Kale just smirked. “Are you done yet?”
Miranda took a step back. “What do you want? I’m not the witch. I’m not the real witch.”
I took a step forward. “Kale—”
And then it hit me. The thundering beat of metal. The growling. The screaming. I cocked my head toward the bank of lockers to my right.
“Vlad?” I asked.
“Uh-huh.”
Miranda’s head snapped to me, her lip curling into a snarl. “Go away, Ms. L.”
I continued walking forward, talking to the lockers. “Where are you?”
“Nowhere!” Miranda growled. “He’s nowhere!”
Kale cocked a single eyebrow and threw out one arm almost nonchalantly. A locker door—crushed and badly dented—flicked open.
Vlad poked his head out.
“Seriously?” I asked.
He was handcuffed to the top rail and he looked sheepish, then shrugged.
Miranda ran in front of the locker and splayed herself in front of it. “You can’t have him. He’s mine! He loves me. We’re together and he’s going to make me immortal. Get out of here! Get out or I’ll send you to the depths of hell, do you understand me?”
I had never seen such fire in any woman. Miranda’s eyes were lit and dancing. Spittle shot out of her mouth as she screamed. Her knuckles went white as she clawed at the ruined metal of the locker. I almost felt bad for her, having just lost her witch-mentor to a giant gaping hole in the ground, and now her undead love. Almost.
Kale paused, the brimstone and fire fading away behind her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Let me get this straight: You are going to be with him,” she said, her voice calm.
“And you are going to leave us the hell alone.”
Kale cocked her head, considering. “So you’re saying that Vlad, the man that I’ve dedicated the better half of my year with, is going to be with you? Is that what you’re saying?”
Miranda seemed to lose a little bit of her swagger, but she pumped her head anyway.
“Cuz if that’s what you’re saying”—she took another step closer and narrowed her eyes—“you better back off, bitch.”
Will and I both dropped to the ground. I had my palms pressed against my ears and my eyes pinched shut. There was smoke and heat, and fire alarms wailed. Sprinklers rained from the ceiling. A wisp of smoke sailed up around the singed outline of what used to be Miranda.
“I probably should have stepped in,” I said, as Kale broke Vlad out of his cuffs and threw her arms around him.
“Nah,” Will said, shaking his head. “I think you did the right thing.” He slung an arm over my shoulders. “Don’t you just love young love?”
Chapter Nineteen
It only took twenty-four hours for things to go back to normal. Kayleigh was back to reigning with Fallon, the other girls were in counseling, and no one, conveniently, wanted to know where Heddy Gaines or Miranda Shepperd were. I had my shoulder bag hiked up and was ready to go back to work at the Underworld Detection Agency when I opened my front door and caught Will standing there, mid-knock.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile. “Did you forget we’re not working at the school anymore?”
“No,” he said, handing me a paper cup that percolated with the aroma of hazelnuts and whipped cream. “But I thought I could walk you, just for old time’s sake. And also because you totaled my car.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Yeah, Will, I’m really, really sorry about that. The thing is—”
“You don’t have insurance?”
“I have insurance. Not American insurance.”
He rolled his eyes, but there was still a hint of playful smile behind his coffee cup. “The thing is, I actually want to talk to you about something.”
He stepped aside and opened the vestibule door for me. I tugged my jacket tighter around my shoulders. “Let me guess—you’re really digging the supernatural crime fighting and want to come on board officially? UDA offers great dental.”
Will stopped on the sidewalk and faced me. “Sophie, I’m serious. This whole Guardian thing. It ends, you know?”
I took a step back. “No, I don’t know. Aren’t you going to be here, guarding me?”
“As long as you’re the Vessel of Souls.”
I frowned. “And if I’m not?”
He shrugged. “Then I get reassigned.”
I had never wanted Will in my life, but now I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
“Why are you telling me this, Will? Why are you telling me this now?”
He sucked in a deep breath and looked down at me, his eyes the color of honey and warm. “Look, I know you’ve got a thing with Alex—”
“No.” I held up a hand. “I don’t have a thing with Alex.”
At least I was pretty sure I didn’t.