Chapter 28
By the time my head hit the pillow, I was mentally and physically exhausted. But there was no way I was going to get a good night’s sleep, no matter how tired I was. I tossed and turned, unable to shut my brain off, replaying the scene in Liam’s basement over and over.
The pain I’d caused my friends was gutting me, and I could feel Cat, Marina, and Ellie’s deep hurt on top of my own.
Was there a silver lining to this fucking massive cloud? On one hand, it was a relief to have the others finally know the truth. That was good, and maybe Zeed and the guys were right and Marina and Cat would come around.
On the other, I’d already been missing the closeness of my crew since being separated from them at Heathermoor. Our near-death experience had drawn us back together, everyone working in tandem to find the kraken coin. And now we were back to square one. Only worse.
My friends finding out about my connection to Nocta before I had the chance to tell them myself had shaken the trust we’d worked so hard to build, and I couldn’t blame them.
“You fucked up.” I flung my arm over my eyes as if that would help me sleep. From the side table Calypso snorted.
“Some secrets should be kept, Harlow. Do not believe for a second that you did anything wrong. Because some of your so-called friends did exactly what you feared – they judged you. You don’t need that.
Trust me.” She made a rude noise, but when I didn’t answer her, she didn’t continue her monologue.
I’d like to have said I was good with how things had landed. That I was a lone wolf anyway, that this was better for all of us – just like I’d thought all those months ago when I’d been dragged back to Neverthorn.
I wanted to say that Calypso was right and that whatever I decided to share or not share with my housemates was my choice. But that just made me the liar that Marina accused me of being.
The truth was, over the past few months, something inside me had shifted. I cared about them deeply. Every single one of them, and the fact that I’d hurt any of them tore away at my conscience and heart like a pack of hungry dogs.
I flopped on my side and punched my pillow. Something else, think about something else.
“What was that thing that . . . Gary? Yes, your Gary, what did he have in his hands?” Calypso sounded like she was drifting off, a yawn in her voice. “It was very strange looking, even to me.”
“Hmm.” I chose not to engage her even though I had my own questions regarding the rock Gary had found, which Bellamy wanted so badly.
Liam thought that it was possessed, so maybe that meant that it had some kind of spirit in it, from all those years ago, when the Grym Dunaras had been created. Which would be reason enough for the creepy Jinn to want it. But what spirit sounded hungry and scared of the dark?
“Sleep,” I said, as if that would make it happen. I counted backward from a hundred and got stuck at ninety-four before my thoughts spiraled again.
Why had the voices suddenly stopped talking to Gary once he found it? How did we get them talking again? Because that was probably the answer to a lot of questions – like whether we gave it to Bellamy or not.
And if we didn’t give it, I’d never get the bracelet back. I rolled and buried my face in the pillow.
Liam had mentioned going to talk to the Jinn, to try and get Opie’s bracelet back for me . . . but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy. If the Jinn knew there were old spirits inside the rock, then . . . he’d never agree to the bracelet coming back to me. Not for any amount of gold.
The night waned and I slept in fits and starts, circling through every question what felt like a hundred times.
Blurry eyed and heartsore, I headed to the main building for breakfast hoping to have a chance to talk to my friends.
But there were no tables set up, just a single server at a single table handing out a wax wrapped item which was a sausage and egg sandwich.
I lifted my eyebrows. “That’s it?” I wanted – no, needed – coffee. Espresso. Caffeine in any flavor it came in.
The serving lady shrugged and shooed me away. There was a set-up for drinks, and I snagged two cups of black coffee, downing one right away and scalding my throat in the process, then holding the other for later. Not my favorite, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do.
None of my friends were around, no matter that I lingered near the drink table.
Finally giving up, I followed the other students as they headed for the central courtyard.
“What’s going on?” I asked a blonde girl who scurried past with the crowd.
“Change of schedule, apparently. We’re all to attend a Curse Breaking with Sage Thalienne – normally it’s just small groups. The whole school, this could be exciting!”
She shot me a quick wave and then rushed ahead to catch up with the larger group as I lagged behind. I glanced around for my friends again, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Had Thalienne made the change in schedule, or did this have something to do with the Senate? Or worse, had she figured out that we’d stolen from the school?
