Page 52 of Sprite Wedding
Or was this—permanent?
ZOE
I was of two minds as I rushed over to a cafe to meet Bryan. Leaving Lucas in the garden like that to meet another man seemed wrong, but I wasn’t here for a date but to obtain information.
I entered a sandwich shop that I’d often run to when I needed a quick bite. Lucas and I came together every couple of weeks. Being here without him hit me with a pang of loss. I missed his lopsided smile, his easy-going nature, and the sense of feeling like everything was okay in the world when I was around him. All that could be gone for good. The world would be a darker place without him—especially mine.
Bryan was seated at a booth. When he saw me approach, he stood. “Zoe, I’m glad you could make it.” He opened his arms.
I stopped short of the embrace. “I’m not here for a social visit or to reminisce,” I replied in a cool tone.
His smile dropped. “Then why did you decide to come?”
“Because of Lucas.”
“Lucas?” He furrowed his brows. “What do I have to do with him?”
“That’s what I’m here to ask you.”
He shook his head. “I don’t follow. What’s going on?”
“That’s exactly what I’d like to know. Since I first saw you on the cruise, strange things have been happening to Lucas. He’s been affected by magic making him act out of character and now—” My voice cracked. I cleared my throat. “And now, it’s gone too far.”
“What has?” he asked.
I fixed a hard stare on him. “Bryan, I’m going to ask you straight out. If you have any respect for our previous relationship, you’ll answer me truthfully.”
His eyes widened. He tipped his head, appearing somewhat perplexed. If it was an act, it was a good one.
“Go on,” he said.
“Are you messing with Lucas? Or have you enlisted someone to help you?”
He blinked and then leaned back in his chair with a surprised laugh. “What? Are you serious?”
“The timing lines up.”
His mouth opened and closed before he asked, “Why would I do something like that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you. But since you seem to have taken a renewed interest in me, I can’t help but wonder if it’s somehow related.”
“I’m not going to lie and say I’m not interested in you, but if you think I did something to Lucas, you’re wrong.” He leaned forward. “What exactly is happening to him?”
I studied Bryan’s body language. “Come with me.” I thought of a better way to be able to detect if he was deceiving me.
While I sped back to Lucas’s house, I kept conversation with Bryan to a minimum, answering his questions with one-word replies.
He followed me to the back yard, but once I saw a number of staff from the Network near Lucas’s statue, I stopped. We’d have to talk back here.
“What’s going on?” Bryan glanced around the back yard, buzzing with supernaturals. “Why are we here?”
“I’m wondering the same thing.” I fixed a hard stare on Bryan. “Did you have anything to do with this?”
“Do with what?” I studied him, searching for any guilty signs. Bryan’s gaze traveled over Lucas as a dragon statue, and his expression turned curious but not shameful. “That’s quite a garden statue.”
I sighed. Bryan appeared truthful. Maybe I was acting out of desperation rather than any solid evidence pointing to him.
I ran my hand through my hair. “Why are you here in Salem? Why do you keep contacting me?”
