people already are. There are too many variables, and to explain this would mean I had to explain everything. I only have to keep it all a secret a little longer, and then I’ll have my own magic back, and nothing to tell.
“What’s up?” I ask with a smile.
“I had the worst text from Brian. Why do I date assholes?”
I sigh. “If only you’d had a warning.” I told him not to date Brian, or John before that, or Riley before that, but he never listens to me. I don’t talk to him about boys anymore for this reason exactly.
“Yes, but then I would’ve had no fun,” he says. “Also, it smells like heaven in this house.”
“It always does,” I say. I’m glad he appreciates it, though. I do too. Cooking is not a skill I inherited. He moves toward me on the bed, and I hold the box closer.
He raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing in here?”
I shrug. “Thinking.”
“About?”
“My parents,” I say. It’s not a lie. Directly.
Ric hmm s. He never pushes me on them, just like I never push him on his brother. Sean was an Enforcer on a mission that went wrong, one of those really freak demon attacks that no one can explain. Or maybe they don’t want to.
“What’s in the box?”
“Pictures,” I say. I bite my lip and look away from him, before I slide it under my bed. “Ready to eat?” I ask, moving toward the door before he can answer.
He looks at me when I close the door. “Why do I feel like you’re being shady?”
“I’m never shady,” I say.
He chuckles. “You’re always shady.”
“You still love me.”
Ric puts his arm around my shoulder. “I do. Especially when you feed me.”
“You mean you love Gran.”
“Same thing,” he says. He gasps suddenly. “I heard James McEllory is in it this month.”
Ugh. I have calculus with James, and at least one class since middle school. He is not pleasant. He’ll never make it through to the Pairing. “James is a pompous brat who still picks his nose.”
“He could end up being your partner,” Ric says. “Could you imagine being Paired with James?” He gasps, imitates stabbing himself in the chest with an invisible knife, and I resist the urge to punch him. “What if you fell for him? Then you’d be Mrs. McEllory. The wife of the teenage nose-picker.”
I shake my head. That’s not going to happen. It’s a statistic that most Pairs end up getting Bonded—some people click. Plus, the Triad forbids Enforcers to marry other Enforcers, unless they are Paired. It’s rule number forty.
“God is not that cruel,” I say, starting down the stairs.
“Maybe he won’t even make it past day one,” Ric adds.
Chapter Four
The Nucleus House is the center of everything. It’s the hub of our kind, nestled in plain sight and hidden under the noses of Nons. Our whole existence is like that. We go to school with them, work with them, live next to them, and sometimes marry them, but we never tell them our secrets.
When Ric and I pull up outside the Nucleus House Monday morning, I am nervous. And tired. It’s not even 6:00 a.m.
I stare over at Ric, whose blond hair looks especially white with light of the rising sun peeking behind him. It’s like those old-time paintings of angels, with glowing halos build into their heads. I snort at the idea of Ric being an angel, and he raises an eyebrow up at me.
“Nervous?”
I lean my head back against the seat. “I hope this isn’t some kind of shitshow.”
Ric sighs. “It will be. Put a bunch of witches in a room and there’s nothing else it could be. Don’t be nervous. You’re good at this and you are going to prove it to everyone in there.”
I smile and nod. It’s what I’ve been doing all my life. I wish, out of all the people in the world, that I could tell him that I don’t have magic. I don’t know how I’ve kept it a secret from Ric for so long. I tell myself that maybe deep down he knows there’s something different about me. And soon I won’t have to lie to
“What’s up?” I ask with a smile.
“I had the worst text from Brian. Why do I date assholes?”
I sigh. “If only you’d had a warning.” I told him not to date Brian, or John before that, or Riley before that, but he never listens to me. I don’t talk to him about boys anymore for this reason exactly.
“Yes, but then I would’ve had no fun,” he says. “Also, it smells like heaven in this house.”
“It always does,” I say. I’m glad he appreciates it, though. I do too. Cooking is not a skill I inherited. He moves toward me on the bed, and I hold the box closer.
He raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing in here?”
I shrug. “Thinking.”
“About?”
“My parents,” I say. It’s not a lie. Directly.
Ric hmm s. He never pushes me on them, just like I never push him on his brother. Sean was an Enforcer on a mission that went wrong, one of those really freak demon attacks that no one can explain. Or maybe they don’t want to.
“What’s in the box?”
“Pictures,” I say. I bite my lip and look away from him, before I slide it under my bed. “Ready to eat?” I ask, moving toward the door before he can answer.
He looks at me when I close the door. “Why do I feel like you’re being shady?”
“I’m never shady,” I say.
He chuckles. “You’re always shady.”
“You still love me.”
Ric puts his arm around my shoulder. “I do. Especially when you feed me.”
“You mean you love Gran.”
“Same thing,” he says. He gasps suddenly. “I heard James McEllory is in it this month.”
Ugh. I have calculus with James, and at least one class since middle school. He is not pleasant. He’ll never make it through to the Pairing. “James is a pompous brat who still picks his nose.”
“He could end up being your partner,” Ric says. “Could you imagine being Paired with James?” He gasps, imitates stabbing himself in the chest with an invisible knife, and I resist the urge to punch him. “What if you fell for him? Then you’d be Mrs. McEllory. The wife of the teenage nose-picker.”
I shake my head. That’s not going to happen. It’s a statistic that most Pairs end up getting Bonded—some people click. Plus, the Triad forbids Enforcers to marry other Enforcers, unless they are Paired. It’s rule number forty.
“God is not that cruel,” I say, starting down the stairs.
“Maybe he won’t even make it past day one,” Ric adds.
Chapter Four
The Nucleus House is the center of everything. It’s the hub of our kind, nestled in plain sight and hidden under the noses of Nons. Our whole existence is like that. We go to school with them, work with them, live next to them, and sometimes marry them, but we never tell them our secrets.
When Ric and I pull up outside the Nucleus House Monday morning, I am nervous. And tired. It’s not even 6:00 a.m.
I stare over at Ric, whose blond hair looks especially white with light of the rising sun peeking behind him. It’s like those old-time paintings of angels, with glowing halos build into their heads. I snort at the idea of Ric being an angel, and he raises an eyebrow up at me.
“Nervous?”
I lean my head back against the seat. “I hope this isn’t some kind of shitshow.”
Ric sighs. “It will be. Put a bunch of witches in a room and there’s nothing else it could be. Don’t be nervous. You’re good at this and you are going to prove it to everyone in there.”
I smile and nod. It’s what I’ve been doing all my life. I wish, out of all the people in the world, that I could tell him that I don’t have magic. I don’t know how I’ve kept it a secret from Ric for so long. I tell myself that maybe deep down he knows there’s something different about me. And soon I won’t have to lie to
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