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Emrys snaps his fingers at us impatiently. “Children. We’re talking about something else here. Ash, are you saying that they’re trying to kill you because you left? I mean, I thought your sister was being groomed for the throne, so what the hell, man?”
Ashton releases his grip on my chin and glances at Emrys. “They didn’t like losing control over me. Afraid I might tell stories of things I’ve seen and lived. They can’t touch me in here, well, not easily, so they’re always waiting for me to step outside.”
“Damn,” I breathe. “That’s rough. I mean, it’s your family.”
“Are you telling me your family is any better, Jax?” Emrys mutters.
“At least, they’re not actively trying to kill me.”
“No, they justmisplacedyou as a child and you ended up as a slave for the vampires.”
Anger turns everything red. “Like you have ground to talk? What about your family?”
Emrys laughs. “Yeah, you don’t want to hear about mine.”
“Guys.” Mia is looking restless, her small face pinched with what looks like unease. It raises my hackles. “That’s… not what I wanted to talk about, actually.”
The way she says it… Like she wishes we didn’t have to have this talk, that she didn’t have to raise the topic.
“What is it about, then?” Emrys asks.
“Mia,” Ashton says, “what’s on your mind?”
“Are you leaving?” I blurt out.
She doesn’t reply to the other two, but turns to me and her eyes are so fucking sad. “What do you care, Jax?” she whispers.
I can’t find the answer. It’s Ophelia I want to be with, right? She’s the one I love.Right?Then why does the thought of Mia leaving gut me so thoroughly? Why does it cut so fucking deep?
“I’m not leaving,” Mia finally says. And just when my heart is about to stop racing like I’m about to die, she adds, “Yet.”
Fuck.
She starts walking away from the crowd and we follow, jerkily as if against our will.
“Vanessa came to talk to me today,” she says. “She and Melissa insist that you guys… are murderers. That you killed people.”
“What the hell—” I start but she lifts a small hand to stop me.
“She brought me articles, newspaper clippings that speak of such murders, saying that you, all of you, including Sindri, were prime suspects.”
“Mia,” Ashton starts but she whirls on him, her face red.
“I asked so many times for the truth! I came here to harm you, because I followed a lie Ophelia left in her diary. A lie, or simply something I misunderstood, I don’t know.” Her mouth trembles. “So I told myself that I was wrong, that you are the good guys, but then why won’t you tell me what happened in your pasts? Why do I have to get these truncated versions of the truth from girls who obviously want to harm you instead?”
“You believed those articles,” I breathe.
“I don’t…” She shakes her head, lets out a breath. “If someone showed you such an article about me, wouldn’t you have at least some doubts about me, Jax? We didn’t grow up together. You haven’t known me long.”
“I wouldn’t have doubts,” I mutter.
“And yet you side with Ophelia,” Ashton snaps.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I mutter.
“If you can’t see why... Fuck.” He takes a deep breath. “She’s right. We should tell her our stories.”
“Fuck off.” I’m shaking. “I fucking can’t.”
