice?”

Wylder fires a glare at Nico as he leads the way across the street. “He’s teasing you about that part.” As we arrive on the other side, he stops by a lamppost and retrieves a pocket watch from his pinstriped pants. He checks the time before stuffing it back into his pocket. “If we hurry, we can catch James on his lunchbreak.”

The clock tower chimes then, announcing that noon has arrived. The ding of the bells sounds more boisterous, and it actually hurts my eardrums.

Nico swings our clasped hands as we hurry past stores and shops, unbothered by the noise. The farther we walk into the businesses, the more I start to notice an increasing number of curious stares being thrown my way.

I lower my head and tug the hood lower to partially shield my eyes. “Why is everyone staring? They weren’t like this the last time, when I was here with Lila.”

“They didn’t know who you were then,” Nico tells me, pausing to glance through the window at a display of lavish ballroom gowns. “You’re with us now, so they recognize who you are.”

“Great. Is this how it’ll be at school? I hate attention.” I pull the collar of the jacket over my mouth. “I’m going to have to go back to wearing my baggy clothes and sunglasses. And why are you looking at these?” I ask Nico, gesturing at the dresses. “Are you on the market for a ball gown?” I lower the collar of the jacket so he can see my joking grin .

“What if I was?” he plays along.

“Then I’d say go with the blue one. It’ll go great with the glitter smudged on your forehead.” I recover my mouth with the top of the jacket.

He rubs his forehead, glances at his thumb, then giggles at the smeared glitter on his skin. Like, actually giggles. “Come on, smartass. We’ve lost Wylder.” He drapes his arm around my shoulders and steers us up the sidewalk, maneuvering us through the throng. “And no more covering yourself up with clothes. If you want to wear baggy clothes and sunglasses all the time because you like that, then that’s another story. But if you’re doing it to conceal yourself, please don’t. You can be yourself now. You’re home now.”

Home? The word is about as foreign of a concept as who I am, what I like, what my interests are.

“I don’t even know who I am, not really,” I divulge drearily. “I feel like I’ve spent my entire life trying to blend in and hide. That complicates self-discovery.”

His blond hair flaps against the gentle breeze as he glances at me. “I guess we’ll help you figure that out then.”

“How will you do that?”

He leans in close enough that the speckles of gold in his baby blues are visible. Then he brushes his fingertip down the brim of my nose. “By having fun.”

“And how do we do that?” I shove my free hand into the front pocket of the jacket. “As lame as this is going to sound, I don’t know how to have fun and definitely don’t know how witches and warlocks have fun.”

He hesitates before dropping his voice to a husky whisper. “There’s a lot of ways to have fun. It just depends on how adventurous you are, pretty eyes.” He winks at me before tugging me forward and quickening our pace.

I’m clueless about guys—that’s a given. So maybe I’m wrong, but I felt like he was suggesting we have sex or something.

That thought ping-pongs around in my mind like a sweaty ball of lust that continuously bangs against the side of my brain. And it causes concern that I’m going to get my perspiration on Nico’s jacket because my body is sweltering. By the time we catch up to Wylder, who’s stopped in front of a small, single-story shop, my internal temperature has warmed up beyond normal and then some.

Wylder has his hands cupped around his eyes, peering into a front window. “It doesn’t seem like this place ever opened today. That’s weird. James always opens the bakery, even during the Hollow Rest Day.”

“The guy’s crazy obsessed with making cupcakes and doughnuts.” Nico lets go of my hand to try the front door.

“He probably needs the money.” Wylder steps back, his arms falling to his sides, and he eyes Nico like he’s an idiot for jerking on the front door. “Do you not think I didn’t try that when I first got to the store?’

Nico gives a half-shrug. “Sometimes you can be a little dense.”

Wylder stares at him, unimpressed. He seems a bit moody suddenly .

My suspicion is confirmed when Nico asks him, “Are you okay? You seem like you’re about to crawl out of your skin.”

Wylder tightly shakes his head. “The energy feels off here. Like it’s heavy and dark. The last time I felt this kind of energy was when my father died.”

“Your father died?” God, this makes my heart hurt. “Wylder, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” He attempts to bury it, but I can see the anguish in his aura, the way the shell weeps away from the color, dulling to mourning gray.

He extends his hand in my direction; I think needing me to hold his hand. I place my palm in his, and his fingers wrap around mine.

That’s when it crashes over me, the feeling he described that’s in the air.

“I feel it, too,” I whisper, facing the store and tilting my head to the side.

I’ve felt this before, this heavy emptiness haunting the store. Only once, but it’s a sensation one doesn’t easily forget.

“I think someone’s dead inside the store,” I whisper, my breath fogging out in front of my face.

Wylder’s fingers stiffen. “I do, too.”

Nico’s baby blues shift between the two of us before he spins around toward the store’s entrance door. “Shit.” He grabs the doorknob and, with a sneaky glance over his shoulder, he chants a spell, his breath clouding out in front of his face.

Sparks whisper from his finger as he traces the tips over the brass doorknob. The metal dissolves into liquid that drips down onto the brick below our feet.

“Look, the door’s unlocked.” Nico slowly pushes the door open.

A frigid breeze gusts out, sending leaves funneling across the ground. We hurry inside, closing the door behind us and locking out the wind.

The place is clean and tidy, but the display cases, where baked goods should be, are empty.

“He definitely never opened today.” Nico trails his fingers along the glass.

I sniff the air then frown. “I smell something rotting.”

Wylder sniffs then deflates. “She’s right.” He grasps my hand as the three of us make our way across the checkerboard floor, past the pink shelves that line blue walls, and toward the doorway of the kitchen.

Wylder releases his grip on my hand. “Stay here.”

“No.” Why I’m being defiant is beyond me. It’s not like I want to see what’s causing the rotting stench. But, for some reason, I also feel like I need to see it with my own eyes.

“Nico, a little help here,” Wylder says as he fiddles with a button on his jacket.

Nico shrugs. “I don’t want her to see whatever’s in there, but it’s her choice.” He glances at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait out here? Death isn’t pretty.”

“I know. I’ve seen it.” I bite down on my tongue.

They stare at me, questions flooding their eyes.

“We should probably go see what it’s in there before someone sees us in here and thinks we did it,” I point out, gesturing at the doorway.

Wylder curses. Then, summoning a breath, he steps through the door and into the kitchen with Nico and I following suit. But he abruptly slams to a halt, and I run right into his back.

“Sorry.” I step back, rubbing my head, but then I catch sight of what made him stop and freeze.

Time freezes.

Because this isn’t just death.

This is savagery at its worst. Because lying on the floor is a body without a head.