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  Inside, with the flickering lights and eerie music, I stumbled to find someone I could trust. Far across the room, Lucas was talking to Caleb. Scarlet was on the stairs talking to another girl. I scanned the room, my eyes jumping from face to face, my hands trembling. I felt like I’d never find Cole.

  “It’d be smart to play along,” Tristan’s voice filtered through my hair and into my ear. At my back, he placed his hand on my wrist, but I jerked away.

  “You won’t risk being seen for what you are.”

  “I’ve cleaned up bigger messes before.”

  I couldn’t believe his words.

  “I thought you only wanted the stone. Why are you after me?”

  “My friend has changed her mind,” his eyes studied my face as he grinned.

  “You want her, don’t you?” The woman teased as she appeared at my right. “You want to chase her? What are you waiting for, my love?” her glaring eyes flickered over Tristan’s face. She took the twine from his hand and whispered in his ear, “Hunt her.”

  I could see his eyes as they remained strong and bold. The fear I felt, which made my heart pound and my ears ring, had no effect on him at all. If he were Cole, I’d be running for my life. Or, at best, driving him mad from the inside out. Tristan wasn’t budging, but I knew he was hungry. My eyes shifted over his, and then I turned and ran. I rushed between the bodies of people, those I knew well and those I barely knew at all, and I hurried toward the stairs. Before I could take a step, though, I felt a hand on my wrist.

  “You won’t take me,” I fought. “You promised to protect me.”

  “That was when the amulet was all that mattered.”

  “What, like an hour ago?”

  “You’re drawing attention,” his eyes went to the crowd around us.

  “You said it didn’t matter.”

  “You’re so boring,” the woman tapped her finger to her chin. Somehow, she had found us and slithered into our conversation unnoticed. “Tie her and bring her with us,” she commanded, but Tristan stayed perfectly still. “Did you not hear me?” she questioned.

  “This is the wrong time,” Tristan answered with his eyes fixed on mine.

  The woman laughed to herself, then her face grew serious. “Do you think she’ll go home and wait for us? It’s now, tonight, right here. Or it may never be.” She stepped up to Tristan and placed her hand on his shoulder. Her fingers danced down his arm as she spoke with a voice I hadn’t expected. “Don’t you want me to be free?”

  “Of course, I do,” his voice tender as he faced her briefly.

  With her playfulness aside, she made clear, “Then don’t break down right when we have her.”

  Tristan dug his eyes into the woman, then glared down over her dainty frame. “How is this different from what you went through?” Her brow softened while she kept her eyes on his. “How, Iliana?”

  Iliana? What was this name? I had heard it before. Just a little earlier when Tristan first spoke to Cole. Iliana. I could feel the air in my body slipping away. Time pulsed around me, my ears muted to the sounds of the party. This woman, this vile creature, was responsible for Cole’s new existence. She was responsible for his leave to Europe, for the trouble he had dealt with ever since.

  It wasn’t long until I felt my nails digging into my palms. My jaw clenched shut, my eyes focused on her alone. Without hesitation, I charged at her, shoving her back into a group of girls. Their drinks spilled everywhere, but the amusement of the moment kept them wanting more.

  “How dare you,” Iliana stood straight, tugging her jacket into place.

  “Get out,” I spoke through my teeth. “Get out!” A subtle, but chilling breeze rushed from an open window and over where we stood. Iliana’s eyes tightened, but I turned away. I left the room and the stillness I had created and ran directly into Cole.

  “We’re leaving now,” Cole pulled on my hand, but I slipped free.

  “I can’t leave all these people here with that monster in the other room.”

  “Tristan won’t do anything. He knows anyone here could expose him with a single picture posted to Instagram.”

  “I was talking about Iliana,” I said through my teeth and Cole froze silent. His eyes enlarged; his shoulders stiffened. In the time since he returned, he showed me many new sides to his emotions. This look here, though, was entirely new. He was scared stiff. Something about the situation seemed a lot worse than I originally thought, if that were even possible.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” Iliana placed her hand onto Cole’s face and then kissed his lips there before me. Hating her was starting to seem like a kindness.

