While Heather and Claudia discussed the men of the Marvel cinematic universe, I led us into the shifter wing on a very particular mission. “I’m just going to make a little pit stop.”
When I got into the shifter wing, I paused in the hallway. Marcy would’ve been an ideal candidate, but I wasn’t sure which class she was in and I didn’t want to disturb all of them just to find her. So, instead, I went straight for Pat McCallis’s room. He was nice, but more importantly, we’d already met. And I’d helped him with his class. I’d just go inside and ask for a few volunteers and take whoever stepped up.
With that in mind, I pulled the door open and stepped inside.
Everyone froze and turned to me.
But I kept my eyes on McCallis. “Hello again.”
He grinned and strolled over to me, looking every bit the wild jungle cat with his prowl. “Miss Emersyn, pleasure to see you again. What can I help you with?”
“Actually, I’m looking for a few volunteers to help me out for the Yule Ball this weekend.” Then I turned to the class and my breath left me in a rush.
Chris – Christian – sat at the front of the classroom. He wore only jeans and a white t-shirt, his standard outfit of choice since we were kids. In truth, he looked the same way he always did…right down to the way he seemed to drink me in with thirsty eyes.
But that was his problem, not mine. I’d made it clear that I was with Deacon now.
Permanently.
He grinned and raised his hand. “I’d love to help. I was on student council back in my human school, so I’ve planned a few dances before.”
I forced a smile and nodded. “Excellent, thank you, Christian.”
“Me too,” a girl said from the back as she pushed her way up to the front. When she got up near Chris, I realized it was Marcy. The very shifter I’d wanted to find. She gave me two thumbs-up. “I’d love to.”
“Awesome. Come with me then.” I stepped to the side and gestured for them to head out into the hall. I waited until they were through the door, then turned to McCallis. “Thanks, and sorry for the interruption.”
“Not a problem at all, Miss Emersyn.” He smiled and waved. “Good luck!”
I waved back, then slipped out into the hall with the others. All four of them looked to me expectantly and it made my pulse skyrocket. Which was silly. Chris and Marcy were just regular teenage students. Nothing to be nervous about. Heather and Claudia were alpha women who’d already handled the hardest parts of this task. All we had left were the fun parts. It can’t be that bad, right? Right.
I cleared my throat and gestured toward the stairs. “Let’s go plan a ball, shall we?”
Chapter Sixteen
Deacon
Turned out we had nothing to worry about.
Which I knew was the case.
There was a reason I’d brought in Cheryl in the first place. The girl was headed to MIT herself on a scholarship program from Edenburg. I knew she would make sure our students were helped in every way possible. Plus my mother was damn good at her job.
Parenting at the same time? Not so much.
But running a city? Definitely.
Although, thanks to Emersyn’s arrival, mom had done a one-eighty on the invisible parent thing. Like I needed more reasons to love my soulmate. Speaking of, where is she? I slipped out of the room where my father, Marshall, and Cheryl were going over some last details and walked down the hall on a mission to find her.
Emersyn was extremely worried about Tennessee’s arrival tomorrow. This was no little task. This school had been her idea to begin with and then Tenn put her in charge of it. I wasn’t delusional enough to think I carried equal weight here and I was okay with that. I didn’t need to be top dog, I just wanted to help. I loved being a part of something this special. Emersyn, on the other hand, felt immense pressure to succeed.
Or at least to not fail epically.
Which was why I wanted to let her know how well this check through had gone.
I walked through the empty hallways, passed closed classroom doors and the hushed sounds of voices through the walls. As the Devil Card, I was able feel people’s desires, and what I felt inside this school was breathtaking. The excitement and eagerness to learn was incredible. I closed my eyes and soaked in the energy around me as I strolled through.
My father told me I’d find her in the ballroom where the Ball would be held at the backside of the main building, so I pushed through the double doors and hurried down the grand staircase. Halfway down the stairs my chest exploded with heat.
Emersyn.
I grinned and turned the corner — then slid to a stop.
She stood about twenty feet away, right in the middle of the grand glass double doors that led to the ballroom.
With Christian. Her ex.
Directly under a mistletoe.
My stomach tightened. Easy, Devil boy. Don’t get carried away. She’s yours and you know it. Deep breath. She looked so adorable today, too. It was freezing cold outside, a whopping four degrees, so she’d ditched the high fashion nonsense and gone for warmth in knee-high Ugg boots, black fleece leggings, and an oversized gray sweater that fell to mid-thigh. The little black beanie was a cute touch.
Chris was saying something to her, but I couldn’t hear his words over his longing for her. I’d felt it the moment he first saw her yesterday. Whatever happened between them back in North Carolina, he wasn’t over it. Not that I blamed him, she was amazing, but I knew from talking to her that she hadn’t had feelings for him – at least not the way he did.
She smiled and rubbed her chest. Then she gasped and stood up straight. Her golden gaze scanned the hall until it spotted me at the bottom of the stairs. Her face split into a wide grin that took my breath away. Her whole face lit up and her eyes sparkled like Christmas lights.
Relief washed through me, followed by annoyance. It bothered me that her reaction had such a strong effect. Like I doubted her feelings for me. Really it was just paranoia and human nature. Jealousy was a bitch.
