I stopped and stared at him. “What, exactly, were they wrong about?”
“They thought magic was evil. And look.” He gestured around to present day Cinderhollow. “It’s apparently common enough. And nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s burning down, nobody’s screaming in agony - ”
“How does that make us wrong?” I countered. “Just because none of that isn’t happening right now, doesn’t mean it can’t, or that it won’t.”
Rage flashed on Halo’s face. “You... are so -fucking- impossible.”
“Am I wrong, Halo? Do you, and other shifters with magic, not have the capacity to hurt people?” I lowered my voice. “Have you not hurt someone with your magic before?”
The blistering fury in Halo’s expression flared up, then faded. He turned around. “Whatever. I’m in too good of a mood to fight with you about this. Especially when now, IknowI’m right. I’m going to go enjoy this beautiful place.”
“By yourself?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Don’t we have something to do? Somethingyouvolunteered us for?”
“We can find Henry faster if we split up,” Halo said with a noncommittal shrug. “I can shift into wolf form and find you after, or something.”
“Halo,” I began warningly.
He shot me a firm glance. “If you’re gonna tell me it’s not safe, don’t bother. Look, everything is fine. Now relax. I’ll see you later, okay? Bye.”
He sauntered off, leaving me alone at the fountain, stewing in my annoyance. I hated when he dodged my questions and arguments. It was one of the many things Ididn’tmiss about his constant presence.
I stared into the flowing water now that I was alone with my thoughts. Halo’s insistence that he was right and I was wrong infuriated me. He could never accept responsibility for anything - it wasalwayssomeone else’s fault.
On one hand, I was glad to see that there was no persecution on the streets of Cinderhollow for shifters with magic. Apparently, everything had worked out just fine. But how were we, the Knights of our time, supposed to know that? We didn’t have the ability to see into the future. We were just doing what we thought was right.
So of course Halo has to rub it in.
But Halo wasn’t entirely right, either. His magic made him dangerous. I’d seen him harm someone with my very own eyes. No amount of words or running away would ever wipe away Halo’s responsibility for that incident.
And I guess he still doesn’t have any remorse about it,I thought bitterly.In fact, I’d say he seems pretty pleased with himself.
If he hurt someone once, who was to say he wouldn’t do it again? My chest ached as I remembered the night earlier, when Halo slipped his hand into mine. The warm hand that comforted me last night was the same hand he’d used to kill someone.
I shuddered, feeling grotesque. I resisted the urge to slap my hand down into the fountain water to cleanse it. I didn’t want to make even more of a scene.
Turning away from the water, I tried to focus. My task was to find Henry, then report back to the fox shifters on the outskirts and let them know it was safe to enter town.
For a moment, a tiny voice in the back of my head complained that the foxes couldn’t just deal with this problem on their own. I growled at myself and shook off the annoyance, probably just leftover from my argument with Halo. Luce and the others didn’t deserve my ire just because I was mad at someone else.
I suppose helping Luce is the closest thing to my time in the Knights,I thought with a bittersweet tinge.
I was supposed to serve and protect the people of Cinderhollow, but I’d never felt so useless and unwanted. Sighing heavily, I started in the direction that Dr. Lynden pointed to earlier.
So I’m on the lookout for a shady fox omega who steals coins from the fountain,I thought.That seems simple enough…
I shook my head at myself, wondering if Halo was even looking for Henry after he’d run off on his own, as he was so fond of doing. He promised to meet up with me later, but what was the point? We weren’t mates anymore. He had no more reason to stay by my side, especially now that we made it into Cinderhollow proper and could easily hide from Silas and whatever he was planning.
But we still didn’t know who Silas was working with, and why. That made me the most uneasy.
If only Commander Sterling were still around, I thought.She would know what to do.
With only my task driving me, I entered the restaurant district. Everything was somehow so familiar, yet so different. The world had evolved in my four hundred years of hiding and secrecy, and I’d remained stagnant. I felt a pang of guilt and regret. All that time wasted, doing absolutely nothing but moping and feeling sorry for myself, missing my daughter and sometimes, unfortunately, Halo.
My hands clenched into a fist. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about Halo, even when I was angry at him?
“Oh - Gabe, watch out!”
“Whoa!”
