“Have they given you Intentions?” Nova asked.
I narrowed my eyes. “I thought the Lawsons didn’t use Intentions.”
Nova grinned. “They don’t. But I was a Westwater before the body snatchers took me and dragged me here.”
My time with the Prophet made my stomach churn. I met Nova’s gaze and understood all at once. The too-light green of her hair, still unmistakably forest-shaded. The hands she conjured—lifting a couch with two people on it like it weighed nothing. He must have realized he needed new blood in his family. Nova and I hadn’t been accidents. We’d been the beginning.
“That night,” she said, leaning closer, “I heard the glass break.”
A shiver slid down my spine. Ezra’s palm followed, grounding me.
“Blood seeped through a crack in my ceiling,” Nova continued. “And I knew the instant his body hit the floor. I felt his life drain out of him.” Her chin lifted, steady and unbowed. “That was the moment I was free.”
While the others mourned, she’d spit on corpses.
“I would’ve run,” she said quietly. “But that would’ve meant leaving Aludena. And I couldn’t do that.”
She straightened, rolling her shoulders like she was settling armor. “I’m a Westwater. We don’t break.” Her fist pressed briefly to her chest. “Even our war-mad family understands power, and the value of written promises.”
Nova squeezed Aludena’s shoulder. “The weak are always the first to be used.”
Sorrow and rage swelled in my throat. I swallowed both.
Ezra’s hand curled into a fist at my back, trembling. “They are.”
The words were barely more than breath. He hated body snatchers; part of Nova’s story pulled on his past. It had to.
“Did Cayden give you one of those… Intentions?” Aludena asked softly, her voice thin and careful, pulling us back from the edge.
“He did not.” I looked hard at the woman’s sunken cheeks. “He won’t sleep with me. Says he’s cursed.” The words felt stupid, but I wanted her to know Cayden hurt too.
Two fat tears fell out of Aludena’s eyes. “We all are.”
“You’re not cursed!” Nova snapped. “And I’ll spend my life proving it if I have to.”
Nova turned Aludena’s face and kissed her. “I love you. Always. We’ll get through this.” Aludena turned back to me with a faint blush staining her cheeks. “Is Cayden cursed? Am I? I seethe way he looks at you as if he now walks in your light. You’ve seen the world. I need to know.”
He walks in your light. The words repeated themselves in my head. My blood chilled.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on the implications. Rage radiated off Nova. If I didn’t reassure Aludena in the next five seconds, Nova might barrel past Ezra and throttle me herself.
“You’re not cursed.” I pictured myself kissing Cayden’s head and reassuring him. I wanted to be there for my friend, but I suddenly didn’t know if I was helping or not. “It might feel like it.” I eased my voice to be as supportive as possible. “And genetically, you’re going to need to be a bit thoughtful, but it looks like you found someone who loves you a lot.”
Aludena blushed harder. “She’s another woman.”
In my heart, I knew Cayden didn’t have feelings for anyone in his past, but seeing it made whatever sliver of worry I’d buried deep in my subconscious vanish.
I smiled at Aludena. “I can see that. I am happy for you.”
I poked Ezra, and the man stood and held out a hand to me. I took it and popped up.
“Join us for dinner tonight,” Nova said. “It would be good for the girls.”
I wasn’t entirely sure who the girls were, but I agreed. “I’ll find a different spot for now and see you tonight.”
I took another look at Aludena, but she’d buried her face in Nova’s shoulder. She reminded me of a terrified puppy. My heart bled for her.
The moment we exited, Ezra pulled me under his arm. “Are you okay?”
