Knuckles rapped against the door, then Gabriel peeked in. “Sorry, thought you should know her mom is coming down the hall.”
Shit. We needed to be gone before her mother arrived and we had even more answers to give. I jumped up from the chair.
“Thank you,” Sharon blurted. “For saving me. Both of you.”
Leaning in, I hugged her like I’d done a hundred times from the Twilight whenever she needed a burst of warmth or encouragement. Except, this time, she was aware and able to hug me back.
And that one embrace was worth a thousand given in secret. I didn’t need to look at her aura again before we left to know it was burning bright and gilded with delight.
29
And Life Goes On
“Bragging rights” didn’t begin to describe the tone of our remaining winter break. Classes resumed, and everyone wanted me as a study partner after rumors flew across the school that I would receive an honorary doctorate with the graduating class for slaying two monsters. I squashed that thread of gossip before the end of the first day.
I’d be insane to hope Bregman would let me out of bootcamp for the next two years, no matter how many darklings I killed.
Jiro didn’t show up when the semester began. After three days of speculation among the students and mounting tension spreading throughout campus, Sebastian e-mailed the remaining members of the Wild Hunt Club and asked us to meet him an hour before our appointed time.
We met at the boundary line between the mortal realm and Tir na Nog. Rodrigo had already lit a campfire and pulled up several logs for us to sit on. I took my seat between him and Gabriel, aware of Jada outright snubbing me instead of acknowledging my existence.
Sebastian paced in front of us. “Most of you guys probably already know why I’m here tonight. I wanted you to hear it from me before the provost makes her announcement tomorrow. But until she says a word, everything I say here is confidential and to be kept between this group. All right?”
A few dozen solemn faces watched him, heads nodding. Most of us already knew what he planned to say, but it didn’t ease the queasiness rolling through my gut.
“Jiro Yamazaki won’t return to PNRU.” The group exploded into questions, but Sebastian held up a hand. “His whereabouts remain unknown and neither of his parents have seen him in a couple weeks. We also tested the blood stains in the church, and it’s a DNA match. It’s confirmed.”
Catlyn’s shoulders dropped. I wondered if she’d been seeing him and how many of us he’d befriended under false pretenses while spying for the enemy.
“What does this mean now?” Julien asked. “What will happen next?”
“He’s been added to the list of wanted criminals and darklings. When found, he’ll be Bound and confined. Not that the former appears to be a foolproof way of removing a dangerous menace from the supernatural pool. That’s the other reason I had for bringing you guys together.”
Tension thickened in the air, the weight of it oppressive enough to drown me.
On the edge of my seat, I watched Sebastian run one hand through his dark hair and sigh. “Now that it’s confirmed the Hidden Court has discovered a way to strip a Binding, the Conclave is in an uproar. It’s possible we’ll see a shitload of changes next year. If they can’t trust Bindings, they may adopt other methods.”
Sebastian’s words and solemn expression trickled ice cubes down my back. When I shuddered, Gabriel slipped an arm around my waist and squeezed me closer.
“What’s going to happen to Abby?” Stark asked.
Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “The Great Fenrir executed Abby this evening. She wouldn’t talk. We gave it all week and did our best to encourage her to speak up, but in the end, she wouldn’t. There was nothing we could do for her.”
My eyes burned. I hadn’t known Abby, but the other members of the Wild Hunt Club had been her friends, and their grief billowed over the campground like a noxious fog.
“I need to address a few rumors now. Everyone here knows that Monica was a shitty godmother, but that’s not why she was Bound. Her sentence was passed down for the safety of the public and her own well-being. It had everything to do with her unsafe practices and failure to follow the rules of this institution.” He gestured to Gabriel. “Did you warn her about driving alone with Skylar?”
“Hell yeah. But she insisted on driving to Chicago instead of waiting for me to return to campus. Said it was stupid and she was tired of the school being up her ass over every little thing.”
