up with him again? Oh yeah, he tried to
massage Diane’s tonsils with his
tongue.
Garren opened the door and
jumped back, almost knocking Kyle
over.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kyle
asked before following Garren’s glare to
the small animal sauntering into the
room. “What the hell is that?”
“That,” Garren said, “Is Ivy’s pet
dragon.” A smirk played across his face
as he continued. “He’s real nice,
especially when you scratch him behind
his ears. Go ahead.”
“No!” The others shouted as
Kyle reached his hand out to pet Sparky.
He yanked it back, narrowly missing the
sparks hissed from the dragon’s mouth.
Ivy patted a spot next to her on
the bed. “Come here, boy.”
Sparky glared at the guys as he
strutted past, growling at them. He
hopped on the bed, nudged her arm and
curled up next to her side. She gently
stroked his head until he closed his eyes
and drifted off to sleep. A smile tugged
at her lips as she gazed down on the
sleeping dragon. The amount of trust he
had for her warmed her heart.
The guys left, leaving her alone
with Athena. She eyed Ivy for a moment
before sitting at the foot of her bed. “I
thought you said you weren’t interested
in him.”
“Who, Kyle? I told you he
cheated on me. I’m not going—“
“No, not him. Garren. You’ve
been all over him since you got shot.”
She stared at the woman. Was
she serious? “What are you talking
about? I’ve been unconscious for…
What time is it?” She glanced around
until she spotted the alarm clock across
the room. Glowing red numbers told her
the time was eleven AM. “I was out for
ten hours. Wait, is that right? It feels like
it should be later than that.” Maybe one
of the potions Thane gave her put her in
a really deep sleep for a while.
“No, it’s right. Except it’s
Saturday. You’ve been out of it for
thirty-four hours.” While Ivy tried to
reconcile the missing hours in her head,
Athena continued. “And whenever
Garren wasn’t right next to you, you’d
whimper and throw a magical temper
tantrum. Talk about clingy.”
None of that sounded familiar.
She noticed her anxiety increased when
he left, but whimpering? She didn’t
whimper, especially over a guy.
“While I can’t explain what I did
while I was unconscious, you don’t see
him here now, do you? No. Garren’s the
last person I’d want taking care of me
and I’m sure he feels the same. So, don’t
worry. I’m not planning on stealing him
from you.”
Athena threw back her head and
laughed. She gathered some clean
clothes from her suitcase before heading
to the bathroom. “I’m not worried about
you stealing him from me. I simply don’t
want to see you get your heart broken.”
She gave Ivy a sympathetic smile before
closing the door behind her.
“O-kay,” Ivy drawled, eyes still
on the bathroom door. The shower
turned on a minute later. Curling up on
her side to get comfortable, she thought
back to the peculiar conversation she
just had.
That was… unnecessary. As if
she’d ever give Garren the chance to
break her heart. The upcoming full moon
must be messing with her brain. That had
to be it.
Anxiety pooled in her belly at the
thought of having another nightmare and
trashing the room like spoiled rock star.
But as she lay there, her eyelids grew
too heavy to keep open and she fell back
to sleep.
Images of the night at the club
flashed through her dreams, only this
time her friends laid on the ground
bleeding. Dougie, and many of the other
Eradicators she fought with over the
years, stood over their bodies, laughing.
Her heart pounded in fear watching them
circle around her, stalking closer and
closer. “You’re next, Weed.”
“Ivy, wake up.”
She awoke to an eyeful of
Garren’s face inches from her own. She
jerked away and sat up, the conversation
with Athena fresh in her mind. The
others stood around the room holding
their belongings.
“Are we leaving already?” Her
gaze wondered around the room.
“Where’s Sparky?”
“I wish we were leaving,”
Athena mumbled as she dropped an
armload of clothes into an open pack.
“Your dragon’s outside. At least it’s
smart enough to leave when your
nightmares start.”
“Why is she wearing my shirt?”
Garren asked Athena while pointing at
Ivy.
Confused, she glanced down at
her top; a Salmugundi High t-shirt she
didn’t own. Am I sleepwalking now?
“When I came out of the shower
she was asleep and everything was
flying around the room again. I couldn’t
wake her up. And since you weren’t
here, I thought maybe if she thought you
were, she’d settle back down. You
know, by smelling your scent on your
clothes. It kinda worked.”
