Then I feel arms around my waist.
“It’s me, Lia,” Ace whispers, his voice low and warm in my ear.
I suck in a breath. “You havegotto stop sneaking in like that.”
He presses a kiss to my cheek. “Don’t scream. And don’t fight me.”
“What? Ace, what are you—”
He slides a blindfold over my eyes before I can finish.
I start to laugh, but my heart is racing. “Are you serious right now?”
“Dead serious.”
“You’re kidnapping me?”
“Technically,” he murmurs, “yes.”
“Because that’s totally normal behavior on someone’s birthday.”
“Just trust me, Lia.”
“Trust you tokidnapme?”
“Yeah. Actually.”
I sigh like I’m annoyed, but I go willingly because it’s Ace.
The car ride is short, but long enough for me to spiral.
“Where are we going?”
“Is there going to be a crowd?”
“Oh my God! I’m still in my pajamas, Ace! Do I look okay?”
Those are only a few of the random questions I practically screamed at Ace when my brain started to overthink the whole “just trust me to kidnap you” thing.
By the time we come to a stop, Ace helps me out of the car and guides me forward, one hand on the small of my back, the other laced through my fingers.
A door opens, and warm air brushes my skin. It smells like citrus and candles. Somewhere, soft music is playing.
Then, footsteps and whispers.
“Seriously,” I whisper. “What is this?”
Ace doesn’t answer. He pulls off the blindfold.
I blink. And then gasp.
We’re standing in a cavernous room that is composed of tall stone walls, golden candlelight flickering everywhere, and in the center, draped in black velvet, is a Double C crest the size of a table.
And surrounding us are cloaked figures in a semicircle.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “Are you making me join a cult on my birthday?”
One of the cloaked figures pulls their hood back, and Cassie Kelly’s face comes into view. “Not a cult, Julia,” she says with a big grin on her face. “But a secret society.” She winks and my jaw drops.
