“Honked? My dad would kill me. You don’t honk for a lady, you walk to the door.”
“I think I like your dad.” I reached up to push a curl behind my ear. Chay’s hand beat me. He twisted the red strands around his fingers before sliding them behind my ear. My breath stalled in my lungs. Every time he touched me, I was afraid to breathe, to move, to speak. I didn’t want to do anything that would break the spell—make him stop. He let the strands sift through his fingers as he trailed the tips of his fingers down the side of my neck, across my shoulder, and down my arm until he reached my hand and threaded his fingers with mine.
“So where to?” He looked at me, his face relaxed and his expression open. It was something I rarely saw on him and I would’ve gone to the moon and back just to keep that look on his face.
“Me? You asked me out, remember?”
“Okay, I pick whatever you pick.” He grinned.
“I hate that. Tell me what you want to do and I’ll tell you what I want to do. And then we’ll pick.”
He turned to me and took a step, forcing me to take a step backward. I felt the smooth metal of the car behind me. Chay splayed his hands on each side of me, boxing me in. He leaned in close, but he didn’t touch me. I could feel the warmth of his body, smell his scent, and remember his taste. “I don’t care what we do, Milayna. I just want to spend time with you.” He shifted his weight and wrapped an arm around my waist.
There goes my heart again—doing all kinds of funny little tricks.
“We have all day, right?”
“Every second.” He nodded.
“The zoo.”
“Sounds great.” Chay pushed off the car and opened my door for me.
“You’re really okay with the zoo?” I asked once we were in the car, afraid he’d think it was boring or childish.
“Yeah, I haven’t been since I was a kid. It’ll be fun.”
We drove to the zoo without one quiet second between us. We talked about everything, except who—what—we were. We didn’t bring up the subject of demi-angels or demi-demons. There was no mention of demons or hobgoblins. Azazel’s name was never uttered. It was glorious.
We were at the big cat exhibit when I sucked in a breath and doubled over, dropping the slushie Chay had just bought me. The red liquid spewed across the pavement like the iced blood running through my veins.
“C’mon.” He guided me to a bench. I sat down, leaned forward, and wrapped my arms around my knees. “A vision?”
I nodded.
“Why didn’t I see this coming?” Chay said through clenched teeth. “You’re in a lot of pain?” He looked miserable. “What can I do?”
“Nothing,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure I said it loud enough that he could hear. “When the vision is over, it’ll go away.”
“The pain never gets better. I thought it’d lessen as you got used to them.”
“No, it’s not better.” I pressed the thumb and index finger of one hand against my eyes to ward off the pounding growing in my head. It felt as if a person were inside my head, banging against my skull trying to break through. The other hand gripped the bench so hard my fingernails bent. My breath hissed through my clenched teeth as my insides squeezed together like they were in a vise, then stretched out of shape, all the while they burned and burned. I could almost taste the char in the back of my throat.
I tried to keep my breathing even and focus on the pictures that started to scroll in front of my eyes. Deep breath… in and out… in and out…
A little girl. A stuffed bear. Falling.
“A little girl with a stuffed bear.”
Chay blew out a breath. He put both hands on his head and turned in a circle. “You just described half the kids around us.”
“That’s all I see,” I snapped. Anger buzzed through my veins like a hive of angry hornets. The vision was only giving me glimpses of the problem. I needed the whole picture. My heart galloped in my chest. I didn’t know how much time I had. I couldn’t fail again. I couldn’t.
Come on, come on! I need more. Give me more!
“I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing my back.
I concentrated on the vision, trying to block out everything around me and just see the images in my mind and listen to the sounds.
Pink shorts. Pigtails. The bear is falling.
I focused harder, rocking back and forth on the bench, my hands pressed to my eyes.
A tiger. The stuffed bear. Falling.
“Oh!” I dropped my hands and sat up. “She’s wearing pink shorts and pigtails. Her father has on a blue shirt and jeans. They’re either by the tiger exhibit or they’re on their way.”
“I see them.”
“Stop them! Stop them now! They can’t get to that exhibit.” I stood and bounced on the balls of my feet, my hands on the top of my head. My insides quivered like the nasty, green Jell-O they served at school.
“How?”