I plastered a smile on my face and shoved my hands into my jean pockets, then strolled over to them. She reached out and dragged my mouth down to hers. Our lips crashed together, and I let myself melt into her kiss. I felt Christian’s desire change from lust and longing to disgust and the intense need to flee.
Just as my chest grew tight from lack of oxygen, she pulled away.
“Well, hello to you, too,” I said, though my voice was super rough and scratchy.
She chuckled deep in her throat. “Hi.”
Christian cleared his throat.
Emersyn’s cheeks turned bright red. She grimaced and turned to him. “Oops, sorry. Um, why don’t you go back inside and see if Landy is okay?”
He glanced to me then nodded. “Okay. See ya later.” Then he turned and slipped back through the doors.
Emersyn sighed and I felt relief wash through her.
I frowned and tapped under her chin. “Hey, you okay?”
Her brows scrunched down low over her eyes but then she nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. It’s just weird for us both right now. Like I’ve known him practically my whole life…and yet, neither of us were simply human. It’s weird.”
“Understandable.” I tucked a loose golden strand of hair behind her ear. “But is that it? I mean, I know where your heart lies but what about his?”
Her face fell. “You do?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Of course I do, Butterberry. Even without that purple crystal on our chests or my gifts, I know where we stand. I’m not worried you’ll stray.”
She sighed so hard she wobbled and crashed into my chest. Then she groaned. “I hate that you felt the need to even say that. It means I’m messing this up and —”
“Hey.” I pushed her upright, then slid my shirt sleeve up to my elbow to reveal the black swirling vine-like lines that now went all the way to my wrist. “This is proof that we are only getting stronger. If we were messing up, our glyph wouldn
’t still be growing.”
“That’s true.” She smiled and held her right hand up, showing off the matching vines on her forearm. “Grow, baby, grow.”
I chuckled. “Now back to Chris…”
Her smile turned wicked and she arched one eyebrow at me. “You’re worried about him?”
“No…but yes, though not the way you think.” I shrugged and glanced over her shoulder to where Chris stood on the other side of the glass doors – watching us. “I can feel his desires, Em. Whether I want to or not.”
She frowned. “That’s partially my fault, if not entirely.”
“How do you figure?”
“It’s like that Britney Spears song, Oops I did it Again.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “WHAT?”
“I got carried away, lost my senses—”
“And you’re just not that innocent?”
“Exactly!” She threw her hands up. “I thought I was happy. I thought I was getting what I wanted and then I realized far too late I wanted none of it. His heart may have been a casualty.”
“Yeah, there’s Tegan’s twin.” I shook my head and laughed.
She covered her mouth with her hand and snorted.
I opened my mouth to speak when my phone blared an alarm from my pocket. I cursed and dove for it. I knew whose ringtone that was.
Tennessee.
“Oh, God…” Emersyn stared at my phone like it was a morpher demon. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
I nodded and opened up his text. “Let’s see…”
Hey, D. Just realized I didn’t actually ask before, and that’s rude. Can Tegan and I stay at your place?
I frowned and typed my response. Of course you can, you never have to ask. Open door, boss.
Those three bubbles popped up immediately. Thanks, D. See you then.
And then it really hit me. Tennessee was coming to New York…and staying in my apartment. Tomorrow.
No big deal. No pressure at all. It was going to be fine.
Emersyn groaned and let out a strange sound effect…then turned and stormed off down the hall. Thick white smoke trailed behind her and the tips of her hair sparkled with glowing embers.
“Em?” I shoved my phone back in my pocket as she continued to run away. “Emersyn!”
She was halfway down the hall, shaking her arms out beside her. “SO many things to do!”
“EMERSYN! Where are you going?” I sighed. “Come back!”
She didn’t. She just kept mumbling in a panic and raced out the doors at the other end of the hall. I wasn’t even sure where it led, but I wasn’t going to chase her down. She was freaking out, so I needed to not add to her anxiety.
In fact, I needed to try and calm her down, otherwise she was going to give herself a heart attack. It was self-imposed pressure but that wouldn’t matter. Pressure was pressure and it was crippling. It was my job as her soulmate to make sure she didn’t crack.
I summoned my magic to my hand, then pushed it out while thinking of one specific person.
Thirty seconds later that exact person came walking out the doors to the ballroom with her red hair piled on top of her head. Caroline frowned and glanced around before turning to me. “Did you do that again?”
“I did.”
She shivered. “That’s hella creepy, ya know.”
That made me chuckle. “I’m okay with that.”
She rolled her emerald eyes. “So, what’s up?”
“I need your help.” I rubbed my palms together and nodded down the hallway. “Emersyn is freaking out over Tennessee’s arrival tomorrow, so I’d like to distract her tonight—”
“I think you know how to do that—”
“Caroline,” I said through clenched teeth. “We’re not there yet, not that it’s any of your business. Regardless, that’s not what I had in mind.”
She chuckled and started typing on her phone. “All right, don’t get your tinsel tangled. You wanna take her back to that line dancing bar, right? Let’s do it. I’ll get us set up.”
