I groaned loudly, which everyone ignored.
“Nice job with her hair, Alex!” Penny said, looking up from where she was perched on the edge of the tub, reading a fashion magazine. “At first I was annoyed that you were replacing me in the hair department, but you’re a wiz with that curling iron. You’re totally doing our hair next year for our prom!”
At the thought of doing this all over next year, I groaned again.
“Oh, shut up,” Chloe said. “You’re not fooling anyone. We all know how much you’ve been looking forward to going to prom with Rafe.” She picked up a bottle of moisturizer and began applying it to my face.
“You were totally crossing the days off on your calendar,” Penny chimed in helpfully. “And you circled today in bright purple ink and wrote ‘Prom!’ in all caps.”
Cover blown, I shut my mouth and settled on glaring at all of them.
“I wish I could have gone to prom,” Alexandra said with a dreamy sigh as she sat down next to Penny. “If Fitz wasn’t with you, Gabi, I would have forced him to take me.”
Penny shot her a sympathetic look. “Missing prom is the saddest thing I have ever heard. Your parents should throw you a freaking ball after making you miss your last two years of high school by sending you to France!”
Alexandra spending the last two years in France was the cover story we’d told Penny and Chloe to explain Alexandra’s sudden reappearance. It hadn’t taken much imagination because she had lived there as a little girl. Both girls had swallowed the lie easily and had pressed Alexandra for information about her glamorous life. Since the events in February, Alexandra had integrated herself into our lives, and suddenly I found myself with three best girlfriends. From mall trips to slumber parties where we stayed up until the sun rose, we were practically inseparable, and it was awesome.
Of course, we also made time for our respective boyfriends. Chloe had started dating a boy from her grade, although she reminded us all the time that it wasn’t serious. I just smiled and nodded along, but secretly I hoped it was. Now that I had this amazing thing with Rafe, I wanted everyone else to experience it.
Evan and Alexandra were officially back together, too. It was a dream come true for Evan, whose face would light up with happiness whenever Alexandra entered the room. What he didn’t know—and I would never tell him—was that Alexandra struggled with the decision, and we’d spent many hours discussing her relationship over the phone. “I just can’t forget what he did to you or Fitz,” she’d confessed one night. “But then I think about what happened in the park, and how I nearly lost him, and the thought of not being with him hurts so much I can’t breathe.”
“Then be with him,” I’d said. “Forget the crap that he did. We’ve already forgiven him for it. And honestly, who wouldn’t do what he did to save someone they loved? Wouldn’t you have done whatever it took to save him, if he was the one in a coma?”
The next day she brought him to her parents’ penthouse in Manhattan, declared they were together, and they could shove it if they didn’t approve because Alexandra didn’t care. Not surprisingly, her parents decided to accept Evan once and for all. After nearly losing her once, they weren’t about to go through that again. Besides, they’d softened toward Evan. He was the one who had saved their daughter.
Well, technically, I was, but I’d let Evan take the credit on that one.
“Stop smiling,” Chloe ordered, holding up a tube of lipstick. I relaxed my face, but I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes.
Thirty minutes later, I pushed open the bathroom door and stood in front of my waiting friends. “What do you think?”
“OH MY GOD,” Penny squealed. She rushed forward to hug me, and Chloe and Alexandra grabbed her, both shouting, “No!”
“Don’t you dare ruin her makeup!” Chloe said.
Alexandra added, “Or her hair.”
“Fine, fine. We’ll leave that for Rafe.” Penny slung an arm around their shoulders and pulled them in for a group hug. “We did such an awesome job.”
“‘We?’” I repeated. “What did you do, Penny? Besides eat all of my chips and candy and drink all of my soda?” I pointed to the mess of empty wrappers she’d left on my bed.
“Duh,” she said. “I picked out the dress.”
