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“You shouldn’t be here.”
He placed a hand over his heart. “And I thought you would be happy to see me.”
“Idiot. I am happy, but—” I saw the small duffel bag on my bed. “What is that?”
Shane opened the bag and fished a couple of glass vials from inside. “Potions.”
He explained to me what they did and about his plan. I would pass these along to the wolves at the school and once we heard the signal in about six days, we would use the potions on our shackles to melt them. We would be free and be able to attack from the inside, as I had suggested.
Hope bloomed in my chest. Now that was a plan and I liked it! But that hope dwindled once I remembered the new faces around town.
With a frown, I stashed the bag under my bed. “So six days until we act? Why so long?”
Shane averted his eyes. “It’s the time my friends and allies need to get here.”
“Did you come directly here? You haven’t been in town?”
He shook his head. “I came directly here.”
“Then you don’t know.”
I told him about seeing Lorie and Keeva in the house this morning. Shane’s body stiffened and his nostrils flared. I didn’t tell him what they said about me, because I didn’t think they were serious, and even if they were, it didn’t matter. But I told him Lorie had grabbed my chin. I even lifted my chin and showed him where her nails had scratched my skin.
Shane’s eyes darkened, his hands curled into fists. He marched toward the door.
I stepped in front of him. “What are you doing?”
“They hurt you. I’m going to kill them.” He was serious. If I hadn’t stepped in his way, he would have gone after the witches. “And I’ll kill Conri too. The moon knows he deserves it more than anyone for all he did to you. To Minsi.”
“That’s suicide.” I rested my hands on his bare shoulders—and instantly regretted it, but I didn’t pull away. “You can’t help us if you’re dead. Live to fight another day, isn’t that the saying?”
The faint light from the lamp illuminated half of his face and cast longer shadows on the other side, making the angles of his jaw and chin sharper, his eyes brighter, and his mouth plumper.
“Think about Minsi,” I added. “Think about Tyren. They need you.” I paused, knowing all too well these words would doom me, but I didn’t care. “I need you.”
Shane’s eyes softened. “I thought you hated me.”
“I do.” When we were younger and he had been mean to me, I did. When he had learned about the bond and hadn’t done anything about it. We had had days from Minsi’s birthday to the attack and he hid it from his father, from everyone. And when I thought he had abandoned us.
But now I knew the truth about that. He hadn’t abandoned us and the proof was right before my eyes. Hadn’t he risked his life so many times coming in the pack lands while it was swarming with demons to check on us? On me? “Probably not as much as you hate me, though.”
“Raika …” He paused. “Go to my bedroom. The bottom drawer of my dresser, under my old sweaters, you’ll find a thin shirt box. Bring it here.”
I stared at him. “Why?”
“Just bring it here. Please.”
Frowning, I shooed him to my bathroom and closed the door before I stepped out my bedroom. Phell, Dixon, and two other demons stood guard at the end of the corridor, several feet from my door. They didn’t even look at me as I walked into Shane’s bedroom, as if I did that every day.
I found the white shirt box where he told me. I picked it up and walked out of his bedroom holding my breath, but again the demons didn’t even look in my direction. I slipped into my bedroom, locked the door, and placed the towel against it once more.
Shane walked out of the bathroom. “Open it.”
Curious, I sat down on my bed and opened the box.
I gasped, looking at all the things that lay inside.
An old pink hair tie, a broken silver pen, a paper I had written for history class about why wars were stupid and what everyone could do to avoid them, a library card, a picture of me and my grandparents when I was a little girl, another picture of Minsi and me seated on the library’s center rug, laughing our heads off.
