“We can’t tell these people to leave.” Melissa shoots daggers at me as if she’s ready and willing to take me on.
“Oh yes you can. Do it or I will.”
“Chloe was right,” Mia barks. “You Celestra think you’re the boss of everyone.”
The girls stalk off toward the house just as Chloe approaches.
“Where’s Gage?” Chloe chirps as she glances behind my shoulder. “Or is he not in rotation tonight?”
Holden chuckles as if Chloe actually said something funny.
“None of your business.”
“Oh, Skyla.” She mocks me with her faux disappointment. “Did you leave Gage all alone on a Saturday night?” She clicks her tongue. “I, on the other hand, would never bore him to tears—for sure I wouldn’t abandon him. This is precisely why you don’t deserve him.”
My stomach cinches at the thought of Gage spending a Saturday night all by his lonesome.
“No, you’d just mutilate him for the hell of it,” I snipe, and this time it’s Brielle who giggles. I poke a finger into Chloe’s chest. “What the hell are you doing out here with my sisters?”
The dark navy sky peers through the fog as though observing our argument from afar.
“What your sisters and I do is none of your business.” Chloe glows like a hot poker, proud of her ability to highjack the rest of my family. “They like me. We get along just perfectly.” She wraps an arm around Holden. “If I were you, I’d tell Celestra they’d better watch their back.” She and Holden head toward the side gate. “Oh wait”—she turns around—“that’s right, there aren’t enough of you to matter.” She starts in on a cackle that rises in the sky like smoke.
“My sisters think I’m the enemy.” I shake my head at the thought. This is the final frontier. Chloe is hell-bent on setting herself as a stumbling block between my family and me.
I speed into the house with Brielle hot on my heels, and find Mia in a lip lock with a dark-haired boy. He has his hands firmly planted over the back of her jeans, and he’s got the audacity to moan in my presence.
“No, no, no!” I swat him away until he staggers down the hall.
“Call me!” Mia shouts with a dreamy look on her face.
“Everybody out!” I switch the lights on and off until a stream of bodies make their way to the door. “The party’s over! Brielle”—I shout to her—“would you mind turning off the music and evicting the guests?”
“Not at all.” She sticks her fingers in her mouth and lets out a high-pitched whistle before cutting out the tunes.
“You’re seriously no fun,” Mia quips. “You know that, right?”
“I’m plenty of fun.” And I’m going to prove it to Gage as soon as I knock some sense into my sweet baby sis. “Listen up because I’m only going to say this once. The Counts are not people you want to mess with. There was a war—people died. This is some serious shit, Mia. If you get mixed up in all this crap it could cost this family everything.”
“Wow, the Counts are really powerful, aren’t they?” You can practically see the stars spray out around her as she loses herself in a daze. “I think it’s so cool we have enemies and everything. I’ve got all these great ideas for our next get together.”
“No! No next get together. Forget this whole Count unity thing. Dad would not approve.”
Her features sharpen into mine, and it’s like looking in a mirror. “In case you haven’t noticed, Dad is dead.”
My heart lurches when she says it. I don’t remember Mia being so cold and cruel.
“How can you say that? You just saw him at Mr. Dudley’s party. He’s very much alive.” Sort of.
“We need to work on your definition of life, Skyla. It was just a visit.” She wrinkles her nose as if holding back tears. “Look, I’m proud to be a Count. And I will organize meetings if I want to because tonight Chloe and Pierce nominated Melissa and me as the leaders of the Sophomore Senate. We run the twelve to fifteen age bracket and will continue to do so until we’re reelected next September.” She perks with pride. “So, kiss off, Skyla. I’m not your little bitch.” She stalks her way upstairs.
“How’d it go?” Brielle asks cautiously, mostly because she just stood there and witnessed the entire exchange.
“It went.” To hell, just like our relationship is about to.
God, I hate Chloe.
And Holden Kragger, too.