I looked down, smiling softly. After many hours spent shopping, we ended up settling on a heart-stopping green dress that Penny assured me would drive Rafe wild. It was a pale-green sleeveless chiffon dress, and I’d fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. The sweetheart bodice was covered in silver rhinestones that cascaded down a tulle overlay like a sparkling waterfall. I’d dyed a pair of heels to match the color of the dress, and my only accessories were dangling diamond earrings (on loan from Alexandra, who claimed they were too girly for her. And yet the girl wanted to go to prom? What would she wear? A tux?) and Rafe’s rose necklace. Alexandra had left my hair loose and curly, and Chloe had kept my makeup simple and light.
Admittedly, I’d been a little nervous about leaving my hair down, since one of Skinless’s parting gifts to me was permanent streaks of white mixed in with the dark blond strands. The other times my hair had gone white, I’d only had to dye it once; after that, the new hair that had grown in had been my natural color. Now, no matter how many times I dyed it, even switching brands in hopes that one might actually work, nothing had covered the white. I’d been forced to accept the fact that I would always have this weird, striped hair. It was just another grim reminder of everything I’d lost (and nearly lost) that day, and I tended to avoid my reflection in the mirror as much as possible. Explaining the white to Penny and Chloe had been interesting, but they more or less bought my story of being extremely stressed and upset over seeing Mom pass away. Yeah, we’d told them that (it was best to mix in some truth with the lies), but we had gone with Dad’s idea of blaming her death on an illness that she’d kept hidden from us until the very end. And in a way, that was the truth, too. Chloe had been hurt that she hadn’t been told what was going on, but in true Chloe fashion, she bounced back to her normal self rather quickly, which I was forever grateful for. It was one thing for me to be hurting, but I never wanted to see my little sister suffering.
Some little manipulation magic may have helped as well, but I wasn’t telling… If and when we told her the truth was entirely up to Dad, and I had a feeling it was never going to happen. He felt like he’d failed to protect me (totally not true), and would try even harder to keep Chloe safe, even if that meant leaving her in the dark.
Downstairs the doorbell chimed, and my friends squealed in delight. “Rafe’s here!” Oh my god—when had we turned into a bunch of teenagers? But even my heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of seeing Rafe in a tux.
My friends scattered into the hallway, their footsteps heavy as they pounded down the stairs. Poor Dad and Harrison, who were waiting in the front room, probably thought a herd of elephants had been let loose. I shouted at them to wait, but they ignored me. Grrr. I wanted to be the first one to see Rafe, dammit! But if I ran in my cursed heels, I would probably break my neck and that would totally screw up our prom plans.
The girls let out a chorus of disappointed groans. “Oh, it’s just you guys,” I heard Chloe grumble.
“Nice to see you too,” Philip said dryly. “Hey, where’s Gabi?”
“Up here,” I called from the hallway. “I’ve been abandoned by my friends who know I can’t walk fast in heels, sob, sob.”
The stairs creaked as Philip and Kain walked upstairs, their faces breaking into huge grins when they saw me.
“Gabiella, you look absolutely stunning,” Kain said. He reached for my hand and planted a soft kiss on it while giving me a smoldering look.
(And I did not blush while he did it because I love Rafe, thank you very much!)
(Okay, maybe I blushed a little.)
Philip elbowed Kain in the side. “Quit flirting with my sister.”
“Aww, don’t be jealous.” Kain wrapped his ar
m around Philip and planted a loud kiss on his cheek, my brother protesting the whole time. Laughing, I joined in by kissing Philip on the other cheek.
“Not you too, Gabi!” Philip said with a low groan.
“Oh, we need a picture!” Kain said, fumbling for his phone with his bad hand. Three months ago, on that fateful day that had changed everything, Kain had spent hours in surgery while the doctors worked to set all the broken bones in his hands. Some had been crushed beyond repair, and they’d been forced to use bone grafts. The healing process had been slow, and he struggled with stiffness, but throughout it all, Kain had kept up his cheerful disposition.
