by Kate Brian
I hadn’t spent much time in there, however, because my friends had been keeping to the dining room, huddled together at two of the comfy seating areas. Whenever they did move, they were easy to track, since they stayed in a clump as they shuffled from room to room. Ironically, they reminded me of that old children’s book, Swimmy, in which Swimmy the fish teaches his tiny friends to swim together in the shape of one big fish in order to keep the larger predators away. Just like the tiny fish, my friends were sticking together for safety. I was glad they were taking the threat seriously, even if they hadn’t believed in the book of spells. Unfortunately, Kiki hadn’t arrived yet, and her absence was starting to make me tense. Especially considering she and Constance—who was currently downing a shrimp cocktail to my left—were the two under the greatest threat.
“You don’t have to hover, you know,” Noelle said, looking up at me as the latest group of well-wishers edged away into the crowd. “I can keep an eye on everyone.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind,” I replied.
I glanced over my shoulder toward the corner where Goran and Sam were stationed. They had agreed to keep a reasonable distance so as not to cramp our style, but I always felt their eyes on me. Not to mention my mom’s and dad’s. At the moment they were standing a few feet away from the bodyguards, chatting with Constance’s parents, whom they had just met. Luckily, Noelle’s mom and dad were elsewhere. I’d yet to see my mother in the same room with my biological father, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to—ever. Imagining how that scenario might play out made my head feel like it was going to explode.
Noelle got up onto her knees and leaned her hands on the back of the couch on which she, Portia, and Rose were sitting. “I didn’t do all that planning just so you could stand there and not enjoy it. Go! Dance! Find your floppy-haired boy toy. I’m on babysitting duty.”
I laughed and lifted one shoulder. I hadn’t seen Josh yet tonight, and I couldn’t wait for him to arrive. “Well, if you insist…. Thanks, Noelle.”
She shooed me away and I finally turned, noting how Sam hopped into action the second I stirred. I greeted a few more guests as I moved through the door and into the foyer—some faces familiar, some completely new—and made my way into the ballroom. All the while my senses were on high alert, and I made sure to keep an eye out for anyone out of place, any strange movement, any prying eyes.
The music in the ballroom was so loud the floor shook beneath my silver shoes, and my rib cage seemed to radiate the beat. I paused for a moment to get my bearings in the relative darkness. I heard my brother, Scott, let out a whoop from somewhere near the center of the dance floor, and all I could do was hope he wasn’t making too big of a jackass out of himself.
“Reed! There you are!”
Suddenly I was caught up in a quadruple hug. I recognized Kiran Hayes’s signature flowery-musk scent before I ever got a look at her face. When I pulled back, there she was in all her supermodel glory. Just the sight of her brought back so many memories of my first days at Easton and Billings that my eyes flooded with tears. She wore a dark green dress with an elaborate ruffled collar that grazed her razor-sharp cheekbones and accentuated her olive complexion. With her was Taylor Bell, another of my first friends at Easton. Her curly blond hair was pulled back in a crazy ponytail and she wore an offthe-shoulder blue jumpsuit that made her look as slim as Kiran. The third set of arms belonged to Natasha Crenshaw, my former roommate and still good friend, whose royal blue dress was conservative but still accentuated her every curve. Her long black curls had been twisted into an elaborate bun at the nape of her neck, and her dark skin shone under the strobe lights.
“Guess Noelle gave you a heads-up on the color scheme,” I said with a smirk, noting how their outfits complemented the décor.
“It’s good to have friends in high places,” Kiran demurred, taking a sip of her champagne. “You look amazing!”
“Thanks,” I replied, looking down at my own dark aqua dress. The silk skirt floated around my knees like a cool breeze, and the portrait neckline played down my athletic shoulders. I’d found it at the foot of Noelle’s bed that morning, inside a huge white box with a pink bow. The card read HAPPY BIRTHDAY—WALLACE LANGE. I had a feeling Noelle had actually picked it out, but I appreciated the gesture.
