Violet coursed between us, brighter and brighter, until I could hardly breathe. I’d seen violet before—with Dru, with Jones—but I’d never actually felt it taking hold of my body. Chris must have felt it too, because his hand snaked up from my cast, up the length of my arm and into my hair. He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me toward him.

I had seen colors my whole life. I had lived in color, as Peyton had. I had swum in a soup of confusion and sadness and happiness and fear and love and mystery for as long as I could remember.

But when Chris’s lips touched mine, a rainbow sprouted between us, brighter than the Vegas Strip and deeper than rivers of paint and richer than any Hollis ever thought of being. I let myself slide along the colors, even though they scared me and took my breath away. They also felt right. I reached up and placed my hand on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat speeding under my fingers.

He pulled away just slightly, pressing his forehead to mine. “Am I still yellow?” he asked.

“Actually,” I said, barely able to get words out, “you’re totally magenta.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It didn’t used to be,” I said. I was breathing his breath, the tip of my nose brushing his. “But, yeah, with you, I think it’s probably a good thing.”

He swept both arms around me and I allowed myself to fall into him.

A really good thing.

EPILOGUE

BLUE WAS STILL unpacking when I got home with the cake. The girl had a million little statues and gems and runes and bowls that I joked were her virgin sacrifice bowls.

“You are definitely a witch,” I said, sliding the cake onto the counter and taking the ice cream to the freezer.

She laughed and reached into the box, pulling out a couple of metal rods. “Am not.”

“What the hell are those?”

“Divining rods,” she said, as if I were clueless. Which I kind of was.

I unpacked the cheese and crackers I had bought and laid them out on the counter. “All I know is you better not ever try to use those on me.”

She laughed again. “You don’t use divining rods on people, Nik. You use them to find ghosts.”

“Oh, good, that’s so much more sane,” I said. “You find glasses today?”

“Yep, in the cabinet.” I opened a cabinet and she had washed, dried, and neatly stored a dozen drinking glasses. “And all the plates and silverware are party ready.”

I opened the drawers, checking out all the things she’d put away while I was at work answering phone calls at the station. “Not a party,” I said. “Just my dad and Ruby and Vee.”

“And Chris,” she said.

I felt myself blush. When would the blushing wear off, for cripes’ sake?

“And Chris.”