“Now, Daniel, you shouldn’t say things like that. You wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings, would you? Because if you did, then I might get angry, and I might have to take out some of my rage on your girlfriend and her sister. ” She smiled at him as she spoke. “I might even have to kill them. ”
“I’m just keeping it interesting, Penn,” Daniel replied coolly, instead of throwing her to the ground and telling her that if she ever touched Harper, he’d kill her. “I know it’s the thrill of the chase that gets you off, so I can’t make it too easy for you. ”
“That’s why I like you. You know exactly what I want. ”
She leaned into him and kissed him on the mouth. She put one hand on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair and holding him to her. Then he felt her teeth sinking into his lip. He was about to push her off when she let go and stepped back.
“Eight o’clock on Wednesday night,” Penn said as she backed away from him. “You and me. ”
“I won’t forget,” he promised her.
Penn laughed, then turned and ran down to the end of the dock. She dove off and went into the water with hardly a splash.
He could taste the blood from his lip, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt like throwing up. Every encounter he had with Penn left him feeling like he needed to shower.
He was ashamed to admit that a small part of him liked it, which made him crave the shower all the more. As much as he detested Penn, she sparked something in his anatomy that he couldn’t completely control.
Penn had left his clothes wet and dirty from throwing him on the ground, and he’d have to change before he went down to the theater. He really did want to shower now, but he wasn’t sure he’d have enough time to, so he pulled out his phone to check the clock.
That’s when he saw he had two missed texts from Harper. In all the commotion with Penn, he hadn’t noticed his phone vibrating.
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But I want to do something special for you, Harper had texted when Penn interrupted.
Daniel? Are you still there? That was her newest text, the one that came when he didn’t respond.
Daniel stared down at the phone, unsure of what to say, and feeling worse than he’d ever felt before. While he’d been kissing Penn, Harper had been texting him, completely oblivious to the fact that Daniel was cheating on her.
He knew he’d do whatever it took to protect Harper, but he didn’t want to betray her like this. She deserved more from him.
But he knew that if he told Harper about his pact to sleep with Penn, she’d try to talk him out of it. She might even succeed. And it wouldn’t be worth it. Saving their relationship would be meaningless if it meant sacrificing Harper and Gemma’s lives.
I have to go to class. I’ll talk to you later. Love you. Harper texted him as he stared down at his phone, trying to decide not only what to reply to her but also what he should do about the whole situation with Penn.
In some strange way, that text seemed to solidify his decision. Harper loved him, she trusted him, and she needed him now more than ever. He had to protect her the only way he knew how to, even if it meant that he’d lose her forever.
Sorry. I love you, too, Daniel replied, and hoped that she truly understood how much.
FIVE
Mistaken
“When will Penn be back?” Liv asked for the thousandth time since Penn had left earlier that afternoon.
Thea sighed loudly and flipped a page in her script. Her back was against the arm of the couch, so she could rest the book on her legs. A flyaway hair had come loose from her messy bun, and she smoothed it back and tried to ignore Liv.
“Thea?” Liv said when she didn’t respond.
“I don’t know,” Thea replied, and made no attempt to mask the annoyance in her voice.
“But I’m sooo bored,” Liv whined like a small child on the second day of summer vacation. “Can we go swimming, at least?”
Thea slid lower on the couch, so she was lying on her back, and her knees would block Liv from her field of vision. “You can go swimming with Penn when she gets back. ”
“But you have no idea when she’ll be back?” Liv flicked the TV off and sat sideways on the couch, so she could face Thea fully. “Do you even know where she went?”
“Nope,” she said, but that wasn’t entirely true. She had a good idea of where Penn had gone, but she didn’t know for certain.
Penn was being unnecessarily shifty lately. An hour ago, she’d declared that she had to go somewhere and that Thea would have to stay behind with Liv. When Thea reminded her that she had a play rehearsal she needed to get to, Penn just told her that she’d done the play several times before and didn’t need the practice.
And then Penn dove off the cliff behind their house, crashing into the waves and swimming off, leaving Thea alone with Liv.
Liv sighed in frustration. “Is this why Gemma doesn’t live with you guys?”
