Free Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) by Rene Lanausse Page B

the door again, when a new thought occurs to me. I’ve been worried about something for a couple of weeks now, but I don’t want anyone else freaking out, so I don’t want to involve them. All the same, I need answers. And Lily might be practically a stranger to me, but she’s probably the best person for the job. So before I head inside, I gather my confidence, and say, “I have two questions for you.”
                  Lily looks over at me, but doesn’t respond.
                  “One: Can you keep a secret?”
                  She nods.
                  “Okay… Two: Would you mind doing me a favor?”

8
                  I don’t know exactly what I expected to see when I make it back to the table. Nick and Alyssa sitting in awkward silence, maybe. Maybe arguing. Maybe the two of them in the midst of a heated knife fight. I certainly didn’t expect what I’m actually seeing unfold; the two of them are sitting peacefully, having a conversation. And either my eyesight is failing, or Alyssa is actually smiling .
                  I suppose if the two of them can be friendly, anything’s possible.
                  Alyssa notices me coming, and asks, “Are you alright?,” as soon as I’m within earshot. Nick turns around to look as I take the seat next to him, the same question looming behind his eyes.
                  “I’m fine,” I answer, waving off their concern. “I was just a little nauseous. What were you guys talking about just now?”
                  “Nothing much. Nick was just telling me about the last double date he was on.”
                  “It was back in high school,” Nick says with a rueful smile. “Believe it or not, it was even more awkward than this one.”
                  “What happened?,” I ask as I slide a little closer to Nick.
                  “Long story short, my date went home with my friend Mike… and his date. Turns out I was just a fourth wheel the whole time. I didn’t even know that was possible until then.”
                  I can’t help laughing, and trying to imagine Nick as a dweeby high school kid. It isn’t that difficult; I’ve seen a few pictures of him pre-vampirism. A little too skinny, with no real muscle tone yet, his shaggy brown hair still down to his shoulders in his sophomore year. I can easily see him getting screwed over at the end of a double date, and the face he would make thereafter.
                  Alyssa’s laughing too, but I can see she’s scanning the restaurant at the same time. Once we’ve calmed down, she asks, “Where’s Lily? I thought she’d have come back up with you.”
                  “She said she wanted to finish her cigarette, then check something out at Walgreens before coming back.” Which is the truth; I just neglected to mention that the Walgreens trip was for me.
                  Alyssa shrugs, and says, “As long as she gets back before her food gets cold.”
                  “Say… how much do you trust her?” I may have asked Lily to do something important for me, but I’m still not entirely sure how smart it was to put my faith in someone I hardly know.
                  “I’d trust her with my life,” Alyssa says without skipping a beat.
                  “Even with your… well, your condition?”
                  Alyssa’s expression hardens, and her eyes drop to the table. An understandable reaction; it’s a touchy subject with her. Alyssa may be a fellow spellcaster, but she’s unlike any other. Some say her strength is comparable to that of a Conduit, but she’s unable to maintain control of it indefinitely. When she loses control, her eyes and her aura turn bright red, and she loses all sense of reason. Forgets who’s a friend and who’s an enemy. And