Page 35 of Counting Quarters

Chapter Eighteen

Blaire

Grammyclosedtheoffice the day before the Fire Festival and asked me to come along with her to meet with the Quarters. I hesitated, but she didn't leave much room for argument when she met me at the door before I could step inside, then pulled the door shut behind her, locking me out.

“It won't take long, and you should be there. You're just as important to this town's safety as they are. Maybe more so. It's time you get your nose out of those books and step into your power.”

I repressed the urge to roll my eyes at her comment. She had no idea how far I'd already stepped into it. How deeply I'd been thrown into it from the moment they decided to activate all those months ago, when she first revealed them.

She didn’t know about the spirits that followed me everywhere or the fury that burned through me each time I was reminded of the injustices made against my family line by the men she chose to spend her days with.

We walked to the cabin in silence, both of us too stubborn to be the first one to speak.

But my curiosity won out.

“Why are you still meeting out here?”

It seemed like a major inconvenience when all four Quarters had their own mansion at their disposal now. And if the cabin was anything like how it was when we first met out here, it wasn't a place I'd find myself regularly coming back to.

“It's a safe space.”

“Don't the Quarters have wards cast all around their homes?”

She turned toward me, and I could tell she was already irritated with me. With my curiosity. She hated how much I questioned her.

Still, she answered. “They aren’t entirely sure if they can trust their staff just yet. And I don't want anyone seeing us together as much as we are.”

I stared downward, absorbing her words. Why wouldn't they think they could trust their staff? Was it because of the Movement, or because their loyalty still lay with their fathers, who were now cast out of their homes?

It felt like eons since we walked this path with Storie on the night Rayner took her, and Grammy forced me to leave her behind. I often wondered what would have happened if we fought him. If Grammy would have just used her gifts and ended him right then and there.

But she was always playing the long game, making sure she came out on top. Using the gifts that night would have exposed us more than she was comfortable with.

“You’re late,” Rhyse muttered from the couch, not even bothering to sit up.

“Mind your manners, boy. I could have easily not come,” Grammy warned, making sure to catch the eyes of the other three Quarters, so they knew her words weren’t just directed at the rude pyro.

None of them shrunk into themselves the way I expected them to. I could have sworn I caught a smile playing on Grammy's lips, but it was gone so quick, I convinced myself I had imagined it.

“How nice of you to grace us with your presence, Blaire,” Enzo greeted sarcastically.

“Ignore him. He’s hangry,” Storie said from the kitchen. She pulled me into a hug when I went to stand beside her.

“Anything new?” Remy asked from the other side of her, his eyes trained on Grammy.

She had helped herself to a chair at the kitchen table across from Lux. We all watched as she reached into her bag and pulled out one of her old books, slamming it onto the table with a loud clack.

“As far as I know, there hasn’t been a dead animal found for the past week. I’m guessing he’s taking a break before the Fire Festival. He probably doesn’t want to catch the wrong attention with so many people out and about. But that’s why I called this meeting.”

“You think he’s taking a break?” Enzo asked incredulously.

He had moved to lean against one of the pillars separating the kitchen and the living room, thick arms crossed against his chest.

The space had been cleaned up a lot since I'd last been here. New couches were brought in, and the kitchen had a full set of kitchenware stacked beside the sink, as if someone had just cleaned it. Bunk beds now lined the open upstairs loft, and someone brought in a TV.

Grammy shook her head. Somewhere along the way, she and the Quarters grew comfortable with one another. There wasn’t any name calling or finger pointing. They trusted each other. At least, enough to work toward their common goal: to catch Rayner before he could hurt any of them.

I supposed as a fifth Quarter, he could be after me, too. If he knew about the Granger gifts.

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