Page 97 of Rise of the Melody
Oh, Gaia. Mayor MacCray.
I know what you did to Teague. Stay at your house and don’t leave for any reason until I deal with this.
“Oh, no,” I said, making Ron glance at me.
“What is it?” he asked.
I read him the text and he winced. “He’s just doing damage control.”
“He hates me,” I reminded him, fear ricocheting around inside me like a disgusting internal jitter. “He probably thinks I knew Teague was there and didn’t care if I entranced him. He’s going to try to kill me or send me to H’trae!” My voice broke and Ron grasped my hand, holding tightly.
“Hey, hey.” His voice was gentle. “Don’t think the worst. He doesn’t hate you?—”
“He does!”
“Listen, Letty. You’ve done everything you can to prove yourself to him. You’ve done an amazing job, and he will see that. He’ll be reasonable. Take a deep breath.”
I sucked in air until my lungs felt tight and painful, then held it and let it out slowly. During my breathing exercise Ron pulled up in front of the house. I stared up at a dim glow around the doorway and my eyes widened. Was that the ward Aunt Lorna had put up? I looked down at my bare wrist and realized I hadn’t been able to see it when I was cuffed.
“I’ll stay here tonight if you want,” he offered.
I considered it but shook my head. “I think I’m okay.”
“Well, I’ll keep my phone turned on at all times. If you need me, don’t hesitate.” His phone rang and he looked at it. “Word’s getting around fast.” He answered, saying, “Hey, Mo…yeah, I’ve got her right here. She’s okay…. No, she’s insisting on staying by herself.” He glanced at me and nodded. “I’ll tell her.” Ron hung up and sighed. “She’s worried. We don’t like the idea of you being alone.”
“I know. But Aunt Lorna put up a ward so that nobody magical can break in unless I invite them. And honestly, I feel overwhelmed and need to be by myself to process everything. I promise I’ll call you if anything happens.”
“Promise me you won’t go anywhere or do anything hasty. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I won’t do anything dumb,” I promised. But I didn’t know dumb from smart these days. And as lovely as Ron was for thinking he could protect me, there were forces at work here that he wouldn’t be able to fight. Mo either.
I thanked him with a hug and went inside. Then I closed myself into my bedroom and began pacing.
Should I leave town?
That would make the mayor happy, but I wouldn’t want anyone to know where I was going. Where would I go? Maybe I could stow away on a boat. Or steal a car. But how would I do that with Aunt Lorna?
I suddenly felt a chill, like someone was watching me. And sure enough, there was the freaking eagle sitting on my windowsill again, its eyes peering in. I went still and stared back at it. Then I slowly went to my window and opened it, even pulling off the screen and tossing it aside before motioning to my room.
“You may as well come inside…Zar.”
Chapter31
You Can’t Always Have What You Want
Ididn’t know if my hunch was right until the massive bird stepped through the window, onto my comfy cushion, and leapt into the air. With apopthat had me jumping back, the bird morphed into a frowning Zar MacCray. I stared, my eyes bugging out, and let out a laugh. Holy freaking crap!
“It really is you!” I looked over his dark clothing. “Your clothes shift too?”
“Would you prefer me naked?”
A nervous laugh spilled out as a zing of heat flushed through me. Then I remembered I should answer. “No.”
“Hm.” He regarded my reddened face.
“It’s just that Chrys’s clothes don’t shift with him.”
He nodded. “Different magic.” He watched me a moment longer before beginning to walk about my room, looking at all my things. My eyes darted around, and I grimaced at the bra strewn across my dresser. The box of pads beside it. He took it all in. Zar, with his eagle eyes.
