Lahat ng Kabanata ng Make Believe: A New Luna: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

I’m roasting chickpeas, letting the paratha dough rest while the filling cooks on the stove, and dehydrating jerky all at the same time. There’s flour on my face, coating my arms, grease and oil splattered across my apron.I’ve been cooking and gathering everything Jai’s allowed to take in the single backpack he’s bringing to the Unseelie Court.A fully stocked first aid kit, extra clothing, a good luck silver coin wrapped in a basil leaf and twine for protection, his pocketknife, hot sauce—because the Goddess knows my boy can’t live without his spice—deodorant, cologne, a water bottle with a filter and purifier, and a fire starter set are already packed. Now I’m finishing the food.Liam walks into the kitchen, a few bags from the local store in his hands. “I think I just made the weirdest purchase of my life at Gilligan’s. Gel pens in, like, fifteen colors, ten disposable cameras, five compact mirrors, and enough candy to give a giraffe diabetes.”I shoot him a smile over my shoulder

I touch the talisman connecting me to Phoenix so we can mindlink. Take the left flank. Distract them with some lights. I’ll come at them from the front and take out Jai.You know, I could just stun them both, Phoenix says lazily.I roll my eyes. I swear, he thinks he’s some kind of war strategist now. Yeah, for a few seconds—and then Jai will recover. It won’t be enough time for me to reach them, and I’ll lose the element of surprise. Jai will still be able to track me. This is better. I take out Jai while they go after you, and you handle Violet.His frustration snaps through the link. How about I just focus on Jai, and you go after Violet while she’s trying to find me?Oh my fucking Goddess, would you just listen to me? I fume. Jai’s the more important one to neutralize, but he’ll be expecting a magical attack. You can even see Violet burning energy to shield him. Just fucking wai—I don’t get to finish.A grunt bursts out of me as Jai jumps me.We’re wolves. We heal fast. So we don

Phoenix blows an air bubble around us, keeping most of the glitter off and our sightline clear.Both of us have shifted so that we’re facing sideways, presenting a smaller target for anything that might come at us.We don’t want to completely sink into defensive crouches—too engaged, too alert. That would peg us as threats.Instead, we stay prepared, but lazily slow. Like we’re unbothered by the melee and chaos erupting around us.“I’m gonna be scrubbing this shit out of my fur for weeks,” I mutter, plucking at my shirt. Glitter is one of the worst things humans ever created—right up there with pickled eggs and that plastic packaging on scissors that requires scissors to open.“At least it’ll make your fur look pretty. This crap will coat my magick,” Phoenix says, and that’s when it hits me.Fingering the talisman in my pocket, I mindlink him,They did this on purpose. To track your magick. To follow my wolf form.Fuck, Phoenix responds. You’re right.We’re going to have to find a way

Violet and I climb out of my truck in front of Bella and Jamal’s house.The Maiden coven uses the clearing by the river behind their place for most of their outdoor ceremonies—exactly where we’ll open the portal to the Unseelie Court.Circling around the tailgate, I move to grab Violet’s bag. We spent the night together and had another round this morning; I’m feeling downright cuddly.But Violet pulls the bag out of reach, taking half a step away. A guarded look settles over her face—one I haven’t seen in the few days we’ve been together. She’s always wanted my hands on her, always loved the southern-gentleman treatment, so this is… new.Brows furrowed, I ask, “What’s up? Did I do something wrong?”She flushes. “You didn’t do anything. I just… Look, I’m not ashamed of my sexuality, but I don’t want anyone thinking I used it to get where I am—or that I’m relying on you to take care of me. I don’t want people whispering that I slept my way ahead, you know?”I step back. “I’m sorry. I di

One second, the world grows cold, pitch black, with a feeling of emptiness surrounding me.The next, I’m set in a gleaming, glittering, black feasting room. The walls, the tables, the chairs. All of them black and shiny. A mixture of obsidian and onyx. Jet and tourmaline. The only color in the room comes from the fae inside it and the food on the table.Many of the fae are as grotesque as they are colorful. Bright vivid green skin that oozed something that was best not to look too closely at.Or step in. That is reinforced when a kobold walks through the trail and gets stuck firmly in the sludge as the ooze moves up its leg.Lumps so numerous over a stooped back that you could only see the head because of the eyeshine reflected from the torches and candles scattered throughout the room. I can almost hear the grating of the stones against each other as the creatures turn to us. That nails on the chalkboard sound, though the shiver down my spine is from more than just the sound