Chapter 7
7
C athy’s words keep playing in the back of my mind. Try not to influence him into falling in love with you, like you did with Devlin.
Like I did with Devlin.
My stomach churns in anger. It’s the same old cut, opening the same festering wound. When Devlin dumped me, he told the entire school that I’d influenced him into caring about me.
I’d never been so humiliated in my life. It felt like a knife had been plunged into my gut, then twisted, pulled out, shoved back in and twisted some more before being pulled out again, put back in…you get the idea.
That wound didn’t heal overnight. Not sure if it ever healed, now that I think about it, and whenever I see Devlin, it’s hard not to remember how he betrayed me on so many levels.
It wasn’t so hard to forget when you were dancing with him.
Shut up, self.
I would never, not ever influence someone into liking me. What a horrible thing to do to another person.
I attempt to shake off those old memories and focus on something else. From where I’m standing, I’ve got a great view of everyone and everything in the ballroom. Witches dance with werewolves. A few fae are here, too, talking to guests. I inhale, and the smell of spicy cologne mixed with floral perfume permeates the air. At the buffet table is an arrangement of petit fours and fruit.
I might not influence someone into loving me, but that won’t stop me from getting someone to bring me a plate of food.
Yes, it’s lazy. Yes, it’s using my power. But right now sugar is what will make me feel better.
I spot Chelsea standing off to the side, and I decide to give her a little nudge.
That’s what I call it— nudging . Nudging a person in one direction or another. I’ve never tried influencing anyone into doing anything huge. It’s merely a suggestion, one that they either accept or reject.
But mostly they accept.
I push through the shield around my mind and toss out my power like a lasso. Though I’ve never seen myself when I do this, my sisters have told me that my eyes turn black the moment that my power is used. Then just as quickly as they turn black, they become normal again.
A hard snap tightens in my stomach, and that’s the sign that I’ve roped Chelsea with my power.
Very gently I send over the idea of me and cake. Next thing I know, my sister has a plate of dessert in her hand and she’s bringing it to me.
She has a funny look on her face, almost like she’s laughing at an inside joke. “If you’d wanted cake, all you had to do was ask and I would’ve brought it. You didn’t have to nudge me, because of course I want to know all about your dance.”
“I shouldn’t have done it. It’s wasteful.”
She shrugs. “Sometimes you have to be a little wasteful.”
I chuckle as she places a glass plate that holds pink-icing petit fours in my hand. “Thank you, and dancing with Storm was amazing. He’s very considerate and we hit it off.”
She squeals. “Really?”
“Yes!”
“Oh, I’m so excited for you!”
Dallas walks up, tucking her short brown hair behind an ear. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes keeping Nana busy in the back. Even though she swears that she’s not interested in the ball, she keeps trying to sneak out here.”
Chelsea rolls her eyes. “That’s the last thing we need.”
“Why couldn’t she have just stayed in heaven?” I muse.
Dallas checks her nails. “I’m beginning to wonder if she was in heaven at all.”
We stare at each other before laughing. Then Dallas says, “What’s Storm Grayson like? Have you found out what supernatural he is? I’ve been watching who he talks to, to see if there’s a hint there, but he seems to fit in with all of them.”
In unison, our heads turn in his direction. Sure enough, Storm’s talking to a werewolf and a vampire that I recognize. There’s even a wizard hovering nearby.
“I think he’s got the blood of all three in him,” Dallas says, rather boldly, I might add.
Chelsea folds her arms. “Impossible. There’s no way. Maybe he’s part werewolf. I can see that.” She wiggles her brows at me. “Be sure to let us know if he bites.”
I nearly choke on the petit four. “Oh gods. Stop it. We only danced once.”
Dallas sighs. “Don’t worry. According to Nana, there’s an entire week of activities.”
I blink. “Yeah, Storm said something about staying for the week. What’s going on?”
“Nana’s finished with Ovie only scheduling one ball, and told her so. If Storm Grayson’s here, then he’s here for a whole witch-courting session.”
My stomach opens, and I think that I’m going to vomit. No pressure. This is good for me, but it also means that Cathy has more face time with Storm.
