Obsidian

you out. One minute you aren’t bad and then you are the biggest ass on the planet.”

“But I have bonus points.” He caught up with me, always shining the light far enough ahead of me so I could easily make out exposed roots and rocks. “I do, right? Bonus points from the lake and our walk? Did I get any from saving you that night?”

“You got a lot of bonus point for your sister.” I shook my head. “Not for me. And if they were my bonus points, you’ve lost most of them by now.”

He was quiet for a few moments. “That blows. It really does.”

I stopped. “Why are we talking?”

“Look, I am sorry about that. I am.” He let out a long breath. “You didn’t deserve the way we acted.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. He sounded genuine and almost sad, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t have a choice in how he acted. Searching for something to say, I settled on what probably wasn’t going to take well. “I’m sorry about your brother, Daemon.” He came to a complete stop, nearly hidden in the shadows. There was such a long gap in silence I wasn’t sure he’d ever respond. “You don’t have any idea what happened to my brother.”

My insides were tight. “All I know is that he disappeared—”

Daemon’s hand opened and closed at his side, the other dangling the flashlight straight down. “That was a while ago.”

“It was last year,” I pointed out gently. “Right?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Just seems longer than that.” He looked away, half of his face coming out of the shadows. “So how did you hear about him?”

I shivered in the chilled air. “Kids were talking about it at school. I was curious why no one ever mentioned him or that girl.”

“Should we have?” he asked.

Glancing at him, I tried to gauge his expression but it was too dark. “I don’t know. Seems like a pretty big deal that people would talk about.”

Daemon started walking again. “It’s not something we like to talk about, Kat.”

That was understandable, I supposed. I struggled to keep up with him. “I don’t been to pry—”

“You don’t?” His voice was tight, movements stiff. “My brother is gone. Some poor girl’s family will probably never see their daughter again, and you want to know why no one told you? ” I bit my lip, feeling like a jerk. “I’m sorry. It’s just that everyone is so…secretive. Like, I don’t know anything about your family. I’ve never seen your parents, Daemon. And Ash hates my guts for no reason. It’s weird that there are two sets of triplets that moved here at the same time. I dumped food on your head yesterday, and I didn’t get in trouble. That’s plain weird. Dee has a boyfriend she’s never mentioned. The town — it’s odd. People stare at Dee like she’s either a princess or they’re afraid of her. People stare at me. And—”

“You sound like those things have something in common.”

I could barely keep up with him. We were moving deeper into the woods, almost near the lake by now. “Do they?”

“Why would they?” His voice was low and taut with frustration. “Maybe you’re feeling a little paranoid. I would be if I’d been attacked after moving to a new town.”

“See, you are doing it now!” I pointed out. “Getting all uptight because I’m asking a question, and Dee does the same thing.”

“Do you think maybe it’s because we know you’ve been through a lot and we don’t want to add to it?”

“But how can you add to it?”

He slowed in his pace. “I don’t know. We can’t.”

I shook my head as he stopped near the edge of the lake and flipped off the flashlight. In the night, the water gleamed like a shined onyx. A hundred stars reflected off the still surface like the night sky, but less infinite. It seemed as if I could reach out and touch them.

“The day at the lake,” Daemon said after a few moments. “There were a few minutes when I was having a good time.”

My breath caught hearing that. There were a few minutes that I’d enjoyed it, too. I tucked my hair back. “Before you turned into Aquaman?”

Daemon was quiet, his shoulders unnaturally tense. “Stress will do that, make you think things are happening that aren’t.”

Looking at him, his striking features lit by the pale moonlight, he didn’t seem real. The exotic eyes, the curve of his jaw, all of it seemed more defined out here. Daemon stared at the dark sky, a brooding and pensive look to his face.

“No, it doesn’t,” I said finally. “There is something…odd here.”

“Other than you?” he said.

Several responses lined up, but I pushed them away. Arguing with him in the middle of the woods at night wasn’t on the top of my list of things to do. “Why did you want to talk, Daemon?”

He clasped a hand on the back of his neck. “What happened yesterday at lunch is only going to get worse. You can’t be friends with Dee, not like the kind of friend you want to be.”

A hot flush crawled down my cheeks, spreading over my neck. “Are you serious?”

Daemon lowered his hand. “I’m not saying you have to stop talking to her, but pull it back. You can still be nice to her, talk to her at school, but don’t go out of your way. You’re only going to make it harder on her and yourself.” Every hair on my body rose all at once. “Are you threatening me, Daemon?”

Our eyes locked. His were full of… what? Regret? “No. I’m telling you how it’s going to be. We should head back.”

“No.” I dug in, staring at him. “Why? Why is it wrong if I’m friends with your sister?”

A second passed, and his jaw tensed. “You shouldn’t be out here with me.” He drew in a harsh breath, his eyes wide. He took a step forward. A warm breeze kicked up, scattering fallen leaves and tossing my hair back. The gust seemed to come from behind Daemon, almost as if it were fueled by his mounting anger. “You aren’t like us. You are nothing like us. Dee deserves better than you, people that are like her. So leave me alone. Leave my family alone.” It was a smack in the face, only worse. Out of everything I was expecting him to say, he went for a doozy. I drew in a deep breath, but it hitched in my throat. I took a step back, blinking away the rush of angry tears.

Daemon didn’t take his eyes off me. “You wanted to know why. That’s why.”

I swallowed thickly. “Why…why do you hate me so much?”

For a brief second, the mask cracked and pain contorted his features. It was so quick, I couldn’t be sure I’d actually seen it. He didn’t answer.

The tears building in my eyes were about to spill down my cheeks. I refused to cry in front of him, to give him that kind of power. “You know what? Screw you, Daemon.”

He looked away. “Kat, you can’t—”

“Shut up!” I hissed. “Just shut up.” I headed around Daemon and started walking. My skin felt hot and cold, my insides burned with fire and ice. I was going to cry. I knew it. That was what that choking feeling was in the back of my throat.

“Kat,” Daemon called out. “Please wait up.”

I picked up my pace until I was almost running.

“Come on, Kat, don’t walk so far ahead. You’re going to get lost. At least take the flashlight!”

As if he cared. I wanted to be free of him before I lost it. There was a good chance I’d hit him. Or I’d cry, because whether I liked him or not, what he had said hurt. Like there was something wrong with me.

I stumbled over a few branches and rocks on the ground I couldn’t see, but I knew I could find my way back to the road. And I could hear him behind me, his feet snapping twigs as he kept up with me.

Raw hurt opened up in my chest. I stomped ahead, needing to get home, to call Mom and somehow convince her that we needed to move, like, tomorrow.

Run away.

My hands curled into fists. Why should I run away? I hadn’t done anything wrong! Angry and disgusted with myself, I tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. I nearly fell flat on my face. I grumbled.