In the beginning, on top of everything else, it had nearly destroyed me seeing Kain with his hand all bandaged up and in obvious pain. He was that way because of me, and I was ridden with guilt. It was impossible for me to hide my feelings from Kain, and he’d called me out on it one afternoon in the hospital after another round of surgery. It was a few days after we’d buried Mom, and the stupidest things kept setting me off. That day, watching Kain struggle to take the plastic wrapping off his sandwich, I just burst into tears.
“Gabiella.” Kain set his sandwich down on top of his tray and reached out to me with his left hand. When I took it, he squeezed it firmly, repeating my name until I looked up into his intense gaze. “You are not allowed to feel badly for me.”
“But you’re hurt because of me—”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m hurt because I was trying to save you after you saved Philip. You healed him, despite knowing the risks. Despite knowing the demon would come for you next. You never hesitated; you never stopped to think. Is that what you think I should have done?” Kain’s voice throbbed with emotion. “Should I have stepped back and assessed the situation, weighed the pros and cons before coming to your aid?” My silence was enough of an answer for him. “No, of course not. That’s not how humans are wired. We fight. We fight for survival and we fight for our friends. Our family,” he corrected himself. “You’re my family, and I will always fight for you. Always.”
And then he told me if he ever caught me feeling guilty over his injury again, he’d send me pictures of my brother sleeping in his underwear and… Yeah. There are some things a girl just never needs to see. He had a point, though, and I was dishonoring his bravery with my pity-party act. I still felt bad, but at the same time I was incredibly grateful for what he had sacrificed for me.
Besides, I knew deep down, he would overcome this. Above all, Kain Wentworth was a survivor.
“Stand next to your sister,” Kain ordered, pushing Philip toward me. “Now, put your arm around her shoulders and smile. Smile, Philip. You look like you have a stomach ache.”
“Shut up!”
“Come on, big brother, smile,” I teased in my horrible imitation of Kain’s accent, which earned me a laugh, much to my delight. Kain snapped a picture, forever capturing the perfect moment of the two of us looking happy.
Out of everyone, the day Mom died had affected me and my brother the most. Philip was plagued with nightmares night after night as he relived the moment Collins had nearly killed him with magic, and I was still dealing with my guilt and grief over Mom’s death. But we were healing. It was a slow process, but being surrounded by people who loved us was helping. Rafe had been right about that.
Mom’s sorcerers had shown up at her funeral, which had been confusing for me. Jared had gotten me alone and handed me a folder bursting with scraps of paper. I asked him what it was, but all he said was, “She would have wanted you to have that.”
It wasn’t until later, in the safety of my bedroom, that I opened the folder. Papers filled with Mom’s scrawling handwriting rained down on my bed. It was mostly spells, but there were also journal entries where she talked about us—me, Chloe, and Philip.
Eyes filling with tears, I’d gathered all of the papers, stuffed them back in the folder, and shoved the entire thing under my bed.
But the next day I told Philip about it, and he asked if he could see it. So after the burial, we went back to my bedroom and he sat down on my bed, one hand loosening his black tie while the other combed through the papers. His face was transfixed in awe as he read Mom’s writings. My body moved on its own, settling down next to him so I could read over his shoulder. The spells didn’t make any sense to me, but the stuff about us? Where she talked about her regrets, and her hopes for our futures? That I got.
I was thankful to Jared for giving me that folder, and I was even more thankful that Philip convinced me to read it with him. We spent hours pouring over the papers, and then a few weeks later, more of Mom’s writing—this time in journals—arrived on my porch.
Once a week, Philip and I sat in my bedroom and read through the journals together. He and Kain were spending so much time here that Kain had started looking for a place to live. But Philip was reluctant to leave Manhattan, now that he and Charles were on better terms. Even though he’d moved out of HQ, he was there all the time. Charles had been dealing with his grief over Mom’s death by throwing himself headfirst into his work. Not only was he working on restoring HQ, but he was also teaming up with other Silver Moon directors and hunters to weed out any traitors like Collins. Nina, of all people, was leading an investigation out in California, where she now lived with her brother. After being tricked by Collins, she was determined to prevent that from happening to anyone else. “This organization, despite its flaws, is still needed,” Charles had told me. “We can’t let people like Collins destroy it. I won’t allow it.” I think, secretly, he hoped Philip would follow in his footsteps and one day become the director of the New York HQ. While I didn’t think that’s what my brother wanted, whatever Philip decided on doing, I had his back, just like he had mine.
