Page 37 of Counting Quarters

“There's not much to say about something I don't fully understand.” A partial lie.

I didn't understand the full effect of my gifts, but I'd quickly grown comfortable with them. Like putting on an old pair of jeans, the powers just kind of came naturally.

“Bullshit.”

“Watch your tone,” I snarled back. The deepening of my voice was eerily similar to Grammy’s.

I wasn’t the only one left reeling after the outburst. Surprise was etched across all six faces before me as they contemplated their next move. Even Grammy turned away from her book.

“I knew we made a mistake trusting you two,” Rhyse deprecated.

As the master of the fire element, his anger seared a hole into my chest. He was calm and collected, but that rage simmered just beneath the surface, ready to begin boiling over at any given time.

He and Enzo were the wildcards of the group.

“Let’s all take a second to process what this all means moving forward.” Storie attempted to diffuse the situation, but her own Quarter was looking at her with the same disapproval as the rest of them.

“It means that there’s someone else around to leech our powers from us,” Enzo started again, throwing his hands around animatedly. “Because there’s no way in hell the gods would bless one person with the same gifts that were split apart among four families for fear of them being abused.”

“Don’t speak of things that your brain is too small to understand.”

It was Grammy who defended us this time.

This was why Quarters could never know of our powers. They couldn’t even wrap their minds around the concept of responsibility. That it actually was possible for one person to wield this amount of power and use it for good—for helping others. Instead, Grangers were forced to hide them away and watch people suffer.

All because of the fragile male ego.

I tilted my head and gazed at them, finally seeing each of them for what they were: immature little boys.

And I no longer felt angry or defensive.

I felt pity.

“We don’t know where she’s getting her gifts from,” Lux pointed out levelly.

He was considering me the way one would do a puzzle or a riddle. He wanted to figure me out just as bad as the rest of them, and he had the wherewithal to realize that throwing insults my way wouldn’t get him anywhere.

“They aren’t coming from anywhere besides my own family line. From the blood that runs through my veins, just like you.”

It was no use explaining. They would refuse to believe any word we said, regardless of its merit. I could see it clear across their faces. In how they each held their shoulders back and their stances wide, the way they often did whenever me or Grammy were around. Always ready to fight, even if they were fighting against their own side. I didn’t understand why she wasted her time with them for this long.

“I’m out of here, Grammy. They don’t deserve our help.”

When I turned to leave, it was Remy who called out, “Where are you going?”

“I have no interest in being treated like a criminal for things that are out of my control. We can talk when you’re willing to listen, but I refuse to give this any more energy until then.”

Storie ran after me and wrapped her hand around my upper arm to stop me from walking any farther. I looked down at it, then at her face, and the coolness of my expression had her quickly pulling away.

She spoke low in my ear, her tone a desperate plea. “Please, Blaire. We need to talk about this.”

“We’ll listen,” Remy added, casting a warning glare back at his brothers.

Grammy watched with an excited, prideful smile stretched across her face.

“What makes you so sure we can trust her?” Enzo asked, and the anger in his voice still hadn’t dissipated.

Four doubtful pairs of eyes found my friend and waited for confirmation. My brows shot up to my hairline as she hesitated, and right when I took my next step out the door, ready to be through with all five of them, she confirmed.

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