She squeezes her mouth to try to regain her composure.
“Fliss, everything I do is for you, and if that means I don’t share with you some of the more painful moments of my life, then it’s for your own good. It’s in the past. Now it’s you and me. That’s all I need, and all I’d like it to be.”
“Mum…” I say, a squeeze in my heart.
Before I can think through my reply, the front door swings open and Marcie trots in, her hands a tight knot over her chest. Instantly, I know something is wrong. She’s pale and twitching like a spooked squirrel.
“Marceline, are you okay?” I ask, stepping toward her.
“I’m sorry. Could I stay here for a little while?” the girl asks, chewing the inside of her mouth. I crouch a little to get on her level.
“What’s happened?”
Marcie glances up for the slightest of seconds. “They’re fighting again. I got scared.”
Her words strike me like an arrow. I don’t need to ask who.
“Where,Marcie? Which way did they go?”
She hides her face in her hands.
“Okay, it’s okay,” I say, and wave her to the back of the shop toward Mum.
“Marceline, dearest, come here and help me with these numbers. You’re much smarter than I am,” Mum says, getting to her feet and ushering the girl over. Mum fetches a mug, and I know she’ll be serving up a calming tea.
“Go on, don’t worry. You can stay here for as long as you want,” I tell Marceline, then meet my mum’s worried eyes. We can continue our conversation later.
“I’m going to check what’s going on,” I say, heading to the front door.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mum asks.
If Will’s in danger, I can’t hang around to discuss it further.
“I…I’ll be back.”
I fly into the street and find a flow of people hurrying away from the lower square. I push against the crowd, a drum in my chest. There’s a shout from a guard—Howell maybe?—and a woman nearby trips. I help her to her feet but keep moving. Before the fountain, a wall of people huddled in a large circle blocks my view of any action.
“How many times do I have to tell you you’re not welcome here?” Bash’s voice rings loud. He’s pissed. Stuck in the same cycle he gets himself caught in.
“Excuse me,” I say, squeezing between shoulders. There’s so much chatter that no one pays attention to me.
A gust of wind has the crowd clutching at their hair and clothes. It gives me the chance to spot Will by the fountain. He’s not hurt. Thank the gods. But Bastion is opposite him with his sword out.
For all the chaos, only Howell is here, a few feet away with his arms out to control the crowd. Knowing how this usually goes, backupwill be on the way. Hopefully this confrontation will be taken for one of their usual squabbles if we can cool it down. Maybe I can help with that. I look left and right for any gaps to slip through and try shoving between some shorter people.
“Bash, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” Will says. “I’m not here for you. I couldn’t care less, to be honest.”
I push to the front in time to see Bastion swing his sword. A shriek gets caught in my throat, but Will dodges so easily he doesn’t even take his hands out of his pockets.
“Then leave,” Bastion growls, his cheeks poppy red.
I try to make a run for it, but that grabs Howell’s attention. The guard blocks my path and keeps his arms outstretched.
“Felicity, please stay back for your own safety,” he says.
Behind Howell’s arms, Bastion slashes his sword through the air so forcefully that the tip smashes into the floor. Sand dances in the air. That could have been Will.
“You know I don’t need a weapon to beat you,” Will says, still relaxed. He’s circled around to my left. “You’re wasting your effort and I’m really not in the mood today. I have other places I’d rather be.”
