Page 105 of The Glittering Edge

Penny gasps for breath, sitting up. There’s no fire. No body. Just some old holiday lights, and empty boxes, and the noise of a party downstairs.

She’s back in the old pharmacy.

She must’ve fainted. She looks all around her for the Shadow, but it’s gone. She’s alone.

“Penny?” someone calls from downstairs. It’s Alonso’s voice. “Penny, are you here?”

Penny presses a hand to her chest. Her heart is beating entirely too fast. She’s on the verge of a panic attack.

Then she sees the bruise on her wrist. As if another person had gripped it so tightly, it nearly fractured her bones.

The Shadow touched her. Ithurther.

If the Shadow really is made up of all the spirits killed by this curse, that would include Ellie Barrion. Was it really the Shadow who was visiting Penny? Or was Ellie communicating with her somehow?

Is that why Penny had to watch Ellie die?

That’s not all Ellie showed her. If what Penny saw was real, then Charles blackmailed Giovanni into using his magic to help Barrion Heating & Cooling make more money. And Ellie’s relationship with Giovanni was never real in the first place.

A love spell, blackmail—all this proves that Giovanni had evenmorereasons to do what he did. He forced a woman to love him against her will, and when she didn’t anymore, he…

He got married. He moved on. Why would Giovanni curse the Barrions years after he and Ellie broke up? Was it because of the blackmail?

“Penny!” Alonso calls again.

Penny curls her bruised hand into a fist, letting it throb. Her head is spinning with a million questions, but first, she needs to find Dylan and make sure she’s okay.

Then Penny will deal with Alonso.

Penny

AS PENNY WALKS DOWN THE STAIRS, SHE SPOTS ALONSO IMMEDIATELY.

He’s standing with Kiki, their voices low as they speak. Alonso looks tense. Angry. He slaps one hand into his other palm, as if he’s trying to make a point.

“Hey,” Penny says.

Alonso spins around. When he sees her, he relaxes, and against Penny’s better judgment, she does, too. She feels better now that he’s here.

Then she remembers Dylan, and that relief disappears.

Alonso’s eyes fall to Penny’s wrist. His expression darkens, and then he looks up toward the second floor. “Who did that? Is someone up there?”

“No,” Penny says, but Alonso tries to step around her. She grabs both of his arms, holding him in place.

“I texted him,” Kiki says. “Thought you might need some help after you showed up with Dylan.”

“Thanks,” Penny says, but it comes out half-hearted.

Alonso’s face changes when he hears the anger in her voice. He closes off, and suddenly she’s looking into the eyes of the Alonso from Corey’s Fourth of July party: cocky and mean and entirely too sure of himself.

“I was on my way here to play bike polo,” Alonso says. “It’s not like I showed up because Kiki texted.”

That stings. “That’s fine. I need to talk to you.”

Kiki smirks. “I’ll be out front.”

As she walks away, Penny’s face heats up. She can only imagine what Kiki thinks this is about.

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