I think I surprised both of us by throwing my arms around Philip and hugging him as hard as I could. “Thank you,” I said as his arms encircled me. “Thank you for always knowing what to say.”
“Hey, that’s what best friends are for, right?”
“Right.”
“So cheer up! We’re going to eat Chinese food—hey, we should take bets on who’s going to get stabbed by a pair of chopsticks first!”
“Oh, man, that’s a hard bet,” I said. “It’s either your boyfriend or Evan.”
“I don’t know; Alex has been looking for a way to off me for a few years now.”
“It was nice knowing you,” I cracked.
“Thanks a lot, best friend.”
“You’re welcome, best friend.”
***
Everyone joined us in the kitchen and I looked up, instantly meeting Rafe’s eyes. I was scared he would be angry with me for talking about him behind his back, but when he opened his arms, I flew across the kitchen and snuggled against his chest.
“Sorry—” I started.
“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Raising his voice to address the others, he said, “So you’re all here for me, right?”
“Gee, when did your ego get so big?” Evan cracked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“Shut up, Evan,” Rafe and I said in unison. The blond smirked and turned to Alexandra, who sent him a vile look in return. His smile vanished and he jerked away, as if burned.
“Anyway,” Rafe continued, “I’m fine. I’m sorry I’ve been distant, but there’s been a lot of stuff to work through.” As everyone continued to gaze at him expectantly, he spread his hands. “But I’m fine. Sorry you all rushed over here, thinking something was wrong—”
“You are so full of shit,” Evan cut in, his joking manner gone. “How is any of this fine? You’re still in pain from something that should have healed by now, and Silver Moon probably broke the edict by sending a demon to kill your parents. Fine? Are you kidding me right now, Rafe?”
Alexandra had gone pale at Evan’s words. “Excuse me, what the hell is he talking about?” She directed her question to Rafe so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge Evan. I could see the hurt reflected on Evan’s face. “You’re in pain? Silver Moon killed your parents!” Alexandra marched over, pointing a finger in Rafe’s face. He stood his ground, but his eyes had widened in fear. “Someone needs to tell me what’s going on right now!”
I filled her in. I could see Rafe scowling as I told Alexandra he was having trouble playing baseball and hadn’t gone hunting since before he was hurt, but I didn’t care. Maybe Alexandra knew how to help him. Why would we hide this from her?
Except she sank down in a chair at the table (totally ignoring Evan at the same time) and said, “Damn, Fitz. I’m sorry. And the thing about your parents? Silver Moon sent the demon to kill them?”
Rafe and I exchanged a long look.
“What?” Philip asked, instantly picking up on that. “Did you two figure something out?”
Sighing, Rafe said quietly, “I think it was Collins who sent the demon after us.”
“Are you kidding me?” Evan said at the same time Philip and Kain cursed. They were all staring at Rafe in shock, letting me know that this Collins guy was just as bad as Rafe had said.
Maybe even worse.
“Whoa, wait a second,” Alexandra ordered. “Back up. Collins.” She snapped her fingers. “He’s that traveling hunter guy, right? He goes from HQ to HQ looking for students or something? The magically talented ones?”
“He’s a total asshole.” Evan started to put his feet on the table and I glared at him. Looking guilty, he swung his legs back down to the floor. “One of those pompous jerks that thinks he’s better than everyone else—oh hey, Kain, he sounds just like you!”
The stare Kain gave him was bitterly cold.
“No, not like Kain,” Philip said, shaking his head. “He’s cruel, spiteful, ruthless—”
“Still sounds like Kain.” Evan smirked.
“He’s old school,” Philip continued, talking over Evan.
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“He’s more like the hunters from a thousand years ago. The ones who set up Silver Moon and wrote the edict.”
I frowned. “But if he follows the edict, then he’d never summon a demon. Wait— What if he lured it to the apartment like Nina lured Charlotte to HQ?” That would explain the lack of a mark on Collins.
“I can totally see him being above the edict,” Evan said, making a face. “Everyone else has to follow it, except him, since he’s so strong and amazing.”
“He tried to recruit you, right?” I asked Evan. “You too, Phil?”
Philip nodded. “My dad told him no. I didn’t even get to meet with Collins; my dad wouldn’t allow it. He hated Collins because of how he treated Rafe. And there were rumors, bad ones, of what he’d done with other kids.”
“Collins has quite the reputation,” Kain said. “We heard about him, even in London, which is why Dad told him to sod off when he came for me. It was brilliant. Collins turned bright red and stormed out of HQ, and we never heard from him again.” His smile faded as his expression turned grim. “He is powerful, however. Untrained as I was, I could sense his power from across the room. And my dad... We’d faced some of the nastiest demons together, but this was the first time I ever saw him afraid.”
“What do you mean by rumors?” I was almost afraid to hear their answers.
“Collins didn’t like to hear the word ‘no’.” Evan’s voice lowered, his hands clenched into fists as he leaned forward in his chair. “When he tested me, he forced me to cast magic even though I didn’t know what I was doing. Even though I told him I was tired and scared and I wanted to go home. I was only eight and hadn’t been taught anything yet. I thought he was going to show me how to cast magic, but instead, he kept forcing me…”
The room had gone silent as we listened to Evan speak. Even Alexandra was staring at him, the horror visible on her face. She never heard this story before, I realized. Was this something Evan had kept bottled up inside of him for ten long years?
