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Jay was driving far too fast when I noticed something flickering in the side mirror—blue lights. Stupid speed demon brother.
"Jay, there's a cop following us."
Jay glanced in his rearview mirror, and a challenging gleam crossed his eyes. He smirked as he raised one eyebrow. "They never learn."
I looked in the side mirror to see the cop car slowly coasting to a stop.
I slapped my idiot brother in the arm. "Why'd you do that?"
He laughed. "Because I don't need another ticket. Besides, he's perfectly fine. His car will just need a new spark plug."
As distracting as Jay's amusement was, it still didn't calm the storm brewing inside me. I was about to be at Tallis's house.
We pulled up to the Verdan Estate, and I could instantly feel the lump in my throat swelling, tripling in size. My stomach twisted furiously, punishing me for being so weak. Jay hopped out, and I slowly followed him at a sluggish crawl. Desmond was the first Verdan to meet us as he walked out onto the porch.
"Hey."
Jay waved in acknowledgement. "Is Ayla inside?"
"Yeah. Head on in. She and Mom are just finishing up some stuff."
Jay walked inside as though he belonged, making it look so easy. I felt like there was a barrier pushing against me, so I stayed outside and joined Desmond on the porch.
And it was... awkward. Things between us had never been awkward, but right now everything felt... off.
There was massive hunk of debris littering a place where a building once was. Now it was nothing more than a pile of oversized splinters. I decided to use it as an icebreaker.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the destruction.
Desmond scowled as he answered, "It used to be the shed that I built with my own two hands. No magic. Now it's a big pile of destroyed wood—thanks to Tallis."
I tried not to laugh at his obvious aggravation. "Why'd he blow it up?"
He just continued scowling, looking beyond me so his eyes could fall on the shambles. "He didn't blow it up. He punched it."
I hated how much that fascinated me. I was twisted—totally insane. "All of that from a punch?"
"Yeah. I guess now you have a whole new appreciation for the strength of an immortal. Think of all the dark ones who have felt that impact and were able to stand back up." That wasn't exactly comforting. "His fists are essentially laced with dynamite, you know."
"I guess I never really thought about it." I studied the shards of the destruction for a second as several questions bubbled up. "Why did he punch it?"
He grimaced, as if he was unsure of whether or not he should speak. Finally, he did. "It was after the first day back to school. After the whole burning alive kiss. He didn't have such a good day."
My mind raced back to the day of ice. Tallis was cold and distant, but not angry. He seemed completely at ease with pretending as though he and I meant nothing to each other.
"He seemed perfectly fine that day," I mumbled dryly.
Desmond smirked. "He wasn't fine. You know he'll kick my ass if he finds out I said something to you, right?"
I smiled half-heartedly. "It'll be our secret." Then I sighed out deeply as I spoke hesitantly. "So, is he here?"
"No. He's out hunting right now. He does that a good bit lately. Tracking down leads for the item that Graven is seeking."
My eyes grew wide as I yelled, "He's hunting? Alone?!"
He took a step back, warily gauging the fury in my eyes. "Yeah.
It's no big deal. The dramians are in much more danger than he is. He's been a bit of a hothead lately—shoot first, ask questions later."
