Cursed (Enchanted Gods #1) - K.K. Allen Page 0,27

cold sweat. I expected the dreams to come. In a strange way, I wanted them to come. As haunting as they are, I can't help but feel like they’re trying to tell me something important. Maybe the dreams are a warning. Or maybe they’re telling me the opposite—that I’ll find happiness in this small town.

Alec’s face crosses my mind, and I wave it away, knowing those thoughts are only distractions. There’s no point in getting comfortable here, not when I’m planning to leave in a month. It’s a good thing too. If the confrontation with Ava and Iris is any indication of what I can expect, then I don’t want it.

An image of Trisha pops into my mind next, as if my subconscious wants to remind me that not everyone here is a complete asshole. She handed me that job application like she wanted me to return it too. I promised her I would while simultaneously ignoring the glare Johnny shot me from the other side of the room. The rebel in me wants the job even more now that I know it would bother him.

I’m still thinking about the events from yesterday when I’m at breakfast with Rose.

She’s already finished with her meal, and now she’s watching me push food around my plate. “How was your shopping trip yesterday?”

“Good. I picked out a dress for the party. I promise to repay you.”

“Don’t be foolish. You don’t need to repay me.” Rose’s insistent tone tells me she’s not up for arguing.

Sighing, I look up at her. “Okay, but I’m still going to get a job.”

Rose nods. “I can see that it’s important to you. I saw the application for Island Grille. I can put in a good word with the manager.”

Anger flares in my chest. I hate that this is my reaction, and I’m not exactly sure where it comes from exactly. But I don’t want any of Rose’s handouts. “I’d like to try to get the job on my own, if that’s okay.”

Rose looks slightly taken aback, but she nods. “Okay, dear. Then I wish you all the luck in the world.”

“Thank you.”

Her face relaxes into a smile, and her shoulders seem to fall slightly too. “Of course,” she starts, catching me off guard. “You’ll be busy soon with… other things, so perhaps you should hold off on submitting that application for now.”

“What? Why?”

Rose shrugs. “You’ll see.”

There it is again. The secrets. The mystery. The deep sense that there’s a bigger plan for me. Anger sweeps through me again. “I don’t understand. What is it that you think I’ll be busy with?”

A small smile pushes up her cheeks. “Oh, all sorts of things.”

I force my next breath to be a slow one as I try to steady the rush of heat swirling through me. That’s it. I can’t wait to tell her anymore. Rose thinks I have a future in this place, when the opposite is true. While I feel like I owe her nothing, my conscience tells me differently. “I plan to leave after my eighteenth birthday.”

Rose gasps. “What? You most certainly will not.”

I ignore her and continue. “While I appreciate you taking me in and giving me a home and food and clothes, I will not overstay my welcome.”

“Overstay your welcome? But this is your home, Katrina. You must stay.” She leans forward, her expressive eyes firm on me.

“No offense, Rose, but we haven’t had a relationship my entire life, and now you want me to make this my permanent home? I can’t. I won’t.”

“You must.”

“Why?” I demand. “And don’t give me a vague answer and tell me I’ll understand in time, because I want to understand right now. Why must I stay?”

“Because this is your home. It’s where your parents met. It’s where you were born. You belong here, Katrina.”

My jaw drops. “I don’t know where I belong, but it’s not here.”

“It is.” Her tone is firm, almost scolding. “I understand your frustration, but this isn’t something I can elaborate on at this moment.”

“Why not?” I laugh incredulously.

Rose sighs. “There are discoveries you must make on your own. Here is what I can say. There is a circle of life that began at the root of our ancestry, and on the day of your eighteenth birthday, you’ll no longer be able to deny it anymore.”

“The root of our ancestry?” Somehow, I feel like the words are important. I’m racking my brain when the statue from Apollo Beach Library comes to mind. “Astina Summer.”

Rose frowns. “Where did