“I’m sorry I was so cagey before,” she said, looking up at me again. “Something weird happened last night during my shift, and my magic kind of… bubbled up.”
“Your… what?” My heart rammed against my ribcage, everything else in me going cold. Far as I knew, Gray hadn’t touched magic since she was a kid.
It’s happening…
“I’m sorry,” she said again, pushing off the railing and digging into her pocket for her keys. “I’m not trying to be dramatic. I promise I’ll tell you everything. But right now I just want to burn this shirt and drop into a hot bath with some tea and a good book. Okay?”
It killed me not to push for details, but she was completely wiped out. She needed to unwind, get some sleep, start fresh tomorrow.
“How about I bring over breakfast tomorrow, and we’ll figure everything out then?” I said, reaching for her hand. “Deal?”
“Make it brunch. Morning is not my friend.”
“Brunch it is, night owl.” I brought her hand to my mouth. Beaumont’s scent was all over her skin, but fuck it. I kissed her palm anyway, making another silent vow.
Even a devil’s bargain had a way out. I’d do whatever it took to find the loophole that would invalidate her contract.
Until then? Looked like it was time for a little chat with Beaumont and the boys.
Fuck. Sometimes I really hate being right.
Eleven
Gray
Ronan released my hand, and a cool breeze lifted the hair off my neck, bringing with it the salty, briny scent of the bay. The dark clouds that had been hovering in the night sky slithered away, giving us a peek at the quarter moon and a dusting of stars.
It was hard not to dream under a sky like that.
“Don’t you ever just want a normal kind of life?” I asked.
“Hmm.” Ronan’s voice was soft and alluring in the quiet dark. “Kids and a minivan?”
“Why not?”
“Hate to break it to you, Desario, but I’m not normal. And neither are you.”
Ronan laughed, but a deep sadness clung to his features like a mask.
I thought of the Death card from this morning, considering it now with new understanding. Everything changed. Died. Was born again. Life didn't come with a guarantee—I’d learned that lesson a long time ago. I knew better than to think my friends would always be here. That we’d always be together. No matter what our intentions and feelings, things ended. Circumstances changed. People went away.
Sometimes on purpose.
Sometimes not.
It was a fact of life, and for the most part I’d accepted it. But the thought of things changing between me and Ronan? It nearly gutted me.
I slid my key into the front door lock, then turned to face him, my heart heavy. “Ronan, are we okay?”
He ran a hand over my hair, cradling the back of my head. I searched his eyes for an answer, a promise that no matter what happened, no matter what came crashing down around us, we would always be solid.
But here's another thing I knew about Ronan: he never made a promise he couldn’t keep.
He pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes, his breath tickling my lips. After a beat, he kissed my forehead, and turned away without another word.
I watched him walk down the path to the sidewalk, feeling like the ground was about to drop out from under me.
And I didn't want it to. Not again.
