It was Jules, standing next to an extremely handsome man with arresting gray eyes. Jules hadn’t mentioned he was older, but Eden guessed twenty-five. Was he a graduate student?
“I was just coming out.” Eden stepped back to grab her purse.
“Actually.” Jules stepped inside. “Is it all right if… We were talking while we waited, and I brought up the scavenger hunt we did on Sam—Halloween. How you won that cool artifact.”
“My mother ran an antique shop—I guess I inherited her love of rare finds.” Ash flashed a smile in Jules’s direction. “Would you mind if I took a look? I might be able to tell you how much it’s worth.”
“Sure. I’m Eden, by the way.”
Jules blushed furiously. “Right. Sorry. Eden, this is Ash. Ash, this is Eden—obviously.”
Eden went to her sock drawer and rummaged until she found the stone.
Yep. Still freaky.
She handed it to Ash.
“Interesting.” He turned it over in his hand.
“That seems to be the general consensus.” Eden’s mouth twisted.
“But cool, right?” Jules seemed a little too eager to impress him. Eden wondered if he even cared about the thing. “All the detail work—the way it looks like an actual person trying to escape?”
“It is very good work.” He handed the disc back to Eden. “I’d have to do some research to find out what it’s worth, but if you ever want to sell it, I could probably find a buyer. You’d be amazed what people are into.”
“Thanks, but I think I’m going to keep it for now.”
Because according to my best friend I have to.
Eden considered taking the stone with her—Carolyn wanted her to carry it around—but tucked it back in the drawer.
I’ll balance my energy tomorrow.
Sarah contemplated the contents of her closet. Kai had said the party was casual, but that could mean anything. She pulled out a skirt and sweater, but thinking about how cold it had gotten, added some thick tights.
It was a work party. Kai was a college student but also taught martial arts classes. Her childhood training went a long way in explaining her confidence and general fearlessness. She’d even gone skydiving and base jumping. Sarah thought either might give her a heart attack.
She grabbed a shuttle down to campus and crossed the quad toward the gym where the party was being held.
For an agonizing moment, Sarah stood at the door, scanning the crowd for Kai and feeling very awkward and out of place, but then she spotted Kai waving at her.
“Hey, thanks for coming.” She kissed Sarah on the cheek.
She knew if it were up to Kai it would have been more, but she’d been respectful of Sarah’s boundary about public displays.
“Thanks for inviting me.” She pulled off her coat.
“Let’s put that over here.” Kai led her to a line of hooks on the wall, and she hung up Sarah’s coat. “You look amazing, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Sarah’s cheeks grew warm. “You too.”
And she did—she always did. Sarah hoped they didn’t have to stay too long. She couldn’t wait to be alone with her.
“Can I get you something to drink? I hear the punch is spiked.”
Sarah grinned. “Punch sounds perfect.”
Kai led her to the refreshments table where she ladled bright red liquid into two plastic cups.
“Oh, yeah, that’s spiked,” Sarah said after her first sip.
The liquor slid down her throat and warmed her stomach. She took another sip, wondering why she felt so nervous.
“Colin.” Kai gestured for a guy at the other end of the table to join them.
“Hey, Kai.” He was tall, with chiseled features and lean muscles. Sarah really needed to think about taking a martial arts class if that was how it made you look. “This must be Sarah.”
“It is. Sarah, this is Colin—he’s the guy who got me this job.”
He held up his hand in protest. “You got you the job. I just made the introduction. It’s nice to finally meet you, Sarah. Kai talks about you all the time.”
She does?
“Stop.” Kai slapped his arm playfully. “You promised not to embarrass me in front of my girlfriend.”
Sarah’s stomach flipped. Girlfriend?
But of course, that’s what she was. Sarah knew that. But there was something about hearing it out loud that made it hit home. It wasn’t just that Sarah was a girlfriend, she had a girlfriend. And apparently, all of these people—these total strangers—knew it.
Sarah licked her lips and realized Kai and Colin were staring at her. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
It was Colin who replied. “I know you’re a freshman. I was asking how you liked Whitland.”
“Oh, I love it.” Sarah took another sip of her punch but had to stop herself from drinking the rest in one gulp. “Being here has changed my life.”
For the next thirty minutes, Kai led Sarah from group to group, introducing her as her girlfriend. Hearing the word didn’t get easier. Sarah’s palms were clammy, and she thought she might actually know what Eden’s claustrophobia felt like—the room was closing in and her chest felt tight.
She excused herself to find the restroom and splashed cold water on her face and wrists, no longer caring why it mattered to her that everyone in the room knew she was a lesbian. Sarah just knew she had to get out of there, so she set the timer on her phone to go off in five minutes and changed the alarm to the same one as her text tone.
It chimed just as Kai was leading her toward another pocket of people.
“Oh, crap.” Sarah pretended to read a message.
“What is it?” Kai stopped.
“I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go. Emergency house meeting.” Sarah dropped the phone back into her bag.
“What kind of emergency?” She didn’t appear skeptical, exactly, but definitely nonplussed.
