Chapter Twenty-Four #2
Once I had finally managed to climb on top of the table, it didn’t take long for people to notice me.
I was the only one standing on a table after all.
I squinted as I tried to make everything un-blur.
I wanted to see the faces of my peers, not these blue and purple smudges of light.
I also kind of wanted to fly. Maybe even jump off the table.
‘Oh, do not jump of the table,’ Silas pleaded, looking up at me.
Oops, must have said that thought aloud. A giggle slipped out of me, then a full laugh; the kind of laugh that made your ribs ache. But I wasn’t sure what was so funny, just that I really wanted to laugh. Then I stopped, abruptly, because I had something to say.
Something important.
‘Excuse me, everyone,’ I announced, sweeping my arms in a wide arc.
The noise of the party fell to a murmur as they all focused on me.
I might not have been able to see them all clearly, but I could hear them.
I could hear the whispers, the snorts, the sounds of people watching me make a fool of myself.
But in that moment, I didn’t register it.
All I could feel was the secret on my tongue, the one that had ruined my life, and I wanted to tell everyone. I wanted to be free of it.
‘Hello, everyone!’ I shouted, though I didn’t really need to.
‘Hello, Maya!’ someone shouted back, and I was kind of grateful for that. The silence was a bit disconcerting.
‘I, Maya Reverie, have something really imp-imp–’ I squinted down at where I thought Silas was. ‘What’s that word again? Imp–’
‘Important,’ Silas said back, but then switched gears. ‘OK, Maya, come on down, all right? Obviously, someone slipped something into your punch, and you’re not –’
‘Important!’ I shouted, excitedly. ‘Got it. I have something important to say!’
‘Then say it quickly, Reverie, because you’ve stopped the party.’
That voice I did recognize. Everly Catacomb. Her tone wasn’t irritated, like she usually was with me. This time, she sounded gleeful.
‘I just want everyone to know how sorry I am,’ I began, and my voice was trembling now.
All that guilt rose to the surface, choking me.
I thought of Frost and Diya and Inspector Vale, all lovesick because of me.
I shuffled back and forth on the table, desperately trying to focus my eyes and meet someone’s gaze so they’d understand my sincerity.
I wanted people to know that I was so sorry.
‘I didn’t mean to ca– ah!’
I’d danced a little too close to the edge of the table and suddenly felt myself falling – hands sticking out, gasping as air slammed into my lungs. I heard someone shout my name.
And then, arms.
I was in someone’s arms. My fall was cushioned by their embrace; my legs hung over one strong arm, and my head was tucked into a shoulder.
There were some shouts and groaning from the crowd, and then I was being moved.
The blue and purple smudges of light faded; the blurry world around me turned into darkness.
The air felt colder, crisper, and I snuggled deeper into the arms. I looped my arms around the strong neck, pressed my nose into the jacket and inhaled deeply. Fire and wood, like a blazing campfire. I wanted to bury my head in the scent; fill my lungs with it until it was all I could breathe.
‘Where are you taking her?’ A sweet, familiar voice said.
‘To get this potion out of her system,’ the voice that was holding me shot back.
I could hear the tenor from his chest, where my ear was pressed against his sternum.
His heart was beating against my cheek, loud and steady.
It soothed the racing thoughts in my head, gave me something to focus on beyond the cold around me and the glimmers of moonlight.
I could almost have fallen asleep, but then we came to a stop.
It was an abrupt stop that made me jostle. A whine slipped out of me; I was starting to feel a little sick.
‘Get out of my way, wolf,’ the voice was hard-edged, unrelenting.
‘Are you sure you should be the one to take her?’ Silas asked. I knew it had to be him because what other werewolf could it be? ‘She said you two weren’t even friends.’
The arms holding me stiffened, and I heard the audible click of a jaw snapping shut.
‘I have known Maya Reverie since I was eight years old.’ The voice was vibrating with anger.
‘I have watched out for her since then. So let me make this very, very clear to you: if you don’t move out of my way so I can get her home, I will burn you to a crisp.
And no, that isn’t an exaggeration, I will literally, burn you.
I don’t care if that breaks a thousand magical laws, I will end you and have no regrets while doing so. ’
I turned my head to see Silas’s smudged form standing before me and my rescuer.
I couldn’t make out his face, but he was holding himself so still.
And his eyes, I could see those. But that’s because they had gone from blue to gold.
Bright gold. I knew that a sign of a werewolf shifting was the same as a dragon’s – their eyes changed first.
But Silas didn’t shift fully, he just stepped closer. The arms around me stiffened even further.
Silas’s expression finally came into focus. A concerned frown was etched on to his face, his brows knitted together. His eyes were so gold, like two coins. And his hair was so soft-looking, like sunlight shining through candyfloss.
I felt a sigh leave my body. He was so pretty.
A smile tugged his frown upwards a little. ‘You’re so pretty too, Maya.’
I grinned – guess I said that out loud too.
‘Wonderful, now that we’ve established that,’ the voice holding me said, irritably. ‘We need to leave. So, like I said, wolf, move out of my way.’
Silas looked up, his smile slipping away again. I saw him bristle, the muscles in his neck flexed. He didn’t take his eyes off the person holding me – not until Raven appeared.
‘All right, boys,’ Raven said, her voice full of authority. ‘As delightful as this male posturing is, Maya needs to get whatever potion was slipped into her drink out of her system.’
‘How do we know he didn’t put it in there?’ the voice holding me accused.
Silas let out a growl that made the forest leaves shake, and Raven’s admonishment came quick.
‘Orion,’ she hissed.
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
Of course. Of course, the voice belonged to Orion.
I lifted my head slightly and, with the steady heartbeat against my ear, I forced my world to focus.
To really focus. The blurring faded inch by inch, revealing the sharp curve of Orion’s jaw, the black tendril of hair that slipped over his forehead, the sharpness of his silver eyes as he looked down at me.
His heartbeat was still steady, but his breathing felt deliberate. Controlled. Waiting.
‘I’m sorry, Silas,’ Raven said, stepping in front of her brother and me. ‘But Orion’s got her, OK? He won’t let anything happen to her.’
Silas’s gaze flicked down to my best friend. His jaw was still tight, but he stepped aside, letting Orion pass.
‘Find out who did this to her, Raven,’ Orion commanded, not stopping for a breath.
My best friend’s reply was instantaneous. ‘I’m already on it.’