I’m gonna have to be on top of my game.
“Uh-oh,” Dallas murmurs.
“What?”
“Looks like our old friend Cathy’s on the prowl.”
My stomach tightens as my gaze floats to the dance floor, where a frilly skirt swishes past. Cathy’s dancing with Storm. Sometime between talking to other supernaturals and me taking a bite of cake, Cathy dug her claws into him.
My stomach sinks.
“If you’re not careful, that one will steal your happiness,” Chelsea whispers. She pauses for a moment. “You don’t think she’s telling him about you, do you?”
I shake my head. “No. I already warned her not to.” But still, that doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Maybe you should nudge her into not liking him,” Dallas suggests.
“You know I can’t do that. It’s completely immoral.” Watching Cathy dance with Storm isn’t my idea of a good time. “I’m going to get some air.”
Chelsea reaches for me. “You want us to come with you?”
“No, no. Stay in here.” I force a wide grin that feels as fake as a silicone breast implant. I mean, I imagine it feels fake. I wouldn’t know. “I’ll be right back.”
My mind’s swirling as I push through the doors that lead into the garden. I inhale deeply and throw myself against the railing, studying the hedges that have pools of moonlight dripping on them.
Even though it’s winter, the garden is all four seasons, even blooming in the cold like it is now. After the frigid day, a warm front has moved in, making the temperature bearable. But still, I hug my arms to fight off a chill that’s settled on my skin. However, this cold is more from Cathy than it is the actual weather.
I inhale the comforting scents of gardenias, roses and lilies. The fragrance is heavy in the air, and it clings to my skin.
I sigh and drop my head into my arms. I must get married for my family, but every which way there’s an obstacle. Besides Cathy, there are my own mental blockades. Storm can’t know about my power. The last man that did dumped me, and it shattered my heart so badly that it’s never fully recovered.
Isn’t that dumb? Even though what happened with Devlin was years ago, it still destroyed me.
Most people would say, get over it, but the repercussions of him telling the school about my curse continue to haunt me to this day.
I’d be better picking a guy off the street and proposing marriage to him than I am going to fancy balls.
Stop it, Blair. Stop beating yourself up.
I’m so lost in my own self-doubt that a scraping sound takes me by surprise. My spine snaps to attention, and I spin in the direction of the noise.
“Sorry to startle you,” Devlin says as he steps from the shadows.
“Great. Just great. I come out here for a break, and you’re already tainting the place.”
His jaw tightens. Yes, I can see it. Moonlight cuts across his face, making his beauty seem almost ethereal.
Not that I noticed.
“I’m sorry that I’m such poor company.”
I scoff. “Don’t try to make me feel bad. You’ve made me feel plenty bad in this life. You can take a little of it now.”
He drops his chin to his chest. Does the great, arrogant, cocky Devlin Ross feel guilty about something? Does he have feelings?
“You’re right. I have made you feel bad.” I suck in a breath and he chuckles. “Surprised that I can apologize?”
“No. I’m surprised that you can admit when you’re wrong.”
His head lifts and his eyes search me, looking for something, I don’t know what, but it feels like he’s got X-ray vision that’s sinking through my skin and looking at my bones, turning them over to see what’s on the other side, what I could be hiding.
Then he rips his gaze away. “I never should have come.”
He starts to walk off, and there’s something so vulnerable about him that I can’t stop myself from asking one more time, “Why are you here?”
He slips his hands into his pockets before turning to me. “I wanted…” He shakes his head. “I don’t know what I wanted.”
“To make Storm Grayson jealous? To ruin my chances with him?”
Devlin looks surprised like I punched him in the gut. His recovery is quick as he narrows his eyes and says in a hateful voice, “If you don’t want me here, why don’t you make me leave?”
I stop breathing.
He’s suggesting that it would be okay to use my power in such a way. As it sits now, my power is always simmering under the surface of my skin, rolling and boiling, waiting to be used, prodding me to release it. It begs to be harnessed. So every so often, like I did tonight with my sister, I give in and use it for trivial things. My sisters are accustomed to fetching things for me, even if I don’t do it that often.
