“And the agency was?” Mini raises an eyebrow.
“It’s a good offer.” I shrug.
“Look, I get it.”
“Do you really?” I look over at the red-haired witch, who blows a large pink bubble with her stick of gum until it pops.
“Okay, I don’t get it, get it. It’s not like your agency would ever want a magicless witch like me. But…”
“Wait. Hold up. What do you mean, magicless?” I gape at her. “You were literally just gathering intel. From Snowball.”
“Gathering intel?” Mini snorts. “Snowball just likes to talk.”
“This Snowball?” I glance down at my pet, whose eyes and mouth are closed and hidden beneath soft fur.
“How else would I know that you got Juniper to order you a custom dildo that makes you come with air?”
My checks flush. “If you ever repeat that to anyone, I swear…”
“Oh my Goddess, chill.” Mini rolls her eyes. “First of all, I can keep a secret. And second, I don’t have any friends to tell.”
“That’s just sad.”
“You’re sad,” Mini snaps back, sounding like a petulant five-year-old. Which would be kind of funny if my life wasn’t a total and complete mess.
“You’re right. I really am.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.” Mini rolls her eyes. “I’d give anything to be you. You have, like, epic powers, you know? You could get any job you wanted in Silver Springs. Or move to some other town.”
“So could you.”
“Me?” Mini snorts. “Look at this.”
She points a finger at one of the takeout containers on my coffee table, and it briefly turns all pink and sparkly.
“That’s… um… Pretty?” I ask hesitantly.
“Pretty useless.” Mini snorts. “For the record, I was trying to make it levitate.”
“So stop trying to make things levitate.” I roll my eyes.
“Whatever.” Mini pops another bubble.
“That’s like me trying to talk to Snowball. That’s your magic. The agency would kill for that kind of power.” I purse my lips. “What animals can you talk to? Mice? Flies?”
“Flies never make any sense. But I can talk to mice, cats, dogs, horses.” She shrugs again, like it’s no big deal.
“Think about it. You could infiltrate entire criminal rings by sending in animals no one would notice or pay attention to.” I shake my head. “Maybe we should both go work for the agency. It’s not like either of us has anything left in Silver Springs. And it would be nice to work with a friend.”
“So we’re friends now?” Mini examines her nails, but someone knocks on the door before I can answer.
We both turn and stare, not sure what to expect. The police waiting to arrest me for a theft I didn’t commit? Leith, begging me to give him another chance? My boss, Wes, here to fire me in person? My Ghosthole ex, gloating after making me come?
“Are you going to get it or what?” Mini asks when I don’t make any move to get up.
“You could get it too, you know,” I say pointedly back.
“I don’t even live here.” Mini twirls a strand of her frizzy hair around one finger.
“You had no problem getting the door when you knew it was food,” I point out. “Plus, I can’t open it. It would disturb Snowball.”
Mini glances at the fuzzy on my lap and snorts. “You win this round.”
I watch her head to the door, but I can’t see whoever’s on the other side.
“Zoe, it’s for you,” Mini calls out. Like that’s even helpful.
“Sorry, Snow.” I give my fuzzy one final pet and set her down on the couch. Then I get to my feet, cross the living room, and stop short. “Xavi?”
“Zoe!” He rushes inside.
“Get out,” I shout, making him stop short just inches from the door.
“No. Please. I can explain.”
“I don’t need you to explain. I need you to leave.”
“Zoe, please!”
“Fine. If you won’t go, I will.” I try to walk past him, and he shifts.
One second, he’s standing just inside the doorway. The next, a seven-foot-tall ice block is cutting off my only escape route.
“Okay, that was unexpected,” Mini says. “I mean, you told me he was a block of ice, but… he’s huge.”
“He can hear you.” I grin. Then struggle to fight back tears.
I need to get away, before Xavi sees me cry. But his seven-foot frame—or whatever you call it, since he’s all ice—is blocking the entire door. So it’s a good thing I’ve got a perfectly good window to levitate out of.
I spin around and race toward it. Not because I’m worried Xavi might give chase—ice blocks don’t even have legs—but because my eyes are already tearing up. And I’m not going to let him see just how much he hurt me.
“Zoe, don’t!” Mini catches up to me and grabs my hand just as I’m about to climb out.
“Let me go!”
“Don’t you think you should hear what he has to say?”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing he can say that will make up for what he’s done.”
“Just hear him out. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
I could burst into tears like a fool. Or give Xavi another chance. And that’s what I’m really afraid of. That I’ll forgive him, again and again. That I’d let him keep hurting me.
The sad truth is that when Ghost betrayed me, I was willing to take him back. If he’d wanted me. And he still walked away. Isn’t that just absolutely pathetic?
“I’ve made up my mind.” I stick one foot out the window.
“Fine. You do you.” Mini lets me go. “Don’t worry about your place, I’ll kick that block out when he shifts back.” She gets an evil glint in her eye. “On second thought, maybe I’ll let him meet Snowball.”
“No.” I shake my head, because the thought of my pet tearing into Xavi the way she tears into a steak makes my chest hurt. “Promise me you won’t do that?”
“I won’t let her hurt him.” Mini rolls her eyes. “She’ll just scare him a little. Or a lot. It’s the least he deserves.”
I nod and stick my other foot out the window.
Xavi screams. The sound is primal. Like someone just plunged a knife into his heart. And the mere thought of anyone harming my mate sends waves of terror and rage coursing through me.
I don’t care what he did. I don’t care that he sold me out to his paper while I slept in his bed. I don’t even care that he’s going to cost me my job. Because my heart—my soul—would do anything to save Xavi. Because I’m already his.
I spin around, ready to risk my life and fight the beasts of hell to save my mate, but Xavi looks completely unharmed. His eyes are filled with terror, and I glance behind him, ready to fight. Except there’s no one there. My pet’s on the couch, mouth closed, looking like a harmless ball of fur. The only other horror is Mini, but she’s standing by my bed, gaping at my mate.