“Well, you can’t have it,” I teased. “It was my mom’s. She got it on one of her first missions in Venice. It gives off an espionage vibe, doesn’t it?” I twirled.
“Or dominatrix, whatever.” Eva grinned, and I swatted her shoulder.“Hey now!” she cried out. “Remember, succubus scars!”
My face fell. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay if I go out? You won’t feel alone?”
She’d given me the rundown of what she could remember from her trial, and it had been horrific. Apparently, she’d just killed the lesser demon that Spellcasters had sent them to fight when a greater demon appeared: a super strong succubus. The bitch had thrown acid at Eva’s face, barely missing her eye. Eva had passed out shortly after that.
“I’m kidding. Apparently, no regular cure can heal them, but they don’t actually hurt. I’ll be fine,” Eva assured me.
“Are you sure? I can cancel dinner.”
“No. It’s okay. Hunter’s busy tonight, too, so I was gonna use the time to catch up on some classwork. I’m behind. Basically, I need this time to study, sopuh-leaseleave!” Eva gave me a playful shove.
I inched toward the door. “Okay. Get lots done, and don’t stay up too late,” I said like a total mom.
“Okay,” Eva said. “Get lots done and don’t forget to jump Alex’s bones.”
I shook my head and, cheeks flaming, rushed out of my room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“It’s so cute!” I exclaimed as we stopped in front of a bistro in Wandstown.
No one had been more surprised than me when Alex asked if I wanted to get off campus for an evening out. Of course I’d said yes. Not only was it dinner with Alex Wardwell, but after staying in the infirmary with Eva for a week, I needed to get away. Then I’d come up with a brilliant plan to make my life easier, and everything fell into place.
Well, almost. That last bit remained to be seen, but I was hopeful that it would work.
A few people turned to look at us as we entered the bistro. Three older couples smiled and waved. Alex waved back, which I thought was a little odd, but didn’t question. I was too busy wondering what the people in the bistro thought we were. An established couple, casual daters, or friends?
“Reservation for Wardwell,” Alex said to the hostess, and as she searched her sheet, I hoped that Ms. Seeley had honored his request to book a reservation. Simple things like that were a lot harder without cell phones.
“Right this way, please.”
Thankfully, the hostess led us to the table for four. Alex helped me out of my jacket, which sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I took the seat facing the dining room. I didn’t want him to know about my plan until the very last minute.
“So, how does it feel to be out of Spellcasters?” Alex asked as he sat down.
I heaved a breath. “Amazing. When I got to the academy, I thought I would never want to leave, but after this last week . . .” I shook my head, taking in everything that had happened. “It was intense. Eva finally told me what happened at your trial—or at least, what she could remember. I can’t believe you guys faced all that.”
Alex’s blue eyes darkened. “You and me both.”
“How did you get out of there without it following you?”
“I killed it.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Youkilledit? But we haven’t learned any incantationsthatadvanced in Battle Magic or Demonology. Only those that can deal with lesser demons.”
“My parents taught me,” Alex said as if he was admitting something he shouldn’t. “Remember how I told you that they were determined that I enroll in Spellcasters?”
I nodded.
“Well, they taught me a few things that we won’t learn until third year to cinch my admittance.”
I gaped. Alex knew Crucible year stuff?Holy universe, that is so hot.
Alex shrugged as if trying to brush it off. “They didn’t teach me that much advanced stuff. They’re only two people and I had normal school, which took up a lot of time. But what they really wanted me to know, they drilled into me. The curse terrified them. They wanted to make sure I could defend myself.”
The curse. Of course. The curse that had mademyparents lie to me all my life. The curse I still had yet to bring up to them. The curse that had affected the lives of everyone in my year.
