She had a good point. Dating was one thing, but marriage was another entirely.
“I know you jumped in feet-first with Ethan, because you didn’t have a choice. But I do,” Delmare said. “I need a little more time.”
I could respect that. A familiar humming noise could be heard from not-so-far away. I turned on my seat, and a huge smile spread on my face when I saw Odette skipping up the pathway, Theo behind her.
“Odette!” I cried. I leapt from my seat and ran toward her. I flung my arms around her and squeezed her tight as she let out a delighted, cute sound.
“I didn’t know you were back!” I said. I noticed she’d gained a little weight in the time she’d been gone— not much, but better than she was.
“I came to take exams,” she said. “I’m out of rehab, so long as I stay on track with my recovery program.”
Theo’s eyes glittered proudly. He’d been miserable since she’d been gone. Now that she was back at school, he was relaxed. Being out of her presence had to be agonizing for him.
“Are you doing well?” I asked. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
Her smile fell. “Well... I’ve been kicked out of the company, as I’m sure you’ve heard. Nobody wants me to dance for them anymore.”
Then Odette brightened. “But Igor says I’ll make up for it. The company will take me back eventually, he’s certain. He didn’t visit me in rehab, but he’s been ever so sweet since I got out.”
Ugh. She was still with that creep? Count that as a loss.
Odette hugged Theo’s arm. “But Theo saw me every day. He was the kindest friend, weren’t you?”
“I’ll always be there for you, Odette,” Theo said.
When she gave a fond look to Theo, I relaxed. Okay, she was still dating Igor, but it looked like she and Theo had made up and were friends again. Her relationship with Igor wouldn’t last long. Theo would find a way to win her over.
I heard the padding of griffin footsteps on the path. I looked behind me. Alexei was in his griffin form, Kiara next to him. He changed into a man as he came near and offered cheerfully, “Hey, guys. What’s up?”
Ethan and I hadn’t told Alexei what Kiara had done. In fact, we hadn’t told anyone. The only ones who knew were the three of us.
“Not much,” I said. “What’s going on with you guys?”
“Just a stroll. It’s a lovely day,” Kiara said.
Kiara was acting like everything was normal, and it was driving me nuts. She pretended like she hadn’t done anything at all.
“It’s good to see you, Odette,” Kiara said with a nod. “We’ve missed you.”
“Yeah. Things aren’t the same without your sparkly ass around,” Delmare said.
“Well, itisgood to be back home,” Odette gushed. “And look! Here come Ethan and Stefan, more dear friends. This is looking to be quite the party.”
Ethan wrapped his arms behind me and squeezed. “Hello,onawilke,” he cooed, and my heart skipped a beat. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Were we meeting up today or something?” Stefan looked confused as he entered the circle. “I seriously can’t remember shit.”
“No, just coincidence,” Kiara replied. “Though it’s so nice out, it shouldn’t be unusual that we’ve met up. Everyone’s got cabin fever from being cooped up all winter.”
Delmare and Stefan were totally giving each other sex eyes. Whatever she said about wanting to focus on hercareer, Delmare acted like she wanted to focus on something else.
Like, Stefan’s dick.
I got an idea. “Since you’re all here, I wanted to try something out,” I said. I pulled away from Ethan’s arms and ruffled through my bag.
“I’ve never attempted an orgy before, so forgive me if I don’t know how it goes,” Stefan began. Delmare smacked his stomach, and he bent over, wheezing.
Alexei choked. Ethan shook his head. I ignored him. “Actually... it’s a spell,” I confessed. I pulled out the grimoire from my bag and opened it, showing the page of a beautifully illustrated portal to the group. “It’s a transportation spell, harnessed by an Unseelie incantation. It says it can carry multiple people at a time without using a lot of magical energy. I want to see if it works.”
