“You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my arcana.” Addie lifted her head and scowled at Cerri. “You got lucky. Maybe the shifter genes passed you over, but you found some power in brewing potions. That’s really nice and easy, you know. I wish I had it that easy.”
Cerri narrowed her eyes. She had the presence of a very disappointed mother, and it made me want to flee. How Addie met her glare head on, I would never know.
Finally, Addie grumbled something and ripped the box open. I called out for her to stop, but no one listened. Addie slowed, though. She dragged in a ragged breath and held it for several moments before slowly exhaling.
The room round me chilled again. A soft wind whipped through the living room even though I could see no vents or fans. Cerri grinned, but it slowly slipped away as she watched Addie. A hesitant expression took its place. Concern rumbled in the pit of my stomach.
I tried to make eye contact with Cerri because I wanted to know if this would be a situation like Vi’s, where we would have to bring Addie back from whatever darkness was lurking inside of her. Cerri wouldn’t look at me, though. She kept her attention trained on Addie.
Whereas Vi sank into her demonic lineage when she used her arcana, Addie seemed different. The room remained cold, cold enough that my breath fogged in the air. Addie seemed tense, but not caught in something trying to overwhelm her. If anything, I noticed a slight tremble in her shoulders.
Addie feared her own arcana. I don’t know why it took me this long to figure that out. Her hesitance stemmed from a fear. Cerri had mentioned that Addie would never gain control over it unless she practiced. I couldn’t imagine trying to practice an arcana that terrified me.
Finally, Addie let out a haggard breath. “You’re looking for three human women. I…I can help you find their bodies if you need me to.”
Excited, I stepped forward. “You can? I mean, thank you. I would appreciate any help you could offer.”
Part of me didn’t want to ask this of my friend. I could already see her reluctance. She had turned to me, but her gaze kept slipping back to the box. I wondered, for a moment, if she could see the ghosts clinging to their belongings.
Cerri pulled out her phone. The screen was flashing with an incoming call. From the look on Cerri’s face, I knew something had happened at work. Cerri answered the call, pressed the phone to her ear, and quickly rushed out of the door. As she passed, I could hear Vi’s panicked voice.
Great, work was on fire again.
Addie stood up. “Let me shower, and we can head out.”
“You want to go looking now?” I didn’t expect Addie to be ready after all that.
She lifted her chin in the box’s direction. “I don’t think that can wait any longer. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go back to normal.”
I wanted to tell her that our arcana didn’t understand normal. It didn’t sit back in silence. Arcana struck when we least expected it. At least, it had for me. From the way Addie acted, I was pretty sure that’s how it worked for her, too.
Ryder
No matterwhich direction I drove, every road led me back to Lakesedge. Worse even, every road led me right back to Beryl’s restaurant, the one that sat above Beryl’s court.
I parked the car outside the restaurant and stared at the sign hanging over the door. The golden fruit beckoned me. I yearned for another taste of bliss. My head throbbed with the sheer force of my need. I could forget everything that’d happened if I could get another taste.
But no. I couldn’t let Beryl have any more of me. That wretch was not going to take what was left of my soul.
Bri’s SUV pulled up behind my car. She parked and got out. When she stood outside my window, I rolled it down and looked up at her.
“I lost you a few times,” she said. “I’d look away and suddenly, you weren’t there anymore. It took me a few turns to find you again. This is looking like a bust.”
She was right, but I wasn’t going to admit that. Instead, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and eyed the sign over the restaurant again.
Just one taste. That’s all I needed. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about everything so much. I wouldn’t have to think about the blood I’d spilled or the woman I couldn’t save.
Groaning, I pried my hands from the steering wheel so I could run them over my face. I needed to get a grip on things. Ness didn’t need me. She had everything she needed to take Alvin down. Her pack would do the rest of the work for her.
At least, that’s what I hoped. I wasn’t sure if her pack really would stand up for her. If they were going to do that, then they would have by now.
When the witch told me that the Barghest would be able to help me, I’d thought I would meet a wizened old man with arcana that would clean my slate for me. I did not expect to run into Ness or her broken pack. Though I wanted to stay and help so she could have a better pack, I couldn’t ignore my own problems.
Morgan, my younger brother, was on his way. When Morgan arrived, the confrontation would turn into a fight. I knew it the same way I knew the sun would rise. It was inevitable.
I had no right to forgiveness. I wanted Morgan to believe that our father had been a good man to his last breath.
Bri casually leaned on the roof of the car. “What even happened here? You haven’t explained anything to me yet.”
“A lot of things happened here,” I said. “It’s going to be a long night if you want to hear the whole story from start to end.”
Bri looked up and scanned the shops on the street. Her gaze fell on a liquor store, which made her grin. “I’ll grab us some drinks, and you can spend the night filling me in.”
Once upon a time, those words would have made me laugh. I would have turned them into a euphemism to flirt with her. Right now, my thoughts slid back to Ness. I hadn’t heard from her in a while. I shouldn’t have been so worried for someone I planned on leaving behind, but my beast would not let her go.
The dragon held onto her like she was a treasure. I didn’t want any kind of treasure hoard, certainly not one that consisted of people. That was how my father fell. The Sickness claimed his mind and stole a good man from us.
Bri tapped the roof of the car, startling me back to the present. She said something about drinks and made her way to the liquor store, leaving me in the car by myself.
Since I wasn’t going to get anywhere any time soon, I put the car into gear and turned back towards the rental.