Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) (21 page)

We left the candle to burn. The spell would be even stronger once it was a tiny nub.

Kaylee drove me home shortly after eleven.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked from the driver’s seat of the MINI.

“Positive. Besides, I’ve got Isaac’s hocus-pocus looking out for me. I’ll be fine.”

She bit the side of her lower lip. “You’ll call if Reed shows up?”

I touched my hemp bracelet. “I promise I will.”

I gave her a hug and jogged up the walk. Once inside, I quietly locked and deadbolted the front door and went upstairs, hoping Brea had come back and praying she’d help me get rid of Reed once and for all.

Except Brea wasn’t in my room. I hadn’t seen her since I’d discovered who Reed was.

I plopped down on my bed. I had a lot of questions for her. Like why hadn’t she told me her brother was here or that he’d been behind Natalie’s disappearance? Was she helping him? Was that why she’d stopped coming by? Did she feel guilty? Were Fae even able to feel remorse? Was it really too late for Natalie?

I considered summoning Brea but didn’t know what I’d do if she was in league with Reed. While I wanted to believe she was a friend and wasn’t helping her brother, there was the possibility I was wrong. The longer she stayed away, the more I started to think Isaac was right: no matter what the answers were to my questions, she couldn’t be trusted.

All I could do, then, was take advantage of her absence. And I knew exactly how to manipulate Reed into helping me do just that.

Chapter 18

The Plan

“It’s foolproof,” I said to Isaac, Josh, and Kaylee the next morning. We were in the student parking lot about ten minutes before class started.

“How is standing in your house, calling Reed’s name foolproof?” Josh asked, incredulously.

“How do you even know he’ll hear you?” Kaylee added, hand on her hip.

“I caught a whiff of him in the kitchen.” I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, even though I knew it was a huge one.
Pine and snow
, I’d almost said too, but I didn’t think they cared to know that Reed smelled like a cypress forest on a crisp winter’s day. And, well, if I were to be honest, my stomach sort of cramped the way it did when I didn’t eat all day.

Kaylee’s eyes bugged out. Josh’s expression hardened. Isaac punched the trunk of the Mustang.

“Dude!” Josh pointed to the fist-sized dent in his car.

“Sorry.” Isaac rested his hand over the damage he’d inflicted. Vanilla and spearmint filled the air around us, and the metal pushed outward with a muffled groan. When Isaac lifted his hand, there wasn’t even a blemish visible.

I quickly defended my plan. “I knew he was in the kitchen, but I didn’t get lightheaded. That’s good, right? It means our unity spell works.” Of course, I hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out what would happen if I’d spent more than a few minutes in the same room with him. “I won’t be in danger.” I hoped.

“You’re planning on lying to him!” Isaac said. “The moment he realizes that, you’ll be in mortal danger. Madison, right now he’s playing nice. Upset him and you will bring out his evil side.”

“He brought out his evil side when he kidnapped Natalie,” I hissed. I waited for a group of sophomores to walk by us before continuing. “By the time he realizes it’s a trick, he’ll be gone. Guys, that’s what so clever about my plan. I’m asking him to bring Natalie by for a visit, and in return I’m agreeing to give him something he wants.”

“Yeah, because telling him you’ll be his date at that winter solstice thing is a good idea,” Kaylee scoffed.

“This will work.”

Isaac folded his arms over his chest. “If you agree to go to the celebration, why bring Natalie here? Why not just take you to see her when you’re in Sanctus?”

“The solstice is over a week away, and I’m asking to talk to her
now.
This will work,” I insisted.

“
If
a human can return to our realm on a temporary basis,” Josh retorted.

“And if Reed’s stupid enough not to realize it’s a trap,” Isaac said.

“And if he doesn’t manage to mess with your mind again,” Kaylee so helpfully added.

“There are too many ifs. I don’t like it.” Whether Isaac realized it or not, his powers gripped me in a protective bubble.

I rested my hand on his arm and said in a gentle tone, “It’s a plan. The only one we have. It’s worth trying.”

Three very skeptical faces watched me. I could tell they hated that my strategy didn’t include them, but I had to do this myself. There was no way Reed would show himself if they were with me when I called him. And since I didn’t need them to close the door I’d opened, that really wasn’t a problem.

“You can wait at Kaylee’s,” I said. “She lives three minutes away from me.”

Finally, they agreed.

We got back in our vehicles and left before the first bell. Isaac drove up my block at a crawl until we could clearly see that my dad’s red pickup truck wasn’t in the driveway.

Before I could hop out of the Jeep, Isaac grabbed my hand and said, “Promise that you’ll call at the first sign of trouble. No hesitating, no thinking you can handle Reed on your own.”

“I promise.” I wasn’t trying to be the hero. I just wanted to correct the mistake I’d made and move on.

Isaac leaned closer and kissed me. His hand slid to the back of my head, holding me close. I tucked my powers behind the steel wall and let myself enjoy the feel of his lips against mine. As it always did, the kiss ended sooner than my racing heart would have liked.

“This isn’t goodbye,” I reminded him.

He rubbed the back of his head. “I know. But I’d feel better if you let me put an intention ward on your bedroom. You could run up there if something goes wrong.”

“This is going to work. Besides, the way your nostrils flare every time his name comes up, I don’t want to risk the two of you getting in a fight. We’re on a timetable, remember?”

“Be careful, okay? Reed has been around for a long time. He’s cunning.”

“I will be.”

I got out of the Jeep, offering Isaac a reassuring smile before I shut the door. He sped off the moment I turned the key to unlock the front door.

