Page 8 of Handcuffs and Hexes

“We’ll drop you off at your place if you need to pick up anything.”

“Oh. Well, my house is the other way.”

“We’re picking up dinner first,” I said. “I ordered from the Vietnamese pho place. Noodle soup is what I get Seth when his human weakness shows.”

“I have no human weaknesses,” Seth scoffed from the front seat.

I ignored him and continued talking to Hazel. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered several things.”

“Fine, we’ll eat first, then pick up my stuff. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

She kept her eyes closed then throughout the ride until some idiot braked hard in front of us, and Seth laid on the horn. She cursed and then put her hands to her head, holding it like she feared it would explode if she didn’t apply pressure.

“Headache?”

“Uh-huh,” she groaned.

I formed my hands into giant fluffy earmuffs and covered her ears. They were large enough that they basically swallowed her head. I gave her head a light massage, focusing on different areas until she said, “There, right there.”

“How else do you feel?” I asked.

“Like shit.”

I chuckled. “You’ve got to be a little bit more descriptive than that.”

“Mushy, steamy, and pile-like.” After a pause, she said, “Exhausted. Every muscle hurts like I’ve run a marathon. My head hurts like I haven’t drunk water in days, and all my brain cells are dehydrated even though I chugged two glasses back at the hospital. My thoughts are jumbled up. I can’t think. Just answering this is difficult.”

“Hmm, are you hearing this, Seth?” I continued my furry-mitted head rub. “Sounds like a magic hangover, like the ones you get when you overextend.”

“I figured something like this might happen.”

“But how can I overextend my magic if I don’t have any?

“Oh, but you do,” I said. “I see it in your aura.”

“You mean that glow I see around people? A lot of people have it. That doesn’t mean they have magic.”

“You see people’s auras?” Seth asked.

“If you mean that glow, then yes, sometimes. It helps with the job.”

“Not everyone with magic has the sight, but everyone with the sight has magic. Even if that’s the only magic they have.”

She frowned. “Hayes can see the auras too.”

“Of course he can. I bet most everyone on your task force can,” Seth said.

“Nagin can’t, but she’s a snake shifter... not a naga, no blended form. And Lenny can’t, but he’s a lion shifter. But yeah, I guess everyone else could.”

But even this much talk was too much for her. She was reaching for her head again. I applied a little more pressure, holding in place until she closed her eyes and relaxed.

She was already asleep, her head cushioned in my giant mitts, when Seth stopped in front of the pho noodle place. He stepped out to grab our food, and before long, we were on our way home to our loft-style condo.

Chapter 5

Hazel

Ibroughtthecompostabletakeout bowl to my mouth and slurped the last bit of the rich umami broth. When I’d first seen the amount of food Liam had ordered, I’d thought we’d never finish it, especially since he’d ordered three separate meals for me, not knowing what I preferred to eat.

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