Page 21 of How To Summon A Memory
“I can’t even think straight. I thought we were just testing my theory last night and I find a missing piece of the puzzle.”
“Themissing piece.”
We shuffle in line and grab a tray each. I’m not so hungry now that we’re here, but if I don’t eat, Florence will be cross with me. I choose a salad and we find a pair of seats in a far corner.
“Do you think cellphones work in the demon realm? Do you think?—”
Florence holds up their hand. “We can ask Pike all that tonight.”
“I want to go to the masquerade party. Maybe my grandmother will let me if I play my cards right.”
“She’ll probably make you promise to actually marry me and we can’t have that.”
“No, we really can’t.” We eat in mostly silence. My brain too active to focus on conversation. “Thank you for arranging for the demon that got you home to come back.”
“It was his suggestion, but I would have come up with it had he not. You need closure on this. We need to know what the fuck happened to your memories. We can figure the why is you were dangerously close to what you wanted and Cordia cut you off.”
I huff into my salad. “I understand why I need to be bound to someone before I’m twenty-five, but it pisses me off to no end. It’s all on her. If it weren’t for Cordia meddling in my life before I was even born, I wouldn’t be forced to do any of this.” I drop my fork.
“What do you mean?” Florence glares at me.
And that’s when I realized I slipped up. “Shit.”
“What are you keeping from me, Ethan Speller?”
I throw back my head and blink into the witch lights serving as the lighting in the cafeteria. I take a drink and tell her everything I know.
Florence sucks in a breath. “She sold her soul to make you powerful?”
“Fucked up, right?”
“Very. I’m so sorry.” They reach over and grab my hand. “So damn sorry. We’ll fix this. Fuck her,shegave up her soul, and it’s notyourproblem. Nor mine.”
“That’s how I’ve felt for years.” I take another sip of my water.
“I wish you’d told me this sooner. We could have carried this together. That’s what best friends are for.”
“You have your own shit you have to deal with. If I can keep a little bit of the burden off you, I will.”
We finish our lunch in silence.
Florence takes my hand on our way back to the classroom. “Why don’t you go home? I’ll take the office hours. That way, you can gather your thoughts and get ready for the meeting with Pike.”
“If you’re sure?”
“Very sure.” They wave me off, but instead of going home, I head to the dean’s office, where my grandmother sits like a queen on a throne behind the big oak desk.
“Ethan? I wasn’t expecting you here today. I thought you were staying home.”
“I feel better. And I wanted to talk to you about my birthday.” I settle into the seat across from her.
“Oh?”
“I want you to remove the barrier spell. I want to?—”
“Out of the question.”
“You will, or I’ll expose the truth to the coven. That you sold your soul to manufacture a powerful witch.”
