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My heart; the much uglier truth.
The little witch harbors a fire bright enough to scorch the Earth. Flames like that, they’re bound to hurt. I’ve danced in them once before, and it led me to two hundred years of exile and twenty-nine lives taken. I should’ve learned my lesson then; until now, I thought I had.
“Tei?” Mei asks.
I lift my head to look at her. Whatever she finds in my expression makes her suck in a breath. “You like her.”
Such a reductive statement. “You could say that.”
Her hand lands on my shoulder. “She’s not Isabel.” The mention of the wretched witch has me reeling back with a groan. “What do you think is going to happen if you tell her? She’s going to suddenly turn into a power hungry bitch?”
The question is not even a legitimate one, at least judging by Mei’s tone, but the reality is that yes, that’s exactly what I expect. Even the thought of saying that out loud feels ludicrous, though.
Because the simple answer, the one that so far has escaped me, is that Mei is right. Esme is not Isabel. I’m expecting her to turn into something she’s not, but the only reason I was blindsided by Isabel’s betrayal was that I wasn’t looking closely enough. She claimed to love me, when all she loved was my power, and I was a fool enough to believe her.
Isabel didn’t turn into my damnation, she’d always been it. And Esme could be my salvation.
If I let her.
chapter 29
only monsters in the stacks
esmeralda
There are claw marks on my waist. Nothing deeper than a paper cut, really, but they’re there, and the itch of healing skin is a constant reminder of… whatever it is that happened with Tei. Every time I go to scratch, I imagine his claws on me, his horns tight in my fists, and my entire body grows heated.
“You okay there, dear? I might have some antihistamine in the back if you got a bug bite or something. Looks uncomfortable,” Sara says, peeking at me from behind the counter.
I cough out my surprise, stopping mid-refilling the cart with a book in my hand. The heat spreading down my neck is a wholly different kind. “No, I… uhm… I’m good, thanks. My skin is just a little dry.”
Sara nods her head with her lips puckered. “Fall in the Pacific Northwest will do that to you. It’s way too cold already… just wait till winter rolls around. You’ll be bathing in moisturizer.”
I force out a giggle, but her words taste like a bitter lemon. If I can’t solve the riddle, I’m not going to be around to witness winter. My deadline is approaching steadily, inexorably, and that I have no power over. I just need to work faster than time itself.
The bell above the door jingles, and Sara and I both whip our heads to greet our customer. Words die in my throat when I take in the tall figure, clad in leather pants and a worn black denim jacket, his hair perfectly styled to frame his otherworldly features. Sara, on her hand, looks like a cat who got the cream.
“Teizel,” she purrs before turning a long, meaningful glance at me. “What can Esme do for you today?”
I can’t keep my eyes from rolling skyward. She’s not subtle, and she’s cringy as heck. It’s a good thing she’s married to the love of her life already, because Sara has no game. Not that I’m any better.
Tei, to his credit, is nothing if not the picture of relaxed grace. “I’m actually just looking for a book.” He points toward the stacks. “Is it okay if I browse?”
Sara sweeps her arm wide. “Of course! Be our guest. Help yourself to anything you might like.”
This time, I groan, wiping my face. Seriously, Sara, how terrible can you be at this?
On his way to the horror section, Tei spares me a grin that says exactly how much he’s enjoying this little exchange. When he’s out of view, I abandon the cart and rush behind the register.
“What the hell was that?” I whisper-yell, knowing full well Tei will hear no matter how quietly I speak.
Sara nudges my shoulder with hers. “You should go help him. He might get lost in the stacks.”
When I don’t answer, she tries to nudge me again, but this time I step out of the way. “We’re not playing this game, you hear me?”
She puffs a breath like a child who’s not getting what they want. “Whatever you say. I just feel like —”
The bell chiming again cuts off her sentence. It’s a small mercy until Mrs Collins walks in. Right now, I badly wish I had followed Tei in the stacks.