***
Brielle asked if she could spend the night, so, of course, I said yes. Apparently Demetri the demonic dater is next door getting busy with her mother, and she doesn’t want any part of that unholy congregation. Brielle agreed to hold down the fort while I slip out for a while. Chloe was right. I am a lousy faux girlfriend to Gage.
I drive through the mist as a smooth velvet sky hovers above, black as those erotic paintings of Marshall and me. From the looks of things, the entire Soullennium is made of sexually charged supernatural beings.
My heart sinks as I spot the Harrison house. Ellis’s giant monster truck is missing, most likely because it’s still parked in the lot next to Marshall’s. I glance over at the Oliver house and note both Gage and Logan’s trucks are gone as well. I wonder where Logan went? And where the heck is Gage?
My stomach swills with bitter acid. Of course, they’re gone. Probably having a good time somewhere with girls who know how to appreciate them—how to devote all of their attention to just one person.
I send a quick text out to Gage. Hey you! So what are you up to? ~S
I try to make it sound all cute and carefree when in reality I’m about to blow like a pressure cooker from sheer jealousy of this nonexistent girl occupying his time. At least she’d better be nonexistent for her sake. God, that’s how insane Gage must feel, and Logan, and perhaps even Marshall. I’m starting to feel like a lousy person all around.
A giant thump crashes over the hood of the Mustang, and I let out a tiny scream.
Large ebony plumes fan out as Nevermore spreads his wings across the span of the windshield.
I roll down my window in haste, and he hops over to the ledge.
“Nev! You gave me a freaking heart attack. And by the way, you pull that crap while I’m driving, and I’ll launch both of us into paradise a little sooner than expected.” Well, maybe not Nev. He’s due to cease existing once his time caged in the body of a raven is through, no thanks to the generosity of my mother. And me, well, I’ll probably be a vegetable somewhere until I’m sixty.
I lay my hand over his back to hear what asinine excuse he might have for nearly taking me out.
Well done, my friend. The war ended better than expected. He shudders when he says it and appropriately so.
“Not really. I got all the way to the sword of the Master, and my mother said hands off. Well she let me touch it. She’s a tease in the cruelest sense. Anyway, they’re tallying up the points. Knowing her we’ll have to go ten more rounds before she declares Celestra the losers.”
A bolt of lightning touches down in the woods just beyond the border of the Oliver house.
I’d watch your tongue, young lady. Perhaps try and get on her good side. There’s more riding on this than you’ll ever know. I’ve something to tell you.
“Well, could you tell me later? I’m sort of in a hurry to find Gage. Hey! Would you mind taking me to him? He doesn’t seem to be responding to my text.”
Follow me. He pushes off the Mustang, and the entire car moves in a smooth wave. Nev is huge for a bird, even for a raven.
I drive down long stretches of lonely Paragon highway, away from the noise and bustle of the downtown district, away from the humble side streets where most of the homes are situated. Instead, I follow Nev toward the beach and instinctively know where we’re headed.
The sign to Rockaway greets me as I pull into the lot. Gage’s black truck sits in the dark like a shadow against the glittering backdrop of the ocean. The moon sprays its beams down over the skin of the water, and it lights up like a smooth sheet
of glass refracting the light.
I pluck my shoes off and make a mad dash onto the ebony-colored sand. God, what if he’s here with some girl? What if Gage has replaced me in the truest sense, and tells me to get lost as soon as he sees me. I suppose on some level I deserve it. Who the hell do I think I am stringing three men along as if I were some golden princess?
The soot-stained shoreline stretches for what seems like miles in both directions as I follow a set of deep-welled footprints over to our little love shack built for two. A new thatched roof has replaced the old one, and I spot a familiar glint of gorgeous dark hair. I sneak in low, rounding out the side until I fall on my knees and poke my head in.
“Boo!” I shout, and Gage rises onto his elbows. His bloodshot eyes startle me. “Oh God,” I whisper.
‘Skyla?” Gage gives an all-encompassing grin and pulls me in until I’m snuggled right next to him, safe in his arms.
