Consort of Thorns

by Eva Chase

  Time to just get it over with. Derek had gone to his room after breakfast, saying his ribs were hurting him. The witch Dad had managed to summon had sealed the cracks, but he was still bruised up. Dad would be back in his office. I could catch him there, lay it all out like I’d meant to yesterday, and see where we went from there.

  As I was heading for my door, my phone rang in my purse. I hesitated. Who’d be calling me? It was my regular phone, and I didn’t normally hear from anyone on it outside of the family.

  With a grimace, I backtracked and fished the phone out of my purse. I didn’t recognize the number.

  I raised it to my ear. “Hello?”

  “Rosalind,” a clear, haughty voice carried through the speaker. My heart lurched with the thought that it was Celestine, defying my magic and my orders. Then I realized it sounded far too young. The next words confirmed my suspicion. “I hope you’ve got some explanation for what’s happened to my mother.”

  “Hi, Evianna,” I said, dropping into my armchair. It was my older stepsister, who I enjoyed talking to only slightly more than I’d enjoyed spending time with her mother. Which was not at all. I felt a lot less guilty playing ignorant with her than I did with my Dad. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, please. Something clearly sent her running away from your estate without letting any of us know what was wrong. Don’t tell me you have no idea why. It’s probably your fault.”

  If she thought that attitude was a good way to get me talking, she had another thing coming. “I honestly don’t know,” I said, almost enjoying the lie. “I got up the other morning and she was just gone. Maybe it was something between her and my father? Or maybe she was involved in things we didn’t know about at all. She didn’t bother to tell us. If anyone should know, wouldn’t it be you?”

  “Yes,” Evianna said snippily. “That’s exactly how I know she must have been forced out, suddenly. Otherwise she would have talked to me first. And it must have been something horrible for her not to talk to me about it after. You Hallowells think you’re so above most of the rest of us. But believe me, if you’re not going to talk, I will find out some other way.”

  I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. “I don’t know what you think I could have done. Your mother was a fully-fledged witch. I haven’t even come into my magic yet.”

  “We both know there are ways of getting around that. Tools you could have acquired. Friends you might have turned to for help.”

  Except I hadn’t. “Why don’t you just talk to your mother?” I said. Let Celestine make up some excuse. She’d gotten herself into this mess, really. She’d created it.

  Evianna drew in a sharp breath. “I would have liked to,” she said, sounding suddenly ragged. “If I’d know where she was before…”

  My body tensed at her use of the past tense. Wait a second. “What are you talking about?” I said. “Before what?”

  “Oh, so you aren’t gloating over that already?” She sniffed, a hitch of what sounded like genuine grief creeping into her voice. “She’s gone. There wasn’t time for a witching medic to get to her. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. The way the car… I had to go identify her, you know.”

  My heart thumped hard. “What car? Evianna, I don’t know what you mean.”

  Except I did. She’d said enough. I just needed her to confirm it.

  “She died last night,” Evianna snapped. “A car hit her. Some stupid unsparked asshole. All right? But it’s not just on him. It’s on you and your father and whoever else there that chased her away… She couldn’t have been thinking right. She mustn’t have been paying enough attention. Too distracted worrying about whatever sent her running in the first place. So I’m asking you again—what happened there last week?”

  I couldn’t find my words. Celestine was dead? Dad had just gone to see her two days ago. And now…

  A chill crept over me as I remembered what Ky had said about the Assembly’s report, the witch and her unsparked lover. Both of them killed in supposed accidents. Maybe Dad had found out more from Celestine than he’d told me. Or maybe someone else had.

  A car might have hit her, but what were the chances it had really been an accident?

  Chapter Twenty

  Damon

  Normally I felt pretty good when I finished a job for Silvio. Like I’d pulled one over on the assholes in this town, all those pricks I knew looked down on me when they bothered to look at me at all. But this afternoon, as I ambled through our pathetic excuse for a downtown, my mood felt a lot like the sky overhead: hazy with shifting clouds.

  My footsteps sounded too loud on the sidewalk. The muggy heat congealed against my skin, but at the same time I felt too exposed without the familiar weight of my jacket.

  Silvio’s guy had teased me about the lack of leather jacket when I’d shown up at the meeting spot, even though I’d have been sweating buckets if I had worn it. And he’d mentioned their “successful” rendezvous with Derek yesterday, with a meaningful look I hadn’t liked at all.

  They shouldn’t think it was a favor or that I owed them anything. I’d made up some story about how I’d overheard the guy talking about moving in on their territory, pretended he was one of those posher city criminals. It wasn’t like Silvio’s bunch minded the excuse to push around some slick Mercedes-driving dude. But my nerves still itched at the memory of Silvio’s raised eyebrows and the questions Rose had asked me yesterday.

  It was really too early to head home, but I didn’t much feel like figuring out where Brad and George had gotten to and loitering around Main Street with them. Maybe I just needed to take my mind off all this crap. Crack open a beer, put some action flick on the TV, and see if I didn’t feel better by the final explosion.

  I was just changing direction when Gabriel stepped out of the town’s auto service shop in front of me. He had a plastic bag that looked heavy slung over his forearm, but he carried it like it was nothing, of course. Goddamn unshakeable Gabriel.

