Going to work tomorrow is going to suck. I want this quiet, simple domesticity with Jade to never end. It’s perfect.
A couple of hours later, I hear a strange noise from the bedroom. I get to my feet and head to the bedroom to check on Jade. I ease open the door just a crack, and then I freeze.
Nothing I am seeing makes any sense.
Am I having a stroke? Did I fall asleep on the sofa and now I am dreaming? What the hell is happening?
It looks like Jade is out of bed, but still naked. That’s fine, that bit makes sense. What is unbelievable, is Jade drawing strange symbols on my walls. Strange symbols that are glowing. Glowing a bright neon green.
“Jade?” I whisper in a shaky voice.
No response. Nothing. Shit, is he okay?
I stride up to him. He is fully focused on his task. He is mumbling under his breath. I can’t really see his eyes because he is staring intently at the glowing patterns he is making, but what I can see looks glazed. Like the lights are on, but no one is home.
“Jade?”
I try shaking his shoulder. It’s like trying to shake a statue. Damn. This can’t be good.
His finger dances over the grotty plaster and luminescence springs to life. It’s pretty, but it’s making the hairs rise on the back of my neck.
I take a shuddering breath. Okay, I really don’t think I’m hallucinating. This feels far too real. Therefore, Jade is doing some sort of magic. Therefore, magic must be real.
Sorcha was right. But now is not the time to be thinking about five-year-olds. I need to be thinking about what to do, because magic may be real, but this is sure as hell not right. I can tell that much.
My mind whirls. Jade sure is mysterious, always has been. And his friends were so damn cagey. As well as unnervingly good looking. And Gray? That dude was downright terrifying. All in all, everyone was as mysterious as Jade.
Okay, so it seems highly likely they are all down with this magic-being-real stuff, so they should know what to do.
I turn and run to the kitchen. Jade left his phone on the counter. I grab it, run back to the bedroom, and hold it up to his face. He doesn’t seem to see it, but the camera sees him and unlocks.
I snatch it back and pull up the call log. The last call was to a Ned. That’s one of his friends, isn’t it? The one who refused to be called Indigo? The grumpy brunette?
I hit call.
It rings twice. “Is Flyn still ok?”
My heart thumps. Jade was worried about me and called his friend? That’s so sweet.
“Um… I’m fine,” I blurt. Then I look back up at Jade. He is still muttering and drawing. My wall is nearly all glowing now. “But I’m not sure Jade is.”
Chapter twenty-one
Jade
Flyn’s blue eyes swim into focus. They are inches from my face, and full of concern.
“Jade?”
I blink. My mind feels like treacle. Slow and thick. Barely moving.
Flyn smiles as relief flows over his face. “There you are!”
I blink again. I’m sitting on Flyn’s sofa, wrapped in a blanket. Late afternoon light is streaming through the window.
Flyn is kneeling on the floor in front of me. And everyone else is also here. My gaze slowly tracks around. Pink, Red, Lello, Blue, Ned and Gray. Mal, Monty and Carter are all here. I don’t even understand how everyone is fitting inside Flyn’s small apartment, let alone the reason why.
My attention turns helplessly back to Flyn. “What is happening?”
