47Blob:I hope you got evidence. Video or something
47Blob:I told you there was something weird about them.
47Blob:Where are they from exactly? I’ve been reading about this wormhole in Russia that they believe links to somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy.
GoldieGirl19:they’re not aliens
GoldieGirl19:I asked.
47Blob:well of course they wouldn’t tell you
GoldieGirl19:they told me they were from another world, but it sounds more like a place with magic and wizards and stuff
GoldieGirl19:they said they were trapped here by a curse
the_mEsmerizer:are you high or something?
the_mEsmerizer:this isn’t funny. we were legit worried about you
GoldieGirl19:I’m not high
GoldieGirl19:and I’m not lying
And it was becoming obvious that this wasnotthe sort of conversation we should be having via our chat app.
GoldieGirl19:Can you guys switch over to voice chat?
I glanced at my door, and though I didn’t think the brothers would be eavesdropping on me, I wasn’t going to take any chances. Grabbing my laptop, I darted into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet lid, right next to the running shower. By the time I’d settled my computer on my lap, my friends had already switched to voice chat.
And I told them everything—well,almosteverything. I described the masquerade and my meetings with each of the brothers—leaving out my kiss with Octavian for the moment, as well as Radven’s true name—and I included the loss of my phone, the blackout, and the secret lair. I told them everything the brothers had told me about the curse, their world, and why they’d sought me out. And I explained why, despite everything I thought I knew about the world, I was actually starting to believe they were telling the truth.
I also told them about the intense pain I’d experienced as I was trying to leave, and how I’d woken to find the brothers had brought me back to my apartment.
“You mean they’re at your place right now?” Esmer asked.
“Well, at least two of them are. I haven’t seen R—George, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s somewhere nearby.”
“Was it possible they slipped you something?” Esmer asked. “Some of those party drugs will fuck you up.”
“I guess, I just…” My fingers slid across the skin of my arm. “I’ve never been on anything like that, so I wouldn’t know. But I tell you, this felt real. Really real.”
“But what they’re saying is impossible,” Esmer said. “You know that, right?”
Ididknow that—so why did I believe them?
Esmer wasn‘t done. “I mean, you’re telling me these guys just showed up out of the blue one day, all the way from this ‘other world’ of theirs, and no one noticed?”
Thatwasa good point, and one I didn’t have an answer to. But there was someone else in this conversation who had always been good at coming up with answers to impossible questions.
“Isaac,” I said. “You’re being too quiet.”
“I’m thinking,” he answered. “And checking in with some guys I’ve been talking to. They’ve been helping me track down stuff about the Crestwoods.”
“And? Find anything?” I couldn’t believe I was actually encouraging one of his internet rabbit holes, but I was desperate for an explanation here.
“And just like I said last night, it’s sort of like they came out of nowhere. There’s nothing about them online from before ten years ago or so. No reports of when their family originally purchased the estate or how they made their money or anything. I found a cached copy of a post where someone speculated that the family had been living off the grid for years, amassing their fortune, and that the sons only entered society after their parents died.” He paused. “But this curse thing makes more sense, in my opinion.”
“Of courseyou’d believe in the curse,” Esmer said.
