Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

Anora and the Stars

Mom says I’m still grounded, but she deducts time for attending the retreat over the weekend. I find I’m not really all that upset. Maybe it’s because things at home have been pretty stable since I returned from my horrific weekend. Maybe it’s because I prefer the company of books over my cell phone, or that my only friends happen to double as birds and can fly into my room at any point they wish, or that I’m going to be sneaking out my window most nights to patrol Rayon with Jacobi (once he recovers), Natalie, and Shy and to train with Mr. Val.

Granted, if I am ever caught, I’m probably grounded for infinity plus two, but I’ll take my chances. I have work to do. I’m going to climb up in this world that lives beneath the living, learn all there is to know about it. I’m going to gain allies and study my enemies. I’m going to learn to open the gates and reclaim my poppa’s coin.

By the time I’m through, no one—not Roth or Lennon or Influence—will have power over me.

For now, though, I need to make it through my return to school.

As Mom navigates the curved driveway toward Nacoma Knight, I realize this is it. Not many people get a chance at a fresh start, and this one is mine. If I don’t do it right, I’m screwed.

So I swallow my nerves and lean across the middle of the car to kiss Mom on the cheek.

“Thanks for the ride, Mom. I’ll see you after school!” I get out of the car and pause before closing the door. “I love you.”

Mom smiles. “I love you too.”

I head inside Emerson Hall to exchange books at my locker. An ache forms in my chest as I wander down the halls I once shared with Lily, Thane, and Lennon. Two of the three might have ended up as my enemies, but for a time, I thought they were my friends.

The news doesn’t report Thane’s death but instead calls it a disappearance. I asked Shy why, and he said his uncle wants it that way. The knowledge makes me uncomfortable, like he is expecting him to come back to life. His coin is with the Order in a vault.

There is no word on Lennon, though she’s still imprisoned at the Compound. If anyone asks, we’re to say she has moved. I’m not sure of the Order’s plans for her. Shy assumes they will kill her. I assume they will want to learn everything about her power and her following.

I want to learn the extent of her power too. I want to know how many half human, half Valryn are in existence.

Those are just a few things on my long to-do list, which includes other things like studying for Mr. Val’s tests and preparing for his first lesson in all things Eurydice. He’s told me weapons will come with time. I want them now.

Maybe I can convince Shy to train me early.

Just thinking that makes my face flood with heat. I exhale, trying to shake the sudden warmth flushing my skin, but can’t manage it before he appears beside me.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I breathe.

“What are you doing tonight?”

“That depends—what do you have planned?”

I’m thinking he’s going to tell me about a patrol assignment. I haven’t officially been assigned anything yet, but instead he says, “I was hoping I could come over…before patrol.”

“I’m grounded—forever. Besides, I don’t think Mom’s forgiven you for bringing me home at three o’clock in the morning.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t believe we were watching movies,” he says. The reality of that night was much, much worse. “But I didn’t say she has to know I’m there.”

“I can’t leave my house,” I warn. I am determined to do better moving forward. I came here with a goal to blend in, to live as normal a life as possible. I still want that, even if I am moonlighting as the Eurydice.

“We’re not leaving the house…this time,” he says, and a thrill rushes through me. The bell rings, and Shy takes a step away, one side of his mouth quirking upward. As he retreats, he takes his warmth with him. If I were brave, I’d reach for him and draw him back to me. “Tonight. Eleven. Leave your window open.”

Eleven. That leaves us an hour before he has patrol.

The farther he walks away from me, the more my smile grows.

I run across campus, hoping I can make it to Walcourt before the second bell rings. I blow through the doors and slow to a walk as I stroll into Mr. Val’s classroom just as the bell sounds.

“Miss Silby,” he says, a pink slip between his fingers. He holds it out to me. “So good of you to join us.”

I have yet to take my seat or catch my breath. “I was on time!” I argue.

“Running,” he says.

I take it back. I’m not looking forward to training.

* * *

I’m reading on my bed when Shy arrives at eleven. I’m trying to look chill, but in reality, I’ve reread the first line of this book fifty times since I picked it up. My heart’s been racing since he asked to come over, and my whole body is on fire, like I’m made of starlight.

“Hey,” he says, smiling.

“Hey.” I smile too.

He’s changed into jeans, a white button-up, and a dark jacket. With his arm still in a sling, it’s the only kind of shirt he can wear. Freshly showered, he smells like spice, and though he runs his fingers through his hair to keep it in place, pieces come loose, falling around his face in waves. I slide off the bed and move toward him, stopping when we’re a breath away from each other. I brush his hair out of his face when he clasps my hand and kisses my palm. The touch sends threads of heat through my bond. He twines his fingers with mine, pulling me flush against him, kissing me. His lips are soft and feverish, and he tastes sweet. The best part is that he’s alive, warm and real and solid beneath my hands.

“Ready?” he asks.

“If Mom—”

“Not leaving your house, remember?”

He climbs out the window and starts up to the roof. I’m impressed by his one-handed scaling of the wall. It makes me realize just how much upper body strength he has.

I follow behind him, thrilled, ignoring the red eyes of my hellhounds illuminating in the hedges around my house. Their low growls signal their disapproval, but this night isn’t about the Eurydice, the Order, or the differences between me and Shy.

It’s about us.

When I reach the roof, I find him standing beside a new telescope.

He clears his throat. “I thought you might like to stargaze.”

“Where did you get that?” My voice quivers as I point to the telescope.

He glances at it and rubs the back of his head. “I…uh…bought it. For you.”

I take a few deep breaths to keep from crying and move toward the telescope. It’s similar to the one my grandfather owned, the one we had to sell when we moved here. I touch it gingerly, afraid it might disintegrate.

“It’s…mine?”

He nods, his face like carved marble, and I realize he’s not sure what to make of my reaction, so I reach for him, wrapping my arms around his waist tightly.

“Thank you,” I whisper against his chest.

His good arm circles me, squeezing tight.

“You’re welcome,” he murmurs, and I feel his lips brush my hair.

You are amazing, I want to say, but the words stick in my throat. He studies me for a long moment and then looks at the telescope.

“So find something,” he encourages.

It takes me a moment to locate the Dog Star, the brightest star in the sky. Shy looks through and mutters wow under his breath. When he draws away, he meets my gaze and says, “Beautiful.”

We share the same space, the same breath, the same warmth.

“If I could give you anything in this life,” he says, his voice vibrating, “it would be the happiness you feel when you look at the stars.” He leans forward to press his mouth against mine. When he pulls away, his lips touch my ear. “I want to know everything about you.”

I melt into him. I want to know everything about him too. How he thinks, feels, and tastes. I start from the beginning. My words flood the air between us far past midnight, when stars come out and monsters come to life.