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I pause in the doorway, glancing over my shoulder at him. “Yeah?”
He walks toward me, taking slow, measured steps, as if approaching a skittish cat. “Did the demon say why he took you? Or anything to you at all?”
I hesitate, not because I don’t plan on telling him, but because I’m afraid of what he think of me—and maybe do to me—when he finds out what I am. “He may have said a few things.”
“About what?”
“About what I am.”
“Can I ask?” He inches closer to me with uncertainty. “Will you tell me what he said?”
I swallow the lump crammed in my throat. I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want to tell anyone. I want to keep the truth locked inside me where it can never escape. That way, I don’t have to see the disgust in their eyes when they realize just how foul of a creature I am. Fake friends or not, I don’t think I can handle that right now.
“I’ll tell you later, after I make sure Ryleigh is still lingering around,” I say. Then I hurry out of the room before either of them can try to wriggle the truth out of me.
By the time I make it to the basement door, I’m on the verge of tears. Nothing makes sense anymore. Not myself. Not my family. Not Opal. Not Hunter.
What was with all the kisses he gave me? He’s never kissed me like that before, except for right before I was kidnapped. But that was more because we shared magic. Perhaps that’s why he’s kissed me twice since he rescued me. Perhaps the connection spell is still in place.
I continue to obsess over it, more than I probably should, as I trot down the stairway. Then, all thoughts leave my mind when I see Ryleigh’s body lying on the metal table, lifeless, her eyes open, her skin deathly pale.
Worry blasts through me as I rush up to the table. “Ryleigh, can you hear me?” I touch her cheek to find her skin is blistering cold. “Ryleigh, wake up and talk to me.”
Silence is my only answer.
“Ryleigh, please, you can’t go yet,” I beg. “I know I was angry at you, but I’m not ready to lose you.” Tears fall from my eyes and cascade down my cheeks as she remains motionless. “Please,” I whisper. “Please wake up.”
Again, I get nothing but silence. And the longer it goes on, the more I realize I may have to accept the truth.
I’m too late.
Ryleigh has completely died forever.
Chapter Nine
I don’t know how long I stand there, sobbing my eyes out, before Hunter eventually comes down to check on me. He takes one look at my hot mess of a face and wraps his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” He hugs me, smoothing his hand up and down my back.
Tears stream from my eyes as I press my cheek against his chest. Everything hurts. My brain. My body. My soul. Ryleigh may have been my fake sister, but I still cared about her—still do. I don’t want to deal with the pain right now. Can’t. I’ve felt too much pain in the last few days, and I feel like I will fall apart at any moment.
“Baby?” I ask in an attempt to distract myself from the pain. “Since when do you call me baby?”
“Did I?” His tone is a mixture of perplexity and intrigue.
I bob my head up and down, clutching the bottom of his shirt, and he runs his fingers up and down my spine.
“I didn’t realize I did.”
“It’s weird you did.” I suck an uneven breath, fighting back the tears that want to pour out. “That’s what Ryleigh’s boyfriend used to call her all the time.”
Ryleigh. I choke on the name.
My heart is breaking in half.
“Hmmm …” is all Hunter says, pressing me closer to him.
“You’re acting weird,” I whisper. “Is it …? Is it because we shared magic?”
“Maybe.” He sounds completely doubtful.
“What else could it be?”
Instead of answering, he hugs me closer until our chest are pressed so tightly together I can feel his heart hammering. I wonder why. I wonder a lot of things. Instead of asking questions, though, I end up sobbing my heart out, and Hunter holds me tightly against his chest the entire time, rocking me back and forth while he traces a path up and down my spine with his fingers. It almost makes me forget he isn’t my real friend.
Almost.
“How about we get you upstairs to bed?” Hunter says after I’ve cried for what feels like forever, yet somehow not long enough. “I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
“Yeah, I am.” I dry my eyes with the back of my hand then step out of his arms. “Just give me a second, okay?”
I turn toward Ryleigh’s body. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I wanted to so badly, but I … I failed you.” Tears fall from my eyes and land on her cheeks as I whisper, “I’ll miss you.” I give myself one last moment before I take a deep breath and turn away.
I meant what I said, too. Ryleigh may not have been my real sister, and I may have been angry at her for lying to me, but I’ll miss her with all my heart and will always feel guilty for not saving her.
Chapter Ten
“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Hunter says to me as we enter my bedroom. “Ryleigh’s death, I mean.”
I don’t say anything as I cross my room and open the top drawer of my dresser to get some pajamas out. It feels so strange, looking for pajamas. So ordinary. So normal.
“Eva, talk to me.”
When I remain quiet, Hunter sighs.
The floorboards creak beneath his weight as he makes his way toward me. I don’t turn around, busying myself with finding clothes. Finding clothes is easy, and easy is what I need right now. However, I can’t find any damn pajamas! Anywhere! So, I just start tossing clothes on the floor.
“Take a deep breath.” Hunter sets his hands on my shoulders.
“I can’t.” I’m afraid if I do, I’ll start gasping for air. And if I start gasping for air, I may never breathe again.
After giving my shoulders a brief massage, he steers me away from the dresser. When we reach the foot of my unmade bed, he twists me around to face him then gently pushes me down on the bed. Then, without saying a word, he returns to my dresser, opens the middle drawer, and digs out a pair of plaid pajama shorts and a tank top.
“You made that look so easy,” I tell him as he hands me my pajamas.
“You’re upset.” He crouches down in front of me. “And that’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.” He sweeps my hair off my shoulder. “But you need to know that w
hat happened to Ryleigh isn’t your fault.”
“I know.” And I kind of do. Still, I feel like I failed her. “I think I might know whose fault it is.”
His brows scrunch. “You mean, you know who hit her with the petrifying curse?”
“I’m not positive, but I think it could’ve been Max.”
“The demon who kidnapped you?”
I nod. “Petrifying curses are used so rarely, yet he used it once on me and tried to use it on you. Apparently, it’s his go-to curse.”
He’s quiet for a lengthy amount of time. “I don’t want to upset you more, but I think that assumption might be a long shot.”
“I know that. But I want to look into it. And if he did, he needs to pay.”
He places his hands on my thighs. “I don’t want you going near that demon, or any demon, for that matter. Not when almost every demon out there is hunting you.”
“They’ve always been hunting me, haven’t they?” I ask. “What’s so different now?”
“They were never hunting you before. They were just trying to find a way to get close to you and feed off your powers without killing themselves. Now they’re literally coming after you. They’ve been looming around the house since that demon tried to feed off you. The only reason they haven’t come inside is because we had the most powerful faeries and witches basically drown the house in charms and protection spells.”
A cold chill runs down my spine. “What’s changed?”
“I’m not sure. My bet is that they’ve figured out a way to feed off you without dying.” He cups my cheek, looking me dead in the eye. “You can’t leave this house, okay? Promise me you won’t.”
My expression plummets. “You want me to stay in here forever?”
He swiftly shakes his head, sending wisps of his blond hair into his eyes. “Just until we can find another place for you to stay—a safe place.”