“Gemma prefers to live with her family. ”
Liv shook her head. “I don’t get that. And I thought I was supposed to be Gemma’s replacement. Why is she still here instead of Lexi?”
“We already told you. Things changed. Penn’s priorities shifted. Gemma stayed, Lexi’s gone. ”
The breeze outside picked up, blowing salty air in through the broken windows on the back of the house. During the fight last week, Lexi had broken out several windows and damaged a lot of their furniture. New windows were coming in later this week, but for now, Thea taped plastic over them if it got too cold or rained, but today it was nice, and Thea enjoyed the fresh air.
As for the broken furniture, Thea and Penn hadn’t replaced much of it yet, other than getting a new television. Everything else, they basically just fixed with duct tape and set it back in its place. The entertainment center was cracked, so the TV slanted to one side, and the stuffing was coming out from the cushions on the chairs.
“Can’t we at least do something fun?” Liv asked.
“No, we can’t. I’m already missing play rehearsal right now to babysit you. So you can watch TV or entertain yourself while I read my lines. ”
“Babysit?” Liv scoffed. “Why would you even say that? I don’t need a babysitter. I’m eighteen. ”
“I said it because it’s true. ” Thea moved her knees to the side, so she could stare directly at Liv. “You need a babysitter. ”
Liv’s mouth dropped, and her eyes were pained. “That’s so mean. ”
“How is it mean?” Thea sat up and set her script aside. “You’ve only been a siren since Friday, and you’ve been nothing but trouble.
“We went to all the trouble of getting campus housing to move you, so you’d room with Harper,” Thea went on. “As was our plan. Before you even became a siren, Penn told you that we wanted you to keep an eye on Harper. But instead of doing that, you attacked her, then went on a spree and killed three people, including a psych teacher. Penn and I had to drop everything to come clean up your mess. ”
“Oh, that’s no big deal. ” Liv waved it off with a smile. “You guys can charm your way out of anything. ”
“No, it is a big deal,” Thea said, trying hard to emphasize her point. “I don’t want to spend all my time disposing of your bodies and washing up your blood. You can’t control yourself, Liv. End of story. ”
“I can control myself just fine. Right now, for example, I’m perfectly composed,” Liv said in her too-sweet voice with a perfect smile plastered on her face. She actually batted her eyes, which made Thea groan.
“If you don’t like this, it’s your fault,” Thea said. “You said you wanted this. You asked to be a siren. And then we trusted you and left you on your own, and you went batshit and almost ruined everything for us. ”
Liv’s smile fell, and her eyes darkened. “I did not go batshit. ”
“You threw a huge tantrum because you didn
’t like the way Harper talked to you. Penn asked you to do one simple thing. ” Thea held up one finger to demonstrate. “One thing. She gave you the gift that you wanted, and in turn, she just wanted you to keep tabs on Harper and help find out what Gemma is up to. That’s it. And you couldn’t handle it. ”
“I could handle it,” Liv insisted. “I just didn’t think it was fair. ”
“Well, life isn’t fair. ” Thea shrugged. “Get used to it. ”
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“I don’t know how you can give me all this power and expect me to do nothing with it. I can change form, and I can control men with my voice. ”
Liv had been getting louder as she spoke, and by the time she stood, she was practically shouting at Thea. Her eyes had changed from their usual dark brown to golden-eagle eyes, and Thea could see the beginnings of her fangs protruding from her mouth.
“I can kill at my discretion,” Liv said, her voice booming through the living room. All of its sugariness had dissolved. “I decide the fate of everyone I come in contact with. I’m practically a god, and you want me to sit on the couch while you read?”
Thea said nothing for a minute, almost in shock at the maniacal glint in Liv’s eyes, before finally whispering, “Penn made a terrible mistake with you. ”
With that, Liv dove at her. Thea leaned back, her head resting on the arm of the couch, and Liv hovered over her. She was still mostly human, aside from the many jagged rows of teeth in her mouth. Her face was mere inches above Thea’s, and her eyes were filled with contempt.
“No, you’re the one who made a mistake,” Liv said, her voice mutated by the monster inside her, making her sound demonic. “I am not some little parakeet you can keep in a cage. ”
“Neither am I,” Thea growled.
