I closed my eyes tight for a moment, then nodded. The thought of being alone in this apartment made something inside me die.
“Alright,” Evie said. “Let’s get you changed. Want me to call Ari?”
“Sure. I’ll need her help anyway.”
Evie nodded and took my arm. “Come on then.”
I was dressedand walking and, from the outside, appeared normal, but inside a black hole had opened, swallowing every emotion but numbness. Evie navigated me into the pub, a relatively new place I’d never been, known for its good food, unique drinks, and grumpy owner. Ari waved at us from a back table.
Evie steered me over and held out a chair for me. I dutifully sank into it. Ari pushed a drink over, giving my hand a little squeeze.
“Cliona’s vodka made into a tonic with lime,” Ari said. “That fine ass owner grows the limes himself.”
Evie snorted. “I have a fine one of my own, but I’ll give that one to you. The owner of this establishment is pretttttty.”
“Thanks.” I lifted the glass, tipped it back, and had it drained in four swallows.
Ari stared at me for a beat, blinked, and nodded. “Alright. It’s that kind of night, then. I’ll be right back.”
She meandered over to the bar, leaned in to say something to the handsome bartender, and came back to the table a few minutes later with a loaded tray of drinks.
Evie and Ari both took one and pushed three over to me.
I drained all of them in rapid succession and sighed as the first one began to hit my veins. The music was good—a mix of classic rock and 80s, and Ari and Evie had ordered almost everything off the menu when the server came over, then moved another table over to give us more room to spread out.
“How’d you know?” I said to Evie.
Her eyes softened. “Mom. She felt the moment Sarah’s soul was stolen right out from under her nose.”
I closed my eyes. “He loves her,” I whispered.
“I know,” Evie said. She gripped my hand in hers tightly. “Your mother is a fucking monster.”
When I opened my eyes, Ari was watching me carefully. “You wish to kill her.”
Her words were not a question. “I do. More than anything in the world.”
Ari and Evie exchanged a glance. “Then we shall help you.”
Evie gestured to the bartender for another round of drinks. “Mom isn’t so keen about her, either. She’ll help if we ask.”
I shook my head. “You and your mom are goddesses. Her death at your hands will come too soon. I want to make her suffer.”
Evie’s face softened. “I get that. I really do.”
The booze was helping ease some of the numbness—one of its many dangerous super powers. My mother had one fae weapon in her possession. I didn’t want Evie or her mother anywhere in the vicinity of it. If I lost Evie, I might burn the world down out of spite.
But Ari’s knowing expression told me she understood exactly why I’d turned down my best friend’s help. “If I need your help, I’ll come to you,” I swore to Evie. “I promise.”
“Then we’ll help on the sidelines if we can. Mom is pissed about the soul?—”
“Sarah,” I whispered.
Evie’s eyes flickered. “Right. Sarah.” She let out a soft sigh. “When things are out of balance, things in the world get disrupted. Small things at first, so you have some time. However this goes, Moira, Sarah must return to the earth.”
“And Ethan?”
“When your mother dies, if she’s the one who resurrected Sarah, the spell will break, and Ethan should remember everything.” Evie shook her head. “How he may react is anyone’s guess.”
