He knew there was no point in trying to run. Even before she’d bound him to her—Why had he consented to it? Why hadn’t he known then that this wasn’t Nadia’s style, that Nadia would have insisted on making plans first thing?—Elizabeth would have been able to prevent him from getting away. So he said the only thing that mattered. “You have me. So you don’t have to go after Nadia. Leave her alone.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s much too late for that.” Then she stooped down to pick up a seashell—a wide, flat one with a sharp, undulating edge. “This will work. The cuts needn’t be fine.”
Mateo watched, horrified, as she went to Jeremy’s body and flipped him over on his back. Jeremy’s face—slack and vacant, sand stuck to the skin—was the most gruesome thing he’d ever seen.
Or it was until she brought the corner of the seashell to Jeremy’s eyes, and then he couldn’t watch any longer.
Gage’s party seemed to be in full swing already by the time Nadia arrived. She realized she’d gone slightly overboard; most people were in jeans or cords and sweaters, and she’d put on a black dress with a fairly short skirt. Heels, too. Black played a bigger part in her wardrobe than most people’s in town. Probably that was the Chicago city-dweller side coming out. But being overdressed would be worth it to watch Mateo’s expression change when he saw her looking like this.
Though of course they were meeting up here primarily to make plans. Everything else came after that.
But it still wouldn’t hurt to look good.
She weaved through the crowd of people—couples hanging all over each other, girls trying to get six or seven of them together in one hug for a photo. For a moment she remembered that Verlaine was supposed to be there with her, the first party she’d ever been invited to; the wrongness of what had happened to Verlaine would never stop making Nadia feel slightly sick.
In need of comfort, or at least someone else who understood, she kept searching for Mateo in the dark. He would hate this kind of scene as much as she did—
Nadia smiled as she realized that Mateo would be outside waiting for her. It was what she would have done, another way they were alike.
So she stepped outside onto the porch that wrapped around the house. Below, in the sand, some people were crumpling up newspaper and throwing it into a fire pit, trying to keep a sputtering blaze going. Only a couple of people hung out on the porch itself, and Nadia made her way around back.
But Mateo wasn’t there. Instead, sitting on a broad wooden swing, looking kind of forlorn, was Gage.
She ought to say hi, at least. “Hey. Great party.” Hopefully that sounded convincing.
“I guess.” Gage shrugged. Apparently he wasn’t having a great time.
“Have you seen Mateo?”
Gage’s depression seemed to deepen. “Yeah. I saw Mateo.”
Nadia went to him. “What do you mean? What’s the matter?”
“Oh. Oh. This is—awkward.” Gage ran one hand over his braids as he sat up straighter. “Um, listen. I don’t usually gossip, right? But better you hear this from me than Kendall Bender.”
“Hear what?”
“Mateo—I kinda thought you two were—were maybe—you know. But he hooked up with someone else tonight.”
It hit her like a slap. That couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.
Gage leaned over, forearms on his knees, to stare down at the porch. “Thing is, he always said he didn’t like her that way. And I always had a thing for her. Mateo knew that. Yeah, they were best friends—I should’ve figured—but still. After all those months he told me to make my move on Elizabeth, to see him getting together with her at my own party—it got to me, I guess.”
“Wait.” Nadia grabbed Gage by the shoulders, clearly startling him, but she didn’t care. “Are you telling me Mateo left here with Elizabeth Pike?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Looked pretty possible from where I was standing.”
There was no way he would ever have willingly gone with her. Elizabeth had him—whether through a spell or a threat, there was no way to know. But Elizabeth was holding Mateo prisoner. She’d already tried to kill Verlaine. And now—now she had Mateo’s Steadfast power to make her even stronger tomorrow night—
“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Gage sighed. “But really we should have seen it coming.”
“Which way did they go? Tell me!”
“Seriously, don’t go after them. You’ll only feel worse.”
“Gage, this is important.”
He couldn’t have guessed what she truly meant by that, but his expression changed slightly, like he finally got that this wasn’t as simple as a party hookup. “I—I’m not sure. Her house, I’d guess.”
Nadia didn’t even say thank you, just got up and ran.
Dammit, dammit, why did she pick tonight to wear high heels? Every single step she took on the high, winding coastline road stabbed up through her feet and knees, but Nadia never slowed down. She went up the steps to the main road, wobbled on one heel, and nearly fell—so she stopped only long enough to kick off one shoe, then the other, before taking off running again. Concrete started ripping at her tights, bruising her feet, but it didn’t matter.
Next Christmas she was asking for a car.
Mateo’s my Steadfast. Not hers. That means he’ll give my spells more strength than Elizabeth’s. And she won’t be expecting me. That’s all I’ve got going for me. Is that going to be enough?