Page 100 of The Cursed Fae

He stepped into the room, his expression more serious than normal. “You don’t think telling Essie is the better play here?”

I shook my head defiantly. “He has my best friend in the world, Laz. I’m not taking chances. Besides, Nana is looking into Missy’s murder, she needs to focus on that.”

Laz started to reply before reconsidering. “If I agree to help... you have to give me something in return.”

This quid pro quo angle rarely sat well with me, but his almost playful tone made me curious enough to ask. “Like what?”

“A dance.” Laz flashed me a grin that almost overtook the gravity of the conversation. “Since I can’t take you to the formal, you have to promise me one dance. Whenever and wherever I say. Doesn’t matter if there’s music.”

I pretended to consider and then offered my hand. Laz grinned and yanked me close. Our lips met, and I felt the strangest sensation, like someone was watching us. I opened my eyes and peered around the shadowy attic.

“What’s wrong?” Laz asked, nuzzling my neck.

“Nothing. Let’s get out of here.” My guilty conscience couldn’t handle making out with him in the same spot where I’d kissed Archer. “Maybe your sister will be gone.”

Chapter thirty-four

Happy Birthday from Beyond

The next morning started with my new routine—sitting with Laz in our favorite armchairs in the second story loft of the library with coffee and scones he’d swiped from the kitchen. We had a third companion, too. I’d invited Astrid to join us, so we’d all get on the same page.

“Any updates on the love potion?” she asked. “From our spy behind enemy lines?”

Laz raised an eyebrow. “Spy? Interesting.”

“Yeah. It’s complicated.” I shot Astrid a look. Had she missed the part where I intentionally left Missy out of the equation? “Nothing new on that front. I’ll check in when I get a chance. So, you got any dimensional spells in that grimoire or what?”

She took my not-so-subtle hint and let the subject drop. “I do, actually.” She flipped open the book in her lap, to a page marked with a blue sticky note. “This is for creating a short distance tunnel, which is technically what a portal is—a passage from one point in space in time to another.”

“You sound like a magical dictionary,” I said. “Not that I’m complaining. I don’t know what any of this means, and my family doesn’t seem all that eager for me to learn.”

Astrid sat up straighter and flipped to a second section, also marked with a blue sticky note. “This spell appears to be for teleportation, which is an entirely different thing—except when it’s not.”

Laz and I exchanged confused glances. “Care to explain that?” he asked when she didn’t elaborate.

“So, technically, it differs from portal travel, but people often use them interchangeably. This could work for our purposes. Plus, it is the easiest of the three spells I found. Since we’re in a time-crunch situation, I figured it might be worth a try.”

I seriously doubted Mat would return my best friend on a technicality. Will he give her to me at all? I had to remain optimistic. He could’ve taken Lena much earlier than he did. It was only after I refused to stop playing with ghosts that he went for her. The eternal would keep his word. I had to believe that.

“Definitely worth a try.” I forced a smile. “Good thinking. What’s the third option?”

She flipped to the last blue tab. “I put this one through a translation app,” she warned, which already made me regret the second scone.

I once used a language app to give directions to frazzled motorists in German. I told him to turn north at the eggplant to merge with cows on the pavement... we both cried.

“The spell is for long-distance tunneling through non-magical spaces,” Astrid continued.

“That’s oddly specific,” Laz said.

“The original is in Mandarin,” she informed us. “The translation is very literal. It’s pretty intense, using high-level magic.” She looked up. “Like the kind your nana does.”

Great. My options were technicalities and spells that required a century on earth to execute. This was just outstanding.

“Or you could actually use your dimensional powers,” Astrid added. “To open a portal directly from here to California.”

That was what Mat wanted, obviously. I didn’t have the skills to give it to him.

Laz’s hand covered mine. “There’s still time.”

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