9. Sebastian

9

SEBASTIAN

The auditorium at town hall was packed with people for William's meeting. Everyone there was trapped thanks to the man's big mouth and bullheadedness.

Sebastian's anxiety was at an all-time high, but he'd had no choice but to come. He couldn't hide at home while people discussed him and his family's curse. He couldn't pretend that their being stuck had nothing to do with him, even if he hadn't created this particular mess.

James stood shoulder to shoulder with him, but even that wasn't helping calm him.

Parker and Eleanor had stopped William from telling anyone else that afternoon. Too bad the damage had already been done. Everyone in the room had been told about the veins by William or someone he'd told, and none of them would be able to evacuate if it came down to the worst-case scenario.

Sebastian felt sick. As if the stakes for fixing the veins hadn't been high enough already. He'd tried calling his mom again, desperate for any new information. She hadn't answered. They were no closer to solving this than before, and everything seemed hopeless .

Eleanor stood on a small stage at the front of the auditorium. She looked livid. Sebastian would have been terrified to face her if he hadn't known she was on his side.

"Quiet," Eleanor barked, and the crowd stilled. "William, get up here and explain what you've done." She pointed to the stage beneath her feet, summoning him like he was about to get another verbal thrashing.

Hazel had told Sebastian how Eleanor had exploded at William that afternoon. Apparently, it hadn't been pretty. Eleanor had then dragged William to the barrier and showed him the reality of his situation. Sebastian was glad he hadn't been there for it.

William approached the stage with as much arrogance as ever. If he was concerned about being trapped, he wasn't showing it now. "It has come to my attention that we've all been cursed by the Storms," he announced.

People in the crowd made noises of confusion and alarm. Sebastian tried unsuccessfully to push away the guilt that had grown inside him all afternoon.

"No," Eleanor said sharply. " You've spread the curse, William. You have cursed these people." She turned her attention to the crowd. "All of you have learned about the veins of power on the Storm property, which have been at risk of explosion for decades, but what William failed to convey is that the knowledge comes with a curse…"

As Eleanor spoke, people turned to stare at Sebastian. Some looked shocked, others angry. Sebastian's pulse pounded in his ears. He wanted to sink into the wall behind him. Anxiety tightened in his chest until he felt like he couldn't breathe. He needed to get out of there.

He didn't move. He couldn't run from this, no matter what it was doing to him. This wasn't his fault, but he had to face it and try to help.

Parker, Eli, and Hazel stood next to him and James. He wished he found more comfort in that. They were on his side just like they'd promised, but everything about the situation was still hard to face.

"What are we going to do?" someone in the crowd called once Eleanor finished explaining.

"He never should have left his land," someone else shouted. "Things were fine for years. Put him back. This is all the Storms' fault."

There was a chorus of agreement.

Sebastian wondered if he was going to be sick. His head spun. Everyone hated him. They blamed him. They wanted to imprison him to solve their problems. This meeting was all his worst fears combined. No one in Moonlight Falls wanted him.

"He's not going anywhere," James said from beside Sebastian. "That's not going to fix anything, and even if it would have, this is not his fault, and he shouldn't be punished for it. William trapped you, not Sebastian."

Voices rose up on all sides of them.

Sebastian closed his eyes. He just wanted to live here and have a normal life, but that was never going to happen, was it?

"Enough," Eleanor shouted from the front of the room. Sebastian opened his eyes to see her glaring at the crowd. "William is the only one at fault here. He let his ignorance and arrogance put you all at risk."

"Fuck you, Eleanor," William sneered.

She might as well not have heard him. "Anyone who spreads this curse from here will face legal repercussions. Including you." She looked down her nose at William. "We're doing everything we can to solve the issue with the veins. There is no immediate risk of a disaster, so I urge everyone to stay calm."

"Why aren't you trying to solve the problem by putting someone back at Storm House?" a man near the front asked. "What are you actually doing? Shouldn't that be the first logical step? "

Most of the people in the room didn't know the full extent of the problem. They thought Sebastian leaving his property had caused things to deteriorate. They didn't know that the incident with the darkness was what had made things more unstable.

"We could trap William at Storm House and see how that goes," Eleanor suggested, though Sebastian got the impression she meant it sarcastically.

William lunged for her.

Eleanor cast a spell, pushing William back with a gust of wind before he could reach her. "Don't you dare."

He blustered, red in the face, but he didn't come for her again.

People in the crowd were murmuring their agreement with Eleanor's suggestion, but they were past trapping people to calm the veins.

"It won't help," Sebastian said so quietly he figured only James could hear him. "It won't help," he repeated, louder this time. "Me leaving the property didn't make it any more likely the veins would explode."

All eyes fixed on him. Sebastian's mind went momentarily blank. The stress of the situation seemed to be crushing him.

"Then what are you going to do?" someone asked.

"We're fixing the veins," Eli announced, stepping forward with an air of calm authority. "The veins need to be restored to their normal state. It's the only way to permanently stop the explosion. So unless any of you happen to have in-depth knowledge on the topic, we don't need more suggestions."

"That's right," Eleanor said, recapturing everyone's attention. "This meeting was only meant to alert you to what William omitted when telling you about the situation and to ensure this doesn't escalate further. Any other concerns can be brought directly to me."

"I still don't think he should be walking around free, like he didn't have a hand in all this," William couldn't seem to help saying, pointing at Sebastian. "You're blaming me for something I didn't start."

"If Sebastian hadn't been walking around free, we'd all still be in darkness or killed by shades by now," Eleanor snapped. "He saved this town."

No one seemed overly impressed or like they were going to accept Sebastian based on the mayor's words. Perhaps they didn't believe her. More than a few people eyed him suspiciously like they were keen to drag him back to Storm House to see if it solved their problems.

Sebastian had been cast out. He was back on the outside of Moonlight Falls, just as he had been as a child.

"Eleanor's right," James said, arm wrapping protectively around Sebastian. "We all owe Sebastian for banishing the beasts and dark magic from Beyond back to where they belong. Now, if you'll excuse us, I don't think anything else productive will come out of this meeting."

James guided Sebastian out. Parker, Hazel, and Eli followed.

Sebastian was shaking. He wished the town's rejection and anger didn't hurt him, but it did. It made him feel disposable. His own mother had treated him that way for so long that being cast aside felt like a permanent part of who he was. This would always happen.

But this time, he wasn't alone. He had James standing firmly by him, and when Sebastian focused on that, his world shifted. Not all people were good or understanding, and Sebastian couldn't change that. Not everyone was going to like him or believe him, but the important people would. James would. Eli, Parker, and Hazel would. Eleanor would.

He could have a life full of people who loved and cared about him. The anger of the rest of the town couldn't take that away.

The only thing that could ruin it all was the veins. They could take the lives of everyone he loved and cared for, the town, and all the people in that room. He had to stop the worst from coming to fruition. He could make good things happen and have faith they would last. For James. For their life together. For everyone who stood with him and even for the scared, angry people in town hall.

Not for William though. Screw that guy to the ends of the earth and back.