I rise to my feet, feeling shaky, off, but doing my best to hide it from her. Determined to leave her behind, unwilling to hear any more lies.
“I didn’t take the elixir, Ever—I—”
I turn, eyes flashing with anger when I say, “You’re unbelievable! Of course you took the elixir! Hel-lo, I came back. See?” I tug on my T-shirt and shake my head. “As it turns out, Ava, nothing went as we’d planned. No—correction, it may not have gone as I planned, but it certainly went as you planned. You left Damen alone, weak and defenseless, just as you’d planned all along. You left him just lying there, vulnerable, dying, right where Roman could get to him. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, you paired up again that night with Haven, brewed a nice cup of belladonna tea for her to drink.” I shake my head, wondering why I’m even bothering with this, bothering with her. She’s taken enough from me already. I shouldn’t give her any more.
I head down the stairs, legs heavy, leaden, as though they’re reluctant to cooperate with the signals my brain clearly sends.
Struggling to place one foot before the other when she says, “I wish you wouldn’t do that. I wish you’d give me a chance to explain.”
But I just shrug it off and continue on my way, calling over my shoulder when I say, “Yeah, well, you can’t always get what you want—you remember that song, right?”
She stands behind me, so quiet and still I can’t help but glance over my shoulder to see what she’s up to. My muscles tensed and poised just in case she’s planning to attack, and surprised to find her with palms pressed together, bowing before me as her lips move in a whispered “Namaste.”
Pausing briefly before turning toward the building, leaving me gaping, speechless, as those grand, imposing doors open before her and welcome her in.
fifteen
“Hey.”
I look up, surprised to see Jude standing before me, so engrossed in my work I didn’t even hear him come in.
“How do you do that?” I squint, taking in his aura, now beaming a nice shade of blue.
“Do what?” He leans against the counter and looks me over.
“Always manage to sneak up on me like that?” My gaze rests on his black tee, curious to see who’s being featured today. “What’s that?” I motion toward it.
He closes his eyes and lifts his hands before him, attempting to draw his index fingers toward his thumbs but not getting very far before he gives up and chants, “Ommmmmmm,” the sound coming from deep within his diaphragm. Peeking at me when he adds, “It’s the sound of existence—the sound of the universe.”
I scrunch my nose, having no idea what he’s getting at.
“The universe is made up of vibrating, pulsating energy, right?”
I nod. “So I’ve been told.”
“Okay, so Om is thought to be the sound of that energy—that vast, cosmic energy. You’ve never heard that before? Don’t you meditate?”
I shrug. I used to meditate. Used to cleanse my aura. Pretend roots were growing from the soles of my feet deep into the center of the earth and all sorts of feel-good nonsense like that. But not anymore. I mean, it’s not like I have time to sit around observing my breath when my entire world is collapsing around me.
“You really should get back into it, you know. It really helps to balance and heal, not to mention how it—”
“And is it healing you?” I look pointedly at his arms, still debating whether or not to act on the idea I had the other night, adding up the pros and cons and still not coming any closer to a decision.
“Got a doctor appointment a bit later, so I guess we’ll find out.” He shrugs, eyes roving over me when he adds, “And speaking of—” Our gaze meets. “I was wondering if you could give me a lift. I could take the bus, but then I’ll have to cut class a little short and I prefer not to do that, you know?”
“Class?” I look at him, drawing a blank.
“Yeah, you know, Psychic Development 101 with an emphasis on self-empowerment and Wicca—surely you remember?” He laughs.
I nod, rising from the stool, gladly giving it over to him. “How’s that going, anyway?” I make my way around the counter so that he can take my place.
“Okay.” He nods. “Your friend Honor seems to have a real knack for it.”
I stop. Stop everything. He’s got my full attention now. “Honor?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, you know. I thought you guys were friends?”
I shake my head, remembering what I observed on the last day of school, and the plans Honor has for a major Stacia coup. “We’re classmates.” I shrug, pressing against the wall and allowing him to pass. “Not really friends. Trust me, there’s a difference.”