Page 62 of Anchor

“Talk—whokilled that catfairie?!” I was trying to keep my voice down, but it was impossible. Goddess, I was so pissed off.

“You did,” said Jam.

“It was you—you killed the big catfairie,” said Jim.

They lied. They fucking lied to my face.

“You d?—”

“Agents McMurray, you’re being called in room three for a briefing.”

We all turned to look at one of our colleagues—Fernand with the sweet smile, one of the few whohadn’ttried to befriend me and get me to tell him how I won the Iris Roe.

“Gotta go,” the twins said, eagerly jumping to their feet. “Nice catching up with you, Rora.”

“See you later!” said one or the other, I didn’t give a shit. I just wanted to murder something as they—and Fernand—made their way back to the main office and the meeting rooms to get briefed about their next mission. And I wanted that, too!

I wanted to be briefed and be out there and stop thinking for a second, but instead the best I could do was sit there on the bench on my own, and play with the bracelet in the pocket of my jacket, which I forgot I even had with me most of the time. I never left it anywhere else, but I didn’t really have any use for it. Madeline hadn’t gone out in forever so I didn’t get the chance to check that book again to make sure it was the same bracelet—butwhywould it be? Why?!

It was silly. It was absurd. I shouldn’t have bothered stealing it, putting Cassie at risk. Putting myself at risk.

Everything sucked and I hated the whole world and I just wanted to be in Taland’s arms and hide my face in his neck and sleep.

Instead, I walked out of Headquarters completely defeated.

Chapter 12

Rosabel La Rouge

This time when I went to the trailer at the end of the street, I had no doubt that the girl who lived there would see me, and that was okay. It was dark, past ten p.m., and I’d just come from the mall, but I still didn’t take my hoodie off for fear somebody would recognize me.

I’d bought things I’d had no clue how to even buy for someone else, let alone someone younger—shirts and jeans and shoes and boots and jackets and underwear—and it was just so overwhelming to figure out what to get and what not. I had never had to buy anything for myself when I was younger. Whatever collection came out in whichever brand Madeline was interested in in that time, the whole thing would just come to my bedroom in my size. She hadn’t allowed me to buy a single thing until I went on thatmissionto the Iridian School of Chromatic Magics.

Then I’d had to get a suitcase because there were too many bags and I couldn’t carry them while riding my bike, and the suitcase was a hassle, too, but I was already here. I went all around the trailer, the lights still on inside, and I didn’t have towait long for her to come out from around back, peek her head out and wave at me.

“He—”

She brought her finger to her lips and I shut my mouth instantly—she didn’t want me to make a sound.

For the better,I thought, and I was going to just leave the suitcase there for her, but then she waved for me to follow her behind the tree, into the forest—no doubt to the treehouse, minus thehouse.

With the suitcase in hand, I followed reluctantly.

“What do you have there?” she asked when we were away from the trailer and the darkness of the forest was illuminated only by the bright moon in the sky. The trees weren’t dense, the branches thin, so moonlight had no trouble touching the forest floor here.

“Just some stuff. How do you always know I’m there?” I wondered because at this point it made me really curious.

“I just do,” she said with a shrug, then began to climb up the tree. I left the suitcase down when I went to climb behind her because,yes, I said I wasn’t going to stay, but this place was really nice. And secluded. And dark. And quiet.

And I just wanted some company that wasn’t…company. Notusualcompany. Just this girl.

“Bring it up. I want to see what’s in there,” she said when she sat up on the branch, and turns out, climbing with a suitcase in your hand is much more difficult than you’d think. I almost fell off the tree a few times.

“There’s not enough space,” I told Taylor when I made it up there and put the suitcase against the trunk.

“Plenty of space—I’ll just take a peek,” she insisted.

So, I sat farther away to give her more room to move, and she proceeded to open the suitcase only halfway to see what was inside.

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