Page 73 of One Last Wish

“I’ve been in the darkness, keeping my distance. You called out to me a week before the bridge incident. You made me show up.”

“How?”

“I didn’t understand at the time, but now I know it was because you were starting to awaken.”

“Oh. My. God! Can’t you give me anyproperanswers! Waking up fromwhat?”

“I can’t tell you that.” Ugh!

“Of course you can’t.” I threw my hands up in the air before storming off. “I’m going to do some work onThe Broken ReachFae Ball! I need something to clear my head.” I froze, an idea entering my thoughts. Could we be magical creatures?

“We’re notfairies, Alora,” Darce called out to me, chuckling. “That’s what you were about to ask, wasn’t it?” I gave him a scowl and then stomped into the backroom that I’d cleared to prepare for the ball. Darce gave me the space I needed for a few hours.

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“YOU AND DARCE THEN?” Daisy raised an eyebrow while we looked over the planning so far. “I did wonder. You two have had a weird vibe for a few weeks. I’m guessing the date with Theo didn’t go well?”

“Yeah, Darce wore me down in the end.”

“Is he your date for the ball?” How many times did I have to tell her that the ball was a work event! “Alice is thinking of asking Theo, that’s all. If you’ve made your choice.” Wow...Theo and Alice. I didn’t see that coming.

“Oh, yeah, Darce is definitely my date.”

“I can’t believe it’s only three weeks away. Once we get through Christmas, it will be here before we know it.”

That made me panic a little, but on the scale of things I needed to worry about, it was pretty low.

I had a power inside me that I knewnothingabout, other than it was some form of light, and my pretendboyfriendwas a shadow wielder that almost certainly has known meallmy life.

How was that even possible?

Chapter Twenty One

“You’re spending ChristmaswithDarce?” Evelyn choked on her glass of wine that I’d forced upon her. I was hoping if I got her a little tipsy, she wouldn’t ask too many questions. “Wait. Have the two of you...?” she trailed off.

“We’re kind of seeing each other,” I admitted, looking away from her stunned face.

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