  “Why won’t you just go away?” I shouted. But before she would answer, Tristan took me and rushed me outside in a matter of seconds. It was so fast that I don’t believe anyone even noticed. Out back near a cluster of trees, I stood in the chilled October air and watched Tristan as he paced the lawn. “Why are you doing this if it bothers you so much?”

  He shot me a glare and I knew he wanted silence. I, however, was not obligated to respect his wishes.

  “I’m not something you can take, not an object for your amusement.” Tristan wasted no time rushing at me, staring down over me with an intimidating hum. I caught his scent in my nose and could no longer fear him. His eyes shifted to something—someone—behind me, and I knew before she spoke that it was Iliana.

  “Finally, it’s getting good,” Iliana giggled, and a part of me knew I wouldn’t leave that house until she had what she wanted. Tristan, on the other hand, seemed to be straying from her ultimate desire.

  “Don’t give in to her,” I whispered. More of his scent—something strong from that distant shore, musky and pure—filled my nostrils and captivated my brain, and it was gratifying. I felt dizzy and weak, somewhere else entirely. His entrancement was nothing like Cole’s. Tristan was pure faerie, it was obvious.

  I fought the urge to collapse, but it was all I had in me. When Tristan took my hand and tried to twist some of the twine over my skin, I just gave in. Interlocking my fingers with his, I watched his eyes brighten a little beneath the night. His emerald gaze was breaking through, and I realized, however hard it is to explain, that he wasn’t something I needed to fear. Not truly. He pulled back, but I held tight. And tight at that moment was hardly anything to speak of. He could easily have gotten free in my disoriented state. I was sure he wanted to stay right where he was. He needed something from me. Maybe it was comfort, maybe love. And within seconds, he was holding me gently, his hand in mine, our fingers resting together in agreeance. I stared widely up into his eyes and did not look away. There was a calmness in the open air as the woman walked near. I bit down on my lip and nodded to give him permission. The twine over my wrist kept me unstable, but Tristan wasn’t about to let me fall.

  I wasn’t entirely sure what hawthorn was at that point, but it certainly had some sort of effect on my balance and perception. The minute it touched my skin, my sight blurred out and the sounds around me started to muffle. All but for Tristan. Like a drug or a toxin, the twine burned my fingers and left a deep throbbing ache all the way to the bone.

  “We have a plan,” Iliana spoke up. “I am stronger than you, even at your best,” she warned.

  For a moment, Tristan and I remained still as I wondered what he would do. I made it clear that he could feed on me, maybe then he’d be strong enough to defend her, but it was his choice. And because of it, I wanted to know what he was thinking. What it was that drove him to this moment in his life. While I waded there in my curiosity, he took a long and deep, nearly endless breath. And as he exhaled, Tristan’s eyes popped open with the most brilliant, fascinating shade of green I could imagine. Iliana called for him to stop, but he was too far in the moment to hear her cries. Bold yellow orbs came into view, circling around us and brightening his eyes further.

  “You can’t!” Iliana shouted, rushing up to him in a panic. “He’ll kill you!”

  Tristan drew in a breath and I c
ould see a pearlescent, bluish vapor, which must have been the purity of my aura, emerge from my skin and body. It looked like fog rising from a lake on a cool morning in fall. Tristan pulled the twine from my wrist and continued to hold me steady. Though the toxin was gone, the act of him taking my essence left me without much control. My sight, however, was never clearer. Everything sparkled and everything glowed. And the stars above us were indescribable.

  Tristan kept his arm around my body with ease as he pulled more of my essence toward his chest. Iliana reached for him with her sharp nails and screeching voice. Tristan turned from me and raised his hand out toward her. I could see the pain filter in her eyes as she realized what he was about to do. Within a blink, Tristan blasted a ray of energy at her, bright like the yellow on a wasp, and most likely as painful, knocking her back and into the grass. She remained there unconscious as I felt my knees buckle.

