“Tomorrow we’ll come back and we’ll get along. We’ll work together. We’ll train for the test and take it,” I say.
“And if we pass?” he asks.
“Then we’ve both got what we want. Shouldn’t be a problem,” I say. He looks like he wants to say something else so I add, “That’s all.”
His jaw tenses. “Right.”
I look away from him and move from the seat. He’s on my heels. “How long will you be mad at me about this?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“I guess that means I get to show you.”
“Show me what?”
“How hard I’m going to fight for you to trust me again.”
“Carter,” I say, not daring to look at him.
“I’ll prove it, Pen. I’m someone you can trust.”
He walks ahead to the door. I follow behind him. Carter knocks four times and stares at me in the silence. His gaze is a bit unnerving, like he’s seeing through me again.
“You know,” he says, “if I had to put my life in someone’s hands, there’s no one else I would choose. I trust you with everything.”
Not everything. You didn’t trust me with your secret.
A chill spreads across my spine. He doesn’t look away and neither do I—not until the door clicks open to set us free.
The chills don’t go away until I’m home under the covers. I eat dinner with my family, and try to be positive while they ask me questions about William Prescott, son of the Triad leader. I avoid all of Connie’s questioning looks and excuse myself before dessert and bury myself in my bed so she can’t ask about Carter.
The more I think about today, about Carter being William, the angrier I get. At the demons, at the Triad, at him, and at myself.
Tears fight to come out, but I won’t cry. Not until I figure it out. I’m a lot of things—even though I’m not really sure which right now, upset or angry or heartbroken or excited.
But I’m definitely sure that I was—am—falling in love with Carter Trent.
Which is really inconvenient, because I’m not sure I can trust William Prescott.
And how can you love someone you don’t know?
Chapter Eighteen
Things are a little clearer in the morning. I’m still really upset with Carter, but I’m (hopefully) not going to cause him bodily harm today. This is the road to acceptance. Yay, me!
Acceptance isn’t forgiveness. I have to depend on him because he’s my partner, but that doesn’t mean we have to have a relationship. Feelings complicated everything. Keep to the basics: being Paired with Carter is the key to my quest. I’ll have magic, a known tracker, and resources to find my demon. Finding my own magic is the only way I can save myself. And I’m going to do it.
“You haven’t said much this morning,” Ric says, turning down the volume in my car. That’s a rarity, because no one loves Skeller Bones as much as Ric. I don’t look at him. Eyes on the road and all that.
“Who’s your partner? You didn’t answer any of my texts.”
Ric didn’t get to see because he was Paired first. All the other pairs were whisked off to practice, and I avoided all his texts last night, despite our usual routine.
I remain quiet, try to play my options, but he’s staring at me and even though I’m looking forward, his expression is clear in my head. That and the irritating hmm he keeps repeating. “It was a long night,” I say.
“Long enough that you couldn’t text me back?” he asks. “Who is it?”
“Ric—”
“No. I’m Paired with that girl Che Lin—er, Maple, okay? Do you know why she wants to be an Enforcer, Penelope?” I shake my head. He laughs this little sarcastic tone and I know he’s going to tell me. It’s great, because now I won’t have to talk about me.
“She made it very clear that she’s willing to put in all the work for the test. She’s surprisingly good, actually. But she has a two-year plan.”
“To do what?”
“To pass the test and be Bonded to her partner.”
I laugh. “She’s barking up the wrong tree.”
“Girl is in the wrong forest.” Ric sighs as we pull into the parking lot. “Which is what I told her. Should be interesting.”
I unbuckle my seat belt. Ric grabs my hand midair. “You should just tell me now because I’m going to find out in three minutes anyway.”
I look at him. “William Prescott.”
His jaw drops and he hits the dash.
“What?” I ask.
Ric looks at me the same way the other girls did when I first heard his name and didn’t know who he was.
“You scored the most desirable person in all of Enforcer training. Male or female.”
“It’s not—”
“William’s so good. Have you seen him in action yet?”
“We sparred.” I slam the car door so I don’t have to hear about this anymore and walk ahead of Ric.
Ric skips up the sidewalk to catch up with me. “Boy is quicker than lightning. And he’s smart, powerful, rich,” he slaps my shoulder. “Damn you.”
“What?”
A girl glares at me as she passes by us. I don’t know her, but it doesn’t matter. Apparently everyone hates me for winning the gold prize in partners. Ric keeps talking about how good Carter is at technique, attack, defense, method. The door is close. Please let me make it there before I kill my best friend.
“All you have to do is show up and you’ll pass the test. William Prescott’s a shoo-in.”
“Carter,” I yell, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. So much for making it to the door.
Ric looks at me, his nose crinkled up. “What?”
“Carter,” I repeat, my voice softer.
“The hot boy you want to kiss?”
“Did kiss,” I whisper.
“You kissed him? Mr. Perfect?” Ric’s voice is a whole octave higher. He crosses his arms and looks at me.
I run a hand through my hair and avoid his gaze for a second. I should just say it. “The perfect boy you’re talking about? They’re the same person. I found out yesterday when he walked down the aisle to the name William. William Carter Prescott.”
Ric makes a small O with his mouth. I walk ahead and open the door. He catches up with me at the elevator. “I can see why you didn’t text me back now.”
“I don’t know what to say to him,” I admit as the elevator dings shut. I push 14E and we’re both quiet as it moves.
We’re almost to our floor when Ric says, “You don’t have to say anything. You just have to train.”
The doors open and Maple is waiting for Ric. I hope she doesn’t mess this up for him simply because he couldn’t be with her. She’s a really good fighter, but if she wants to marry an Enforcer—and rules say you can’t marry someone from a different Pair—then she could decide it’s not worth it. If that happened, the Triad could decide Ric couldn’t be an Enforcer at all.
“I’ll talk to you later,” he whispers as he slowly joins Maple and their mentor.
Ellore is in the back of the room talking to Carter. She glances at me, raising her eyebrows and smiling, while still speaking with Carter. He doesn’t turn around, which is good because I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. Ric’s right. I don’t have to talk about anything with him except a plan and some training. It should be easy enough.
“Glad you decided to work it out,” Ellore says when I approach. Carter turns around, but I don’t look at him. He doesn’t say hello.
“We both want this, don’t we, William?”
His jaw clenches and he looks away.
Two points to Gryffindor.