My jaw clenched, and I closed my eyes, trying to remember as Ivy shook silently beside me. Nothing. Only stark fear and a throbbing in my foot and my arm where someone had gripped me too tightly. It was a pain born almost three months ago, as sharp and real as if I had just been slapped.

“You gave me the forget potion,” I whispered to Jenks. “Why?” I gestured helplessly. “Was it worth all this? I want to know who did it!”

“Talk, pixy!” Ivy barked as she spun. Her pupils were dilated, and red spotted her cheeks.

Jenks stood miserably before us, black dust sifting from him. “I had to.” He backed up, his wings fanning into motion when his heel hit a napkin. Ivy snatched for him, and he darted away. “I made the spell myself. I put it together and got your blood into it. You were going to go after Kisten’s killer!” he exclaimed. “You would have died! I’m only four freaking inches tall. I don’t have many options! And I can’t lose you now!”

Ivy slumped with her elbow on the counter and her forehead in her cupped hand. Her hair hid her face, and I wondered what she was feeling. Damn it, it wasn’t fair. We had done it, managed a balance, and then my memory had to return and screw it all up.

“That vampire would have killed you,” Jenks begged. “I thought if you just forgot, time would take care of everything. You’re not bound, so everything’s okay! It’s okay, Rache!”

I prayed Jenks was right, but a shiver ran through me as I put a hand to my neck and covered my bites. God help me, I’ve never felt this vulnerable. I had been playing with vampires. I’d believed I had been bound. I couldn’t…I couldn’t do this anymore.

Ivy took a ragged breath. Her brow furrowed, and as she stood upright, I saw an inner pain deep behind her eyes, cemented to her soul. “Excuse me,” she said softly, and I jerked when she darted out. She fled with that eerie vampire speed, her feet squeaking on the wet linoleum. I reached out after her, and her bathroom door shut with a loud thump.

I looked at Jenks. My life sucks.