“Impulsive,” Shanley cut in, tapping her fingers on the plush arms of my corner chair.
“It’s not, I promise.” Smiling, I unzipped my bag, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. “I’ve thought a lot about it.”
“Oh yeah?” Shanley crossed her tattooed arms, her pale skin flushed against her t-shirt’s crisp, white sleeves. “You got home from your little adventure at five this morning. It’s ten AM. You’re telling me you’ve had time to sleep and think on it before jumping to this decision?”
I pulled open a drawer, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the vanity’s mirror. No amount of concealer could hide the bags under my eyes. No amount of sleep could clear my mind of the death I’d seen in the Pearl.
Tossing the duffel onto the bed and filling it with a thick stack of leggings, I continued, “When I was in that sea cave, I found symbols for the other three Watchers carved onto the wall. Earth, air, and fire. They were all glowing, except for water.”
Mau shifted her shoulders. Shanley spun the silver ring on her pointer finger. I didn’t miss the way their eyes quickly met.
“And of course it wasn’t lit. Of course the lighthouse won’t open. It’s the watchtower for the Angel of Water, who’s dead, and I—” I still didn’t know what I was. Something between angel and human; heiress and cursed; powerful and powerless. I shook my head, not wanting to dive into all that, so I settled on: “I’m like a cheap knockoff of the real thing. When I was in that cave though, and I had that vision, I felt something. Fate, a purpose, a presence, a higher power—I don’t know. Something.”
Shanley leaned forward. “Remind me how you discovered that cave again?”
“I was…” Exploring? Surfing? Playing roulette with my life? Ugh. I’d left that part out for a reason. If they found out I’d worked with the supernatural mob they blamed the werewolf attack on—even if it was a last resort, even if I’d already quit—they might never forgive me.
But this was exactly what I’d done with Javi. Underestimated our friendship, assumed he wouldn’t understand. Kept secrets. And look where that got him—got us.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. This was going to blow. But I couldn’t keep any more secrets. I took a seat next to Mau, the mattress dipping beneath me.
“I haven’t been completely honest with you.” My hands twisted in my lap. “When I was at the Night Stalker compound I… took a contract with them.”
“What?!” they said, the word half a mortal shout, half a wolf’s snarl.
“I wanted to tell you on the way to the hospital, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Not after what happened at Crescent Rock, not when you hadn’t had time to process everything.”
Mau stayed silent, her mouth gaping.
“So, did you mean to go there?” Shanley leapt up, her footfalls thudding across the floor. “Did you think they would help you more than us?” Hands digging into her hips, she nodded at Mau. “Your friends?”
“No!” I shot back, my palm hovering over my heart. “I promise you, there was no other way. It was a last resort.”
“Five people died. Dozens of others were injured.” Shanley’s eyes lingered on my wrist. Her lip curled with the start of a growl. “And now you’ve bound yourself to our sworn enemy?”
“They were going to hand deliver me to Chthonia if I didn’t do something drastic. Please. I’ve lost—” My voice cracked, and I took a quick gasp of air, my chest caving. “Everything. I can’t lose you, too.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” A firm grip wrapped around my trembling hand. Mau. She shot a look at Shanley, who had started unpacking the clothes I’d put in my duffel. Which, fine, it wasn’t even a big enough bag anyway. “It’s all just very fresh,” she continued. “The packs haven’t even been able to mourn. And now that we know who sent you to that cave…”
I pulled a stray string on my comforter.
“How do we know the Wizard didn’t set this up?” Mau leaned back on her palms. “It’d be convenient to get you to a remote place, in a foreign country, all alone.”
“He’s not powerful enough to influence an object like the Pearl.” I gnawed my lip.
“But he is resourceful enough.” Shanley’s low growl rumbled the ice in our drinks. “It could’ve been someone in his arsenal of crooks.”
“They wouldn’t set up another Night Stalker. That’s why I took the contract in the first place: for protection. I know it’s hard to believe, but they actually have a code of ethics.”
“‘Thou shall not kill each other, just everyone else’?” Shanley muttered under her breath.
Despite the heaviness in the air, the corners of my mouth quirked. “Something like that.”
“I just can’t believe Elder Ivan, dude.” Blowing air past her lips, Shanley fell back into the chair. “What would possess him to betray his own kin?”
As if Finis were right behind me, hissing her mission to bridge the realms and rule the Earth and unleash demons in my ear, I dug my cheek into my shoulder. “I think I know.”
Both my friends fell lethally silent. If their claws were out, I was sure they could cut the tension with an audible tear.
