I chew on my bottom lip as I stare out of the window in front of us. It’s early summer in Annar; dripping emerald trees drape over the city streets, riotous flowers line windowsills, and pillowy clouds drift through an azure, sunny sky. It’s funny how beautiful today is when, in reality, it’s the beginning of something so ugly.
“It’s unfair that so many people have to uproot their lives just because of me.”
His nose gently grazes the skin between my ear and chin. Goose bumps race up and down my arms. “They don’t see it that way.” Another lingering kiss graces my cheek, leaving me weak-kneed. “At least Astrid and Callie aren’t moving in, right?”
I wrap my arms around his. “Thank goodness for small favors.” And then, despite wanting nothing more than to turn around in his embrace and kiss him until we both forget our names, I say, “We need to talk.”
All the muscles pressed up against me tense. “About?”
Will emerges from the hallway, face unbearably grim. “Sorry. Where were we?”
Jonah lets go and steps to one side, a hand tugging through his hair. “Staircases. You were saying you had photos?”
“Ah, right.” A quick glance at us has Will adding, “Let me go down and talk with Dad. You two come down when you’re ready to see them.”
I trail him to the door. “Thanks, Will.” And then, “Is everything okay?”
He glances behind me, back toward the living room where Jonah is still standing. “Yeah. Fine. See you two soon?”
I lean up and give him a quick hug and then he leaves.
Jonah’s at the wide French doors that lead to a wrap around balcony, hands stuffed in his pockets as he gazes out, brows furrowed. I join him, but am surprised to see what he’s looking at.
There’s a gorgeous, ethereal redhead across the street, wearing black sunglasses and looking like she’s just stepped off of Fifth Avenue in New York City. Un-freaking-believable. It’s Sophie Greenfield.
I lean over to the railing and peer down at Kellan’s gorgeous ex-girlfriend. “What is she doing here?”
There’s very little emotion in his voice when he tells me, “I’m assuming she’s checking in on Kellan. It’s not like it’s an unusual occurrence, you know.”
Sophie smiles up at me before flipping me the bird. Nice.
“Way to be classy, Sophie!” I shout down. Well, I attempt to shout, anyway, as my voice is still a scratchy mess. She continues to hold her finger up as she strolls down the street and turns at a corner. Gods. What a bitch. Why is she doing this? Doesn’t she understand how obsessive this seems? “Isn’t this stalking?”
“Yes,” he agrees. “But there’s not a lot we can do about it, remember? She’s banned from the building, but not from the sidewalks around it. Annar is free rein for her.”
And the Council has specifically told both twins they aren’t allowed to influence her. Awesome. “Does Kellan know she’s here?”
“Yeah. But he didn’t let her see him, so ...”
Ugh. It’s infuriating. The last time we ran into each other, she basically insinuated something happened between her and Jonah when I was in Alaska, which was such a low blow. But, I don’t want to talk about Sophie. That will only make all of us miserable. I decide to cut to the chase immediately. “I think I know who is in Jens’ body.”
His surprise stings, as it seems he was expecting me to confess to something else, like maybe something to do with his brother. And I have to remind myself, time and place, even though I also know I reap what I sow.
I walk back over to where he is. “He ... no, it?” I shake my head, choosing right now to focus more on the task at hand. “Whoever it is in Jens’ body. He could do Magic—or at least, a kind of Magic. I tore the bathroom stall doors off in an attempt to smash him with them. And while he choked me out, I watched them go right back onto their hinges, just as if nothing had happened.”
A long, hard breath is blown out. The hand that hints at his anxiety is working overtime as his knuckles strain white. “Are you saying you think Jens is possessed? By another Magical?”
“Not just any Magical,” I tell him. “The first one. Enlilkian.”
Seconds tick by as he processes this.
“Obviously, I can’t say for sure, but ...” I twist the ends of my loose hair up into a bun before letting it fall back down again. “When we were in the hospital, when it seemed like I was having seizures, somebody spoke to me in my head. Somebody I didn’t recognize.”
Somebody who wasn’t Caleb.
My fiancé’s eyes widen significantly.
“Back at the restaurant, after he broke my bones,”—Jonah winces and pulls me closer, like he’s desperate to protect me long after it happened—“he put this sound in my head. An awful sound that kind of just ...” I search for the right words to describe this hell, but none seem to work well enough. “I guess it just shut me down. I heard it again in the hospital.”
“Jesus,” he whispers.