“Amazing, but tired,” Natasha added, reaching for my hand. “Everything okay?”
I smiled, exhausted. Leave it to Natasha to not only notice my current state, but call me out on it.
“It’s the birthday girl!”
Dash McCafferty burst from the crowd along with Gage and Trey Prescott, wrapping me up in a brief hug. His blond hair had been cropped short and he wore a suit so new it looked stiff. Still, he was one of the top five hottest boys in the room.
“It’s good to see you, Dash,” I said, a bit formally, giving him a pat on the back. I was still wary of any physical contact between the two of us after what had happened at last year’s Legacy—and the aftermath.
“Hope you don’t mind, P.A., but I didn’t get you a gift,” Gage said, swigging his scotch. “I’ve been laid up since the ‘incident’ last week.”
He tried to do air quotes but dumped half his drink on the floor, splashing Taylor’s shoes.
“Hey!” Taylor said, shoving him with one hand. “Watch it, Coolidge.”
“Ooh! Look who’s grown a spine since leaving Easton,” Gage said, wagging his fingers at her. “Guess that’s what happens when you matriculate at an inner-city PS.”
“Well, you haven’t changed,” Taylor groused. She grabbed a napkin from a passing waiter and bent to swipe at her shoes.
As much as I wanted to catch up with my old friends, I needed to go check on the girls again. I was about to make an excuse to bail when someone grabbed my wrist. My heart hit my throat, but it was only Kiki, and my body flooded with relief.
“Reed. I need to talk to you,” she said urgently.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I just …” She cast a furtive look at the others, but they were all debating whether Gage was a jerk or not. Like that was even debatable. “Some of it worked,” she said, drawing me in closer.
My pulse thrummed in my ears. “Some of what worked?”
“The spells,” she said through her teeth. “I’ve been practicing them, and I got a few of them to work.”
Suddenly my mouth went dry. Someone whirled past, air-kissing me and wishing me many happy returns, but I didn’t even register who it was.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked.
She shook her head slowly from side to side, not taking her eyes off mine. I tugged her away from my other friends toward the wall.
“Which ones?” I asked. I basically had the list memorized, though I hadn’t tried any of them myself today. There had been too much to do in preparation for the party, but I was also kind of … angry at the book for failing me. I hadn’t even looked in its direction since last night.
Yes, I was giving a book the cold shoulder.
“Well, Levitas, first of all,” Kiki whispered, looking around furtively. “Forget the spoon. I made an entire set of silverware dance.”
My pulse raced in my veins, tickling every inch of my body. “Seriously?”
“Yep,” Kiki said, grinning. “And I got Ventus to work too.”
I blinked. “Wait. You made wind?”
Kiki nodded proudly. “I moved the curtains in my room and everything.”
I could hardly breathe I was so excited. “Kiki, do you realize what this means?”
“I know,” she said.
I grabbed her hand and looked around. “Come on. You have to show me.”
“Where? This place is crawling with people. Not to mention security detail,” she said.
“I’ll find a place.”
We were just stepping away from the wall when a waiter stepped up next to us and handed me a small, square card.
“What’s this?” I asked him.
“A message for the birthday girl,” he said before moving on.
I looked at Kiki. That was weird. And weird, considering our current circumstances, was not good. I glanced behind me and felt bolstered by Sam’s presence about ten feet away.
“Open it,” Kiki said.
Fingers quaking, I tore open the small envelope. Inside was a flat card with a message scrawled across it in familiar handwriting.
Reed,
Meet me in Noelle’s room for a birthday surprise.
Love,
Josh
I felt a momentary rush of relief, but it didn’t last long. The last time I’d been passed a note during a party, it had been a fake—a note from Dash that had actually been from Sabine, telling me to meet him on the roof. And the rest was awful history.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my clutch. I exhaled loudly and yanked it out. It was a text from Josh.
STOP STRESSING. IT’S REALLY ME. I JUST WANT TO GIVE
YOU YOUR PRESENT IN PRIVATE. NOW GET YOUR BUTT
UP HERE!
