I whirled around to see Balthazar.
Chapter Eight
BUSTED.
Balthazar stood with his hands folded across his chest. With his tall frame and broad shoulders, he seemed as imposing as the oaks in the forest. My stomach seemed to drop to my knees. “I—I can explain.”
“You don’t have to.” Balthazar’s eyes darted down to the carved black brooch still pinned to my sweater. I knew he understood it had been a gift from Lucas; I’d worn it nonstop last year. “Has this been going on the whole time?”
“It’s none of your business!” Breathing in deeply, I tried to stay calm. “I promise, I haven’t told Lucas anything about us he didn’t already know. He’s not spying for Black Cross anymore.”
“Like he did last year?”
That struck uncomfortably close to the truth. “You don’t understand. Lucas didn’t want to lie to me. They sent him here on a mission—”
“On a mission that he completed, and he didn’t care if he had to use you to do it.” Balthazar breathed out sharply, as though he were in physical pain. “I’m not angry at you, Bianca. You’re—you’re in love for the first time, and you can’t see straight.”
“Balthazar. Please listen.”
He straightened, and his gaze turned inward and became intent. “I’ll take care of this. We all will.”
My blood turned cold. “What do you mean, we?”
“The people who really love you.”
He turned toward the school, but I grabbed his arm to hold him back. “You can’t tell my parents. You can’t tell anyone.”
Balthazar put his hands on my shoulders as if he were comforting me instead of destroying me. “Someday you’ll understand that this is for your own good.”
For my own good. Anytime anyone had ever used those words to me, they hadn’t had the slightest clue what “my own good” truly was. I pushed Balthazar so roughly that he stumbled a couple of steps back. “You’re jealous. You’re just jealous. That’s why you’re doing this.”
Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. Balthazar’s only reply was to start walking toward Evernight.
I ran beside him, my breath catching in my throat. Twigs and branches snapped all around us. Overhead I could hear birds flying away, startled, the flapping of wings heavy and close. “It’s not what you think. Lucas loves me. He wants to be with me, and we don’t care that we’re—that we’re different from each other. That doesn’t have to matter, not if we love each other enough.”
“That’s the first stupid thing I ever heard you say. I hope it’s the last.” Balthazar pushed a low-hanging pine branch out of my way, clearing my path even though he refused to look directly at me. “If he were just any other human, just some kid here at Evernight, do you think I’d care?”
“Yes.” Balthazar might not be doing this because he was jealous, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t jealous.
He paused. The fog silhouetted his profile. “Okay. I’d care no matter who you were with. But I wouldn’t get in your way, and neither would anyone else. Lucas is not just another kid. He’s a Black Cross hunter, which means he’s out to destroy us. He can’t be trusted.”
“You don’t know him!” I shouted the words. I almost didn’t care if anyone heard me anymore, not with Balthazar about to give everything away. I wanted to punch him in the face. I wanted to cry until he would comfort me. I wished we were back in fencing class so I’d have a sword in my hand. Everything was about to be ruined, ruined forever, and I was so angry and afraid I couldn’t think straight. “You don’t know what he did last night!”
o;Then how are you and I supposed to see each other?”
“We’ll set up each meeting as we go. This time, we figure out where to meet next time. Next time, we figure out the time after that. And we get there. No matter what. We just have to do it.”
“I know we can. And next month is as good as set up,” I said. When Lucas looked at me, uncomprehending, I punched him gently on the shoulder. “Riverton. Evernight has a Riverton weekend coming up. Remember?”
“Of course—that’s perfect.” Lucas grinned, delighted with the idea. Then he hesitated. “There are going to be a lot of people around who’d recognize me.”
“Not if we arrange to meet up someplace where there won’t be a crowd. What about the riverbank? Nobody ever walked down that way but Vic, and if Vic sees you, it’s not the end of the world.”
“I’d rather leave Vic out of this for his own good, but, yeah, we could swing it. Besides, he’ll probably hang out at the diner instead anyway.”
Delighted with our solution, I kissed him again. Lucas held me close for a few long minutes. If only we could be alone together for longer—was there anywhere in Riverton? I’d have to think of something.
The fog had become even thicker, and I knew nightfall was at hand. “I’ve got to go,” I said. “I should’ve gone a while ago.”