Nothing made sense. She turned
to Kyle for an explanation as he pulled
up the chair next to the bed.
“All the stuff hovered a couple
feet in the air, but not flying around.”
Kyle scowled at the shirt she wore and
at Garren now sitting next to her.
She wanted to reassure him he
had nothing to worry about between her
and Garren, but she also didn’t want to
encourage him. Even if he got over the
whole ‘being a witch’ thing, they would
only ever be friends. Once a cheater,
always a cheater.
Thankfully, Athena put the shirt
on over her pajama top, so she slipped it
off and then handed it back to Garren.
He held up his hand and sneered.
“You keep it.”
What a jerk. “What are you,
eight? I don’t have cooties. Take your
shirt, I don’t want it.” She balled up the
shirt and then threw it at him as hard as
she could, wishing Athena had put his
boots on her instead.
“At least your arm seems to be
healed,” Thane said. He unpacked the
items they bought and set them on the
table he used to brew his potions.
She had forgotten about her
injuries. There was only a faint scar on
her shoulder where the bullet went
through. At that moment, her empty
stomach made itself known.
“Don’t worry,” Kyle chuckled.
“We brought you a sandwich.”
About an hour later, Thane
handed her a glass. “Strengthening
potion,” he said, watching her examine
the blue liquid against the light. “You’ll
need your energy for tonight.”
Dread dropped in her stomach as
she halted the glass before it reached her
mouth.
“Tonight?”
She’d
almost
forgotten about that. They know where
the prince is now, thanks to that vampire
from the club. Speaking of which, “What
happened to Zoo?”
Thane shrugged. “He helped get
you back here and then took off after we
stopped the bleeding.”
“Who cares where he is. He can
take care of himself. And, yes, it’s
tonight,” Garren said. “We’re here for a
reason, remember? Not to hook up with
your ex.” He stomped across the small
room to the bathroom and slammed the
door shut behind him.
Her cheeks burned as she drank
the potion, pointedly ignoring Kyle’s
curious glance.
“What’s he talking about?”
She wiped her mouth with the
back of her hand and shrugged. “He’s
got it in his head that you and I—”
“Not that,” Kyle said.
Damn.
“Why did you guys come to
Sac?”
She groaned inward, knowing
Kyle wasn’t going to drop the topic until
he had the answer. She met Thane’s gaze
and he nodded. Athena shook her head
when she looked to her next. Since
Garren was acting like a baby hiding out
in the bathroom, he didn’t get a vote.
She drew in a deep breath before
starting. “Do you remember hearing
stories about a magical town that
couldn’t be found?”
Chapter 18
“You’re not serious, are you?
The dude’s dead.” After the story Ivy
told him about Prince Sebastian and
fixing the town wards, that’s what Kyle
focused on?
“Technically, he’s cursed,” she
said . Great, now I’m starting to sound
like Thane.
“It’s still gross.” His face
twisted in disgust.
His reaction made her cringe on
the inside. The more she thought about
Prince Sebastian’s eyes and how she
wanted his penetrating gaze focused on
her, the idea of kissing him was almost
bearable. Almost. “I’m sure it won’t be
that bad.” Her fingers found their way to
her mouth as she absentmindedly
chewed on her nails. Time flew by too
fast. The quicker sunset rolled around,
the more her stomach protested. She’d
been nauseous all day.
“Where are you supposed to
meet this vampire?” Kyle asked.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Athena said
as she tossed her magazine aside. “He
already knows too much. You tell him
any more and we’ll be fighting off his
friends again.” She rose from her seat
and moved to stand in front of the
Eradicator, her hands planted firmly on
her hips.
Kyle stood and loomed over the
petite werewolf, though she refused to
back down. “I already told you I would
never do anything to hurt Ivy. I never
would’ve brought Dougie along if I
thought he’d actually shoot her.”
Ivy eased up and immediately
placed herself between them. Their
shouting match would bring unwanted
attention from neighboring rooms if they
didn’t calm down.
She addressed Athena first.
“Kyle knows this town better than any of
us.”
“You used to live here. We don’t
need him.”
“A lot can change in a year. And
you,” she said to Kyle. “She’s only
being careful.”
The bathroom door swung open
and Garren stepped out. “Ivy’s right,” he
said as he strolled over the group.
