Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,25

in deodorant, notebooks and pens, makeup and my toothbrush. I needed to talk to Aries about human hygiene products.

The mirror of my dresser was lined with pics of friends. I tossed the one of Brant over my shoulder and let it land wherever, focusing on the pics that made me happy, pics of me and Kes, me and Mom, and me and Dad on the balcony with our homemade telescope. There was even a picture of Kestrel before he died.

His memory was becoming hazy at the edges, and the haze crept closer to the middle of the image I had of him in my head. Would the fog eventually obscure him entirely? I hoped he was someplace peaceful, that he was looking down on us and watching out for Mom and Dad.

I took all the pictures down, slipped them into a zippered side compartment in the bag, and took the wooden hoop off the wall. This was one cross-stitching Mom hadn’t made out of aggravation or stress. She made it out of love and had spent a week trying to position the constellations just so on the round, sapphire fabric. She’d tugged golden strands of string through until it was just right. I begged her not to take it out of the ring, to let me hang it just as it was.

I hugged it to my chest, startling when I looked up to find Aries standing at the door.

“Hey,” I said, trying to hide the tears clogging my throat and running down my face. I’d thought he was still snooping around somewhere.

Aries looked as uncomfortable as I felt. He shifted his weight back and forth as if he was unsure where to stand or what to do. “I can sense Gemini, and she senses me. We need to go.”

“Is she awful like Taurus?”

He shook his head. “She’s not like him, but she isn’t kind. None of us are, Larken.”

He stepped inside and studied my things so sharply I wondered if he were committing them to memory, then took up my bag, reaching for me with his free hand. I caught a glimpse of my prom dress draped across my bed before we disappeared, and immediately felt bereft because I left it behind.

ARIES

Larken’s tears made my chest ache. I hovered near the door, the pledge making me feel things I didn’t understand. I wanted to stride across the room and take her in my arms, to reassure her that all would be well in time. That I would protect her.

I barely knew her. If it weren’t for Kes invoking his pledge to save her, none of this would matter. She wouldn’t matter. I would never even know her name. I likely would never have set eyes on her.

I balled my fists, thinking of what Taurus would do to her if my blood left her skin.

Her room was cluttered, but it suited her. Somewhat chaotic. Beautiful. Moody.

Her linens were a shade of soft gold, like the sun-kissed strands in her hair. All around us and overhead, the walls and ceiling were the color of the deep sea. Not solely blue, but holding a hint of green. Constellations had been painstakingly painted on the ceiling.

The fact that she loved the stars made my chest ache worse. I bet she saw me and loathed them now, as she loathed her new existence.

But I could sense Gemini’s approach, and my need to protect Larken flared.

I finally stepped inside where she was clutching a circle of wood to her chest and crying. I gathered her things and warned her about Gemini, whom I felt creeping closer. I didn’t want her to see Larken. Taurus would tell them all about her and my pledge to her, but for now, maybe they didn’t know what she looked like.

My Guardian had only thought to save her in the short-term, but he damned her all the same. Because I was challenged before the slumber, and I would be challenged again. Especially now that I had pledged to protect her.

It was only a matter of time until Taurus garnered support, and with his allies, lashed out. I wasn’t sure anyone would fight at my side.

There was much to do, much I needed Larken’s assistance with. But how could I ask more of her when she’d already given so much?

Gemini slinked closer.

We must go.

When she asked about Gemini’s demeanor, I did not hold back when I told her that none of us were kind. It was the truth. I held my hand