  Tristan gently laid me in the cool grass as the muffled sound of Cole’s voice came clear. I kept staring to Tristan, but my eyelids were heavy, and my mind begged for sleep. Tristan, bright and strong, casting no shadows, touching no darkness, stood before Cole with his head down. It was like he was giving himself up.

  “Don’t hurt him,” I mouthed, but my words were nonexistent. Cole walked with steady focus toward Tristan and the flames in his eyes grew wild. Charging, Cole shoved into Tristan until both men were on the ground fighting in a blaze of light. I glanced around the yard and wondered how no one else was there to witness the fight. How this strange world of magic was present, open to any who cared to see.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After working Monday morning, I got a text from Charlotte to pick her up from school. She always rode with Caleb, so I was surprised that she asked. I got to the high school parking lot and saw Tristan across the lawn. And I went right over to thank him.

  “Why aren’t you afraid of me anymore?” he asked.

  “Who says I’m not?”

  He grinned.

  “I wanted to thank you, though. For standing up to her.”

  “She won’t let it go,” he warned. Facing me, he squinted in the sunlight. “Won’t let you go.”

  “Will you help her again? I mean, you could just take me now. It’d be easy, wouldn’t it?”

  “What is your fascination with besting me?”

  I was speechless. It was like I was picking a fight without realizing it. My stupid mouth just couldn’t stay shut.

  “I um…”

  Tristan grinned, and his eyes squinted as they let out an emerald shine. “I’m not after you anymore, you can relax. I’ve found another way, another… path.”

  “Why do you try so hard with her?”

  God, shut up!

  “Irene, isn’t it obvious?” He was getting bothered, and the last thing I wanted was to make an enemy out of him. After his display of kindness toward me, at his own cost, I knew he was better as an ally.

  “So, did we bond?” I asked, and he laughed. “I didn’t think it was all that hilarious.”

  “It’s not,” he retracted. “I’m just not used to people asking about it.” His honesty was humbling. He was real, with real emotions and pain that lingered in the air around him.

  “Well?”

  Tristan’s brow lifted as the wind came over us. His auburn hair glistened in the sunlight to the point that it was almost blinding. “If I bond to you, you’ll know. Sharing energy with someone is a delicate thing, a sacred thing.”

  We both faced the school. It was calm then, with only the cawing of a crow to keep us company.

  “Bit ominous,” he grinned.

  I agreed with a nod. I could feel goosebumps starting to swarm over my arms and the shivers were following close behind.

  “You must have so many questions,” he leaned back against his car and crossed his arms. “I know Cole isn’t… willing to explain,” he teased with a flick of his brow.

  “He’s trying to keep his distance from me.”

  “How’s that working?”

  I shook my head. “It’s not easy for him.”

  “No, I can’t imagine it is.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Tristan leaned toward me and his grin fell. “You were… indescribably delicious.”

  The early bell rang at the school, and we both faced the building once again. It’d be another couple of minutes before Charlotte would come out.

  “Why are you here?”

  “My cousin goes here. She’s been avoiding me, so I decided to pay her a visit.”

  “Who’s your cousin?”

  “Bryn Briar.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded.

  “So, she’s also a faerie?”

  He nodded again. Caleb becoming a faerie now made a lot of sense. He had been with Bryn several months before Charlotte.

  The second bell rang and a few seconds later, the doors popped open. Tristan and I stood there until Charlotte and Bryn came over.

  “Hello, cousin,” Tristan smiled to Bryn. The girl was a year ahead of Charlotte in school. She had beautifully sharp, honey-colored eyes, and long wavy dark hair.

  “Why are you here?”

  “You haven’t been home much,” he said.

  “And you have?”

  “Thanks for coming,” Charlotte walked past me and toward my car. I followed her slowly as I listened to Bryn and Tristan argue.

  “You don’t belong here,” Tristan said.

  “I have the right to a normal life,” Bryn replied.

  “You have the right to a luxurious life,” he corrected.

  By the time I got to my car, Tristan and Bryn had gotten into their own and were leaving.

  “Nosey much?”

  “What did I do to you?” I snapped. I was just done with her attitude. “We were never mean to each other until recently. You can’t even be happy about my magic.”