She tensed, waiting for the punch
line.
“I don’t totally trust the vampire.
I want more information about where
we’re going before we get there. And
although I question the Eradicator’s taste
in fashion, career choice and women, I
believe he wouldn’t do anything that
would hurt Ivy. So, go ahead and tell
him where we’re going.”
I think I was just insulted. She
waited until everyone backed away and
found a seat before telling Kyle where
Zoo said the prince lay hidden. Garren
and Athena sprawled out on the other
bed. Thane sat at the table across the
room and Kyle claimed the chair next to
the bed she sat on.
“Hm,” Kyle said, his brow
furrowed. “That’s not good. The number
of Eradicators patrolling Old Sac has
doubled since you left. Then there’s the
problem of someone recognizing you
even with the new hair color. You still
look like you, you know?”
No, I don’t know. She grabbed
his black wool cap sitting on the night
stand and tucked her hair underneath. A
couple rebel curls peeked out to frame
her face. “How about this? I’ll keep my
head down so that they can’t see my
face.”
“I can still sense you,” Kyle
Her hand automatically went to
her chest, but the sapphire wasn’t there.
“Not a problem. I’ll wear my dampening
stone. That’ll give us an hour.” She rose
from the bed, intending on getting the
sapphire when Athena did the same.
Because Athena was closer to the bag
the stone was stored in, she plopped
back down with a bounce.
“Catch,” Athena said at the same
time she tossed the gem across the room.
Garren jumped up and snagged
the necklace out of the air. “You’re not
using this.”
“Excuse
me?” Who does he
think he is? “Were you not listening?”
Garren spun the chain around his
finger with a wicked smile on his face.
She wanted to grab it from him before he
accidently flung the stone across the
room and shattered it against the wall.
Then what would they do?
“You’re not the only person who
can power this thing. Thane will wear
it.” He strolled over and handed the
sapphire to Thane who eagerly put it on.
She clenched her jaw to keep
from lashing out at them. Anyone with
magic could activate the stone, so
arguing that she needed to wear it was
pointless. They didn’t care if she felt
safer with it on.
“You need to save your magic to
break the curse,” Garren said.
“I know that,” she snapped. She
drew in a deep breath, hoping to get her
irritation back under control. Needing
her magic to break the curse hadn’t
really occurred to her. Wasn’t she just
supposed to kiss the guy?
“You looked like you were on
the verge of an epic tantrum.” Enjoyment
laced his words.
With a flick of her finger, she
sent the empty glass on the nightstand
flying towards his head. This magic
thing was getting a lot easier for her. He
instinctively blocked the glass with a
shield, sending it bouncing on the carpet
and under the bed.
All amusement drained away
from his face. “Damn it, Ivy. Will you
stop throwing crap at me?” His glare
shifted to Kyle. “What are you laughing
at?”
With a grin, Kyle pulled up his
sleeve and pointed to a long, jagged scar
on the inside of his left forearm. “Roller
blade. She was in a mood and I called
her a faery princess.” He covered his
arm again and let the smile fall. “I don’t
recommend it.”
She cleared her throat and stood.
“Well, I’m going to jump in the shower.”
Grabbing the first clothes she touched
from her pack, she dashed for the
bathroom. Once under the hot spray of
the shower, she tried to relax and let all
the nervousness wash away with the
water down the drain. She stretched her
muscles and rotated joints, testing her
body to ensure she was healthy again.
Thane was a Rock Star potioneer. Never
had she felt so good. Even her bruised
hip returned to its normal color.
But every time she closed her
eyes, Prince Sebastian’s face popped up
in her mind, his lips puckered for a kiss.
She doubled over, her stomach twisting
with nerves. He’s only taking a nap. A
really, really long nap.
Pushing every uncomfortable
thought about cursed princes aside, she
finished her shower and dressed.
When she emerged from the
bathroom, Garren stood in her way.
“What are you wearing?”
She glanced down at her black
jeans and green v-neck shirt. “Clothes. I
thought going naked would attract too
much attention.” She brushed past him
and dug through her pack to find her
shoes.
“True,” he said. “We don’t want
to scare people.” He paused to smile at
her glare. “But isn’t the idea to throw the
Eradicators off our trail by looking
different than you normally do? Maybe