But using my magic to force Devlin into doing something against his will is an insult.
Anger blisters my insides. “I would never use my power like that. You know that. But of course you want everyone to know what kind of mutant I am—for their own protection.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bee.”
Bee . The nickname he gave me all those years ago. Just hearing it makes flames lick across my skin, it’s so infuriating. What makes Devlin think that he has the right to call me by a name given out of love?
I step forward defiantly. “You don’t get to call me that. You don’t get to pretend like you care.” It’s all so maddening. I plow my fingers up the sides of my hair, pulling it out of the comb and no doubt ruining it. “Gods, all of this is ridiculous. My power. All of it is because of my power. What I wouldn’t give to not have it.”
“Your power?” he growls. “You don’t know anything about having a power that’s a curse.”
“Like you do. All you care about is getting laid.”
“Stop. It.”
Devlin’s eyes are brimming with rage. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry. He’s always annoyingly charming.
Oops. Perhaps I have pushed him too far.
But I don’t care. “Why should I stop it? You’re the one who shows up to social engagements with two dates.”
“I didn’t tonight.”
“Wow. One time. Big deal. Is that the worst problem you have? Try living life as a magical freak.”
He shakes his head in disgust. “You think your power is so bad?” he grinds out. “You can do what? Some mind trick on your unsuspecting victims? Use the force on them?”
“How dare you?—”
“Yes, I will dare, Blair. I will dare, because you don’t know what being cursed with power is.”
“And you do?”
“Yes.” Pain flares in his eyes before he quickly looks away. “I do.”
During this time we’ve been stepping closer to one another, like we’re tugged into the other’s gravitational pull. I don’t notice it until now, when I’m only a few inches from Devlin and am staring at his bow tie.
It’s silk, perfectly tied. He probably used magic to do that. Wouldn’t it be nice to waste magic on things other than getting your sister to deliver a plate of dessert? To have so much power that using it for something as simple as tying a bow is okay, instead of feeling like every time you burn up magic, you’re being irresponsible and pushing your family closer to the brink of extinction?
He clears his throat, and I look up at him. Moonlight cuts his face into all sharp angles and high cheekbones. The urge to touch his cheek and let my fingers brush over the coarse stubble makes my fingers twitch.
He stares down at me, and I’ve forgotten where I am, what day it is, what we were even talking about.
That’s what Devlin Ross does to me. He makes me forget my own name, makes me forget what I was about to say. His good looks steal my breath.
His throat bobs and my gaze tracks up to his eyes. There is pain in them, something that I don’t understand.
Right. We were talking about his power.
I want to speak, but my throat’s thick. I lick my lips, and his eyes flick to them. My words are barely more than a whisper when I say, “What could be so bad, Devlin, that you seem to think you’ve got it worse than me?”
He rips his gaze away, giving me a view of his amazing profile. “Let’s just say that you don’t have the monopoly on magic that harms more than it helps.”
Did this have something to do with his parents? They’d died when he was young, a plane crash. But that’s all I know about them.
Either way, the air on the balcony has shifted, changed, become more intimate, and I don’t like it.
“There are things you could do with your power, Blair.”
I scoff. “Hilarious. Like what?”
“You see the bad in it. But there’s so much good you could do.” He glances back through the window into the ballroom. “See that wizard over there? The one who’s staring at that little blonde?”
“No,” I tell him, not bothering to look.
He points. “Right there.”
“I still don’t?—”
He grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me against him. I’m now overly aware that I’m touching his torso. That there are only a few layers of clothing between us.
Devlin doesn’t seem to notice because with laser-beam focus he says, “Him. Right there.”
The only thing worth paying attention to right now is the fact that our crotches are lined up. But somehow my gaze tracks to where he’s pointing. “You mean the guy who looks lonely?”
“Exactly. You see he wants to dance with her.” He points to a petite blonde.
“How do you know?”
“Watch.” Sure enough, the wizard keeps glancing her way. “See?”
