I looked between the two of them as they had some sort of silent conversation.
“Okay. Fine.” She gave him a snarky salute. “Glad to be of service.” She slid into the last row and pulled out her phone.
I wasn’t sure what was between Eli and Samantha, and right now, that wasn’t important. He was here. He was going to help, and that’s all I needed to know.
Eli was in his usual white button-down shirt and light washed jeans. His blond hair was long and fell into his face a little. He raised his hands in the air. “You’re welcome for finding her. Happy to be of service.” He grinned at me. “And she’ll be fine.”
The relief came first, but too quickly was followed by a bigger question. “How? How will she be fine? None of us can get close enough to the magic without putting her in a coma and—”
“Cosette can’t break it, and although it pains me to say it, I can’t either. No one can do that.”
God. No. He’d just said she’d be fine. She wouldn’t be fine until she was free of the magic. “Please. I’ll do—”
“No one can fix this.”
Any relief I had left dropped through my feet and melted into the ground.
“Except you.” He gave me a smirk that I wanted to punch off his face.
Good. Great. I’d be happy to break the magic. But he hadn’t given me any information.
I closed the distance between us. “How? Please. I’ll do whatever it takes. Anything. Just tell me how—”
“Anything?”
“Anything.” I knew what I was saying. I knew that I could be getting myself into so much shit by saying that, but I honestly didn’t care what I had to do to get her back. I’d do it. I’d give her my soul if it meant that she’d be back. I’d—
“And if you have to start from scratch? If you have to make her fall in love with you again?”
Samantha’s laugh echoed in the small room. “You can’t be serious.”
I looked back at her. “What?” Why was she laughing? I was missing something.
She yanked out her headphones. “Come on, Eli. Even you can’t be this cliché.”
When I looked back at Eli, he was grinning at her. “It’s cliché for a reason, possum.” He was practically singing the words. “Because what is stronger than any spell, any magic in this world?”
Samantha rolled her eyes again. “You’re so stupid.” Her tone was annoyed, but there was a hint of a smile peeking through.
“What?” I asked, not quite following.
Samantha’s gaze darted to me. “Really? You don’t know?”
“I…” I honestly could barely think. I was too emotional about getting her back. I just needed her back. I couldn’t think beyond the desperation.
“Come on,” Eli said. “We all know there’s more to you than just a pretty face and dimples. You can figure this out.”
“Don’t be such a jerk, Eli,” Samantha said, saving me from responding to Eli. “Like a freaking Disney movie, true love’s the answer. True love will break the magic.”
“Spoilsport.” Eli made a face at Samantha.
Were they flirting? Was that really happening? I looked at Samantha again. I wasn’t sure what she was—other than not witch, werewolf, fey, or human. If she was like this with Eli, then—
“Samantha’s none of your business.” Wings appeared on Eli’s back and snapped open, and the room seemed to grow a little darker. “But, Tessa is very much yours.” The room grew a little lighter again, and his wings started to fade. “True love conquers everything. Even the Lunar Queen’s magic.”
It couldn’t be that easy. Actually, I knew it wasn’t that easy. “I tried to tell her. I tried to get her to remember, and—”
“You can’t tell a woman that she loves you and have it work. She has to actually love you.”