10. Evalee

EVALEE

I don’t know how long I stand there, staring into empty space, but reality eventually crashes over me like a violent wave.

“Oh, my ditzy witches, did I just make a deal with a demon?” I whisper in horror. “And kiss one?”

“You did what ?” Hunter’s astounded voice sails from over my shoulder.

I startle, but I don’t turn around, partly out of shame, and partly because he might be a traitor.

“Huh? So you didn’t see that?” I play it off coolly.

“No, I didn’t. Why would you do that?” he chokes, sounding hurt. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Because I panicked and felt like I had to.” Summoning a deep breath, I twist around to face him.

He’s standing only inches away from me, his posture stiff, his lips set in a thin line. On a positive note, his blue and black hair is tinted with blond and has an inch more length.

“Hey, your hair’s starting to change back.”

He makes no move to reach up and feel the freshly grown strands. “I don’t care about my hair. What I care about is what kind of deal you made with that evil bastard, and why the hell you kissed him.”

I crinkle my nose, pretending the kiss was more revolting that it was. “Yeah, that definitely wasn’t my finest moment, was it?” I shrug. “He said he wouldn’t make the deal if I didn’t give him a little smooch.” I put on a sarcastic smile. “But, hey, at least I got my first kiss out of the way.”

Anger flashes in his eyes, his fingers curling into fists. “Don’t play this off by pretending it wasn’t a big deal.”

“But it’s not,” I insist. “I know some girls get all weird about their first kiss being special, but honestly, I never expected anyone to ever kiss me.”

He frowns. “Evalee, I don’t think?—”

I hold up my hand. “Look, I know it’s weird I just swapped spit with a soulless spawn of the devil, but I needed to make the deal, and that was part of it.” I let my arm fall to my side. “I’d appreciate it if we stopped talking about the kiss.” I shudder as if I’m truly disgusted. And I am, but more with myself and the fact that I’m not entirely disgusted by kissing the demon.

What is wrong with me?

Hunter gradually shakes his head, the muscles in his jaw ticking. “Fine. Will you at least tell me why he was even here? And why he willingly entered the cage?”

“Maybe because he knew you guys were about to tear the walls down?” I intentionally avoid his first question, wanting to avoid talking about possibly being a hybrid, and because I’m still confused over whether or not I can trust Hunter. “I really don’t know the answer to that. I honestly didn’t even realize he’d entered it until about five minutes ago—I was so out of it.”

“I know.” His throat muscles work as he swallows hard. “For a minute, I thought you were … you were dead.”

“So did I.” I rub my hands up and down my arms and wiggle my toes around, making sure every speck of my body is free from the petrifying curse. Then my thoughts float to my sister and how, according to the police, she died from petrification. “I probably should be.”

His brows pucker. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I was petrified.” I hug my arms around myself. “That was how Ryleigh died.”

Pity overflows from his eyes. “Oh, Eva.” He reaches for me, but I shuffle back, and he immediately frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to talk. But not here … Some place private.” I peer around at the multiple hallways extended out of the rounded room we’re in. “Where’s Evan?”

“After the cage began to crumble, he ran off to grab a harness.” He shakes his head with his fingertips pressed against his temples. “I don’t even want to know why.”

“To make sure my demon didn’t escape.” Evan whisks back into the room, carrying a leather collar attached to a chain. “With the cage down, he’ll be able to …” He slows to a stop as his gaze sweeps the demon-free space surrounding Hunter and me. “Fuck, he took off already? How the hell did he do that? It should’ve taken him a few minutes after the walls fell before he was completely free.”

“I think the other demon kidnapped him,” I explain. “Or killed him. I’m not sure which.”

Evan drops the collar and chain to the floor then drags his fingers through his hair. “Great, now I’m going to have to capture another one.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I feel like this is all my fault. I never should’ve gotten that close to the cage to begin with.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” Evan insists, resting back against the wall with a heavy sigh. “If anything, it’s my fault for not putting up a better cage. I can’t believe he made the walls ripple like that.”

“You probably didn’t use enough surface energy when you created it,” Hunter tells him, standing so close to my side that our arms touch.

I discreetly inch away from him, not ready to touch him yet. If it turns out he did rat me out, I won’t ever go near him again. Even if he stands in the center of my lawn, blasting a boom box and begging me to forgive him.

Hunter notices my offish behavior and gives me a quizzical glance, mouthing, “ Are you sure you’re okay ?”

Unsure of what else to do, I give a shrug,

Evan rubs his jawline contemplatively. “You think so?” he asks Hunter.

Hunter tears his gaze off me and distractedly nods. “The next time you create a cage, up the force. Then the walls shouldn’t have so much bend in them.”

“All right, I’ll give that a go.” Evan pushes away from the wall and walks toward us. “How did you learn about surface energy? Last I heard, it wasn’t included in the standard wizard and witches curriculum. “

“It’s not in the standard classes curriculum,” Hunter says. “But a few advanced classes include it.”

“So, you’re one of those smart guys who doesn’t look like it,” Evan questions, looking as though he’s struggling not to grin.

“I guess so,” Hunter replies, sounding somewhat offended.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out as rude as it sounded,” Evan apologizes, stopping in front of us.

“It’s cool,” Hunter replies with an indifferent shrug.

Curiosity creeps into Evan’s expression. “So, what do you know about internal energy?”

A trace of an arrogant smile graces Hunter’s face. “A bit.”

After that, the two of them begin chatting about energy as if they’re old friends, like Evan and I were supposed to be. Meanwhile, the demon’s words echo in my mind.

While I don’t want to be a hybrid, I can’t help being painfully aware of how different I am.

How different exactly, remains undecided.