Page 101 of A Winding Wave of Magic
I shook it away. I wasn’t ready to make that decision quite yet.
“That’s going to be fine,” Reina said, speaking to my uncertain thoughts.
I glowered down at her. “I thought you were going to stop doing that.”
She just shook her head. “It’s a hard habit to break, Secret Keeper. I’ve been reading you like a ticker tape since we met. You never had a problem with it before now.”
I sighed. It was true. Gran’s orders to keep everything secret were harder to fulfill than I had thought. I wondered if she had meant Reina too, who was more like a sister to me than anything else.
“Anyway,” Reina said. “It’s the distance that bothers me. The fact that I won’t be able to See you. Or even call you. The town is so remote.”
“I can’t believe they banned satellite phones in Guatemala last year. I would have gotten you one. Then at least we could talk.” A thought occurred. “You know, maybe Jonathan could get you a special permit. He seems to know people in high places everywhere.”
Reina looked up toward my apartment, where Jonathan was waiting for me. He had arrived that morning with coffee, croissants, and a slew of moving men. Now my room was empty with the exception of Aja’s things and what I was taking with me to Seattle and Ireland.
Reina shook her head. “I don’t know, Cass. I know you trust him, but I’m not sure I want to owe him any favors at this point. He likes taking charge a little too much, I think.”
“How do you know that? I thought you said he was shielding you too much to See anything.”
“Exactly.”
A small gray hatchback pulled up in front of us.
Reina checked her phone. “This is my guy.”
We embraced. Her worry and excitement thrilled through my body.
“You have my coordinates?” she asked.
I nodded against her shoulder. The village where she was going to spend the next year doing research was so remote and small, it didn’t even show up on regular maps.
“And the P.O. address too?”
I nodded again and released her. “All upstairs and in my phone and my computer, Rein. And you have the address for the Connollys too. We’ll be in touch, I promise.”
She emitted a heavy sigh, then waved at the driver to let him know she was getting in. “Send me letters. Someone from the team will go to Flores every week or two, so at least I can look forward to that. I’ll try to get into town to check my email every so often, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
I had no idea how long it would take for letters to travel from a tiny village in Ireland to an equally tiny village in rural Guatemala. We would make it work. We had to.
“Safe travels, Rein,” I said. “I love you.”
“Love you too, sister. Always.”
I enteredthe apartment to find Jonathan sitting awkwardly on the couch with a cup of tea, cornered by Aja while she peppered him with questions. They both turned eagerly when I entered—Aja with her perennial enthusiasm, Jonathan with something more akin to relief.
“There you are!” she said. “You guys were down there forever. Jonathan’s just been teaching me all about his physics work. I had no idea there were so many kinds of atoms!”
“Particles,” Jonathan corrected in the tone of someone who had already repeated himself several times. “They are subatomic particles.” He turned with a toothy smile that looked a bit painful. “Are you ready to go?”
I nodded. “Yes. I just need to get my stuff.”
“Let me help you.” Abandoning his tea, he followed me into my bedroom, where he shut the door with abject relief.
“Having fun?” I asked.
“Your roommate is very…talkative.”
I chuckled. “That’s one way to put it.”