Her hand was around Liv’s throat in a second, her fingers elongating and tightening around Liv’s windpipe—not enough to kill her but enough that Liv could feel her power and strength.
“You think you’re so powerful, little girl?” Thea asked, and leaned even closer to Liv as her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve had this power a lot longer than you, and I actually know how to use it. I will not hesitate to rip off your head and spit down your throat if you do not calm the hell down. ”
The back door slammed shut, and Liv instantly retracted her teeth, and her eyes changed back to normal. Thea didn’t let go of her throat, though, so Liv remained hovering over her, even after Thea heard Penn’s wet footsteps on the floor as she walked into the living room.
“What is going on here?” Penn asked, and Thea finally let go of Liv, allowing her to sit back down on the couch. “I leave for a few hours, and come home to this? I thought I told you girls to play nice. ”
“We were playing nice,” Liv said sunnily. “Thea and I were just getting to know each other. ”
“Yeah, we were having a real heart-to-heart,” Thea muttered, and sat up straighter on the couch.
Penn stood to the side of the living room, eyeing the two of them, and said, “It looks like it. ”
“You’re all wet,” Liv said. “Were you out swimming?”
“I was out taking care of something,” Penn replied, and sat down in a chair, seemingly not caring that her dress was soaking wet and would dampen the furniture.
“Oh, I was wondering if we could go swimming. Thea said I had to wait until you got back,” Liv said.
“Maybe later. ” Penn smiled briefly at her, then turned her attention to Thea.
“Because I’ve been sitting inside all afternoon without anything to do—” Liv began, but Penn held up her hand to cut her off.
“Have you talked to Gemma today?” Penn asked Thea, completely ignoring Liv.
Thea picked up her script from where she’d set it aside on an end table and pretended to be immersed in it. “She texted me to ask why I wasn’t at rehearsal. ”
“Do you know if she’s still searching for the scroll?” Penn asked as she combed her fingers through her long hair.
Thea kept her eyes fixed on the page and her face as expressionless as possible when she said, “She hasn’t said anything lately. ”
“What scroll?” Liv asked.
Penn glared at her. “The scroll you were supposed to be watching out for. Remember? Back when the plan was for you to stay with Harper and make sure she didn’t figure out how to kill us all. You were supposed to find out what she knew about the scroll, but instead, you threw a fit, and now you’re here. ”
“Oh. ” Liv paused. “That scroll. ”
“Yes, that one,” Penn said, and rolled her eyes.
“But … you guys still have it, right?” Liv asked.
“I have it under lock and key,” Thea lied, and avoided making eye contact with anyone.
She’d given Gemma and Harper the scroll last week, but if Penn found out, she’d kill her. Not figuratively, but literally rip off her head, tear out her heart, and murder her. Penn had put Thea in charge of the scroll because she didn’t trust Lexi with that kind of responsibility, and Penn was too busy playing with Daniel to concern herself with it.
That was the one good part about Liv’s leaving college. If she snooped around Harper long enough, she’d have been bound to figure out that they had the scroll, and Penn would eventually deduce that Thea had given it to them.
That didn’t change the fact that Liv was psychotic and couldn’t handle a simple assignment.
“Where is it?” Liv asked.
Thea cast her a look. “Like I would trust you with that information. ”
“What would I do with it? I don’t want to hurt you guys. ” Liv smiled warmly at them. “You’re my family. ”
“It’s better if you don’t know,” Penn said. “The fewer people that know, the safer it is. ”
“Well, if Thea has it, then Harper or Gemma obviously don’t. So we’re safe. What does it matter if I’m at college or not?” Liv asked.
“Why don’t you just go out and swim for a while?” Penn suggested. She kept her tone amazingly even when she talked to Liv, using more self-discipline than Thea knew she had.
“Really?” Liv asked, and practically jumped off the couch.
“Penn,” Thea hissed. “She shouldn’t be unsupervised. ”
Penn waved off Thea’s concern. “She can handle it for a few minutes. I’ll come out and join you, so stay close to the bay. ” As Liv darted off to the back door, Penn called after her, “And don’t kill anyone! I mean it. ”
“I won’t. Thank you!” Liv shouted as she ran out the door.
