Page 71 of The Cursed Fae

“Ugh.” Missy stomped her foot, which must’ve been pretty unsatisfying because it made no sound. “Go back tomorrow,” she demanded.

“Can’t,” I said around a yawn.

Tina jerked in her sleep and muttered a few words before rolling onto her side facing away from us.

“Why not?” Missy pressed.

“If I keep borrowing Nana’s car every other day, she’ll get suspicious.” In a less annoyed tone, I added, “I’ll go to her house for dinner this weekend, then I can use it again without it being weird.” I studied her translucent face. “If you gave me the name of a someone else treated for depletion, I could talk to them in the meantime.”

For a second, it looked like she might relent. Missy shook her head decisively. “Not yet. Saturday will have to be fine.”

We sat for a few moments in silence. I got the impression Missy had something to tell me. Or maybe she just felt lonely and wanted to be around someone who saw her. As much as I longed to close my eyes again, I couldn’t deny a dead girl.

“Is everything okay?” I asked finally. “Is it Lena? Should I be worried?”

I sat up straighter, no longer caring whether I woke Tina.

“No. She’s fine. She’s home, in bed,” Missy hurried to reassure me. “It’s about Archer. I’m not sure you should spend time with him.”

“Archer?” The uneasy weight in my stomach returned. “What’s wrong with Archer?”

Missy averted her gaze and traced a pattern on my bedspread.

“Missy?” I prompted.

She shook her head. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.” The spirit leapt silently to her feet. “Just find Ray, okay?”

“Missy!” I hissed.

Too late. My translucent friend had already vanished.

Chapter twenty-five

Magic in Low Places

“Hey, stranger,” Morgan said as she slid into a chair across the table from me at breakfast.

I looked up from my history book and smiled. “Sorry. I guess I’ve been really busy lately.” I experienced a pang of guilt. She’d been my first friend in this new town, and I’d barely talked to her in days.

“Busy with Laz?” she teased, spreading butter onto a slice of toast.

My cheeks colored. “He’s helping me with my spell work.”

Morgan laughed. “Is that what you call it? Well, whatever. For Arcane Landing, Laz is one of the more decent guys.”

“Yeah. He’s pretty great,” I agreed. The lingering guilt over Archer gurgled in my stomach, squashing my appetite. I set down my fork.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Morgan smiled. “So, is the Great Lazlo Keene the reason you’ve been avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you,” I blurted.

Morgan placed her toast on the plate and pursed her lips. “Is it because of Missy?”

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, my voice high and squeaky when I replied, “Huh? What do you mean?”

Honestly, I had been dodging her a little. Missy was indeed the cause, just not for the reasons Morgan probably assumed. It was too hard to look her in the eye during the day while harboring the secret that I was talking to her girlfriend at night. I felt like I was going behind Morgan’s back.

My mother kept a lot of secrets, lived in fear of the lies she’d told, and I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps. Lately, it seemed I was traveling down the same path.

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