My face is pressed against Devlin’s rock-hard chest. “Yes,” I say, my cheek smooshed. “I see.”
Every few seconds the wizard glances up shyly, but when the blonde tries to make eye contact, he looks away.
Devlin drops his mouth to my hair and runs his hands down my shoulders to my elbows. He murmurs in a voice that makes chills wrap around my spine, “With your power you could give him a touch of confidence, Blair, just enough so that he’ll ask her to dance. You could nudge him into believing in himself.”
His hands tighten on my elbows. I’m overly aware of how we’re pressed against one another, how I haven’t touched him like this in years.
Pressure builds between my legs, and he exhales into my hair. He starts to slide his hands down to my waist, but I pull away.
The spell of Devlin is broken. “But that’s forcing my power on someone I don’t know. It’s wrong.”
He blinks like he’s waking up from a dream. It takes him a moment before he slides a hand down his cheek and shakes his head. “You’d be offering that man a gift. Maybe something that would change his life forever.”
“Yeah, right. This power doesn’t work like that.”
“Have you ever tried?”
“That’s not the point.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “That’s the whole point.”
“It’s a curse,” I argue. “I would give anything to wish it away.” I drop a hand onto the railing. “Since you hate your mystery power so much, maybe you can wish yours away, too.”
He doesn’t laugh. Instead he tips his head toward the sky as if he’s actually contemplating it.
And it’s sexy as hell. It’s been too much—the physical contact with him, the dancing, the talking. Most of all the talking.
I need to get out of here. I take a step back, but his hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist.
“Oh!” Surprise unravels inside me, sending a pulse of energy ripping up my spine. “What?”
Devlin nods to a star. “Make a wish. Anything you want. Make it, and I’ll do the same.”
Has he gone nuts?
I don’t know because his expression is unreadable. It’s all clouded and shrouded in dark Devlin energy. It’s kind of alluring, actually. I might like this dark Devlin.
Snap out of it, Blair! Devlin is the devil. All you gotta do is rearrange the letters of his name, throw out the N and it’s right there staring you in the face. D-E-V-I-L.
I haven’t said anything, so he glances at me with those hazel eyes of his, the gold flecks in them shining. My body becomes a puddle.
“Make a wish,” he commands gently.
Right. He’s my mortal enemy. It’s best if I remember that. “Fine.”
“We’ll say it at the same time, and maybe it’ll come true.”
I laugh because it’s ridiculous. He doesn’t laugh. Devlin’s still holding my wrist, his fingers burning imprints of heat into my flesh, imprints that I know will last well after he’s released me.
“Are you serious?”
“Why not?”
Why not? My gaze shifts to the star, a single star that’s winking at me from up in the heavens.
“Fine.” Anything to get out of here and get back to the ball. Chatty Cathy probably has Storm Grayson pinned up against a wall and is trying to get pregnant via osmosis or something so that she can trap him and steal all his money.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Ready.”
“I wish?—”
“I wish?—”
“That I’d never?—”
“That I’d never?—”
“Been born with this power,” we say in unison.
From out of nowhere, a fierce gale rips over the balcony, picking up my skirt and blowing it toward the ballroom.
Devlin’s still holding my wrist, but a wave of heat pulses from his hand and shoots down my arm, making it feel like I’ve been set on fire.
I screech and he drops me.
The fire shoots up to my shoulder and dives into my stomach, where it coils up like a snake before the power explodes out of me. As soon as it’s gone, a new force pushes in—a beam of energy traveling a thousand miles per hour. It slams against me and I stumble back.
Devlin does the same. There’s shock on his face. He stares at his hands, pats his chest, then looks at me.
“Did you feel that?”
“Of course I felt it. What was it?”
I feel different, strange, as if a part of me is gone. That power of mine which is always simmering is simply silent, like it’s vanished into thin air.
What the hell?
My gaze swivels around as if I can find answers out in a garden overflowing with gardenias and hydrangeas.
That’s when I see her.
My grandmother’s standing at the door, her ghostly face pressed up against a pane of glass.
She’s staring at us.
And she’s smiling.