The mask pressed uncomfortably against my skin as I moved through the crowd of costumed revelers in the French Quarter. Usually, I adored the annual Supernatural Carnival, the one night when the city's magical communities blended effortlessly, hidden behind glamour and centuries-old masquerade traditions. But tonight, my pulse pounded with every shifting shadow, each one carrying the possibility that it might be him.
"You're scanning the crowd again," Thea whispered, linking her arm through mine. Her fox mask glinted gold in the light of enchanted lanterns strung between balconies. "You said you were keeping your distance tonight, remember?"
"I am," I insisted, tearing my eyes away from a tall figure who'd turned out to be merely a costumed human. "Completely distant. Thoroughly detached
