Back Charm
Chapters (155)
  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. 1 Nearly Gutless Grace—Grace—
  4. 2 Head Space, Talk Space, Give Me Some Space—Grace—
  5. 3 I Do Like a Good Cup of Hurl Grey—Grace—
  6. 4 Every Little Thing He Does Is Not Magic—Grace—
  7. 5 Hot and Not So Heavy—Hudson—
  8. 6 In One Head and Out the Other—Grace—
  9. 7 Burning Down the Louse—Hudson—
  10. 8 Eat, Drink, and Be Wary—Grace—
  11. 9 From One Blink to the Necks—Grace—
  12. 10 Burning Your Britches—Hudson—
  13. 11 Sleep Like the Undead—Grace—
  14. 12 Grace on a Platter—Grace—
  15. 13 My Life Is an Open Phone—Grace—
  16. 14 Diary of a Vampire Kid—Grace—
  17. 15 The Best Defense Is More Defense—Hudson—
  18. 16 No Vamp Is an Island—Grace—
  19. 17 This Is How My Cookie Crumbles—Grace—
  20. 18 Trying to Lair Low—Hudson—
  21. 19 Put a String on It—Hudson—
  22. 20 All the Sizzle, None of the Heart—Hudson—
  23. 21 I’m Not RSVPing for This Pity Party—Grace—
  24. 22 All Cry, No Punishment—Grace—
  25. 23 Welcome to My Jungle—Hudson—
  26. 24 Dividing the Room in Styles—Grace—
  27. 25 I Mo, You Mo, We All Emo—Grace—
  28. 26 Re-Tweeting—Grace—
  29. 27 De-Briefing—Hudson—
  30. 28 It Dunks to Be Me—Grace—
  31. 29 How Do You Say Good-Pie?—Hudson—
  32. 30 Uneasy as Pie—Hudson—
  33. 31 Stalks and Bonds—Grace—
  34. 32 Some Bonds Can’t Be Unbroken—Grace—
  35. 33 Fake It or You Don’t Make It—Grace—
  36. 34 I Read You All Wrong—Grace—
  37. 35 Running Down a Nightmare—Grace—
  38. 36 Please Don’t Start the Fire—Grace—
  39. 37 You’re Dragon Me Down—Grace—
  40. 38 Waking Dawn—Hudson—
  41. 39 Keep Calm and Don’t Carry On—Hudson—
  42. 40 Don’t Farm It In—Grace—
  43. 41 Crop Till You Drop—Grace—
  44. 42 She’s Giving Me the Smokey Eye—Grace—
  45. 43 One Direction Is Not Just a Band—Hudson—
  46. 44 I Can Dish It Out If You Can Make It—Hudson—
  47. 45 Don’t Let the Bedvamps Bite—Hudson—
  48. 46 I Like to Sleep Tight, But Not This Tight—Grace—
  49. 47 You Really Stuck My Landing—Grace—
  50. 48 No Farm, No Foul—Grace—
  51. 49 Re-Veg Is Sweet—Hudson—
  52. 50 I’m Oh So Swan-Yay—Grace—
  53. 51 A Not So Savage Garden—Grace—
  54. 52 There Has to Be an Udder Way—Grace—
  55. 53 Suck It Up, Buttercup—Grace—
  56. 54 He’s Got Hangry Eyes—Hudson—
  57. 55 Afraid of My Own Shadow Queen—Hudson—
  58. 56 Baby Got Piggyback—Grace—
  59. 57 Cliffs Notes Got Nothing on Me—Hudson—
  60. 58 I Cave It My All—Grace—
  61. 59 I Know a Prick When I Smell One—Grace—
  62. 60 Tastes Like Teen Spirit—Hudson—
  63. 61 Carpe Drink-Em—Grace—
  64. 62 Dimples and Curls—Grace—
  65. 63 Tic-Tac-Toe and No Chill—Grace—
  66. 64 If I Could F(lie)—Hudson—
  67. 65 Live and Let’s Run—Grace—
  68. 66 Good Will Hugging—Grace—
  69. 67 The First Rule of Fright Club—Hudson—
  70. 68 I Have Friends in High Places—Grace—
  71. 69 Color Me Purple—Hudson—
  72. 70 Way Too Hidden Talents—Hudson—
  73. 71 Inn-stant Gratification—Grace—
  74. 72 Gone Wishin’—Grace—
  75. 73 My Lady in Red—Hudson—
  76. 74 1D-reams Come True—Grace—
  77. 75 Café Lotta Say—Hudson—
  78. 76 The Choux on the Wrong Foot—Grace—
  79. 77 Ah-Choux—Hudson—
  80. 78 All LinkedOut—Grace—
  81. 79 Getting the Red Ribbon Treatment—Hudson—
  82. 80 Starfalling for You—Hudson—
  83. 81 All’s Fair in Love and Ring Tosses—Grace—
  84. 82 Star Light, Star Bright—Grace—
  85. 83 On Top of the (Other)World—Grace—
  86. 84 It’s a Knock-Down, Dragon Fight—Hudson—
  87. 85 Dragon Me Over the Coals—Grace—
  88. 86 Go Stone or Go Home—Hudson—
  89. 87 Let Me Change into Something a Little More Stony—Grace—
  90. 88 Feather or Not, Here I Come!—Grace—
  91. 89 No One Wants to Catch These Cookies—Grace—
  92. 90 Sucker Brunch Me—Hudson—
  93. 91 I Know How to Hold My Drink—Hudson—
  94. 92 Drinks Are On Me—Grace—
  95. 93 I’m Spooning Over You—Grace—
  96. 94 Talk Dirty to Me—Hudson—
  97. 95 We Roll with the Brunches—Grace—
  98. 96 No Such Thing as a Free Brunch—Grace—
  99. 97 Time After Time Dragon—Grace—
  100. 98 Let’s Talk About the Time Dragon in the Room—Hudson—
  101. 99 Distrust but Verify—Hudson—
  102. 100 Whine and Dine—Grace—
  103. 101 Covering None of the Bases—Grace—
  104. 102 Between a Rock and a Hard Grace—Grace—
  105. 103 Passing the Pouspous—Grace—
  106. 104 How to Rock and Not Roll—Grace—
  107. 105 A Whole New Meaning to Stone-Faced—Grace—
  108. 106 Always Look a Gift Mayor in the Mouth—Grace—
  109. 107 Good Girl Gone Mad as Hell—Hudson—
  110. 108 I Want You to Want Me—Grace—
  111. 109 50 Shades of Fangs—Grace—
  112. 110 Need You Tonight—Grace—
  113. 111 Amateur Astronomer—Hudson—
  114. 112 Waiting for the Other Dragon to Drop—Grace—
  115. 113 One Surprise Deserves Another—Hudson—
  116. 114 Sending Out Smokey Signals—Grace—
  117. 115 The Tail End of the Deal—Grace—
  118. 116 Ripping the Scales—Hudson—
  119. 117 From Smokey with Love—Hudson—
  120. 118 It’s a Hack Job but Someone’s Got to Do It—Grace—
  121. 119 Big Disco Ball Energy—Grace—
  122. 120 Death on the Dance Floor—Grace—
  123. 121 This Is How You Skew It—Hudson—
  124. 122 Love Is a Red-Ribboned Thing—Grace—
  125. 123 Grin and Grace It—Hudson—
  126. 124 Now You’re Inn for It—Hudson—
  127. 125 Kiss My Asset—Grace—
  128. 126 A Not-So-Tastee Freeze—Grace—
  129. 127 Statue of Limitations—Grace—
  130. 128 Here’s Your Horns, What’s Your Hurry?—Grace—
  131. 129 Gargoyle Girl Gang—Grace—
  132. 130 A Shot in the Dark—Hudson—
  133. 131 The Story of Tonight—Grace—
  134. 132 You Bite It, You Buy It—Hudson—
  135. 133 Cross My Heart and Promise Not to Fry—Grace—
  136. 134 The Wheel of Misfortune—Grace—
  137. 135 BDSM: Bondage, Dragons, Stone, and Magic—Grace—
  138. 136 It’s Darkest Before the Dawn—Hudson—
  139. 137 Where the Wild Things Really Are—Grace—
  140. 138 Buggin’ the F*ck Out—Grace—
  141. 139 Don’t Trust Her as Far as I Can Throw Her—Hudson—
  142. 140 It’s Not Even My Third Rodeo—Hudson—
  143. 141 Is This a Bad Time?—Grace—
  144. 142 Full of Light,Full of Grace—Hudson—
  145. 143 What Grace Around Comes Around—Grace—
  146. 144 Out of the Shadows, Into the Light—Grace—
  147. 145 It’s All Coming Back to Me Now—Grace—
  148. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  149. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  150. Sneak Peek: Last of the Talons, by Sophie Kim
  151. Stealing Infinity, by Alyson Noël
  152. The Valkyrie’s Daughter, by Tiana Warner
  153. The Liar’s Crown, by Abigail Owen
  154. The Gravity of Missing Things, by Marisa Urgo
  155. Ember of Night, by Molly E. Lee

