Page 95 of The Demon's Spell

Ididn’t remember how I’d gotten back into my body, but at some point, I had drifted off to sleep. I awoke to the sound of heavy fist pounding at the door. I was curled in Lucas’s arms, still lying in his bed. Lucas and I exchanged a quick glance, then rushed to put clothes on. He opened the door. At first I thought it was Grant, but instead, we found three Executors I didn’t recognize standing in the hall.

“There she is!” one of the men growled, pointing a finger at me.

I kept my voice steady. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You were out past curfew!” one of them accused. “You’ve just earned yourself one hefty fine, lady.”

“You can’t prove that,” Lucas protested. People passed by in the hallway, and several stopped to watch.

The Executor scoffed. “Our men are stationed all over campus. No one saw the Curse Breaker return to her room last night. If you want to contest it, you can take it up with the priestesses.”

One of the Executors shoved a paper at us, and I took it without thinking. I glanced down to see three numbers scrawled across the bottom of the page. Shit, he wasn’t lying about the hefty fine.

“You can’t do that!” Lucas snarled. One of the Executors cracked his knuckles, and another curled his hands into fists. They looked about ready to start a fight.

I placed a hand on Lucas’s shoulder. “It’s all right. Clearly, I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t violate curfew again.”

The Executors seemed pleased, and I took that as our cue to slam the door in their face.

Lucas turned to me, disbelief written across his features. “This curfew is ridiculous! It’s just another means to control us. We can’t just stand here and let it happen.”

“It’s just a fine,” I said. “I’ll find a way to pay for it. They clearly came here looking for a fight, and I wasn’t going to satisfy them. If I got away with it because I’m a priestess, it shows people I’m above them, and I don’t want to be. Let’s show them that I’m their equal and build some trust.”

“At least let me pay the fine,” he offered.

I pulled the ticket behind my back when he reached for it. “You need money for your car repairs. I’ll get a loan from Grammy. Don’t you have to get to your internship anyway?”

“Shit,” Lucas groaned. “I’ll see you later.”

I headed back to my dorm room. I was almost to the grand staircase when I spotted Talia, Grant, and Chloe near the big window that looked out over the forest. Grant was holding Talia, and I could see tears brimming in her eyes. Chloe looked to be comforting them, though I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Gus circled Talia’s feet, looking distressed, while Marley rubbed against her leg.

I rushed toward them, Isa following close behind. “What’s wrong?”

Talia wiped her nose. “Grant and I—we…”

Was it their magic? The Waning? It’d only been getting worse—affecting more people at once and lasting longer.

Chloe gave me a clueless look, like she had no idea what was going on and had just found them this way. “You can tell us what happened.”

Grant kept his voice low, but it shook. “We don’t know what to do. Last night… it was our first real time and…”

“The condom broke,” Talia blurted.

All the blood in my body drained to my toes. Thoughts raced through my mind a million miles an hour. This could be a good thing… or not. “We’ll figure it out,” I promised.

Talia sniffled. “We can’t have a baby right now. We have to finish school first. This wasn’t part of our plan.”

“There’s stuff we can do to prevent this,” Chloe said. “You’re not pregnant yet. It takes a few days for the egg to implant.”

Talia sighed. “I know, but we just went to the health center. They won’t help.”

Talia broke into sobs, and Grant wrapped her tighter in his arms. I rubbed her back. A few people passing through the hall looked our way. Chloe shot them harsh glares, and they hurried past us.

“They’ve got to give you something,” Chloe insisted. “There has to be some emergency contraceptive program for people without insurance.”

“Not in this coven,” Grant sneered. He sounded angry now. “If you can’t afford healthcare, you’re screwed.”

Chloe’s hands curled into fists. “I’ll get it for you.”