Trent swept his hand alongside my neck and drew me to him for a slow, sensual kiss. I was so lost in him that I completely forgot Abby and Isach were in the front seat—until Abby groaned.
“Can you two seriously not wait until you’re on your actual honeymoon to do that?” she asked.
I smiled against Trent’s lips, and he released me, his eyes still blazing with need. I swallowed hard, praying my face wasn’t as red as it currently felt.
“Take us to Ivy’s,” Trent said, his gaze not wavering from me.
“Hey, I’m not your personal chauffer,” Isach said.
“Fine. Will you please take us to Ivy’s?” Trent asked with a laugh.
Isach’s eyebrows shot up, and he quickly glanced back at us, his expression full of disbelief. “Did you seriously just ask me something nicely?”
Trent flipped him off, and Isach laughed.
“You certainly had a good night, didn’t you?” Isach said. “You’re not nearly as moody as usual.”
“Best night of my life,” Trent said, kissing the back of my hand, his gaze once again seeking mine.
I licked my lips, anticipation building in my belly. I hoped it wouldn’t take us too long to get wherever we were going, because I had no idea how I was going to be able to keep my hands to myself. Moments later, Isach pulled into Ivy’s driveway.
Trent had his door open before the car was even in park. “We won’t be long,” he said.
“Oh, I’m going with you,” Isach said and was out of the car before Trent could argue.
“You coming, too?” I asked Abby.
She shrugged. “Might as well.”
Though there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She hadn’t yet met Ivy, and I could only imagine what Abby thought about her considering everything I’d told her about Ivy.
I got out of the car, and Trent took my hand. The friction of his skin against mine was enough to start a fire in my gut. I was seriously going to have to tell him to stop touching me until we got to wherever we were going. Not that he’d listen to me about that.
We stepped onto the porch, and the front door swung open. Would that ever stop freaking me out? Trent sliced a look at me, and I nodded. We were here—no reason to back out now. Trent walked inside first and tugged me in behind him.
Ivy, as always, was perched on that ugly floral couch. She smiled when she saw us. “There are the newlyweds,” she said, setting her teacup on the side table. “I take it you received my gift?”
“Yes,” I said. “It was very thoughtful. Thank you.”
I had no idea why I was being so polite to her, especially when I knew she was more than likely double crossing us, but my mother’s words were ingrained in my mind: Kindness is its own reward. Regardless of what Ivy did or didn’t do, I wasn’t going to compromise my morals for her.
“You’re most welcome,” she said with a nod. Then she narrowed her eyes. “I see you’ve brought guests. Isach.” She smiled tightly in his direction. “And who’s this?”
“My cousin Abby,” I said. “She knows everything.”
A brief flash of shock registered on Ivy’s face, but she hid it quickly. She smoothed her hands over her skirt.
“You said you had information we needed,” Trent said, clearly done with all the pleasantries.
“Yes. Please, sit.” Ivy motioned at the empty chairs.
“We’re sort of in a rush,” Trent said. “We have a plane to catch.”
“Ah, yes. The honeymoon,” she said. “Very well then. I’ve met with Rector Zoya.”
“Yeah, we know,” Isach said, his tone hard. “Why?”
Abby stood close to him, as if she were afraid of the entire situation. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her be so quiet before. That was probably a good thing right now.
“When the leader of the most powerful coven in the world summons you, you don’t say no,” Ivy said, her tone biting. Then she shifted her gaze to rest on Isach. “Your father is attempting to bargain for his soul. But he can’t because he severely altered the magical balance.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said, shaking my head. “It always comes back around to the magical balance, doesn’t it? I’ve already sworn a blood oath to break the curse. What more do you want from me?”
Trent squeezed my hand, and some of the anger bubbling inside of me calmed.
“I’m well aware of that, Chloe,” Ivy said and rose in one fluid motion. “Rector, however, is not.”
“So, you didn’t tell him about me?” I asked, shocked.
Ivy chuckled. “Why on earth would I tell him about you? He may be attempting to bargain for his soul, but his hatred for the Halsteads runs deep. I can’t risk that anger outweighing his desire for a soul.” She tsked and shook her head. “So no, I most certainly did not tell him about you.”
I sighed with relief, and beside me, Trent’s tense body relaxed a little. I’d been so certain Ivy had outed me to Rector, but knowing she hadn’t… that gave me immense joy. Maybe we really could trust her after all.
“Then why are you meeting with him?” Isach asked.
“He summoned me,” she said, walking around behind the couch and gripping the back of it. “He needs a purely selfless act to counterbalance the selfish act he’d done when he cursed Sean. He thought if he offered to lift the curse and restore the balance—”
“He can do that?” Trent interrupted. “Lift the curse?”
Ivy nodded. “He cast it, so he’s the only one who can undo it.”
My stomach churned as my mind raced to catch up with whatever Trent was possibly thinking. And then a lead weight landed in my gut.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said to Trent, my jaw clenched. I slipped my hand from his and curled my fingers into a tight fist. “You are not getting out of changing me.”
“What?” He whipped his head around to stare at me. Hurt flashed across his face. “Is
