by Kensie King
Gage paused and looked down at me.
I pushed past Savannah one more time. “Fire,” I said, voice hoarse.
Gage nodded. “Throw it in.”
Dylan turned, took a breath, and threw the book in the fire.
It caused Savannah physical pain. She bucked and writhed inside of me, and I cried out, wishing she’d leave me alone once and for all. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes.
“Link,” Gage said, his hold loosening.
In an instant, my body settled. Savannah was gone. Vanished. Like she never existed in the first place.
I blinked. The pain was gone as well. All I could feel were my bruises from earlier in the day and wetness on my cheeks from the tears.
“She’s gone,” I whispered.
Audrey looked skeptical. She wouldn’t let go of my arm.
“Throw the necklace in the fire, too,” I said.
Grace found it in the corner of the room and tossed it in as well. Savannah was already gone, but I didn’t want the necklace anymore either. Not after the hold it had over me.
Gage’s grip loosened even more as he peered into my face.
I gave a wobbly smile when I met his eyes. “Gage.”
Faster than I could blink, I was in his arms. His lips found mine over and over again. “It’s you,” he said.
“It is,” I choked out.
Dylan groaned. “Is this really necessary?”
“Yes,” Gage murmured, not even glancing at him.
He wouldn’t stop kissing me. I turned my lips to his ear. “Later.”
“You promise?” he asked, still holding me close.
I nodded.
“Are you okay?”
I didn’t know what to say. I was feeling too much right now. “I’m relieved Savannah is gone. But what if the book really was our only chance at figuring out the spell?”
Gage stood and helped me to my feet.
“It’s not the only way,” Grace said. “We’ll figure it out. With Savannah out of the way, we can focus.”
I swallowed and stared at my feet. “What about my mom?”
Gage’s arm curled around me. “She’ll be okay. We’ll check on her tomorrow. And every day after that if you want.”
I smiled at him, grateful. “I think…I need to sit down.”
“Of course.”
I settled on the couch, Gage lingering nearby. My weariness from the day hit me. All of it hit me. The book and the necklace were in the fire. My mom was in a coma. And we were no closer to ending this curse or putting the spell back into place.
I pressed my hands against my face. “Oh my God.”
I heard Gage crouch in front of me. He placed his hands on my knees. “It’s going to be okay, Link.”
“I attacked you guys.” My voice was muffled behind my hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“That was actually pretty impressive,” Dylan said from behind the couch.
Gage made a noise low in his throat. “I don’t think that’s helping.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Audrey said.
I peeked out from behind my hands with a wince. “Yes, I do.”
Grace waved off my comment. “No, what you need is a drink.”
Audrey nodded. “Right. A drink.”
She turned for the kitchen and Grace immediately followed. Gage sighed and stood. He ran a hand through his hair and flashed a smile in my direction. “I’ll make sure they get the good stuff.”
I nodded.
“You okay?”
I nodded again.
“Link.”
“Just give me a minute. I need to wrap my head around all this.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze and left the room. Dylan was still there, and he joined me on the couch.
Trying to avoid what just happened, I glanced over. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“What? Sitting with you on the couch?”
My breath came out in a laugh. “No. Me and Gage. And you having to be here with us in his house.”
His face sobered. “It’s fine.”
I frowned at him.
To my surprise, he laughed. “I know you’re just trying to forget about what just happened here.” His gaze flicked to the fire. “But this might not have been the best topic for it.”
I waved my hand toward the fire and made the flames go out. I was tired of fire now. I wanted to be free of it altogether, but I wouldn’t have that opportunity if I didn’t keep trying to find a solution to the spell. Which meant I couldn’t forget about everything that just happened. Not entirely. But for now…
“Sorry,” I said. “Bad topic. I just want to make sure you’re okay about all this.”
“I’m okay.”
“Are you just saying that?”
“No, I’m not just saying that.”
I gave him a curious look.
He sighed, propping his forearms on his thighs and leaning forward. “Let’s just say, my shifter powers are getting, um…more pronounced.”
“How?” I knew I should be careful. It wasn’t often that he opened up with me—but maybe that was why I was so eager to keep him talking. “Are you shifting more?”
He shook his head. “Not that. There are other…qualities that go along with shifting. Kind of like with werewolves.”
“I don’t…” I searched my mind, trying to link the two, but I came up blank. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I needed to brush up on my shifter and werewolf knowledge even more.
“Imprinting,” he said plainly.
He didn’t look at me, just kept his eyes focused on his hands. A muscle worked in his jaw. I could see he was still sorting through this information himself.
I gaped at him. I couldn’t help it. “You imprinted on someone?”
He laughed and looked at me. “No, not all the way. I mean, the whole spell hasn’t been reversed yet. Nothing is set in stone. But like everyone else—and you—whatever qualities that make up our power are getting stronger. Whatever things we’d deal with if we were full shifters or werewolves or vampires…those things are starting to come into play.”
I couldn’t believe he was saying this. And then suddenly my stomach dropped. I hope he was telling me this because—
“No offense,” he said as if reading my mind, “but it’s not you.”
