And without warning, Tabitha slumped to the ground.
And the link to Kyden Wildes snapped.
Chapter 24
Fallon
Earlier,I’d skipped the Mabon parade in Town Square and all the dinners I’d been invited to, deciding to spend my evening with Gramps.
He couldn’t make it out of bed anymore. As each day passed, his body was shutting down, failing him. Weight dropped off him so fast over the last few weeks that skin hung from his bones and his cheeks were sunken in. If it weren’t for his stubbornness, he wouldn’t even be able to hold the pencil for his crossword puzzle. It was as if he’d muster a day’s worth of energy for that one task, the only thing he looked forward to.
Since Gramps hadn’t been able to get up to use the bathroom either, Mina Mae had been coming by every morning and night to help. Gramps argued, of course, but Mina was just as persistent. At first, I’d wondered why she was here, with Gramps and me, but then I’d noticed the look in her eyes, the same way Julian looked at me, and I knew it was because she cared deeply for him.
As I washed dishes, Mina came in from the living room and set down a basket filled with dirty clothes.
“He’s lucky to have yah,” she said, admiring me from the other side of the counter with her hand resting over the dirty pile. Between all the coming and going, we barely had a conversation that weighed more than Gramps’ grumbles.
I didn’t know how to answer. “We’re both the lucky ones.” I dried the last dish, set it over the yellow drying mat, and turned to face her. “And we’re extremely lucky to have you too. Seriously,” I sighed, “I don’t know how I could ever repay you for helping me out around here.”
She nodded, eyes wide. “It’s a lot, couldn’t let yah do this on your own.”
“Yeah,” I leaned back against the counter, “I’m glad I’m here, though.”
“I’m glad you’re here too, dear.” Mina picked up the basket and rested it over her hip. “I’ll wash these for yah, and don’t bothah tellin’ me othahwise.”
I laughed. “Hey, I’m not going to fight you on it.”
“Are you doing anything around town tonight?”
“I was thinking of staying in. You know, in case Gramps needs me.”
“Oh, he’s out. Benny won’t be wakin’ up for a long time.” Mina patted the counter and leaned over. “Do me a favor and go have some fun. It’s Mabon, and yah nevah know what could happen or luck you could turn around.” And she left with a wink before she disappeared behind the wall into the living room.
Hours later, Fable sat beside me over a log in front of the bonfire, the two of us passing a jug of homemade apple pie moonshine from Cyrus’ family’s cellar. Monday, Ivy, and Adora danced and twirled across the waterline, soaking the bottoms of their long, frilly dresses. They kicked the waves, water spraying as a thin slice of the moon hung in the sky. Fable and I sat back, watching the other three girls dance and sing with the wind like sirens from the sea.
Hippie Sabotage spilled from the old speaker planted in the sand, and Maverick threw another log over the bonfire, sending sparks of burning embers flying into the black sky. He returned to his seat beside Cyrus and shook his blond hair from his eyes in one sweep.
“Where’s Kane?” Maverick asked, sliding his gaze from Cyrus to me. “He should be here by now.”
Cyrus dropped his elbows onto his knees and poked a log with a long stick between his stretched thighs. “His old man wanted to talk,” he explained, then his light eyes looked up over the fire past me, his black brows raised. “Speaking of the devil.”
Kane walked toward us along the beach in drawstring linen pants and a partially unbuttoned white shirt, his bronzed skin shimmering like stars on the ocean’s surface. His soft brown hair was wild tonight, thick and blowing with the night air. He carried another bottle in one hand and lowered his hazel eyes to mine, the bruising on one already turning colors.
“You made it,” he said, his voice low, and I twisted my mood ring around my finger, wondering what mood he was in tonight. He paused behind me and dropped his head into my neck. “Thank you for coming.”
I nodded, and Kane straightened his posture behind me, walked around the fire, and took a seat between Maverick and Cyrus. His two strung-out eyes glared at me from across the bonfire’s waving flames, and he chugged from the bottle, the lump in his throat bobbing with every gulp.
“Tonight is the night, Fallon,” he announced.
I glanced over at Fable, who was drawing circles in the sand with a stick, keeping her gaze down. My gaze flicked back to Kane. “The night for what?”
“The start of your initiation. It’s a three-step process for Sacred Sea. I went through it. Cyrus, Mav, and Ivy went through it,” he paused and narrowed his eyes, “Your dad went through it… It’s important you do too. The other girls have been waiting for this, especially your girl, Monday.” He moved his gaze over to the girls dancing at the waterline. “But we’re focused on you right now, Tobias Morgan’s daughter and all.”
“I’m not a witch,” I said, almost laughing at the idea.
“Yes, you are. It’s already inside you, and we’re going to help pull that out during the initiation. By the time you’re fully in, you’ll see it too.” All three guys glared in my direction across the fire. “We can protect you, Fallon, but you have to trust us. You have to drop those walls of yours and submit, or it won’t work.”
I raised a brow. “Can you protect Benny?”
