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“Unforgiveable. Of course, you wouldn’t agree.”
“How many are there?”
“Does it matter?” He smirked.
“Yes.”
“Lars, I’ve been gone too long.” He shook his head. “You care about humans more than you care about your own kind. And not even the Scepter will be able to save you.”
twenty-five
Hannah
“Things are coming together for date two.” Bibi was a total morning person, and after years on tour, it was a skill I simply would never possess. She was already in a vintage purple dress and heels. Today’s wig had a lavender streak in the front, darker purple in the back, and the set looked like it had sat under one of those old-fashioned salon dryers. She looked at me and frowned. “And you don’t look the least bit excited about it.”
I took a long sip of coffee, hoping the caffeine would ignite something, anything, in my veins. I’d had a restless night that included very little sleep.
“I haven’t heard from Zoe or Destiny since right after the show.” All the coffee was doing was turning sour in my tummy. “The forums are divided. A lot of people think the fight at the concert the other night is our fault. They think we staged the whole thing. And they don’t think Lars is really…Lars. The rumor is that his shift was all special effects and I’m out with an actor while Lars is on a killing spree.”
Bibi took the seat beside me. “That is concerning. If I were to script the show, I’d certainly make things less complicated than this.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re upset that your friends are ghosting, but that’s not all that’s bothering you.”
“We talk all the time, and it’s weird not to have my inbox pinging with their thoughts. I can’t ask about it on the forums because they might be in danger, and I don’t want anyone in there to think they’re helping and inadvertently make things worse.”
“You have me.” Bibi put her hand over mine.
“I know. But you’re also like my boss. And kind of an icon.”
She flipped her hair. “I’m definitely an icon, and can I take a guess about what’s bothering you?”
“Sure.”
She studied me for a moment. I wasn’t as close to done up as she was today. Just a T-shirt and leggings, which was pretty much my uniform when I wasn’t on a date. My hair had been freshly shaved and dyed, and because I was always on camera, I didn’t leave the boudoir without at least a basic swipe of makeup.
But I felt kinda naked.
“I think you’re so used to being the fangirl. The manager. The person behind the scenes, cheering everyone else on, that you don’t know how to react when it’s finally your turn to be in the spotlight.”
I blew out a breath. No sugar on her delivery this morning. “Maybe that’s some of it.”
“I hate that your friends aren’t a part of this the way that you were hoping they would be. But don’t let this experience be less than it could be because of it,” she said.
“You’re right. I could film more videos.” Some of the chatter in the forums had been about my lack of transparency, fueling the theory that I had been out with a Lars imposter. “I’ve been careful, since my posting faux pas—”
“I would rather you overshare than make yourself feel cut off from your regular life,” Bibi said. “You won’t put us in danger at this point. If we get clobbered, it’ll happen because we were underinformed.”
“Okay, then I’ll go back to doing my live chats.” It should’ve made me feel better. It didn’t. “But that’s not everything.”
She straightened, like she was ready to spring into action. Not wolf action, fairy dragmother action. “Tell me what it is, and if I can, I’ll fix it.”
“Okay. It’s a little embarrassing—”
“Nothing is embarrassing. Flaws are beautiful.” Bibi waved a hand.
“This one might not be.” I took a deep breath. “I had so much fun the other night with Lars. I love experiencing everything for the first time with him. But there’s a piece of me that misses him furry.”
