Page 23 of For Dear Life

“My roommate hides magical items in her closet,” she replies. “I’m looking for a book that can identify the effect of the stones contained in the spellbag she possesses.”

Whoa. “Holly?”

“How many other roommates do I have?” She grabs another thick black leather book.

“Have you considered the bag might not be Holly’s and that a witch planted it?” I suggest.

“And a runic circle chalked on the floor? The girl changes her clothes often. She wouldn’t miss that. What if Holly’s part of a coven?”

Violet still doesn’t look at me.

“Oh.”

“And there was a girl and a scarf.” She waves a hand. “A blue one. And Grayson.”

“With a girl and a scarf?” I shake my head. “What exactly happened? How do you know all this?”

Finally, she pauses and turns to me. I recognize the sour look from our early interactions, but this one isn’t aimed at me. “Grayson ignored my request to stay away,” she growls.

“Last night, after I left?”

“No. This morning.” Her brow tugs deeper. “The spellbag contained rose quartz, black onyx, and moldavite.” She looks at me expectantly.

“Moldavite’s a rare stone for Holly to get her hands on, and if I don’t immediately know what the combination does, she won’t know either. Violet, Holly can’t be involved with witchcraft. Humans don’t join covens—their energy weakens the magic between coven members and interferes with spells.” I bite my lip. But this is odd.

“Yes. But Holly could still be working with witches. Like the wonderful Marci.”

“Marci?” I scoff. “I doubt that. She’s a little... superior around humans.”

“You’re not listening!” she says in exasperation. “Dorian could be right. Holly might be a spy. Helped by witches.”

Violet slams the spell book on the desk and the sound echoes. “Violet.” Cautiously, I touch her arm and she looks ahead, jaw set tight. “We knew there’s a possibility Holly’s involved. Let’s do everything we can to prove the theory wrong. Stay calm.”

“I’m frustrated! I don’t want yet more things confusing my investigation!” she retorts.

“No, you don’t want Holly to be an enemy,” I say quietly. “That’s what’s bothering you.”

The bond. Violet must be aware that I’m picking up on her struggle against accepting a betrayal. Gently, I take another book from her hands and place it on the desk. “Leave this with me. I’ll find out more about the spellbag.”

“I don’t like when things change that shouldn’t,” she whispers and allows me to take her hands. “Holly isn’t who I thought. Why did that have to happen?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Willing to deal with the consequences, I press my lips to the center of Violet’s forehead.

She stares back at me but says nothing.

Minor victory?

“Have you seen Leif this morning?” I ask. Violet shakes her head. “Odd. He told me he couldn’t be bothered with class but I thought he might meet us.”

“But he’s still at the academy?” she asks sharply. “Nobody took him?”

“Not earlier, but why don’t you check on him later?” I suggest.

“Perhaps I will.” Her lips purse. “He seemed rather disturbed by events.”

“He wasn’t the only one.” I sigh. “But good that you care.”

Interestingly, Violet doesn’t respond to that.

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