Page 20 of The Cursed Sebastian Storm

James’s brow creased in concern like he didn’t believe Sebastian. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Sebastian tried to sound confident. “What’s there to be afraid of in going to the house? We’re still trapped. It’s not like I can get doubly stuck.”

James made a humming sound of agreement, kindly not pointing out that Sebastian’s reluctance to return to Storm House was about more than the fear that he’d never leave again.

CHAPTER SEVEN

That evening, Eli left for his shift at Moonlight Diner, and Sebastian and James headed to town hall. Hazel and Parker were waiting for them on the steps outside.

James launched into explaining the accident at the edge of town. Sebastian’s stomach roiled. He was comfortable with Hazel and Parker, so this wasn’t social anxiety. It was more guilt. He winced when James got to the part about Eli being stuck along with them.

“Hold on.” Hazel grabbed James’s arm. “So that’s why I couldn’t report the curse?”

“What?” Parker looked at her in confusion.

“My tongue is definitely tied.” She explained her failed attempt to report what was happening at Storm House when she’d called the official hotline that afternoon. “I wasn’t expecting to be tongue-tied and knew it wasn’t a good sign, but I had no idea it could mean we’re trapped.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sebastian looked hopelessly between her and Parker.

Parker gave him a stern look. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, Sebastian. You’re a victim of this curse too. Way more so than the rest of us,” Hazel assured him.

Great, James’s friends were just as supportive and understanding as he was.

Sebastian wanted to be grateful. They had every right to yell at him and he appreciated that they weren’t, but he knew their understanding would sour with time. It was easy to forgive him for trapping them now, but what about in a year? Or five? Ten? The way this was going, he might never find a solution to the imbalance or the curse, and Sebastian didn’t expect anyone, not even James, to forgive him for permanent imprisonment.

And he’d thought he could build something lasting here. What a joke. These people wouldn’t want him any more than anyone else, and if the rest of the town found out they were at risk of a deadly magical explosion because of the Storms, they wouldn’t want him either.

“We can’t tell anyone else,” Sebastian said unnecessarily, but he didn’t know what else to do.

“No, we definitely can’t,” James agreed. He put an arm around Sebastian. “At least not being stuck at Storm House will make it a lot easier to figure out a solution. We have access to resources.”

“Not to mention smarter people on the case.” Hazel gave James an evil grin.

“Yeah,” he agreed without emotion. “Eli is way smarter than the rest of us.”

Hazel rolled her eyes.

The group walked into the meeting like their lives weren’t ruined, and Sebastian marveled at how light the mood remained between them all. Maybe none of them cared much about being stuck in Moonlight Falls. Was it possible to love the town that much? Sebastian doubted it. Reality just hadn’t hit them yet, and like him, James was probably still comparing this to their last situation. They were better off than before, but that comfort would only last so long.

The mayor was waiting in a small auditorium inside town hall. “Hello, welcome.” She greeted them with a serious air.

Hazel made her way over to Eleanor. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.” Eleanor gave Hazel a small smile, a hand reflexively reaching to smooth her silver-flecked hair, which seemed unnecessary since she had a tidy pixy cut and not a strand was out of place.

As the two women talked quietly, Sebastian looked around. Chairs had been arranged in a circle like the meeting was a support group. Parker and James claimed seats, and Sebastian hurried to follow. A man in heavy work boots, who was already seated, nodded to them.

“How’s the logging going?” Parker asked him.

“We’ll be getting to that,” the man said ominously.

Eleanor’s attention returned to the group. She checked her watch. “Yes, let’s wait until everyone arrives before we start swapping stories.”

Hazel took a seat next to Sebastian. He was nervous. It wasn’t as bad as the diner, but he didn’t know who would be there or how the meeting would go.

Before they’d left the house, James had looked up some social anxiety management techniques online and shared them with Sebastian, who’d been hopelessly touched James had thought to look. He tried to focus on some of the grounding exercises now, but the ache in his chest made it hard.

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