Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) (19 page)

He kept talking. “However, she was as shallow as she was pretty. She wanted the grace and agility to become captain of her dance squad, taking the position from a girl she called her best friend.”

“She could have cast a spell to accomplish that,” I pointed out, remembering how Isaac had run his hands over the blades of his ice skates and,
poof,
he could skate as well as I could.

My powers trickled back inside me as if retreating before they could lose the battle against a member of the Winter Court, or maybe they were standing down because there was no need to fight. Either way, their withdrawal left me feeling drained. I leaned against the wall near the door for support.

Reed stretched out on my bed, head on my pillow and boots hanging over the edge of the mattress. “Apparently not. Her powers only made her good enough to secure a spot on the team. She, how do you humans say it, had two left feet without them. Whereas her friend had real talent. Heather couldn’t stand it.”

“Nice friend,” I said, glad that I didn’t have a Heather amongst my friends—but then I remembered Paige and realized at one time I had.

“Sarcasm?”

I gave him a smug look, regretting the small gesture the moment my vision blurred. I grabbed the doorframe and blinked several times. I hoped Reed hadn’t noticed.

He smiled approvingly, like my reply made him fonder of me—definitely not my intention. “She summoned an audience with me with the intentions of trapping me in her world.”

Brea hadn’t been kidding when she’d said humans normally wanted more than a little help around the house when they summoned a faerie. That left me with a nagging question. “What do you get in exchange for enhancing one’s talent?”

“A piece of their life essence.”

“Their soul?”

The room shifted, or maybe it was my brain swimming in my skull. My fingers squeezed the doorframe. Reed was suddenly next to me, guiding me to the foot of the bed. I hadn’t even seen him get up.

“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging his hands off me. Now that I was sitting down, the room no longer twirled frantically in front of me. “Answer my question.”

“I couldn’t care less about a human’s soul.” His snowy white gaze studied my face. “You don’t look well.”

I didn’t feel well, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Then what is their ‘life essence’?”

He crouched in front of me, head cocked to the side. I willed myself to look healthy.

After a moment, he said, “Fairies are complicated. We eat, drink, and sleep, much like you. Only it’s not enough to keep us strong. We need energy from nature. Humans offer the best source, but it is in our very being to have to give something in order to take. A balance that needs to be maintained.” I must have looked totally lost, because he sighed heavily. His breath smelled sweet like the fruit punch Kool-Aid Chase liked. “Do you know what an aura is?”

“It’s the invisible light that surrounds every living thing,” I replied, remembering how my seventh grade science teacher used to say she could tell a lot about her students by their aura, swearing she could see the color of everyone’s in her class. She had told me mine was a bright rosy pink. Rumor in middle school had been that Mrs. Casper sniffed the chemicals in her classroom one too many times. Now that I thought about it, I wondered if she possessed the powers, or maybe she was psychic.

“Close,” Reed replied, pulling me out of my reverie. “It’s the energy around many living things. We don’t have an aura of our own. We take bits from humans during celebrations or in exchange for favors. That is why we grant such gifts to aspiring musicians and dancers.”

“So you absorbed part of Heather’s aura?”

An evil glint flashed in the back of his eyes. “As I stated, she intended on trapping me here. I don’t take kindly to those who take and do not give. Our deal was grace for companionship.”

“You wanted to hang out with the pretty girl?” It couldn’t have been that simple. Isaac’s warning replayed itself in my head:
Faeries will twist your words to their advantage.
My eyes grew wide with acknowledgement. “You meant the word in a permanent sense: you’d make her a better dancer and she’d live in your realm.”

“It seemed only fair that she learn a lesson. She did intend to trap me in her world. I decided to turn the tides and trap her in mine instead.”

“And Isaac stopped you. So now what, you want retribution?”

My stomach did a somersault, but if it was because of what I’d learned or because I wasn’t feeling so hot, I couldn’t tell. I inhaled, trying to shake the lightheadedness that had gripped me ever since I’d come upstairs.

“It’s you.” I scooted away from Reed. “You’re the reason I feel this way.”

He sat on the corner of the bed but made no attempt to come closer to me. “I would be honored if you would escort me to the Winter Solstice Celebration. I know the perfect gown. Bright red, something that caresses your skin with every step we take on the dance floor.”

“You’re asking me out?” I stammered.

“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, don’t you think? And I believe I’ve been nothing but adorable so far.”

“Creepy and stalkerish is more like it. And, no, I will not go with you to the whatever you just said.” I pointed to the door. “Get out of my house.”

His gaze fell on the chain wrapped around my wrist. When he didn’t get up, I willed my powers to get the hell back to the surface and sent a gust of air at Reed, pushing him off my bed. “Out!” I demanded.

He glowered, and the temperature in the room dropped a good twenty degrees. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the air around us. When I opened them again, I sent a pulse of heat outward to warm the air and make it bearable again.

I stood, keeping the back of my legs against the bed to help steady me. “You need to leave.”

“Say yes,” he coaxed. “Be my date for the solstice, and I’ll leave your world alone.”

I took “alone” to mean he wouldn’t wreak any more havoc in this realm, but I’d be trapped in his.

“No.” I raised my hand, producing a ball of fire as I did.

But before I could whip it at Reed, he seized my forearm in his unyielding grip. It only took a few seconds for my flame to be smothered as it froze into a glowing blue ball of ice. My weapon dropped to the floor, useless, and I saw the chain around my wrist was a mere inch from his hand.

“Does iron not affect you at all?”

“It is vexing, and I would prefer you removed the bracelets.”

