Page 26 of The Magic of Destiny
“But that's ridiculous—of course you didn't set your own house on fire!” I shouted, outraged on her behalf.
“They don't care, though. They won’t take my word for it.” She shrugged, looking dejected. “I guess let's just grab what we can, and I'll put it in the storage unit. Don’t worry about packing clothes. I already got some things out the other day to be laundered, so everything else can be pitched. Upholstered furniture is staying; it all smells like fire. There are boxes out back for everything else.”
The guys nodded and moved toward the door, leaving the two of us alone. Her back was to me, and I could see her t-shirt was wrinkled and her leggings covered in ash. My poor friend.
“Miranda…” I whispered, my voice cracking.
Her entire frame stiffened. “Don't,” she said curtly.
I bit my lip as my eyes welled with tears. “I'm so sorry,” I croaked, moving next to her. Looking at her closely now, I could see the tracks down her cheeks where tears had washed away the ash staining her skin, ash from her blackened shell of a home.
I lifted my hand, wanting to touch her, to console her. Something.
She began speaking softly, almost to herself. “It's not fair, you know? One person. I have one person who ismine. My entire world. My partner in crime. My rainbow. And for some reason, I'm not allowed that. Why can't I have my one person, Saige?”
“I don't know what to say. We'll get her back. You have to trust th—”
Her head whipped in my direction. “Trust? Trustwho?” Her eyes narrowed, and I flinched when she continued in a venomous tone, “the men who showed up in Emerald Lakes and brought all of this bullshit into our lives?”
My brows lifted at her outburst.
“Not just into my life, and you know it. Yours hasn't exactly been a walk in the park lately either. Or should I trust your dad, who is one of... one ofthem. Is that what I'm supposed to do?” she demanded, her voice quaking as she lashed out.
My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it. Her pain was so raw, it was as though it had reached out with phantom arms and squeezed my throat.
“Miranda, it's not their fault. I'm so fucking sorry. I don't know what to do,” I admitted, defeated. I wanted to take the blame, let her take it out on me and to do anything to ease her pain. Except for the newest prophecy from the Seers, she knew everything I could tell her, and she’d know if I was ever placating her with a lie. We’d never had a relationship of lies, and I wouldn’t start right now. I would absolutely tell her about the new prophecy, though now wasn’t the time.
She turned and stormed away, heading for the kitchen, and I followed. She was hurting so much, and I wanted her to know I'd be here whether she screamed at me or not.
“We had Chinese food that night,” she whispered, her hand trailing over the ruined dining table.
“It's always been her favorite,” I replied quietly.
“She sat here, sketching while we ate. She's been doing that more and more. Did I tell you? I'm starting to get a little concerned about the amount of time she spends drawing. I asked her to take a break and eat, but she got upset. It's like she always has to finish whatever she's working on before she can do anything else. It’s bizarre—affinities aren’t supposed to manifest until puberty, and Annie is still a little girl.”
I blinked to clear the tears that were gathering as I watched my friend reliving her last night of normalcy with her daughter. Annie’s powers were definitely alarming, and she would need guidance soon from instructors who were familiar with her type of talents.
“Anyway,” she continued, “we argued about it. I let her finish the sketch, and then I put her book up here.” She reached up on top of the fridge, pulling down a slightly charred sketchbook and clutching it tightly to her chest, her tears falling freely. “I've spent my whole life here in this town, surrounded by magical people, and I've never been scared. Not once. But I'm scared now. And my—” Her voice broke, and my heart along with it. “My baby is gone. She’s gone!” Miranda screamed her frustration, flinging the sketchbook across the room, her knees hitting the ground before the book did. Huge sobs wracked her shoulders and I sprang into action, racing for her and nearly taking us both to the ground.
I wrapped my arms around her, and we both cried. Sobbed at the injustice. Wept at the reality of this fucked up situation.
Sometime later—there was no telling how long exactly—I lifted my head, and saw Khol and my guys standing just outside of the room. Varying looks of sympathy, pain, and anger occupied their faces. If anyone could get Annie back, it would be these men. I had zero doubts about that. They were all knights of darkness, powerful and vicious. I had every ounce of faith in my men.
I pulled back from my best friend and we looked at each other, both of our faces puffy and eyes red.
“I'm sorry for what I said before,” Miranda whispered.
“No need. I know you didn't mean it. I love you,” I told her, placing my hands on her cheeks.
“I love you, too. I'm just so fucking lost, Saige. I'm lost and if we don't… If we don't get her back, I'll be lost forever,” she said solemnly, and I nodded. If Annie didn't come back, Miranda wouldn't either. That wasn't something I was willing to allow.
Looking over at the guys, I asked, “Did you get anything that was salvageable?”
“Yeah. The boxes are all out front—Frank and Arlo are bringing their truck to load them up and take them to the storage unit,” Kai informed us.
“Let's get you ladies up off this dirty floor,” Khol said, walking over and extending each of us a hand. I watched as Miranda stared at it for a moment, before putting her hand in his. Standing among the debris, we brushed our butts off and looked around.
“Pizza's out front. Let's go eat and see what else we can do,” Cam suggested.
