“Because they hide away at that big house. Who knows really,” he mused, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah,” I remarked.
Night was fully on us now and it was getting late. I needed to get home so that I could search for the necklace. We waited for the darkness to shield us from anyone seeing us searching the property. However, I was starting to think we should move our search to the daytime. The late nights were starting to plague me with exhaustion.
Yawning, I checked my phone.
Maylee: Can you be home in an hour? We have an idea.
Her vague text had me intrigued.
“Do you need to get home?” Kade asked, his smile fading.
“Yes, but I’ve had a great time.” Smiling over at him, I squeezed his hand. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized we were still holding hands.
Leaving Kade’s farm we drove as the radio filled the car. It was nice and exactly what I had needed tonight.
However, the moment we pulled into my driveway, I felt all of my happiness pull away at the sight of Crows lining my drive.
“Are those Crows?” Kade asked, peering out of the windshield.
“Yes,” I said, with a sigh.
Little did he know, spotting Crows meant safety and protection. For me, it had other meanings, too.
“Well, with all of the animal attacks, I am going to walk you to your door,” he stated, already putting the truck in park.
I tried to protest, but there was no use. Kade was opening my door before I knew it and was holding my hand as he walked me to the front porch.
The Crows above us were squawking and flapping their wings, obviously enjoying their nuisance.
I glared up at them, willing them to stop. Of course, they didn’t.
Kade looked all around, his body growing tense. “Wow, the animals around here really have gone crazy,” he remarked. There wasn’t any humor in his voice and I hated that they were scaring him.
We reached my porch as my mom opened the door. “Hey guys,” she said, glancing up at the loud commotion outside.
“Kade is just walking me to the door,” I stated, hoping she would leave us alone.
Understanding dawned on her face and she waved goodbye to Kade before going back into the house. We stood under the yellow porch light for a few minutes, my small hand stil in Kade’s. HIs warm, gentle smile caused me to smile, too.
“I really had fun tonight,” Kade began, leaning into me.
My heart began to beat and I hated that we had an audience right now.
“Me, too.”
Pulling me to him, Kade placed his lips on mine. The kiss was sweet like a mixture of vanilla and cherry. Kade was amazing and gentle and kind. But...he wasn’t giving me the spark that ignited my heart into overdrive.
When we parted, I waited-- hoping for that magic to pull me under, but it never came.
“I will call you tomorrow,” Kade said, kissing me one last time before jogging to his truck.
I watched him drive away under golden eyes. Once he was out of view, I shifted emotions.
“You all can come out now,” I yelled.
Maylee and Collin flew behind my house and appeared seconds later. To my surprise, Ace along with Nora and Thomas joined him.
Ace kept his eyes on everything but me as he approached. I knew he had seen my kiss with Kade, but I couldn’t worry about that now. We had a necklace to find and that was where my focus needed to be.
“Now that lover boy is gone, we need to get to work,” Thomas sneered, giving me a dirty look before walking toward the back of the house again.
Rolling my eyes, I followed him as the rest of the group joined us.
“Any news?” I asked, trying to break the awkward silence.
“Why yes, glad you have time to ask,” Collin began, his snotty attitude grating on my nerves. “The Demons have been sighted again and the Crow Haven Council believes they will have another attack this weekend.”
“Why don’t we worry about finding the necklace instead of talking,” Ace interrupted.
Turning to face him, I narrowed my eyes at all of them. “Not tonight. You all tried to ruin my night, but it didn’t work,” I shouted.
They all began to protest, but I held my hands up to stop them. Silence filled the space around us. Without saying another word, I went into my house and shut the Crows out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dance Fever
The rest of the week flew by like a blur. I was able to go dress shopping with Sawyer and Maylee after school before my trainings. I found a gorgeous red dress with a beaded neckline and straps. I added a black and red mask with black features to my outfit. Since everyone else would be in some type of costume, too, I felt it was fitting to wear a mask. Most days, I felt like I was hiding my true self anyway. It was all gorgeous and it made me excited for the dance. We had continued to search my property and even began reading through more articles written over the years about the town. With each day that passed without me finding the necklace, I knew the risk was intensifying.
When the night finally arrived, I found myself nervous.
Kade picked me up and after taking a million pictures for my mom, we headed to the school with my Crow Protectors in tow. Ace was nowhere to be found and for tonight, that was for the best.
Arriving at the dance, I couldn’t believe how incredible everything looked. White string lights hung from the ceiling as red, yellow, and orange silk leaves floated all around us. Bare trees lined the walls of the gymnasium where the dance was being held. It looked like we were walking into a magical fall harvest.
Holding my hand, Kade walked me to a round table with a golden table cloth. It was near the DJ booth where loud, upbeat music was playing. Students danced all around us, their bodies moving and swaying to rhythm.
As Kade helped me to my seat, I took a second to admire him. He looked dapper in his black suit with a matching red mask. We looked like a couple out of the Phantom of the Opera.
“You look incredible,” Kade whispered, his hand trailing down my bare arm.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling at him.
Sawyer walked over with Garrett and she looked like a fairy in her emerald green dress and glittery crown.
“Hey,” she greeted sitting down across from us. Garrett sat down, too, his navy suit complimenting her dress.
“You guys look great,” I admired.
We began to fall into an easy conversation. We laughed and watched everyone around us with amusement sparkling in our eyes.
“Where is Maylee?” Sawyer asked, glancing around.
I checked my phone. I hadn’t heard from Maylee but she had told me that she had a surprise. I knew Thomas, Levine, and Collin were outside the school. They had promised to stay outside and not dare enter the school tonight.
“I don’t know. She is supposed to be here,” I added.
Just then, I spotted Maylee walking into the gym. Her black hair was slicked back and her gorgeous eyes sparkled against her black dress. She looked like a movie star.
“Wow, who is she with?” Kade asked, as we both stared at my friend.
“No clue,” I breathed out.
Maylee sauntered through the crowd, her hips swaying back and forth and capturing the attention of everyone in the room.
“Look at Maylee,” Sawyer whistled.