Free Languish by Alyxandra Harvey Page A

will as well.”
    I nearly snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” Why do people always assume that if you’re quiet, you’re also naive? Or downright stupid?
    â€œYou are in danger.”
    Devin shifted so he was standing closer to us. “Dude, not cool.”
    â€œI’ll go with you, handsome,” Bianca purred. She was wearing a tight tank top and some kind of glitter gel on her cleavage. Jo actually bared her teeth. She was a little territorial, not just about me, but about cute guys too. Each and every one of them belonged to her. In fact, for all that she teasedDevin, she was notorious for cornering girls in the locker room if she thought they weren’t being nice enough to him.
    â€œLet’s get out of here.” I grabbed Jo’s arm. “Devin, come on.”
    The guy finally looked away from me, noticing all the curious faces looking him over. “Another time, then.”
    He bowed. He actually bowed. I could feel Jo fluttering beside me—she loved that sort of quasi-medieval thing. She was probably forcing herself not to curtsy back.
    â€œSoon,” he added.
    I honestly didn’t know if I should take that as a promise or a threat.
    We circled the picnic table to get to Devin’s car. Jo let me have the front seat, a definite indication that I must have looked as uncomfortable as I felt. She never let me have the front; she considered it her personal territory, to be defended at all costs, like Ian Somerhalder and chocolate macaroons. The guy watched us as we drove away, looking determined.
    â€œCute,” she said as Devin squealed out of the lot. “But what a wanker.”

Chapter 1
Eloise
    Friday evening
    We went to Rowanwood Park the next night. There were parties every weekend since the weather refused to turn cold. There was a bonfire, but it was mostly for light. No one stood next to it; it was way too humid for that, even at night. The air was thick, that kind of sweaty moisture that chills even as it swelters.
    The last thing I wanted to be doing was picking my way around tree roots in the backwoods of the park, but Jo was bored and a bored Jo was a force to be reckoned with. She dragged Devin and me out, despite the fact that I hated parties and Devin would rather be reading about elves. I’d applied an extra coat of my mom’s favorite red lipstick. It matched the redscarf in my short hair and the red stitching on my capri jeans. It was my own personal shield; looking tough was a trick my mom taught me for when I didn’t
feel
tough. It helped. Not being stuck at a party in the middle of nowhere would help more.
    â€œOver there.” Devin motioned to a moss-covered log on the edge of the clearing. To get over to the log, we went around a few dancers and two girls trying to figure out how to work the keg. Devin and I exchanged a look.
    â€œNow what?” I asked. “Are we having fun yet?”
    Jo shook her head. “You two have the socializing skills of rabid dogs. Relax. Have fun.”
    â€œI
was
having fun,” Devin muttered. “Until you made me come here.”
    â€œYeah,” I grumbled, and popped my chewing gum for emphasis.
    â€œFairy warrior women with pink hair don’t exist.” Jo grinned at Devin. “No matter how many hours you spend playing video games.”
    Devin pulled a bottle of pop out of his knapsack. “Just for that heresy, you go thirsty.” He handed me the ginger ale and got another one for himself, smirking at Jo.
    â€œMaybe
he’ll
share his drink,” she said, waggling her eyebrows in the direction of a guy I didn’t recognize. He had long dark hair, and even from the back he looked like a rock star, the kind who make girls stupid. I groaned. Jo was doomed. “Seriously. He’s clearly from out of town. No one here is remotely that yummy.”
    He tossed his plastic cup aside and left the circle of fire-light, between the