“Her Binding was about more than a single incident of Monica skirting the rules. That was only the one strike against her. The other was her complete lack of empathy. She didn’t care about using her powers for anyone but herself—or her father, as we’ve recently discovered. Skylar took care of Sharon long before she was officially assigned to.”
Murmurs arose from the group. I shifted uncomfortably on my seat and ignored the swell of interest. Even Jada glanced over, for once without a dirty look.
Sebastian raised his hands for quiet and continued. “I know some of you were friends, but you deserve to know the truth, which is that Monica was already headed down the dark path. King Oberon made the ultimate call after reading her Destiny Lines. Does that clear things up for you?”
“So if we don’t want to be godmothers, they won’t Bind us?” Catlyn asked.
“Or worse?” Kitania queried, leaning forward.
“Nah, kids. When I graduated, I planned to go back home to work on my dad’s farm.”
Rodrigo blinked. “For real, man?”
“Oh yeah. I only took the Sentinel Licensure Board after graduation for kicks to prove I could pass it. PNRU and the Conclave want you to succeed at more than learning to slaughter darklings to defend yourselves. They want you to be a good person. You’re not a slave. You don’t have to do this shit the rest of your lives.” He glanced at Blaire. The wolf dropped his shoulders. “Contrary to what someone said about your parents being watch dogs, pets, or anything else. We take these jobs because we want to.”
“But—”
“Talk to your father about why he works for the Dupree family. This isn’t the draft. The role of a sentinel isn’t a lifetime conscription.”
A collective sigh exhaled from most of the group, and the bubble of tension popped. I could breathe again.
“What happens now?” Gabriel asked.
Sebastian sat on a log and steepled his fingers between both knees. “Like I said, everything is going to change. Now that a Binding can’t be trusted for removing problematic supernaturals from society, the Conclave may resort to other methods. You need to be the very best people you can be. Learn your glamours and be safe,” he said, glancing at Kitania and Catlyn. They nodded.
He glanced at Jada. “Learn to follow the moral rules of society, because they matter as much as your shooting and boot camp skills.”
Jada dropped her head.
I never thought I’d pity her, but I did, because as much as she’d pissed me off with her hazing and invasion of our privacy, it wasn’t worth losing her gift for the rest of her life—or worse.
“And no matter how much it fucking tempts you, no matter who bullies you, who taunts you, who harasses and stalks you, stay away from the Hidden Court.” This time, he glanced at Justin. The poor guy turned red beneath his mountain man beard. “Their words are poison, and all of you are too good for them.”
Silence fell over our group. Sebastian studied each of us then rose. “Any questions before we head out into the Emerald Pass?”
No one spoke up at first, but since the others didn’t have the balls and I sensed someone else had to wonder, I decided to be the nosy one. “You really didn’t want to be a sentinel?”
“Fuck no.”
A few wrinkles creased Gabriel’s brow. “What changed your mind?”
He grinned. “The right partner.”
Since the final days of the spring semester boiled down to review sessions and group study periods for our upcoming finals, sen
iors began scheduling appointments to take their licensure exam. They’d already taken all of the necessary practicals required by PNRU, and all that remained were the tests for their general courses.
Gabriel had those in the bag, blowing off studies for his host of business degree courses to memorize the SBA handbook instead.
While Ama stalked me and occasionally flew over to investigate us, either eyeballing me or making threatening noises, I rubbed my boyfriend’s shoulders from behind the couch, quizzing him with random questions about the guide. “So explain to me, under what circumstance is it okay to use deadly force against a human?”
“It’s not something we ever want to do, but if a supernatural being or human’s life is in immediate jeopardy, a sentinel is authorized to use the least amount of force required to resolve the situation.”
“But what’s that?”
“You always begin with non-magical means, but you go one step above the threat that you’ve assessed. A vampire’s fist is a step above a mortal’s fist, but they wouldn’t be permitted to use their fangs.”
