Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,107

hospital gift shop to cover the bruises on my neck, and after exclaiming over my cast and variety of bruises for a few minutes, she didn’t press me with more questions about my “accident.” Which was part of why I’d called Anna instead of Elise.

I’d put on Simon’s oversized canvas jacket over the yoga top, and when I reached out to push the elevator button I automatically tugged up one sleeve. “Ooh!” Anna said, seizing my good arm. “New tat?”

“Oh. Um. Not super new,” I said, instinctively tugging down the sleeve. Then I remembered myself. “Here, check it out.” I slipped off that side of the jacket, showing off the intricate swirls of ink on my left forearm.

“A griffin!” Anna squealed. “That is so cool! Am I the inspiration?”

“Definitely,” I told her. “I’ve got one on the other arm, too.” I waved the cast.

She threw her arms around me, then reared back when I grunted in pain. “Oh! Sorry! But seriously, that is just . . . wow. What a fantastic design!”

While Anna drove toward the cabin I borrowed her phone—I really needed to go find mine at some point—and called Jake. He insisted on keeping all my animals at his clinic for one more night so I could rest. He promised to deliver them to the cabin in several trips the following day.

Anna wanted to sleep over and keep an eye on me, but I insisted I was just going to take some painkillers and go to sleep again, so there was no point in her hanging around.

The cabin was strangely silent after she left. It was a bit relaxing not to have animals prowling around fighting over the cat food, but mostly I missed the company of Dopey and Pongo, and the joyful energy of Chase and Cody. I even missed the cats, though they generally regarded me as an employee who occasionally moonlighted as furniture.

I took the painkillers, as promised, but I couldn’t seem to fall asleep. At eight-thirty, I was lying in my bed, scratching at the edges of my cast.

I wanted to call him. I really wanted to call him. But what would I even say? Sorry I brainwashed you? Look, honey, it was for your own good? Everything turned out okay, so let’s just move on? It all sounded condescending, insulting, and just generally terrible.

But I missed him.

At nine-thirty, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I unfolded the covers, carefully climbed out of bed, and stepped into some old Toms. I was still wearing Lily’s yoga clothes—they were too tight for me to take off by myself with the cast on, and I’d forgotten to ask Anna for help before she left—but I managed to thread my cast through the sleeve of Simon’s jacket again, and drape a scarf around my neck. Then I called a cab.

I didn’t know where they had moved Maven, so I asked the cab driver to take me to Magic Beans, figuring Quinn might be there tying up loose ends or dealing with the business stuff. Or at least someone there would know where he was. The cabdriver eyed me in the rearview mirror the whole time, although I couldn’t really blame him, all things considered.

The ride into downtown Boulder cost more than I made in half a shift at the Depot. When I finally walked into the coffee shop, the same kid at the front counter had his nose stuffed in a textbook, and I remembered that finals were happening this week. It felt like Maven had summoned Quinn and me here to tell us about the belladonna at least a year ago, but it had only been a few days.

Shaking my head, I walked straight past the student and back to Maven’s office door, which was ajar. “Quinn?” I said, pushing it open.

He wasn’t in there. Instead, Maven was sitting behind her desk, dressed in a shapeless lime-green top that wouldn’t flatter anyone. She had about fifteen necklaces heaped around her neck, and her thick glasses were pushed up high on her nose. In other words, she looked completely normal. For Maven.

“Uh . . . hi . . .” I said stupidly.

She smiled, but looked nearly as surprised to see me as I was to see her. “Hello, Lex. Would you close the door, please?”

I did as she asked, then made my way toward her desk, sort of hovering in front of it. “I’m glad you’re okay,” I said. I would have hugged Elise or Lily in