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

She stops with her hand on the pantry door, looks at me with confusion, then realization.

Just when I think she’s going to yell at me for invading her memories once again, miraculously she continues. “That front tooth, the one that got knocked out, grew in really strange. When I was older, I used to get made fun of for it a lot.”

“Kids are the worst,” I say, like I have any idea.

She considers me again for a second, then looks down at her hands. When she speaks, it’s nearly a whisper. “I’m so lonely.”

It doesn’t feel great to hear that, considering I’m right here, flour in my hair and pie filling under my nails. Then again, this is the most interaction we’ve had in months, so do I blame her for being lonely?

Just because I’m not doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be. Most people haven’t spent their entire life in solitary confinement.

“I’ll eat the pie,” I tell her in desperation. We figured out pretty early on that I don’t experience hunger in this place, which—thank God. The only thing worse than being trapped with a Grace who can barely tolerate me is being trapped, barely tolerated, and craving her blood.

“I don’t think so. Much as I appreciate your offer to poison yourself for me, I think I’m going to opt out.”

“Well, the offer stands,” I say as she opens the oven to take a peek. “Just so you know.”

I walk over and peer into the oven beside her, and my stomach sinks. No way that pie is going to be edible. It looks more like a Frisbee than food.

“Thank you.” There’s another hitch in her breathing, and this time when I look at her helplessly, she allows herself to sag against me.

At first, I’m so shocked that I don’t know what to do. But then Richard’s moments of “societal interaction training” kick in and I put an awkward arm around her shoulders. Pat her back.

She responds by turning into me and resting her head on my chest.

Again, I don’t know exactly what to do. So this time I do what feels natural. I wrap my arms around her, cradling the back of her head in my hand, and hold her against me as she cries.

And cries.

And cries.

As I hold her, I note several things. One, she fits surprisingly well in my arms. Two, she smells really good—like vanilla and cinnamon. And three, I kind of like holding her.