That settled it—I was going to tell Trent I wanted us to write our own vows.
My stomach fluttered. I was going to have to write vows. I’d better start working on them now, and I was going to need as much help as I could get. Whitney, Ellie, and Abby officially had one more wedding task to help me with.
The bell rang to indicate class was over. That went fast. I’d spent the entire time daydreaming and hadn’t heard much of Miss Prescott’s instructions other than there would be a practice test on Monday. Lovely. I gathered my stuff and rushed to my locker.
“Hey,” I said to Trent, smiling. “So, I have an idea.”
“You’re in a better mood.” He grinned and leaned against his locker as I quickly switched out my books. “What’s this idea?”
I closed my locker. “I want to write our own vows.”
“You do?” He raised a brow.
I nodded. What if he thought it was stupid and didn’t want to do it?
“Okay.” He straightened.
Excitement whipped through me. “Really?”
He laughed. “Yes. Really.” Taking my hand, we headed toward our final class of the day. “Actually, I’m glad you suggested it because I’ve already written mine.”
I stopped. “You did?”
His eyes sparkled in that special, teasing, loving way that I adored. “I figured if I didn’t get the chance to say them at the wedding, I’d say them to you after.”
My heart melted, and I leaned into him. “You’re going to make me cry, aren’t you?”
“You’re going to be crying so hard you won’t be able to talk.” He paused. “Maybe you should say your vows first.”
I smacked him, and he laughed. “Okay, I changed my mind. No vows,” I said.
“Too late. It’s a done deal now.” He gave me a quick kiss, then ushered me into class, his hand still firmly locked with mine.
When I entered the room, Isach glanced up, and my smile faded. His normally vibrant green eyes were dull, and there were dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and his hair was a mess.
My God, what was Rector doing to him? I almost stopped to say something to Isach, but Trent gave me a gentle shove, and I kept walking toward the back of the room.
“He looks terrible,” I whispered to Trent as I slid into my seat.
I couldn’t imagine how Abby must feel seeing him like that and not being able to comfort him or ask him if he’s all right.
“We’ll find out what’s going on soon enough,” Trent said.
Tonight, hopefully, Isach would tell us everything and not just bits and pieces before disappearing and ignoring all of us again for God knew how long.
Midnight couldn’t come fast enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
Midnight Meeting
“HE’S NOT GONNA SHOW UP,” ABBY said for the millionth time as she paced a hole in Trent’s living room floor.
“He’s going to show up,” I said again. “It’s only ten after twelve.”
I refused to admit I was starting to worry, too. What if something happened to him? What if he couldn’t get away from his father? Nerves gnawed at my gut, and I stood, too restless to sit still a second longer.
“He’s here,” Wyatt said.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Trent opened it, and Isach strode in. Without saying a word to anyone, he marched up to Abby, took her face into his hands, and kissed her in a way that wasn’t suitable for an audience.
My face heated, and I looked away, but I couldn’t contain my smile knowing how thrilled Abby must be right now.
Finally, Isach released her, mumbled something I couldn’t hear, and then turned his attention to the rest of us. “I don’t have a ton of time, but—”
“Wait.” I held up my hand to stop him. “Before you tell us anything… How are you? You didn’t look so great in school today.”
He looked slightly better now, but he still wasn’t his normal self.
“My father grounded me.” Isach rolled his eyes. “I haven’t been leaving much, except for school, so I’ve had a lot of time to eavesdrop.”
“How did you get out of the house tonight, then?” Jax asked.
“My father is harnessing the energy of the full moon tonight. He does this every month, has been for almost a year now.” Isach dragged a hand through his hair. “When he cursed your family, he bargained his soul for power, and now he’s trying to bargain to get his soul back.”
Abby’s jaw dropped. “Your father doesn’t have a soul?”
“No.” Isach shook his head. “It’s why he’s so… vicious and cold.”
“Why does he suddenly want his soul back?” I asked.
“What’s he trying to bargain?” Trent asked at the same time.
“I don’t know.” Isach sighed.
If Rector was soulless, and therefore vicious and cold, how did he ever manage to fall in love and have Isach? That didn’t make any sense. Then again, nothing about any of this made sense. I should really stop trying to apply logic to situations where there was none, and apparently, supernatural relationships were logic-free.
“Thought you’d been eavesdropping?” Jax asked. He still stood near the fireplace, arms crossed. He hadn’t moved from that spot in the last hour.
“I have, just not about that. When my parents start fighting, I start ignoring. But I have been listening to my father talk to his eventual successor.” Isach took a step away from Abby, and her face fell. Isach blew out a breath, cracked his neck, then moved back toward her. “He’s been trying to do a locator spell to find Felicity, but it hasn’t been working.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” I asked.
“Yes and no. Yes, because he can’t trace her back here or to any of you, but no because now my father thinks she has information that she’s hiding. He’s more determined than ever to find her.”
“He won’t.” Sean stepped out from the kitchen. “I made sure of it.”
“How?”
