semester go. Or at least I thought I had. This whole thing is scary as hell.
When is this new life of mine going to feel normal? When is it going to feel less like the Hunger Games and more like high school? My wrist starts hurting, and I reach down to rub it, only to realize I’m rubbing the scars from Lia’s bindings. And that Jaxon, Macy, and my uncle can see exactly what I’m doing.
I drop my hand, but it’s too late. Jaxon wraps his arms around me from behind and rests his hands on mine, his thumb gently stroking my wrist.
“He’s already proven he’s willing to kill to get his way,” Macy says after an awkward pause that makes me feel even worse. “And that was before his reputation was on the line. Now that he stands to lose the only thing that matters to him? Yeah, he’ll try something. We just have to be ready for it.”
“We will be ready for it,” Jaxon tells me, his midnight-sky eyes never leaving mine. “If he actually comes after you, I’ll—”
“Let me handle it,” my uncle interrupts. “I gave him another chance after everything that happened with you because of extenuating circumstances. But if he tries anything else, he’s gone.”
“What about me?” I finally ask my uncle when I can actually think past the throbbing in my head.
“What about you?” he answers.
“I’m the one who caused this problem. I’m the one who went after Cole for no rhyme or reason that I can figure out. You said he’ll be expelled if he comes after me. But what about what I did? What’s going to happen to me?”
22
Family Is My
Favorite F-Word
“Nothing,” Jaxon grinds out. “Nothing is going to happen to you. This isn’t your fault.”
“We don’t know that,” I answer him, pulling out of his arms. “We don’t have a clue why I attacked Cole.”
“You’re right, we don’t,” Uncle Finn says. “And nobody is doing anything until we figure out what’s going on with you.”
He wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes reassuringly. “I’m not in the habit of kicking students out who are struggling with their powers, Grace. Or who make bad choices with their power for the right reasons. That’s why Flint is still here, even after everything that happened last semester. Jaxon, too. And it’s also why Katmere has the best healers around. So that when mistakes happen, we can fix them.”
“We don’t know this was a mistake—”
“Did you want to hurt Cole when you left your dorm room?”
“No.”
“Did you make a plan to hurt or kill him during the time you were gone?”
“Of course not.” I pause, rethink it. “I mean, I certainly don’t remember doing something like that.”
“Okay, then. I’m going to operate under the assumption that what happened with Cole last night was some kind of slipup with your new powers. And we’re going to treat it as such. I already called a couple of the gargoyle experts who consulted about your case earlier, hoping they could give me some advice about your missing memories. But now that this is going on, I’ll see if I can talk one of them into coming to Katmere this week to work with you.” He gives me a reassuring smile. “I promise you, we’ll get to the bottom of this, Grace.”
My eyes burn a little at this new proof that Uncle Finn has had my back all along, that he’s been moving so many pieces around in the background, trying to figure out the best way to help me.
It’s not quite like having my parents back—nothing will ever feel like that again. But it’s something good in the middle of all this mess. And it’s a lot better than the lost and lonely feeling I had when I first got to Katmere four and a half months ago.
“Thank you,” I murmur when I can finally squeeze the words past the giant lump in my throat. “All of you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Yeah, well, that’s a good thing, considering you’re stuck with us,” Macy says, moving in for a hug just as the chimes ring, signaling the first class of the day.
“I’ll take you,” I answer, hugging her back.
“All right, all right,” Uncle Finn says, and I could be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure he sounds like his throat is a little tight, too. “Get to class. And for the love of Salem, all of you try to stay out of trouble.”