Chapter 21
I park as close to the house as I can, and we walk the rest of the way. The ground beneath my feet practically vibrates with how loud the music is.
Joelle catches my eye. “I wonder what their neighbors think,” she says.
“Half of them are probably paid off, and the other half are probably too afraid to call the cops.”
Britney Dupree’s best friend, Christine, throws legendary house parties.
I’ve never been to one thanks to my rivalry with Britney, but my brother has attended more than his fair share.
He never has an invite, but that doesn’t stop him.
Despite the tension between Britney and me, Orion will take any and every opportunity to party.
I’ve heard that the Duprees have the police association in their back pocket, and Christine’s parents travel a lot for work, so there’s really nothing standing in the way of their good time.
Heat flushes my body as the people hanging out on the front porch stare. Some wear expressions of suspicion, while others are more focused on refilling the red Solo cups in their hands. Joelle brushes the back of her hand against mine, and her touch steadies me.
I can’t help but feel like every whispered conversation is about me.
Hanging out with the coven kids is one thing. They’re my family. But these people are strangers, and I can’t help but clench my muscles in anticipation.
Once we’re inside, I text Orion that we’re here, and he pushes through the crowd a minute later.
“Hey!” Orion shouts over the music. “You made it.”
Malik and Chris materialize behind him.
“You gonna introduce us, bro?” Chris asks, eyeing Joelle.
Joelle waves as Orion wraps an arm around her shoulder. “This is Zeke’s newest employee.”
As the boys make their introductions, Orion reaches out telepathically. “Aria was in the backyard last time I saw her. She showed up with a group of girls, but she drifted off by herself after a while.”
“Did she see you?”
“I don’t think so.”
Good. Seeing Orion likely would’ve alarmed her. I want to try talking sense into her one more time and see if she’ll admit to this whole thing being her grandmother’s idea.
“Can you keep Joelle busy while I go find Aria?” I ask Orion through our bond.
“Sure thing.”
I tug on Joelle’s arm and lean in to shout over the music. “I’m going to find the bathroom. I’ll catch up with you in a sec!”
Before she has a chance to respond, I disappear into the crowd.
I only feel slightly bad about leaving Joelle with Orion and the guys.
I can’t shake the disappointment of uncovering Joelle’s lie.
She’s told me this whole time that her interest in magic was purely academic, but that’s not the truth at all.
She’s attempted to cast spells before and now she’s trying to brew healing potions.
That girl is in way too deep. The book she had instructed mortals to draw energy from the blood of other witches.
If she finds out that I’m a witch, then what’s stopping her from killing me to take magic for herself?
I barely know her, so I don’t really know what she’s capable of.
I’m going to have to make a decision about how to move forward, and it’s going to require me to smash my feelings for her under the heel of my boot.
This friendship or crush or whatever we’ve got going on has to end. Tonight.
I weave through the throng of people dancing in the living room and peek my head into every room along the hallway, but Aria is nowhere to be found.
When I reach the kitchen, it looks like a tornado blew through it.
There are crumpled cans and cups overflowing from the trash and open bags of chips strewn across the counter.
A guy is refilling the keg, but everyone else is either outside or in the living room.
I take a moment to fill a cup with water and gulp it down.
I don’t even know what to say to Aria once I find her. What reason would she have to betray Gloria for a witch from a rival coven? Maybe I can reason with her. We’ve both been standing in the shadows of powerful grandmothers for our entire lives. It’s not easy.
I think back to the way she spoke to those tiny kittens. It sounded like she didn’t want to kill them, but she stood behind Gloria because her family’s dark practices are all she’s known. I can offer her a different path—one where we forge an alliance and leave the past behind us.
Gloria won’t be around forever.
I’m about to resume my search when a tingling sensation lifts all the hair on my arms. My intuition screams at me to take a step to the side. As I do, something sharp and metallic whizzes past my head.
“Agh!” I reach up to touch my stinging ear, and my finger comes away sticky with blood. “What the hell?”
My eyes widen when I spot the steak knife sticking out of the wall. I grasp the handle to try to pull it out, but the blade is firmly stuck in the plaster.
Whoever threw it at me either put some force behind it or used supernatural means.
I whirl around to find Aria standing in the doorway. Every single rational thought flies out of my head, replaced with white-hot fury. I stalk toward Aria, but she remains rooted in place.
“That was really fucking bold,” I growl. Once we’re nose to nose, I lower my voice to keep from attracting attention. “Did you really try to kill me in a house full of mortals?”
To her credit, Aria doesn’t shrink. The only hint of emotion she shows is the narrowing of her eyes. “If I wanted to kill you, there are a thousand other ways I could do it, and no one would ever know it was me.”
I open my mouth to snap at her when Joelle enters the kitchen with Orion, Malik, and Chris at her heels. She immediately clocks my bloody ear and grabs my arm.
“Are you okay?” Her voice is an octave higher than usual, filled with panic. “What happened?”
Orion’s gaze lands on the knife sticking out of the wall. Malik strides over and tries to pull it out, but it’s still firmly stuck.
“Did we interrupt a knife fight?” Chris asks, glancing between us. “ ’Cause I don’t want any part of that.”
Orion steps between me and Aria. “It’s time to go, sis.”
My eyes never leave Aria’s. “Well, she’s coming with us, because we need to talk,” I say. “Alone.”