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I eyed her sidelong because she wasn’t one of the Eclipses, but she looked vaguely familiar. She met my gaze, and I didn’t jerk away even though she had caught me staring.
“You look good,” she said. “Orange wasn’t your color.”
As she shifted, the light caught a heavy gold medallion around her neck. Oh, I knew who she was. “You still staying in that shitty motel room?”
“It’s a perfectly respectable motel room,” Delphy grumbled. “Besides, my sister and I are only in town for a few weeks.”
“Then you should pick a better hotel. What are you doing here?” It was a private party, so I wasn’t sure how she had gotten in or why she would want to hang with strangers.
“Painting Peppermint’s house,” she said. “You know, the one with the sexy Viking boyfriends?”
I rolled my eyes. “That doesn’t narrow it down. Everyone in this town has sexy Vikings or pirates or demi-gods or some shit. I meant, what are you doing at this party?”
Delphy shrugged again and took the drink Rose handed her. “Oh, Rhae knows someone, I guess.”
“Your sister?”
“Yep.” She took a sip of her fruity cocktail. “Older and terribly bossy.”
“Aren’t they always?” I only had a younger sibling, but I had been the bossy sister before my parents had thrown me out. I hadn’t seen my brother in almost twenty years, thanks to them.
As Delphy took another sip, I eyed the necklace. “What’s with the medallion?”
Redness rose in her pale cheeks. Definitely a magic item then, and probably one she wasn’t supposed to have.
Not that I was one to talk with the Astrosmos still in my pocket.
Delphy turned from the bar. “Is that guy breakdancing?”
That would be Moe, and she was dodging my question about her medallion.
Steal it from her. Rip it from her neck, my brain said.
You know what? Let this one go. I didn’t need to police every magical relic in town.
Delphy offered me her hand. “Hey, I’m Delphine, by the way.”
I shook it. “Not Delphy then, like your sister called you?”
She smiled. “I prefer my whole name, but either is fine.”
“I’m Alyssa. Don’t ever shorten it to something else.”
A tall man with long, dark hair sauntered up to the bar on the other side of Delphine. He looked familiar too. I squinted at him as I tried to place him. He didn’t notice because his sea-blue gaze lingered on Delphine.
“Are you the guy who was closing the portals?” I asked.
Picking up his non-alcoholic beer, he made a noncommittal sound.
“Where the hell have you been?” I snapped.
He blinked and leaned away from me.
“I was looking all over for you! Posting all over Screech, and no one knew who the fuck you were. Now you show up? After it’s all fixed?!”
“Hey! I was running all around town, closing portals. I didn’t have time to check social media.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Fine,” I admitted grudgingly. “I guess.”