I laughed, relieved for real now. I glanced at Kiki reluctantly. “I should go.”
“That’s cool,” she said. “Just find me when you come back down.”
“I will. Thanks.” I shoved the note and the phone back into my bag and headed for the door. As much as I wanted to see Josh, my excitement was tinged with regret. If Kiki could really perform spells, I was dying to see it. Maybe I’d just have to cut the Josh-time short. I was halfway through the lobby when I almost collided with Noelle, Ivy, and the Billings pack.
“Hey! We were just coming to dance with the birthday girl,” Noelle said.
“Actually, I’m on my way upstairs. Josh is up in our—your—room,” I told her. “Distract Sam so I can slip away?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ivy asked, glancing up the stairs. “Maybe he should come with you.”
“They’re not letting anyone upstairs unless they’re on the family’s approved list,” I said, gesturing toward the two beefy guards at the foot of the steps. “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Noelle said. “But come right back. I mean it. No naked birthday fun. Josh is just going to have to wait until the threat is neutralized.”
I blushed hard and glanced at Ivy, who was also pink around the edges. “I have no intention of engaging in naked birthday fun,” I assured them, wondering if Noelle had said that only to torture Ivy. “I promise, we will both return to the party in fifteen minutes. If we don’t, you can call in the National Guard.”
I turned around and started toward the stairs. Sam made a move to follow, but Noelle stepped in front of him, one hand to the center of his beefy chest.
“Let her go. She’ll be fine,” she said.
“But I—”
“It’s her birthday and she wants some alone time with her man,” Noelle told him. “So unless you want to be part of an illegal threesome …”
That was the last thing I heard before jogging up the steps. I laughed under my breath as I made my escape, my heart beating wildly, knowing that for once, only good surprises awaited.
At the top of the carpeted steps, I turned left and made my way down the hall toward the elevator that would whisk me to Noelle’s floor. It was amazing how muffled the sound was from up here. Aside from the dull thud of the bass coming through the floorboards from the ballroom and the occasional shriek of laughter, everything was silent. As I approached the small elevator alcove, my steps slowed. Usually light radiated out from the alcove at all hours, but right now it was dark.
I felt a cold wisp of a wind tickle the hair on the back of my neck, and suddenly, the gold locket felt warm against my chest. My hand fluttered up to touch it.
Images from my last dream flooded my brain. The birthday cake, the robed figures, the dead bodies. What was wrong with me? This had to be a trap. Of course it did. How could I have possibly thought it was a good idea to go anywhere alone right now?
I took an instinctive step back, heard a creak, and whipped around. There was no one there. Down in the foyer, a glass shattered and was met by a resounding round of applause.
I should just go back to the party, I thought, taking one step in that direction. Surrounded by a crowd, I’ll be safe.
But then, all I had to do was get in the elevator and it would take me right to Josh. No one could attack me if I was alone in an elevator. And I wanted to see him. Really, it was all I wanted right then. If I could just see him, everything would be fine. I turned around again and something caught my eye. A video camera bolted to the ceiling in the corner, trained right at me. I let out a breath, feeling foolish. Surely if someone shady had somehow slipped by the guards on the first floor—which was unlikely—and come up here, they would have been pounced by one of the dozens of security personnel. I was just being paranoid. Not that anyone could blame me, after everything that had happened to me in the past two years.
Steeling myself, I walked over to the alcove. The lightbulb in the overhead fixture was out. That was it. There was no sign that it had been tampered with—no shattered glass on the floor, no hanging corners or wires sticking out. No one was lying in wait. I hit the button and the elevator instantly pinged. My heart hit my throat.
Damn, I was jumpy.
The doors slid open and I stepped inside. As soon as I did I had this awful premonition that a hand was about to descend on my shoulder. I turned around quickly, but no one was there. Reaching out a violently shaking hand, I hit the button for Noelle’s floor. The doors couldn’t close fast enough. Every second it felt like someone was about to leap inside and grab me. Every moment a gloved hand was going to come around the corner and hold the door. By the time the doors finally did close, I was hyperventilating.
