That was a huge sacrifice she’d made for her mother. “So, what were you going to do? You can’t want to stay here.”
“And be her pawn? No. I don’t want to be here. I don’t know who I am or what I want, but it’s not this.” She met my gaze. “My plan was to find you. You were our only hope. If you can’t fix this, we’re all lost. And to some of the people in the coven—” she shrugged—“maybe that’s okay. They’re fine with what they’re doing. They think they’re right and that witches are better than both wolves and humans. Plus we have so much more reason to want revenge. The wolves were never persecuted like we were. We burned, and for some hiding here, it still chafes.”
“So what happens if you were to come with me? Stay with the pack?”
“I don’t think anything. At least not while you were alive. Luciana wouldn’t dare. And I’m pretty sure with your abilities, we could find a way to break the curse without the unfortunate side effects.”
Yeah. I didn’t want to try that unless it was really necessary. Those side effects were pretty extreme.
I stood to put my dishes in the sink and dropped it on the ground. I winced as it rattled, but didn’t break.
“That unbreakable spell is really handy,” Claudia said.
“No kidding.” I picked up the plate. “Let’s find out who’s chafing. It can’t be just a handful of you. There’s got to be more. I’ll offer my protection. I’ll fight for you. But you have to take the first step.”
She nodded. “That’s all we can ask for.” She glanced at the clock. “Class starts in an hour.”
Enough time for me to clean this up and figure out a plan. “Good. I’ll be ready.”
She got up and went upstairs.
I was almost done with the dishes when Raphael came down. “You coming to the schoolhouse with us?”
He nodded. “Someone’s got to look out for you two.”
I wiped off my hands and hung the dishtowel over the edge of the sink. “Tell me this—waste of time or no?”
“Eh, we’ll see.”
“What’s your story? You have powers? A specialty?”
“I’m good at defensive stuff. Claudia enhances others’ abilities.”
“And Daniel?”
He shoved his hands in his shorts’ pockets. “Much to his mother’s disappointment, he’s got a little of everything, and not much of anything.”
Poor Daniel. Every time I learned something new about him, I felt worse. “Right. I bet that frustrates her.”
“Yup. That’s why she was so ready for you to marry him. Gain some power that way.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure it works that way. Moot point anyhow.”
Claudia came downstairs. She was dressed in her usual peasant shirt and cut off skirt. Both the twins always wore a pair of worn-in brown leather flip-flops. Claudia’s thick, nearly black hair was separated into two braids. “Let’s do this.”
I stumbled as I walked, but Raphael caught me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t know what happened. Apparently, I’m dropping things and tripping over my own feet today.”
“Give yourself a break,” Claudia said. “You didn’t get much sleep.”
I was tired, but it wasn’t that. Or it wasn’t just that. My limbs felt like lead. They were heavy. Like I was moving through sludge. But I wasn’t dizzy.
Claudia was right. It was exhaustion. I’d been through a major emotional upheaval the past couple of weeks and it wasn’t going to get any better any time soon. It was weighing on me. That was all.
The schoolhouse looked prettier during the day. It had a large porch on the front and the wood was painted a bright white that gleamed in the sun. Large windows let a ton of light into the main room, which was filled with tables. Kids worked in groups of threes. A few older ladies walked around, pointing and making comments.
“Follow me,” Claudia said.
I did, and Raphael took up the rear.
Claudia didn’t knock. She just walked in. Everyone stopped.
One of the women rushed to the front. She was wearing a pair of wide-leg jeans and a flowing top with a paisley print. Her hair was fully gray, but it hung long and wavy down her back. “Claudia. Raphael. You know that Luciana doesn’t want her here with the other students.” The woman moved toward us with her hands out, as if to say we shouldn’t go any farther.
“I understand that, but Daniel has been having trouble teaching her a few things, and we thought it’d be best to bring her here. She needs to learn, and what better way than how I did?” Claudia gave her a brilliant grin.
