“I thoughtwecould talk, like we used to…” Maeve trailed off.
“That’s rich. You’ve barely talked to me since I got to England, but now that I know your secret you want to pretend to be the perfect big sister. Fuck off.”
Maeve winced at Kelly’s words. In all the time she’d been with us in England, I’d never once heard Kelly swear. The words sounded strange on her lips, like she wasn’t sure how to form the syllables. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You weren’t talking to me, either, if you recall.”
No Maeve, no no. That’s not how you make things better.
Kelly stood. “I’ll be gone soon, so you won’t have to worry about keeping up the lies.”
“Kelly,” Maeve stepped forward. “Don’t do this. There’s fae out there who are preparing something truly evil. They might come after Jane because of Connor. They might come after you because you’re my sister. You’ll be safer if you’re here and we can protect you?—”
Kelly bent her arm back, her face twisting into an ugly snarl. Before I realised what she was doing, she’d hurled the plum at Maeve. “I don’t want to be protected by you. God will protect me from demons and magic. Go back to your witchcraft and your sinful adulterous relationships. There’s no place for me here anymore. As soon as Connor wakes up, I’m leaving with Jane.”
“Kelly—” Maeve rushed forward, plum juice dribbling down her cheek. But Kelly had already disappeared between the trees.
I opened my arms. Maeve dropped to her knees and toppled into them. Sticky plum juice trickled down her cheek, mingling with her tears so it had this weird sweet and salty taste by the time it rolled over my lips.
I rubbed circles on her back. “It’s gonna be okay,” I whispered.
She nuzzled into my neck, the tears drying on her cheeks. I could practically feel the wheels in her head turning, wondering what I might’ve said to Kelly, if I’d told her something that made things worse. My suspicions were confirmed when she sat back, her eyes focused and a little bit pissed. “What did she say to you?”
“We were just talking, Maeve.”
“About me.”
I gave her a nervous smile, and held out a plum to her. “No, about the plum harvest.”
“You heard what she said to me. She hates me.” Maeve waved a hand, rejecting my fruity offering. It made sense, given the sticky red juice now drying on her chin. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore.”
“Okay.” I grinned, waiting.
Maeve lasted a full three-and-a-half seconds before she blurted out, “What did she say about me?”
Maeve and Kelly, not that much different.
This time, I wasn’t playing the game. Maeve needed to see what was going on with Kelly, and I thought I might know a way to get her there. “What do you think’s going to happen after we stop the fae?” I asked.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about her anymore?”
Maeve gave an exasperated sigh. “Corbin, just tell me what she said about me.”
“Answer the question and I’ll explain.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know about the future. I’ve been busy trying to stop everything falling apart to think about it. I guess we’ll carry on with our lives here.”
“So we’re going to stay at Briarwood and do what?”
“I don’t know! Read books, eat scones, drink tea, watch Arthur beat Flynn to a pulp.”
I smiled at that. Arthur beating Flynn was definitely a thing that would happen. “So you don’t still have your acceptance letter for MIT sitting on your desk upstairs?”
She looked away. “I’m not thinking about that now.”
“Really? Because it feels like something weshouldthink about.” I touched my finger to her chin, pushing lightly to turn her back to face me. Her hazel eyes swam with liquid sadness. “They won’t keep that position open for you forever. It’s your dream, Maeve. You have to go.”
“And what about Oxford?” she shot back. “I saw the way you looked when we were there, how much you loved the history of the place and debating all those esoteric facts with your dad. You know you could get in, easily. You’re wasting your talents re-reading all the books in the Briarwood library.”
