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“So you were waiting outside.”
Evie rolled her eyes and flopped onto the bed. Her hair was loose and her feet were bare, her toenails painted a pale pink. She wore a pair of soft leggings and an off-shoulder light blue sweater.
I reached over and ran a hand down the fabric.
“Cashmere. I missed my sweaters.” I hoped they’d burned the clothing they found me in.
Fury flashed in Evie’s eyes. “I’ll strangle your mother with a cashmere sweater next time I see her.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. “Sorry.”
I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Probably wouldn’t waste good cashmere on her, but I share most of the sentiment.”
Evie wrapped her arm around me. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
She gave me the side-eye. “You still look like hell.”
“As everyone loves to tell me.” I plucked my pajama shirt from my chest. “Don’t know how I can look any cooler than I do right now with these duds on.”
“If you stood up, those pants would fall down to your ankles.” She rolled her eyes. “Rowan’s got a bunch of steaks on the grill. Mom made baked potatoes, and Dad brought a bunch of weird shit in a bowl.” Evie grimaced. “He says it’s salad, but I don’t recognize anything in the bowl.”
“You’re letting me out of bed to eat?”
She snorted. “Nope. We’re coming in here to eat. Tomorrow we’ll see if you’re up for getting out of bed.”
“I’m a vampire, weirdo.”
“We both know that’s a lie,” Evie said primly. “You have vampiric tendencies, and sometimes you can pull shit out of thin air from the fae and whatever other realms are out there. You keep a little bit of magic from whatever blood you consume, and you have a gift with herbs.”
“I—” My mouth snapped shut.
Evie patted my knee. “You are not just anything, Moira. Tonight, you’ll lie here like a pampered princess. We’ll bring you dinner and hang out with you, then let you get some rest. Tomorrow morning, I’ll feed you breakfast, then we’ll see if you’re ready and able to get up.”
I sighed. “Yes, Mom.”
Evie loved me. She showed it every single day in the smallest of ways, and I knew her well enough to know her insistence this time was because she was terrified of losing me.
Tears shimmered in my friend’s eyes before she stood and cleared her throat. “I’ll bring you some new pajamas later.”
I nodded and watched her closely as she left the room.
The urge to bound out of bed because I got a golden ticket hadn’t hit me yet. Bone-deep weariness and mental exhaustion had followed me ever since they’d taken me home, and I didn’t sense that ending any time soon.
Ari and Evie were right. The best way to bring my mother down was to heal, inside and out, and plan.
When I closed my eyes that night after a wonderful dinner spent with friends and loved ones, I decided to do exactly that.
Chapter
Twenty
EVIE
“She’s going to leave us.”
Rowan tugged me closer and nuzzled his nose in my hair. “Yes,” he agreed.
