\u201cHave you ever seen him like that before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve winced slightly, not quite certain how to address Marin\u2019s question\u2014or, more appropriately, the questions that would follow her initial answer. She hugged her arms a little tighter against her chest, gnawing at her lower lip. \u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his room,\u201d Marin said softly. \u201cJac\u2019s with him now. Probably a good thing\u2014she\u2019ll impress on him what a bad idea it would be to do something stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Neve said softly, staring at the clouds that drifted through the sky, gray and heavy with only bare snatches of blue visible here and there. Winter didn\u2019t want to let go, though the calendar her friends kept said that it should have been spring weeks ago. Nothing made sense since the end of the world, not really.<\/p>\n
She sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d she said, finally looking at Marin. \u201cI know I haven\u2019t answered your question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there\u2019s a reason why, isn\u2019t there?\u201d Marin smiled wryly and shook her head. \u201cYou\u2019re afraid to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid of what you\u2019ll ask after I tell you the truth,\u201d Neve corrected. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to lie about any of it, either.\u201d She scrubbed a hand over her face. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him like this before, a long time ago, before…before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore what? Before your father…?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve nodded mutely. Marin touched her elbow, then tugged her arms out of their cross to take her hand. She squeezed it hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you tell me?\u201d Marin whispered. \u201cWhat does it mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Anselm\u2019s right, for what it\u2019s worth,\u201d Neve said, her fingers tightening around Marin\u2019s. \u201cSomeone or something is affecting him, and it may well be whatever attacked Cariocecus.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thought of it set dread coiling deep in her belly. Was it another old, half-forgotten enemy that Phelan had run afoul of in some long-gone yesterday? She didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d That scared her more than just the thought of someone targeting Phelan\u2014the not knowing, and realizing that he<\/em> might not even have any idea who was responsible.<\/p>\n Did you really have to go and make so many people angry with you, Phelan? Did you?<\/em> Neve bit her lip, glancing down at the ground in front of them. Marin squeezed her hand again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out\u2014one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Neve murmured. \u201cI wish they were here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho? Cameron and Seamus and Thom?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Teague,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI wish he was here, too. Out of any of them, out of anyone…he\u2019d be the most likely to know who\u2019s pinned this target on Phelan\u2019s back, who\u2019s doing this. They were always thick as thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d Marin whispered back, and the strength of knowing<\/em> behind her words gave Neve another chill.<\/p>\n She barely dared to ask, but the question slipped out. \u201cHave you seen something?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of things,\u201d Marin said as she let go and turned away. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen a solution to this problem yet, but one will come. One always comes, one way or another, whether we\u2019re ready or not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think we\u2019ll be ready this time?\u201d<\/p>\n Marin gave her a wry smile. \u201cYou tell me, Neve. You tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cHave you ever seen him like that before?\u201d Neve winced slightly, not quite certain how to address Marin\u2019s question\u2014or, more appropriately, the questions that would follow her initial answer. She hugged her arms a little tighter against her chest, gnawing … Continue reading