Wicked Days by Lily Harper Hart Page A

feel anything, though. It’s just not who I am.”
    Now Ivy was the doubtful one. The words were bold, but she had trouble believing them. “Well, that’s too bad,” she said. “Feeling things is the way of the world. You are who you are, though. We should probably get to work.”
    “We should,” Jack agreed. “How about I start on one side and you start on the other?”
    Ivy nodded. “Sure. We can meet in the middle.”
     
    FOUR HOURS later Jack’s back hurt and his eyes were starting to cross. He’d flipped through so many books his fingers were starting to ache – and that was on top of the paper cuts.
    He jumped when Ivy dropped a heavy book on the floor. “We need a break,” she said.
    “We still have at least half of these books to go through,” Jack said.
    “I know. We’re starting to zone out, though. We need to refocus.”
    “What did you have in mind?”
    Ivy smiled. “How about a walk?”
    Jack stilled. “A walk?”
    “I need some air,” Ivy said. “I need to stretch my legs. This house is starting to feel small. Usually when I feel like this I go for a walk. I don’t have to go if you’re not in the mood, but I think it would do you some good, too.”
    Jack shrugged. “I could use a walk,” he said. “A half hour away from this would probably let us recharge. Are we going to walk in the woods?”
    “Is that okay with you?”
    “That’s fine,” Jack said. “I like the woods. I didn’t get a chance to really look around last night because your brother tossed me around like I was on the high school football team and I was trying to get the winning touchdown.”
    Ivy snickered. “I don’t care what you say,” she said. “I saw what you did. You could have seriously hurt him.”
    “I … it was a draw.”
    “Thank you for not hurting him,” Ivy said, ignoring Jack’s attempt at modesty. “He’s a pain in the rear, but he’s very important to me.”
    “I think you’re important to him, too,” Jack said. “Let’s go for that walk. I’m kind of curious to look around. I love this parcel of land. It’s very … peaceful.”
    “It is,” Ivy said, getting to her feet. “Let’s go.”
     
    IVY led Jack out through the front door, setting an easy pace as they loped into the woods. The trees were tall, and their wide boughs allowed for a lot of shade as the sun broke through in small glints.
    Even though the silence was amiable, Jack was uncomfortable with it. This was his opportunity to learn more about Ivy, and he wasn’t going to pass it up. “Did you spend a lot of time out here when you were a kid?”
    “Max and I liked to play games,” Ivy said. “We used to chuck pine cones at one another and pretend they were grenades, and we made a lot of forts.”
    “I heard you made a … what did Brian call it?”
    Ivy glanced up at him, pursing her lips as she waited.
    “A fairy ring,” Jack said. “He said that all the kids in town went to church camp one summer and you stayed home and made a fairy ring. What is that?”
    “Technically you can’t make a fairy ring,” Ivy clarified. “It has to be naturally occurring. That being said, I found a fairy ring and I cleaned up the area and made it a kind of … hang out.”
    “Brian also said you still keep it up,” Jack said. “Can I see it?”
    The fairy ring – her special clearing in the forest – was Ivy’s favorite place in the world. She rarely took people there, even Max. It was her private spot. Still, for some reason, she couldn’t deny Jack. “Do you really want to see it?”
    “I’m dying to see it,” Jack said. “I have no idea what it is, and yet I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my head since Brian mentioned it.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know,” Jack replied honestly. “I keep picturing flowers … and sunshine … and magic.”
    “Do you believe in magic?”
    “I don’t know,” Jack said, his voice soft. “I believe in evil. I’ve seen it. I would like to think