Page 8 of Wicked Love
“No,” I said.
She didn’t say anything. The silence said it all.
“I don’t have a bag big enough for that,” I said. “And what if I’m caught with you?”
“You won’t be. We can set a concealment spell over me,” she said.
“How convenient,” I muttered.
“Yes, it is,” Zelda said cheerfully. “That’s the beauty of having an elder on your side.”
“That’s what we’re calling it? Having an elder on my side?” I asked.
“If you’re wise,” her tone held a warning.
I stifled a laugh. After I finished my makeup, and looked my hair over once more, I went to my closet to see what bag to carry. I’d planned on a small evening bag, but that wasn’t going to work with a skull that needed to fit in there. I found a black bag and made sure Zelda fit.
“This is quite cramped,” her voice came from my bag.
“Listen, you need to deal,” I said. “And you can’t just shout at me from my bag. It’ll look really weird.”
“What’s the point of me going then?” Zelda was exasperated.
“You can stay home,” I suggested.
“No, missy, I cannot. Very well. I shall be quiet. But I’m watching.”
I laughed then, not bothering to hide it. “I’ll remember that. There’s not going to be much to see.”
“We’ll see about that,” Zelda snapped.
Together with Zelda, I cast a concealment spell. No one could see her in my bag, even if the bag fell and she rolled out. The thought of being caught with her made me sweat just thinking about it.
“Let’s go,” I said. I’d called for a Lyft, because parking around Magnolia House was shit. The driver was a tall woman who thankfully wasn’t very talkative. I didn’t have the energy for anything extra.
Walking in, I could see how the coven had gone all out for this. They usually did, but I hadn’t been to the annual ball the last couple of years. I just didn’t see the point, and I was tired of always being the object of whispered conversations. I doubted it would be any different tonight, but with the librarian guy—who was still super hot, and whom I found myself thinking about more than once today—showing up at my house, I didn’t have a choice.
“Melasina!” Delphine, the leader of our coven came over and air-kissed me on both cheeks. “It’s so nice to see you.” She stood back, surveying me. “You look… different.” Her brow furrowed. “What have you done with yourself?”
I shrugged, feeling my neck get warm. “I’m here? I haven’t been to the ball the last two years.”
She stared at me a moment longer. “Perhaps. There is something about you,” her eyes moved over me slowly, “that feels different.”
Oh, shit. Could she see Zelda? Feel her? Oh, Goddess.
Then her brow cleared, and Delphine smiled. “Well, it’s good to see you. Don’t be such a stranger,” she said. She patted my hand and moved away.
Was there a warning in her words?
I walked through the entryway, moving to the ballroom. There were people I knew—I wondered if my dad would be here. How sad it was that I didn’t know. How sad that we didn’t talk. I straightened my shoulders, shrugged off the whispers, hitched up my bag that had Zelda’s skull in it, and headed into the fray.
The first person I saw, before I even had the chance to get a drink, was Jasper Thibodeaux.
Damn it.
His eyes met mine, and a smile turned up the corners of his wide, delicious mouth. He actually looked happy to see me. Sadly, I thought he might be the only person who was. Jasper came toward me, still smiling.
My insides clenched, and I felt every nerve ending in my body wake up as he touched my arm.
