Page 11 of The Other Side

“What?”

“Whether you’d like to come to our book club? We’re a lively group. We meet at each other’s houses and it’s my turn on Wednesday. We don’t spend too long talking about the book. But we do spend a lot of time gossiping. You might find it interesting and it’s a way to meet a few more people.”

A book club with a room of old ladies? How could he get out of this?

“Just one visit. Please?”

Drum caved. “What book are you discussing?”

“Lolita.”

Drum gasped and she laughed.

“Not really. Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne.”

“I’ve read that.”

She beamed. “Perfect. It was meant to be. Seven o’clock. See you then.”

I’m a pushover.

Chapter Three

His mother slammed Osian’s plate onto the table so hard that the nut loaf fractured into pieces, sending salad and honey-mustard dressing flying across the wood. The mess wasn’t an accident. When she was angry, she took it out on the food. Predictably, his was the only plate she targeted. His father’s meal arrived untouched, as did his three brothers’. No one said a word. Caelan, who usually sniggered, didn’t. Fin pressed his lips together and Leaf exhaled quietly.

Osian knew exactly what his family thought about his trips to The Other Side. None of them approved, not that he’d expect them to. The crossings were forbidden except with permission from the Queen. Osian sort of had that. But he couldn’t tell anyone. Nor did anyone understand the compulsion he felt to keep looking for Drum. It was a need that burned inside him. At least when he was on The Other Side and looking, he felt a little easier.

Ten years ago in mortal time, when Osian was nineteen, not quite old enough to make a formal request, he’d struck a deal with Belem, the Queen’s consort: one month of mortal time on The Other Side in exchange for a price known only to the two of them. Osian was blood-bound not to reveal it. His brothers had spent years trying to guess what that price was. Caelan had come closest. Fortunately, he’d been laughing too hard for Osian to worry he’d figured some of it out. They’d all be angry if they knew the truth.

Osian ate quickly. Experience had taught him that the longer the pre-crossing dinner lasted, the greater the chance his mother would decide to improve his meal. Sour apple crumble. Sickly sweet chicken. Spicy cucumber. The woman was a menace.

“You’re an idiot,” she said at last.

“I know.”

“You’re acting like a little child trying to find the end of a rainbow. You’re twenty-nine years old, not nine.”

Osian kept eating, bracing himself for the lecture.

She scowled. “There is no chance of you finding him. Why would you even think there could be?”

From the corner of his eye, he saw his father reach over and gently squeeze his mother’s shoulder.

“Common sense should tell you it’s not going to happen,” she continued.

Except for Osian, simply being on The Other Side meant there was a chance.

“Do you think you’re just going to bump into him?” she railed.

He might. Or bump into someone who’d heard of him.

“You’re changing, Osian. Don’t think we haven’t all seen it. You’re weaker. Each visit takes more of your energy. The deal you struck is bad. Let us help you find a way out of it.”

You’re not even supposed to know about it. And it wasn’t crossing that sapped his energy, but the price he was paying.

“I saw a Ladybower Dragon Wing today,” Leaf said.

“Did you?” Caelan asked. “Just one?”