“In all things, you must trust yourself to know what is right.” She holds my gaze a moment longer, then pats my cheek. A breeze ruffles my hair, and Lala goes quiet.
I know instinctively our conversation has come to a close.
The door opens behind us, light spilling out onto the path as Jessa makes her way out.
Wordlessly, Lala bows, turning away to give me a minute alone with my best friend.
“Oh, Jessa.” I pull her into my arms, wishing I didn’t have to let her go. Our time together went by entirely too fast. “There’s so much I want to tell you, so many things I wish I could show you. And,Goddess! Isla and Nat are dying for a real girls’ night with you—live and uncut.”
“I know, Stevie.” She pulls back, her cheeks stained with tears. But she’s smiling, just like me. “And youwillshow me all those things. And a full tour of the campus. And a detailed flowchart explaining how it is that you’re in love with four guys, and none of them have killed each other yet.”
I crack up. “Yes, that does require a flowchart. Probably a few Post-it notes too.”
Everything with the guys happened so fast, and between that and all the Arcana craziness, not to mention Jessa’s move, we’ve hardly spoken lately.
“And I still have so many questions about Mexico! I want to know about your family and your friends and how you spend your days… Goddess, how is it that you just got here, and now you’re leaving again?”
“Don’t worry,” she says. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up soon.”
I nod, letting out a resigned sigh. “Doc’s right. It’s not safe right now. But hey, I’m not complaining. Seeing you tonight… It was the best surprise ever.”
She pulls me in for a hug, and I hold her tight, drawing strength from her love, from her loyalty, from the best friend I’ve ever had.
Lala’s back, and I know it’s time to let go.
I give her one more tight squeeze, and then we leave it at that, neither acknowledging the painfully obviously truth:
That when we say it’s just not safe right now, “right now” is relative. Unless we can defeat the Dark Arcana and restore the balance of magick, there’s a very good chance it willneverbe safe.
* * *
I head back toward the door, but just as I pull it open, someone else storms out, nearly barreling into me in his rush to escape.
“Baz? Wait!” I call after him, but it’s like I’m not even here.
I don’t bother to chase after him. I know he’s already gone.
Back inside, I sit on the couch, trying not to lose it.
Kirin sits next to me, sliding an arm around my shoulders while the others pace the living room, none of us quite sure what to do next.
“So it’s still happening,” I say.
“What the hell are we supposed to do?” Doc asks. “It’s like fighting an invisible enemy.”
“I’ve been researching the lore,” Kirin says, “but so far I haven’t found anything on side-effects of traveling in the realm. I’ve put in a request for more books from the APOA’s library system, and there’s another collection in—”
“No. No more books.” I take a deep breath and pull out my phone, trying to heed Lala’s advice about trusting myself to know what’s right. “It’s time for the nuclear option.”
Thirty-Seven
STEVIE
I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure the Goddess invented Harvest Eve for overindulgent dinners and copious amounts of mulled wine. Or reading an entire romance novel, cover to cover, totally uninterrupted. Or doing deep, coconut-oil conditioning treatments.
Or literallyanythingother than this.
But tonight I’m on a mission to save the man I love, which sounds a lot more epic than it is. Because right now, saving the man I love means—
