“Raze!” I crouch down, groaning. “Raze, I need you to wake up. Come on, please.”

The girl’s eyes narrow at me. “What are you?”

“Changeling,” Raze mumbles. I don’t know if he’s answering her or finally recognizing me. “Iselia.”

“Yes,” I say, surprised by the way the sound of my full name makes my heart cram into my throat.

The girl’s nose wrinkles. “Changelings aren’t real faeries. Go find your own mortal. I saw him first.”

I can’t shake Raze out of this enchantment until I get rid of her—and I don’t think I can shoo this one away. “Oh, you don’t want this one,” I say, not sure where I’m going with this. “I mean, look at him. He’s so...meh.”

The faerie trails a long, delicate finger down Raze’s cheek. “I know,” she says. “Isn’t it funny? He wants attention so badly.” He doesn’t seem to notice her words. He’s too busy gazing at her like she’s the moon in the sky, gently brushing golden curls behind her ear.

My face gets a little warm on his behalf. “You can do better,” I insist. “It’s my turn with him now.”

She frowns. “What do you want him for?”

“I—” I put my hands on my hips, trying to look like...not myself. “I, um... Same thing as you. Just...you know, toying with him. I love toying with mortals. This one is way too easy for you. You need someone who actually appreciates your beauty. This one?” I snort. I’m no good at manipulation. I need to pull this together into some conclusion that makes sense. “I mean, he’s so desperate, he’d probably even be enchanted by me.” I gesture to my scars for emphasis. “Me!”

For the first time, Raze looks at me and seems to actually see me. He takes in my appearance and frowns, and after weeks of travel together and dozens of arguments, I can sense the impulse to automatically disagree with me coming over him. He opens his mouth to speak.

Oh, no. I need to stop him before he unravels this whole lie around me. I panic, and I do the only thing I know will keep him silent. I grab his collar, turning him to face me. He moves easily, like a liquid, and I keep pulling, begging him to snap out of it. Our eyes meet, and for just a second I see a flicker of clarity as he starts to come back to himself. As he realizes what’s going on.

I’m honestly not sure which one of us moves after that, but it ends with our lips smashed together.

As far as kisses go, it’s terrible. As far as kisses I’ve experienced go, it’s not all that bad. It’s certainly...

Damp. And there is a solid amount of pressure.

I hold his face against mine as long as I can stand it, listening to my heart beat in my ears, and when I can’t take it any longer, I hold it for another moment more. One of my hands cups his face, and the other tugs him toward me with a fistful of hair. Raze lets out a surprised sound but relaxes into me embarrassingly quickly. His breath is warm, but his hands are even warmer as they slide around me: one at my waist, gentle but firm; one at the base of my neck, brushing the bare skin under my loose hair.