Title Page
Dedication
Pink Goes with Everything
Barking Mad
The Shortest Day of the Year
Glamourous Parties
Winter Soulstice
Old Flames
Found and Lost
Shocking Encounters
New Jewelry
Sparks Fly
Havoc
Rainbows and Butterflies
Holding Hands with Boys
Dance, Dance Revolutions
Bundles of Joy
Happy Pills
Whatâs in a Name?
Power Nap
Eau De Faerie
I Need a Little Space
Deck the Sterile White Halls
In the Absence of Ruby Slippers
Plan T
Picture Imperfect
Eavesdropping and Reading Notes
Ice, Ice, Baby
Double Dating Disappointments
More Monsters in the Dark
Dream Date
You Canât Change Me
Youâd Think Theyâd Never Seen an Invisible Boy Before
Sweaty Mess
Kind of a Big Deal
Dude, for Serious
Jack is Clever, Jack is Good
Bread Basket Cases
Possibly Impossible
A Lot Strange
You Canât Borrow My Clothes, Either
Light and Dark
Daddy Issues
Weâre Not Dawn Yet
Miss You Faerie Much
Never Forever
Acknowledgments
Praise
Other Books by Kiersten White
Copyright
About the Publisher
Hereâs the thing about dragons: I know absolutely nothing whatsoever about them.
Which made my task to scare raccoons out of the alley behind the diner much more complicated. Instead of the mini masked bandits, I was greeted by a pale, serpentine body with feathers raised like spikes along its spine and shoulders. Its face was almost wolfish, a long snout cut by two thick tusks jutting out and curling up over the lips. Oh, and claws. Sharp claws. âYou are not a raccoon,â I whispered.
âNae, child, I am no wee beast.â The air tasted like charcoal as its voice slid out, high and smooth and ageless, momentarily shocking me even more than the fact that there was a dragon hanging around behind the trash cans. It talked. Well, of course it talked, Evie. Because really, what kind of self-respecting, trash canâscrabbling mythical dragon wouldnât talk? I was equal parts terrified and annoyed. But at least the dragon didnât smell as bad as unicorns.
Then again, unicorns were herbivores.
It breathed in deeply, a golden glow growing in its chest. For once I didnât think that light was related to its soul. Not soul; definitely fire. I didnât have time to dash back through the door and close it before being roastedânor did I like the doorâs odds against a dragon. I could make a break for it down the alley, but I had no idea how fast this creature was. I decided on honesty. âAre you going to eat me?â I asked.
âIs that your desire?â
âNot really, no. The Winter Formal is coming up, and itâs not going to plan itself, so this is kind of a bad time for me. Can we reschedule?â I took a step back. People used to fight dragons, right? I could do this. All I needed was a full suit of armor. And a sword. Or a mace. Or some Mace.
The door opened behind me, flooding the alley with light from the kitchen, and I yelped in relief.
âThere you are,â Nona said. She nodded to the dragon.
âYou two know each other?â Why did this surprise me? Of course the resident tree spirit would know the talking dragon hanging out in the alley, just like she knew every other weird paranormal recently lurking about town. And I had no doubt that this meeting, too, would go entirely unexplained.
I so needed to get a new job.
âEvelyn, I have served your friends milk shakes. Please enjoy your evening.â Smiling placidly at me, Nona walked out past the dragon toward the end of the alley where the forest pushed up against the town. The dragon fixed one gleaming, dark pink eye on me, then winked.
Forget a new job. I needed to get a new town.
A breeze blew past me in a massive gust, flinging my hair into my mouth. The dragon took a few graceful hops, then slid like a snake through the air after Nona.
âFabulous,â I muttered, going into the kitchen and shuttingâthen lockingâthe door. âGlad Nona has another new friend.â Taking a deep breath to clear my sinuses of the lingering smell of smoke, I squared my shoulders and walked into the main part of the diner. I just faced off against a dragon and came away char free. I was ready to fight.
âNow,â I said, sitting down at the corner booth and glaring at the five other teenagers there, âwho says pink isnât a good color scheme for this dance?â
I threw my binder of materials down on our apartmentâs tired floral couch. âSeriously, pink is a neutral color! And whatâs elegant about navy blue? No one ever says, âHey, you know whatâs elegant? The Navy!ââ
Arianna rolled her dead eyes. âThere is nothing neutral about pink. They need a color that looks good as a background to any shade of dress.â
âWhat color clashes with pink?â
âOrange?â
âWell, if anyone shows up in an orange dress, she deserves to clash. Yuck.â
âChill out. You can do a lot with navy.â
I sank down into the couch next to her. âI guess. I could do navy with silver accents. Stars?â
âYawn.â
âSnowflakes?â
âGee, now youâre getting creative for a winter formal.â
I ignored her tone, as usual. I was just glad she was here. Sheâd been gone a lot lately. âHmm ⦠maybe something softer. Like a water and mist theme?â I asked.