Page 143 of A Wild Darkness

“You know it.” He tips his head in my direction.

We all make small talk between bites, while Aunt Mae and Ben go over the meal plan for next week. It’s nice having Stevie around. She fits into my world like she’s been here all along. I wonder what will happen when Lux and River come back. Will Stevie want to stay with me? I can’t imagine her not being here.

“Sebastian, are you sure you don’t want to check the meal plan out?” Aunt Mae asks, even though she knows I don’t care what he makes.

“Nah, I’m not picky, you know that.”

She turns her attention to Stevie. “Stevie, dear?”

“I don’t eat seafood.” She grimaces.

“Perfect,” I say. “Neither do we.”

When Aunt Mae and Ben finish up, he leaves for the night, and she heads off to bed. I turn to Christian, eager to talk about the last event a couple of days away.

“Let me text Hayden to see where he is.” I slide my phone from my pocket. “I want an update on what they found out about Moore Mansion.”

Me: Hey are you on property?

Hayden: Yeah. I just got back to Hollow House.

Me: Can you meet Christian and me in the kitchen at the manor?

Hayden: Only if there’s food.

I laugh. Of course Ben made enough for him, he always does.

Me: Ben was here. He made breakfast

Hayden: Be there in 5.

I turn to Stevie and Christian. “He’s on his way.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

STEVIE

Islept deeper than I have in a long time.

After discussing the plans for Moore Mansion with Sebastian, Christian, and Hayden this morning, I realized how dangerous it’s going to be for them to take on the rest of the group. No matter what, Silas and the other Society members will find out that Sebastian and I are frauds who are determined to take them all down.

My stomach was in knots, but the rest of my body was utterly exhausted from what happened at the library. The only way I can explain it is as if I hadn’t slept for days and my limbs and mind shut down. Almost twelve hours later, I feel clearheaded, but fearful because now I deeply understand the gravity of what we’re attempting to pull off.

What if we’re not able to get them all? Or something happens to one of us? How can I live with myself if I lost Sebastian? Because what he does is extremely dangerous. The thought brings bile up from the pit of my stomach, burning my throat with fear.

And if we survive this and complete the project we’ve worked so hard on, he’ll keep going. This is his life. And every time he takes on a new project, he’s putting his life at risk. How am I supposed to live with that?

I try to shake off the emotions, but they continue to cut at my insides. Gripping the leather steering wheel, I drive down the winding highway on my way to my apartment. It’s been weeks since I’ve been there, and before we enter the last event of the season—the one that will end everything—I want to be in my space once more.

Late this afternoon, I told Sebastian I wanted to get a few things from my place and that I wouldn’t take long. But I know it’s only a matter of minutes before I spot his front headlights behind me.

When I turn onto the small tree-lined street, I’m hit with a familiar feeling. The safety that once was, the bubble I lived in before, no longer exists. I’ve seen too much evil. The Stevie I used to be, the one who grabbed her favorite iced coffee every day, who worked out without a care in the world, and the one who lived and breathed her business.

Yeah, her? She no longer exists.

I pull into the subterranean parking lot of my apartment building, get out of my car, and take the elevator to the second floor. The smell of plug-in wall fresheners blasts my nostrils with that horribly familiar artificial scent of lilac. With my key in one hand and the lipstick Taser from Sebastian in the other, I open the door.

The place is dark, lacking the smell of my essential oils and perfume. I walk over through the short entryway and into the kitchen to flip on a light. The light illuminates the living room and hallway leading to my bedroom and office. My eyes drag over the piles of stacked books on grave rubbing and science journals on hawkmoths I got from the bookstore, before leaving abruptly to move into Thompson Manor. Eerie remnant from the life I had.