Page 59 of Hot Summer's Prey

“And you’d pass all this up? You have a claim to his life, maybe, but not mine. As you said, you promised me my life.”

“And you’d leave him behind?” the witch teases. “All three of us know what magic this really is.”

My heart thuds. It is one thing to feel love, it is another thing entirely to have physical proof, verified by an outsider.

Teresa shakes her head. “You know I wouldn’t. Half for you, half for us.”

“That’s more than fair,” I assert. “And it is the last of this magic you’ll get from us.”

Her maw opens wide, teeth fierce and threatening.

“You make such demands when you are not even done with our deal,” the witch barks. “I suppose you have no need for your human to come this far down ever again?”

Teresa and I exchange a glance. I can see the desire in her face. How much she wishes to return. She fingers the necklace with her free hand.

“The same deal as before. The same magic we were already trading, but not a single pearl of our bond,” I bargain.

Teresa mouths, ‘Thank you.’

‘I love you,’ I mouth back to her.

She smiles, tries to hide it between her teeth.

“And what of your precious friend? The one you abandoned to the land? I will not have my eyes wander forever.”

Teresa lets out a shudder. “Do you mean that literally?”

“Slugger,” I remind her. “He was enchanted to keep an eye on me.”

“Either way, I will cut our bond and kill the slug if you do not return it to the water immediately. To be subjected to what it sees is torment I wish not to bear,” the Lantern Witch explains.

“No!” Teresa cries out.

“We’ll get him back!” I growl through my teeth. “Do we have a deal, Witch?”

She stares us down with those empty, white eyes before holding out her hand.

“Deal.”

26

MEET THE FAM

TERESA

We sneak in through the back door, hoping that no one is around because both of us are completely naked. With the urgency instilled in us by the Lantern Witch, neither of us thought about stopping back at the Sex Cave to get our clothes.

So, of course, everyone is home.

Anelisa’s eyes go wide as she looks us up and down. In a panic, my eyes dart to Pacari, who seems to have dried off in the swift ocean breeze on our journey back up the trail to the house. Zephyr covers their eyes and lets out an amused, but exasperated sound. Taara tilts her head, an assessing look on her face.

Okay, so I was wrong about everyone.

“Where’s Dawn?” I ask.

“That’s not the important question right now, is it, Teresa?” Taara laughs, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you still doing with him?”

“I have a lot to explain,” I say quickly, “but I really need to find Dawn.”

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