It is entirely too soon to approach her.
“Why didn’t Nïx tell you I’m your sister?”
Thad’s lips thinned. “Good question.”
“Have you ever considered they’re all bad? Maybe neither of us needs to be around any immortals. I mean, what does Nïx want with you anyway?”
“I think she and the others want me to fight the Møriør. But I just . . . I’m not sure I could take somebody down. I can’t believe how bad I hurt you. Jo, I could’ve killed you.”
Rune had had his doubts about the boy when he’d been hunched over Josephine with his fangs bared. No longer. Thaddeus Brayden was a good kid.
“It’s cool,” she said. “You jogged loose some memories for me, so no harm, no foul.”
From her childhood?
“I was only using a fraction of my strength, sis. I’m wicked strong.”
She grinned, and he matched her. They resembled each other much more when they smiled. Rune was noticing other similarities as well—the cadences of their speech, their humor, their mannerisms.
Because this boy had learned from Josephine, who’d been just a girl herself, taking care of a baby while living on the streets.
When Thad asked about the night she’d been shot and the months after, she admitted to meting out punishment, but he took it in stride.
She recounted that grim night and her struggles with her powers. Then she told him, “Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’d gone to that wake intending to steal you and your new puppy, planning to ride off into the sunset together.” She gave a humorless laugh, as if her idea had been idiotic.
“You ever think about coming back for me?”
“Every damn day. I wore those bullets strung around my neck to remind me I’d only hurt you. I kept up with your life as best as I could, and over the years it just seemed to get better and better.”
Thad peered at her intently. “So what changed?”
“I saw you in this city. With Nïx. And then I learned about the Lore.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Two-week newbie here.”
“Not much longer here,” Thad said. “You mentioned you had some clues about where we came from. For the last few months, even before the island, I’ve been having these crazy dreams. I think they’re connected to our past.”
“What kind of dreams?”
“I see fires and earthquakes and portals sucking at my feet. I dreamed I was crossing the universe, and I was looking down at a baby.”
“Thad”—she swallowed audibly—“you were looking down at yourself. You’ve been dreaming my memories. You must’ve harvested them when I fed you my blood on the journey.”
“Journey?”
She took a deep breath. “We come from a place called Apparitia, the realm of phantoms. We’re Apparitians. Or we were. You were born the day our world ended. . . .”
What the hells?
SEVENTY
“Our mother was so brave and selfless,” Thad finally said. He’d gone quiet once Jo had finished her story. “I’ve seen her face in your memories. You take after her.”
Jo’s brows drew together. “Thank you.” She gauged his expression, wondering how he was doing with all this information.
“What about our dad?”
“I don’t remember him well, just vague impressions—like you had of me. I get the sense he wanted to stay with us, but always got called away to go fight wars.”
“I keep thinking maybe he could be alive,” Thad said.
“After so many years, I don’t know if you should hold out too much hope. I just want to remember more so I can make sense of things.”
“We’re Apparitians,” he muttered. “How weird.”
“Yeah, we’re pretty much aliens.” (Secretly, she’d always known it.)
“Should I call you Jo or Kierra?”
“I’ve been Jo longer than Kierra,” she said with a shrug. “Was this too much for you? My brain felt like it was going to break from just this one memory.”
“Nah, I’m good. Just have one question . . . Could I have been a cuter baby?”
She gave a surprised laugh. “No. Nor a louder one!” They were sharing a grin when fingers of light reached them. Sunrise. She’d been dreading it, wanting to talk with Thad for days more. “I should probably head out,” she said, trying for a casual tone. “Maybe I’ll drop by next week or something.” How am I gonna leave?
“Next week?” His voice scaled an octave.
Her heart sank. “I mean, or whenever. I’m not going to intrude in your life. We can take it slow. Plan a visit here or there.”
“Intrude? I thought . . .” He examined the armrest of his chair. “Thought you were gonna stay here with us.”
“Oh! Ohh.”
“We’ve got all this room. You’d have a wing to yourself.”
“Thad, I’ve got to get back to my motel.”
“Why?”
Because she needed to find other freaks? Nope. Been there, done that. Because she needed to maintain her Thad memorabilia? He was right here, holding his breath, hoping she’d move in!
Because she needed to be there in case Rune was looking for her?
Screw that. She would move out of her motel and find another one, refusing to look like she’d been waiting on him to show up.
“Being around MizB is weird,” she told him honestly. “Case you haven’t noticed, I don’t play well with others.”
“But you could,” he quickly said. “It’s like baseball. You just gotta learn the basics.”
The basics of being domesticated? By the Braydens?
Jo supposed she couldn’t lay into Rune for refusing to change when she wasn’t willing to. Of course, she hadn’t cheated on anyone. His talisman seemed to burn in her pocket.
She might want nothing to do with him, but she’d safeguard his cherished belonging until he returned for it.
“Come on, Jo. Just give it a try.”
“What am I supposed to do here all day?” And in general. She was zoning in, but she’d found all her answers. Now what?
Start some kind of life after Rune.
“Spend time with me.” Thad pulled his chair closer to hers, then took her hands. “We’ve got so much to talk about and see. I’ll trace you to the places I’ve been, and you can trace me to all your places.”
“But you’ve gotta have friends you want to hang out with. I’m not gonna be some big-sister bug interfering with your teenager plans.”
“Since moving here, I’ve been going to Val Hall every day so Mom would think I was still in school. Now I don’t have to hide what I am anymore. Plus, you’re the closest Lorean to my age around. Come on, sis. Please? Just give us a week.”
Enough with the eyes! She exhaled. “A week.” She pinned his gaze. “You asked for it, kid.”
Rune hurriedly worked to redirect the protections on this property to ward away Vertas creatures.
His mate was staying.
Josephine had launched an attack on Val Hall, and then the Møriør had destroyed it; this proximity to Nïx’s army put Rune on edge.
From his spot outside the manor, he could see inside Josephine’s new room. Thad was helping her get settled. She’d just returned from her apartment, carrying a small bag of clothes.
Rune had worried she was building up her reunion with her brother too much, that she was sure to be disappointed.
By the end of the night, Thad had all but begged Josephine to stay.
He was her number one. She seemed to be glowing with contentment as they cracked jokes.
Even recounting her memories of Apparitia hadn’t hampered the siblings’ happiness to have found each other.
Her tale had floored Rune. The two of them had barely escaped their home world—and only because of their mother’s sacrifice. Then, floating in the ether, they’d seen behind the curtains of the universe.
Eventually, they’d gone into stasis—as the Møriør did. But that didn’t negate their age.