Page 38 of Twice Bitten

Prehnite winked in the light. Rose cut and pale green, the prehnite was carved into a teardrop shape and sat on the bottom of medium-sized golden hoops. The necklace was rectangular-shaped, dotted along the bottom with the same type of stones as the earrings.

I ran my fingers over the stones and closed the box. My mind whirled, and I sank into one of the kitchen chairs.

Prehnite was not an expensive stone. In fact, most would consider it a budget stone, on par with citrine and labradorite. However, it was one of my favorites. I owned several pieces of prehnite and always wore a pair of prehnite studs in my secondear piercing. The stone was one used to alleviate anxiety and help ward away bad dreams—both of which I’d suffered from most of my life.

Suddenly, the prep I’d done didn’t seem nearly enough, and I wondered if I’d made a terrible mistake agreeing to this dinner.

“Alex?”

“I’m fine,” I said quietly.

Edmund didn’t call me out on the lie. “You’ll be okay,” he said instead. “The Prime is not a fool. He could have killed you at any time if that was his goal.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Why didn’t he kill me? He didn’t give a shit about me when he left me in the alley to die.”

“Being a vampire does not rid someone of human emotions. Perhaps he feels guilty and wishes to make amends.”

A harsh laugh broke from me. “I’m nothing to a man like him, Edmund. A hedgewitch doesn’t even register on his power scale. Whatever he wants me for, it’s nothing good.” I gathered up the dress and set it carefully back into the nest of tissue paper, then carried it to my bedroom and put it on the bed.

The dinner was tomorrow night. I had twenty-four hours to prep my magic and figure out a way to make myself the most uninteresting person on the planet. If I was the most boring dinner guest ever, he’d quickly rid himself of my presence and everything could go back to the way it was before.

Easy-peasy.

FOURTEEN

All day long I’d felt like I was coming out of my skin. Someone was watching me. I felt eyes on me during my shift, in the parking lot, and now at home, with the feeling only alleviated when I hurried inside the house.

I was being followed. Probably by Alric or one of his people. Did the Prime think I was stupid enough to actually think I could escape this dinner? The thought made me snort. I had no intentions of skipping out.

If anything, maybe I could suck down a great meal and hurry home to get a good night’s sleep? Goals.

I went through the motions of getting ready—shower, shave, lotion, etc. I debated on wearing my hair down to keep my neck covered, but the dress was a one-shoulder style that begged for an updo, so I tamed my curls and pinned the long length around my head, leaving a few stray curls to frame my face. To keep the updo in place, I added the special pin I’d created in the basement last night.

At a glance, the hairpin seemed innocuous. I’d spelled a stunning black and burgundy peony to keep its freshness and souped it up with some simple magic. It was just a little piece ofme—nothing that would register as a weapon. If a mage scanned me, he wouldn’t think twice about the pin and assume the spell I’d used on the flower was to keep it from wilting.

He’d be half right.

Once the pin was secure, I started on my face. I kept my makeup simple and followed the rule my mother taught me. If you did dark lips, you took it easy on your eyes. If you did heavy eye makeup, you went with a nude lip.

Tonight, I’d chosen to go with a smoky, mauve look with a maroon eyeliner, bringing out the green in my hazel eyes. I kept my lips a simple nude with a slight pinkish sheen and added a wash of berry-colored blush. A spritz of jasmine perfume before adding the jewelry, and I was ready.

When I walked out of the bedroom, Edmund let out a low whistle. “You look stunning.”

I frowned. “I’m trying to look like I belong at a fancy dinner party but not like I’m a socialite or anything. Like maybe a small-town girl who gets dragged into society against her will.”

Edmund snorted. “I think you underestimate how beautiful you are.”

I blinked in surprise. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Well,” the spirit grumbled, “you usually look like a patchwork quilt, so seeing you all dolled up is a surprise.”

“Don’t hate on my thrift store chic,” I chided. “Patchwork is the new black.”

“Can’t you just take the compliment?”

“Fine.” I picked up my small non-matching purse from the table. “Thank you, Edmund. Please gaze upon my glory for the next few moments for tomorrow I will be back to regularly scheduled programming in your favorite mismatched cardigan.”

“A car just pulled up. A fancy one.”