Sighing, I sat in front of the vanity and steeled myself to look in the mirror. I needed a status report, and this was the best way.
My gaze met hers. The smudges had actually spread, stretching from underneath her eyes to her cheeks, even delving down the plane of her neck. Shaking, I whipped my shirt over my head. She did the same...several beats after me. Annnd the smudges continued, branching from her neck to her shoulders. The largest smudge rested just over her heart. Once the size of my thumb, it was now the size of a giant’s fist. I traced my fingertips over the skin there.
My reflection never moved.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Louder than before.
She was stronger.
Fighting a wave of frustration, I injected myself with antidote, just to be safe, showered and dressed in my all-black fighting clothes. I opened my door to head to Nana’s room. I needed a ride to Cole’s. Kat caught me off guard, her hand posed as if she meant to knock.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Peachy. I came to offer you a ride to Cole’s. Frosty texted. He asked me to meet him at the barn at five.”
A coincidence? “I accept, thanks.”
*
The barn was packed with slayers, and I realized I’d misunderstood Cole’s intentions. We weren’t going to talk. He was going to lecture. Not just me, but everyone.
I’d had too many highs and lows lately to let this disappoint me...much.
My gaze landed on Veronica, and I had to fight to keep my lunch. She had two black eyes, a slightly swollen nose and a busted lip, and she was peering up at Gavin, who was saying something to her. I quickly looked away.
“Kitty Kat,” Frosty said.
“Jerk Face,” she retorted, surprising me.
His eyes frosted over in tribute to his name. “What’d I do this time?”
“Nothing. I thought I’d be mad just to be mad and liven things up. We were getting stale.”
In a snap, he lost his air of coldness. He barked out a laugh. “You’re too sexy for words, you know that?”
“Actually, I do,” she said, and ran to him, throwing herself in his arms.
He caught her, and as he spun her around, a sharp ache tore through my chest. I’d had that once. Would I die before I experienced it again?
Shut up, Downer Ali!
“What’s going on?” I asked, hating the tremor in my voice.
Frosty set Kat on her feet but kept her tucked into his side, acting as her shield, her sole support. “Don’t know. Cole has something to tell everyone, but he’s not here yet.”
“Something to tell everyone...even me?” Kat asked, thumping a finger against her chest.
“Even you.” He kissed her on the temple. “You’re now an important member of our team.”
“I am? I mean, of course I am. Duh.” She beamed up at him.
He cupped her cheeks, ensuring that she couldn’t look away. Tone serious, he said, “You can’t go out at night and fight, since you can’t see the zombies, so don’t even ask. But you can patch me up if I come home injured.”
“Dr. Kitty Kat,” she said with a nod. “I approve.”
“I hope you dole out kisses.” He leaned down and pressed a soft one into her lips. “They’re my medicine.”
“Well, that kind of medicine will cost you. Just...don’t come home injured. I’ll be mad.”
“You know I hate when my little kitty is mad. Her claws come out.”
“They come out for other reasons, too,” she purred.
In seconds, they were going at each other like wild beasts at mating season.
“Break it up before I break you in half, Frost,” Bronx called, and he didn’t sound like he was joking.
I found him in the crowd and pulled him into a shadowed corner. “Did you find out anything about Ethan?”
He nod was stiff. “Yeah, just not as much as I’d hoped. His name is Ethan Hamilton, he’s twenty-one and a business major at Birmingham Southern. He has a fifteen-year-old sister who was diagnosed with leukemia last year.”
How sad. “What are you going to do about him?”