  “Hey,” he said, and tipped his head toward the shop. “I had to pick up a couple parts for the garage.”

  “Sure,” I said with a shrug, like it wasn’t anything to me. Which it wasn’t. “Don’t let me stop you from heading back. I’ve got my own stuff to do.” All my big plans. The fact that I didn’t have any somehow made me feel more ticked off at him.

  Gabriel gave me that look he’d had even when we were kids, casual but considering. Never intrusive, exactly, but a prickle ran over my skin at the thought of what he might be seeing. As if he had any right to make judgments when he’d only just gotten back in town.

  I started to walk away, but Gabriel made a quick gesture with his hand, beckoning me out of the way of the shop’s door, closer to the building where we weren’t stopping foot traffic. My gut tensed, but I went. It was Gabriel. He might have something important to say, as much as I hated to admit it.

  He glanced at the sidewalk and then at me, with that considering look again. His mouth slanted down. I braced myself for some kind of criticism.

  “We haven’t had much of a chance to catch up since I got back,” he said quietly. “But I know things were tough for you even before I left. I was distracted by how things were going with my dad, and—but that’s not really an excuse. I wish I’d been around to help more. It wasn’t quite the same for the other guys, was it?”

  For a few seconds, I could only stare at him. Was Gabriel… apologizing to me? I didn’t even know what to say to that. Only that an uncomfortable thickness had formed in my throat. I swallowed.

  “I got by,” I said, aiming for nonchalant. My voice came out a bit rough anyway.

  “Yeah, you did.” His smile slanted too. “I know a lot has changed. I just wanted to say that, and—if you ever do want to talk with someone who maybe can understand…” He spread his hands.

  “Right,” I said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I said it like a dismissal, and Gabriel caught my tone. He nodded to me w
ith a quirk of his smile and headed down the street. I pushed myself on toward home, trying to shake off the weird feeling his offer had given me. I didn’t want to be feeling grateful toward Gabriel.

  Then I forgot all about him when I turned the corner toward the house that held my basement apartment.

  Two figures were standing outside the house. One of them was the broad, frowning James Cortland.

  Shit. Whatever he was here for, it couldn’t be good. I glanced for the nearest driveway to bolt up, but his head had already turned, his narrow eyes fixing on me.

  What good would running do anyway? He obviously knew where I lived.

  I let myself keep walking, keeping my expression bland as if I had no idea who this guy was. I didn’t know how much he knew. Maybe he didn’t know much at all. He sure as hell wasn’t learning anything new from me.

  The woman at Cortland’s side was about half his size, middle-aged with light red hair pulled back into a bun. Her dark gaze was even sharper than his. She nodded once as I reached them, and a prickle ran down my back.

  I hadn’t seen her do anything magical, but I knew it. She was a witch, like Rose. And not like Rose at all.

  I moved as if to walk around them, and Cortland held out a meaty hand. “Hold on a second there,” he said.

  The longing for the shield of my jacket rose up again, as if it could have protected me from whatever magic these two were planning. I made myself shrug and gave them a puzzled look. “What do you want?”

  “I think you’ll be able to tell me what happened to this,” Cortland said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Cracks splintered the screen where I’d stomped on it before tossing it into a public trash can—because really, did this prick who’d been helping Rose’s stepmom scheme against her deserve his phone back in working condition, if he’d ever managed to find it? I didn’t think so.

  But he had found it. And then he’d found me. I caught myself just before my gaze slid to his companion. Her magic—that must have been how.

  “Well,” I said, “it looks like you broke your screen. Since it’s your phone, not mine, I’m not sure why you think I’d know how you managed it.”

  “You probably think you wiped it off,” the woman said in a dry voice. “Not well enough.”

  I had wiped my fingerprints off it, but I guessed not well enough to evade her magic. Okay. My throat tightened, but I kept my voice steady. If I’d left some trace of skin or whatever the hell she’d used to track me down, that was all it could have been. A trace.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “I saw a phone on the street the other day, picked it up to see if it belonged to one of my friends, but it didn’t, so I left it. If that’s the one, that’s all I know about it. It wasn’t even cracked when I saw it.”

  The pair didn’t look convinced. Well, what were they going to do to me? Start throwing around magic right here in the middle of the street? A car rumbled by us. Some lady was rocking her kid back and forth in his stroller down by the corner. I knew how much Rose’s people liked their secrecy.

  I was about to tell them to take their suspicion and shove it up their asses when Cortland narrowed his eyes even more and said, “You’re one of the boys Rosalind used to run with, aren’t you?”

  A jab of ice cut through my stomach. “Rosalind?” I repeated as if I didn’t recognize the name, but I wasn’t sure I’d managed to stop my expression from twitching.

  “Rosalind Hallowell,” Cortland said, slow and dark. “Or Rose, if you prefer. When was the last time you saw your old ‘friend’?”

  My heart had started to thud. He’d only just recognized me. He didn’t know a thing. I kept my tone as even as I could. “Rose? I haven’t seen her in ages. They all moved off somewhere years ago. What does she have to do with anything?”

