Page 6 of Wicked Ties
“Hello, Astrid.” Music blared in the background, and the sound of celebration filled the line.
“No, Dad, it’s me, Tilly.”
“Have you lost your phone?” He spoke away from the phone to someone nearby. “Send Tilly a new phone. Yes, with the old number.” She spoke back into the phone, “There. You’ll be all set.”
“Umm. Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
“Anything else, darling?” Someone spoke to him, and he whispered under his breath, “I’ll be just another minute.”
“Nope, just wanted to tell you and mom I’m not dead. You know, since we haven’t spoken in a while.”
He burst out into laughter. “Of course, you’re not.”
Almost was . . .
“Give me the phone,” my mother called out to him. Then I heard the phone switch hands, and she was on the line. “Tilly, dearest, how have you been? You have everything you need?”
I glanced around at the others pretending to ignore this awkward conversation. “Good, Mom. Nope, I don’t need anything.”
“Excellent. Well, all right then, off we go.”
“Um, Mom, when will you be back in New York?”
“Oh, good question . . . I’ll shoot you a text. Tata, love. Kisses.” She made the kissing sound into the phone, then the call ended.
I handed the phone back to Astrid, and she gave me a half smile like she hadn’t just heard that. Maze leaned into me and whispered, “There isn’t one set of functioning parents among all of us. You’re not the odd man out.”
“I just didn’t want them to think I was dead . . .”
Astrid flinched as though I’d struck her. Maybe talking about my death was too much for her. But I survived. She looked down at her hands and shook herself. “Yeah.”
The others all watched me with wide eyes. Death wasn’t something to joke about, but at some point, most of the people at this table have been there and done that. I needed the focus off me. I motioned to Astrid, hoping she took my cue to ask them how to fix me. Because clearly, so many parts of me were broken.
Astrid cleared her throat. “I have a question for you all.” When the whole table went silent, she continued. “Ever since Tilly was changed and then dunked into the fountain by the Fallen, she’s felt off.”
“Off how?” Zinnia tilted her head to the side and studied me.
“Like something is missing. I remember you all and how she . . . I used to feel about everyone. Now, I feel nothing in here.” I pressed my hand to my chest.
Maze’s brows furrowed, and he grunted but didn’t say anything. Just moved a bit closer to me. Penny sat back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest. She pursed her lips. “It sounds like she’s missing her soul.”
The rest of the table nodded in agreement. I glanced over at Penny. “So how do we fix it?”
Penny leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. “Find someone who knows souls.”
Zinnia sighed. “There’s only one person we know who would know all about the soul. The one person who isn’t here. The one person who will be the hardest to get to. And the one person who could probably help you . . . Nova.”
CHAPTER 4
TILLY
Early morning light peeked in through the small windows at the top of the dorm room. The room was damp and cold, letting in some of the cool air from outside. It smelled of Maze’s dark chocolatey scent. His bed was pushed up against one wall, while mine was pushed against the other. Odin, the one-eyed demon cat, sat perched on my bed, watching my every move. Those yellowish-green cat eyes took in everything. He licked at his thick black fur while his long tale flicked around.
“Leaving?”
I paused while shoving a pair of pants into the small backpack full of clothes Astrid gave me last night. I couldn’t stand the idea of anything fancy from the old stuff she used to wear. Or even digging through that massive closet. So, I took what was given.
I glanced at the bag then back at him. “Guess so.”
