Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) (33 page)

My gaze went to Josh. “Fix him first.”

“I can’t, but a kiss of summer will have him back to his old annoying self in seconds. Brea will take care of him as soon as we leave. I’m sure she didn’t go far.”

So am I
. My eyes narrowed as I deciphered his words. “Like the flowers? He’s frozen in time, not frozen to death?”

“You spared my life. I spared his.”

“Josh, I promise Brea will fix you,” I said, not really knowing if he could hear me. With a heavy sigh, I placed my trembling fingers in Reed’s palm.

“You needn’t be afraid of me,” he said. With his free hand, he offered me his flask. “Drink.”

I bit my lips and shook my head. He hadn’t won, yet.

“It will make our travels more comfortable,” he warned.

I shook my head again and prayed we would head straight for the door before I changed my mind. He stuffed the flask into his back pocket and picked up his bow without letting go of my hand. “Do not say I didn’t warn you.”

Cold gripped me. A thousand needles stabbed at my veins as I gasped for air. I grabbed my neck with my free hand, choking. Death would have been more merciful than Reed’s magic. He stepped closer and snaked an arm around my waist.

“
Next time, drink the wine
,” he said, though his lips didn’t move.

There wasn’t going to be a next time if I had anything to say about it. But at the moment, I couldn’t say anything—I would have sworn Old Man Winter himself had reached down my throat and yanked my small intestine through my mouth. The cemetery vanished, and the next thing I knew we were standing in my kitchen.

I ran to the sink and threw up.

“We could have driven,” I said hoarsely, then vomited again.

“And give you time to call your boyfriend? No, thanks.”

While I rinsed my mouth out with water, Reed checked the house.

“We’re alone,” he said on returning.

I could have told him that. Dad and Chase were grabbing dinner after the movie, and Isaac and Kaylee were hanging out at her house waiting for Josh’s call, which wouldn’t come now that he was a human ice cube.

The pinecone centerpiece sat in the middle of the table, where it had been for days. The additional meadowsweet Kaylee had added while Josh and I were at the cemetery comingled a little too nicely with Reed’s woodsy scent. The aroma added lightheadedness to my nausea.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I grabbed a pen and paper off the counter. “I don’t want my dad worrying about me.” I nervously rubbed my hemp bracelet against my wrist. “And Isaac and Kaylee, they deserve to know where I am.”

“You have one minute.”

I took a seat at the table and blew out a breath, sending my dark bangs flying. I wrote
Dad
at the top of the notepad. Reed turned toward the window and drew an imaginary arch through the air. The space between him and the wall shimmered, creating a four-by-two-foot oval void.

The door.

It was what I’d been waiting for. I grabbed the meadowsweet from the centerpiece, muttered the words Josh had taught me, and threw it at Reed’s feet like one throws dice across a table. With a little help from my powers, the sprigs settled on the floor around Reed and the door. One last push of power aligned them in a circle.

Or more precisely, a faerie ring.

“Gotcha,” I said.

Reed’s eyes turned as dark as a blizzard. He banged soundlessly on the invisible wall of his prison.

“Isaac warned Josh that he wouldn’t be able to win in a battle of his magic against yours.” I twirled the pen between my fingers as I spoke. “But Isaac couldn’t help summon Brea to use her as leverage because of that promise he’d made you. So after our last attempt to trick you, I knew we had to get you to let your guard down.”

Reed’s handsome features twisted in fury.

“No more games,” I said. “You walk through the door and lead whatever life you want in your realm. Stay here and you’ll eventually starve, because I’m not letting you out of that ring.”

The front door opened. I peered down the hallway.

“Are we good?” I asked Kaylee.

She glanced over her shoulder at Brea and Isaac and said, “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Rhoswen?” Reed asked. “How could you side with these humans?”

“I did no such thing, Dellis.” She boosted herself up on the counter. “This one”—she indicated to Kaylee with a bob of her head—“summoned me shortly after you freed me.”

“Part of Plan A,” I explained. “If you managed to rescue Brea, then Kaylee would detain her elsewhere.” Josh had called Kaylee through our bond. His message, “I love you,” was code for “Summer faerie on the loose.”

“Rhoswen, free me!”

Isaac and Josh positioned themselves in between her and Reed.

She looked past them. “Dellis, some battles are best not fought. This is one of them. If you were thinking straight, you would agree with me.”

Reed’s glare fell on Isaac, who raised his hands in front of him and said, “I was very hospitable, even insisted the faerie ring be made around a cozy chair. I didn’t harm or threaten her in any way.”

“Reed was just saying goodbye,” I said.

A guttural growl escaped his lips. With one last look at the meadowsweet on the floor, he said, “We will meet again.”

I met his ice-cold glare. “If that’s true, then I hope it’s as friends and not enemies.”

“Brea, are you coming?” he asked.

“In a moment.” She hopped off the counter and faced me. “Isaac said it was you who had insisted on finding a way to, how did he phrase it?” She tapped a finger to her lips. “Oh yes, ‘shove Reed’s ass back through the door without killing him.’”

I twitched a shoulder. “I consider you a friend. I didn’t think you’d feel the same if we slaughtered your brother. Besides, the last thing we wanted to do was ignite a war between our people.”

Brea smiled at her brother. “Will you not admit now that she is different from the other?”

Reed punched the barrier, turned, and stormed through the door. For a fraction of a second, I could see tall trees capped in snow and a violet-blue sky. Then the shimmering, out-of-focus doorway returned.

