Page 81 of The Cursed Fae

“He’s pretty well known in Arcane Landing’s culinary scene,” Laz added.

He removed the silver dome covering his plate and gestured for me to do the same. Grilled salmon with a baked potato and asparagus. The aroma made my stomach growl.

Laz raised his glass, and I copied his movements. “To summoning our first ghost,” he said.

I narrowed my gaze. “To our first date.”

“Right, sorry.” A flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks. “That’s much better.” He flashed me a lopsided grin. “To our first date.”

I took a sip of my water and made a face. It tasted... off. Sort of sweet, like a really diluted juice. Tingling started in my fingertips.

“You must have very sensitive tastebuds,” Laz teased as he watched my reaction. “Try the fish.”

I picked up my fork and cut a small piece of the salmon. It might’ve been the greatest thing I’d ever eaten.

Laz arched an eyebrow. “Amazing, right?”

I sliced a larger chunk and devoured it. “You did good.”

Our dinner conversation came easily. We stayed away from serious topics and stuck to normal date talk about movies and television shows and our friends. He didn’t bring up the formal, and I was oddly relieved. I liked Laz a lot, especially when we were alone and he stopped trying to be the perfect son. But all the little white lies he’d told me were adding up, and I began to doubt if anything he said was entirely true.

I cleared my plate and considered unbuttoning my pants. When Laz brought out dessert, I still reached for my fork and devoured the lemon meringue pie. After we finished, he steered the conversation toward our plan for the evening.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped through the photos until he found what he was looking for. Three guys were in the picture he stopped on, but he zoomed in on the person in the middle.

“This is him. From that night,” Laz said.

I took a deep breath and reached for the phone. Ray was painfully thin in the photo, and his t-shirt hung off one shoulder. The dull shadows beneath his bloodshot brown eyes suggested he might’ve had trouble sleeping. I memorized every detail of his pale face. The wisps of black hair that stuck to his forehead. The weak, bloodless lips that barely managed a smile.

“He doesn’t look great,” I said, handing the phone back.

“No, I know,” Laz agreed. “I should’ve realized something was going on with him.” He stared down at the picture of Ray, his voice raspy when he spoke next. “I see this, and I don’t understand how I didn’t notice there was a problem.”

His free hand rested on the table, and I reached over to cover it with mine. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” I reminded him. His stony expression cracked a little. “You need to stop blaming yourself.”

I felt the guilt radiating off him. It was a dark, heavy burden he carried.

I squeezed his fingers. “Let’s go find him. If it helps, you can tell him how sorry you are.”

The sky was threaded with golds, purples, and pinks when we arrived at the cove. We had just enough time to set up before dusk, which was when Laz said it would be best to start the spell. We used twelve white candles to form a circle, and I sat in the center while he spread a salt protection ring and explained its purpose—to make sure no spirits could hitch a ride back with me.

“You mean like possession?” I asked uneasily. “You probably should’ve mentioned that earlier.”

Laz laughed softly and came to sit across from me with the bowl of herbs between us. “It’s always possible when you’re dealing with the other side. More so when you summon them. Don’t worry. The salt ring is Protection 101. You have nothing to worry about. Now clear your mind.”

“Famous last words,” I grumbled.

Laz removed his gloves, closed his eyes, and held out his hands to me. “Clear your mind,” he repeated.

My bare fingers slid into his, and I felt safer. A little more grounded.

“Do you remember the chant?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I do,” I murmured.

“It’s your spell. Keyed with your blood. I’m here for moral support, and to lend power if you get too tired,” he added with a gentle smile. “Start whenever you’re ready.”

I took a few deep breaths. In through my nose, out through my mouth. I cleared my mind until only one thought remained, as Archer had taught me to do when creating a portal. An image of Ray formed in my head, and I began to chant.

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