𝔸𝕧𝕒

My sopping wet dress is stuck to the leather passenger seat of Zane's Challenger. I'm wrapped in a tan, monogrammed towel I borrowed from Kami's. Zane has the heater on high in an attempt to keep me warm. He pats my knee and gives me a soft smile.

This may be the most embarrassing moment of my entire life.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I have no idea why I acted that way. I think the alcohol really got to me tonight."

Aka I have no explanation for why I just acted full-on psycho about you talking to a girl and then gracefully tumbled my way into the pool during your friend's Halloween party.

"It's alright, love," he says in a soft, concerned voice. "I did try to make you jealous of Gabby when you first met her. I shouldn't have done that. You never have anything to worry about with me, baby."

There's an undertone of sadness in his voice that makes me feel even worse—as if that were possible.

"I shouldn't have reacted that way," I say. "I don't know what came over me; I just kind of lost my marbles for a second. I have no excuse."

There's a flicker of concern in his eyes as he glances at me for a moment before looking back at the road. His jaw is tense as he stares ahead.

"Are you upset with me?" I ask. I'm almost dreading his answer. His whole demeanor has been cold and distant since the incident, even though he's tried to hide it behind smiles.

"No, love," he says with a bit of a sigh. "I'm not upset with you."

Really? Because that sounds a whole lot like how someone would say that if they were definitely, big-time upset with me.

We pull up to my apartment complex and walk to my door. Zane gives me a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, love," he says.

Wait... he's leaving?

"You're not coming in?" I ask.

"Oh uh... not tonight, love. I've got to get up early tomorrow."

You don't even have a job, Zane.

"You can stay here and still get up early," I say.

"Yeah, but I left my stuff at home," he says, slowly stepping back toward his car. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," I say.

I close my door behind me and slump onto the floor.

Damn it.

Have I just ruined everything?

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

"What the bloody fucking fuck happened tonight?" I yell, hurling a lamp across the kitchen.

"Jesus Christ, Z," Kami says. "There are still guests around and you're really getting to be a danger to my décor."

"How's Ava?" Kieran asks, sitting on the counter. Kami glares at him, but doesn't scold him for once.

"She's okay," I say. "She has no idea what happened."

"You say that like we do," Kami says. "You're making assumptions. We don't know for sure that—"

"Sure we do. Come on, you know you're thinking it. We're all thinking it. Madness? Obsession? Delusion?"

"I've never heard of a single case," she says. "There's no reason to suspect it's real, Z."

"Have you ever known of a Siren to carry on this long with a human without marking them?" I ask.

"I... Well I—"

"Exactly."

"I don't understand," Kieran says. "All that stuff about Sirens driving humans insane—that's what we're talking about here?"

Kami gives Kieran a knowing look as I feel a sharp pain in my chest. I fall to my knees on the kitchen floor and struggle to breathe as the panic sets in.

"My venom is killing her."

𝕂𝕒𝕞𝕚

I rub along Zane's back as he chokes back tears. I've never seen him this devastated.

Not ever.

"She knew," he says through stifled sobs.

"Who knew? What did someone know?" I ask.

"Lo... la..." he manages to say between staggered breaths.

What if this is what Lola meant? That Zane was putting Ava in danger somehow? Maybe she thought he knew and was doing it intentionally.

That is, if this 'venom madness' even exists.

"Lola?" Kieran asks.

"She's m-... she was my friend," I explain. "She's a Seer."

"What did she see?" Kieran asks

"She saw something happening to Ava because of something I did," Zane says.

"What?" Kieran asks. "No way. You wouldn't hurt Ava."

"Unless I didn't know I was doing it."

"Why don't you just ask this Lola chick?" Kieran asks.

Honestly, it's not a bad idea. Seers are pretty careful about how much of the future they'll share, but now that I have a specific question, maybe she'll give me an answer.

Zane looks at me with slightly hopeful eyes.

"Could you?" he says in the most heartbreaking voice.

I can see in his eyes now that if something happens to Ava, he'll never recover. He will be broken.

I agree on two conditions: First—that Kieran leave with the rest of the lingering party guests. Second—that I talk to Lola on my own, without Zane present.

I know that Zane is panicked right now, so the last thing I need is Lola and her big mouth saying something that will devastate him. Zane can stay, but I'm going down the hall to make the phone call.

If she does have bad news, I don't know if I'll have the heart to tell him, but I know that I'll want to control what he hears. Right now, as fragile as he is, he's moments away from any number of bad decisions.

****

I close the door behind me and flip the lock for good measure before dialing Lola's number. It can be a challenge to evade a Siren's hearing, so I've chosen the farthest room from the bedroom where I left Zane.

"Kami?" Lola's voice says from the other end of the line. She's surprised to hear from me, so I guess there are things she can't see coming.

"Hey," I say. "I need a favor."

"A favor?" she asks. "Are we on speaking terms again?"

"It's serious. It's about Ava—my friend, Zane's soulmate. She's in trouble."

"Mmm-hmm..."

"I need to know what you know," I say.

"Kami, doll," she says with a sigh. "Some things I can share, some things I can't."

"Well make this one that you can."

"It's not that easy. The consequences of revealing too much of someone's future can make things go much much worse. Or I can end up causing the very thing I'm trying to warn someone about."

"Then what can you tell me?" I ask.

"If you ask a specific question, I might be able to answer it. I have to be careful, though."

"Okay," I say, pondering for a moment. "Is the Siren's curse—making humans go mad—is that real?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know that. It wasn't part of what I saw."

"Okay," I say with a frustrated sigh. "Is Zane hurting Ava in some way?"

She clears her throat on the other end of the line but says nothing.

"Kami, I..." she says in a soft voice. "I'm not comfortable answering that."

I don't know any other way to interpret that but yes.

What does this mean?

My heart is breaking for Zane and Ava right now.

"Can I fix it?" I ask. "How can I help them?"

"Hmm..." she says, pausing for a moment. "I don't know that you can."

"Lola, you have to help me out here. We can't just let something bad happen, and I can't just tell Zane and Ava to never see each other again. They're soulmates—you said it yourself!"

I try to compose myself before my voice reaches a volume Zane might be able to hear down the hall.

Lola remains silent on the other end of the line.

"Jesus, do Seers have to be this cryptic?!" I say in a harsh but muted way.

"You have no idea the complicated position I'm in," she says with a frustrated sigh. "I don't want bad things to happen, but knowing something might happen and being able to stop it are two very different things. I don't know if what I say will make things that much worse."

"So what do I do here, Lola? What would you do? Two people you care about are meant to be together, but being together is hurting them. What do you do? Just say tough shit, you're soulmates, but you can't be together? I see it on his face, Lola, just thinking about leaving her is tearing him up inside. He's ready to do it because he thinks he has to—to protect her. Because, despite what you think of him, he's a good person and he loves her. He'll sacrifice her happiness if he thinks he needs to in order to keep her safe."

"Then he should," Lola says in a somber voice.

My heart sinks to my stomach.

"Seriously, Lola?" I ask in a hushed tone. "I'm not about to tell him to leave her. That will kill him."

"You wanted my advice, that's it."

"No, Lola, I wanted your help," I say, slamming the phone to the floor and smashing it to pieces.

What the freakin' hell am I going to tell Zane?

I collect myself and take a few deep breaths before opening the door to the hallway.

I'm met instantly with Zane's glossy, reddened eyes and an expression that lets me know he just heard everything I said.