“Way.” Savannah pointed to Riah. “He confirmed. Also, he’s a weirdo.”
“Figured as much. The quiet ones usually are.” Cooper winked at her and I wondered if he was aware of her infatuation with him or not.
Savannah looked over her shoulder at me with wide eyes. “What’s he doing to me?” she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“Bentley!” Cooper shouted from across the room. “Come here!”
I held my drink to my mouth to hide my laughter.
Savannah shook herself, then looked to Riah. “When’s your birthday, weirdo?”
“November 8th, 1433.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “You’re a Scorpio. Makes so much sense now.”
“OH! You like astrology too? I’m an Aquarius.” I frowned and tried to remember the date the sign changed in February. “You’re a…Pisces?”
She sighed and pouted. “Ionwanna be a fish, man.”
Cooper snorted. “Pisces is a great sign, in my opinion anyway. But what do I know, I’m just the Star.” He winked again.
My, my, is Cooper flirting with her? I must investigate this more.
Savannah wiggled her nose at him. “And what are you? Let me guess…Aries?”
The grin he gave her was the most confident expression I had ever seen on Cooper Bishop’s face. “April 4th.”
Riah leaned down and pressed his lips to my ear again. “Shall we slip away and give them a moment alone?”
I gasped. “Riah.”
He just chuckled and tugged playfully on my hair with the hand hanging off my shoulder.
Bentley walked up to us but he looked a little bummed out. “Yeah?”
“You’re officially in a birthday sandwich.” Cooper used his thumb to point to Savannah. “She’s the twenty-second.”
Savannah frowned. “Wait, when’s yours?”
“Twenty-first. Willow’s is the twentieth.” Bentley sighed but then he smiled. “Although, with her party happening now I may not have to compete for attention as I suspected.”
“What about me?”
Bentley shrugged. “I’m first.”
“Ladies, if you don’t hurry I’m going to throw you into the cake.” Easton threw his arms up. “Your decision.”
Royce grinned. “He takes his cake eating very seriously.”
“Sorrrrrrry,” Chutney said with a giggle.
Willow flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It’s our party and we will stall if we want to.”
Tegan threw her fist up. “PREACH.”
“Before she becomes a real bad influence, perhaps we get this bloody thing going?”
“A bloody cake sounds cool,” Savannah mumbled.
I opened my mouth to tease her when the entire crowd broke into song.
“Happy birthday to you,” everyone sang together in perfect unison. “Happy birthday to you.”
I jumped and glanced around at everyone singing. No one had even prompted them, they just started singing at the same time. And they all knew the words. “What’s happening? What is this? Why are they singing?” I hissed under my breath to Riah.
“It is customary,” he whispered, his mouth pressed to my ear. “A tradition started about a century ago.”
“Happy birthday, Chutney and Willow…”
My eyes widened. “Everyone knows it? This is for all birthday parties?”
“That is a safe assumption, especially in this country.” He kissed my temple. “I forget how much you have missed. You handle it so well.”
“Happy birthday to you!”
Everyone cheered and clapped and hollered. Willow and Chutney curtsied and then posed in front of their cake while Chutney’s mom took a picture. This was a completely foreign tradition to me and yet I liked it immediately.
Willow and Chutney picked up knives at the same time and sliced into the bottom tier of their cakes.
“Now, I just want to thank Tegan for this extra special spell she gave to me for the cakes,” Willow’s mom called out with a wide grin as she pointed to our High Priestess. “The cake will taste like whichever flavor you want it to taste like!”
Tegan, who was sprawled like a cat across Tennessee’s lap, grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “Well it is a surprise party.”
“What spell is —” My words dried on my tongue as a sharp, cold chill slid down my spine.
It felt like fingertips tracing down my back. The hairs on my neck and arms stood tall. Electricity rushed through the air, making my hair lift off of my shoulders and fly. My pulse quickened as adrenaline rushed through my veins. My stomach tightened into knots.
“Saraphina?”
I felt…something. There was an energy in the room that hadn’t been there a moment before. It was strong…it was intense…it was bursting with passion, like someone begging to be heard. NO. Someone demanding to be heard. Someone panicked.
Terror burned on the edges.
“Saffie?”
“Safferella?”
I heard them calling out for me but the energy was forcing me to ignore it. Forcing me to focus