Chapter 21
OPIE
Opie swiped her finger through the air for the dozenth time, drawing an O in a glittery stream of sparks. It lingered for a second, written on the air like ink on a sheet of paper, then flickered out. She’d waited her whole life for this, praying that, someday, she’d get her magic.
But now that it was here, she felt the emptiest she had since her parents had dumped her off like trash on the side of the road, saying she wasn’t one of them anymore.
“Ugh!” She yanked the blankets close as she curled into a tight ball, gritting her teeth as a tap sounded at the window.
Annoying raccoon.
She rolled out of her bed nonetheless, then slid the window open far enough for him to climb inside.
“Any news on . . . anything?” she asked, then winced at the hope in her voice.
She left you here, she reminded herself. Screw her.
He paused for a long moment, studying her expression. “Not much. Harlow is okay, but she’s worried about you.”
“And what’d you tell her?”
His little shoulders rose in a shrug. “The truth. Same as always. That you’re pissed at her, and that you’re avoiding me.”
She scowled, shooing him back toward the window. “You should try telling me the truth, too. You never tell me anything.”
“Calypso’s keeping her cards close to her weird, scaly chest,” he scratched at the fur on his own chest. “Your sister is caught up in something that could change the future of the world, and it’s dangerous to –”
“Enough! I get it. Harlow is super important, blah blah blah, and whatever important stuff she’s doing doesn’t include me.
What’s new?” She turned away, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice despite knowing she wasn’t being fair.
Her heart hurt when she thought of the one person she’d always believed in.
The one person she’d thought she could trust. “You’ve given me your little update, now go. I want to be alone.”
He lingered. “Opie, she cares about you more than anything. If she could’ve brought you –”
“Go!” she spat, fingernails digging into her palm.
How had she let herself be fooled by Harlow’s empty words, for Hecate knew how long?
But she could see it clearly now; Harlow taking her in and being ‘nice’ didn’t mean she was a good sister.
Because a good older sister would have seen how much being here at Neverthorn meant to her.
Instead, she found a way to make it all about Harlow, Harlow, Harlow.
And now, when she needed her most . . . when her magic had finally come in and she had no one to share it with?
The one person who said she’d always be by her side no matter what, was nowhere to be found.
And she hated herself for not hating her for it.
More than that were the words that had come to her, somehow out of the dark.
“This thing? It’s worthless.”
An image of Harlow had shimmered to the forefront of her mind, along with the special bracelet Opie had given her.
The bracelet she’d spent countless hours searching for bits and pieces of, reminders of their adventures together.
It wasn’t a hallucination. Something about her newfound magic was allowing her to see a slice of Harlow’s reality.
And it felt like another knife to the gut.
How . . . how could she have ever believed that Harlow truly cared about her? And why did she still care about Harlow now that she knew the truth? Why was there any hope left in her?
Bandit scurried out the window and down the tree without another word.
She pulled the window shut as the clicking of his claws against stone faded out of earshot.
She’d have to be more careful when it came to using her magic.
If he saw, Harlow would know within hours.
No matter how much he insisted that he was here to look after her, he was still Harlow’s raccoon.
It didn’t really matter if Harlow found out but, as spiteful as it was, hiding her new magic felt like she was getting back at her . . . even just a little.
You know that’s not the only reason, a little voice in her head whispered.
She gritted her teeth as energy bubbled to her fingertips. Nothing she’d seen . . . nothing in the books or any of her classes had ever described magic this way. She could finally draw basic runes and get them to work now, but there was something else . . .
Something darker.
A tingle shot up her arm, arcing all the way through to her spine. It was like it was calling to her . . . urging her to use it. A hunger, begging to be unleashed . . . on anything and everything, shaping the world into whatever she pleased.
Or whatever it pleased. The darkness.
She suppressed a shudder, tamping down on the terrifying surge of energy.
“You’re new to this,” she reminded herself. “It’s fine.”
Magic coming in after so long probably felt like this for everyone. Besides, it only got bad when she fooled around with it for a bit. Like she was letting an animal out of a cage. An animal that didn’t want to go back into its cage once it had tasted freedom.
If Harlow was here, she could –
Opie let out a snarl and a rush of magic shot from her fingertips, leaving a smoking hole in the wall a few feet away. She rushed over to it, palms going clammy. “Oh no.”
Yup, it was a hole alright. Luckily, it led to the closet, where her unbidden blast of magic had incinerated her spare uniform and not her next-door neighbor, Beatrice.
What if it had, though?
Her eyes filled with tears as she pressed her back to the wall and slid to the floor. She hadn’t felt this alone since –
Nope. Not going there.
She didn’t need Harlow. But she did need to confide in someone about what was going on with her soon . . .
Before somebody got hurt.