“But I should be protecting Jill too,” she argued. “Isn’t that why I’m here? I need to learn what to do.”

“Well, yeah,” he said, obviously trapped by her logic. “You’ll have to go with me in order to look after her.”

Angeline brightened. “Really? Then we can go together!”

Eddie’s look of pain returned. “No. We’re going together. Not together.”

Angeline didn’t seem to be fazed by the nuances. “I’ve never been to a dance,” she admitted. “Well, I mean, back home, we have them all the time. But I don’t think they’ll be like the ones here.”

That I agreed with. I’d seen the types of social events the Keepers had. They involved raucous music and dancing around bonfires, along with some kind of toxic homemade alcohol that probably even Adrian wouldn’t touch. The Keepers also didn’t think a social event was a success if at least one fight didn’t break out. It was actually kind of amazing that Angeline hadn’t gotten into one yet here at Amberwood. I should have counted myself lucky that her only transgressions were dress code violations and talking back to teachers.

“Probably not,” I said neutrally. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a dance either.”

“You’re going to this one, aren’t you?” asked Eddie. “With Brody?”

“Brayden. And I don’t know. We haven’t even had our second date. I don’t want things to move too fast.”

“Right,” Eddie said. “Because there’s no bigger sign of commitment than a Halloween dance.”

I was about to get him back by suggesting maybe he and Angeline should go together after all when Jill and Micah joined us. Both were laughing and had a hard time settling down to explain what was so funny.

“Janna Hall finished a men’s suit in sewing club tonight,” said Jill between giggles. Once again, I felt a rush of joy at seeing her so happy. “Miss Yamani said it’s the only guy’s outfit she’s seen in there in five years. Of course, Janna needed a model, and there’s only one guy in there…”

Micah attempted a tormented look but was quickly smiling again. “Yeah, yeah. I did the manly thing and stepped up. That suit was awful.”

“Aw,” said Jill. “It wasn’t that awful—okay, it really was. Janna didn’t try to go by any size guidelines, so the pants were huge. Like, tents. And since she didn’t make any belt loops, he had to hold it all up with a sash.”

“Which barely held when they made me do a runway walk,” said Micah, shaking his head.

Jill gave him a playful nudge. “Everyone probably would’ve loved if it hadn’t held.”

“Remind me to never ever sign up for an all-girls club again,” said Micah. “Next semester, I’m taking something like shop or karate.”

“You won’t do it again? Not even for me?” Jill managed a look that was amazingly both pouty and alluring. That, I realized, was more effective than any charm spell or compulsion.

Micah groaned. “I’m helpless.”