Page 97 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

“I could name countless times when you were doing exactly that.”

She jokingly covered her heart with her palm and gasped. “If, then, you were making fun of me before we became… this. I’m very serious and supportive about your connection to the stars.” Doe rolled back onto her back, and it took her twenty whole seconds before she leaned over again and whispered, “tell your star buddies I said hi,” into my ear, and this time I couldn’t fight back the smirk. So I turned my head to look at her pretty face.

“I promise.”

She laughed out of pure joy, and something inside my stomach twisted as she buried her face in my jacket. I don’t recall enjoying someone’s company as much as I did with her beneath the stars tonight.

She showed me a side of myself I didn’t even know existed.

A loud hissing noise sounded from far away, followed by a little explosion before the sky lit up with the red brim of fireworks, and more coloured the night.

But my eyes didn’t rest on the artwork in the sky. Instead, they were on the girl who clung to my jacket and stared at the sky in awe.

“Happy New Year, Fallen Star,” I whispered, and she looked at me with the sweetest smile.

“Happy New Year, Starboy.”

She leaned back and lay her head down on my chest without needing to ask me if it was alright with that. Having her in my arms on the last and first night of the year meant a whole lot to me. And as I caught a glimpse of the Lyra constellation between the fireworks, I couldn’t help but imagine that the Vega star shone brighter than it had a minute ago, almost as if it were watching us. It made me question if Naomi’s story about the two star-crossed stars might be more reality than just a legend.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

DOROTHEE

“HaveI told you about how Nathaniel’s aunt made sure I had enough to eat, although their traditional Christmas Day foods are rather meat-based, and I’m vegetarian?”

“No, tell me,” I encouraged her to tell me more, despite the fact that she had actually told me that and all the other stories about how her Christmas with Nathaniel’s family went. But I didn’t mind. I loved her chatty nature, and I knew how happy it made her that I listened.

Maisie grinned and hugged her books tighter to her chest as a breeze of wind brushed through our hair. It was the first week back after the holidays, and we were still avoiding the big question of what we would do next now that we had no more diary entries because we didn’t know how to make them readable. No new riddles that could lead us to the Book of Shadows… It felt like we were at zero again, and the only things we could do were over-analysing and keeping an eye on Kane, which Archer was very serious about.

“She made dishes out of a mushroom that kind of had a similar consistency as meat for me to eat. It was delicious, Doe,” she groaned at tasting the memory on her tongue, and I laughed.

“I’m glad you had a great time.”

“I really did, even though his grandmother didn’t really like me,” she said, and I frowned.

“How come she didn’t?”

Maisie shrugged. “She wasn’t as welcoming as his aunts, and I know Nathaniel believes I can’t speak Italian, but I actually learned it to surprise him. However, I kept it a secret after his grandmother called me an annoying brat in Italian right in front of us. He got angry, and I played stupid and asked him what she said, but he avoided answering, telling me it was simply an insult towards his haircut.”

I lay my hand on her arm as she narrowed her gaze and looked at the snow angels the younger ones had made earlier today, disappearing as more flakes continued to cover them. “I’m sorry, Maisie. It’s a shame she didn’t give you a chance to show her what a wonderful girl you are.”

Maisie looked back up at me with a sweet smile, a soft blush covering her cheeks and nose from the cold. She hooked her arm around mine and lay her head on my shoulder as we continued to make our way towards the girls’ dorms. Since snow started falling, we preferred to walk the long way around the campus to get some air instead of taking the short route through the warm corridors inside. Naomi hated the cold weather, so she declined coming with us and went down with Jesse and Archer to the hideaway to spend some time in an area free of any darkness.

“Thank you, Doe. But it’s alright. I know that there are people who don’t like the way I am, and that’s fine as long as I have my friends and family who aren’t bothered by the way I act. But I’ve seen so much darkness and terror in my life that being afraid or pessimistic for the rest of it seems pathetic because there’s nothing worse than these nightmares. So I decided to cherish the bright side of life and shed light on the demons that haunt me instead of allowing them to eat me up from the inside out.”

I rested my head on hers and hugged her with my free arm. “You’re the sweetest soul, I hope you know that, Maisie.” And I hoped she knew how much our friendship meant to me. I always used to watch these cheesy romcom movies with my first nanny, Leslie. And I always hoped to have an honest girl friendship when I’m as old as the girls in those movies. And now I could proudly say that the tiny blonde seer beside me came very close to the termsister.

She giggled softly, “I have to tell you a secret.”

“I thought there were no more secrets between us…?” I asked slowly, a little struck by that. After Archer and I had told the others that I knew, I promised I wasn’t angry at them because they let Archer handle the situation, and he was afraid to tell me. But in the same breath, they promised that there wasn’t more I didn’t know.

Maisie unhooked our arms and swung around to face me, narrowing her eyes in sadness. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, Doe. A good friend wouldn’t have kept a secret of such importance. It was your right to know–” I interrupted her by taking her hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I told you I’m not angry.”

“But how could you not be? I’m not a resentful person, and I’d still be furious at anyone who would keep quiet about such a thing.”

I exhaled slowly before I spoke again, “Maisie, which future do you see for me? How many paths are there–”

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