Chapter 3

Three

Ishould've probably waited to tell him we wouldn't be doing this again until after he had pulled out of me, but the moment had felt right.

Kind of.

I don't know.

Maybe I was an asshole, but the fact was, I couldn't see him again. He was bad for me. So, so, so very bad for me. I couldn't count the number of times we had snuck out here to do this. I couldn't remember the first time we had done it. I didn't even know his name. He was just Him, and I was just Her.

"What?" he whispered.

I could still feel him inside me. The bomb I had just dropped on him hadn't seemed to dull his… excitement.

"It's nothing personal," I said. "Actually, could you… do you mind?"

It was an awkward dismount, to say the least. He wanted to talk, and I knew that, but I didn't want to linger in that cubicle any longer than I had to, so I grabbed some paper towels and my shirt, and made a quick escape.

I was washing my hands and putting my t-shirt back on when he caught up with me.

I almost couldn't look at him.

"How is it not personal?" he asked.

"Okay, maybe it is," I said, "But we don't know anything about each other, and you're way too good at this."

"So, you want to know my name, now?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." I shut the water off and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I could see him standing next to me, but I didn't look at his reflection. Not directly. "I can't keep sneaking out like this, anyway."

"What changed?"

Oh, nothing. It's just that I'm a mage, my family is insane, and if they find out I'm sneaking out at night sometimes to have sex with you in a nightclub toilet they'll probably have to erase you from existence.

Or something like that.

That was the truth, but I couldn't tell him that, so I simply said, "Stuff."

I saw him nod. "Alright," he simply said.

"No hard feelings?"

"No feelings at all," he said, as he made his way toward the bathroom door. "That's why this worked."

This time, I watched him. I didn't turn around to look at him, though—I traced his reflection as he left the bathroom. It was brutal. I couldn't say I didn't feel sorry for him. I did. I felt sorry for myself, too, but after having made so many unhealthy decisions, I was proud of myself that I had at least done one thing right.

If sneaking out was dangerous on its own, then seeing him was like drinking gasoline and spitting it out onto an open flame. I was asking for trouble. Not just for me, but for him, too. It had been a great few months—really, really great. Nobody ever made me feel the way he did.

Well, not feel… exactly.

I shook my head, splashed water across my face, and waited a few minutes before going back out there to find Max. As luck would've had it, he was still busy with that girl when I found him. I didn't want to know what they were doing against the wall in the back of the club, so I gave them some time, went to the bar, and had another drink.

Hewas gone.

I didn't want to look for him, but I did, even if only for a moment. I kept telling myself I didn't feel anything, kept reminding myself I had done the right thing, but now standing in this nightclub felt… different. Hollow. The music was suddenly too loud, the drinks weren't as good, and I wanted to leave.

Later, when Max managed to find me, I left the club with him in tow, helped him as he threw up beside the same dumpster he had thrown up next to when we got here, and got ready to take us home.

He was way too drunk to go straight back to the mansion, though. He hadn't quite reached the point where he was ready to pass out—instead, all he could do was talk, and loudly. I could just imagine us reappearing in my bedroom only for Max to throw up again and then laugh about it.

We'd wake up the entire mansion.

No. I would drop us off at the edge of the estate, then Max and I could sit down among the leaves and the grass until he sobered up a bit. Then we'd quietly sneak back into the house and pretend like we never left. All I had to do was—fuck.

"Fuck," I repeated, this time aloud.

"Almost," Max said, "Almost, almost. Maybe next time. I should've gotten her name, though. I should go back and get it. I'm gonna sit down first. Yeah, that's a good idea, you know?"

He was slurring his words and talking around himself in circles. Meanwhile, I was having a panic attack.

My amulet was gone.

"No," I said, "No, no, no."

"Okay, okay. I'll go inside, geez."

"No, not you." I groaned. "Actually, yes—you. Stay here. Stay right here."

Max gave me a thumbs up. "I'm not going anywhere. I have my puke spot right there, I have this box right here. I'm a-okay."

My heart was pounding. I was in full-on fight or flight mode, scrambling, scanning the alley for any sign that I may have dropped the amulet around here, somewhere. Then it came to me, a flash of blurry memory.

The bathroom, I thought to myself, already making a mad dash for the nightclub's side door. I took my fucking shirt off.

"Where are you going?" Max called out.

"To use the bathroom," I yelled. "Stay there!"

