Page 65 of Up In Flames

Whoa. That’s a lot of cursing.

“Are you going to go live with them?”

“No.”

“But they’ve got plans for you?”

“They think they do. They think they’re going to set me on some demented throne and breed me like a bull. Apparently—and wait for it, because this is the laugh—I’m as fertile as a first-gen Neph should be. They need me to fill out their ranks. Fucking, fucking bastards.” His chuckle has sharp edges. His eyes hold great lakes of sorrow. He shakes his head. “Look, none of that matters where you and I are concerned, but you should know that you don’t have to worry about seeing me around town. I’m leaving North Carolina.”

“What?” I can barely push the word out. “You can’t.” Because I can’t stand it if he does.

“I’m moving to Arizona. I’ve been in contact with a department there, and I can start work next week, so maybe it’s a good thing I’m seeing you today. To say a proper goodbye.”

And there’s that chill that he wraps himself in again, the same one that makes a future impossible.

“Nope. Not happening.”

“I’m sorry, Nina. Truly. But I’m moving. It’s the only way I can keep it together.”

“You can keep it together by coming home to me.”

I say the words quietly, but he hears. His face creases again, and he spreads his hand over his gut like I’ve punched him there before he shakes his head. His face resolves. There’s nothing there but indomitable will. “We’re over. You need to get used to the reality that I’m moving to Arizona.”

Time to take another tactic.

I offer him a brilliant smile. “Sure. Don’t worry about it, Sammy. I can get used to hot, dry weather. It’ll be fine. I’ll only need to pack half my wardrobe. Plus, my hair probably won’t frizz like it does in this humid mess of air. Downside is, I’m going to miss the kid.” I gesture towards my home, in which Nicholas, hopefully, is keeping out of trouble. “And Mari. Heck, I’m going to miss all of Mossburg. But that’s okay. I’d rather be with you, so if you’re in Arizona, then I guess that’s where I’m moving to, too.”

He blinks at me, as if he’s having trouble understanding what I’m saying. I just wait and let it sink in.

“Wait. No, you’ve got this wrong,” he objects when it does. “You’re not going with me. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, Nina. I really am. You’re the most beautiful, perfect soul I’ve ever met, and if I could be in your life, and bring you joy instead of actual Hell, I’d stay here, future be damned. But I can’t.”

And there’s that ending again.

CHAPTER 22

Sampson

I didn’t want to come back. Only duty, and the bonds of friendship so strong they’ve tied us like family, compelled me to return to the MFD when asked. Pete had screeched something about an inferno and that I was needed for the job, but when I tried to ask questions, he just hung up, claiming he had to run.

When we pulled in front of Nina’s house, he pointed me at the tree. At first, I didn’t get it. Then, when I finally took in my surroundings, I thought I’d find her there, up on a branch, refusing to come down until I talked to her. Maybe starving. Maybe with her wrists slashed, I don’t know. My heart hammered so hard, I couldn’t think. All I could picture was a world without her in it, and all because of me.

But instead, she found me gazing into the empty branches as if I wasn’t right in the head.

And now I’ve ended our life together. Again.

I turn away. It’s as hard as walking straight onto a sword. It takes all my resolve, and then some.

“Sampson.”

Turning back to her, by contrast, is like falling off my feet onto a featherbed of flowers.

“Here’s the thing, Sampson. I get that you don’t want me involved with the giants. I don’t want me involved, either. I don’t want you involved with them. So, maybe the answer to their existence is moving to Arizona, but I think the better course would be to stay right here in Mossburg where people love you and will watch out for you. And me. Because if you leave me, they can get to me, right? They know you love me, and when you piss them off…”

“Stop.” I hold up my hand, my insides squirming like I’ve eaten a bucket of live bait.

“…and you know that you’re going to piss them off. You have a talent for it. So, what happens then?”

She waits while I try to formulate a response, an argument. Trouble is, I can’t find any words.