Page 54 of Fated for Flames

His eyebrows shot up in curiosity. “Hear what?”

“Professor Tamsin gave me a compliment!” I announced, jumping up and down in place.

A slow smile crept onto Chad’s face. “No way! Our ice queen Tamsin said something nice. Now that’s an achievement,” he said, giving me a playful nudge. “Hey,” he started, his tone suddenly serious. “What are you doing for Halloween?”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “Going to the school dance with friends. Are you going to be there?”

He shook his head, his hair catching the afternoon light. “Nah. We’re having another party at the at the shifter house.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” he said, running a hand through his hair in a way that made my stomach flip.

Why was my stomach acting up?

“You should come…you and your friends.”

“Sure,” I responded with excitement. “Maybe we’ll swing by later in the evening.”

Chad nodded, a smile playing on his lips as he went back to his conversation with the other shifters.

As I walked away, I couldn’t help but feel happy. Realistically I didn’t have time to waste. I had to find answers, but a night of fun, without any worry, was something I needed.

34

Evelyn

The evening, right before the Halloween party, I was in my dorm room, primping and preening in front of the mirror.

Tonight was about fun, a break from the mystery and drama that seemed to follow me like a shadow.

Last time, Lia had still been my friend. We had gone asAlice in Wonderlandcharacters—I was the sweet Alice, while she was the Red Queen.

The memories flooded back to a time when the world wasn’t as dark and complicated. It was my first Halloween at the coven estate after my parents’ death. I was a shy and lonely kid in the grand mansion that had become my new home.

Lia, the same age as me, had been the one to extend a hand of friendship. She was radiant, the golden child of the coven. It was on Halloween night that our bond truly formed.

We decided to play into the human stereotypes of witches. Lia arrived at my door with two black dresses draped over her arm, a pair of pointy hats in one hand, and brooms in the other.

“Come on, Eve,” she said with that infectious grin. “Let’s show them what real witches look like.”

We spent hours getting ready, applying faux warts, and drawing exaggerated wrinkles on our faces. The transformation was complete with pointy hats perched atop our heads and brooms clutched in our hands.

I laughed as we tried to sit on those brooms, our giggles echoing through the mansion’s vast halls. Sitting on a broom was more painful than you’d think!

We couldn’t balance for more than a few seconds without toppling over.

From that moment on, Lia and I had been inseparable.

A knock on the door startled me from my thoughts. I swung the door open to find Theo, Adrien, and Felix looking ridiculously handsome in their costumes. I stifled a giggle as I took in their outfits.

Theo was dressed as a vampire. Adrien was dressed as a werewolf complete with furry ears and a tail, while Felix was dressed as the Tin Man fromThe Wizard of Oz.

“Well, don’t you guys look…terrifying,” I said with a smirk.

Theo shot me an exaggerated scowl, while Adrien just shrugged.

“I decided to be a butterfly,” I explained, turning to give them a full view of my costume.

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