The house was deathly quiet. The odor of charred meat from last night’s dinner lingered in the air. I stuck my head into the family room and became immediately disappointed that Reed wasn’t lounging on the couch waiting for me. That would have made my life too easy, though. I picked up Chase’s left mitten and placed it on the small table in the foyer on my way to the kitchen.

“Reed?” I said, half-hoping he’d appear and half-praying he wouldn’t.

His creepy chill and winter-fresh aroma didn’t come. Apparently I was alone, which made me regret not letting Isaac stop in after all. It would have been nice to have a place to run to if I needed one. The intention ward would have served a second purpose too: I’d know if Brea was truly my friend or if she was secretly draining my aura.

I dropped my backpack on a chair.
Here’s hoping he’s not far
. With one last deep breath, I called, “Reed.”

A minute passed.

“Dellis Reedsnap, come on down.”

Nothing.

“Reed, I need to talk to you!” I felt silly standing in my empty kitchen calling for someone who could be miles, if not realms, away. “If I didn’t want to see you, you’d be silently stalking me!” Lower, I huffed, “Jerk.”

Yanking the cabinet next to the fridge open, I grabbed a glass. I’d just filled it with water from the tap when the fingers of winter brushed the back of my neck. I didn’t have to turn to know Reed had joined me.

“
Miss me?”
he asked telepathically.

“Not exactly.”

Steadying my jumpy nerves, I turned. Reed stood near the table. He wore his glamour, which included tan pants and a forest-green T-shirt. His blond hair fell around his eyes in a golden curtain. Now that I was looking at him, the pull I’d felt last night was back.

I forced myself to ignore it and asked, “If I agree to go to the Winter Solstice Celebration—one day only, and you’d have to promise to bring me home before my curfew—would you bring Natalie back?”

Maybe it wasn’t too late for her. Maybe the information Isaac had was wrong.

Reed’s expression became a mask, leaving no sign of emotion. “That would be the same as sentencing her to death. Regardless of what you think of me, I’m not a murderer.”

“You suck the life out of innocent people. How is that not murder?”

“I never take their final breath.”

I set my glass on the counter, not surprised at his answer. “Fine, then let me talk to her.”

“That I can do.” He held out a hand. “Come, I’ll take you to her.”

“No.” I backed away, preferring to keep as much distance between us as possible. “Bring her here, to my house.”

He pulled out a chair and sat. “Afraid you’d like my home?” He indicated with his chin to the chair next to him.

“I’m good here.”

“Suit yourself.” He studied me a moment. “You look as if you could use another shot of wine or perhaps a bacca drop.”

A piece of chocolate appeared in his palm—the one wrapped in blue with the fruity filling.

Even without taking it, I could taste the sweet center. My stomach tightened in anticipation of eating it, but I wouldn’t. Afraid my mouth would scream out,
Hell yeah!
I bit my lip and shook my head, then forced myself not to watch him place the candy on the table between us.

“Still fighting the inevitable?” He kicked his boots up on the seat next to him. “You willingly ate it before.”

“No, I didn’t,” I snarled, working desperately to get a grip on the hunger that continued to rise inside me.

“Ah, but you did.”

“You tricked me into eating it.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t even around when you took that first bite. It’s not my fault you don’t question what you eat.”

I glared at the little piece of relief sitting at the edge of the table taunting me. It burst into flames. The tanzanite blue of my fire reduced it to dust instantly.

“I hoped we could be civil,” I said.

“I’m not the one setting things aflame. It would have eased the burning you feel. That’s your body craving my magic.”

I had figured that much out on my own. The tantalizing aroma of melted chocolate mixed with Reed’s scent made it nearly impossible to focus. With a wave of my hand, the window opened. I gathered the energy in the air and used it to create a gentle breeze, but what I ended up with was more of a mild gale that ruffled the curtains and sent the mail on the counter sailing to the floor. The fresh air reminded me to hurry.

“Will you bring Natalie by for a visit or not?”

Reed appeared in front of me before I even knew he’d gotten up. I began to think he didn’t actually move that fast but was able to disappear and reappear wherever he wanted to at will.

“If I do, you’ll accompany me to the celebration?” His words brushed my skin ever so gingerly, and I suddenly wanted him to stay.

You are not Reed’s,
I scolded myself.
You don’t want him around.
I glanced at the beige tile next to us. “Do you have to stand so close?”

“Why?” A knowing smile danced at the edge of his lips.

“There is a thing called personal space,” I said coolly, which wasn’t easy with his piercing gaze watching me.

He placed a hand on the counter on either side of me and leaned even closer. I tried to mold myself into the cabinets. “Admit you’re mine, and I’ll grant you an audience with Natalie.”

“I’m nobody’s.” I bit my lip.
Don’t give in.

He dropped his glamour, fixing me with a winter-white stare. My powers stung my tongue, reminding me I had promised to call the others if my plan went wrong in any way. Reed this close to me, messing with my head again, was about as wrong as things could get.

With my arms behind my back, I held on to my hemp bracelet.
Isaac, now would be a good time to pop over.

“At least admit you feel the changes to your body,” Reed said, stepping back to leave a few inches between us. God, he was gorgeous in his true form. “Confess you wished you hadn’t destroyed the bacca drop, and I’ll retrieve Natalie.”

He waited patiently for me to mull over his offer. He regarded me with the patience that only came with age. I wondered just how old he was, and I was dying to know if his skin was as soft as it looked. More than anything, I really needed him gone for a few minutes because the feeling of vertigo returned.

If Reed left before the others showed up, my plan could still work.

“Fine. I’ll admit I feel different lately.” I placed my hand flat on his chest and pushed him further away from me. “And it’s worse when you’re this frickin’ close, but you already know that.”