Why hadn’t Sarah come up with something beyond emergency? “It didn’t say, but Carolyn doesn’t like to explain herself. She’s more of the ‘when I say jump’ type of person.”
“Well, if you’ve got to go…”
Sarah hated herself for disappointing Kai, but that didn’t stop her from saying, “I do. But I’ll text you later.”
She kissed Kai on the cheek and went to get her coat. She almost stopped herself from leaving—admonishing herself for being stupid.
Who cares if they know you’re a lesbian and dating Kai?
A minute later she found herself outside.
Quinn was more of a swayer than a dancer, but Eden didn’t mind. The music was good; the beer wasn’t stale, and she was with Quinn.
A slow song came on, and Quinn wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her close.
“You move like water.” His lips tickled her ear. “There’s more than one kind of magic about you.”
His words reached her core and made her feel warm all over. She laid her hands on his arms.
Eden had never felt so completely seen and accepted by another person. She hoped Quinn would feel the same way when he found out she’d killed the borahn. She had told him about being a witch but had yet to reveal that. Of course she would; she just didn’t want to overwhelm him. Learning the truth about magic was enough for one week. They had time, and some truths needed to be told slowly.
How had her luck changed so dramatically in such a short time? She’d come to a college across the country, eager to become a new person—one without all the baggage she’d been carrying since she was a kid. Yet all her attempts at being a different—better—version of herself had backfired. Yet here she was, with a completely new life. Except it hadn’t required leaving her old self behind. If anything, she now accepted her past, and doing that meant it was the past.
Which was part of the reason she didn’t understand Carolyn’s desire for her to balance her light energy with darkness. Eden’s light had saved her and her fellow sisters. The fire that had killed the bo
rahn had shot from deep within her of its own accord. Something inside her had found a way to fight that evil.
If it hadn’t…
Eden suppressed a shudder.
She’d tried, but had been unable to replicate fire in any form. Carolyn chalked it up to the extreme circumstance and said when she was ready, that power would reveal itself. But how long was she going to need to wait? She didn’t think she could work any harder than she already was.
She was just so tired of feeling helpless in the face of everything that was wrong in the world. Fixing things took power, and she was supposed to have a lot it.
So why don’t I?
When Ash asked what Jules wanted to drink, she told him red wine because she thought it sounded classy. After one taste, she realized she should have stuck with rum and diet. She found herself taking small sips and trying not to grimace.
Eden and Quinn had gone to stand up front, but Ash preferred to sit which was fine with Jules. Her feet were killing her.
Getting ready for the date had been a group effort—jeans from Eden, a top Hannah had given her, and a pair of Haley’s spike-heeled boots.
She was getting closer with Haley. Sharing a bathroom tended to do that. Not as friendly as she was with Eden and Sarah—which wasn’t as close as she’d been with Hannah—but there was definitely good friend potential.
As it often did, thinking of Hannah brought on a wave of sadness, and Jules swallowed it with a sip of wine.
She watched the band and wondered if she should be talking. The music was just loud enough that she wasn’t sure. She risked a glance at Ash at the exact moment he looked at her.
“How’s the wine?”
“Really good.” She took another sip and forced a smile. “Very oaky.”
She’d heard wine described as oaky before, but Ash appeared confused, so maybe he hadn’t.
“I paid for it, by the way. In case you were wondering if we were going to have to make a break for it.” He flashed a mischievous grin.
Jules smiled and toyed with the napkin under her glass. “Good to know.”
The band started playing another slow song, and Jules watched as Eden swayed to the rhythm. She’d have given anything to have an ounce of the confidence Eden possessed. She just never seemed unsure of herself. Or the quick wit of Sarah, who even sparred with Alex on occasion. But she was just herself—awkward and out of place no matter where she was. Quinn encircled Eden in his arms and she wondered how Ash’s arms would feel.
The current song was quieter than those previous, so they probably should be talking. She tried to think of something to say.
Keep it light. That’s what she’d always heard. First dates were an audition. You could show the messy stuff later, but the first date was for small talk. She was terrible at small talk. All kinds of talk, really.
“How did your potion go?”
Startled, Jules whipped her head up. “What potion?”
This close, she would sense it if he were a witch, but she wasn’t picking up anything magical at all. How much did he know?
“The ingredients you bought at the magic store—the ones you actually paid for.” Ash smiled.
“What about them?” Her words sounded harsher than she intended. They had met in a magic shop after all. If he didn’t have the talent, he at least had the interest.
He might be thrilled to have a witch for a girlfriend.
He gave a small shrug. “You buy an ingredient like Black Hellebore, you’re definitely not making soup.”
“Well, you might be…” Jules grinned. “If you like really disgusting and possibly poisonous soup.” She twisted the corner of her cocktail napkin and worked up her courage. “So…you believe in magic?”
He gave her a considering look. “I believe I’ve seen things I can’t explain. Whether those things were magic or not… Let’s just say I’m a little more Moulder than Scully. How about you?”
“When I was a kid, I spent hours playing make-believe. I wanted magic to be real more than anything. I rubbed every lamp I ever saw in case there was a genie inside.”
