“Stay,” I repeat.
“Yeah. When we brought you home. Your mom was arguing with the Gales and I wasn’t sure if I should be here, since you’d been so angry earlier. But when I tried to pull my hand away your grip tightened and you mumbled, ‘Stay’. So I did.”
Her cheeks flush and she stares at her right wrist, twisting the golden cuff again.
She must’ve thought I meant that for her.
“Is that bracelet from your parents?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“Actually the Gales gave it to me.” Several seconds pass before she mumbles, “It’s what we call a link. Most people wear them on their left wrist to symbolize their bond, but they gave me this to represent . . .”
She doesn’t finish. But when she holds it out to me I can see the letters S and V etched into the center of a carving of the sun.
“Well,” I say, trying to keep my tone light. “Guess you don’t have to wear that anymore.”
“Yeah. True.”
And yet, she doesn’t take it off.
I have a feeling I know what that means.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” my mom calls from the doorway— because apparently the universe decided this moment needed to be even more awkward. “Did you have a good night?”
She grins at me and I’m pretty sure it’s proof that my mom’s been body snatched. Especially when she turns to Solana and says, “Thank you so much for doing this.”
“Of course.”
I’m relieved to hear the slight squeak in Solana’s voice. At least she realizes how weird this is.
My mom hands her a pale yellow satchel. “I had the Gales bring over your things so you can shower and change. You’ll want to use my bathroom. Vane hasn’t cleaned his in so long it’s probably a public health hazard.”
“I’ve had a few things going on,” I grumble.
“The bathroom’s just through my bedroom,” my mom tells Solana, pointing down the hallway. “Clean towels are on the counter and help yourself to anything else you want. You know how to work a shower, right?”
“She’s a sylph not an alien, Mom,” I interrupt as Solana slips past my mom and disappears down the hall.
My mom blushes. “Right.” She waits until Solana closes the bathroom door. Then turns to me and says, “So, interesting night.”
“Yeah, no kidding—and since when are you okay with letting a hot girl sleep in my room?”
I glance back at the bed, not sure how to get rid of the image of Solana stretched out in there. I think I’ll need to have Audra help me replace it . . .
“Oh, please, Vane. I knew you two were only sleeping—and I was happy to see you finally get some rest.”
“Okay, who are you and what have you done with my mother?”
My mom laughs. “Stop being so weird and go get cleaned up. I’m making breakfast.”
I’m being weird?
Me?
I stomp to the bathroom and jump in the shower.The water falls like a trickle and I realize Solana’s stealing all the water pressure— which is a bad thing to think about because suddenly I’m imagining her all wet and steamy and—
Why does she have to be hot?
Couldn’t the Gales have betrothed me to some hook-nosed hunchback with warts and a snaggletooth?
Or couldn’t she at least be as uninterested in me as I am in her?
I think about the sadness in her eyes when she told me I was all she’s had to hold on to.
I know what she means.That’s how it was for me, with Audra . . .
I rinse my hair and turn the water off, relieved when I hear Solana’s shower still running. Let’s hope she’s a normal girl who takes forever in the bathroom because I need to have a talk with my mom. She’s being a little too nice about this whole thing, and I have a horrible feeling I know why. My mom’s never been the biggest Audra fan. She basically blames her for all the dangerous things that have happened lately—and the last thing I need is for her to play matchmaker.
The smell of bacon hits me as I make my way toward the kitchen, but my mom’s not making torpedoes like I thought. The counter is covered with her waffle iron and bowls of strawberries and candied nuts and homemade whipped cream.
She’s making sugarwaffles, something she only makes a couple of times a year because they’re so much work. And she has to make the batter the night before, so clearly she’s been planning this from pretty much the moment Solana got here.
“What?” she asks when she catches me scowling.
“I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“Oh please.” I grab one of the strawberries—which she dipped in freaking chocolate—and take a bite. “You never do all this when Isaac stays the night.”
“That’s because I’ve seen Isaac eat a cheeseburger that’s been sitting in his car all day. Plus I know he likes burritos better. How’s he doing, by the way? I never see him anymore.”