“Meaning Simon could take a gun to a knife-fight, but not his staff, right?”
“Right.” My fingers discovered a particularly tense knot of muscle. As I applied greater pressure, his head lolled forward, and he sighed. “You’re the best girlfriend.”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure this isn’t boring you to death?”
“Not at all. We both benefit. You get to reinforce by teaching me, and I get to learn a little of what to look forward to next year and senior year.” I paused. “I want to be in Sebastian’s special class. I want to work with him and Simon.”
“Baby, given what’s happened to you, it’s probably mandatory by now. You might not have an honorary doctorate coming your way, but you have a personal faerie tutor from Tir na Nog. You’re special.”
“Gabe—”
He reached up and took one of my hands, covering it with his larger grip. “I’m not just saying that because you’re my girl. You have Titania’s necklace. You’ve faced down shit most seniors hope to encounter before graduation. There’s prophecies about you.”
“Incomplete prophecies,” I muttered.
Gabriel tossed his book on the coffee table then pulled me over the back of the couch and onto his lap, giving me no opportunity to wiggle away. “Anyway, what I’m saying is, the interest is probably mutual.”
“I don’t want in because I’m some prophesied whatever.”
“It’s not just that and you know it. You have real courage and talent. And you don’t freeze under pressure. No matter how much some of us train, we know who isn’t cut out for the sentinel life, because the moment they encounter a real danger, they choke up.”
“I almost got a bunch of us killed.”
“You learned from it. You think I haven’t made a few mistakes? Everybody fucked up at Rachel’s house, but you all survived. Ask Sebastian and Simon to tell you a few stories from their early days sometime.”
Worries assuaged, I nodded and leaned my head on Gabe’s shoulder. He didn’t reach for the handbook again and turned the television on instead.
“Aren’t you going to study now?”
“Nope. I’m done. Either I know it or I don’t, right?”
“Right!”
Ama landed beside us again on the back of the couch, stretched her body, and opened her beak in a threat. I hissed back at her. She shrieked, the loud scream tearing through my eardrums when she startled back and hurried to the other side of him, where she hid on his shoulder and tucked herself beneath Gabriel’s messy hair.
His baby didn’t have to love me now, but I couldn’t let her disrespect me anymore. Gabriel’s low chuckle stirred something in my chest, a bloom of warmth and affection snaking around my heart. I glanced up to see him grinning at me.
“What?”
“If I’d known that was all it would take, I would have had you do that from the start.”
Thursday morning, Gabriel reported to the Cook County Sentinel Field Office for a three hour long exam and a battery of physical tests. And since tomorrow we were leaving for our Wild Hunt Club field trip, he brought Ama over in her travel cage for Liadan to babysit on his way out.
For once, the sun conure didn’t snap at my fingers when I opened the cage door, but she didn’t play nice either and blew me off entirely.
Our magical jungle turned out to be our single saving grace. Ama flew from one flower to the next, standing on branches and thick stalks to examine each colorful blossom. She sniffed some things and nibbled others, even coming out of one planter with a terrifying, winged insect clasped in her powerful beak. It resembled a sprite, and Liadan called it a mimic beetle. Apparently, this one was attempting to mimic me.
I didn’t know whether to be grateful or disgusted when she ate it, though she stared at me the entire time, as if imagining I were the squishy pest in her mouth.
“I think she likes the sun lillies best,” Lia said after a few hours of watching Ama play. “She keeps going back to them and rubbing her cheek against the petals.”
Risking a quick glance toward the plant confirmed Lia’s observation, but I stayed quiet. We’d noticed earlier in the day that the awful little beast snubbed anything of interest to me. She’d happily perched on the speckled pansies until I sniffed one and smiled. After that, she’d torn a flower to shreds and abandoned the plant for another.
Baby steps, I reminded myself over and over again. At least she knew now that I couldn’t be intimidated.
