Feeling suddenly inadequate compared to the girl Reed described as perfect, I fought the urge to run my hand over my hair to smooth it. I didn’t dare look at my reflection in the mirror. I knew what I’d see: an average girl who hadn’t brushed her hair since she’d gotten out of the shower that morning and whose makeup had faded hours ago. Reed’s voice was soothing, though. Like a child’s lullaby.
He kept talking. “However, she was as shallow as she was pretty. She wanted the grace and agility to become captain of her dance squad, taking the position from a girl she called her best friend.”
“She could have cast a spell to accomplish that,” I pointed out, remembering how Isaac had run his hands over the blades of his ice skates and,
My powers trickled back inside me as if retreating before they could lose the battle against a member of the Winter Court, or maybe they were standing down because there was no need to fight. Either way, their withdrawal left me feeling drained. I leaned against the wall near the door for support.
Reed stretched out on my bed, head on my pillow and boots hanging over the edge of the mattress. “Apparently not. Her powers only made her good enough to secure a spot on the team. She, how do you humans say it, had two left feet without them. Whereas her friend had real talent. Heather couldn’t stand it.”
“Nice friend,” I said, glad that I didn’t have a Heather amongst my friends—but then I remembered Paige and realized at one time I had.
“Sarcasm?”
I gave him a smug look, regretting the small gesture the moment my vision blurred. I grabbed the doorframe and blinked several times. I hoped Reed hadn’t noticed.
He smiled approvingly, like my reply made him fonder of me—definitely not my intention. “She summoned an audience with me with the intentions of trapping me in her world.”
Brea hadn’t been kidding when she’d said humans normally wanted more than a little help around the house when they summoned a faerie. That left me with a nagging question. “What do you get in exchange for enhancing one’s talent?”
“A piece of their life essence.”
“Their soul?”
The room shifted, or maybe it was my brain swimming in my skull. My fingers squeezed the doorframe. Reed was suddenly next to me, guiding me to the foot of the bed. I hadn’t even seen him get up.
“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging his hands off me. Now that I was sitting down, the room no longer twirled frantically in front of me. “Answer my question.”
“I couldn’t care less about a human’s soul.” His snowy white gaze studied my face. “You don’t look well.”
I didn’t feel well, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Then what is their ‘life essence’?”
He crouched in front of me, head cocked to the side. I willed myself to look healthy.
After a moment, he said, “Fairies are complicated. We eat, drink, and sleep, much like you. Only it’s not enough to keep us strong. We need energy from nature. Humans offer the best source, but it is in our very being to have to give something in order to take. A balance that needs to be maintained.” I must have looked totally lost, because he sighed heavily. His breath smelled sweet like the fruit punch Kool-Aid Chase liked. “Do you know what an aura is?”
“It’s the invisible light that surrounds every living thing,” I replied, remembering how my seventh grade science teacher used to say she could tell a lot about her students by their aura, swearing she could see the color of everyone’s in her class. She had told me mine was a bright rosy pink. Rumor in middle school had been that Mrs. Casper sniffed the chemicals in her classroom one too many times. Now that I thought about it, I wondered if she possessed the powers, or maybe she was psychic.
“Close,” Reed replied, pulling me out of my reverie. “It’s the energy around many living things. We don’t have an aura of our own. We take bits from humans during celebrations or in exchange for favors. That is why we grant such gifts to aspiring musicians and dancers.”
“So you absorbed part of Heather’s aura?”
An evil glint flashed in the back of his eyes. “As I stated, she intended on trapping me here. I don’t take kindly to those who take and do not give. Our deal was grace for companionship.”
“You wanted to hang out with the pretty girl?” It couldn’t have been that simple. Isaac’s warning replayed itself in my head:
“It seemed only fair that she learn a lesson. She did intend to trap me in her world. I decided to turn the tides and trap her in mine instead.”
“And Isaac stopped you. So now what, you want retribution?”
My stomach did a somersault, but if it was because of what I’d learned or because I wasn’t feeling so hot, I couldn’t tell. I inhaled, trying to shake the lightheadedness that had gripped me ever since I’d come upstairs.
“It’s you.” I scooted away from Reed. “You’re the reason I feel this way.”
He sat on the corner of the bed but made no attempt to come closer to me. “I would be honored if you would escort me to the Winter Solstice Celebration. I know the perfect gown. Bright red, something that caresses your skin with every step we take on the dance floor.”
“You’re asking me out?” I stammered.
“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, don’t you think? And I believe I’ve been nothing but adorable so far.”
“Creepy and stalkerish is more like it. And, no, I will not go with you to the whatever you just said.” I pointed to the door. “Get out of my house.”
His gaze fell on the chain wrapped around my wrist. When he didn’t get up, I willed my powers to get the hell back to the surface and sent a gust of air at Reed, pushing him off my bed. “Out!” I demanded.
He glowered, and the temperature in the room dropped a good twenty degrees. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the air around us. When I opened them again, I sent a pulse of heat outward to warm the air and make it bearable again.
I stood, keeping the back of my legs against the bed to help steady me. “You need to leave.”
“Say yes,” he coaxed. “Be my date for the solstice, and I’ll leave your world alone.”
I took “alone” to mean he wouldn’t wreak any more havoc in this realm, but I’d be trapped in his.
“No.” I raised my hand, producing a ball of fire as I did.
But before I could whip it at Reed, he seized my forearm in his unyielding grip. It only took a few seconds for my flame to be smothered as it froze into a glowing blue ball of ice. My weapon dropped to the floor, useless, and I saw the chain around my wrist was a mere inch from his hand.
“Does iron not affect you at all?”
“It is vexing, and I would prefer you removed the bracelets.”
“And I’d prefer it if you’d go to hell.” I yanked my arm away from his hand. “You don’t screw with people’s lives over losing a girl,” I added with less punch than I’d aimed for.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Madison.” At the sound of my name rolling off his tongue, my head did that swimming thing again. I thought about lying down and decided against it. Reed kept talking. “Messing with lives is the perfect way to get back at someone, but that isn’t the only reason I marked you as mine.”
“What?” I shook my head hoping to clear my thoughts, regretting it the moment my brain banged against my skull.
The front door slammed shut, and Dad called out loudly to let Chase and me know he was home.
“You might want to answer him,” Reed pointed out. I didn’t like how close he was.
“Hi! Upstairs doing homework,” I yelled back. I sank back down onto my bed, fingers curling around the edge of my mattress for balance. “What did you do to me?”
I felt as if I was in a haze that grew thicker and darker with each passing second. I closed my eyes and almost fell forward off the bed. It was Reed’s strong hands on my shoulders that kept me upright.
“You’re going through withdrawals,” he replied in a smooth voice.
“That’s ridiculous.” Weren’t withdrawals supposed to make you shake and hallucinate? This felt more like my mind drifting away from my physical body.
“Drink.” Reed held the flask to my lips.
I pushed his hand away. “I’m fine.” But I wasn’t. It took me three tries to get my next words to pass my lips.