But now I can’t even apologize. Not when he’s put giant no trespassing signs around his feelings.

I take several steadying breaths and head back inside for lunch—and get treated to so much politeness that it makes me want to rip my hair out.

Finally, I give up trying to poke a reaction out of him and curl up with my phone. I miraculously found that charger when we were in the lair, but I have no idea how to charge the device in this realm, so I’ve been keeping it off to preserve the charge. Still, this seems like the right time to sacrifice some battery life, so I color on the color app I downloaded before the lair.

It’s not the most scintillating way to pass the afternoon, but it gets the job done. And I don’t have to say a word to Hudson, which is good, considering he hasn’t said one word to me all day that wasn’t in direct response to something I said to him.

The universe must be on my side in this battle because my phone’s battery lasts until ten minutes till six and still has some juice left. Just enough time for me to pack up a few things before we need to go. It’s really Hudson who’s about to do all the work, but at least I can organize the pack such that the weight distribution doesn’t trouble him too much.

Then again, an hour later, I discover climbing the mountain isn’t exactly a picnic for me, either. Not when I have to hold on to Hudson for hours on end as he climbs mountain walls and then fades along nonexistent trails at speeds that take my breath away.

I only thought he was fast before. Now that he’s fed and is back to normal, he’s practically supersonic. And I’m just along for the ride. Well, me and Smokey, who spends the whole time wrapped around his biceps.

We keep up the pace for six straight hours, with only a few five-minute breaks in between long stretches of running. I know we’re on the clock, know that the longer we’re out in the open, the higher our chances are of getting caught. But it’s still exhausting.

We break about midnight, and I take two steps away from Hudson and fall face-first onto the ground.

“Tired?” he asks, and there’s a trace of his old sarcasm in the question that I can’t help but note—and run with. God knows, if I’ve learned anything today, it’s that the only thing more annoying than a snarky Hudson is a polite one.

“I think the bigger question is, how are you not?” I answer. “I’ve never seen anyone move like you have since we left the cave.”