“Is it just the black magick? That’s why you were asking about it, right?”
Cade nodded. “Yeah. It freaks her out. I don’t know if all dark arts freak her out, or if she just doesn’t understand there are degrees of evil. You would never kill someone with magick.”
Mitch shook his head immediately, and then lifted his chin, staring at the ceiling. “Actually — ”
“Shut the fuck up. You wouldn’t do it.”
Mitch laughed. “Got me. Obviously, I don’t have your power. But if I did, I’d draw lines. I think you have to. I mean, not just with magick. With anything in life.”
They sat in silence, staring at the television screen as players moved across the field, tackling and grappling over a football with single-minded determination.
That was how Cade felt about Ever. He had a single-minded determination to make her realize not only was he good, but he was meant for her.
Chapter 17
EVER
“ARE WE STILL fighting?”
Ever sighed at Meagan’s question. She held her cell to her ear with her shoulder and the steering wheel with one hand as she took the highway into town. She was already five minutes late for work and didn’t have time for this.
“Hold on, I’m driving. Let me put you on the speaker.”
She put a knee on the steering wheel and plugged the auxiliary cable into her phone, cursing her nearly useless left hand. The nerve damage was so extensive she couldn’t feel the object she was holding with anything but her thumb and forefinger. A normal girl could just hold the phone in one hand and drive with the other. She didn’t like the way the plastic felt against her hand. She could hold it; she just preferred not to.
“Ok, done. Can you hear me?” Ever asked.
“Yeah.” Meagan’s voice came through the car’s sound speakers.
Meagan had been her best friend since they were little. But that didn’t mean they always saw eye to eye. “It’s not our first fight, and it won’t be our last.”
“Can this one be over yet?” Meagan sounded like a petulant child.
Ever laughed. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
Ever opened her mouth to speak, but Meagan cut her off.
“But don’t tell me to drop the issue of Donovan attacking you. I’m waiting for my moment to punch his face off.”
“Cade’s already done that.”
Silence. “Cade punched Donovan? I mean, over something else, right?”
Ever shook her head, even though Meagan couldn’t see her. “Nope. Over me.”
“Whoa.”
“Cade isn’t a bad guy, Meg. So don’t take Donovan’s ignorance out on the rest of the BlackMags.” Ever paused. “If you definitely want to punch Donovan, I won’t stop you since he’s not a BlackMag anymore. But don’t hurt Cade.”
“You really like him.”
Ever’s heart beat faster. “I really do.”
“I’m not gonna say I’m completely okay with it, just because of the bullshit that’s happened in the last couple years,” Meagan told her. “But if you like him, and you think he’ll make you happy, then I’ll support you.”
Stunned, Ever stared at her phone for longer than was safe while driving. She glanced back at the road. “Are you serious?”
“I trust you, Ev. I always will. If your gut instincts tell you Cade is a good guy, then he must be.”
The only explanation Ever had for Meagan’s soft, understanding tone was the ritual she had done last night. It had worked.
Now if only I could figure out what my instincts are telling me, Ever thought irritably.
They chatted a couple minutes longer about their plans for Sunday — Ever’s eighteenth birthday. Both she and Ollie had to work, but they’d managed to get off early enough to meet Meagan and have some girl time to celebrate.
Ever said a hasty goodbye as she parked the car on the street in front of the café. New Brews was the only coffee shop in Coalhaven, which meant it was usually busy. It was just past ten, the lull between the breakfast and lunch crowds.
Ollie was wiping down tables when Ever came in the glass front door, the bell jingling.
“Sorry I’m late!” she said. She inhaled a deep breath of the unique scent that was New Brews: a little bit of sanitizing fluid, a little bit of warmed, sweet pastries, and a lot of coffee.
Ollie chuckled, folding her rag as she followed Ever behind the counter. “You’re always late. You act like it’s a new thing. At this point, we all expect you to be late.”
Ever tucked her purse under the front counter and reached for her apron. “Has it been busy?”
“We were slammed when we opened, but it slowed down pretty fast. As you can see.” Ollie gestured with her rag to the two people sitting in the café, both holding a coffee cup and a book.
“Go take a break.” Ever waved her away, bending down to peek into the pastry case for holes to fill.
“Cool. Do you want anything?”
Ever shook her head, but an image of Cade flashed through her mind. She did want something; it just wasn’t a something Ollie could buy at the local deli.
Her day passed quickly, as it usually did. Ollie ran the register and Ever made the coffee, while their manager Hester circled the shop and cleaned, chatting with customers as she went.
Around six, Ever was alone behind the counter while the other employees washed dishes and restocked in the back. Ollie was off for the day but was sitting at the bar, chatting with Ever about a TV show they both liked. The bell jingled over the door, indicating they had a customer.
Ever stood up from storing a bin of coffee beans beneath the espresso machine, and came face to face with Cade.
He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his fitted blue jeans, a half-smile dancing as he stopped at the counter. He pushed back the hood of his sweatshirt, unzipped over a Game of Thrones T-shirt. His wavy blond hair fell forward around his face, looking silky-soft.
“What are you doing here?” Ever asked when she finally found her voice.
