Page 10 of Wynter

The girl looks oddly familiar beneath all that fur. I stare at her for several seconds, trying to place her. But by the time I do, it’s too late.

It all happens so fast. First, the magical ice floating above Amber’s ankle drifts lower. Then, it makes contact with swollen skin, and a single drop of moisture forms on its surface. And that drop touches Mermaid Amber’s bare skin.

Because that’s who the pink-haired girl Amber shifted into is beneath all that fur. A mermaid. Tail and all. And the thing about tails is that they’re not that great at keeping you balanced on barstools.

One second, Amber’s sitting upright, and the next, she starts to tumble sideways.

I’m too far away to catch her. Julian is definitely too far away to catch her. And I can only make inanimate objects levitate, like pants—which mermaids do not wear. I summon everything else in sight—barstools shift beneath her in a mermaid-balancing dance, chairs zoom across the cafe, towels dive to her rescue—but I’m not fast enough.

Someone else’s magic is. And no, I don’t mean Julian’s. We don’t need another broken glass incident, or a second swollen ankle.

Amber’s mate lets out a surprised cry a split second after Ghost uses magic to gently lower her to the floor. To an outside observer, it would look like she’s falling in slow motion. I know he’s manipulating the very air around her. Him and his invisible magic, which is the real reason he earned the nickname Ghost.

I should be grateful that he saved my friend, but I hate him just a little more. Especially the way he stands there looking all pleased with himself. Asshole.

Julian rushes to Amber’s side, and I give them a moment of privacy. Not by choice, but because they start making out like we’re not even there. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Mates have no self-control.

I mentally roll my eyes at them and turn to Ghost.

“So, how’s the agency treating you?” I ask. Like he didn’t—well, he knows exactly what he did. And the way he grimaces is proof enough.

“I resigned two weeks ago.”

“Resigned?” I suddenly feel like a Yeti punched me in the chest. Or like Ghost just ripped my heart out, crushed it to a pulp, and ate it for dinner.

Okay, fine, if that really happened, I’d be dead. But his words make me feel like I’m dying. On the inside.

That agency he resigned from? It’s the reason we broke up. Because Terence wanted to be recruited more than anything. More than us. More than me. So much that he stabbed me in the back just to get ahead.

At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself. That he cared for me, he just cared about the agency more. But if he resigned, maybe I was wrong. Maybe working for the agency never meant all that much to him. And I meant even less. I meant nothing at all.

“Wyn, don’t,” he whispers, and I realize that my eyes are watering.

“Allergies,” I tell him. Definitely allergies.

Ghost takes a small step toward me, and I feel his magic gently caressing my cheek. It’s a soft breeze. Gentle. Caring. Just like I remember.

For a split second, I feel myself starting to thaw. Like I’d been frozen for all these years and Terence is warming me up from the inside. Except I don’t want to be thawed. Not by a selfish Ghost who only looks out for himself.

“Stop.” I wipe my cheek with my sleeve. Not because I can remove the traces of his magical touch, but so he knows I find it distasteful. Find him distasteful.

It wasn’t always the case. There was a time when I longed for Terence to touch and caress me with magic. To tease me in public and turn me into a quivering mess in private. He’d make me shiver while we were hanging out with friends. Make it impossible to pay attention in class. Leave me counting down the seconds until the bell so we could finally be alone.

Desire courses through me, and he knows, damn him. Even after all this time—even after what he did—he still has this effect on me. But I’m no longer the girl he once knew.

“Leave me alone!” I snap. He doesn’t.

I need to fight back, but Ghost controls air. Manipulates it. Makes it do his bidding. Try punching or kicking air, and your limbs go right through it. Unless he doesn’t want them to. Then, you hit a wall, and it hurts. Because when it comes to invisible magic, there’s just no fighting it. But there is fighting Ghost.

I flick my wrist—so he knows he’s about to pay—and strike back. Except instead of caressing his cheek, I go straight for his crotch. And not in that way.

Unlike Ghost’s magic, mine is very, very visible. I grab the nearest Jewels Cafe mug. Lift it with my powers and whip it below the belt.

The mug slams into a pair of Ghostly nuts. Terence lets out a Ghostly wail. And his Ghostly magic vanishes into thin air. Wynter 2, Ghost 0. Plus an extra point for hitting his Family Jewels with a Jewels mug at Jewels Cafe.

Except, a second later, that same mug is flying back at me. It slams into my stomach and I double over with a grunt. Wynter 3, Ghost 1. The Asshole.

Ghost gasps, like maybe the retaliation wasn’t intentional, or maybe I’m giving him far too much credit. Either way, it’s still going to bruise. Kind of makes me wish Amber had left some painkiller in that vial, but too late for that.