“RHEA,” I bark.
“Sorry, sorry,” she says, waving her hands. “I’ll tone it down. But seriously—do you know what’s going on with the curse?”
I stiffen. She notices immediately—because of course she does. “Piper.” Her voice softens. “You’ve been avoiding my calls. Avoiding asking for help. What do you know?”
I swallow hard, glancing at the customers still browsing. “Not here.”
“Then let’s step into the back,” Rhea says, tugging me gently.
Slade blocks the doorway like a six-foot-four stone wall with muscles and bad ideas. “She’s not going anywhere alone.”
Rhea stares up at him—unimpressed. “Big guy, please. I’m aBellamy. I’m more likely to hex her into telling me the truth than hurt her.”
“That,” Slade says without blinking, “is exactly the issue.”
I throw my hands up. “Both of you…Stop.”
They look at me at the same time. Like I’m a rope in the middle of a very territorial tug-of-war. I inhale deeply. “First… Rhea, I have no idea what’s happening with the curse.”
Slade’s eyes narrow.
“Second… Slade—back up. I can talk to my cousin without you hovering over my shoulder like a sexy gargoyle.”
His lips twitch. “You think I’m sexy?”
“THAT IS NOT THE POINT.”
“It’s relevant.”
Rhea gives a dreamy sigh. “It kind of is.”
“Rhea!”
She winces, then motions me closer. “Okay, seriously. I came because the wardline in your house flickered. And the shift wasn’t random. It was… resonant.”
My stomach drops. “Resonant with what?”
“With someone,” she says, glancing meaningfully at Slade.
He looks… smug. I glare murderously at him.
Rhea continues, lowering her voice. “We need to figure out what’s triggering the curse. And what exactly you learned last night. Because the more information we have, the better chance we have of stopping this before it spirals.”
Slade steps forward. “I can help.”
“You already AREN’T,” I snap.
His eyes flash. “You’re pushing me away because you’re afraid of what this means.”
“I am pushing you away because you are overwhelming and territorial and—” I waveboth hands at him, unable to articulate the rest. “And you know something and WON’T SAY IT.”
Rhea’s gaze darts between us. “Okay, wait—what does he know?”
Slade’s expression shifts. He meets my eyes, slow and deliberate, voice dropping low enough that my magic thrums in response.
“I know what the curse wants,” he says.
The room stills. Rhea’s amber eyes widen, horror creeping across her face.
