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“Wait for it…”

A second later, the stone reappears, several inches to the left of where it disappeared, and drops onto the outer edge of the ring

Dax glances at me, a smug grin on his face. “See? Easy. Now you try.”

Centering myself, I pick up my stone, then aim.

“No, not straight on,” Dax says, moving behind me. One of his hands slides over mine, adjusting the angle of my wrist. The other hand finds my waist. “It’s going to warp, remember? If you try to shoot it directly, it’ll skip right past the ring.”

I breathe in, staring at the direction he’s pointing me. It’s completely off the table.

“When you’re ready, release it. Not too hard.” Dax lets go, standing beside me again.

Did he throw his that far over? There’s no way this is right.

Narrowing my eyes, I focus on the weight of the stone, mentally calculating how hard I’d need to fling it to cover the distance to the end of the table.

Pulling my arm back, I let it go. The stone flies over the edge of the table, exactly like I knew it would. When it starts its descent, the entire thing blinks out of existence.

Only a second later, the little rock pops back into view, landing dead center inside the ring.

My stone flashes twice, and a girl next to me claps.

“Well, fuck. Sumner for the win,” Dax whoops, nudging me with his elbow. “Now, I think I owe you a drink.”

Glugging down my victory beer, Dax and I sit on the couch. The excitement from the game is still swimming through my veins. I’ve never played anything like that before.

“So, handsome, what kind of creature are you?” I ask Dax, strangely confident now that the alcohol has started to melt away some of my anxiety.

The corners of his mouth lift. “Guess.”

“Umm, siren?”

“Not even close,” Dax says, tugging me closer. I don’t even tense up when he does so.

If I allow it, it’s okay.

Right. No shell necklace. That one should have been obvious. I wiggle my body to better adjust to my new place under his arm. “Do I get any hints?”

“Nope.”

I examine his ears. Not pointed, so probably not a faerie. “Let me see your teeth.”

“Why?”

“Because if you have fangs, I swear I’m going to the other couch.” I mean it as a joke. Sort of.

“Harsh.” Dax chuckles, then smiles wide, even opening his mouth to show me there’s nothing sharp enough to easily puncture my skin. “Anything else you want me to show you?” There’s a playful, seductive hint to his tone.

“Actually, I should probably go check on my friend,” I tell him, realizing it’s been a while since I’ve seen Liya. I may not be well-versed in parties, but I do know they aren’t known for being safe havens. Too many drinks, too many strangers, and way too many dark corners.

“Of course,” he says, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Will I be seeing you again tonight?”

I absently agree, already scanning the area. She isn’t hard to find, being that she is by far the most colorful person here. Her glittery eyeshadow practically acts as a beacon. It takes almost no time before I’m zeroing in on her.

We do a quick check in, making plans to meet back here in an hour to decide if we want to leave or stay a little longer.

When I turn, I’m met with someone’s hard body, and when I take a step back to see who it is, a flush finds its way to my cheeks. Confused by my body’s reaction to him lately, I shove whatever’s wrong with me down and lift my head high.