“It’s because you’re so straightforward,” Odette said. “Others say you’re too brash and blunt, but I like that, because it lays out for me what’s expected. I don’t have to guess with you. To be honest, I can’t stand people who beat around the bush.”
I beamed. “Odette, you seriously are the sweetest.”
“Aw, thank you.” She batted her eyelashes, before she frowned. “My perfectionism is probably the hardest part. I know it gets out of hand. I justhadto be the perfect dancer forRomeo and Juliet.I was starving, and I didn’t care. Nothing mattered to me more than being the best.”
“But it was killing you,” I insisted.
“I couldn’t see that. Or didn’t want to. Ballet was so amazing because I could control everything. The music was never too loud— the classes were small, so stimulation was just right. I could dim the lights, block out the rest of the world. It felt like a break from being me.”
Her lips quivered. “Now all that’s gone away. And in the end, all I really have left from that is...Theo.”
“I’ve told you before you don’t have to give up ballet. Just alter your perception of it,” I offered.
Odette wasn’t listening. She continued to rant. “Theo and I can’t be together. What if it’s awkward? What if…oh gods… the sex is awful? I can’t take screwing another man who has a super tiny dick. I had bigger balls than Igor by a long shot.”
Odette tilted her head. “Do you think Theo has a big dick? I try to look when he walks by, but I can’t tell... oh, what am Isaying?”
She covered her face with her hands. “See how this is messing things up already?”
“That you’re wondering proves you want to find out.” I laughed. “But I have to say worrying about sex is the least of your problems.”
“You’re right.” The gears in Odette’s head worked.
“Theo is certain you have a mating bond. If you do, you guys are meant to be. Why wouldn’t you take a chance?”
“But what about you and Ethan?” Odette stuck out her lip. “You two have a mating bond, but it couldn’t keepyoutogether.”
I sighed. “Ethan and I are very complicated. Theo might be running around in a mask with the rest of us, but he doesn’t have a vigilante complex.”
“Or a death wish,” Odette added unhelpfully. I scowled, and Odette said, “Sorry. Too much?”
Just a lot.I dragged Odette upward for the second time. “I’m just saying, you don’t have to make a decision now, but the more you push Theo away, the more intense your feelings are going to get.”
“And the hornier I’m going to get,” she said triumphantly. “He was doing reps at the barre in the studio the other day, and girl,those biceps.”
It was already starting. The spark in Odette’s eyes faded away as she said, “Speaking of Ethan… Emma, I think it’s time. We’re too late to save him, and if the demon takes over before you break your bond, he’ll kill you. It could happen any moment now. You need to break the bond tonight, and save yourself.”
The knot in my throat hardened. “Do you think I’m out of time?”
“Yes. My visions are clear. If Ethan survives, you won’t,” Odette said firmly. “The world needs you.Ineed you. You have to do what’s best for yourself. Ethan would want it that way.”
My eyes burned with tears, but I held them back. “You’re right, Odette. I can’t avoid it any longer.”
I rose off the bed. “Let’s find Delmare and Kiara. I’m going to need them.”
We located Delmare pretty quickly in the art studio, though we searched campus high and low for Kiara, and she was nowhere to be found. The anxiety in my stomach twisted as we waited for her to show up in the Rec Room, but she never appeared.
We held off until the eleventh hour, because that was the time the ritual had to be performed. The three of us met up again outside the alchemy classroom. Kiara hadn’t shown.
“Where’s Kiara?” I asked.
“Sorry, Emma. We couldn’t find her,” Delmare said.
I needed my friends to support me through this ceremony. But I had run out of time. I couldn’t wait any longer for Kiara to show up.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” We entered the alchemy lab. I’d already started preparing the room. I’d pushed desks and chairs to the side, to make an open space beside the counters used for brewing potions. In the middle of the room was a large wooden tub. I’d filled it with hot water, as well as a gallon of milk. I grabbed a jar my mother had given me and began sprinkling in the contents— Himalayan sea salt, eucalyptus leaves, chamomile daisies, and fresh white rose petals.
Red candles were placed around the tub in a circle. Scattered beside them were ashes— what was left of journal pages. I’d torn out every page in my journal where I’d written my feelings about Ethan, and burned them this afternoon. I’d added more to the fire— pages I’d written today on every emotion and regret. This was a crucial part. Everything had to be laid out on paper, and released through fire to the gods before the ritual could continue.