“And I’d prefer it if you’d go to hell.” I yanked my arm away from his hand. “You don’t screw with people’s lives over losing a girl,” I added with less punch than I’d aimed for.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Madison.” At the sound of my name rolling off his tongue, my head did that swimming thing again. I thought about lying down and decided against it. Reed kept talking. “Messing with lives is the perfect way to get back at someone, but that isn’t the only reason I marked you as mine.”

“What?” I shook my head hoping to clear my thoughts, regretting it the moment my brain banged against my skull.

The front door slammed shut, and Dad called out loudly to let Chase and me know he was home.

“You might want to answer him,” Reed pointed out. I didn’t like how close he was.

“Hi! Upstairs doing homework,” I yelled back. I sank back down onto my bed, fingers curling around the edge of my mattress for balance. “What did you do to me?”

I felt as if I was in a haze that grew thicker and darker with each passing second. I closed my eyes and almost fell forward off the bed. It was Reed’s strong hands on my shoulders that kept me upright.

“You’re going through withdrawals,” he replied in a smooth voice.

“That’s ridiculous.” Weren’t withdrawals supposed to make you shake and hallucinate? This felt more like my mind drifting away from my physical body.

“Drink.” Reed held the flask to my lips.

I pushed his hand away. “I’m fine.” But I wasn’t. It took me three tries to get my next words to pass my lips. “Please go.” I felt his hands leave my shoulders. Missed his scent when it faded.

You’re fine,
I told myself.

I tightened my grip on my bed and dared to open my eyes. Reed was gone. Relief filled me even as my vision swam sideways.

Just breathe, and whatever you do, don’t pass out.

My eyelids drooped, closing once more. I clutched my mattress and waited for the dizziness to pass. I’m not sure how long I sat like that before a hand brushed my arm.

“Madison, can you hear me?”

“Dad?”

“Take this.”

I forced my eyes opened and took the small paper cup from him. My hand shook as I raised it to my mouth and relished the cool water as it slid down my throat. “Thanks.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, only it wasn’t Dad’s voice.

I blinked several times to remove the fog clouding my head.

“Reed,” I growled. “I thought you left.”

“You needed me.” He pressed a cool cloth to my forehead. “Do you feel better?”

My gaze dropped to the cup in my hand. A faint blue glow coated the bottom of it.

“Son of a bitch!” I snatched the washcloth from him and used it to wipe my tongue, then dashed to the bathroom to shove my finger down my throat and throw up. I rinsed with mouthwash hoping to kill any lingering molecules of Reed’s wine before returning to my room. He had the gall to still be sitting there on my bed. “Get out.”

“You needed it. I confess it’s my fault. Once you’ve partaken in our fare, your need for it grows, and my prolonged presence in your room would only make it worse.”

“Get out!” I repeated and pointed at the door.

This time he got up and crossed the room, stopping next to me. I could see the ice in his stormy white eyes. “I can feel your presence, even when we’re apart. You’re already changing. You will call for me.”

He reached the hall and vanished from sight. I knew he’d really gone this time because I felt an emptiness inside that came with loneliness and a bitter cold that my powers couldn’t warm.

Reed had left his clear flask on my nightstand. The blue liquid cast shimmering lights across my carpet.

“
It would take away that chill
,” Reed’s voice cooed in my subconscious.

I whipped the flask into the trash can, sank onto the floor, and pulled my knees close to my chest. I wanted to call Kaylee, but no way could I ruin her birthday with my drama. So instead, I put on my headphones, blasted my party playlist to drown out Reed’s taunting, and prayed I’d make it to morning.

Chapter 17

Tethered

“Madison, you have to tell Isaac.”

“I’ll tell him as soon as I figure out how.”

Kaylee had arrived at my house exactly nine minutes and a gazillion seconds after I’d called. One look at how upset I was, and she suggested we ditch class. I caught her up on Reed and then, because I needed a break from the thought of evil faerie princes, I insisted she give me a minute-by-minute replay of her night with Josh. Afterward, we went to the only place that ever offered me comfort when I was as lost as I was at that moment. Frozen grass crunched under our sneakers as we crossed the cemetery.

It had taken every ounce of self-control on my part not to dig Reed’s flask out of the garbage. The longer I resisted, though, the more distant his hypnotic voice became until finally I could no longer hear him coaxing me to join him.

With the exception of a crow, the cemetery was empty. I crouched down next to my mom’s grave. Kaylee stood to the side, bouncing on her toes and rubbing her arms.

“It’s freezing,” she whined.

“Two minutes, and then the hot chocolates are on me.”

I cleared the brittle leaves from in front of Mom’s headstone and laid the spring bouquet Brea had given me there, its stems and petals still in the gossamer layer of ice that had to have been Reed’s doing.

“Hey, Mom,” I whispered. “I could really use your crazy advice right about now.”

I swiped at a tear with the palm of my hand. I missed how Mom had worked her advice into everyday conversation, casually giving her thoughts on things. On a couple occasions, when we’d been folding laundry, she had said, “This basket is a lot like a bedroom.” She’d put a pair of Dad’s boxers on top of his pile of clothes and add, “If we keep your dad’s stuff in one pile and yours in another as we fold, it will make putting everything away much easier.” That translated into,
If you would just put your things where they go to start with, it wouldn’t have taken you two hours to find your bedroom floor
. And once when she had added orange zest to Dad’s favorite chicken dish, she’d held her finger to her mouth as if saying,
Shh, this is our little secret
, but out loud said, “I’ve always wanted to jazz this dish up a bit.” That had loosely translated into,
You should try softball; you might find you like it.

I didn’t like softball, and the chicken dish was better without the orange zest, but Mom had pointed out that we would never have known that if we hadn’t tried.