It’s obvious he’s upset, but I’m terrified to acknowledge this, afraid I’ll make an already bad situation worse.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. The least I can do is apologize.
“Don’t be.” He presses a soft kiss against my cheek, and I melt as soon as he sears me with his lips. “What are you doing here?”
I’m pretty sure that’s code for what happened with Logan.
“I miss you, Gage Oliver.” I wrap an arm around him and press my face into his T-shirt, inhaling that familiar spiced scent. “God, I really miss you.”
I’m ready to lose it. I’m ready to surrender myself to Gage because I can’t stand another moment of this bizarre self-imposed breakup. Logan begs to surface in my mind, but I hold him down a little bit longer just enough to satisfy my cravings for his gorgeous nephew.
“Skyla,” he whispers it hot into my hair. “I’m glad you’re here. Did you meet my great-grandmother?”
Nev plops in the sand just shy of our faces, and I physically push him away.
“Sorry.” Great. Now I’m apologizing for my bird. I don’t think there are enough I’m sorries I could give to Gage. “And, yes, I did meet your great-grandmother.” I lean on my elbow and look up at him as his whole person brims with happiness. “She was very nice. I think.”
“You think?” His left dimple goes off. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. It was strange. She and Logan were having this private conversation for a minute. I kind of felt out of the loop. She said it was important I get the pendant back from Chloe. She also mentioned she once had the hots for Rothello, that Sector that got the war spinning in my direction.”
“Really?” His dark brows swoop in like twin ropes.
Nev bounces back in our line of vision, and I just shake my head at him.
“Excuse our little friend,” I say, glaring at Nev a moment. “He obviously hasn’t heard of this little thing called privacy.”
“Hey”—Gage pulls me in by the waist—“do you think Logan’s been acting strange? I’m not trying to throw him under the bus, but there’s been something off about him this past week.”
“Yes, totally!”
“Like what?” Gage examines me like the answer might be written across my face.
“Just little stuff like asking me to tell him about the war, some of the things he said to his grandmother, and that whole strange episode with him talking to Chloe in private. It’s beyond odd. How about you?”
Nev has the nerve to hop into our tiny hut and onto my back.
“Hey, dude.” Gage gives him a gentle push off my person. “If I’m not getting any action, neither are you,” he teases.
I give a soft laugh. “God, Gage.” I trace out his perfect lips, and my muscles tense up. “Everything in me wants to give you more than a little action,” I whisper. “I guess in that way things were easier before the war.” Before Logan threw his hat into the ring. But I’m respecting that. I have no intention of whoring myself out like some kissing Pez dispenser. I may have dabbled in free love in the past, but I’m all through with that. It’s time to move on, grow up, make a choice—choose somebody.
“The war is over, Skyla.” He strokes the hair from my eyes, and a painful smile curves on his lips.
Nev jumps on my bottom then onto the bare skin of my lower back.
“You are so going to be featherless in less than ten minutes,” I say, landing the naughty bird in the sand.
“I think he wants to say something.” Gage moves back and pats a spot between us. Nev hops over and jerks, opening his wings just enough to smack us both in the face.
“What is it?” I land my hand soft over his back.
Pardon the interruption, but I thought you might like to know my lady love is hiding something from you.
“Ezrina is keeping a secret from me?” I glance up at Gage while stroking Nevermore’s back. “Is it about Ellis?”
I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Needless to say, I found it paramount to share this information. If you would please refrain from clueing my wife in on the fact I’ve spoken with you, it would be much appreciated.
“He says it’s important,” I whisper. “That I shouldn’t tell Ezrina he told me any of this.” I press my lips together as a surge of pain riots through me at the thought of Ellis being dead for good. “I think we should go to the Transfer.” I look to Gage, desperate for him to come with me.
It’ll do you no good. A binding spirit has been erected against you.
“What?” I sit up. “Ezrina put up a binding spirit to keep me out.”
Nev hops in my lap and caresses his head against the palm of my hand.
