“But we’re so close.”
“He’s here,” I whisper. “Judgment.”
Ani’s face pales, the first indication that he understands even a modicum of the danger we’re in.
I have no idea how to wake us up from this, so I try the only thing I can think of.
I close my eyes and chant, calling with desperate urgency on the combined power of my elemental Princesses.
“Stevie, no!” Ani grabs my shoulders, imploring me to stop, begging me to let him undertake this quest, but it’s too late. I can already feel their magick bolstering me.
“Don’t do this!” Ani cries. “Stevie, please!”
I open my eyes and take Ani’s face between my palms, magick singing from my fingertips.
“Ani,” I whisper. “Wake up.”
* * *
We jolt up in bed, both of us gaping for air. It takes a moment for my body and mind to sync up, and the moment they do, I turn to check on Ani.
He’s staring at me, his gaze holding a mix of disbelief and hurt.
“Iwantedto be there, Stevie,” he says. “We were so close. I could feel the wand’s energy, just like that day at the Cauldron.”
“You could’ve died,” I say, fighting to keep the sting of betrayal from my tone. “You could’ve been lost in the realm like Baz was, only this time no one would’ve even known to come looking for you! What the hell were you thinking?”
“That my best friends are in trouble? That your life is in danger? That there’s nothing I won’t do to protect you?”
“We all feel that way about each other.” My anger softens, and I reach up and run a hand through his red hair. “But you didn’t have to do this alone. We were supposed to make a plan. We were supposed to go together.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that. Not after what happened to Baz. I won’t risk that happening to you. Or to him, for that matter.”
Anger’s winning out again, and I glare at him, torn between kissing him and strangling him. “So you risk yourself instead? That’s your grand plan?”
“Stevie, you don’t understand.” He climbs out of the bed and heads toward the window, crossing his arms over his chest and staring out at the moon. When he speaks again, his voice is soft, his energy full of sadness and regret. “When I was a kid, my parents got divorced because of me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Keeping his back turned, he gives me a quick sketch about his mother’s affair and the manifestation of his magick that revealed the truth: the man who raised him couldn’t possibly be his father. “The truth destroyed my family. And after that, for the rest of my life, I grew up thinking I was the problem. Whatever went wrong,Iwas the problem. Well you know what, Stevie?” He finally turns to face me, his eyes blazing. “For once, I have a chance to be the solution.”
I rise from the bed and join him at the window, taking his hands in mine.
“Ani, I can understand how you’d feel that way as a kid, but now… You have to know it wasn’t your fault.”
“I do. Logically.” He offers a faint smile, full of heartache for what could have been. “But it still hurts. That kind of ache… It doesn’t just go away.”
Looking into his golden caramel eyes, I can’t imagine a family that wouldn’t love him. One that wouldn’t know how blessed they’d be to have him in their lives.
“I can’t speak for your parents,” I say. “But I can tell you this.” I stretch up on my toes and give him a soft kiss. “You’re my rock, Ani. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
He sighs and pulls me against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“Promise me I’ll never lose you,” I whisper, knowing how ridiculous it sounds. Knowing I need to say it anyway.
Ani cups my face, lowering his mouth to capture me in a deep, lingering kiss, gently leading me back to the bed. We climb in together and hold each other, falling right back into another sensuous kiss. Behind my eyes, images of the sun shine bright, warming my skin with the touch of summer—the effect of our combined Arcana magick.
With every breath, every touch, every gentle summer breeze, I know how much he cares about me.
