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My friend Sarah, though, came up with another idea, and this one was brilliant.

“Okay, what look are we going for tonight?” Sarah asked as I came into my bedroom. “You said you wanted blonde hair tonight, right?”

I nodded. “Blonde, short pixie cut. Give me blue eyes and bring them in slightly. Make them rounder, too … oh, and bigger tits.”

Sarah and I busted out laughing. “This honestly is my favorite part of the weekend,” she said.

She placed her hands on my face and chanted for a minute, and when she removed them, she clapped to herself.

“Look at you, beautiful!” she said, turning me around to face the floor-length bedroom mirror. She really did wonders with her power. Thankfully, we had a nice balance of what we could do between our coven and our fellow witch allies.

“Now, like before, you can’t be more than twenty feet from me, or the spell wears off.” She pulled out a sexy, red spaghetti-strap dress from her bag. “You should wear this.”

An occasional night out allowed me to dress up like this, but it was rare, especially now. The dress was stunning, so I’d have to bury the fact that I was about to show a lot more of my body than I was used to. At least most of how I looked tonight was created by magic.

“Well, what are you wearing?” I asked as Sarah pulled out another dress. This one was teal blue and strapless with sequins lining the bottom. “That’s gorgeous, and it matches your eyes.”

“Tilly’s Place had a sale last weekend. I couldn’t pass this one up,” she said, glancing quickly at the clock on the wall. “Okay, get dressed. I’m eager to see what you look like in that.” Sarah bundled up her dress and padded to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

As the door clicked, footsteps rounded the corner outside the bedroom doorway. I turned around as Caleb entered.

“Mercy, is that you?” he asked as our eyes met. Sarah always made me look different each time she cast a spell on me, so this face was unfamiliar to him.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Caleb sized me up and placed his hand on my head, following the blonde strands down to my ears with his fingertips.

“I need you to be careful tonight, okay?” he warned. “From what I’ve heard, this clan is ruthless when threatened.” He let go of my hair and looked toward the bed where the red dress was laid out. “Are you wearingthat?” Caleb’s tone was harsh and judgmental.

“Yes, Caleb. I’m wearingthat.” I rolled my eyes and moved toward the dress. I held it up and smiled to myself. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You shouldn’t wear that. You’re supposed to be inconspicuous, remember?”

I stared at him, deadpan.

Since when did Caleb get to decide what I wear out?

“Yes, I’m aware, Caleb, but I also need vampires to share their dirty little secrets with me. Maybe if I dress like this, they’ll be more willing.” I placed the dress on the bed again.

When I turned back around, he had stepped an inch closer and placed his hand on my cheek, caressing my soft skin under the pad of his fingertips. I stiffened and backed up. “What are you doing? Stop,” I warned.

Caleb dropped his hand, but he didn’t move back. If anything, I could have sworn he moved only in a blink, closing the space between us.

“Still nothing, huh? Just like that.” He snapped his fingers and frowned.

“Are you back to this again?” I asked, becoming annoyed; he couldn’t just let it go. “A year later, you’re still giving me shit about what I did.”

He stared at me, but it was distant. He lowered his brows and closed his eyes. “I’m not the one being selfish here,” he said before opening them again. His hurtful words caused my body to tense.

I balled my hands into fists as a rush of heat coursed through my body. Just hearing those accusatory words come out of his mouth made my heart pound hard against my chest, and for a moment, I felt my powers tremble inside of me, just begging to come out and slap him.

“Removing my feelings for you and Dorian was the single most selfless thing I’ve ever done. I remember feeling something for you,” I admitted, still not relaxing my fists. “Istillremember it every fucking day. It’s all there in my head, taunting me.”

My shoulders finally relaxed when those words left my lips, as if I had been holding in a deep breath. Thankfully, letting out my frustration had weirdly calmed me, but only enough for my heart rate to slow down and my hands to loosen. I was still angry that he was bringing it up again, especially now. Did I have to hurt him so badly that he’d finally let it go and leave me alone?

“I sacrificed my feelings for you and Dorian for the greater good of the coven and for everyone who relies on us to protect them,” I continued, trying not to glare so intently into his beautiful, sad eyes. Sometimes it was hard to look away, but I had to, so I turned my eyes to the ground. “I don’t regret it, Caleb.” My voice was stern and level. “I don’t regret any of it.”

A stabbing pain ached in my chest as those words left my mouth. Did I mean them? No, I didn’t. I regretted what I did every single day since it happened. Was I a better fighter because of it, though? Yes. Anytime those feelings stirred inside me, the spell would smother them out. It made me angry that I had to keep fighting it. But that anger was soon replaced with hope. Hope that Caleb would let it go so we could complete the mission that drove me to cast that spell, to begin with.

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