It was per someone else’s request.
I glance up at Gage with my heart jumping inside my chest.
“Someone wants to keep me out.” I shake my head.
“That means we have to get you in.” Gage takes up my hand and kisses each finger. “Whatever this is, we’ll solve it together.”
I nod, taking him in with his crimson-laced eyes.
I’m feeling ready to end a lot of mysteries—especially the one that lies in my heart.
Gage wraps his arms around me, and I let him hold me like that until morning.
10
The Announcement
A week drifts by with the ever-present haze locking us in, permeating us like a membrane as the seasons shift, and fall descends upon us.
No sign of Ellis, and Marshall is being an ass about the whole thing.
I glare at him from over the top of my lab manual. I’m still not used to him as my chemistry teacher, not that I ever fully accepted him as my “math” teacher. He’s more of an inter-dimensional stalker who has conveniently landed a job as a person of authority just to be near me. Actually, now that I think of it that way, it sort of endears me to him.
“Still no leeway into the Transfer, huh?” Gage whispers while Marshall accidentally sets Michelle’s phone on fire in front of the entire class.
“Oh, heavens,” he gravels with little affect. “I suppose a replacement will be necessary,” he says, extinguishing the blaze with the palm of his hand.
The room lights up with fumes from the melted plastic, and Logan goes over to open the windows.
I twist into Gage. “Logan hasn’t offered to help me get into the Transfer.” It’s weird because he’s usually on board with all of my twisted schemes.
Gage tweaks his brows as he peers beyond my shoulder. “Maybe he’s the one keeping you out.”
“Right.” I scoff at the thought of Logan denying me access to the Transfer—anywhere for that matter. Gage has been trying to build my suspicions for the past several days, citing Logan’s strange behavior like he’s keeping a running list of all his grievances. “His head’s just messed up, no thanks to Chloe.” I spin in my seat to shoot her a dirty look and spot Logan gliding his hand over her bare arm. I turn quickly before either one can see me.
Holy shit. Gage is right. Something is definitely going on with Logan.
Marshall taps his long wooden pointer, otherwise kn
own as his phallic extension, until I snap back to attention.
“Ms. Messenger? Name a substance that can survive a fire.” He gives a placid smile because he knows this is all too easy for me.
“Gold.” It swims from my lips just as Logan resumes his seat by my side.
“Is it simply gold?” He ticks his head as if motioning for me to continue.
“Oh, um…” I sit up. He covered this just a few days ago, but I was too busy thinking up creative ways to off Chloe to pay attention to his non-mesmerizing sermon. “Gold but not mixed with an alloy, so I guess pure gold.” I shoot him a look that says, end this now or die.
“Very good.” He steps around the counter with all of his attention poured over me. “Alloyed gold may look the part”—he looks directly past me at Chloe—“it may believe it has entirely the same purpose, but it’s nothing close to being pure. It’s too hard, bastardized into looking like—acting like something it’s not. It’s often malleable by the very compounds that pervert it. It is nothing like the original—nothing but a second rate imitation at best.” He locks his hostile stare over her, and my blood runs cold. There’s no way in hell I’m turning around.
I slide down on my stool. Usually when Chloe gets her ass handed to her on a fake “alloy” platter, all roads of retribution lead straight to me.
The bell rings, and bodies flood the exit on their way to the next class.
“Ms. Messenger, may I see you a moment?” Marshall tucks his chin. His eyes blaze into mine as if I’ve done something wrong. He’s probably got some pocket porn he wants to share, courtesy of his friends in the hereafter who believe erotica makes excellent wedding gifts.
I give a wry look to Logan and Gage before heading on up.
“Did you like my rather accurate analogy?” He gathers the papers scattered over his desk.
“Brilliant per usual. Have you thought any more about getting me into the Transfer?”
“No can do. The reason I summoned you, is to request your presence at my hearing tomorrow night. It’ll afford you a visit with mommy dearest as an added bonus.”
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