“I was passing time before our date — ”
“It’s not a date,” Ever rushed to add, her eyes darting to Ollie who was staring dumbfounded from her stool.
Cade smirked. “ — and I couldn’t wait any longer. So I came to see you here.” His blue gaze drifted around him, noting the crumbs on the counter and the dingy brown walls. “At work.”
“Some people have to work for a living,” Ever said, grabbing a rag from the sanitizing bucket and scrubbing furiously at the counter. In a matter of ten seconds, he’d made her gooey and then angry. If that’s what a relationship feels like, then no thank you, she thought.
Cade raised a pale eyebrow. “Are you insinuating something?”
Sighing, Ever shook her head. “No. I like working here. Don’t judge this place just because it’s a little worn down.”
“Hey.” Cade reached across the counter and took her hand, rag and all. Ever noted the rope bracelet around his wrist: black with a metal pentagram attached. “I’m not judging. Maybe you don’t judge me on my parents, either?”
“Deal.” Ever gently slid her hand out from under his. “So did you want a drink?”
He lifted his gaze to the chalkboard menu above her head. “What’s good?”
“Um, I like the caramel mocha.”
“I’ll take it.”
Ever knew Ollie was dying to ask the million questions that had popped into her head the moment Cade had walked in. But Ever rang up his order, made his coffee, and waited till he moved to a table by the window before she let Ollie speak a word.
“What on earth is going on?” Ollie hissed, turning her back to Cade. Her lips barely moved, as if she were afraid he’d read them.
Ever followed suit. “I may have agreed to go to a Halloween party with him tonight.”
Ollie gaped. “The Bourdain family Halloween party? You’re going to that?”
Ever nodded. “Is that bad?”
“Fancy, huh?” Ever pulled out the coffee basket and dumped the used grounds. “I guess it will be fun.”
“You have to call and tell me all about it,” Ollie gushed, almost lying across the bar. “I’m sooo jealous.”
“Do you want me to ask if you can come?” Ever asked, adding a new filter full of fresh ground coffee to the basket and putting it back above the carafe. “I don’t mind. And believe it or not, I don’t think Cade would, either. He’s…” Ever smiled, glancing across the café. Cade was staring down at a magazine, his long blond hair dangling in his eyes. “He’s sweet.”
“Oh. My. Goddess. Ever!” Ollie shook her head. “You’re so into him. Since when did this happen?”
Ever felt the heat in her cheeks and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe since forever. I mean, I’ve always had a crush on him.”
“What girl wouldn’t,” Ollie agreed. “He’s gorgeous. But don’t forget who his coven is, Ever. You’re going to have friction from Meagan and the rest of our group.”
“He came to check on me the day Donovan shoved me and… I don’t know. I think there’s a lot more to him than people think.”
Ollie reached across the counter and waggled her fingers until Ever crossed to put her hands on Ollie’s. Her best friend’s face was inscrutable: a mixture of relief and adoration, maybe, which made no sense at all.
“Sometimes, when everybody is caught up in the crap happening between us and the BlackMags, I think we forget that we are all people.” Ollie shook her head. “We get caught up in judging and bad-mouthing, which goes against our core directive to ‘Harm None.’”
Ever nodded her agreement.
Ollie went on. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past couple days. And thinking about you and how hard you fight for peace. I agree with you. I think we need to be less judgy. We need to remember there are emotions and experiences behind faces. Just because we’re all a little different doesn’t mean we should be bad to one another. And Cade really does seem like a nice guy. I think you hold back from him — and you judge him — because of everyone around you. Us. Your coven.”
Ollie paused, but Ever didn’t speak.
“Don’t let the judgment of others get in the way of this thing between you two. Okay?” Ollie said softly. “I don’t want to go to that party. I don’t even want you to ask. I want you to go to that party and spend the entire evening getting to know Cade. And when he takes you home at the end at the end of the night, you damn well better kiss him.”
Ever laughed as Ollie shook her gently. “Yes, ma’am.”
Cade must have heard their giggles, because he looked up from the magazine and they locked gazes. With the sunlight coming through the window behind him, he looked like some kind of fallen angel: a halo of dark blonde hair around his sharp features, and shadows hiding his eyes.
Ever felt something pass between them, something she’d never felt before — like fire and ice converging in her veins. The connection between them pulled tighter until it was taut and uncomfortable, holding them together by a sharp thread. She shuddered, watching his breath hitch, and his eyes glaze.
Goddess, Ever. I’ve never wanted something so bad.
Gasping, Ever jerked at the sound of Cade’s voice in her head. She hit an empty paper cup and sent it flying, breaking eye contact with him.
Had she just heard his thoughts?
Holy Hades.
Chapter 18
CADE
WHEN EVER’S SHIFT was over, Cade followed her back to her house and waited patiently in the living room while she got ready.
He waited so long he’d begun to count books on the built-in bookcases, but when she walked into the living room, the end result was spectacular.
The dress looked like it had been sewn expressly for Ever. The lavender material hugged her curves, emphasizing her tiny waist and generous hips. Lace lined the swooping neckline and the cap sleeves, and a pale turquoise sash tied in a bow in the back. To round out the costume, she had a half mask covering the top part of her face. The mask was purple, covered in gold glitter designs. She looked like she’d stepped out of the Victorian era.
