Veda awkwardly studies her hands.
“Look out for Marlene and Everly.”
The request lands oddly. “What’s going on?” Veda asks.
Ruth reaches across the table and covers Veda’s hand with her own. “Remember what I once told you, Veda. What you think is loneliness is actuallyhunger. Don’t starve it, or it will die. Don’t be afraid to indulge. To live. To want and to care. That hunger is what makes you human, and you will need your humanity to face the road ahead.” Her hands shake, but she doesn’t let go. “Remember the bad times, even when it physically hurts to do so. But remember the good times, even if it hurts more to know they’regone. Grieve. Let forgiveness come in its own time, when you’re ready to move forward.”
“What are you—”
“Giving you life lessons. There’s more, but there is something more important we need to discuss.” Veda starts to speak again, but Ruth hushes her. “Ariadne will come for you. I have Seen it.”
Veda’s eyes bug, alarmed. “You can’t tell me your vision—”
“It will not matter,” Ruth says, brushing her off. “Ariadne will be desperate. She will try Sight Unseen, as she has done before, and will again.”
Veda is confused. “I’m not a Seer. I don’t have Sight for her to steal.”
“No, but because of your parents, you carry the potential for Sight, whether it ever manifests or not. And you two share blood. Meaning your potential for Sight now lives in her, too. Ariadne doesn’t want to just kill you, Veda. She wants toconsumeyou.”
Knowing this leaves Veda strangely calm. “And the curse?”
“I don’t know how she plans to extract it, but it’s a problem she’ll deal with once she has what she wants. Ariadne is brilliant, but her hunt for Sight has blinded her in other ways.”
“Do you think she knew this would happen the night she cursed me?”
“No. This is a twist only the Cosmos could have created. I don’t know how she figured it out, but if she is anything like her father, she wanted to take you so she could experiment on you until she found an answer. She is dangerous. You need to protect yourself.”
An idea forms. “I’ll do that by giving her a taste of her own medicine.”
“How?” Hiram asks.
Veda turns to him. “The Liquid Curse.”
Hiram’s nod draws Ruth’s attention. “You surprised me, Hiram Ellis. The world is wrong about you. I was, too. Continue to be the man we never thought you were.”
Reflective and humbled, Hiram replies, “I will.”
“Your father is home from the hospital.” Ruth gives a knowing look before rising to her feet. The back door opens, and Antaris walks in. His hand slips from Peter’s as he drifts forward, standing before the elderly woman as if waiting for his own message. “Hello, little one.”
Antaris signshello.
“You’re closer now than ever.” She rests both hands on his shoulders. “You’re the soul of the Scorpion. You have your mother’s heart and your father’s will.”
The boy steps closer, face full of questions.
“Did you know Grace?” Hiram asks.
“No, but I’ve heard much about her fighting spirit. I can only hope to show her fortitude when the time comes.”
Veda’s feelings for Ruth are complicated. A deep sadness fills her, an inexplicable ache. She can’t pinpoint the origin, but the weight of it presses on her stomach, growing heavier as Antaris hugs Ruth around the waist. They walk her to the door, but before she leaves, she tells them, “Lead him to the still water.”
They stand in the doorway until Ruth drives away. Veda lingers long after she’s gone, unable to name the feeling that grips her. It’s after breakfast when realization strikes.
“Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye?”
“I’m having dinner with my parents.”
It’s Hiram’s calm decisiveness that makes Veda look up from the potions book. She’s been poring over every scrap she can find about the Liquid Curse. He’s dressed in gray slacks and a short-sleeved button-down. His hair, which has been relaxed for the last couple of weeks, is now parted severely. He’s even shaved. Veda doesn’t hide the once-over she gives him before placing her pen in the book.
