“And what—in the meantime, you go about destroying the world? I don’t know if I can do that.”
Ivy nodded. “Understandable for someone like yourself. But if you don’t give up, if we cross paths again, it won’t matter that we’re family; I won’t give you another chance. So take this one. I’ll even make it easy for you.” She reached out her hand and pressed her cool fingertips against my forehead.
A wave of magic flooded my body. Shadows crept into the corners of my vision, and I fought to keep her in focus. Ivy’s spell grew stronger. My eyelids drifted shut, and the last thing I heard before everything went dark was Ivy telling me it was all a dream.
I hoped it was.
Maybe it was better this way.
***
I woke with a start.
Blinking, I stared up at the ceiling in my dorm room. A movie poster tacked into the surface stared back, breaking up the field of white paint. My gaze lowered to my desk littered with textbooks. My history book sat on top of the stack, and an earworm whispered that I still needed to finish my midterm paper.
And probably do my laundry.
Oh my god, the taco stand!I groaned and ran a hand down my face. How the heck was I going to pay back that tab? Even with my catering job I’d be eating ramen noodles until winter break. My stomach grumbled in protest at the thought of a future guacamole withdrawal. Life was extremely unfair.
The bedside lamp was on, casting the room in a warm yellow glow. My comforter tangled around my legs as I rolled onto my side, trying to force my brain fog to dissipate.
In the corner, the television played an ominous tune as the words “GAME OVER” dripped in pixelated blood down the screen. The controller sat forgotten on the tray table. A half-eaten bag of cheese puffs lay next to it.
Had I taken a nap after my game with Tanya? What time was it?
I stretched my muscles and searched under my pillow for my phone. It wasn’t there, so I scanned the floor. My gaze snagged on a crumpled catering vest, a pair of black polyester pants, and a wrinkled white tuxedo shirt. Jerking my head up, I peered between the blinds. It was completely dark outside.
Crap! I’m late for work. Angela’s going to fire me.
Scrambling out of bed, I almost stumbled over a pair of sneakers and reached for my uniform. I kicked off my shorts and stuffed my right leg into the pants.
The door creaked open, and I froze, bent over, half-undressed. A verbal lashing about knocking sat on my tongue.
“Elle, why are you putting on my uniform?” Zoe asked from the doorway. She had on my favorite sweatshirt and a pair of jogging pants. Clearly, she’d changed into my clothes, and I suddenly noticed her country club name tag attached to the vest.
“Umm . . .” I shoved the mess of hair out of my face and let the pants fall to the floor, then I reached for my shorts. My brain was starting to click back into place, and an eerie sensation prickled the back of my neck.
Someone moved behind her into the room. Caden’s deep rumble of laughter sent heat straight to my cheeks. This wasnota dream. This was a nightmare!
“I have a better question, Graves. Is all your underwear witch-themed?”
Eyes wide, I glanced down at my bikini-cut bottoms covered in smiling orange pumpkins. I angled my head up with barely held dignity. “Just the weekdays, actually.”
Caden flashed me a sexy grin that made my pulse jump. “Ah . . . so, like, from a combo pack?”
Sexy or not, I shot him a death glare, hoping his pulse would stop altogether, just as two figures sailed through the wall. One was from another century; the other was my emotional support ghost dog. Loki trot-floated over and nuzzled his head against my bare ankle.
“Good boy,” I murmured.
“Oh my word, not again.” Oscar gasped as he spotted me. He covered his eyes with a ghostly hand and cleared his throat. “My humblest apologies. We assumed you were decent.”
I dove for the bed, wrapping the comforter around my waist. Pain shot through my ribs, and I winced, pressing a palm against my midsection. All of a sudden, every inch of me hurt. My fight with Jake blared through my mind. At least I’d won, but,man, I was sore.
“Easy, Graves.” Caden crossed the room in three quick strides and placed a warm hand on my back. “The pain relief spell I cast is probably wearing off.” He murmured an incantation, and a pulse of magic infused my body. The ache in my ribs and back slowly ebbed again, and I exhaled in relief. He helped to ease me against the pillow and sat on the edge of the bed.
Everything came rushing back. Caden and Oscar’s lies and the way they’d used me. The fact I’d killed my first demon—which was awesome!Go me.But also, that Ivy wasn’t dead, and I’d let a humanity-destroying book fall into evil hands. Somehow, to top it all off, I’d flashed everyone my pumpkin-covered derrière.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
