Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) by Tricia Drammeh Page B

isn’t fair to either of
us.”
    Tears welled up in my eyes and
overflowed. “Jace,” I said, choking on a sob. “We can’t. I
won’t.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m a horrible person, Jace.
Horrible. I don’t deserve you and Alisa doesn’t deserve to have her
heart broken.”
    “Why do you think you’re a horrible
person?”
    “Because I was friends with Becky.
I’ve done horrible things. I’ve helped Becky do horrible
things.”
    “Rachel, I’ve been inside your head.
You are not a horrible person. You’re a beautiful person inside and
out.”
    “Did you know I’m blackmailing
Becky?”
    “Really?” he laughed. “Well
done.”
    “No, it’s not well done. It’s evil.
And I’m not going to compound my evil by doing more
evil.”
    “Rachel, falling in love isn’t evil.
Ignoring our feelings isn’t going to make me love Alisa. I know you
don’t want to hurt her. Neither do I. I care for her. I love her as
a friend. I’d kill anyone who messed with her. But I’ll never love
her the way she deserves. I just don’t love her the way I love
you.”
    Love. That was the magic word that
broke through my self-imposed restraints. The word that forced me
to give up my martyrdom and take up the banner of the wanton
man-stealer. The word that changed everything.
    “ I won’t go out with you
until you talk to her,” I said. “If we’re going to do this, we have
to be honest and upfront. You owe her that. We both owe her
that.”
    “I’ll talk to her later. Right now, I
have to see you. When can I see you?” He sounded as desperate as I
felt.
    “Let me finish my chores and ask my
mother if I can leave. Can you wait a couple of hours?”
    “Do I have a choice?” he asked. I was
relieved he didn’t complain about the fact that I had to ask
permission before leaving my house.
    “I’ll hurry.”
    My hands shook while I finished my
chores. By the time Jace picked me up, I was a bundle of nerves. My
mother had stepped out to run an errand, so we didn’t have to
endure the ritual of small-talk with her. The moment Jace took my
hand in his, my anxiety faded away. Words of love drifted over our
connection and I knew we’d made the right decision. We couldn’t be
apart. Our love was inevitable. Destiny.

Chapter Eleven
    Alisa
    Jace and I needed to have
a serious talk. I’d put it off long enough. It was time to talk
about Rachel. I knew something was going on between them. It wasn’t
that he spent a lot less time with me, but when we did spend time
together, I felt like he wanted to be somewhere else. Or
with someone else.
    Maybe I didn’t possess a shred of
magic, but I wasn’t a complete moron. I saw the way they looked at
each other in class and the way Jace’s gaze followed Rachel every
time they passed in the hallway. Their connection was so solid, so
strong, even I could sense it. How could Jace think I wouldn’t
notice?
    Maybe he was a coward. Many teenage
boys are. They don’t know how to gently break a girl’s heart.
Perhaps Jace suspected I had feelings for him that were beyond
friendship and he didn’t know how to tell me he could never return
those feelings.
    Every thought, every dream, every
fantasy revolved around Jace. Each night, I drifted off to sleep
with a picture of his face in my mind. In my favorite fantasy, he
would finally discover he had loved me all along. In my vague and
disconnected dreams, Jace and I walked together, but I was always a
step behind. I could never quite catch up, never quite touch him.
It was always another who would reach for me, but his face was
hidden in the fog.
    With the holidays fast approaching,
all I wanted for Christmas was to know Jace would always be there
for me. Our friendship was important to me, and if that was all he
could offer, I would accept it as long as he would still be a part
of my life. It wasn’t just Jace I was worried about losing, it was
his family. Abe and Jerica meant more to me than I could have ever
anticipated. I couldn’t