Page 7 of Summer Solstice

“So, things are going well with Lorcan, I assume.” I kept my voice so casual that I might have been making a comment on the weather.

Wanda tripped, her head whipping around. Her eyes narrowed. “Certainly not. He’s as insufferable as ever, constantly in my space, and just... a bloodsucker. And once a bloodsucker, always a bloodsucker. I don’t know why I even put up with him.”

I laughed. “That good, huh?”

She pointed at me dramatically, one long crimson nail six inches from my face. “Now, you listen to me, Poppy Morton, I’m not any fonder of Lorcan than I ever was.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“I mean it.”

“You have the hots for him and then some, but you just won’t admit it.”

She made a face at me. “Slanderous lies, and no one would ever believe you, so don’t go spreading them around. What would people think?”

I pretended to think about it for a second. “That you’re happy?”

“Ugh, you’re the worst.”

I just kept smiling. Lorcan and Wanda were sweet together, even though I knew Wanda would rather eat garbage than ever admit as much. She was still unpacking a lot from her upbringing, since witches were a pretty fiercely matriarchal society, which was backed up by the fact that magic tended to prefer women over men. Warlocks like Maverick were rare, it was way more likely for a son of a witch to just be human, or whatever species his father was.

Traditional witch covens were pretty cutthroat, nothing more than a bunch of powerful, ambitious women jockeying for position. They didn’t do long term relationships with men, and they certainly didn’t marry them—actually, that was unheard of.

I knew Wanda still struggled a lot with being in a relationship, especially with a vampire, since historically their people didn’t get along. There’d been two Blood Wars throughout history, and no one walked away from them better off. I was glad she was making it work, though. Being with Lorcan was clearly good for her. I’d never seen her so happy.

And maybe, if I was honest with myself, I was a tiny bit jealous. I made sure to bury the feelings down, because I really was happy for her. I just hadn’t had the best track record with relationships, and while I wasn’t interested in Lorcan in any way, I was just a bit green around the edges over how they were together. They fit like puzzle pieces, and I wondered if I’d ever experience the same.

Could Andre...

But I bit back the thought before it could fully germinate.

Wanda waited for me to catch up before we crossed the street. “What do we still need to go over, anyway? I thought we were done with this mess.”

I glanced at the notes on my phone, clutching it with both hands. I wasn’t risking dropping it after the week I’d been having. “We still need to figure out where everyone is going to be, especially the food stands and trucks, so we can figure out traffic flow.”

Wanda gave me an incredulous look, and rolled her eyes. “You just like to make problems for yourself, don’t you?”

“Well, the trucks need the higher part of the field so they don’t sink into the grass, and we don’t want too much foot traffic on—”

I stepped up onto the curb after Wanda, just as my trailing foot slipped, sending me staggering back into the road. Oncoming headlights blinded me, sending my heart rocketing up into my throat. A horn blared.

“Poppy!”

Chapter Four

Wanda’s nails dug into my arm as she yanked me backwards and out of the path of the car.

I stood there, suddenly wide awake, every muscle shaking from the near miss. My pulse was slamming so hard, I could feel the jump of it in my throat, and my mouth was so dry that I had to swallow twice before I could squeak out a ‘thank you’.

Wanda still had a death grip on my arm, long nails pressing against my skin like claws. She was white-lipped and wide eyed, her dark hair tangled around her face. “What is the matter with you?” she snapped. “Watch where you’re going!”

It sounded harsh, sure, but I knew she didn’t mean it. Wanda didn’t do soft and cuddly—it came out pissed off and angry. And that meant she was worried.

“Sorry, sorry.” I tried to slow my breathing.

She breathed in deeply and shook her head. “You need to be more careful! The last thing I need is my best friend getting taken out by a car! Do you think I’d be able to handle that?”

“Sorry.”

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