Page 79 of The Cursed Fae

“Like a date?” she pressed.

Fern laughed, and I scowled at her. “Please don’t encourage this.”

“You should come over for dinner soon,” my mother continued.

No. Not going to happen. I shot Laz a warning glare, but he ignored it.

“That would be wonderful, Ms. Sable.” He gave my hand a quick squeeze. “See you later.”

“That boy is worse than his father,” Nana said when he was gone. “He oozes charm. Never trust someone like that. They’re slippery.”

Mom rolled her eyes behind Nana’s back and mouthed, “Ignore her.”

Everyone wanted to talk to my great-grandmother, giving us the perfect excuse to slip away. Fern and I did another lap around the carnival, stopping to chat with people from school. While I recognized faces, I couldn’t have named a single one. Not that I minded.

It was nice to be off-campus, doing something normal and familiar. Though all small towns were unique, with their own quirks and eccentricities, carnivals and fairs were similar everywhere I went.

After the Omegas finished packing up the stand, our group went for lunch downtown at a bar called Faenanigans. Morgan and I were the only ones who didn’t order beer with our sandwiches. Alcohol and magic use did not mix well, and I needed to focus if I was going to summon Ray later.

By the time we returned to campus, I had little downtime before meeting Laz. Thanks to Fern, the others knew of my evening plans and were eager to help me get ready. This proved helpful, since nothing in my closest was really date-worthy—something Belle sweetly pointed out.

Between Astrid and Morgan, they provided plenty of options from their own wardrobes. Belle insisted on styling my hair into loose curls, and Fern raided my small stash of jewelry for earrings and a necklace to go with the blue-and-green top from Astrid.

I’d never had many close friends aside from Lena, and never a group of girls that wanted to turn me into their doll. It surprised me how much I enjoyed sitting there while they made all the decisions for me. Not that I didn’t care about clothes or makeup, I just couldn’t spare the mental space to consider such details.

At ten minutes to five, I left my room and my friends and headed downstairs. I texted Lena on the walk and received an immediate response, saying she was at work and would call me tomorrow night. The tension in my muscles lessened. She was still safe.

Would the same be true if the fanged eternal learned of my plans for the evening?

Laz was already waiting for me in the foyer, and a slow grin spread across his face as I approached. “You look great.”

He’d used more product in his hair tonight, and the navy sweater he wore brought out the blue undertones in his eyes.

“You aren’t so bad either,” I teased.

Laz pulled a set of keys from his pocket with one hand and offered me the other.

“Am I allowed to ask where we’re going, or is it still a surprise?” I asked as we walked out into the chilly night.

A shiny silver SUV sat at the curb. He clicked a button on the key ring and the engine roared to life.

“It’s for me to know and you to find out.”

I rolled my eyes, secretly pleased he actually planned something. A part of me figured he’d just rely on his charm to win back my forgiveness. He opened the passenger door for me, bending in for a quick kiss.

“I promised you a good time, right?” he murmured, his lips cold against mine.

Snow fell on our drive toward town, though the flakes didn’t stick to the roads. Still, Laz took the turns slow and never let his eyes stray from the road. We talked about the carnival, and I told him about lunch with my friends.

“I like Faenanigans. Haven’t been in a while,” he said, passing the turn that led to downtown Arcane Landing.

We continued past the cove and the turnoff for Nana’s house. I’d only been to this part of the island once, many years ago. Aside from a few scattered houses, there wasn’t much there.

“Are you taking me where it’ll be easy to hide the body? Where are we going?” I tried to make the question sound like a joke, but my stomach was in knots that had nothing to do with Laz.

I trusted him—to an extent. But being so far away from town, I worried about the dark creatures potentially hiding in the shadows.

“We’re still well within the wards,” he assured me.

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