Chapter 12
Charlie slept fitfully that night. Several times, she awoke from the same dream: a pack of adorable squirrels surrounded her where the forest met the beach.
When she bent down to scatter breadcrumbs for them, they transformed into an army of enormous Fenrir, bodies growing so quickly they flattened the seagrass and toppled trees, destroying everything around them.
She turned and sprinted down the beach, but the Fenrir followed, snarling and slobbering as they came closer, closer, closer …
Each time she awoke, she was in a cold sweat, the taste of sheer terror on her tongue.
Her limbs tangled in her sheets, darkness pressing down from all sides.
She reached out until her fingertips brushed the soft felt of Henry’s hat, until she heard the whistle of his breath.
Only then could she steady her breathing and drift back to sleep.
When she finally woke to light streaming in through the curtains, she was exhausted, as if the fits of sleep had been worse than no rest at all.
It was Tuesday, their day off from training with Bjorn and Vidar, which meant she’d gotten to sleep in. Thank the gods for that.
She rolled out of bed and shuffled over to the dresser, Henry hopping down after her, running circles around her feet.
He always had the zoomies first thing in the morning.
His tiny footsteps flew across the carpet as she dug through her clothing, looking for a clean pair of dark jeans.
It was early October, the weather still nice but getting cooler with every day.
Her uniform lately had been jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, and she didn’t see any reason to change that now.
After getting dressed and brushing her teeth, she and Henry headed downstairs.
She jogged down the stairs, Henry bouncing ahead of her as always. She heard her mom laughing down in the kitchen—probably on the phone with one of her many friends, even this early in the morning. There was no one whom Trish Hudson couldn’t charm.
Those same friends used to joke that Charlie was a carbon copy of her mother. That she had inherited every bit of her mom’s personality, from her love of adventure down to the strange, upside-down way that she laced her shoes.
Then Sophie died, and Charlie had learned to tie her laces right side up.
I am not her anymore, she reminded herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs, following Henry’s path toward the kitchen.
I am not the sad, grieving mess who could do nothing but shuffle cards and rewind YouTube videos.
I am a woman with purpose. I will find out who is controlling Rattatosk.
I will turn Elias back into a human. I will—
Charlie froze.
Elias.
He was right there. In the kitchen. Sitting in the breakfast nook across from her mom.
“Charlie!” her mom exclaimed when she spotted her daughter in the doorway. She beamed over her coffee cup, gesturing to Elias. “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend came back from music school!”
Panic rocketed through Charlie’s stomach. “He’s not my—”
“Yeah, Charlotte,” Elias said, cutting her off. He laid a hand on his heart in a gesture that, to her mom, might actually look sincere. “I can’t believe you forgot to tell your mom that music school was only temporary.”
Crap.
Crap, crap, crap.
Elias and her mother. Sitting at a table together, discussing Odin only knew what. It was, if possible, the very worst thing that could be happening at that moment.
What was Charlie supposed to do? Yell? Tell her mom to get away, that Elias was a liar, that he was dangerous and they never even dated in the first place? If she ever began to explain why any of those things were true, it would only put her mother in more danger.
This morning coffee was a strategic move on Elias’s part. He was demonstrating the ease with which he could slide back into her life. How he could hover threateningly around the people she loved, and she was powerless to stop him.
It was a perfect example of why Charlie needed to turn him back into a human. If Elias wasn’t a mare anymore, he wouldn’t be able to walk through walls or create weapons from nothing or fight with the strength of ten men. He would only be as dangerous as any other teenage boy.
I will make Elias human again.
Yesterday, thinking those words had felt like seeing the sun for the first time.
It was such an obvious path forward; how had she not considered it sooner?
However, as she watched him exchange fond words with her mother, she was forced to face the biggest problem with her plan: Charlie had no idea how to turn a mare back into a human.
She didn’t even know if it was possible.
She needed to start digging for information. Now.
“Oh,” she said, forcing a smile onto her face that she hoped her mom would see as real. “Right. I was just … too overwhelmed. With excitement, of course.”
Elias’s mouth twitched.
“But what a wonderful surprise!” Her mom clapped. “Come sit, darling. Let’s all have breakfast and catch up.”
“Actually,” said Charlie, glaring at Elias, “I should probably be going.”
“Going?” Her mom knitted her eyebrows in confusion. “Where? I thought today was your day off from the nursing home?”
“Nursing home?” Elias asked.
“Oh yes. Did Charlie not tell you? Abigail signed them all up to volunteer at a nursing home four mornings a week.” She shot Elias a conspiratorial grin. “It’s crazy, if you ask me. You couldn’t have paid me to get up at five thirty in high school.”
“No kidding.” A grin crept up Elias’s face. “How amazing. Charlie and her friends really are so selfless, aren’t they?”
Charlie wished she could sew her mother’s lips together.
“But no,” said Elias. “She’s not going to a nursing home this morning. Actually, we’ve been assigned to work on the same project this week. A low-key one, but we don’t want to waste any time getting started.” He winked. “Right, babe?”
Low-key. Loki. He had to be kidding.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” said her mom. “Charlie’s grades have been slipping the last few weeks. I’m sure you’ll help get her right back on track.”
“Mom,” Charlie said, face heating.
“Oh, don’t worry, Trish.” Elias’s gleamed with mischief. “I’ll be sure to keep her on the straight and narrow.”
“Well,” Charlie said loudly. “We should probably get going. Don’t want to waste any time we could spend researching. Right, babe?”
“Quite right.” Elias set his coffee mug down and pushed himself up from the breakfast nook. “I’ll drive us to school.”
Oh, Hel no. The idea of being taken the-gods-only-knew-where in Elias’s car with no means of escape did not sit well with Charlie.
“Oh, that’s okay,” she said quickly. “I can drive separately, in the Bronco.”
“Charlie.” Her mom eyed her daughter sternly, then picked up her phone and pushed her reading glasses down onto her nose.
She grabbed her coffee with her free hand and looked down at her phone, starting to scroll through notifications.
“What did I say last night? There’s no need for you to drive if your boyfriend’s car is already here.
Let Mason have a turn with the Bronco today. ”
Charlie had to stop herself from groaning. If her mom knew what they were really up to, she’d be singing a very different tune indeed.
“Fine,” she said, glaring at Elias while her mother was distracted with her phone. “But I’m back on carpool duty tomorrow. Can’t subject Lou and Abigail to Mason’s driving forever, or—”
A sudden gasp and crash cut Charlie off midsentence. Her mom had dropped her coffee mug, shattering it and spilling hot, dark liquid all over the wooden floor. She didn’t seem to notice; her attention was entirely focused on her phone screen. She gaped at it with wide eyes.
“Mom?” Charlie rushed to her mother’s side as Elias whirled around, scanning the kitchen for signs of danger. “Are you okay? What is it?”
“It’s…” Her mom shook her head, trying to find the words. “I can’t…”
At last, she gave up, turning her phone to face Charlie and Elias. It was open to the front page of their local news station. The top headline:
TWO MORE CHILDREN FOUND DEAD IN SILVER SHORES HARBOR