Enemy Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [3]

F O R T Y

Warning: drug effects and pandamonium

If Andi were smart, she would have noticed Stella wasn't falling for her bullshit. She played the pretty part—wearing the white clothes that make her skin itch, plastering a mindless smile on her face—but she never actually got close enough to do anything. Stella simply waited for her moment to sneak away.

She does not feel too bad about leaving Hope alone with the witch as Stella slips through the cracks in Andi's hold and follows the tug in her heart. The artificial blue crystal she created weighs heavily on her neck as she walks up to Andi's private cabin and simply walks in. What she most definitely wasn't expecting was for Lizzie to be tied to a chair and Josie wheeling her away. "Hey!" She plasters that smile on her face again, though rage seethes through her bones. "Andi was wondering where you were. I can take her."

Something seems strange in Josie's brown eyes as if she were nervous. "No, it's ok. I've got this."

"You sure?" Stella glances down at Lizzie whose eyes are focused on the blue crystal. "I know you like watching me do the heavy lifting." She winks.

Josie's cheeks burn red as the fake smile falters beneath a real one. Maybe that's the key—strong emotions to cancel the fake ones.

Sending Lizzie an apologetic glance, Stella steps up to Josie with a childish pout and grips her arms. "You know, maybe Andi doesn't need us right away. You've been really stressed with everything lately. Why don't we just take a break? I know a few ways to relax."

Playful attraction brightens Josie's eyes as the girl clears her throat and purses her lips to hide her smile. "Well, I mean...Um, ha! I, um—"

"Oh, for god's sake!" Lizzie yells. "Get your mind out of the gutter and take the crystal!"

Josie blinks before ripping the crystal from Stella's neck. Stella simply frowns. "Wait, you're you?"

Josie's eyes widen. "You're you?!"

"Duh!"

"But all the flirting—"

"I thought you were wheeling Lizzie to her death—"

"Stop it!" Lizzie shouts. Stella takes back the blue crystal and clasps it around her neck. "We're pretending so we can get close enough to Hope to snap her out of it. Negative emotions cancel to positive ones."

Or, that might be the gimmick. Good thing no one has to flirt with Hope, though Stella has a feeling Lizzie might not mind as much.

"I can work with that." Stella nods as she moves next to Josie. "After you, dear."

Josie blushes once more as Lizzie groans in disgust before the trio makes their way back down to the ritual grounds. They had all agreed that the wheelchair was annoying, so Stella burned it and ditched it in the woods, allowing Lizzie to walk with them with her hands loosely bound together.

"This better work," Stella mutters as they come upon the group of witches all wearing blue cloaks with one chanting in front.

Lizzie scoffs. "Hope may be feeling good now, but I have a decade of petty resentments to spew that'll change all of that in a heartbeat."

Josie and Stella walk Lizzie up to the stage where Hope holds a silver chalice in her hands filled with blue liquid. If Stella were on good terms with her, she'd admit she looks absolutely stunning and could get any person she wants, so why is she stuck on Landon Kirby of all birdbrains, but Stella's mad at Hope, so those thoughts are shoved to the side.

Before Andi or Hope can begin the ritual, Lizzie clears her throat. The two women turn with raised brows as Lizzie says, "Hope Andrea Mikaelson—"