Page 1053 of One More Kiss

Chapter11

I was getting betterat navigating this maze of a building. I found our room in record time. I opened the door as quietly as possible so as not to wake Clara. It clicked shut behind me and I froze.

“What happened?” Clara’s voice was groggy.

Damn, I’d woken her. “I’ll tell you in the morning. Go back to sleep.”

She sat up, switching on the night light beside her. “Tell me now. I’m awake.”

I took off my jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair at the end of my bed. Then I flopped onto the bed, landing on my back.

“It’s been a night.” I covered my face with my hands.

“Start from when you left here. Did you have trouble sneaking out?”

“Not that I realized at the time. But I was followed.” I dropped my hands and turned my head so I could see her. “By two people.”

“So were you able to lose them? Did you get to see your mother?”

“No, and yes.” I rolled onto my side and propped my head onto my hand. “Jett followed me, which turned out to be a good thing because Fin got the drop on me.”

Clara gasped. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. He was using you to get to me.”

I hadn’t thought about it from that angle. “Maybe. Or it could have been me he was after all along.”

From what Fin had said about taking me ‘home’ I knew for a fact it was me he was after, even if I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe there was a reward for retrieving stray Fae kids before they turned 21. But I couldn’t reveal that, not even to Clara.

“Not that I’ll ever admit it to him, but Jett saved me. He got there in the nick of time and helped me escape from Fin. Then he took me to see Mom.”

“It must have been good to see her. There’s something about being shot at that makes you want your family close.” Clara smiled and her gaze grew distant. “Family always comes first.”

“Do you miss yours?” I could tell she did, and wanted to give her an opening to talk about it if she wanted to.

Clara nodded. “I do. Even though they think I’m dead, I miss them. My sister and I are twins and were always close. And my daughter. She’s grown up without me, and I trust my sister to look after her as if she’s her own, but it still hurts.”

“I don’t have any kids, but I miss my sister too.” I was exposing myself by revealing this, but it felt right. “We’re twins too. I get it.”

“What happened to your sister?” Clara lay down on her side, mirroring my pose.

And, that’s what I get for sharing. Still, maybe it was time to do my own opening up. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“When we were six she was kidnapped by our father. That was when I discovered my magic. It unfurled that night and my shadows kept me hidden. Now, I’d be able to hide her too but back then it was pure instinct. I only managed to save myself.”

But Fin had been able to see right through my shadows, my magic. So could Jett. Had my father seen me that night and left me? Why?

Clara cleared her throat, bringing me back to the conversation. “What happened next?”

I put aside my pondering for when I was less tired. “He took her to Faerie Land and I only have until we turn 21 to bring her home or she’ll be stuck there forever.”

Clara’s eyes widened. “Oh my god! That’s terrible! How long until your birthday?”

“Two days.” I looked at my watch. The time was just past midnight. “One actually, seeing as it’s now tomorrow. I’m running out of time.”

“And Jett has something that can help?”

I nodded. “He does.”

“That explains the weird tension between the two of you. Why won’t he help you?”

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