Page 112 of The Cursed Fae

I tried to not glance at Missy in case Nana noticed my necklace on the nightstand. “Heard what?”

Nana assessed my bloodshot eyes and runny nose. “Someone attacked Ewan Wynn last night in Gemini Forest.”

The fact it happened where he’d found Missy’s body was not lost on me.

“Is he going to be okay?” I pressed.

They exchanged glances. My great-grandmother finally answered after an extended moment.

“Gaia willing, dear.”

Chapter thirty-eight

Spies, Lies, and Allies

Mom wanted me to stay at Nana’s house, cooped up with the two people who’d been lying to me for decades. No, thank you. Of course, when I asked why she thought I shouldn't return to school, she and Nana had a silent conversation and clammed up.

My great-grandmother volunteered to drive me back to the dorms. Mom started to put up a fight, but her cell rang and she took the call instead. Only once we were safely inside her car with the heater going full blast, did Nana admit, “You may have been correct about Melissa Derringer.”

If not for the seatbelt, I might’ve flown onto the dashboard. I refrained from gloating, much as I wanted to. It didn’t feel right. Missy was dead, as she loved to remind me. Besides, it wasn’t exactly a victory when she’d told me herself someone murdered her.

“Ewan Wynn also had his magic taken, nearly drained,” Nana went on. “If there’s a connection between Melissa’s death and Ewan’s attack, the guilty party isn’t after casters.” She tore her eyes from the road for just an instant. “They’re after power, Winter. You must promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Am I in danger? A target?” I asked uneasily, reconsidering if I should’ve stayed at her house.

“We all are, dear.”

Nana was quiet until she stopped, and I reached for the door handle. She wrapped her gloved fingers around my wrist. “Your mother and I love you very much, Winter.”

“I love you too.”

She knows that I know, I thought as I walked away from the car and tried not to slide on the ice.

It was the only reason she’d let me go back to school—to give me the time and space to come to terms with my eternal identity.

The dorms were a ghost town. None of the usual sounds of televisions behind closed doors filled the air, no students talking in the hallways. I didn’t see another person until I opened the door to my room. Tina sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest as tears streamed down her face.

I dropped my bag on the floor and hurried over, wrapping my arms around her shaking shoulders. She resisted at first before finally leaning into the embrace and sobbing.

“They took him to the hospital,” she stammered between cries. “It was so awful, Winter.”

“Should I call Laz?” I rubbed her back, feeling the instant she stiffened at the mention of her twin.

“I don’t want to see him right now.” She pulled away from me, watery gray eyes looking pointedly down at the pillow. “I just need to be alone. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” I climbed off her bed. “Okay. Sure. I’ll go...” I trailed off as I slid out into the hallway.

Now what?

Like Tina, I craved solitude. Since she’d called dibs on our place, I chose the astrology attic. It was less likely someone would disturb me there than in the library. Still, my heart skipped a beat when I entered the circular blue room, and my shoulders slumped when I found it empty.

I stretched out in a hammock and closed my eyes. The dream played again in my mind. I paid closer attention to the little details, like the wolf’s head ring on Zosia’s hand and the platinum and sapphire ring encircling my finger. I counted the number of hooded figures surrounding us. When Mat had joined the circle, there were exactly a dozen.

How could any of this help me open a portal to Lena? I wondered.

The only connection between the dream and my current situation was Mat. In the present day, he wanted me to learn to use my dimensional abilities—why? What did he get out of it? He was going to an awful lot of trouble. There must’ve been a reason.

Did the magic unlock the dreams?

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