Page 81 of Faking with the Fae King

They make appreciative noises.

“What makes it even better is he arranged all of it personally. He spent theentireday doing it! It made me feel super special, and…” I suck in a breath and blurt, “I realized I love him.”

Skye lets out a delighted squeal and hugs me. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Oh, boy. That complicates things.” Autumn’s mouth twists.

“But it’s good!” Skye says, ever the romantic. “Being in love is always good.”

“It’s goodifSeverin gets to stay.” Naomi reaches over Autumn to squeeze my arm, her voice gentle as she looks at me with sad eyes.

“Oh.” Skye deflates.

“I have to win the third trial. I just have to!” My voice hits a high note as my hands twist in my lap. “It’s not just about the town now. It’s also the only way Severin gets to stay on Earth. He loves it here, and I love him, so I need to do this for him!”

“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” Autumn says, expression determined. Then her freckled nose wrinkles. “Uhh. So whatcanwe do?”

“I don’t know!” I wail and throw up my hands. “It’s going to be the trial of discernment. What the hell does that even mean?”

They crowd in around me with hugs, and once I’ve calmed down, we work out a plan. Skye will study the books delivered by library loan to see if there’s any new information on my kind of magic. And Autumn is in charge of relaxing me on the day of the third trial so that I go into it in the best state of mind possible.

“Magic?” She shrugs, making her bangles chime. “I’ve still got no clue. But yoga and centering yourself, I can do.”

“Thanks, guys.” I hug them to me. “You’re the best.”

The other Witch Bitches start arriving, and Skye and Autumn hop up to prepare the cupcakes and cocktails, bringing me mine first.

Finn follows Jasmine through the door, running up to press against my calves. “I gave you ‘girl time’ like you asked. I deserve a treat.”

I chuckle and set down my cupcake to scratch around his ears. When Autumn sits beside me, I gesture to the crunch berries covering her cupcake. “Can Finn have one?”

He whines, his eyes growing huge and piteous, like he’s wasting away, the little liar. I gave him chicken for lunch.

But my animal-lover friend can’t resist. “Of course!” She tosses him a fruity bite of cereal, which he snaps out of the air with a crunch.

Jasmine settles onto the sofa opposite me, her dark curls spilling from the top of a pretty turquoise head wrap. “Does anyone have any news about magic?”

I perk up. Maybe someone found something that can help me win the trial.

“I got nothing.” Kayla puffs her purple bangs from her eyes in frustration. Tonight’s T-shirt reads:I talk like this because Iambetter than you. “Most of the stuff in the gaming forums is made-up spells. None of the developers talk about where they got their ideas from.”

“I read more of my ancestor’s diaries.” Violeta takes a sip of her drink. “But she never speaks of magic again.”

“Has anyone found a familiar?” I ask.

More noes, with Emily adding that she walks in the woods each day to make it easy for animals to find her.

Huh. I guess it really might be because of my magic that I got mine first.

“See!” Finn prances at my feet, his bushy tail waving like a proud flag. “I’m special.”

“Never doubted it for a minute,” I tell him.

“That makes you special, too, since I chose you as my witch.”

“Thanks, little bud.”

“Anyone have any other witch biz?” Jasmine asks. When everyone shakes their heads, she turns back to me. “Okay, spill. We all saw the date last night.”

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