“Eventually he let me go, but with the promise that I would become his student,” Evan continued. “I didn’t have a choice—Collins had already made up his mind. He was going to take me out of New York, away from my parents and Rafe, and we’d travel the world, training and finding other potential students for him. Again I tried to tell him no, but he didn’t listen. I didn’t know what to do, but Rafe’s parents figured out what was going on pretty fast, and Liam and my dad went to HQ to speak with Collins.
“Collins left the next day, and I never saw him again. But Rafe did, didn’t you?” Evan looked up suddenly. “When Liam and Charles were running against each other for the director’s position. You said you saw Collins and Liam arguing.”
“About what?” Alexandra asked.
Rafe shook his head and told her what he’d told me.
She whistled softly. “It definitely sounds like Collins is our guy, Fitz.”
“Have you told my dad yet?” Philip asked.
“No, because I don’t want to bring Collins to New York.” Rafe rubbed at his side absently. “If he finds out Charles is snooping around, he’ll come to stop him.”
“Dad is snooping around already,” Philip reminded him. “But you’d be doing him a favor if you told him your suspicions. He could focus his attention on Collins, see if he was in the area when your parents were killed. It might not even be him, you know.”
“I bet it is,” Evan said darkly.
I found myself agreeing with him.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Rafe said softly.
But he was wrong. This changed everything.
“Now what?” Philip asked. Before I could answer, the doorbell rang, startling me.
“Oh,” I said. “The food must be here.” I slipped out of the kitchen, Rafe following closely behind. He pulled ou
t his wallet before I could grab my money, paying the deliveryman despite my protests and accepting the bag bulging with containers of greasy Chinese food. Already the smell was filling up the room, and my stomach, the evil traitor, let out a low rumble. Rafe gave me an amused glance before asking, “Wait here for a second?”
I nodded, confused, and watched him walk back into the kitchen. The tense silence was broken by the appearance of food as my friends started talking loudly. The sounds of dishes and glasses being taken down from the cabinets filled the air and I smiled to myself, glad that some sort of normality had returned.
Rafe walked back into the front room, his eyes searching my face. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “Is it weird that I am? This stuff about Collins is crazy, and he might not even be involved with what happened to my parents, but for some reason just knowing it makes me feel relieved.”
“I don’t think that’s weird. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been living with these five years.” I sat down on the couch, and Rafe joined me, sitting close enough that our thighs pressed together. “What’s his official position with Silver Moon? Is he one of the higher-ups?”
“He was pretty unique,” Rafe said. “I think it’s because no one liked him. He didn’t manage to recruit Evan, but the kids that he did teach almost always ended up quitting Silver Moon completely. But for some reason no one ever stepped in to stop him.”
“Except your dad. Maybe.” I wished we knew what Liam had been arguing about with Collins! “Did Collins ever get his apprentice?”
“That, I don’t know. Although it is scary to imagine two Collinses.” Rafe shook his head. “I really don’t want him knowing that we suspect him, not when it could lead Collins—or anyone else—straight to you. I know I promised to back off, and not be so overly-protective of you, but—”
“This is completely different.” My fingers folded around my rose necklace as our last fight flashed through my mind, and how I’d been kidnapped two hours after telling Rafe I didn’t need him to protect me. “Can you somehow wipe your mind of all those stupid things I said that night?”
“Only if you forget about all the times I lose my temper and turn scary,” Rafe replied.
“But you’re getting better at not doing that.”
Rafe glanced at his side. “I’ve had help.”
“Even without that, you’ve been getting better,” I insisted.
Leaning closer, Rafe smiled again. “But I don’t know, Gabi. If I’m not running around being overly-protective of you, then what am I going to do with all of my free time?”
“Oh, I think I know a thing or two…” Just before our lips met, the sound of shattering glass came from the kitchen. My eyes widened. “Crap. Someone is killing someone in there. It’s probably Alex killing Evan. What do you think? Should we ignore it?”
Rafe thought it over. “On one hand, no more Evan. On the other hand, we’re going to have to explain the blood and the body to your dad.”
We grimaced. In unison, we got up from the couch and made our way to the kitchen.
Philip was standing in the middle of the room, stock-still with his face the palest I’d ever seen it. Shards of glass from a broken drinking cup littered the floor. For one scary moment I thought Alexandra had decided to kill Philip instead, but I didn’t see any blood anywhere. I can’t leave these guys alone for one second!
Kain hovered by Philip’s side, his handsome face etched with concern. “Philip?”
Philip was staring at a framed photograph clutched between two shaking hands. I didn’t recognize the frame, and as I inched closer, I noticed the layer of dust coating the brown wood.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Kain didn’t look away from Philip as he answered, “I was getting some water when I noticed this frame wedged between your cabinets and fridge. I figured it fell from there—” He indicated the shelf hanging over the window, where we had placed knickknacks and two other framed photos of me and my sister. “—so I went to retrieve it.”
