You’re being targeted by a powerful group.
“What is it?” River hedges, his eyes searching mine.
I wet my lips with my tongue. I’ve been hesitant to talk about this aloud, but maybe I need to.
“What did you find out about the family?” I direct my statement at Finn with my arm resting on the table.
He begins fidgeting with his ring again. “That they went extinct because they were … being hunted.”
Shock whips through me. “What?” That definitely wasn’t what I expected.
“I’m unsure about the details as to why. It took me a lot of digging just to get that information,” Finn explains, dragging hisfingers through his hair and leaving blond strands sticking up everywhere. “I need to find out more.”
I trace the lines in the table as I process what he said. “Why? Sure, I have the necklace, but it doesn’t mean I’m an Everford.”
I’m not who you think I am.
You’re being targeted by a powerful group.
Dammit, I need to tell them.
“Although …” My mind is racing a million miles a minute.
What did my aunt mean by that?
“Although what?” River wonders, his stormy eyes assessing me intensely. When I remain quiet, my thoughts muddled inside my temporarily broken brain, he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “You can trust us.”
I glance at Finn, who’s watching me, then I look back at River. “Fine. I got this text last night from my aunt.” I open it on my watch and angle my wrist toward River so he can read it. His fingers circle my wrist as he does, and my heart pounds against his fingertips.
“What does it say?” Finn inquires after a handful of silent seconds ticks by.
River’s gaze locks on me. “She sent you this last night?”
I nod. “I’m not sure what she means by any of it. However, while we’re laying everything out there, my phone is missing, and if by chance the society has it, and someone figured out my password, they probably read the message, too. And that sucks because I don’t like people knowing my business.”
“Fuck,” River breathes out, his fingers brushing along the inside of my wrist. “This is … This can’t be a coincidence.”
“Hello,” Finn interrupts. “Can you guys please tell me what the hell is on that watch?”
River traces his tongue along his bottom lip, giving me a look that reads:it’s up to you.
God, this guy is too perfect. He can’t be real.
I rotate forward in the chair and slide my arm across the table so Finn can read the message. His expression plunges as he does.
“You have no idea what she means by any of this?” he asks, his gaze colliding with mine.
I shake my head as I bring my arm back to my side of the table. “Nope. Other than either she’s having a mental breakdown, or she’s been lying to me all of my life.”
A crease forms between Finn’s brow as he reclines back in the chair with his arms crossed. “Which one do you think it is?”
“I don’t know …” That’s a lie. In the pit of my stomach, with everything going on lately, I think the answer is hovering right in front of me like an annoying bug. “It has to be the latter. She’s been gone, and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her. And now she sends me this message.” I gesture at my watch. “I think she’s been lying and something bad has happened to her. And apparently, it has to do with me, too.” My jaw spasms, and I lower my head to the table, too hard probably. “I feel like she’s gotten me into a messy situation.”
“Hey, be careful with your head.” River slips his hand underneath my forehead as I move to bang it against the table again. “It’s already fragile.”
“It’s just a concussion,” I mutter with my forehead pressed to his hand.
“I’ve had a concussion before,” Finn says. “Trust me; you need to be careful for the next few days. The last thing you want to do is risk hurting it again.”