The coffee swirled dangerously in my guts.
I bit off a chunk of my sandwich and tried not to fall down that rabbit hole.
There was no guessing what was really going on, and it would all be clear soon enough.
For now, I was going to take the win like I’d vowed to do last night.
A giant lecture was better for my psyche, anyway.
The bigger the class size, the less anyone would be paying attention to yours truly.
My brain was filled to the brim, and I was in no shape to keep up.
Who knew? If I stayed far enough in the back, maybe I could even squeeze in a power nap.
We were all assembled in the center courtyard behind the main building a few minutes later, and I found myself more than a little curious about how Thalienne planned to keep an entire school – if I were to guess, close to four hundred students – on track.
She had arranged us in a wheel, not unlike the main crest of both Neverthorn and Heathermoor.
Each house stood on a patch of grass that was delineated from the others with a long strip of burnt ground between each section.
I made an attempt to connect with my friends, but only Fable managed a genuine – and apologetic – smile back.
The others looked away as quickly as possible, even Gary and Ross.
Fair.
But the shunning still stung.
At the center of the circle was a massive oak tree that towered over us, its branches rustling in the snapping winter wind. Typhon arrived with Zeed in tow. He made a motion to Zeed, who nodded and hurried over to me.
Other students were still lining up, slowly shuffling over from the cafeteria.
“Doyen Moreno thought you could use a little help. Since you’re on your own unlike the other houses.”
So much for blending in. But at least I wouldn’t be totally alone. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me.”
He shook his head and frowned. “I tried to talk to them last night, and they . . . they will all come around eventually.”
The relief was instant and all-consuming, and I took his hand and gave it a squeeze, determined to let him feel it. If he could read my thoughts, he’d know the truth for certain. I’d had every intention of telling them all when the time was right. I just made a mistake by waiting too long.
His eyes widened and he tried to pull away.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to –”
“No, it’s okay. I wanted you to see.”
A thought crossed my mind, and I nearly yanked my hand away. Hecate’s tits, what if he saw me and Typhon together the other night, all cozied up?
Zeed went bright red and snatched his hand back. “None of my business. Deleting it from the files. Never happened.”
I rubbed my fingers over my forehead, pitching my voice low. “It’s fine. I’m going to tell them all about that, too.”
He recoiled, his eyes widening in horror, and I threw up my hands, laughing. “Not like that, Zeed. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
He pretended to wipe sweat off his face, then I realized maybe it wasn’t pretend. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine . . . it’s not like mind reading. The stronger the emotion, the more they push on me. I’m getting better at blocking things out, and Doyen Moreno is helping me with that.”
I nodded. “I wondered if it was something like that. So, you saw the Neverthorn Nine too, when you touched my shoulder?”
That was the night we’d lost him. We’d gone to the standing stones hidden behind Neverthorn, and I’d stepped through, saw the massacre of the Neverthorn Nine and then Zeed had tried to pull me out of it.
But he’d put his hand on my shoulder and bam, his Quirk had come online.
Which was when he’d seen that Nocta was my father too, apparently.
“Through your eyes. Your pain for them.” He shook his head. “Sadness, horror, guilt. That’s how I knew who your father was.”
Of course I felt guilty, it had been my father doing the murdering.
I opened my mouth to apologize again, but Zeed shook his head.
“Don’t. I’m not judging you on the sins of your father, Harlow. We’re straight, you and I. Okay? Gary and Ross are already over it, too. For some of the others . . . It’s just going to take a minute.”
My eyes stung with tears of gratitude. I was about to tell him how I felt when there was a crackle of energy in the air.
“Welcome to Curse Breaking,” Thalienne’s voice boomed, seemingly from nowhere . . . and everywhere.
A tinkling bell rose in sound, growing with each tiny peal until it felt as though the sound was inside of me, and then it was gone. My skin itched like tiny ants crawled all over me. I clenched my fingers, and they reacted, but slowly.
Had she just . . . cursed us?
“What was that?” a kid to our right muttered.
Zeed shook his head. “No idea, but it left me itching. I guess we’re about to find out.”
Thalienne walked outside of the circle, her hands tucked into the pockets of her long skirts as she made a slow path around us.