if I would ever need invisibility, but I supposed it didn’t hurt having that particular trick up my sleeve.
I nodded in agreement. “Okay, then. Thank you, Jonas.”
As he went on about his way, I shook my head at the strangeness of my situation. I stood there for several long seconds, frozen on the sidewalk, still staring at the golden coin in my palm. I wondered if I would have to use it or Storm’s or someone else’s, all to survive.
I couldn’t imagine my curse leading to an eventual death, but I had to consider the possibility. One of us, either myself or Riley, may end up dying. I hated thinking about it, hated thinking one of us could kill the other, but that’s where all of this was headed.
Throughout the rest of the day, I struggled to focus. Thoughts about death consumed me, and I wondered what it was like on the other side. If Jett and I were still friends, I would ask her. She once told me Hades descendants couldn’t see the full reality of the deceased, only a small portion. I wanted to know what that portion was like.
When classes were over and dinnertime had come, I ventured down the path that led to the lake where Xander first told me about the curse. For all its beauty, going there to meet him again made my legs tremble.
As I was walking, Xander grabbed my hand, appearing out of nowhere. My heart tripped beneath my chest. “Gah!—you’re always doing that,” I complained, trying to calm my racing heart.
He grinned. “Just keeping you on your toes.”
“Trust me, I’m always on my toes in this world…” A yellow blanket several feet behind him caught my attention, distracting me. “What’s that?”
“Food.”
“Like a picnic?”
He nodded, watching my reaction.
He had spread out a blanket topped with baskets, a bottle of wine, cups and plates. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this.
“This is amazing.” My stomach growled. It just occurred to me I hadn’t eaten all day in anticipation for this.
Xander led me to the blanket, and we kneeled down on it together. “That’s not even the best part—watch this.”
Several tealight candles lit up all at once, slowly rising into the air, floating around us.
“How are you doing that?”
Xander’s fire magic awed me. He was far more advanced than me.
He shrugged. “Over time, it comes naturally, like the flames exist within you.” He watched me closely, just as entranced by my reaction as I was of the candles. “I have another surprise.”
I met his gaze, widening my eyes. “It gets better?”
He handed me a small velvet box. I took it from him and carefully opened it. Inside was a charm bracelet, almost identical to the one Riley had poisoned. This new one was white gold with only one charm, a light blue stone that sparkled in the candlelight.
“For protection,” Xander said, his voice low. “Do you like it?”
I smiled. “Xander, I love it.”
He beamed, pleased with himself.
I glanced around, at the picnic, and back to the bracelet again. “Is there…any reason for this?”
He raised one thick, dark brow. “What do you mean?”
I wished I could accept it for the romantic gesture it was, but I needed an explanation. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that you planned all of this. But you’re acting like everything is fine, like you haven’t been ignoring me the last two days. You were angry—I know you were.”
Xander gently touched the side of my face, his fingertips lightly tracing down my cheek and neck, tingling my skin as if they were electric. “I was angry, but not at you. Maybe at first, but I was angrier with myself.”
“Explain.”
He let out a lengthy sigh, and I could sense he was finally about to let it all out. “You took that bet, and I couldn’t stop you. You jumped off that ledge, and I couldn’t protect you. Then, when you were bloody and bruised, I couldn’t even comfort you. It was the most helpless feeling in the world, damsel. It made me wonder if I was any good to you at all.”
I straightened my spine, the night’s events coming back to me through Xander’s eyes. Even if he had tried, I doubt the outcome would have changed. But his last point, about comforting me…I winced, realizing how he must’ve felt. “I’m sorry,” I said, meaning it. “I was just so ashamed, and I didn’t want