Domenic careened after her, tripping repeatedly. “There what goes?”
“The last shred of my sanity! I cannotbelieveyou. You’re so… so…”
Domenic seized her shoulder and twisted her around. “So what?”
Hanna glared up at him. “Caldwell is supposed to be on house arrest, notin your bedroom—”
“It’s not like that! Listen. I—I know how it looks. And I’m sorry I sprang this on you. I’m sorry you had to go searching for me, that we stole your car. But—”
“Youwhat—”
“But ever since I saw Ellery in the grove, I’d had this gut feeling that she’s part of the prophecy. That she’s Chosen, too. And now we can prove—”
“Oh,that’swhy you’ve done this? A gut feeling? And you’re sure it’s got nothing to do with the fact that this is the same girl you’ve been in love with since before your balls dropped?”
Domenic recoiled as if she’d struck him. Then he cast a panicked glance behind him, but Ellery hadn’t followed.
When he whipped back to Hanna, he hissed, “Are you serious? What the hell do you take me for? Over the past twenty-four hours, I’ve thrown myself into the eye of a winterscurge. I watched a kid burnright in front of me.I’ve listened to Sharpe and every reporter in the country debate how big of a piece of shit I am. And you think that’s what’s on my mind right now? Gettinglaid?”
Hanna jutted up her chin. Domenic hated that look, like she was so sure she saw straight through him. Like he was so predictable.
“Hanna, I’m just asking you to trust me. Do you trust me?”
Hanna hesitated. Her mouth twitched like she was chewing on her answer, as if it was wadded between her molars like a piece of bubble gum.
Then a knock rapped on the back door.
Domenic brushed past her to open it, revealing Peak shifting side to side on the patio. Despite the sub-freezing temperatures, he wore his usual shorts. “Dom, there you are. You all right? What’s this about?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered, trying not to sound annoyed. What had they assumed, that he’d tried to flee the country the moment he was left unsupervised? “I just wanted to talk.”
“Right. Of course, of course.” Peak clapped his shoulder as he entered, but Domenic got the sense Peak had barely caught his words. Peak scanned the kitchen as he stepped out of his shoes.“Iseul redecorated a bit, it looks like. Don’t remember those porcelain plates on the wall. And the breakfast nook… That new?”
Domenic had entirely forgotten that Peak had lived in this house before he did.
“Oh, uh, I guess?” He glanced at Hanna, who’d jumped atop the counter, her boots swinging idly, her own mug of coffee already fully vertical as she downed it.
Muffled voices sounded from outside—the rest of the Council had arrived.
But rather than greet them, Domenic told Peak: “Gather everyone in the parlor.” Then he dashed back upstairs to find Ellery hovering, pale, in the hallway.
“Are they all here?” Ellery asked Domenic.
“They sure are.” Domenic shoved his hand in his pocket and fiddled with the worn dandelion stems, the same ones that had sat there since the vigil. His emotions all simmered dangerously close to the surface. He regretted the coffee. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m braced for a complete shitshow,” she deadpanned.
“Even if this meeting isn’t pretty, all that matters is that they believe us. About the shared prophecy. About the Chosen Two.”
Ellery nodded, then she laughed lightly. “Is it bad I’d rather face Decibel again than Sharpe?”
She was six, maybe eight inches from him, so close that his skin prickled from the cold of her magic, that his mind was already replaying the sensation of his fingers just barely brushing her own, already considering how it might feel to touch her again, to trace lazy circles around her palm, to press his lips against the inside of her wrist.
But Hanna’s accusation still stung, a thorn he couldn’t pry loose. If they were going to convince the Council to take them seriously, he needed to act like a real Chosen One. Noble. And the way he was thinking about Ellery Caldwell was anything but.
Domenic forced a chuckle in return. “Y-yeah. You and me both.”
Side by side, they descended the stairs and braved the parlor.