I scooted over so I could see the photo, and all the breath left my lungs in a loud whoosh. “Oh my god, I can’t believe this is still here. Dad got rid of all the pictures with her ages ago!” I took the frame from Philip, cradling it gently in my hands.
Rafe looked at it over my shoulder. “Is that…?”
“Yep, it’s my mom.” I felt the usual knee-jerk reaction deep in my gut whenever I thought about her, but it wasn’t as strong of a feeling as the warmth that began spreading in my chest. Brushing off the dust, I smiled fondly at the woman in a sundress standing in the middle of her garden—our garden—surrounded by brightly-colored blooming flowers, a yellow tulip tucked in her light-brown hair. She held a laughing baby in her arms. “And that chubby baby is me!”
“You were so cute,” Rafe said. “And happy. Look at you laughing!”
“Yeah, which doesn’t explain Phil’s reaction.” I pointed at Baby Me. “Are you horrified at how big I was? Or are you scared of babies or something?”
“My dad keeps a photo on his desk in his office; did you see it, the last time you were there?” Philip’s voice was strained, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the photograph.
“What?” I frowned at the sudden change in conversation. Deciding to humor him, I tried to picture Charles’s office from the last time I’d been there, terrified and angry that our attempt at escaping had been thwarted. I had shouted at Charles and— “There was a frame, but no picture. I remember because after I yelled at him, he slammed the desk and knocked the frame over, breaking it. After he left, I looked at it, but there was no picture behind the glass, which I thought was weird. Well,” I said, “I thought maybe it had been a picture of you, but you pissed him off and he didn’t want to look at you anymore.”
“No.” Philip shook his head rapidly. “No. There was a picture in there, but it wasn’t of me. It was of my mom, Gabi.”
He tapped his finger against the photograph I was holding, his finger landing on the woman’s face and smudging some of the dust that still remained. “It was a picture of her.
“This woman—that’s my mom.”
Chapter Ten
The floor shifted underneath me, like I was on a ship rolling and pitching during a storm. My grip on the frame tightened, and I felt a sudden, irrational, hot streak of anger directed toward Philip. How dare he, I thought. He knew how I felt about my mom, about her leaving, and to say something like that, like he was trying to steal her away for himself—
“Are you certain?” Kain asked Philip.
“Of course I am!” Philip tried to pry the frame out of my hands, but I refused to relinquish my hold on it. “Look, I know this sounds crazy, but Dad had exactly one picture of my mom. Or, at least, only one picture that he’s ever shown me. Do you know how many hours I’ve spent looking at it, wondering who she was, or why she had to die when I was a baby?”
“My mom isn’t dead.” My fury curled around my throat, threatening to choke me. “I don’t know who you think you saw in that picture, but it can’t be my mom. I’m three years younger than you, Phil. Are you trying to tell me she died, then came back to life to have me and Chloe?”
“Gabi, calm down,” Rafe said, watching me shake with rage.
I whirled on him. “How can I calm down? I don’t know if this is Phil’s way of making a joke, but it’s not funny—”
“I’m not,” Philip interrupted. He reached for the frame again, but this time he rested his hands atop of mine, waiting until I made eye contact before continuing. “Shit, Gabi, I would never do that to you. You know that!”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on taking a few deep breaths, in and out, until some of the anger managed to subside. I opened my eyes again; everyone was watching me, waiting for me to regain my composure. “Sorry.” I wanted to smile, but my lips refused to obey me. “I have a lot of baggage, obviously.”
“It’s okay,” Philip said kindly. “I understand. But wh
at I don’t understand is—”
“Why your dad has a picture of my mom.” I paused. “Our… mom?”
Holy crap, I thought, staring at Philip like it was the first time we met, my eyes searching his face for features that were similar to mine. We both had brown eyes, but didn’t, like, a zillion people have brown eyes? And his hair was dirty-blond, lighter than mine or Chloe’s, but Mom’s had been that shade, hadn’t it? I glanced down at the photograph again for confirmation, ashamed I couldn’t remember my own mother’s hair color.
A tear ran down my cheek, splashing against the dusty glass. “Are you my brother?”
“Maybe,” Philip said. “I don’t know. Dad said she died when I was an infant. He told me that more than once. Did he really lie to my face all those times?”
Suddenly, I couldn’t stand to look at the photo any longer. Shoving it into Philip’s hands, I stepped away, running both of my hands through my hair and feeling the need to start screaming or breaking things. Or maybe both. Rafe hovered by my side, and I knew all I had to do was look at him and he’d wrap me up in his strong arms. Instead, I started pacing the length of the kitchen.
“You know what?” I laughed bitterly. “Your dad probably did lie to you, Phil. Mom probably left him, just like she left us. She’s really good at doing that, apparently.”
Philip grimaced. “So, what, she goes around starting families and then abandons them? Who does that?”
“The better question is: Why would someone do that?” Kain asked. “I know none of you are going to like what I’m about to say, Rafe especially, but you’re not going to find the answers to your questions here, in Gabiella’s kitchen.”
I already knew what Kain was going to suggest, but all the same, I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped my lips.
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