As Twiggy gasped in disbelieving delight, I plopped him in front of the TV, turned the volume down, and hurried over to Justin.
“Sorry about that. When they get bored, they start fighting.” Just like toddlers—extra destructive toddlers. At least they hadn’t used any magic … this time.
With difficulty, he dragged his stare off Twiggy and focused on me. I’d told him about the two fae, but he’d never seen them before—his fault, not mine. He wanted nothing to do with the mythic side of my life, which was about ninety-five percent nowadays.
I smiled hesitantly. “Thanks for coming. I wasn’t sure …”
As awkwardness settled over us, quiet sorrow weighed me down, but it was an oddly familiar feeling. This wasn’t the first time Justin and I had struggled to connect. We’d had this problem on and off for as long as I could remember—mainly because he’d repeatedly abandoned me to go off and live his own life. Not that he wasn’t allowed to do that, but it was kind of a dick move when your sister depended on you.
This time, I was the one living my life and he, by his choice, was staying behind.
I blurted the question without thinking. “Are you sure you don’t want to catch a few beers with—”
“No.”
I scowled. He scowled back. If he would just meet my mythic friends, he’d realize we weren’t a bunch of magic-wielding criminals. Once he got to know the guys, he’d figure out they were awesome. I was sure of it.
Giving up, I stumped to the breakfast bar, ignoring the broken photo frame I’d need to clean up before I finished packing. Justin followed me and slid onto a stool.
“Excited for your Netherlands trip?” I asked politely. “It’s a work exchange thing, right?”
“Yeah, it should be fun. We’re starting in Amsterdam with their Drug Unit to learn how they run things there.” He propped an elbow on the counter. “You’re still going to Vancouver Island for two weeks?”
“Yep. Aaron’s family lives about thirty minutes outside Victoria.”
“But you two aren’t dating anymore.”
“We haven’t been dating since late summer. It’s mid-December.” I gave him a hard look. “Why is this so difficult to remember?”
“I remember it just fine, but I don’t understand why you’re spending the holidays with the parents of a guy you aren’t dating.”
“He, Kai, and Ezra are my best friends.” I pressed my lips together, feeling mutinous. “We’re practically family.”
Hurt and anger flashed in Justin’s eyes.
“And if you’d just meet them, you’d realize why I—”
“Hey, I’ve been wondering,” he cut in. “Have you and your great new friends murdered anyone else recently?”
The floor dropped out from under me as visions flashed through my mind: the dark hilt of Ezra’s short sword in my hands; a foot of deadly steel disappearing into a man’s back; the gurgling gasp of his last breath as he collapsed; the blood spreading beneath his body, steaming on the cold, dirty concrete.
The shock of the memories was too much for me to hide, and Justin lurched backward, almost toppling his stool. His question had been sarcastic; he hadn’t expected a confirmation.
“Tori—” he rasped. “You—you didn’t—”
“N-no,” I stammered. “I mean, it’s not what you think. It was—”
He shoved off his stool, retreating in disgust as though I were covered in contagious murder germs. “I don’t want to hear it. Don’t even try.”
“Just let me—”
“You’re right, Tori.” He turned away, breathing hard through his nose. “I don’t even know you anymore, so I guess those guys are your family now. Have a nice Christmas.”
“Justin, wait!”
He was already across the room, his boots thumping up the stairs. The door at the top slammed shut.
I stood beside the breakfast bar, my hand stretched toward him. Slumping back onto my stool, I stared at the gift he’d brought me. I hadn’t had a chance to give him his.
With a shimmer of air, Hoshi reappeared. Her small paws touched my shoulder and she nudged her cool muzzle against my cheek.
Eyes stinging with forbidden tears, I stroked the sylph’s smooth neck. What would I have said to Justin anyway? I had killed again, and there was no way my explanation about how I’d had no choice but to stab an unresisting, injured man in the back would fly with my protector-of-justice brother.
I had no time to fix this. We were leaving first thing in the morning, meaning Justin would have two whole weeks to stew about how his sister was a bona fide hit woman in a magic gang.
“No!” Twiggy burst out in a broken-hearted wail. “Margaret died! I knew she would die! This is the worst show ever!”
I sighed. At least I’d get a break from my roommate drama over the holidays.
Chapter Four
“It’s colder than a witch’s britches out here!” Sin complained, tugging her jacket tighter around herself. Her breath puffed white and the icy wind whipped the mist away from her lips.
“This is tradition,” Aaron replied, leaning against the deck’s railing.
The ferry’s stern jutted out beyond the rail. Churning water flowed away from the stern, the choppy gray ocean stretching toward the shadow of the terminal from which we’d set sail. Heavy white clouds hugged the coast, obscuring any view of the land.
“Is that snow?” Sin pointed accusingly at the sky. “I just saw a snowflake.”
“It’s winter. Snow happens occasionally,” Kai, standing on Aaron’s left, told her. Ezra was beside him, gazing across the iron sea.
“But we don’t need to stand in it, do we?”
Aaron put his back against the railing, the wind mussing his copper hair. “You’re cheerful. Who spat in your coffee this morning?”
“Ew.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m just … you know …”
“Nervous?” I guessed, burying my numb fingers in my coat pockets.
She grimaced.
“What are you nervous about?” Aaron asked. “You’ll get to see your sister and hang out at the academy for a week, and we’ll be around the whole time too.”
Sin and I exchanged knowing looks. Aaron and Kai were rich kids with rich parents—even if Kai had ditched his family at seventeen. He’d promptly moved into Aaron’s home, so did that even count? They had no concept of what it was like to visit a famous academy as two nobodies.
I angled my head to look around Kai. “Ezra, when did you first visit the Sinclair Academy?”
He straightened off the railing and turned, his mismatched eyes thoughtful. My gaze skittered down and lingered on his jawline. To my surprise, he’d shown up this morning clean-shaven for the first time I’d ever seen. Normally, dark scruff accentuated his lower face—more than a five o’clock shadow, but not enough to call it a beard.
It was sexy as hell, but freshly shaven was just as good. It showed off the strong, clean lines of his jaw.
“Hmm,” he mused. “This will be my sixth Christmas at the academy, but Aaron and Kai are right. You don’t need to worry. Just stay away from the moat and you’ll be fine.”