“Hmm.” I toy with the hood string of his jacket, only vaguelyaware that I’m in his arms. “And where does one find all these faeries? Because I’ve never seen a single one.”
“Well, you’ve read your Shakespeare, haven’t you?”
“If you meanAMidsummer Night’s Dream, then yes.” In high school, so it’s probably time to reread it.
He bends closer, voice low. “‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.’”
“In flowers?”
“And under acorn caps.” His dark eyes shimmer as he smiles. “Oh, and don’t forget, Titania, the Queen of the Faeries, sleeps in a snakeskin.”
“But those are pixies, aren’t they?” They’d have to be to fit in flowers. “You told me not all fairies are that small.”
“No, they come in all sizes.”
“So there could be fairies here right now, walking among us, and I’d never know it.” The very idea makes me wistful.
“And you’d never know it,” Leo confirms, and when he chuckles, I feel the vibrations under my hands.
Wait, how did my hands end up on his chest?
We both seem to notice them at the same time. With a gasp, I snatch them away and step back, the cool air attacking my thighs where a moment ago they’d been pressed against his. He blinks at me and scrubs a palm down his face.
As I try to come back to reality, I see Lara out of the corner of my eye, her mouth twisted in a malicious smile. “Oh shit.” I put more distance between Leo and me and glance at her again, only to find her squinting like she’s not sure what she’s seen.
Leo clears his throat, calling my attention back to him. There’s an awkward smile on his lips and an apology in his eyes. “So, uh, I actually can’t stay very long, but I wanted to stop by and give you something.”
“Give me something?”
“Yes.” He dips his head and studies my eyes. “How drunk are you?”
Excuse me? Is he blaming me for getting too close? He was the one who was holding me and reciting Shakespeare.
I must’ve flinched because he quickly apologizes, giving my chin a gentle brush with his thumb. “I’m not judging. I just want to make sure you’ll remember why I’m giving this to you.” He digs into the front pocket of his jeans.
“I won’t forget.” I’m nowhere near blackout drunk. Trust me. I’m an expert.
“Looks like I picked a good color.” He opens his fist and smiles. In his palm lies a necklace with a silver pendant.
He nods when I reach out with hesitant fingers, assuring me it’s mine to take. Up close, the pendant is exquisite. Delicate silver vines weave together to form a cage around a purple, heart-shaped crystal just a shade darker than my dress.
I turn it in and out of the light, admiring the swirling shapes in the stone—some opaque, others clear as glass. “It’s beautiful.” It really, really is.
“It’s an amethyst, a protective crystal like Avery’s obsidian.” He forces down a tight swallow. “It’s not much, but it’s something that might help you feel a little less vulnerable.”
I look up to into his earnest eyes. “What does it do?”
“It absorbs negative energy. In the same way the earth grounds electricity.”
I only vaguely understand what he means. The last time I studied physics was in the eighth grade and I’ve forgotten ninety percent of what I learned.
“So it’ll help me?”
“It’ll help some. But first you need to charge it.”
“Charge? Avery said ‘charm.’”
A half-smile plays on Leo’s lips. Here I go, asking a thousand questions again. “Crystals already have their own energy,” he says. “You just need to give it some of yours and tell it what you want it to do.”
