one of the beds. “I’m so bored.”
Malcolm eyed the pair of them, then walked over to me while Cole went back to playing with the television remote. “A wraith? We knew something happened, but they wouldn’t tell us anything.”
“A wraith,” I confirmed. “We’re lucky to be alive. Or … here, I guess.” The wraith hadn’t been there to kill us; it had come to collect us. The wraith said it had come to rescue us. What was the plan? Bring us to Cullen Bridger?
But I couldn’t tell Malcolm that. Not with four other pairs of eager ears in the room. Information had to be compartmentalized. I trusted the four of them more than anyone in this world, but I also knew them. Knew Cole’s tendency to blab, Jenna’s ways of making trouble, and even how Bailey got attached to things she shouldn’t.
It was dangerous for them to know everything all the time.
“So what happened? I heard Quinn’s a badass blah blah blah,” Malcolm said.
I shook my head. “It was the curse.”
The room instantly quieted.
The truth was that none of us knew what the curse was. Only that it was chained around all of our necks, an invisible albatross that protected us.
It hadn’t been enough to just be the children of Moonset. We had to be freaks, too. Before they surrendered, our parents had done things to us. Something beyond simple magic. When we were threatened, or when we were separated for too long, Bad Things started to happen.
I’d never seen it in action (that I could remember) until the other day.
I recited the story for Mal, well aware that everyone else was listening just as intently. Jenna and Cole were there , and yet they were still hanging on every word. I explained it the way I understood it in hindsight—the way Quinn had used Cole to antagonize the wraith, knowing full well that one of us would jump to his defense. Quinn had apologized, but as much as I wanted to be mad, he had saved us.
“What’d it feel like?” Jenna asked, once I was done. We’d made a point of not talking for the last two days. At least not about anything important.
I had to think for a few minutes. “Heavy. It felt heavy. Like there was this thing around me all the time, but I just couldn’t feel it before.”
“Can you still feel it now?” Mal asked.
I shook my head. “But I remember it. You know how you go to the dentist, and even a few days later, you remember how it felt? It’s like that. Kind of claustrophobic, knowing that there’s a room full of dark magic around me all the time.”
“You’re sure it’s dark?” Jenna asked pensively.
I shrugged. “What else would it be?”
She stared up at the ceiling, but didn’t share whatever she was thinking. Jenna could read my thoughts at a glance, but the connection wasn’t two sided. Most of the time I had no idea what was going through her head. Especially now.
“I’m glad you guys are okay,” Mal said, but I could hear something in his tone, like the rumblings of train tracks before the inevitable collision. Bailey bit down on her lip, and Cole stared through his sneakers. “But what the hell were you thinking, Jenna? You’re lucky no one died.”
“They were going to take us away regardless,” Jenna said dismissively. “Does it really matter?”
“What if Bailey got caught in the crossfire? Or Cole? He was throwing himself right in the thick of it.”
Jenna pushed herself up. “That’s what you’re there for, Mal. Ride in and be the white knight,” she said sweetly. “How else can you feel superior to us mere mortals?”
Somehow nearly dying at the hands of a wraith had become about Malcolm and Jenna’s long-standing issues. As everything did, given enough time.
I did my best to cut it off at the pass. I really did. “I think what Mal’s trying to say—”
Jenna didn’t let me finish. “I know what he’s trying to say. So how about you actually let him say it.”
“How about you drop the rebel badass act for five minutes?” Mal fired
Malcolm eyed the pair of them, then walked over to me while Cole went back to playing with the television remote. “A wraith? We knew something happened, but they wouldn’t tell us anything.”
“A wraith,” I confirmed. “We’re lucky to be alive. Or … here, I guess.” The wraith hadn’t been there to kill us; it had come to collect us. The wraith said it had come to rescue us. What was the plan? Bring us to Cullen Bridger?
But I couldn’t tell Malcolm that. Not with four other pairs of eager ears in the room. Information had to be compartmentalized. I trusted the four of them more than anyone in this world, but I also knew them. Knew Cole’s tendency to blab, Jenna’s ways of making trouble, and even how Bailey got attached to things she shouldn’t.
It was dangerous for them to know everything all the time.
“So what happened? I heard Quinn’s a badass blah blah blah,” Malcolm said.
I shook my head. “It was the curse.”
The room instantly quieted.
The truth was that none of us knew what the curse was. Only that it was chained around all of our necks, an invisible albatross that protected us.
It hadn’t been enough to just be the children of Moonset. We had to be freaks, too. Before they surrendered, our parents had done things to us. Something beyond simple magic. When we were threatened, or when we were separated for too long, Bad Things started to happen.
I’d never seen it in action (that I could remember) until the other day.
I recited the story for Mal, well aware that everyone else was listening just as intently. Jenna and Cole were there , and yet they were still hanging on every word. I explained it the way I understood it in hindsight—the way Quinn had used Cole to antagonize the wraith, knowing full well that one of us would jump to his defense. Quinn had apologized, but as much as I wanted to be mad, he had saved us.
“What’d it feel like?” Jenna asked, once I was done. We’d made a point of not talking for the last two days. At least not about anything important.
I had to think for a few minutes. “Heavy. It felt heavy. Like there was this thing around me all the time, but I just couldn’t feel it before.”
“Can you still feel it now?” Mal asked.
I shook my head. “But I remember it. You know how you go to the dentist, and even a few days later, you remember how it felt? It’s like that. Kind of claustrophobic, knowing that there’s a room full of dark magic around me all the time.”
“You’re sure it’s dark?” Jenna asked pensively.
I shrugged. “What else would it be?”
She stared up at the ceiling, but didn’t share whatever she was thinking. Jenna could read my thoughts at a glance, but the connection wasn’t two sided. Most of the time I had no idea what was going through her head. Especially now.
“I’m glad you guys are okay,” Mal said, but I could hear something in his tone, like the rumblings of train tracks before the inevitable collision. Bailey bit down on her lip, and Cole stared through his sneakers. “But what the hell were you thinking, Jenna? You’re lucky no one died.”
“They were going to take us away regardless,” Jenna said dismissively. “Does it really matter?”
“What if Bailey got caught in the crossfire? Or Cole? He was throwing himself right in the thick of it.”
Jenna pushed herself up. “That’s what you’re there for, Mal. Ride in and be the white knight,” she said sweetly. “How else can you feel superior to us mere mortals?”
Somehow nearly dying at the hands of a wraith had become about Malcolm and Jenna’s long-standing issues. As everything did, given enough time.
I did my best to cut it off at the pass. I really did. “I think what Mal’s trying to say—”
Jenna didn’t let me finish. “I know what he’s trying to say. So how about you actually let him say it.”
“How about you drop the rebel badass act for five minutes?” Mal fired
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