9. Ezra

Chapter 9

Ezra

M y brain was fried. I was tired of looking at spreadsheets, making calculations, and obsessing about last night. I was trying to wrap my head around how easy falling asleep next to Nova was. It was a normal night of sleep, but hearing her breathily mumble my name as I fell asleep lit my heart like a Christmas tree. When we were kids, she used to talk in her sleep and not remember anything in the morning, so it was probably nothing, but the soft murmurs had taken up a lot of real estate in my brain today.

Elias and Crystal were right. I was exhausted from the charade of pretending Nova wasn’t the most important part of my life. The sight of her dancing with another man highlighted the unbearable thought of her being with someone else. Until now, I had been fortunate that she had never seriously dated. Neither of us had ever committed to anyone, and based on the surge of murderous rage I felt when I saw the man flirt with Nova, I knew that was probably for the best.

I called Elias back after missing the first call to get in the car. As the phone rang over the speaker, I thought about his words from last night and an uneasy feeling spread through me.

“We need to talk.” Elias's voice came through the car's speakers. A door lightly clicked shut behind him. The seriousness of his words hung in the air, and a knot tightened in my stomach.

“Are you okay? Is it Mom? Dad?”

“Everyone is okay,” he said, clearing his throat. “I don't want to talk about this over the phone. What time will you be home?”

“In about five minutes, why?” I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel while waiting for the light to change.

“I’m at your house.”

Elias hung up, and my heart raced. My brother was not an alarmist, but his tone was serious, and he was not telling me anything over the phone, which was unusual. I stepped on the gas and flew down the street to my house. I rushed out of the car, barely missing slamming my body against my car as I lost my footing and bumped into Elias’ car instead. He knew the code to my door, so when I walked in, the TV was on, and he sat on the couch.

Elias and I looked almost identical, except his eyes were ocean blue. People who didn’t know us thought we were twins, but we were a handful of years apart. Today, he looked much older. Dark circles were under his eyes, and they screamed concern. I grabbed two cups of decaf coffee and sat across from him. He eyed me warily, and I could see his tongue pushing against his cheek, which he did when he was nervous.

“There’s no good way to go about this conversation,” he started, perching forward with the cup of coffee warming his hands. “So, I’m going to ask you directly. Please don’t lie to me.”

“Okay…?”

“How well do you truly know Nova, Ezra?” he asked. I flinched back and furrowed my brows. Nova being the topic of conversation never crossed my mind. “And not in the childhood friends way; in the understanding her as an independent, adult witch way.”

“I know everything about her.” I cocked my head. I felt my grip tighten around my mug. “Why? What are you getting at?”

“No one in the family knows what I’m about to tell you, and no one else can know until I figure out how to deal with it.”

“Elias, spill it,” I demanded. “You’re starting to scare me.”

He leaned back on the couch and refused to look me in the eye as I kept my eyes on his face. “A few months ago, our security team got wind about the Carmines stirring up trouble,” he explained, looking out toward the TV. “Dad has a few moles close to the family to keep an eye on them, so the tip is credible. He put me in charge of figuring out what they’re up to.” Elias sighed, and his shoulders sagged.

“I don’t see what this has to do with Nova.”

He continued, “From what I found, they think there is a Manipulator amongst us.”

Oh, shit.

“Dad insisted it was unlikely, given that a Manipulator wouldn’t be able to keep their abilities a secret for very long, but I think it’s possible with a lot of self-control.” Elias started to tap his fingers on the mug. “So, I set out to find the Manipulator before they did, if there even was one.”

I gulped. This was bad. This was really bad.

“Okay…" I cleared my throat. "Why are you telling me?”

“I found the Manipulator, Ezra.” My brother's eyes snapped to me.

My palms grew sweaty, and I put down my mug to wipe them on my jeans. “You did?”

“Ezra,” Elias said, lowering his voice. “Nova is the Manipulator.”

Fuck.

I tried to feign shock, but I was a horrible liar. Elias shook his head and said, “Don’t give me that act. I know that you know.”

I dropped my head and asked, “Who else knows?”

“No one but you and me. None of Dad’s moles have reported that the Carmines found out who she is. But, Ezra, we have to be prepared. I need to tell Dad.”

“How did you find out?” I asked.

“Remember how in primary school teachers note any weird behaviors that might indicate someone’s ability?” he asked. I nodded. “I went through all the records over the last twenty years.” That explained the dark circles under his eyes and the worn-down expression. “I read through every resident's records except one because there wasn't one. Nova’s records were completely scrubbed from the system, which I found very strange for a six-year-old. So, I might have done some…questionable…cyber things to access them.”

“Nova was pulled from school in the first grade,” I confirmed. Nova had been homeschooled all of our lives. Her parents claimed it was so she wouldn’t be excluded or bullied because of her lack of ability, but that was a lie.

Elias nodded. “Her teacher noted faint eye color changes in her file that indicated her ability. When her parents got wind of it, they pulled her from school and paid the teacher for her secrecy. It worked. She never told anyone. The teacher…uhh…died of heart failure last year.”

I leaned forward, eyebrows high. “You don’t think the Fosters killed her to keep her silent, do you?”

