Page 6 of A Rose Among Snakes

His words were a knife to my heart, but before I could reply, he bared his teeth and stomped on my fingers. The scream shredded my throat as I plummeted through the air and crashed into the glacial rapids.

My eyes flew open, a yelp from the back of my throat muffled by my closed lips. I sat up in bed, jostling Savine next to me. I pressed my hand against my pounding chest and took in my surroundings. Sunlight streamed in through the dusty window at my right, warming the wooden floors. A small pile of toys sat in the far corner of the loft, one of which was a doll with yellow yarn hair, a stitched-on smile, and one black button eye staring at me. I rubbed my face and swung my legs over to plant my bare feet on the ground.

Downstairs, I saw the door of my room, where Jehiam slept, was shut. My mother’s bedroom door was also closed, and it was a relief to have the early morning to myself. I set about preparing breakfast, trying to shake off the remnants of my dream. I hadn’t heard the door open, but I turned around from the oven and was startled at the sight of Jehiam standing by the table.

For the second time that morning, I pressed my hand to my chest. “Jem, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” he croaked, pulling out a chair with a shaking hand. I set a pan of eggs on the table as he sat down. He sniffed at them and grimaced, turning his head away. Chuckling, I placed them at the other end of the table and poured him a glass of water.

“Serves you right. I should make you eat them anyway.”

“Please don’t.” He sipped the water, and I examined his face. His skin was splotchy and he had dark circles under his eyes. His cheekbones appeared sharper than before, and a faint bruise shadowed his left cheek from where I had hit him while trying to wake him up.

“Sorry for that.” I gestured to his face.

He felt the bruise and a corner of his mouth quirked up. “Serves me right?”

“Exactly.” I brought a plate of biscuits over and offered him one. He took it and nibbled on the crispy edge. “So…”

He lifted his gold-brown eyes to my face.

“How do you feel?”

“Awful,” he groaned.

I bobbed my head up and down. My benevolence toward him was fading and giving way to anger again. I kept my voice steady as I asked, “Why?”

Jehiam shrugged. That was it.

“You have nothing to say for yourself?”

His gaze dropped to the table and his brows narrowed. He chewed on the biscuit and lifted one shoulder.

I was used to one-word and non-verbal answers from him, but this morning I’d reached my limit. “What am I supposed to do with you? You’re seventeen years old, Jem.”

He glared at me. “You don’thaveto do anything with me. You’re not my mother.”

“I may as well be.”

“I never asked for that,” he spat.

My hands balled into fists as my chest heaved. “Well, neither did I. And now because ofyouand your inability to think of anyone other than yourself, I’m going to be stuck here forever.”

“What do you mean?” My mother asked sharply, making me cringe as I looked over Jehiam's shoulder to where she stood in her bedroom doorway.

Too late, I realized what I had said. While lying awake last night, I had decided I would write to the housekeeper at Blaise Manor and tell her I could no longer accept the position. I was never going to tell my family about it.

Ashamed, I said, “Mother, I’m sorry if we woke you.”

She stared at me with her blue eyes blazing, hands on her hips, her dark braid, messy from a long night, laying haphazardly over her shoulder.

“What do you mean you're going to be stuck here forever?”

I swallowed. Now was as good a time as any. “I was offered a prestigious position in Port Deering, and I was supposed to leave tomorrow. But I won’t be doing that anymore.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “How could you? What would ever possess you to go there?” Before I had a chance to answer, she’d spun on her heel and slammed the bedroom door shut behind her.

I stood in the kitchen staring after her, my appetite gone. I turned back to the burner and pulled the pan of bacon off, blowing out the flame. I set it on the table and dropped into a chair. Jehiam picked at his biscuit and mumbled something under his breath.

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