“If you’re gonna say you’re sorry for me, so help me, woman, I’ll throw myself out of this moving vehicle,” he mutters, still not removing his eyes from the passing scenery.
“Is this why you want to level up so bad?” I ask, clutching the steering wheel tighter.
He shrugs. “I can’t live my life for Mom. Hell, she’s not even willing to live it for herself.”
“Then why?”
“What else do I have? You’ve seen the state of my house. We’re one of the founding families here in Windhaven and we’re falling apart. Dead broke. The house is in shambles. Mom’s a drunk. Dad left… We’re probably going to be homeless soon. Hell, they took my fucking car,” he says, anger building in his tone.
Something in his pity party sparks the anger inside myself and I shake my head. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. As if your life is so bad. Sure, some shit sucks—but at least no one is actively dying. You’re not being stalked by the Moirai for something you didn’t even do. And if you don’t find a way to break the curse, your entire family tree is going to be wiped out.”
Dominic’s blue eyes widen and he turns to face me. “What?”
“Yeah, welcome to my life right now, Dom. I’m sorry, I’m a shitty friend. I get that. But your life isn’t as bad as you think it is. Does some of it suck? No question. But you still have a full life ahead of you. You can be anyone you want. Hell, be with anyone you want. I can’t even be afforded that luxury without the Angel of Death screwing things over,” I say, snorting to myself.
It feels good to voice my frustrations, even if they’re not actually meant for Dominic.
His eyebrows flick upward and he snickers. “Shit, we’re both a pair, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” I mutter, turning down my driveway and hitting the gas.
In less than a minute, I traverse the rest of the drive and skid to a stop in the front loop of the house. I don’t say a word as I get out of the car and make my way to the front door.
Dominic follows a step or two behind me. I fling my keys on the entryway table and keep going until I reach my bedroom. As I step inside, I reach over, flipping the lights on. The room bursts with illumination as the lamps turn on in unison.
“I’d hate to be the one paying your electric bill,” Dominic mutters.
Allowing my anger to continue fueling me, I ignore his comment as I turn around and place my hands on my hips. “All right, I need you to help me figure out what’s happening with Wade. Then, as promised, I’ll help you level up.”
The words come out colder than I intended, and he cringes.
“No, we have to do the flatline first,” Dominic insists. “Before you got here, I tried to put some feelers out there, but was getting blocked. It’s like there are some magical wards up around him. Who knows, maybe it’s an angel thing. If I level up, I’ll have a better chance of understanding what’s what.”
I narrow my gaze and shake my head, almost a hundred percent sure he’s giving me a line of crap. Especially since Wade’s no longer on the list to become an angel.
“No dice,” I say. “What if you flatline and I can’t bring you back? Did you even think of that?”
“Why do you think I told my mom I loved her,” he fires back, jutting out his chin.
My mouth falls open as I pull up short. “Oh, I didn’t mean…” I say, backpedaling. I blink away my shock and drop my gaze to the floor. I glance up in time to see him roll his eyes and it sets me off again. My jaw hardens and nostrils flare. “Well, even if everything goes according to plan—and it should—I’ll still be a mess if I’m worrying about Wade the whole time. I’ll be no good to you. I still say we do this my way.”
Dominic makes a face, clearly fighting with himself. “Dammit, woman. Fine. Sit your ass down. Let’s see what we can dredge up on your boyfriend. But if I get nothing, we’re switching gears. Get it?”
“Fine,” I spit, plopping down right where I stand like a defiant child.
Dominic saunters over, taking a seat in the middle of the floor with me.
We sit cross-legged opposite each other, and he holds his hands out. I look down at them as if he’s lost his mind.
He glares at me. “Get over yourself. We need to create a circle so I can get a better read on him.”
Reluctantly, I reach out, placing my hands in his.
“All right, I need you to focus on your connection to Loverboy. Think about what’s happening, what you know, what you don’t know. All of it,” Dominic says, sitting up straighter and closing his eyes.
His face settles into a blank slate, clearing off any animosity or emotions from our exchange.
“Focus,” he whispers, tilting his head slightly.
My eyes flicker shut, and I do as I’m asked. I think about Wade…our connection, his birthright, the mark of expulsion, the infection as it took him over, the Moirai—all of it.
The events flicker behind my eyelids and I can tell the information is coming in strong for Dominic, too. He holds still, barely breathing as he consumes the information coming at him.
After a few moments, he says, “The mark—what did you think it was?”
“His father said it was the mark of expulsion. He’s no longer going to be an angel,” I whisper, opening my eyes.
Dominic’s eyes remain shut and his head is tilted, like he’s listening to something in the air.
“Hmmm,” he says, his forehead wrinkling in concentration.
“What? What do you see? What can we do?” I ask, gripping his hands tighter.
“There’s so much haze around it. It’s like it’s all wrapped up in a magical snowball. The Moirai are a part of this. The mark…“ he says,
