“Maybe we should put on some music,” I offered when the silence was too much.
“I like the quiet,” she threw back in a monotone and played with her makeup—that she no longer wore.
“Come on, Jess. Just a couple of upbeat songs. They’ll cheer you up. I haven’t seen you smile in days.”
“That’s because every time you’re around, I have no reason to smile.” She then smiled a frigid grin through the reflection of her vanity mirror. “I lost my sister because of you.”
I spun around to face her. If we were going to do this, I wanted it to be head-on. As I took a breath to tell her where to stick her smile, I thought about my job to keep her from going dark. I was pretty positive me telling her off wouldn’t be the catalyst, but I couldn’t know for sure. So instead of igniting my snark spark, I painfully swallowed what I really wanted to say. “I miss the old Jess.”
“So do I,” she said under her breath.
Ouch. Jebus jumping jacks. Her tone, coupled with the sadness in her eyes and weighing down her expression, just about broke me. If she couldn’t find her happy place, I’d have to find it for both of us.
With a bright and energetic burst of oomph, I jumped up and turned on my Bluetooth speaker. Once it connected with my phone, I scrolled through my playlist until I found the happiest song I had in my collection. It took a lot of scrolling. Clearly, I had a type when it came to music and happy wasn’t it.
“What are you doing?” she snapped.
I ignored her and started an old song my mom used to play for me, singing about pockets of sunshine and how sticks and stones ain’t never gonna break me. I danced around the room like it was my job, purposely running into things and shouting a curse in time with the beat. I caught Jess smiling more than once.
A knock at the door caused me to pause the music. It was probably one of the neighboring room residents not appreciating an upbeat, silly song so early in the morning. When I opened the door, I deflated. “Well, that killed the mood.”
“Good morning to you too.” Spencer walked into the room, looking too good to be human in his yellow blazer and blazing blue eyes. Jess spotted him and launched out of the chair, rushing to him and literally jumping into his arms. Her little skirt flew up, revealing a G-string.
Gross. I could never unsee that.
He caught her and set her down before her lips connected with his, even leaning out to avoid the kiss. He completely ignored her, which annoyed me and made it extremely awkward.
Jess lowered her head and nodded, as if accepting the reprimand that never happened. It pissed me off, and it wasn’t even directed at me. I unleashed. “You don’t get to blow her off like that. She’s excited to see you, you ass. The least you can do is acknowledge her. Jeez, dude. What’s the matter with you?”
“I’m British. We don’t hug.”
“I call bullshit.”
His eyebrows shot up. “My apologies. I had no idea you were so focused on my relationship with Jess.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her long, kissed her hard, and kissed her completely. By the time he broke their contact, even I was short of breath. “There. Did I redeem myself?”
“I’ll say.” Jess giggled and twirled a lock of her blonde hair.
I wanted to vomit and left the room before I ruined everyone’s shoes. I needed coffee if I was going up in front of the Council. Surrendering one’s title required caffeine. As expected, Spencer followed me, easily catching up.
“Not much of a morning person, are you?”
“I’m not much of a people person,” I corrected. “One person, specifically.”
He flattened his hand on his chest. “Ouch. Surely that wasn’t directed at me.”
“Guess again.”
“Why the hatred toward me? I’ve been nothing but forthcoming with you.”
I stopped and practically charged him. “Are you serious right now? You teleported me into the middle of a ring of fire. You know I need your help on whatever attacked me the other night, yet you’ve done nothing but gloat about the fact I need your help. On top of everything else, I’m about to give up the prophecy to someone I don’t trust.”
He stumbled back as if I’d just struck him, the hurt evident in his fallen expression. “You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t trust you’ll do the right thing if it comes down to it, no.” I held nothing back. If he wanted the truth, he’d get it whether he liked the answers or not. “You’ll do what’s best for Spencer, not what’s best for our world.”
His expression fell even more, along with his shoulders. He looked like I’d just taken his ice cream and popped his favorite-colored balloon. “Is that truly what you think of me?”
“Truly truly. I wish you’d just come out with why you’re really here, because we both know it’s not to train me.”
“Well, then. I suppose…” He trailed off and glanced at the main hall. I did the same, always impressed at how the castle looked like a cross between Hogwarts with all the turrets and staircases, and Buckingham Palace with it being the size of a city block. The castle-like structure even had gargoyles flanking the entrance. “I…I really don’t know how to respond to that.”
Don’t feel bad about this. Do not feel bad about telling him off. As much as I wanted to steel myself against that destroyed look in his eyes, I couldn’t. Feeling like the