Chapter Seventeen
Deacon
“Thanks, Stedman!” Emersyn leaned forward and kissed my butler on the cheek, then jumped out of the car.
I pursed my lips and nodded. “I think she’s excited.”
Stedman chuckled. “It’s cute. You two have fun. Call me when you’re ready to come home and I’ll be back.”
“Thanks, Steds.” I squeezed his shoulder, then slid out of the back seat and hopped onto the sidewalk next to Emersyn. “Look at you rushing into the tundra.”
She jumped up and down while hugging her long faux fur coat to her body. Her crystal covered cowgirl boots glistened amidst all of Manhattan’s lights. “Don’t get used to it, let’s go!”
Without another word, she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the front door. The security guard at the entrance nodded and let us in without waiting in line. His name was Derrick, and we were old friends from different bars around town. Normally, I liked to stop and chat with him, but Emersyn’s ninja grip and furious determination had me crossing over the threshold without pause.
I pointed to her and frowned. “Sorry!”
He laughed and shook his head.
The second we were inside, my senses went into overdrive. The sound of a steel guitar and stomping boots thundered in my ears. The bar was dimly lit, with only the neon signs to brighten the way. Like every other New York bar, there were so many people crammed into the small space that it turned the place into a sauna. We stepped to the side, next to the dance floor.
“Here, give me your coat at least.” I tugged on her hand, pulling her to a stop.
She grimaced, “Okay. I’m still cold, but okay.” She quickly unbuttoned her white faux fur coat then slid it off.
I threw it over my shoulder. “Warm enough?”
“Nope.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Mistakes were made.”
That was when I noticed what she was wearing. Despite the single digit temperature, my soulmate wore dark blue jeans with so many rips and holes in the material she had more skin uncovered than covered. The sleeveless shirt wasn’t helping,
“Why did you wear that? You have to be cold.”
Emersyn shook her head and her teeth rattled together. “Back h-home…we’d j-just run inside and be warm enough. B-b-but I m-m-may have underestimated this c-c-cold.”
I chuckled and pulled her into my chest, then rubbed my hands up and down her back. Her shirt was far too thin for this weather. I sighed. “Oh, my little Southern girl.”
“Why are you two standing here?”
“Emersyn is cold,” I responded to Caroline before I turned us around to face her. “We stopped to warm her up.”
“Girl, we’ve got to train you for winter fashion.” Caroline chuckled and flipped her red hair over her bare shoulder. “Now, c’mon, I got us a VIP table.”
I spun Emersyn around and wrapped my arm around her waist. Her body was cold under her thin layers of clothing, so I squeezed her tight against me. We pushed our way through the crowd, following Caroline to the back of the bar to where the line of circular booths of the VIP section were beckoning us.
“Heeeeeeeeey!” Noah jumped up from the booth and threw his arms out wide. “My favorite country girl is finally here!”
Emersyn chuckled and waved. “Hiiiii.”
“Okay, so Em, we have a gift for you.” Noah wagged his eyebrows and pointed to Caroline. “You ready, boo thang?”
Caroline sighed. “Why do I like when you call me that?”
Noah bent over and picked up two brown paper bags. He held one out for Caroline. She took it, and then they both turned their backs to us. It was dark in the bar, so it was difficult to see what they were doing…and then they spun around.
My jaw dropped.
Emersyn gasped.
They both had on bright light blue wigs and fuzzy green dino slippers.
“Oh. My. God,” Emersyn shouted.
<
br /> Caroline smiled sweetly and ran her fingers through her blue wig. “We know we can’t take back what we did last time, but we were hoping this would help show how sorry we are.”
Noah pointed to their feet. “And we didn’t use magic so that we can’t take it off so easily.”
Emersyn threw her head back and laughed.
“Sooo…is there a story here?” A familiar voice said behind me.
I shook my head and glanced over my shoulder to Christian. “Long story. But it’s amazing.”
Emersyn was still laughing. “Last time I was here—” She gasped and her eyes widened.
“OH SHIT!” Christian bounced on his toes.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Emersyn spun around to face the dance floor. “Fireman.”
“This was our dance.” Christian turned to Emersyn with wide eyes. Then he held his hand out in front of her. “Remember it?”
Emersyn squealed and took his hand and then he was dragging her out onto the dance floor. The second their boots hit the glossy hardwood dance floor, Christian spun Emersyn into tight circles. Her long blonde hair went flying like a cape in the air. She twirled like a figure skater in the Olympics, then jumped right out into a sequence of intricate dance steps.
“What’s happening right now?” Noah asked with a chuckle.
“They’re dancing.” I smiled and watched her grin spread wider with every beat of the song. “They clearly know the dance to this one.”
“Yeah, this was our dance were his exact words – if I recall correctly.” Caroline slid in beside me and nodded toward Emersyn and Christian. “You okay with this?’
“Okay, this still doesn’t help me.” Noah held his phone out in front of us. “According to Shazaam, it’s a song called Fireman by a guy named George Strait.”
“It doesn’t matter what the song is.”
Caroline eyed me like I’d grown an extra head. “You are cool with this.”
The Uptown Witch Page 10