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“I’ll go get her,” I said.
“You do not want me to come with you?” Zaide asked curiously.
“I’m going to be far stealthier without a golden giant following me around.” I headed toward the door, keys in hand and adrenaline increasing production inside me. “You stay here, rest, and read. We need to know more about their practice, abilities, and familiars to get an advantage.” With a hand on the handle, I turned to look at them both. “And for fuck’s sake, please don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”
CHAPTER20
CLAWDIA
Winnie sat in the back of the car with me, holding my hand. I could feel her concern through our bond, and it was nice to know she still cared. Genuinely cared.
As we drove away, I saw Charlie, Daithi, and Zaide still locked in their cage, staring after us. Leaving them was hard. Surprisingly so. I didn’t realize how much I cared for Zaide and Charlie until I no longer felt Zaide’s protective air or saw Charlie’s cheeky smile.
Mary turned the radio down and finally spoke, “What the fuck happened, Winnie? How is your familiar human?”
“That’s a good question,” Winnie replied. She squeezed my hand and peered at me behind long eyelashes. “Do you feel comfortable answering it?”
“I don’t know what happened exactly.” I sighed, sagging into the seat, and pulled my hand from Winnie’s to bury my face in them. “There was a glowing light that came from Daithi,” I said without thinking. “And then I was asleep and woke up human.”
When I heard myself say the words again in my head, I gasped. I told them his name. His powers. I could have put him in danger, just like I did when I told Winnie about Savida.
Why should I care if he’s in danger? He almost killed me. He was happy to sacrifice me.
I shook my head. I was so angry with Daithi, and more than angry, I was hurt, physically and emotionally. But I would not let my anger dictate my actions. I wouldn’t knowingly endanger him or the others. I swallowed and swore to myself I’d be more careful. Exhaustion and a near-death experience were not an excuse.
Mary, of course, leaped on the information. “Daithi is the one who has the magic? The one who made his friends look different?”
Winnie interrupted, saving me from a response, “They haven’t … touched you or anything?”
Touched me?I had flashes of the trafficking poster in the airport bathroom.She thinks they are hurting me?Her concern was heartwarming, but it upset me that she assumed they were evil just because they were different.
“No!” I exclaimed, then hesitated before continuing, “They aren’t bad people. One of them combs my hair and holds me when I am stressed.” I opened my mouth to tell her more of the many kind things Zaide has done in the short time that I have known him. How he lets me hold his hair. How he rescued me from kidnappers only hours ago and promised to always save me.
I wanted to talk to her like I used to, like we were sisters. But everything had changed. And just because I was feeling vulnerable and tired didn’t mean I had forgiven her. On the contrary. She had a lot of making up to do when this was all over. I wasn’t here to gossip about my adventures. I was here for information to feed back to the others so they could save Savida.
Get information, get it to the others, save Savida. Then I can figure out how to be a cat again and how to repair the broken trust between Winnie and me.
She sighed, relaxing into the leather seat. “Good. I would have felt really guilty about leaving them with you if they had mistreated you.”
“The magical one almost killed you both.” Mary reminded us with her eyebrows raised, her eyes staring back at us through the rearview mirror.
“I didn’t consider the risk that you would get hurt because of me.” Winnie closed her eyes, regret etched into her features. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. They turned you human to hurt me.”
You shouldn’t have started dating Mary. You shouldn’t have started this project. You shouldn’t have drugged me, stolen Savida’s fire, and started this whole mess.My bitterness poisoned my thoughts, but I wouldn’t let them spill out and ruin my plans. I took a deep breath.
“Daithi is grieving for his lover. He has been … unpleasant but not cruel. The others have been really kind,” I insisted, not mentioning their names even though they knew one was Charlie.
Mary rolled her eyes. “If they were nice, it was only to get information out of you about us.”
No, they are good people. Unlike you.It was then that I realized I was talking to Mary. Mary, who had treated me like an unimportant pet. Who had just revealed my most painful and shameful secret and laughed as she did.
I gritted my teeth against all the nasty things I wanted to say. Past and present.
Ignoring her, I looked at Winnie, crossing my arms and raising my brows. “Are you being kind to get information from me about them?”
Winnie’s mouth dropped open, and hurt flickered in her eyes. “Clawdia, you’re my familiar, and I love you. I’m worried about you.”
Blinking back tears, I glanced up at the roof of the car and my lips pursed. I wanted to trust her. Believe in her. Feel the love she’d shown me for the last two years. But she hurt me when she was the only person in the world who wouldn’t.