  That last question might have come out a little too aggressive. Cortland shifted a step closer. And his witch accomplice came with him. It was even harder not to eye her hands, wondering if she was going to cast some spell with them now. But I wasn’t supposed to know anything about witches.

  “Why don’t you tell us what she has to do with this?” Cortland said.

  “You know, this is getting a little too weird for me,” I said. “I told you everything I know. Unless you’re some kind of cops and you can show me your badges, I’m out of this conversation.”

  I moved to cut across the lawn toward the driveway, and Cortland caught me by the elbow, jerking me to a stop. I flinched and spun to face him again.

  “Look here, you little piece of trash,” Cortland said, his voice dropping lower. “We’ve got more questions, and you’re going to answer them.”

  Every part of my body bristled at the insult. Who the hell was he to call me trash? My shoulders tensed, my hands balled into fists.

  And Cortland? He fucking laughed.

  “Do you think I’m going to be intimidated by some pathetic punk like you? I could flatten you in an instant.”

  Him? Not a chance. The urge to tell him exactly what I thought of him and what he’d done to Rose rushed through me. Let’s see who felt so high and mighty when he realized I knew exactly what kind of scum he was.

  I inhaled sharply—and a triumphant gleam flashed in Cortland’s eyes. My throat closed up.

  This was a fucking game to him. He was trying to rile me up so I’d say something stupid.

  I almost had.

  No. No way. I drew in another breath, unclenching my hands. I wasn’t going to screw anything else up for Rose. Calm and careful, that was what she said she needed. So that was what I’d be for her.

  I could be so much better than this asshole thought I was.

  “I just want to get home and relax,” I said, shaking my head. “I have no idea who you are or why you think you can talk to me like that, and I sure as hell don’t feel like talking more. I’m sorry I briefly touched your phone. Maybe don’t leave it lying on the sidewalk if you’re going to get so worked up about things like that?”

  I yanked my arm out of Cortland’s grasp. He reached for me again, and I pulled my own phone out of the back of my jeans.

  “Do I have to call the actual cops?” I looked from him to his witchy friend and back. “Leave me alone. I have no idea what happened to your phone or what Rose Hallowell is up to these days, and frankly, I don’t give a shit either. After what her family did to my mom, I hope I never see that bitch again.”

  Talking about Rose that way made me wince inwardly, but I was pretty sure it was what sold Cortland. His lips twisted as he backed up.

  “Watch your mouth,” he said, as if what I’d said about Rose was any worse than what he’d said about me. “And don’t mess with things that aren’t yours.”

  They walked away, Cortland muttering to his companion. My bluff had worked. I held my posture straight as I strode over to my apartment’s door, but as soon as I’d shut that behind me, my shoulders sagged.

  Damn. Maybe Rose had been right about the phone too. I wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known he’d come chasing after me like that.

  She needed to know he’d been sniffing around here. Maybe he’d try to trip her up somehow too.

  I sent her a quick text—We need to talk.—and poked around in my fridge for an early dinner. I didn’t have much of an appetite now, but the thought of trying to veg out in front of a movie was no longer appealing.

  I’d given up on the fridge and was debating between ordering for pizza or Chinese when my phone’s text alert went off.

  What’s wrong? Rose had answered.

  Is it safe to go into details over the phone? I wrote back.

  There was a pause. I don’t know. And you know what, it’d be good to see you anyway. I’ll come to you.

  My pulse hiccupped. What if Cortland was still keeping an eye on the house—with his witchy friend who might be able to sense Rose’s magical protections?

  No, I wrote quickly. I don’t think you coming into town is a good idea right now. But�
��shit, could I even go to her? What if that witch had cast some spell on me I hadn’t noticed? Better if I come to you. Is there any way I can make sure I haven’t got some kind of tracer on me or something?

  I didn’t have to explain what I meant any more than that. I can make sure you’re clear of any magic, Rose said. Where are you right now?

  At my apartment.

  Okay. Wait a few minutes before you leave. I’ll take care of it.

  Just like that. My lips curled into a grin. That was my girl. Meet you by the pond in half an hour?

  I’ll be there.

  She left off with a heart emoji. Damn if it didn’t make my actual heart squeeze a little.

  I waited a few minutes like she’d said to. Nothing changed that I could feel, but Rose knew what she was doing. Just to be cautious, I swung around back of the house, cut through someone’s yard, and took a slightly roundabout route through town.

  There was a good spot to hop the wall partway around the estate. I was ambling along the lonely country road, nose full of the smells of fresh grass and clover, when a pickup truck came into view up ahead with a growl of an engine. My first instinct was to dive for the brush along the shoulder and hide. Then I realized I recognized the truck.

  It pulled over to the shoulder across from me, and Seth leaned out the open window. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing up this way?”

  I raised my eyebrows at him. “What do you think?”

  His mouth twitched. Was that a smile from the killjoy? “What are you doing?” I added, my gaze sliding to the back of the truck. A few boards protruded from the bed.

  “Just a construction job out this way,” Seth said. He hesitated. “Look, I’m sorry about the other day. The whole job thing. I still think staying mixed up with some of those guys is a bad idea, but I handled it badly.”