The scent hit me next. Burnt marshmallows.
I clamped my mouth shut before I drooled like an idiot.
He walked past me. The curve of his bare back was visible in the candlelight. Through the cracks in his skin, I caught flickers of the other world—the one he carried inside him. The glow behind his flesh pulsed like a dying sun.
“Eat,” he ordered. He dragged out a chair, the wood scraping loudly across the stone floor. Then he took a seat in another chair. He turned to me. His eyes glowed red—deep and fierce, like a blood moon had risen just behind them. “Kara.”
I blinked. Whiplash. One second, he terrified me with the kid from Hell. Now, he wanted me to sit down and have dinner?
His brows furrowed. “Shouldn’t your curse be wreaking havoc on you? I know everything about you. No need to pretend. It’s just us.”
Deja vu slammed into me like a freight train.
Shadow.
He’d said the same thing. The first time he hijacked a man’s body to speak to me. I was in high school at the time. Same words. Same voice. Same eerie calm…
Michelle repeatedly popped her lips as she applied lip gloss. Turning from the bathroom mirror at Bugsy High School, she leaned against the sink. “Josh was a good kisser, but I don’t know. I think I’ll let Ethan take me to prom.”
Renee snorted. “Didn’t I tell you? Ethan already asked me.”
Michelle’s face flushed scarlet as she pinned two deep, slanted brows at Renee. “Are you freaking kidding me? When?”
“Earlier,” Renee practically sang the word. “If you’re unhappy, we can trade.”
From my peripheral, I caught movement. A lightbulb above the back stall fizzled out, and darkness settled in. Not the usual kind. This felt like the kind of darkness where something waited.
“I’m not giving you Josh, brat.” Michelle snapped, arms crossed. Then her gaze flicked to me. “Why are you so quiet, Kara?”
“Can we hop out of here? I want a Slim Jim,” I said, already heading for the exit.
Shadow disliked the girls. He constantly made fun of me for hanging out with them. I wanted a human experience. Yes, they were mean, and I would not exactly call them friends. But whether it was age or high school, something about girls could be horrifying when they felt threatened. I didn’t get upset with their behavior. I liked kissing boys, too. Definitely planned to do more. But despite what Michelle said, Josh hadn’t been a good kisser. Who knew? A year might have made a difference. Jackson, who graduated last year, had been my best experience so far. The man had shoved his tongue hurriedly in my mouth and cupped my breasts. That desperate hunger had been electrifying. I should have gone all the way with him.
“Jeez. I don’t see how you stay so fit,” Michelle muttered, knocking me out of my thoughts.
I worked hours training each day with the family. No way I could explain that to any mortal.
“Let me guess.” Behind me, Renee’s flip flops smacked against the floor as she stepped closer. “No one is good enough for you.”
The sharp undertone in her voice sliced down my back like a blade. I looked over my shoulder, still walking, and caught the resentment twisting her features.
I let it roll over me.
Josh and Ethan had asked me to prom first. Envy brought out the worst in everyone—except Joy—who somehow stayed pleasant despite her curse.
“Kara—”
Michelle didn’t get to finish. Anoofescaped my lips as I bumped into someone. Books thudded to the floor.
A brown-haired boy nearly bumped into my chin as he bent down to retrieve my belongings.“I didn’t see you,” he blurted, scrambling to gather the items.
As I bent down to help him, I saw it was Gregory. The gangly boy with thick glasses had sixth period with me..
“I didn’t see you either,” I said, smiling.
His head shot up, eyes bulging behind his lenses. I half-feared his glasses might break. “Oh, my, Kara!”
His face slowly morphed into a tomato as laughter snickered behind me. Gregory’s shoulders drooped, realizing the laughter was for him. “I’ll help you,” I said quickly, as if I could erase the sound echoing down the long hall.
