Embry immediately produced a silver coin, stamped with the Hiram’s Bell and the wordsWoodcross Coven. This invitation was the only way to bypass the wards on the grounds of her home on nights of the Witches’ Sabbath. “Bring this and you’ll get access to our meeting on the next full moon. You don’t have to join thecoven. You can just come, check it out, and leave if the vibes aren’t right.”
“Princess, the vibes are always immaculate with you.” Then, with a kiss on her cheek that Embry didn’t totally hate, he accepted the coin. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“You’re welcome?”
“Idofeel welcome,” Balthazar assured her with that devilish smile. “At your place—the next full moon, you said?”
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “It’s the day after the homecoming dance.”
Eleven days from then. Balthazar slipped the coin into the pocket of his jacket.
Cheek still warm with the shape of his kiss, Embry whipped out her phone. “I’ll send you a calendar invite right now.” And she did, texting it to him alone, rather than on the group thread. She told herself this wasn’t the start of their own side conversation, but she knew he absolutely did not need a calendar invite to remember something he specifically asked for.
Still, he thanked her and mused, “Returning to the subject of homecoming—if I buy your corsage, I have dibs on all the dances, even if the diviner can’t read the room, right?”
Embry tried to swallow and only managed to wedge air between her rising heart and her windpipe, her long-held rules suffocating somewhere along the way. This didn’t totally break them, per se, but Balthazar’s suggestiondiddodge them in a way that he seemed to know she’d find acceptable. And, well, she did. “I believe,” Embry said a little roughly, “that is the rule. He who buys the corsage has dibs.”
“Well then, that’s what we’ll do.”
Maybe she was weak from the surprise of Alistair’s long-simmering crush, maybe it was because Balthazar’s lips on her cheek had sent a silent shock wave through her body, but for the first time since coming to Raven’s Head, Embry’s resolve cracked.
Embry stood on tiptoe to brush a kiss on his cheek, matching the one he’d just given her. The scent of cinnamon wrapped her senses as her lips touched his soft, warm skin. She drew in a tight breath and lowered her heels, suddenly lightheaded… A feeling that multiplied as she looked up into his blue eyes. If she was meant to faint right that moment, it had to be the connection between their held gazes that kept her upright. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“It’s a date, Princess.”
Oh Goddess, that was so—
The sound of a throat clearing shattered both her train of thought and the moment.
“Oh, hey, man.” Balthazar greeted someone with a chin nod.
“Hey,” Rye said from behind Embry. “I hope I’m not interrupting something, but I need to borrow Woodcross for a sec. Neighbor stuff.”
“Cool,” Balthazar said. “See you tomorrow, Embry.”
And with one stomach-flipping grin at her, the sorcerer walked toward the dorm.
Embry watched Balthazar literally head into the sunset, annoyance flaring at a conversation done, yes, but left completely unfinished in her opinion. She whirled away from the beauty in front of her to the beast behind her, who had, in the intervening seconds swaddled them with a shimmering sound-muffling spell. “Neighbor stuff? What the—”
“You gave thesorcerera coven coin? Are youinsane?”
Embry gaped at him. “That’s not insane.”
“You invited him to our meeting!”
“As I have the right to do.” Embry was immediately so furious she didn’t even want to clarify thathe’dasked for entry himself. “Every member is allowed to use their judgment in recruiting new members.”
“You do have a right, yes. But your reasons are completely wrong.”
There was no mirth in the way Rye said it, or in his stance—as rigid as the trees in this quad. He wasn’t goading her; he was serious, disappointed. A stone wall just feet away, ready to take on her gathering tidal wave of pure indignant frustration. Suddenly, she was grateful for the spell he’d cast to clearly yell at her in relative privacy because it was going to take everything in her not to shout back. “He’s witch adjacent and my friend; what other reasons do I need?”
“You did not invite him for those reasons,” Rye deadpanned. His green eyes met hers and, in that moment, Embry felt her cheeks flush hot. He’d seen their exchange of chaste kisses.
“I did.”
“If that were true, you would’ve invited Alistair long ago.” Her cheeks grew hotter. Rye came closer. “Or you would’ve invited Oakley, but you didn’t. They’re friends and they can do magic—that makes them witch adjacent, too.”
Rye was right in front of Embry now, sandy hair a rosemary-scented mess against the enchanted background. His arms were crossed over his chest, vintage Radiohead T-shirt peeking out from between his muscled forearms.