“What? No!” Elias chuckled. “The woman was a hundred years old.” I let go of my breath. Astro and Daisy Foster would never do something like that.

“Elias, if the Carmines discover who Nova is, she will be in danger. We can’t let anything happen to her. I promised to look out for her.” Elias looked puzzled, and I resigned myself to telling him my second-to-last memory of Grandma Foster.

In the days before Nova’s grandmother’s death, she had requested to see every single member of the Foster, Woodhaven, and Redd family independently to say her goodbyes. She knew Nova had told me about her ability and swore me to secrecy—how, I never found out—but she knew. Our last conversation was forever etched in my mind.

“Ezra,” the frail woman lying on the hospital bed in front of sixteen-year-old me said. “I know you know about Nova.”

I held my breath. I wasn’t supposed to know. An agreeing noise was the only thing I could mutter as she gingerly took my hand.

“There’s something special between the two of you,” she said. “You’re too young to realize what that means, but a grandmother knows.” I kept quiet, embarrassed to admit I had a hopeless crush on my best friend. “Nova is a special and unique witch. And she's very strong, but I have one request for you.”

“Yeah, Grandma Foster?”

“Please take care of my baby girl.” Her eyes pleaded with me. Emotions choked me when I saw tears in her eyes. “ This life—her life—is not easy, and she will need someone there for her. She trusts you more than anyone in this world, and I know you’ll watch out for her. She has Sherman’s spirit, but she’s too kind for this world, and I would never want her to meet the same fate as him. Please, Ezra, promise me.”

“I promise,” I managed to say while holding back my tears.

It was a big ask from a teenager, but I intended to fulfill it.

Tears pricked at my eyes, remembering how I had promised myself that I would never let Grandma Foster down because if I let her down, it meant something terrible had happened to Nova.

“She’s already in danger, Ezra,” Elias’ blue eyes bore into mine, and his mouth downturned, breaking me out of my memories. “If I can find out her secret, so can the Carmines. We need to take her to our estate or get her out of Hidden Creek entirely. We can protect her.”

“No way. No. We’re not taking her out of Hidden Creek. She’s safe here. The protection sphere will keep the Carmines out.”

“The protection sphere can only do so much, Ezra,” he sighed. “It’s worked so far, but it’s not foolproof against wizards, just humans. We need to take her to Dad and figure something out.”

“Elias…” I started fidgeting with the edge of my mug.

“Ezra.” My older brother set his hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look at him. “I know you want to protect her, but maybe the estate or Shadow Falls would be better for her. Somewhere where she hasn’t been her entire life.”

I started pacing around my living room. We had lived in peace for decades, but if the Carmines were trying to find the Manipulator, their intentions wouldn’t be honorable. This had to be a nightmare I would wake up from with Nova sleeping soundly next to me.

“Let me talk to her first,” I said, stopping before Elias. “How much time do we have?”

“Another week, maybe. The Carmines don’t have the resources I do, but I have no way of knowing. The moles said they’ve hit a standstill on their search, but that was a few days ago.”

“I’ll talk to Nova tomorrow and let her decide what to do.”

“I need a decision by Sunday,” Elias stated, standing from the couch and grabbing his car keys. “Any longer, and I risk Dad finding out I’m keeping this from him.” Elias tapped his fingers against the edge of the couch. “Any chance you could stay with her tonight? Just in case?” I didn’t think Elias was keeping anything else from me, but he seemed more concerned than he was saying.

“I’ll find a way.”

Elias nodded and pulled me into a hug. “We’ll keep her safe, Ezra,” he said, closing the door behind him.

I never imagined I would be in this position. Nova was in danger, and if I was honest with myself, I could do little to protect her. Elias was right. My dad could protect her more than I could, but taking her out of Hidden Creek came with risks.

The Woodhaven Estate was located on the outskirts of Hidden Creek, just outside the protection sphere. The reason was simple—there hadn’t been enough room within city limits for what my great-grandfather wanted to build. Most of my family lived within estate grounds, except for my cousin Jodie and me. It was a fortress inside, but it wasn’t hidden.

My mind went through the options I had to worm my way into Nova’s condo. I curled my hands into fists and felt the coldness of my fingers against my palms. The perfect idea struck me. It was supposed to be freezing tonight. The call rang twice before Nova picked up.

“Hey, Ezzy!” Nova answered. Hearing her voice usually brought me joy, but right now, it brought me the security of knowing she was okay. The mixer whirred in the background, so she was in the trenches of making the baked goods for tomorrow. “What’s up?”

“Hey.” I smiled to myself. “Could I stay at your apartment again tonight?”

She coughed and cleared her throat. Something clattered in the background. “Um…sure. Crystal’s staying at Brian’s tonight, so it’s just me. Why?”

“My heat went out,” I lied. “I already called to get someone out here, but as you know, everyone's booked because of Halloween. So, I told them it wasn’t urgent.”

“That’s so nice of you! But yeah…umm…sure, that’s fine. You know you’re always welcome.”

I thanked her and was grateful for no more questions. I would sleep on the floor if I had to, but I would make sure Nova was safe. I should have told her what Elias told me, but I wanted to give her one more night of peace before turning her life upside down.