Poison Princess

does?”

His shoulders had stiffened at my tone. “Or maybe I help you along because you would slow me down otherwise.”

“Oh,” I’d said, on the verge of getting my feelings hurt “like that.” But then I’d wondered if maybe Jackson had snapped at me because I’d found a chink in his tarnished armor.

Which would mean that he did like me, and did think of himself as my beau.

That would also explain why he got so mad whenever my stomach growled. A boy like Jackson would be protective of any girl he thought “belonged” to him, and frustrated that he couldn’t provide for her.

Of course, this was all speculation. More likely, as Jackson repeatedly told me, I just didn’t understand boys whatsoever.

After all, why would he like me? I was still the same old Evie, the one he’d ridiculed and cursed. I wasn’t exactly this team’s critical asset. On the road, my skill set consisted of fussing over any injuries he sustained, biting back every complaint, and occasionally speaking French with him; it seemed to relax him.

He’d considered me useless before the Flash. When he’d first seen me afterward, he’d summed me up with one word: de’pouille. I had no illusions that I’d changed his opinion of me.

Still, when I found a copy of Robinson Crusoe on the library shelves, I’d secretly slipped it into my pack to give him later.

“Behind me, Evie!” Jackson snapped. He had his gun against his shoulder, aiming toward a house. I didn’t ask, just hurried behind him.

A middle-aged man stood on a front porch with his own rifle aimed back at us. Three preteen boys cowered behind him. Everything in the guy’s bearing said, Keep walking, strangers.

So we did, Jackson easing past, me walking behind. Yet then the man’s gaze darted from Jackson’s gun . . . to me, and lingered.

At once, fury seemed to roil within Jackson. “Lower that piece, old man, or I’ll drop you where you stand.”

The man didn’t comply. Faceoff.

Then Jackson bit out, “Your boys’ll be next—and I woan waste bullets on them, no.”

At the cruel threat, the man swallowed and gazed longingly at me. Eventually, he lowered his gun.

Keeping him in sight, Jackson squired me down one nerve-racking block. Another. Clear.

Only then did he spare a glance at me, scowling at my loose hair. “Start looking for a hat—or a pair of scissors.”

Cutting my hair? Despite the heat, I shrugged back into my jacket, pulling the hood over my head.

“He actually thought about trying to steal you,” Jackson grated. “To steal you from me.”

I shivered. Something told me the man hadn’t been sourcing for just a nanny.

We walked on, both of us silent. Jackson was still seething, and I remained on edge. We’d just seen what were probably the last four survivors in this town.

All male.

Sometimes I thought I was being stubbornly foolish to believe my grandmother was still alive. But then I’d remind myself that I’d survived the Flash and so had Mom. Maybe there was something in our genes that had saved us?

And Gran would have known to take shelter, to make any preparations she could.

In my heart, I believed she lived. Which meant I had to reach her. At times in the last few days, I’d stared at the picture my mom had held, fighting to recall more of Gran’s teachings.

Slowly, so slowly, I was piecing together that last day with her. I’d recollected more details about all the cards she’d made me study, but especially Death’s.

Against a crimson background, the Reaper had been clad in that black armor, scythe at the ready, riding his pale horse. He carried a black flag, emblazoned with a white rose. His victims—man, woman, and child—had all been on their knees before him, with their hands clasped in pleading.

Though the image had been eerie, I remembered being enthralled with that card more than all the others— even my own. Which had made Gran . . . nervous?

When she’d asked if that card frightened me, or made me really angry, I’d shaken my head firmly. “It makes me sad.”

Gran hadn’t liked that answer at all. “Why would you feel that way, Evie? He’s a villain!”

“His horse looks sick, and he has no friends. . . .”

Now I cast my mind back, delving for more. Yet it seemed like the harder I fought to remember, the further those memories danced out of my grasp.

One thing I’d recalled? Gran’s voice from long ago: “Sometimes you have to let things unfold, Evie.”

I suspected I was putting too much pressure on myself, blocking all my own efforts. But I didn’t know how to stop. . . .

Jackson drew up short. “Look there, Evie.” He jerked his chin at a motorcycle ahead, lying on its side, clean of ash.

“Jackson, careful.”

“The rider got bagged.” He pointed out a dried swath of blood and telltale slime leading from the motorcycle to a darkened bay in a fire station. “They dragged him over there, into the shadows to feed.” With a shrug, Jackson lifted the bike upright, engaging the kickstand. “Key’s in it.”

My eyes darted behind my shades. “Let’s go!”

“Nuh-uh, not without this bike.” He ran one palm along the frame, as reverently as he’d explored my paintings. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

“Should I care?”

As if he were speaking to a child, he said, “It’s a Ducati.”

“So?”

His expression said I’d just blasphemed or something. “This is the bike to end all bikes!” His words thrummed with excitement; he was so the teenage boy at this moment, flipping out over a motorcycle. “And to find it today? It’s a sign, Evie. Things’re turning around for us.” He hopped on, cranking it.

When the engine fired, his lips curled. “She’s got a nearly full tank, too.”

“Can’t we put that gas into a car?”

“None of them around here will be fixed already.” He rifled through the bike’s storage compartments, ruthlessly tossing the dead man’s mementos and pictures to stow his own bag and bow within easy reach. It even had an empty leather holster for Jackson to stick the shotgun. “Perfect fit.” He turned to me. “You ready?”

“I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”

“Pardon? I didn’t hear that right.”

“It’s true. My mom never let me.” I frowned at the small space on the seat that was left for me. “Um, my hood will come off, and I don’t want to cut my hair.”

“We’ll make an exception for this ride. Come on, you.” When I tromped over to him, he reached for my hood, pushing it back over my head. “You’re not scared, are you?”

In answer, I raised my chin and awkwardly climbed behind him. Our bodies now had, like, forty points of contact. I surveyed his back, wondering where I was going to put my hands.

Just when I realized how tightly my jeans had stretched over my thighs, I saw his head dip, his gaze locking on my right thigh, only moving to swing a glance over at my left.

He bit out a choked sound, then put his big, tanned hand flat on my knee. Even through the denim, his palm was scalding.

“Jackson!”

He balled it into a white-knuckled fist. The idea that I’d affected him in such a physical way made my breaths go shallow.

Without warning, he reached his arm back and wrenched me even closer to him, until I was flush against his