Page 13 of Land of Shadow

“You’re having a mental breakdown or something. I should take your vitals.” I try to remember where I put my emergency kit. Each word sends my sister’s glower into deeper and darker territory. Still, I barrel ahead, “I don’t know what’s happened, why you’d believe this sort of crap, but I can check you out, and if you need?—”

A knock cuts through my words. “Georgia?” It’s Vince, his gruff voice vibrating through the wood.

“What?” My voice seems an octave higher. Shrill and panicked.

“Take a breath and open the door. Everyone downstairs can hear the shouting.”

“I won’t.” I spread my arms out wide, as if that could keep Juno from thrashing me. We didn’t fight much when we were younger, but there was the ‘last of the Oreos’ incident I remember vividly. To this day, I still proclaim innocence of the theft, though the only thing that stopped Juno from murdering me that day was our mom.

“You will.” Vince tries the handle.

“Georgia, move.” Juno’s glare is hotter than the sun in July.

Vince jiggles the handle with more verve. “I know it all sounds a little nutty.”

“A little?” The shrillness is still there. The fear.

“Would I let your sister walk into danger?”

“No.” I have as much faith in that as a religious belief. Vince’s entire life revolves around keeping Juno safe.

“Do you trust Juno?” he asks.

Vince agreed to this? I feel like my eyebrows are in my hairline and my mind is a buzzing hive of confusion. “Yes, but?—”

“No ‘buts’, girl.” He’s even gruffer now. “Do you trust her or not?”

“I …” I meet Juno’s gaze. It softens as she takes a deep breath and reaches for my arms. She doesn’t pull me away, just squeezes me a little in a reassuring way. “Trust me, sis. I’ve got this.”

“I do trust you.” It’s the truth.

“Then you have to let me do this. Once this press conference is over, you’ll see what I mean, and then it’ll be time for you to get to work.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will. Trust, little sister.” She leans forward and kisses my forehead. Then she laughs a little and rubs away her lipstick with her palm. “It’s a good color for me, but you don’t have enough melanin to carry it off.”

The tension between us ebbs, and my grip on the door handle lightens a fraction. “Do you promise it isn’t a lie?” I ask softly, stupidly, childishly. Hopefully.

“I promise.” She crosses her finger over her heart the way she taught me when I was still little. That sort of promise was ironclad, far more binding than the pedestrian pinky promise.

“Fine.” I breathe out, my knees a little wobbly as I step forward and allow Vince to open the door.

Fatima, her face pale, stares at me from behind Vince. “They’re restless. We need to get going.”

“I’m ready.” Juno stops beside me and pulls me in for a quick hug. “Thank you.”

“For what?” I say, slightly dazed.

“Believing in me.” With that, she lets go and strides down the hallway and to the stairs. The clamor in the reception room grows as she approaches.

I follow and meet Candice outside the room where we can still get a decent view of the podium where Juno will speak. I hurriedly put my mask in place and reach over to pinch Candice’s nose bridge to make sure it’s secure.

“You look whiter than my dentures. That bad, huh?” Candice leans on my arm.

“I’m … I …” I don’t know what to say.

Fatima, her headscarf a deep navy today, taps on the microphone, then speaks in a steady voice. “Governor Clark will make her remarks. We will not have time for a question and answer session.” This is met with grumbles. “Please be respectful to the governor as well as to each other.”

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