Pilar arrived home about an hour later with two grocery totes packed to the brim. Ama trilled a jubilant greeting then resumed preening herself.
“Well hello to you too, pretty bird. Any word yet from Gabriel, Sky?”
“No, not yet. He should be running his practicals about now. Why?”
Pilar carried everything to the kitchen and beamed at me across the breakfast counter. “I am going to prepare him a celebratory dinner.”
Bless her for having the same faith in Gabriel that I did, because there was no way he wasn’t going to pass.
“What can I do to help?”
Leaving Ama with Lia, I retreated to the kitchen to help with dinner—a traditional Valencian paella. She trusted me enough to dice veggies while she browned three different types of meat.
“Ugh, Pilar, why are you boiling snails?”
“Because you can’t have paella without them,” she insisted. “Don’t be such a wuss. You eat raw fish and their eggs all the time.”
“But those are snails.”
“You will love it.”
“Be adventurous, Sky. Didn’t you say you ate tuna testicles when you visited family in Sicily?” Liadan called from the living room.
“Lia!”
Pilar cackled at me. Ama joined in the laughter. Sometimes, I didn’t think it was coincidental that she picked certain moments to mimic our amusement.
“I didn’t know what it was when they put it on my plate.”
Gabriel’s triumphant heartsong alerted me to his arrival, but Ama made so much noise when he peeked in I’d have known it was him by that alone. She zipped across the room and landed on his chest. Refusing to be outdone by a parrot, I crossed over in one shadowstride, grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, and kissed him while she buffeted her wings between us like a spoiled child.
I’m totally on to your game now, Ama.
“Mm. I can totally go for this kind of welcome every day.”
“Well? How do you feel about it?” I asked.
“I feel like I kicked serious ass until we got to the hostage negotiation part.”
“And…?”
“Well, I’m not crying. The test proctors all took turns shaking my hand at the end and presented me with this.” Gabriel whipped out one of those glossy black, stereotypical federal agent credential wallets you see in movies. Opening it revealed a gold badge with his last name and agent number.
I squealed and ki
ssed him again. “Congratulations!”
Liadan and Pilar called it out too, and then the gravelly little voice of Ama joined us. I blinked down at her. That was a big word for a parrot.
Gabriel blinked too. “Thanks, Ama. Weird time to pick up a new word.” When he stroked the top of her head and kissed her beak, she basked in his affection and nuzzled him. Deciding to be the bigger person, I relented and returned to help Pilar finish dinner while they settled on the couch. Afterward, I helped Liadan Transmutate an ottoman into a spacious dining table for our celebratory feast.
The moment we sat down, an explosion of gold faerie dust and blue sparkles burst over an empty space at the end. A bright yellow box appeared with the words “Congratulations, Gabriel” scrawled across the top in my mom’s finest calligraphy.
Damn, they didn’t even present me flashy gifts like that.
The box unfolded to reveal the largest tiramisu my dad had ever created, a multi-layered masterpiece of epic proportions. My mouth watered as the aroma of fine Italian espresso spiked with Marsala wafted off it.
We ate like gluttons. Between the paella and the tiramisu, Gabriel curled up on the couch and passed out. I covered him with a blanket then settled on the other half of the sectional.
“You should sleep, too,” Lia said on her way upstairs with Ama. “Big day tomorrow.”
“I will. Gonna crash here on the couch with Gabe.”
“All right then. Goodnight.”
“Night, Lia.”
I played on my phone instead, because the excitement buzzing through my veins wouldn’t allow my overactive mind to rest. Tomorrow, I’d be embarking on a three-day hike into Tir na Nog.
“Sky, take your ass to bed.”
“I can’t sleep.”
Gabriel muttered something drowsily into one of Pilar’s decorative pillows and promptly passed out again. I envied his ability to do that when the best weekend of our college lives loomed before us.
30
Music on the Wind
The Scary Godmother Page 32
