Page 7 of Thorns from the Fall

Sasha makes an impatient sound in her throat, and I turn to face her. Just a little shorter and smaller than me, the two of us are very close to the same size. But for whatever reason, I feel as if I tower above her. Perhaps my recent Ascension has straightened my spine or given me some height. It’s disconcerting. My sister chose a darker red for her hair while I was gone. Her curls remind me of dried blood and entrails, and I bite my tongue with the need to quench my thirst. She takes her jacket off and tosses it over the back of a chair.

“Is that mine?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at the black leather.

“You weren’t using it,” she retorts, a brow lifting in challenge. “Your roots are going to show soon,” she says, and I wave her off. I don’t need spells anymore. Every time I look in the mirror, I wait for a hint of the golden hair I’m meant to have. It reminds me of why I did this. The little girl in Nonna and PopPop’s pictures with the sunflower hair deserved better than the life she got.

“It’s fine.”

“You sure? It’s gonna look weird. Youalreadylook weird.”

I don’t have time to think about her implication before Hale is on me. With a squeeze tight enough it would’ve knocked the breath out of me before my change, he holds me against him. When he presses a kiss to my temple, I laugh and wrap my arms around my best friend. I can’t think about my Ascension and how different I must look to them when Hale squeezes me like he’ll never let me go.

“I know I said I’d support you with whatever you decided, but please don’t ever do anything like that again. My god. You have no idea how glad I am to see you. I can finally sleep again.”

Swallowing, I look down at my feet. Though we’d discussed the plan a thousand times while hidden behind a cloak of Hale’s magic, I’m still nervous. Despite the knowledge of what Susan did, despite him being aware of what I planned to do after she betrayed my family, is it really possible Hale won’t be angry that I killed his mother?

When he leans back, it’s almost as if he reads my mind. His long fingers grip my chin, tilting my gaze to his, and then he flicks my nose.

“So, give us the timeline. Did you blow your cover when you killed my mother? Didsheblowmine? Did he ever have a clue?”

I almost refuse to answer all of his questions, but decide on only ignoring the one about Roman. “No, she…she tried to protect you. Told Roman you were just a human.”

Hale scoffs, but he plays with the ends of his long, golden hair. I wonder if he regrets helping orchestrate my vengeance. “Least the bitch could do, I guess, after killing your parents and trying to get me to breed my best friend.”

“She said you called her?” I purse my lips, surprised by my friend’s actions while I was locked away in the compound.

“Every night,” he says, and a smile forces its way onto his lips—faint, but still there. His pale face goes a bit rosy at his cheeks.“I think I might pursue community theater. After the first time, pretending to cry about you was easy.”

“Oh, but the first time was hard?” I tease, but his smile disappears.

“Yeah. Because I was actually worried about you.” He takes a step back and runs his fingers through his hair—a nervous tic he’s had since I’ve known him. Since we were in middle school and our parents assigned him to watch over me—hopeful that his skills as a warlock would protect me as he trained to be a sorcerer. I suppose his mom hadn’t expected the friendship and loyalty which would grow between us. That one day, he’d question why he was supposed to report my every move to her.

“But we shouldn’t have been worried, right, Hale?” Sasha asks. My sister steps closer, and it’s clear by her tone and posture that she’s angry.

“Dammit, Sash, you said you’d wait to do this.”

“Yeah, well, sorry,” she snaps. My sister is furious. I see it in the twitch of her left eye, the flare of her nostrils.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“Your traitorous ass was already halfway in love with him when you let him take you.”

“What?”

“Before you even fucking left, before you decided to go on your mission.”

“Sash—” Hale attempts to interrupt, but her arm swings outward, bangles on her wrists twinkling together in a cacophony of accusation.

“No, you don’t get to defend her on this,” she growls, and I think my throat might close up. Because she’s right. As much as I’ve betrayed Roman, I’ve betrayed them too. I just hadn’t expected them to figure it out so soon.

Hale sighs and puts his hands in his pockets. His nails are painted black, and I’m glad he tucks them away so I can’t fixate on how chipped they are.

“You saw his shitstain of a brother and thought that if Roman Sauveterre could love someone like him, could go to the lengths he did for his brother, then maybe he’d be able to love someone likeyou.” Virulent, her words send a shiver of heat down my spine and my cheeks flush.

I can hardly breathe as I try to speak. “That’s not…I didn’t…”

The sting in the back of my nose doesn’t allow me to continue. If I do, if I defend myself, my body will double cross me and I’ll start to cry. But I don’t want to cry. I want to rage and scream and tell her how wrong she is. But I can’t.

And I don’t know if it’s because she’s wrong or because she’s right.

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