Page 98 of The Howl
I slowly smiled, remembering Adira’s warning to my mom. My mom had her mark, but the Council would be keeping her out of Uttira with a different spell now.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “All we need to do is get her outside the barrier.”
The druid nodded, sending her dangling crystal earring swinging.
“We’ll need to gather some things to do the spell.”
“How long will it take?”
“We can have everything ready tonight. We’ll need a place we can do the spell in private, though.”
Two more heads popped over the divider.
“Not my house,” the druid with the thick hair said.
“Mine, neither,” the one with the glitter makeup said. “My brother’s home, and he’ll tell.”
I glanced at Ashlyn.
“We can’t use her house,” earring girl said. “It’s warded against spells. But, we can meet early at the Academy and use the pool bathroom. The spell won’t take long.”
“And what do you want in return?” I asked, knowing nothing was ever done for free.
“If we get caught, you take the full fall,” glitter eyes said.
“And you owe us a future favor, collectively,” thick hair said.
“Eliana,” Ashlyn said. “This isn’t a good idea.”
I exhaled slowly. I knew it wasn’t a good idea. I knew we’d probably get caught. But everyone was saying I was too small, fading, as if I was too weak. Maybe doing something this drastic would show I wasn’t. At the very least, it would help Mom understand how serious I was about not feeding or having sex.
“No one gets hurt, and Mom is safely removed from Uttira,” I reiterated. “If you can do that, I’ll be your fall girl, if needed, and owe you a favor, collectively.”
The bejeweled girl grinned.
“See you in the morning, succubus.”
The trio left their booth and joined the dancers. As I watched, several of the dancers shook their heads and wandered off.
“They’re making anyone who overheard forget the conversation,” Ashlyn said. “You shouldn’t trust them.”
“If druids were powerful enough to hurt my species, I doubt my mom would still be alive. Their magic is limited. Just like we have limits. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Ashlyn looked doubtful.
“How long do you have to stay here?” I asked.
“Four hours.”
I settled in for a long wait and listened to the music. The dance floor gradually filled up, and a familiar group walked in the doors.
This time, it was Jenna who had her arm around Fenris’s waist while he was laughing and talking to the others. Then he stopped, and his gaze immediately found mine from across the room.
Why did that make my pulse leap? I checked my hunger, but it felt lazy and sated.
Fenris untangled himself from Jenna and started toward me. When he reached the table, he didn’t say anything. He just opened his arms and grinned.
I stared at him for a second then realized what he wanted.