“Okay, calm down,” I told myself, as the elevator ascended with an efficient hum. I leaned forward, resting my head against the cold, reflective gold doors. “Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine.”
When the doors slid open again, I stepped out slowly, glancing left before I turned right. Again, I heard a creak. The door to the emergency stairs wasn’t closed all the way. Had someone just come through there? Suddenly terrified, I sprinted into Noelle’s room, slamming both the doors behind me, and whirled around, fully expecting to be jumped, blindfolded, dragged away. But when I turned, the only person standing in the candlelit room was Josh. He wore a blue suit and a dark gold tie. His hair was slightly neater and more styled than usual, and in his hand was a small red jewelry box.
“Hey, Reed.” He pried the box open with a creak and a pop. Inside was a gorgeous square aquamarine stone, surrounded by tiny diamonds. A ring. “Happy birthday.”
“What? What are you?” I tore my eyes away from the sparkling stone, which seemed to magically reflect every one of the dozen candles dotting the room, and looked at Josh. Suddenly I was breathless for a whole new reason. “Are you serious with that thing?”
Josh cracked up. He took a step forward. “Don’t worry. It’s not an engagement ring or anything,” he said. He plucked the bauble from the box, holding the delicate gold ring between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s your birthstone.”
“I … I know,” I said, stepping toward him. “It’s beautiful.”
Josh swallowed hard. He took my right hand delicately in his own and slipped the ring onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly and felt surprisingly light. “I just wanted you to know … how much you mean to me,” he said earnestly, looking me in the eye. “If we were ten years older, I’d be asking you to marry me right now.”
My heart expanded to fill my chest and tears stung my eyes, but this time they were perfectly happy tears. No fear, no anger, no nostalgia. Just happiness.
“And I’d be saying yes,” I said.
Josh grinned. He pulled me to him and kissed me and kissed me and kissed me, until I seriously considered breaking Noelle’s no-naked-birthday-fun rule. The room gradually seemed to grow warmer and warmer, until tiny beads of sweat broke out along
the back of my neck, but we just kept kissing. His arms around mine, his chest to my chest, our knees knocking together. We kissed like it was the last time we’d ever have the chance.
“I love you so much, Reed,” Josh said, finally breaking away. Our foreheads touched, and his hands were tangled up in my hair.
“I love you too,” I said breathlessly.
It was a totally, utterly perfect moment. Then I heard a thud, and Josh’s eyes went wide, and he crumpled to the floor. After that, all that there was in the world was my scream.
“You are the strongest of us all, Reed. You’re the only one who can save them. The only one who can save yourself.”
Eliza Williams spoke directly in my ear. But I couldn’t see her. Everything was dark. All I saw was blackness stretching out for all eternity. My head lolled to the side and I started awake, but even with my eyes open, all was black. My head radiated with pain.
“Use your power, Reed. Use it to warn them.”
Frustration bubbled in my veins. I wanted to reach out and grab her. Shake her. Slap her as hard as I could. But I couldn’t move my arms. How was I supposed to use my power to save myself? My power, if I even had one, was prescient dreams. And since I hadn’t dreamed that someone was going to knock Josh out cold and grab me, the ship had basically sailed on using my powers for anything.
“Warn them, Reed. You can warn them.”
I had no idea what she meant, and a whimper escaped my throat, waking me for another split second before I floated off into a new state of semisleep. I just wanted to know if Josh was okay. I just wanted him to be here, wherever here was. I scrunched my eyes closed as hard as I possibly could and thought of him. His eyes, his hands, his mouth, his touch. I wanted his arms around me. I wanted him to tell me everything was going to be okay. Forget saving myself right now. All I could think was, I’m here, Josh. Please find me. Please help me.
I saw him looking up into my eyes. Saw myself falling into him. His arms wrapping around me. Safe, safe, safe in his arms.
