Page 29

“We found something with your name on it,” Kassian says, both of us watching Mars for any indication he might know what it is. He simply tilts his head to the side, waiting.

I grab the envelope from Kassian and stand up, walking over to hand it to him. Finn peeks his head into the room. He looks down at the envelope then up at the three of us. Finally, he smirks at Mars.

“Fan mail?”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Mars says, tucking the note into his pocket, a little blush on his cheeks. They step back out of the room, leaving the two of us alone again.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask Kassian who can only shrug at me.

The two of us lean against the table, waiting for the first people to arrive. Normally, I would be overjoyed to be here. I love traveling, I love meeting new people, I love the work that Kassian and I do. Yet, my heart just isn’t in it today.

“I know,” Kassian murmurs, leaning against my side. “I feel the same way.”

“It feels weird, right? Like we’ve been doing this our whole lives so why am I feeling so empty about it all of a sudden?”

Kassian turns his head, giving me a small, sad smile. “I think you know why.”

I quickly look away, my chest feeling all wobbly and wrong. Kassian is right, I know exactly why I’m feeling like this but that doesn’t make it any easier to admit, even to myself.

The reason I feel so morose is because Dean isn’t here. The month we spent together was unlike anything I’ve experienced before. It’s hard to explain the way the three of us just instantly clicked. Everything felt so easy, so right when we were spending time with Dean.

But then the real world came knocking and we had to go back to traveling for our job. What would Dean have said, if we’d asked him to come along? You can’t just ask someone you met to come traveling the world with you! That would be ridiculous. At the same time, it’s consuming my mind nonstop. I want Dean with us. I wish he was here. It feels like there’s an empty slot inside my chest that’s suspiciously Dean shaped and it won’t be filled until we meet again.

Thank the gods for Kassian. If I had to deal with all of these feelings alone, I’m not sure how I’d be handling it. A lot worse than I am right now.

My hand goes to my cheek. I swear I can still feel the warmth of Dean’s lips against my skin. My stomach goes all tingly when I think about that moment. It happened so fast yet it’s cemented within my mind, forever burned into my memory.

“Ready?” Kassian asks, wrapping an arm around my back and giving me a little shake. I lean against his side even harder, allowing his touch to ground me the same way it has for many, many years.

Ever since he talked with Hazel after our game night, he’s been different. He’s been more open with his touches. His smiles come easier. It’s like there was a weight on his shoulders that’s suddenly been lifted. I have no idea what they talked about but I’m happy they did because Kassian seems happier now.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

The day passes in a blur of faces and magic. As always, we help so many people discover their magical abilities. There are a few people who truly have no powers, but they’re few and far between.

There’s a little girl who has the ability to grow gills in her throat which is really fucking cool. Neither Kassian nor I have seen anything like that before.

The cafe owner brings each of us some lunch halfway through the day. We sit side by side outside, under a tree. There’s still a huge amount of people to see but we settle into this moment of solitude, enjoying each other’s presence.

“We should call Dean,” Kassian says out of nowhere, pulling out his phone.

“Yeah, okay,” I say, excitement thrumming in my stomach. I want to hear his voice. I want to tell him about our flight. I want to hear about how his day has been going.

We might have known Dean for only a month, but already he feels like such a part of us.

The phone rings and we both wait. I impatiently squirm against my seat, my eyes never leaving the phone.

“Hi, this is Dean. I can’t get to the phone right now but if you leave me a brief message with your name and number, I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks, bye!”

Kassian hangs up without leaving a message. We share a look, disappointment practically palpable.

“He’s probably just busy with work,” Kassian says with a shrug.

“He usually takes lunch at this time,” I murmur softly. “Maybe he went out and left his phone at the library. It’s no big deal.”

“I’m sure he’ll call us back tonight when he sees we called.”

We finish up lunch and get back into the cafe. As we see people, we put on brave faces but now it feels like there’s a rain cloud following us around, hanging over our heads and dragging us down. There’s so many reasons why Dean wouldn’t answer our call, but for some reason, we’re both so bummed about it.