Cade stood up, speechless. He had absolutely no words to tell this exquisite creature just how beautiful he thought she was.
“Is it okay?” Ever asked timidly. “I’m not going to look stupid next to everyone else, am I?”
Cade shook his head, coming back to his senses. “No. No, you’re going to outshine everyone else.”
Two pale red circles grew beneath the edge of her mask.
“You look…” Cade shook his head, at a loss for the perfect word. “That dress suits you.”
Ever beamed. “Thanks. Me and Nah found it in the attic.”
“That’s right. I heard your family has owned this property for a long time. Bet there’s some cool stuff up there.”
“I’ll take you to see it sometime.”
Ever grabbed her purse and reached for the front door, yanking it open and grunting with the effort it took to drag the wood across the floor.
“Has it always been like this?” Cade asked, grabbing the door above her head and scraping it all the way open.
Ever shook her head. “No. We got some water damage during the massive storm three years ago. It warped the floor, and the door started doing this. Nah tried to fix it with magick, but it only helped for a day or two.”
“I guess magick isn’t always the answer,” Cade told her with a wink, and then followed her into the evening.
* * *
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT anything,” Cade told Ever as he parked in his driveway. It didn’t look like a parking lot yet; most of the guests wouldn’t arrive until later.
“Are the BlackMags going to be here?” Ever asked in the silence after the engine shut off.
Cade hated the tremor in her voice. “Yes. But they won’t be able to figure out who you are because of the mask. And even if they do, I’ll punch them if they say anything mean to you.”
She giggled. “Thanks, but I wouldn’t want you to.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Non-violence for you.” Cade grinned. “It’s admirable. But sometimes, you just need to punch it out.”
“Maybe if you’re a guy,” Ever teased, reaching for the door handle to let herself out.
“No, wait. Let me.”
Cade pushed open his door and stepped into the cool autumn evening. His mom had the fireplace going; he could smell the crisp scent of burning pine.
“What about your costume?” Ever asked as he opened the door. She’d returned the mask to her face in the time it took him to walk around the car.
Cade paused, caught by how beautiful she was, even with half her face covered. “I’ll change when we get inside. You can come with me.”
As he helped her from the car, he could see round spots of red on her cheeks in the ambient light from the porch. He wasn’t sure if that blush was from the cold or from the thought of him changing near her.
The latter set his heart racing, too.
“You’ll have a great time,” Cade promised, reaching for her hand to escort her up the stairs.
Ever shied away. “Nerve damage,” she said with a shrug, holding up her hand. “It feels weird to be touched. Can you switch me sides? I’d really like to hold your hand.”
Cade hurried to do so, desperate to feel her skin on his, even if it was just her palm. “What happened to your hand?” he asked, hoping he wasn’t stepping out of line.
Ever grimaced. “My dad happened.”
“Your dad did that?” he asked, bristling. Even if she didn’t know Gilles Robidoux was supposedly her father, Cade did. He remembered Lilypad1028’s comment: a thirst for power that surpasses even the love of his family.
; “Yeah. He wasn’t a good guy.” Ever smiled sadly. “He went down the wrong road. I don’t even know what really happened, but somehow I was injured. I had five surgeries before I was three years old. If you ever question why I’m so against black magic — ” She lifted her hand, displaying the large, thick scar bisecting her palm, and the claw-like nature of her last three fingers. “ — just remember this.”
Cade couldn’t keep himself from gently taking hold of her wrist and bringing that scar to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to it, marveling at the baby-smooth feeling on his mouth. When he pulled away, Ever’s cheeks were flushed.
“Um. Thanks,” she said, her bi-colored eyes meeting his.
“Do you know your dad?” Cade asked as they resumed their walking. He tried to be nonchalant about it, just a friendly question.
Ever shook her head. “No. My mom refused to even tell me his name for fear he would ‘find me.’ But it’s okay. I’m not sad about it or anything. I don’t want to know him.”
Cade squeezed her hand. There was a battle raging within him over whether or not to tell Ever what he had learned about Gilles Robidoux.
What if he’s wrong? Cade told himself as they took the front steps, Ever holding her skirt up so she wouldn’t trip. What if he just thinks he’s Ever’s dad?
But Cade suspected that was wishful thinking on his part. If Gilles was as evil as Lilypad1028 said — as evil as Cade thought he was — then Cade had no doubt Gilles had been the one who hurt Ever so badly.
Cade greeted his mother with a kiss just inside the door. “Mom, this is my date,” he said, wrapping an arm around Ever’s waist. In a split second decision, he whispered, “This is Ever.”
Ever gasped, her eyes going wide.
“It’s okay,” Cade said, chuckling. “Mom, Ever doesn’t want anyone to know who she is.”
Grace’s wide eyes swept over Ever. “Ever O’Connell. Oh, honey. Your mom used to be one of my closest friends in high school. So long ago.” She leaned in and kissed Ever gently on the cheek. “Tonight, you’ll simply be called ‘The Phantom.’”
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