Page 10 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

“If you’re trapped here, really trapped, you know I’m not leaving you behind, Hazel. Free or not.” Eleanor’s gaze turned warm as she studied the other woman.

Hazel ran a hand over her face. “You’re right. There’s no way I’d get you to leave me behind. I just wanted to save you from this.”

“I understand,” Eleanor said softly. “But we’re in this together.”

They didn’t need to break the secret-binding and the longer Sebastian explained—he started at the beginning—the easier the words came.

He wondered if whatever had happened to the veins when he’d banished the darkness had further weakened the secret-binding spell. Was whatever aspect of the curse Selma had linked the secret-binding to responding to the changing veins, or had the increased instability in the veins broken the link the secret-binding had to the rest of the curse?

By the time Sebastian was done talking, Eleanor had her hands fisted in her short hair, elbows braced on her desk. “So the whole area might blow up. We have a portal for shades and even worse beasts from Beyond sitting on your property. And all four of us are trapped here?”

“Eli and Parker are trapped too,” James corrected.

Eleanor let go of her hair and stared at them. “What a clusterfuck.”

“Sorry.” Sebastian couldn’t help apologizing. The shade problems and invasion from Beyond might not have been directly caused by his family, but they’d been the ones to let the beasts in.

“No need to apologize.” Eleanor made a visible effort to collect herself, smoothing her hair. “This is the kind of thing I need to be aware of. I’m glad you told me. I understand magic stopped you asking for help before now, but at least we’re past that.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to relay the whole story to the officials since it was easier for Sebastian to tell you today than it was before.” Hazel looked hopeful. “I tried to report it last week but was tongue-tied.”

Eleanor picked up her desk phone. Sebastian held his breath as she made the call. At first, it all sounded fine, but when she began her explanation, Eleanor’s words seemed to stick in her throat. She passed the phone to Sebastian for him to try. He failed too and passed the phone back.

Giving up, Eleanor slammed the receiver down. “Why can’t we tell them as easily as you told me?”

Sebastian chewed his lower lip, thinking. “We’ve seen the curse respond to changes in the vein system before when the area we were trapped in expanded after adding the fuel cell into the mix. Now, as the veins get less stable, things seem to be falling apart. The energy in the fuel cell is draining erratically and the secret-binding doesn’t seem to be working properly but, unfortunately, isn’t completely broken.”

James turned to Sebastian. “Do you think the secret-binding only prevents us from telling people outside Moonlight Falls?”

“Seems that way,” Sebastian agreed. “We still can’t get beyond the reach of the veins, even with words. It’s like the part of the curse meant to contain everything is still holding on strong.”

“So we can only tell people within the veins’ area? People we can trap?” Eleanor asked.

“Are you planning to tell anyone other than people outside who might help?” James looked at her in alarm. “We really shouldn’t tell and trap anyone else. Just because things are falling apart and telling you was easy doesn’t mean the curse hasn’t spread to you.”

Eleanor sagged in her chair. “I know. And no, of course, I won’t be spreading this around. You have my word. I’ll double-check if I’ve been trapped but will assume I have been until then.” She drummed her fingers on her desk, thinking for a moment. “If there’s a chance the town might explode, I need to act fast. It won’t be easy to get everything in motion without the city councilors signing off on certain things, but I’ll figure it out and have an evacuation plan and potential shelter options in place as soon as possible.”

“If there’s anything we can do to help with that, let us know,” Sebastian offered.

“Thank you.” Eleanor gave him a grim smile.

Sebastian and James left town hall while Hazel stayed behind. Sebastian hoped there’d be less tension between her and Eleanor and was glad there were no more forced secrets between them, but he didn’t feel entirely good about spreading his curse.

Outside, James stared across the street at the stone in the center of the road, seeming deep in thought.

“Did I do the right thing?” Sebastian asked, unable to hold the question in even though there was no taking it back now. He longed for a nap, exhausted as if he hadn’t just woken up an hour ago.

“Yes, Sebastian. You made it Eleanor’s choice.” James put a comforting hand on Sebastian’s arm. “She’ll do whatever she can for the town. More than we could?—”

A roar cut across James’s words, and he fell silent.

Sebastian stepped closer to him. “What was that?”

Someone screamed.

James’s hand on Sebastian tightened. “It sounded like it was coming from over by the diner.”

They jogged across the street without hesitation. Another scream and a louder, snarling roar cut across the quiet circle.

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