“I don’t doubt I’ll need you very soon.” She smiles and leaves.
Still uneasy, I pull on one of Artemis’s black leather jackets and head to the gym. Instead of training, I’ll ask Leo to scout with me to see if we can turn up Doug’s trail. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find him. Artemis didn’t, but she’s not a Slayer. At least then I’ll be doing something instead of just waiting. I know Eve is a Watcher, but I can’t sit back and let her do everything.
Leo’s waiting for me. “There you are. Come on.” He turns and walks out of the gym.
“Oh, good. I was thinking we’d look for Doug.”
“I trust your instincts that he’s not dangerous.”
“I was actually more worried about what would happen if Honora gets to him first.”
“Then we’ll know where he is, and we’ll deal with her.” He says it matter-of-factly. Instead of leading me to the forest, we go to the garage.
“So then where are we going?” I ask as he grabs the keys to the Range Rover.
“To talk to Cosmina.”
I freeze with my hand on the door. “Your mom said we shouldn’t. She said you talked about it.”
“You and I both saw how much trouble Cosmina was in. My mother didn’t. What if it were you out there all by yourself?” His concern is so genuine that I feel like the worst person in the world.
I didn’t want Cosmina here because of how it would affect me. And because our last encounter made me reasonably reluctant to trust her. But I have so much that she never had. Life is harsh for Slayers out there alone, like Cosmina. It’s even harsh for Slayers who aren’t alone. Like my grandmother.
Whatever is in me that makes me a Slayer connected us. I shouldn’t deny that. “If I were out there, I’d want our help,” I admit. I’ve always had Artemis, after all. No matter how things are between us right now, ever since the fire, she’s been there for me. Leo trusts me. So I’ll trust him, too. “Oh, fine. Let’s go rescue Cosmina. Ideally with less carnage this time.”
Leo laughs dryly. “We won’t bring her back. She’ll have to work hard to gain some trust if she wants it after how she left you in the pit. But someone needs to check in on her.” Then his face turns thoughtful. Shy, even. Not blank like the mask he wears around the adults. “I’m glad you’re coming. It’ll be nice to talk.”
“Yeah.” My face betrays me by flushing bright red. “Talking is good.” It is good, with Leo. He actually listens instead of telling me how to feel. Honora interrupted us this morning. I’d love to talk more with him about being a Slayer. Or anything else, really. I’ve shifted from hating his presence to feeling like he’s someone I can truly depend on. Someone who believes I can do this, which makes it easier for me to believe it too.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” He climbs into the driver’s seat. “I haven’t been able to figure out how to bring it up, or when, or even whether I should. But—”
“Where are you going?” Artemis runs up to us from the direction of the forest, grabbing my door and holding it open. She was probably scouting for Doug. I hope Honora isn’t still out there, skulking around like a creep.
I hesitate, but only for a second. Artemis and I don’t agree on who to trust. We don’t even trust each other the way I once thought we did. But keeping secrets from her has only made things worse. “We’re going to Dublin to talk with Cosmina. Mom wanted us to check in on her.” I pause. “Well, she wanted Leo to. She definitely wouldn’t want me to.”
“My mother didn’t want either of us to do it.” Leo doesn’t so much as crack a smile.
“So you’re both disobeying your own mothers by doing what the other person’s mother asked you to.”
I try to sort through the tangle of connections. “Right. Wait, no. Well, yes. Sort of. No one’s mother wants me to go. Unless you know something about Wanda Wyndam-Pryce that I don’t.” Going to talk to a hostile Slayer who almost got me killed the last time I helped her? Wanda would probably approve, now that I think of it.
Artemis raises an eyebrow. Her tone isn’t critical. It’s almost . . . curious. Like she can’t quite understand it, but she maybe gets