Bastian treads closer to Cadence and leans his weight into the great door to widen the opening.
“Six fifty-two,” Alma announces.
“One minute to go,” Gaëlle whispers, her light brown skin as ashen as the foggy air.
She slips through first, then Adrien. Before I follow them, I say to the others, “You guys stay out here.”
“What?” Cadence’s eyebrows jolt up. “No! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“We don’t know what’s about to happen,” I say.
“I’ve been with you guys during every curse. I don’t see how this is any more dangerous.”
“We were contending with one leaf at a time. There are three now. When we put them in, hell could rain down upon us.” I want to go over to her and touch her, but until I’ve gotten rid of the golden, palm-sized frond, I barely dare breathe in her direction. “Please, I can’t see you get hurt.” Just the thought sends a sawing pain through my chest.
“He’s right, Cadence.” Adrien’s blistered forehead pleats. “Wait for us out here with Alma and Bastian.”
Cadence’s eyes widen. “I want to be there. I want to—”
“Six fifty-four,” Alma announces.
“We have to go,” Adrien says. “Come on, Slate.”
I set my teeth. “I won’t go anywhere until Cadence swears she’ll stay out here.”
I shift my gaze to Bastian, and he nods in silent understanding. He may be skinny, but he’s bigger than Cadence, so he can hold her back if she tries anything.
“Fine!” Anger rolls off her like the mist forever cloaking this damn town. “Fine!” She lurches away from the door and whirls on her heels, the beam of her flashlight zigzagging over the white expanse.
“We’ll take care of her,” Alma adds, already running after her.
Bastian stares at me as I finally walk past him. His lips press together, Adam’s apple bobbing and bobbing. I sense he wants to say something, but either he’s not sure what, or fear’s got his tongue.
“It’ll be fine, little bro. All will be fine.” Maybe if I say it enough, I’ll start believing it.
He releases the door once I’ve stepped over the threshold. It bangs shut, locking me in with three fragments of a maleficent relic and a ticking clock. I steel my spine, swallow hard, and head over to seal my leaf in its cradle, and quite possibly my fate with the Quatrefoil’s.
No.
That’s not true.
My fate was sealed the day I read the spell on the inside of the band and put on the ring.
46
Cadence
Between my talk with Nolwenn and the others all but booting me out of the library, my blood zings. I understand their reasons for keeping me out, and quite possibly, if I hadn’t been a ball of stress and anger, I would’ve placidly agreed that I had no added value in there.
“What is going on with you?” Alma asks, once she catches up to me. “You do realize they’re trying to protect us?”
“I know.”
“Then why are we storming off?”
“Because, Alma!” I growl.
“Because what?” she growls back.
