Page 71 of Alchemy of Souls

As we move from the street onto the grass we pop through a noise-canceling spell that bubbles around the property. Which is when it gets loud—music playing and people talking.

I reach out and add some of my magic to the spell.

Eloise stares at me. “Are you kidding me? A group noise-canceling spell? That’s so smart.”

“You’ve never seen one of these?”

“I’ve never been to a party,” she says.

The thought makes me angry all over again. How could someone so excited about life not get to experience it?

“What?” she asks, and I shake my head.

“Nothing. Let’s just go have some fun,” I say, because that’s what I’m now bent on doing, helping her have a good time.

We take the spiral stairs to the large deck packed with ourschoolmates, and I slip my hand into hers, lacing our fingers together and specifically ignoring Adrien’s ridiculous ring. She turns to me, momentarily shocked, but then she does something surprising—she laughs.

“Something funny I should know about?” I ask.

“I’m just happy,” she says, and she’s not lying. The scent is pluming around her in a cloud that’s impossible to ignore. In fact, it’s making me feel a little drunk.

“Even though you have to fake date me?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugs, and damn if it isn’t adorable. “You’re not so bad, actually. You’re kind of growing on me.”

“Moi?” I say, touching my chest in shock.

She shakes her head, but her smile never wavers. “Yes, you. And also, thanks,” she says.

“For what?”

We make our way through the crowd toward the outdoor bar.

“For all of this,” she says. “For agreeing to go to the party even though I know it meant nothing to you. For that closet and my outfit. For helping me with Maggie and bearing the brunt of it so I don’t have to.”

The heat of her slender palm presses into my own and when she looks up at me with those lioness eyes, I know I’m cooked. Why did I suggest this fake dating thing again?

I smile. “So now you like my lies? How the tables have turned.”

She laughs as we stop near a bar lined with cups of peach wine and spiced beer. People around us are definitely staring at our linked hands.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” she says, only she’s in such a good mood that she doesn’t seem annoyed at my existence.

“It’s not my fault you enjoy ridiculous people,” I reply.

“Wow. Two days ofdatingand you’re already cocky about it?” She sizes me up. “We’ll see about that.” Which is when she slides her fingers out of mine and laces both hands behind my neck.

My heart nearly stops in my chest. “What happened to your rules, Claws?” I say, my voice catching in my throat and coming out a little raw. But I couldn’t move if I wanted to, my body is no longer listening to me.

“Oh, those are firmly in place,” she says under her breath, and it’s becoming increasingly hard to think.

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I can’t stand here with my arms at my sides. It doesn’t look natural. And you specified only casual touches,” I say.

Mischief flashes in her eyes and I enjoy it. “You can put your arms around my waist if it’ll make you morecomfortable,” she says, repeating my words from earlier.

“Comfortableis a relative term,” I say, now repeating hers, but I don’t hesitate. I move to hold her, my hands fitting around her hips.

She grins. “Your hands are weirdly warm,” she says, and scrunches her nose. “I can feel them through my clothes.”