Burning Bridges (36 page)

“
Sure. I
’
d lo—
”

“
She a
friend
, Mother,
”
Ayden
growled. It was only the second
time he spoke up since we entered the kitchen.

“
I know. I can
’
t offer her some tea?
”
Cays actually seemed disappointed.

“
Not that kind of tea, no.
”
Ayden kicked off the wall he leaned against and sat in the chair beside me.
“
We
’
re not staying long; I just thought I could bring her by.
”

Dishes clanged in the sink behind us as Ayden
’
s father continued the dishes. Between his parents, he seemed the colder of the two. Not that Carys was cold, but it was what my mind assumed they would be as Hunters. All the poison of New Haven was proving to be wrong.

“
How long have you known each other?
”
she asked, crossing her arms in her lap.

“
A
while,
”
I said.

“
Not long,
”
Ayden added.

I blushed and averted my eyes to the tabletop.
I could feel Ayden
’
s heated glare on me as I said,
“
Five weeks, but it
’
s felt like forever.
”

“
Are you together?
”
she asked cheerfully.

“
Mother,
”
Ayden groaned, slouching in his chair.

“
Carys, stop interrogating the children,
”
Ayden
’
s father said from the sink. He turned to face me and his eyes seemed friendlier.
“
Call me Francis.
”

I nodded and offered him a smile. Turning back to Carys, I murmured.
“
No, not quite.
”

“
We
’
re friends.
”
Ayden looked at his mother with annoyance, but I caught the compassion behind it.

“
Friends,
”
I confirmed. It was a complete lie, of course.
Neither Ayden nor
I knew exactly what we were, but we were the furthest thing from
‘
friends
’
. Last night and this morning proved that.

“
Alright. Well, do you live here? I
’
ve never heard of an Esolen family in Shadow Hills or Loracre.
”

“
She
’
s from Radcliff,
”
Ayden
said
quickly, shooting me a look.

“
So far?
”
Carys gasped.
“
What brings you all the way here?
”

“
Ayden,
”
I wanted to say. Instead, I settled for,
“
My father changes jobs a lot.
”

“
Oh?
”
Carys smiled at Ayden.
“
So
,
you have something in common with Ayden. We used to move around a lot, but finally settled down here in Shadow Hills. It
’
s not too bad, right?
”

“
Definitely not.
”

I slouched back in my chair and Ayden and I sighed at the same moment. We stared at each other and seemed to think the same thing:
we
’
re going to H
ell
. I didn
’
t think I could lie so much, but I had. I even managed with a straight face. How I did it was beyond me.

“
So
,
where are you off to?
”
Ayden
’
s father, Francis, dried his hands with a small towel and met us at the table. When he came into the light over the table, I noticed his eyes
were the lightest shade of purple. That was probably where Ayden got his
peculiar irises from. I
knew I got mine from my father as well. Maybe it was a Hunter thing.

I hated it the moment I thought it. I was half Hunter and the realization o
f that didn
’
t hurt nearly as much
as my own mother lying to me. I was a bastard, and instead of my mother coming clean when she felt I was of age, she continued to lie on. If I hadn
’
t put the pieces together and hadn
’
t been so curious in the first place, I would have never known. I would have continued to live a lie—a life that did not belong to me.

Again, I felt myself asking,
who am I?
Where I belonged had become obvious the moment I kissed Ayden, but the fact that Echo never really existed still held true. It now became a harrowing burden that spoke legions.

“
A hike,
”
Ayden finally said. It seemed he, too, was lost in his thoughts.

“
A hike? In this weather? It
’
s been storming for the past three night
s, Ayden.
I don
’
t think that
’
s wise,
”
his mother said.

“
We won
’
t be long.
”

“
And where do you live?
”
Francis asked suddenly.

Ayden answered for me.
“
She just moved here, Father. She wouldn
’
t know.
”

Before he could question us further, the back door flung open and a yo
ung boy
and girl trudged through dressed
in dirt from head to toe. It reminded me of the day Shadow had first taken me to the market to practice with Ezily. We
’
d returned and mother had absolutely thrown a fit. Now
,
though, as the apparent twins walked up to the table, Carys smiled at them and looked at them with love.

