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threat
I’d face. Nothing in comparison to the weight of the moon that is
King Cyrus.
    My presence here has drawn the attention of
several workers. It would be hard not to, sitting in my baby blue
Porsche. It’s a looker. Furrowed brows and extended necks turn in
my direction. I see their mouths move and their words float to my
enhanced ears.
    “ That the Conrath girl?”
one asks.
    “ I heard she died in the
storm,” another speaks up. “Thought she left her fortune to that
house of freaks she took from Jasmine.”
    “ Looks alive and well to
me.”
    “ Think the rumors are
true?”
    This gains him a sharp look from the first
man. “Watch your tongue. You know what happened last time people
went speculating. You can wonder, but you don’t say it out
loud.”
    They both look in my direction, distrust and
fear in their eyes.
    I don’t know what to do about this. I’ve
been trying, for so long, to gain the trust of the people here. But
things keep happening, and I don’t know that they’re ever going to
stop happening.
    Maybe there really is nothing I can do about
it.
    Maybe in some ways, Henry was right to just
keep to himself.
    It’s certainly easier.
    I start the car and flip around. I can feel
eyes following me and can only imagine what’s running through their
heads.
    I’m already gaining legendary status. In
this short timeframe. Just like Henry.
    I’ve just rounded the corner, pulling back
onto Main Street, when flashing lights reflect in my rearview
mirror. I swear under my breath. “Are you kidding me?”
    I pull over to the side of the road, parking
in front of one of the few historical houses that still line the
main drag of town. I breathe out an annoyed sigh as I pull my
license out of my wallet, preparing to have my day ruined.
    But as I roll down my window, a familiar
face drops down into my view.
    “ Morning, Miss
Ryan.”
    “ Luke,” I breathe out, not
quite in relief, but also in surprise. “Were the lights really
necessary?”
    A little smile tugs on one side of his mouth
that tells me he’s enjoying watching me suffer just a little bit.
“Hey, how else was I supposed to get your attention?”
    “ Jerk,” I say, giving him a
glare and a smile.
    He just shrugs, giving me a smile of his
own. “So, I see the rumors are not true. Here you are, in the
flesh. Alive.”
    “ Apparently most of town
thought I was dead?” I question. I nod my chin for him to back up,
and I climb out of my car. Closing the door, I fold my arms across
my chest and lean against it.
    Sheriff McCoy nods, hooking his thumbs in
his belt loops and looking very much the part of a cop in a small
Southern town. “No one had seen you in almost two months. You
wouldn’t be the only one who froze to death in that freak storm.
Your known associates seemed to be taking over for you. Town starts
talking.”
    “ I nearly was a dead woman.
I got dragged to Austria for a trial. Did you know that?” I ask,
looking in his direction.
    “ I heard,” he nods. “Anna
and Nial did a good job of keeping things under control while you
were gone.”
    “ I’m glad to hear that. I
hope the House members were helpful while I was away.”
    Luke shrugs. “When you’re terrified of the
group wandering town, asking what they can do to help, it’s hard to
be very appreciative.”
    I chuckle at that. Yeah, this is going to be
a never ending, no-win battle.
    “ I think they also blame
your House for the…unsettled feeling about town.” His eyes darken
at that and turn to the sky.
    There’s no longer swirling clouds above us,
and constant thunder rippling through the sky. No more snow making
it impossible to maneuver through town. But the air. The thickness
to it. The way it catches in your throat. The way it makes your
heart race before tripping and falling flat. There’s a feeling of
terror that lingers around us all.
    “ It’s a curse, you know
that, right?” I ask, dropping my voice several octaves lower. I nod
my chin in