  “You mean the magic that’s going to take you away from me?”

  “What?”

  “I knew about you months ago, and I knew you’d leave. That’s what happened to us.” She crossed her arms and faced forward.

  “I can’t change who I am.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  I put the car in drive and went toward home.

  “Take me to Caleb’s.”

  “Is he sick?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. Scanning through her phone, she looked frantic. “He hasn’t answered me all day.”

  We drove to the Fausters’ home, where we picked up a worried Scarlet. Charlotte thought it was a bad idea since Scarlet knew nothing about Caleb’s faerie nature, but we couldn’t tell her no.

  “This is pointless,” Charlotte huffed.

  “What about the skate park?” Scarlet offered.

  “Not since…” Charlotte trailed, and not a second later, her phone buzzed in her hands. “He’s at Bryn’s.”

  I nodded. “Where does she live?”

  “You can’t go there,” Charlotte warned. “Tristan is staying with her.”

  “What’s wrong with Tristan?” Scarlet perked.

  “A lot,” was Charlotte’s answer.

  “Listen, I already had my encounter with Tristan. It’s Iliana I’m worried about.”

  “Right,” Charlotte nodded. “You sure you don’t want to just…”

  “Char, I’m good. I want to see that he’s alright.”

  “Okay.”

  When we reached Bryn’s house—a large, red brick home with wooden pillars and a large red, gravel garden bed before the door—Charlotte ran up and knocked before I could get out. Bryn answered and ushered Charlotte inside, and then Scarlet and I followed. At first, her home seemed cozy and eclectic. There were turquoise pillows on a sienna leather couch. There was artwork to match and a lot of detailed wooden beams and cabinets. She led us to the back of the house, then down a set of concrete stairs. In the basement, with patio doors that led to a steep hill, the light cast long shadows and strange dark pockets of
uncertainty. I felt Scarlet take my arm as I inched behind Charlotte.

  “I found him just minutes ago, when I got home,” Bryn twisted her arms together tight. “I had to wait for Tristan to leave before I texted you. Does she know?” Bryn’s eyes shot to Scarlet and Scarlet’s eyes widened. “Well, you’re about to.” Charlotte and I looked to each other and I believe we both mentally prepared to handle Scarlet as best we could.

  “Essence won’t work,” Bryn began, and I wondered what else she had in mind. “I think you knew that,” she directed toward Charlotte and my sister nodded.

  “Could you feel him?” I asked.

  Charlotte wrapped her arms around her body and nodded. I hadn’t seen her look frightened in quite a while. It was an eerie sight.

  “I just didn’t know where he was,” she said.

  We stepped into an unfinished room with candles lit all around a small cot. The image of Caleb came clear and he was far worse than I expected. I took Scarlet’s hand in mine just before she rushed to him.

  “Wait a minute,” I whispered. “It’ll be okay, I promise.” We stood together as my sister ran to Caleb and comforted him. “What happened?”

  “He got into an argument with Tristan,” Bryn explained. She leaned over him and wiped his forehead with a wet cloth. “Tristan is powerful; his bloodline is ancient.” I understood her, but Scarlet was having a hard time following along.

  “Tristan stood upstairs with a smile on his face,” Bryn recounted. “He knew I could hear Caleb moaning through the floor.”

  “Why would he do this?” Charlotte pleaded. “What reason could he have?”

  Bryn rinsed out the towel and then caught Charlotte’s eyes with her own. “He said this was the only way.”

  “What does that mean?” Scarlet was almost trembling as she held my arm tight.

  The only way? Whatever game Tristan was playing at was starting to give me new reasons to fear him.

  “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way,” Caleb mumbled to his sister and Charlotte quickly tried to soothe him. I neared him, letting go of Scarlet, and saw the extent of his injuries. His right eye was blackened from his cheekbone to his brow. I could see the purple coloring flicker beneath his skin as his body tried to heal. His irises, normally dark brown, were shimmering into shades of gold and honey. I knew little of Caleb’s powers, but I gathered they had nothing to do with fire.