At least for now.
I gave them the lowdown of what I’d seen and heard at the compound—leaving the tattoo out. The werewolves had also heard rumblings about this so-called fringe group, but they weren’t so quick to believe the Wizard’s innocence in all of it.
“Bloodthirsty criminals,” Shanley growled.
“Sociopaths,” Mau spat.
“Cruel,” they both said. “Lawless. Vile.”
And those were the kinder words they used to describe the syndicate.
I slunk farther into my seat, hiding my wrist in my sleeve. What would they think if they knew I was one of them? Even if it was the last resort I had?
Shanley zipped into the hospital’s driveway, tires screeching as she pulled up to the curb.
“Want us to wait for you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll text my dad.”
Getting out of the car, my steps were so unsteady I thought I might faceplant, the blood rushing to my head. I went to close the door, meeting my reflection for a second—the haggard mess of my hair, the dirt and faint scratches streaking my cheeks, the flash of magic behind my blue stare.
I darted inside, that wild, lawless girl in the reflection haunting my thoughts.
She was me—but not.
Wiping my face, running my hands through my tangles, I rushed through visitor check-in, slightly surprised they didn’t turn me away.
I’d been here almost every day since the accident—since Javi had been infected with the Greater Demon’s hellish Source—the process so ingrained in my head I could probably find my way to him blindfolded.
I leapt up the stairs to the second floor, sprinted down the far-left corridor, and halted at the fourth room on the right. My hand stilled on the handle. On a ten count, I inhaled, holding it in—just like Dr. Fairmore would tell me to do—then released it and pushed open the door.
“Get the fuck out.”
His words hit me so hard, I staggered halfway out of his room. I didn’t expect the anger. I absolutely deserved it, but… I just didn’t expect it.
“Javi, I?—”
“Don’t!” He held up his hand, and it killed me to see the pain from the movement flash across his face, as he accidentally tugged the IV taped in his elbow. “Don’t take a step closer.”
Still stuck in the doorway, I leaned against the frame. I hardly even recognized him. The dark circles under his eyes, the wan skin, the slur to his speech, the machines surrounding him…
“Javi, please. Let me explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Instead of their usual softness, his brown eyes were hard as he scoped me up and down. He paused on my bloodied collar, on the layer of dirt dusting my shirt, scrutinizing. “You look like shit.”
Probably should have done more with the baby wipe Mau handed me in the car, but it had lain limp in my hands because, even now, I could hardly concentrate on anything but the Pearl.
“Have you been up all night?”
I nodded, biting down on my lip, the burst of pain dulling the sharper pull of the tattoo’s magic.
“It’s so funny,” Javi continued harshly, with a cold laugh. “You’re standing in front of me but you’re like a ghost. I don’t recognize you. I don’t know you.”
“You do.” I took a cautious step inside. “I’m River. Your best friend?—”
“A best friend wouldn’t lie. Wouldn’t pretend. Wouldn’t live a double life.” His words were like a dagger twisting between my ribs. “You’re no friend of mine.”
I shrunk in on myself, shoulders curling. My eyes burned.