“
We caught one,
”
the young boy said, raising a dead fish at the end of the line for his mother to see.

“
You did. Set it over on the counter and I
’
ll cook it up later,
”
Francis said. The boy smiled and did as instructed.

“
I wasn
’
t so lucky this time,
”
the girl chirped in.
“
Storm
’
s got all the fishes running away from me.
”
Carys smiled and kissed her cheek. With that, the girl seemed content. No yelling, screaming, or threatening of baths. It was almost as if I stepped into a complete different world. The New Haven slogan popped into my mind and I cringed.

Two Worlds, Two War
s
.

“
Who are you?
”
the young girl asked, breaking me from a reverie.

“
Oh, I
’
m Aly. What
’
s your name?
”

“
Misty Grey,
”
she mumbled with a smile. She was missing a couple of teeth still and didn
’
t look any older than twelve. Though, as I glanced down her neck, I noticed a tribal tattoo—intricate in every way—on her shoulder. I found it rather odd, but then all of them had the same tattoos, even Ayden. Hell, Ayden had a lot. I just never noticed them until now.

“
Misty
’
s a very pretty name. It suits you.
”

“
Thanks. Ayden calls me Mis sometimes, but I prefer Princess because that
’
s what I want to be when I grow up.
”

The smile faltered on my lips. She didn
’
t mean that. Obviously, she had no idea what she was talking about.
“
Oh? You want to know a secret, Misty?
”
She nodded and Carys, Ayden, and Francis watched me closely.
“
Being a Princess is so boring. What
’
s most important is finding, being, and keeping yourself. That
’
s the best part about growing up, relying on morals that never get old.
”

“
Really?
”
she asked.

“
Really.
”

Beside me, Misty
’
s brot
her tugged on Ayden
’
s arm and Ayden
dragged his gaze from me unwill
ingly. I heard the boy whisper
,
“
Is that the witch? The one who casts spells?
”

I frowned and
watched them.
“
What?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Ayden said too quickly.
“
This is my younger brother Milo. He tends to speak his mind. Often.
”

I smiled at Milo, but his lips didn
’
t
as
much as twitch. He stared me down as if I
’
d suddenly intruded upon his territory.

“
Well, you
’
ve met the family, Aly. Family, you
’
ve met Aly. Now it
’
s time to go.
”
Ayden stood to his feet before either of us could get a word in and pulled me to my feet.

“
But—
”

“
But we should go.
”

“
Be safe,
”
Carys called after us as Ayden hauled me out the back door.
When we were out of the yard and walking down the dusty roads, he began to laugh.

“
What could possibly be so funny? And did your brother call me a witch?
”

He stopped laughing to say,
“
He did, but he misunderstood something
I told him
. It
’
s nothing, really.
”
He snickered again and I reached out and punched his shoulder. I thought it was a pretty solid punch, but when my knuckles cracked and he barely flinched, I knew I
’
d failed.

“
I don
’
t find that
funny,
”
I mumbled, rubbing my swollen knuckles.
“
But Misty is adorable, despite her interests to become a Princess. You have a nice family, Ayden.
”
I crossed my arms over my chest as we walked, noticing other p
eople walking the streets
. None of them seemed to notice who I was.

“
Nice? I wouldn
’
t use that word, but thanks, I guess.
”
I could tell he wanted to say more, but suddenly decided against it.
“
Come
on
, it
’
s this way.
”
He took my hand in his again and my mind turned back to the night I first left with him. It had felt like this—safe. Only, this time I wasn
’
t scared and I had no doubts. I loved him and was crazy enough to follow him anywhere.

To the moon and back.

I suddenly remembered Isobeli and wanted to cry. We hadn
’
t talked in weeks, and now that I had left, I fearfully wondered if I would ever see her again. If I wanted to escape this life, I wanted her next to me every step of the way. My heart wept silently for her, but I allowed all thoughts to slip away as I delved deeper into the forest with Ayden.

“
Where are we going?
”
I lamented, feeling thorns at my legs through the dress.

“
Just over there.
”
He pointed through the trees.
“
Trust me, it
’
s not far. You
’
ll love it.
”