Shadowspell

I smiled at her enthusiasm and did my best to ignore my dad and Finn. I was more relieved than I could say that they agreed to wait for me in the lobby instead of insisting they had to loom over me while I got my nails done.

A beautiful Fae woman (I know, redundant) escorted Kimber and me into the depths of the spa and into a private room set up with two manicure tables.

“Go ahead and pick your colors,” the Fae woman said. “Sharon and Emily will be right with you.”

I looked at the enormous set of shelves stacked with nail polish and was at a complete loss. Too many choices!

I’d never had a manicure before, but I did sometimes paint my nails. However, I chose my colors mostly based on what was on sale. That wasn’t much help here. I shook my head.

“You’re going to have to help me,” I told Kimber, hoping I didn’t sound as awkward as I suddenly felt. Maybe I didn’t belong in a classy spa any more than Finn or my dad did.

She grinned at me, and there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “It’ll be a real hardship, but somehow I’ll manage.”

I laughed and let some of the tension ease out of my shoulders. “Yeah, I’ve noticed how telling other people what to do is not your thing.”

Kimber gave me a mock dirty look. “Here’s the perfect color for you,” she said, snatching a bottle off the topmost shelf and sticking it in my face.

It was the most hideous shade of puke green I’d ever seen. Why they even made nail polish in that color was anyone’s guess.

“Ha ha,” I told her, then reached for a bottle of neon orange. “How about this one for you?”

We went back and forth for a bit, each choosing the ugliest colors available—and let me tell you, there were plenty of ugly ones to choose from—before we settled on shell pink for Kimber and a shimmery copper for me. Then the manicurists descended on us with clippers and files and cuticle-pushers, and other … stuff.

I’d expected to have my nails filed and then painted. The rest of the ritual came as a complete surprise. I wasn’t too fond of having my cuticles pushed and nipped, so I turned to Kimber to distract myself.

“Why did you let Ethan use your phone to call me?” I blurted, then wished my hand were free so I could smack myself in the forehead with it. I honestly hadn’t meant to sound like I was accusing her of something, but the truth is I was a bit annoyed with her for helping Ethan ambush me. However, I really wished I’d brought it up on the phone, instead of here in front of a couple of strangers.

Kimber didn’t seem to think my timing was inappropriate, however. She wrinkled her nose and gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. He used the phone while I was in the kitchen making tea. I heard him talking to you, but by then it was too late.”

Kimber had tried to warn me away from Ethan from the very beginning. I should have known she hadn’t willingly helped Ethan trick me into answering the phone.

“He wouldn’t tell me what he did to make you so mad at him,” Kimber continued.

No, of course he wouldn’t. I looked at the two women who were busily fussing with our nails, wishing that if I’d had to bring this up, I’d done it while Kimber and I were still alone.

“Come on,” Kimber said impatiently. “Spill.”

Reluctantly, I told her about seeing Ethan at the party with the redhead. My cheeks heated with a blush as I spoke. I felt like such a dork for getting upset about this when Ethan and I weren’t dating.

Kimber let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. “I love my brother—most of the time—but he can be a total asshat.”

I choked back a laugh. The woman working on Kimber’s nails smiled faintly before she got her expression under control. I reminded myself that spa staff probably got to hear a lot of girlie secrets on a regular basis. That still didn’t make me comfortable talking about it.

“Yeah, well, that’s why I don’t want to talk to him,” I said.

Kimber looked a little grim. “He also doesn’t give up easy.”

I groaned. “Yeah, I kind of figured that.” He’d been lying low lately, but I didn’t expect that to last forever. I tried not to think about how he might be keeping himself entertained while I was giving him the cold shoulder, since it shouldn’t matter to me.

“For what it’s worth,” Kimber said, dropping her voice, although it wasn’t like the manicurists couldn’t hear her, “I think he really cares about you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I can tell by the way he was practically making out with that girl on the dance floor.”

“I doubt he’ll ever stop being a flirt, but I also doubt he’d put this much effort into talking to you if you didn’t mean something to him.”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything stupid. From what Kimber had told me about him before, I knew that Ethan planned to follow in his father’s footsteps. Hell, he was head of the Avalon Student Underground, which was supposedly a group of subversive political activists who wanted to promote change in Avalon. I say “supposedly” because the only time I’d ever met anyone from this Underground, their meeting had been nothing more than a glorified keg party.

Whatever his Underground was really up to, I knew for certain that Ethan had … ambitions. And that having a Faeriewalker on his side couldn’t hurt those ambitions. Which made his motives in chasing me suspect, at best.

“I think I liked it better when you were telling me Ethan was just using me and I should stay away from him,” I said, sounding a little sour.