Brea sighed. “He’ll probably spend the winter stewing over losing this fight.”

Kaylee looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Josh?”

“About him…” I scrunched my nose. “Brea, I know you don’t owe me, but Reed did that trick of his with the ice, and it takes a kiss of summer…I’d be in your debt if you would, you know, defrost him.”

“Defrost?” Kaylee choked on the word.

Brea shook her head. “I warned him about upsetting my brother.”

“You did, and I’m sorry for earlier.”

Her hands went to her hips. “He owes me an apology too.”

“Well, if you were to pop over to the cemetery, I’m sure he’d agree.”

“I think I will.” She disappeared.

“He froze Josh?” Kaylee asked, horrified.

I put an arm around her shoulder. “Like a Popsicle, but it’s temporary. He’ll be good as new as soon as Brea gets there.”

Isaac gave me a hug, lifting me off my feet and twirling me around. “You did it!”

“I did,” I replied with a smile, letting him hold me. “And I needed this.”

Chapter 29

Payment Due

Brea went home shortly after she and Josh returned. Isaac and I sealed the door before we cleaned up the meadowsweet. And, as he said he would, Caden stopped by exactly twelve hours from the last time I’d seen him. He only came into the house as far as the foyer.

“You haven’t undone the damage from eating their food,” he said with a frown.

His hand held my chin as he examined my eyes. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Isaac’s fingers clenched in fists as he pretended it didn’t bother him that Caden stood so close to me. He couldn’t hide the hint of steel that was his jealousy, though.

“I feel better now that Reed’s gone,” I said. “And the longer he’s away, the stronger I’ll get.”

Caden released my chin. “It’s a temporary fix, until he returns.”

“He won’t,” I insisted. “We closed the door, and Isaac’s going to lock the Fae book away someplace safe.”

“Very well.” Caden opened the front door.

I grabbed his arm, ignoring Isaac, whose mouth had fallen open. “I thought you were going to collect on the debt I owe. Wasn’t that the point of the deadline?”

“I wanted you ready for when I need you.” Caden smiled. “If you’d like to continue our conversation, I haven’t eaten yet. I’d still love to hear how Emma screwed up so badly she ended up in the psych ward.”

Energy sizzled between Isaac’s fingertips. That story was not one to be told any time soon—and definitely not over dinner with another guy.

“You need to stop goading Isaac.” I let go of Caden’s arm.

He leaned in and whispered, “Where’s the fun in that?” With a wink, he left.

Kaylee came up next to me and watched Caden walk to his car. “After everything that’s happened today, it’s a good thing you don’t have to do a demon’s dirty work too.”

“He knows exactly what he’s going to have me do. He’s stalling.” I gave a fleeting glance to Isaac, now brooding on the couch. “I’d like to get whatever it is over with before they end up fighting again.”

One wonderfully uneventful week later, the school gym had been transformed into a winter wonderland for the dance. Bright blue spotlights helped set the mood. White and indigo balloon pillars had been erected next to the deejay’s table, glistening snowflakes hung from the ceiling, and fake snow dusted the floor and bleachers. The dance committee had really outdone themselves, and the packed room proved the students appreciated their efforts.

“You really do look amazing,” Isaac said for the sixth time. His gaze traveled from the tiny floral bobby pins in my hair, over my crimson silk dress, and down to my black heels. “The red lipstick is a nice touch.”

“Thanks.” I adjusted his black tie and kissed him. He wore a dark tailored suit and a deep red shirt. “You’re quite dashing yourself.”

“Why, thank you.”

An upbeat song ended, and a soft guitar solo drifted out of tall speakers. Several guys on the dance floor wrapped their arms around their dates’ waists, holding them close as they turned in slow circles. Small groups of students who’d gone stag made their way to the bleachers and refreshments.

Isaac tilted his head to the side. “Shall we dance?”

“I thought you didn’t know how.” When he flashed a smirk, I asked, “Did you do a little hocus-pocus”—I wiggled my fingers—“on your shoes?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” He held out his arm.

We joined Josh and Kaylee, Mark and Sarah, and several of our classmates on the dance floor. I had been right about the black dress Kaylee wore: Josh couldn’t keep his hands off her. Right now they were on her hips.

Isaac held me close, his breath warm against my cheek. His thumb gently rubbed the silk ribbon on the back of my dress as we swayed to a slow song. When it reached the last notes, he slid his hand to the small of my back, spun us once in a circle, and then lowered me gracefully into a dip.

“I’ll have you know, those moves were without the aid of witchcraft.” He pulled me up, the grin on his face telling me he was pleased with his dancing abilities. “My parents taught me the basics,” he confessed. “I can slow dance, do a simple box step, and am now awesome at the Chicken Dance.”

“Really?” I giggled, but I was honored that he’d spent the time to learn a few steps just to take me to a school dance. “I want to see you flap your arms and wiggle your butt.”

“You laugh, but if the deejay plays the song, I’m ready.”

“Oh! It’s so on!” I took a step toward the deejay. “I’m going to place a request.”

Isaac grabbed my arm, tugging me close to him and nuzzling my ear with his nose. “Or we could enjoy the slow songs he’s playing.”

“If you insist,” I said with an exaggerated sigh, but the truth was, I hated the Chicken Dance.

We kissed as we moved with the other people dancing. His lips lingered on mine just long enough to steal my breath away and raise my pulse.