I didn't have time to go around the front again. This time, I headed straight for the door. I scanned the alley again, and when I was convinced there was no one around, I placed my hand against the door. The moment called for a little overt magic, so I leaned into it, this time drawing on more of my power than I normally would've.

Tapping into my magic made my entire body vibrate. My skin prickled, the hairs on my arms and neck standing on their ends. I felt powerful, like I could do anything; like I could do more.

So much more.

The rush that came with the use of my power was adrenalizing, and sobering. In an instant, I was as sharp as a razor, fully in control of what I was doing. An instant later, I was through the door. I hadn't unlocked it, or opened it with my power, I had simply slipped through it as if it was made of smoke.

Another Ethera spell.

Shutting the magic valve took a moment of concentration, but I managed to control the spell and keep it from spilling out of my grasp. As soon as I was through the door, the hard bass of the club's inner rhythm began to thump inside of my ribcage. I ran through the corridor I found myself in now, barging past a staff member coming out of a room off to the side and exploding onto the main dance floor.

The place was still packed full of people, and I had to make it all the way to the other side of the club. I had the option to use magic here, to break the crowd apart and let myself slide through it like a hot knife through butter. There were simply too many people around, though, which meant magic probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

I did the only thing I could do—I picked my way through the crowd, fighting to get to the bathroom where He and I ended up in every single time we found each other in this place. I couldn't hear the music blaring around me, I could only feel the thump-thump-thumping of my heart as panic set in.

How could I have lost it?

How could I have been so stupid?

Why did I even take my shirt off?

These thoughts were unrelenting as I made my way to the bathroom, and when I got there, searched the place up and down only to find nothing, they turned to a shrieking chorus. It was as if there were four different versions of myself inside of my head, each of them screaming at me.

"It's not here," I yelled as I frantically checked the cubicles. "Where is it?!"

Had anyone been in the bathroom with me, they would've thought I was insane. After a while, I had to admit to myself that it was gone. Somehow, somewhere, I had lost my aunt Persephone's amulet… and that means I have no way of getting back home.

I returned to the bathroom sink and splashed more water across my face. "Shit," I snapped at my reflection.

I didn't have a choice but to give up and leave. The whole way out, I kept my eyes on the ground, hoping I would see the amulet somewhere being kicked about by the people on the main floor. Maybe I had dropped it, and it was around here, somewhere. If it was, I would never know. Not until this place cleared out, and even then.

These panicked thoughts stayed with me as I made my way back outside. Even the cool, night air couldn't do much to slow the rapid pace of my beating heart. I was lucky enough to find Max exactly where I had left him, although he was unconscious, now, hugging the box he had settled next to.

He had, at least, had a good night.

If any good was going to come from this, let it be that.

There was only one thing to do, now. Max and I hadn't brought phones with us because phones could be—and were—always tracked. So, with my tail between my legs, I shut my eyes, drew up another morsel of my power, and imagined my father's face in my head. I preferred his temperament over my mother's, so it was he who I reached out to, sending a pulse of power to him through the Ether.

He picked up on my signal at the speed of thought. In an instant, I heard his voice in the back of my head.

"Beatrice?" he asked, in a worried tone. "What's happened?"

"I'm sorry, Dad," I thought. "Can you come get us?"

"Get you? Where—" he paused. "—I'll be right there."

I didn't have to tell him where I was. I allowed him to see through my eyes, to sense my location, and he knew. He hadn't yelled at me, at least, but I was never going to hear the end of this.

When the connection broke, I kneeled down in front of Max and tapped him on the face. "Wake up," I said.

"Sleepy," he grumbled.

"Dad's coming."

His eyes popped open. "Dad?!" he shrieked. "Why?"

"Don't worry about that. Just get up. There's a shop down the street—we need to sober you up."

"Oh shit," he repeated as he went to stand. "Oh shit, oh shit. Do I look drunk?"

"Yep. You smell it, too."

"He's going to kill us! I told you, you were insane."

"I know," I said, nodding. "You did. Did you have fun, though?"

Max paused, then considered. His fear turned to a slight smile. He nodded. "Yeah… I did."

"That's all that matters," I said. "When dad comes down on us, I'll take the hit."

"You don't have to do that."

"And you don't have to get in trouble on your birthday. Just say I'm a terrible influence. Or better yet, say nothing."

"Mom is going to bind your magic for three months, this time. You know that, right?"

"If I'm lucky." I swung an arm across his shoulders. "C'mon. Let's get you some water and a breath mint."