I stand there, frozen. My mind is racing. Shadow beings. The Shadow Realm. Magical bonds.
This can’t be real. It can’t.
But the ring was sitting on my nightstand. And Felix seems to think it’s all perfectly normal.
I take a deep breath and try to pull myself together. I have four more hours of my shift. I can freak out later.
I can definitely freak out later.
Felix finishes with the customer and turns back to me. “You okay?”
“No,” I say honestly. “But I will be. Probably.”
He gives me a sympathetic smile. “For what it’s worth, your aura looks a little better now. Still fucked up, but better.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“Anytime, dude.”
He goes back to restocking the pastry case. I go back to making coffee. And I try very, very hard not to think about what tonight might bring.
Chapter 3
Netflix and Not-chill
I’mgoingtostayawake forever.
That’s my cunning plan. A foolproof plan. If I never sleep again, I can’t have sleep paralysis. Problem solved.
I’m curled up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around me like a burrito. Netflix is playing some action film I’ve already forgotten the name of. There are explosions happening on screen. Someone is yelling. I don’t care about any of it.
My eyes are so heavy. Each blink takes more effort than the last. My head keeps drooping forward and then jerking back up.
I need coffee. Or energy drinks. Or possibly intravenous caffeine.
But I’m too tired to get up and make any of those things. Which is terrible for my goal of staying awake.
This is so hard. The sofa is so comfortable. The blanket is so warm. My body is screaming at me to just close my eyes for a minute. Just one minute.
I shake my head violently and sit up straighter. No. Absolutely not. I am not falling asleep.
On screen, a car flips over and explodes. Very dramatic. I blink slowly.
My head tilts to the side. My eyes drift closed.
Just for a second.
“This film is terrible.”
I yelp and jerk sideways. My elbow catches the arm of the sofa and I tumble off in a tangle of limbs and blanket. I hit the floor with a painful thud. My hip cracks against the hardwood, and pain shoots through my side.
“Ow! Fuck!”
A low chuckle rumbles above me. The sound vibrates through the air, rich and dark and far too real.
I scramble onto my ass and stare up at the sofa. Hex is sitting there. Right next to where I was sitting a moment ago. He looks completely at ease, one arm draped across the back of the sofa, legs crossed. Those glowing red eyes are fixed on me with obvious amusement.
The temperature in the room has dropped. I can see my breath misting in the air. The fairy lights strung above the window flicker and dim.