Relief seeped in. I reached out to touch his hand. “Who?”
His lips curved. “I’m not telling you.”
“But Dylan.” I stood, completely forgetting about the mess I’d just made in the living room. “This is a big deal.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“You have to tell me.”
He laughed. “No, I don’t.” He stood as well. “And if we fix this spell, make it go back to how it was, I won’t be dealing with this shifter stuff anymore anyway. It’ll go away.”
“Are you sure? You won’t have feelings for this person anymore?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“Yes, you should have.”
“I just figured I’d say something so, you know…” He ran a hand through his hair and faced me. “So you’d know I’m cool with you and—him.”
My lips twitched. “Gage.”
“Yeah. Gage.”
I wrapped my arms around Dylan’s waist and leaned my head against his chest. “Thank you,” I murmured. “I’m glad you told me.”
He was so steady and solid, and it made me feel better. I couldn’t deal with this spell if he and Gage were fighting. And if Dylan was willing to play nice and understand my side of things, I was hoping Gage would, too.
Voices joined us in the room again. There was a flicker of uncertainty on Gage’s face as he hung back. I pulled away from Dylan and accepted the wine Grace passed over to me.
“You did good,” she said.
I didn’t know how to take her praise. I did just fight all four of them. And I fought dirty. But we were all still alive and as safe as we could be. And Savannah
was gone.
I looked at Gage, who was still hanging back near the hallway. His eyes were wary, but I had no idea what he was thinking. Carrying my wine, I walked to him and took his hand. “Can we go outside? Walk in the garden?”
He nodded. His shoulders were tense, but he flashed a smile at me as he opened the back door.
“I like being here,” I said. “At your house.”
“Even though I trapped you here? Even after what just happened back in the living room?”
I turned to him at the edge of the lawn, wine still in hand, and wrapped my free arm around his neck. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked, voice close to my ear. “The shifter?”
I pulled back with a frown. Then I sipped my wine, keeping my eyes on him. The evening was warm, and the setting sun felt nice on my face and arms. Almost made me forget the fire and Savannah. Besides, I didn’t have time for that. Now I had to figure out the spell.
“His name is Dylan,” I corrected, “and you guys are a lot more alike than you think.”
A smile skimmed his lips. “That’s a cruel thing to say.”
I rolled my eyes. “You guys are on the same side.”
“You care about him.”
I stared at him, angling my head. Then I sipped more wine and tried to figure out what he was getting at. “Is this because I hugged him?”
He scratched his chin, then stepped back and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know.”
This made me smile. “You’re jealous.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Good. You shouldn’t be. I was asking him if he was okay with you and me. And he is.”
Gage shook his head. “Now, that I don’t believe.”
I sipped more wine and felt my body starting to relax. “Believe it.”
I walked to the garden, strolling through the rose bushes and trying to clear my mind. I needed a quiet moment without worries.
Gage caught up to me. “If that’s the case, it makes me feel better.”
“Good.” I smiled at him. “That’s the case. We’re on the same side, Gage. It’ll make me feel better if you two can get along.”
He took my hand again. “We can get things done without getting along.”
“Then get along for me. Please?”
He sighed. “Maybe if you two weren’t so friendly—hugging and touching all the time.”
“We don’t hug and touch all the time. And we are friends.”
“Maybe just…” He grinned at me. “Hug me all the time and I won’t feel so jealous.”
“What about kisses?”
“That, too.”
“What about…” I smiled suggestively at him, sipping more wine.
“Yes. Yes, again. That, too.”
He pulled me close, so my body was flush against his. His arms held me tight enough I almost spilled my wine, and then he kissed me. His lips were warm against mine, tongue pushing its way in.
“I love you,” he murmured.
He didn’t wait for me to say it back but took my mouth again. Urgent and needy. His hands were all over, skimming my arms, my back, and running under my shirt on my abs.
Something ruffled the air by us. I opened my eyes.
Gage stopped kissing me. “What was that?”
The blackbird was back. It swooped low over our heads, and I ducked automatically, spilling my wine on the grass. Gage held me against him, wrapping his arms around me so the blackbird couldn’t get to me as easily.
“What the hell is it doing here?” Gage asked.
“Working for me,” someone else answered.
I straightened, whipping around. Gage’s breath hitched and he grabbed my arm, swiftly putting himself in front of me. My glass dropped from my hand. I clutched Gage’s shirt in back and stared, my heart in my throat.
It was Kane. He was standing at the edge of the garden and the blackbird was perched on the stone bench next to him.
“Kane,” Gage said, voice tight.
“Gage.” Kane smiled. He was taller than Gage, just slightly, but leaner, less muscle. He was just as good looking but in a scary way. Especially when he smiled. Right at me. “Hello, Link.”
My fingers clenched on Gage’s shirt.
“What do you want?” Gage asked.
Kane’s eyebrows furrowed. “I thought that would be obvious by now.” His eyes strayed to me again, and even from here, I saw the danger in their depths. “I want him.”