“It’s so ridiculous. ” Penn shook her head. “We have one siren who refuses to feed and another one who won’t stop. Maybe we should have Gemma and Liv hang out together, and they can rub off on each other. Then they’ll end up somewhere in the middle. Like me. ”
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“You think you’re in the middle? You eat like once a week,” Thea said.
“It’s better than Liv, who thinks she should eat three times a day. And your once-a-month diet is impossible. ”
“It’s not impossible. ”
“What was all that about when I came in?” Penn asked.
“Nothing much. Just that Liv is totally insane and horrible and way worse than Lexi and Gemma combined. ”
“She’s not so bad,” Penn insisted. “She’s new. Give her time. ”
“Really?” Thea arched an eyebrow. “That’s the card you’re playing now? You were ready to behead Gemma for much less. ”
“We’ve got two horrible sirens, and we need to make at least one of them work. ”
“And your money’s on Liv?” Thea was dubious.
“My money’s not on anyone right now. ” Penn sighed and stood up. “I should probably go out and join her. ”
“You’re really going to swim with her?” Thea asked.
Penn shrugged. “Why not?”
“You’ve been swimming for a while,
” Thea said. “I mean, I assumed you were out stalking Daniel, too, but it couldn’t have taken that much time. ”
“I wasn’t stalking him. ” Penn laughed and started walking toward the back door. “And I swam around for a bit after I talked to him. ”
Thea got up and followed Penn. “How did it go?”
“What?” Penn stopped near the kitchen island and turned back to face Thea.
“Your talk with Daniel. Based on your current good mood, I’d guess it went fairly well. ”
Penn smiled coyly. “Don’t worry about it. ”
“Why are you sneaking off to see Daniel anyway? Why don’t you just tell me that’s where you’re going?” Thea asked. “I know you are, and I don’t care that you have some weird crush on him. ”
Penn laughed and put a hand on either side of Thea’s face, almost cradling it as she spoke to her. “Thea, my dear sister, I love you. But we’ve spent nearly every day of our entire lives together. This is something that I want to keep private. Just for me. Let me have it. ”
Then Penn leaned forward, giving Thea a quick peck on the cheek before turning around and walking away.
“Okay…” Thea was too dumbstruck to talk for a second. “What’s going on? You’re freaking me out. Did Daniel do something to you?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Penn assured her as she opened the back door. “And don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I’ll get Liv under control, and this will all work out. I promise. ”
Penn laughed again, then shut the door behind her. Through the broken window, Thea watched as she jumped off the cliff.
Thea put her hands on the back of her head and let out a deep breath. Penn’s attempts at calming her only made things worse. Whenever Penn assured her that everything would turn out okay, things always went to hell.
So if the past was any indication, all of this was going to end up very, very bad.
SIX
Breathless
It was still strange, waking up in a house without Harper. The laundry wasn’t magically folded in the basket, and the dishes didn’t miraculously do themselves. Gemma didn’t mind stepping up and filling the hole her sister had left at home, but it still felt very weird.
The freedom was nice, not that Harper wasn’t still texting and calling her all the time. Gemma wasn’t completely sure how Harper managed to get schoolwork done, but knowing her, she was probably finishing it all, along with extra credit assignments.
The biggest thing Harper’s absence had left her with was time to think. Gemma no longer had somebody across the hall to discuss things with. She had told her dad everything now, but it wasn’t the same as talking to Harper.
As Gemma scrubbed the dishes from last night’s supper, her mind wandered to all the things that worried her. Like if she would ever really be able to break the curse, and what was taking Lydia so long with the scroll translations.
And why had Thea skipped play practice the night before? Thea claimed she had to babysit Liv while Penn ran an errand, but she refused to explain beyond that.
Daniel had shown up late for rehearsal last night, and he’d seemed out of sorts. Gemma tried to talk to him about it, but he’d just brushed her off. She couldn’t help but fear that Thea’s absence and Daniel’s uneasiness were tied together.
Elegy Page 4