After posing for a few pictures, Kain wandered back downstairs to give me a moment alone with Philip. I surprised Philip by hugging him tightly for a long moment. “Gabi?” he asked.
“I’m glad you’re here.” My eyes started burning, and I blinked rapidly. “Oh, crap.”
“What?” He looked at me worriedly.
“If I start crying and ruin my makeup, Chloe will kill me. Like, legit murder me.”
“Then stop crying!”
The doorbell rang again before I could tell him it wasn’t that easy to just stop crying, not when I was filled with such a sense of gratitude. My brother flashed a crooked grin. “I guess Rafe’s here.”
We listened to the door opening. Once again, groans of disappointment floated up the stairs. “False alarm!” Kain shouted up to us. “It’s just some pillock no one cares about!”
“Excuse me?” Evan’s voice rang out. “What the hell did you just call me, Irish Boy?”
“First of all, I’m English—”
“Same difference,” Evan interrupted.
Even from upstairs we could hear Kain sigh dramatically. “This, Underwood, is exactly why you’re a daft pillock.”
I sent Philip a pointed look that translated to, “Do something before they kill each other!” Cupping his hands to his mouth, Philip hollered, “Stop using words no one else understands, Kain!” There was some grumbling from downstairs, and Philip shook his head. “At least Evan sounds like he’s doing better.”
“Yeah, he’s coping,” I replied. “Just like the rest of us.”
“How come he didn’t come with Rafe?” Philip wanted to know.
I gave him a sour look. “You’re kidding, right? Do you know how many dates he’s crashed! If he hadn’t come here in his own car, he’d figure out a way to hitch a ride with me and Rafe and come to prom with us!”
I heard footsteps on the stairs, and then Evan’s familiar blond head appeared. He whistled approvingly when he saw me. “Gabi, look at you. Although you’re lucky I didn’t wear the same thing today because I’d definitely outshine you.”
I pretended to sock him in the arm. “You would not look hot in a dress, Evan.”
“How do you know that?” he asked. “Have you
ever seen me wear one?”
Philip laughed. “That’d be interesting.” He nodded at Evan. “How are you holding up?”
Evan shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head to the side. “I’m all right. It’s there, the magic. I can feel it. It’s just…” There was a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke, as if he was here with us, but also in a different place, where it was just him and the magic. “It’s not ready to come back. Not yet.”
“It will,” Philip said. “You’ll get it back. I know you will.”
“It’s okay if I don’t.” Evan’s face went uncharacteristically serious. “I knew what I was doing when I unleashed it.” He grinned, killing the moment. “Saving your asses.”
Philip rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that. I’m heading downstairs. Try not to make Gabi cry. It’ll ruin her makeup and Chloe will kill her.”
“We can’t have that,” Evan said as he swung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a half-hug. “Look at you, all grown up in your pretty green dress. I think I’m going to cry.”
“Can’t you ever be serious?”
“Actually, I can.” Evan squeezed my shoulder before letting go. “I need to thank you. I know you said something to Alex, after all this stuff happened. Something to convince her to take me back.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded.
“Thank you,” he whispered as his blue eyes searched my face. “Gabi, thank you. I don’t think you realize how much I needed her to— Just how much I needed her.”
“I do realize. You made a mistake, but I told you before: I know why you did it. And it’s not fair for you to spend the rest of your life suffering for one mistake. You love her, and she loves you, and you’d be the biggest idiots in the world if you weren’t together.” I flashed him a wicked smile. “Besides, I doubt there’s anyone else who can deal with you.”
“What?” Evan looked incredulous. “I’ll have you know that I have a huge fanbase—”
“Oh, shut up,” I said with a laugh as I pushed him away. “You are so delusional!”
The Shadow Stealer Page 34