She hadn’t thought about doing that in years.
“That’s kind of adorable.” He held her gaze, and she felt her cheeks warm. “And now that you’re grown?”
“I’ve stopped rubbing lamps, but… I’d like to believe there’s more to the world than what I can see.”
“Oh, there definitely is.” He leaned close, and Jules’s pulse quickened. “Close your eyes.”
Doing as he asked made her feel exposed, but something about him told her to trust him. She waited, hoping what came next was a kiss.
“Focus on the music. With your eyes closed, is it different?”
She listened, but it sounded the same as it had. “It sounds um…a little louder. More bass, maybe?”
She couldn’t pick out the bass line if her life depended on it.
“That’s good, but what I mean is, does it feel different?” He was inches from her ear. “Imagine the sound is slipping under your skin. What does it feel like?”
Her flesh tingled. “Like… Like my cells are dancing.”
She smiled but kept her eyes closed. She really did sense it.
“What else?”
She concentrated.
“It’s soft. And kind of warm. Like…” Like a kiss. “Like a breeze on a summer day.”
She opened her eyes and Ash was smiling at her.
“Not exactly magic, I know, but there’s always a new layer to be discovered.”
“I see that.” Her mouth had gone dry, and Jules took a sip of her wine. For the first time, she tasted a hint of berries. “So, are you from here, or…”
“I’m not really from anywhere,” he said. “We moved around a lot.”
“Me too.”
“It sucks, right? Always being the new kid. And just when you think you finally belong, it’s time to move again and start all over.” Ash shook his head as if shaking away a memory.
“Exactly.” Jules was used to feeling that no one understood, but he seemed to. “And all anyone wants to talk about is where you lived before and why you moved.”
“And they don’t realize it’s intrusive. Maybe you just don’t want to talk about it.”
Something stirred inside of her. “It sounds like we had the same childhood.”
“Sounds like maybe we did.” His stare had grown intense. “You’re not like other girls.”
Jules stared at a crumpled napkin on the floor. “I get that a lot.”
“Hey.” Ash lifted her chin, his gray eyes reaching into hers. “I meant it as a compliment.”
“Oh,” was all she got out before his lips were on hers.
He tasted of craft beer and possibility. She could count the times she’d been kissed. Growing up, dating hadn’t been a priority, survival had. And none of those kisses, not even her first, had made her feel the way she did right now. Like a firecracker fuse that had just been sparked. Like rolling in fresh grass on the first day of spring.
His lips parted from hers, and in the space left behind she whispered, “Wow.”
She instantly regretted how lame it sounded, but when she opened her eyes, Ash was grinning.
“Definite wow.”
Chapter 9
“And so we see that when Zeus sanctions the abduction of Persephone, it is not the act of an uncaring father.” Eden’s Professor of Mythological Studies droned on. “More, it is a metaphor for the necessity of self-exploration, of diving into the depths of the unconscious.”
Usually, Eden loved mythology, but today she was having trouble concentrating.
Her eyes drifted to her bag. It was in there, and it creeped her out.
You’re being ridiculous. It’s an inanimate object. A thing.
A thing she’d been given by a shadow coven.
She’d decided to work up to practicing magic with it. Bringing it to class had seemed benign enough. But all she could think of was the terrible spells it
had witnessed. If objects held energy, this one was creepy coming and going.
Eden reached into her purse and fished it out, determined to get over her aversion to it. If Carolyn thought she needed it, she had to at least try, especially since she was still struggling with the manifestation spell. She’d gotten it right only once—that night with Quinn—but she was pretty sure he wouldn’t be allowed at the ritual.
Thank God, I get three tries.
As she was stuffing it back into her bag, one of the hands carved into the stone flexed. She blinked, sure she’d imagined it. But when she looked again, both hands were moving, stretching the surface of the stone.
Eden dropped it and checked around the room. The professor lectured, and students took notes. Nothing was amiss, except when she looked back at the relic, it had grown larger, and a muffled moan escaped from its mouth.
Eden watched, terrified, as the arms grew larger—clawing at the covering that blocked its mouth. With a horrifying shriek, the thing broke free, its gaping maw growing larger and larger, hovering in front of her.
She leapt backward, trying to escape its pull. Students screamed and ran for the exit as papers flew into the air and laptops rattled.
Rows of seats ripped from their bolting and were sucked into the swirling, gaping hole.
She clung to a railing, desperate not to be dragged into the abyss.
Fingertip by fingertip she lost her grip until she was being pulled into darkness.
“Hey, you in there?”
Eden woke with a start, eyes darting wildly. A fellow student stood over her, his hand on her shoulder.
“You OK?”
“Huh? Yeah.” Her heart still pounded as she wiped away a spot of drool. “Intense dream.”
The room was empty of students, but everything else was as it had been.
Eden’s gaze shifted to her bag, at the artifact that remained unchanged.
Sarah loved being with Kai, but she was definitely a distraction. She had an exam tomorrow and needed to get at least a B, so she decided to stop by The Grind for a caffeine-fueled cram session.
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