Her fierce expression remained for a few seconds, before it softened minutely. She took a sip of her tea, and I found thescent of the herbs soothing in their familiarity. “I understand what you’re going through, but I also love you and wouldn’tfunction without our friendship. You can’t be so casual with your life. I mean, what if Logan had chosen not to save you lastnight? What if he was the one hunting you in the first place?”
“It’s not him.” I was sure of it now. “We need new suspects, and they have to be powerful enough to drag monsters out of theplanes of existence and into ours.”
“What about Logan’s dad?” Belle stared at the wide beams lining the ceiling. “Maybe he’s controlling a student who is weakerthan Logan. Noah?”
I’d considered this theory, but it didn’t feel right. “It’s possible, but I don’t think it’s Noah.”
“Did he really say that he doesn’t believe the monsters are being created? They’re being called? What the fuck is happening,some weird evil Pokémon battle?”
A snort escaped me as I played with the rim of my coffee cup. “Makes as much sense as the rest of our theories.”
The briefest of smiles lifted her lips, before she grew somber again. “Are you sure you’re completely healed? No lingeringpain? Maybe we should visit the healers.”
My stomach wasn’t exactly happy with me today, but I didn’t have any pain. Picking up the chicken salad sandwich I hadn’teven touched, I took a bite and chewed while I mulled over my thoughts. “I checked my body this morning, and there’s not adamn mark on me. The healers didn’t even come close to this thorough a healing when I was hurt in the graveyard. Spellcastersdo it differently.”
If only I could stop thinking about just how differently.
Her lips twitched. “Maybe we should let them in on the secret, right? A few mind-blowing orgasms by the hottest, most powerfulwarlock in the school will bring a witch back from the brink of death.” The twitch turned into a smile, and I waited for whatsmart-ass quip was coming next. “You guys went all enemies-to-lovers. Haley will be fucking thrilled.”
I pressed my lips together and resorted to throwing a napkin at her. She cracked up, and I couldn’t help my own laughter.It was cathartic. Not that we had any reason to release our worries and tension, but at times your body made the decisionfor you.
“What’s the plan now?” Belle sipped her tea again. “The defensive spell didn’t work, which means we need a new spell or astronger one.”
“I have no idea,” I mumbled around my sandwich. “Weneed to get more proactive about figuring out how they’re bringing in these monsters. Once we have that knowledge, we might discover who’s involved.”
“I was talking to my dad about it,” Belle said, finishing up her tea and pushing the cup away. “He rang last night to talkabout the monster issue, and I explained what’s been going on.”
“Did he have any thoughts?” I asked, sandwich forgotten.
“He said the council and elders are doing a lot of work behind the scenes to figure out what’s been happening. It’s quitethe uproar out in the magical world. He did say he’d do extra research for us, and would pass along anything he learned duringparents’ weekend.”
I’d completely forgotten about the event, which was a huge deal for obvious reasons. “That’s next weekend, right?”
The magical barriers around the school would ease up to allow parents a chance to enter the school and observe their kidsat Weatherstone. Mom had mentioned it multiple times in our last call.
“Yep, next weekend,” Belle confirmed. “Barriers will allow parents in from nine Saturday morning until five Sunday afternoon.Most parents don’t stay overnight, but will come back the second day for another visit. Dad said he’d actually make it, whichis wild.”
I was happy for her, because no matter how blasé she acted over her father’s lack of presence in her life, I could tell ithurt her. This show of effort was a big deal, and maybe as a bonus, he’d discover information that would help with our researchand investigations.
When Belle left to grab another cup of tea, I started on my sandwich once more, only to have Logan drop into Belle’s vacatedchair. Well, not so muchdrop; he casually sprawled into it, his huge body filling the space around him. “What do you want?” I asked as I swallowed roughly, almost chokingon some chicken. After last night, I’d have bet my left arm he wouldn’t seek me out for the rest of eternity.
The air hummed between us, and even though his stare was almost lazy, those icy eyes missed nothing. “Is that any way to greetthe warlock who saved your life?” He was the king of faked affability. This side of Logan was the hardest for me to handle.I never know what to do because his words never sounded threatening, but they were filled with undercurrents. Treacherousones. I only ever got half the story, half the picture, and I had to guess the rest.
“Apologies, oh powerful savior,” I managed to say with the same level of faked friendliness. “Pray do tell, why have you soughtmy company in this hour?”
He flashed a hint of genuine smile before it was locked down again. “Firstly, the headmaster is aware of what happened lastnight.”
I almost fell off my chair as I gaped at him, wondering which part he was talking about. “Last night?”
There was a feral snarl in his expression. “Right, the part where I found another monster and dispelled it.”
Holy goddess. He’d done that on purpose, and I debated if I could stab him with the butter knife beside me. “If my dad hearsI was attacked again, he’ll pull me out of Weatherstone. Did you mention my name?”
Logan watched me closely, taking in every minute change in my expression. When he locked me in his gaze like this, I couldn’tbreathe or think or process as I wanted, so I forced my face blank. “Of course not, Precious. What sort of best friend wouldI be if I ratted you out?”
“The kind who’s mentally deranged because you’re not my best friend.” The bite I wanted to infuse into my words just wasn’tthere. I was frankly too tired for our usual snark.
He waved me off. “I’ll ignore those hurtful words for now,but I expect an apology when your memories return.” What the fuck was he talking about?
