Cat gasps, and Finn grits his teeth, “Yes, but th—” He coughs hard.
“There’s more to it and you just can’t say?” Cat jumps in.
Finn’s eyes flick from her to me before he blinks rapidly, even his head unable to move.
“And Galen?”
Finn’s body relaxes, like this is an avenue he can answer. “Same.”
“Same she left or same you can’t answer?” Cat presses.
Finn tenses again, gritting his teeth, “Yes.”
“That’s what I thought.” I shake my head as I push off from the railing of the deck. We’re getting exactly what I expected, a whole lot of nothing.
Finn stops before he opens the door and looks me dead in the eye. “No onecan know that you knowanyof what you just said to me. This whole thing ends if anyone finds out that you know, and we’re all back to square one, including you. This is how the Council set up the Calling. Please…sit tight on this for one more month. That’s it, just 30 measly days.” His voice is more serious than I have ever heard it. “And stay away from Galen,” he adds. Finn doesn’t wait for my agreement before opening the door. The sounds of the party filter through the brief opening.
I decide that after I see whatever surprise Essos has for me, I’ll reject it in favor of some solitude. I need to do some serious thinking about the emotional tug of war I’m engaged in between Galen and Essos—a battle I’m not sure Essos even realizes he’s in. Galen has opened my eyes and helped me see that Essos is trying to take advantage of my naivety of being in the Calling and not remembering.
I put on the performance of a lifetime that night, dancing with Finn, and then Essos again, and a few of the other escorts in attendance, pretending I don’t know that Essos murdered me. Every easy smile from Essos makes my heart dip at the deception—not only his, but mine.
Galen watches from the corner of the room, mostly just drinking, but occasionally chatting with Zara. His mouth is close to her ear as he whispers to her, and I expect to feel the same spike of jealousy I do when she’s with Essos, but it never comes. Helene swoops into their conversation and clearly scolds him for taking his mask off.
Before the night is over, I see Helene relax and embrace the party, spinning around the floor with Finn. She seems to float as she dances then eventually collapses into a chair with a drink in her hand. While I’m standing off to the side with Zara, Essos takes his sister onto the dance floor for the last dance. I watch them glide across the room, hand in hand, each with a smile on their face.
“Those two are apparently closer than she is with her twin brother,” Zara whispers to me, I glance at her and take a sip of my drink. “I heard that since they were little, he’s always covered for her when she’s done something wrong, so in turn, she covers for him. I even heard that there was this awful coverup a long time ago and someonedied.”
Goosebumps break out over my skin.
“She covered it up?” I try to keep my tone light, curious.
“Yeah. Apparently, there was some sort of inquest by the Council, and she helped craft the details of the cover-up so he got away without any sort of punishment.”
She must have been asking Galen all sorts of different questions to get these answers.
I hold my glass tight, knowing she’s talking about me. I have no idea how I’m going to survive the next 30 days without breaking down. In my effort to avoid dropping the glass, I clench it so hard that it shatters in my hand. Thankfully, the song ends at that moment, the round of applause covering up the sound. No one notices except for Finn and a passing waiter, who swiftly cleans it up. Even Zara doesn’t notice until the waiter comes over. Finn pulls ahandkerchieffrom his pocket and checks my palm for glass, then squeezes my hand to stop the bleeding.
“If you keep this up, you’re going to become anemic and die, again. And that would suck worse than the first time.” He tries to keep his tone light, but mutters under his breath, “I swear, you’re going to be the death of me. You’re not going to make it through the next thirty days, are you?”
Finn studies me too closely for my own liking, seeing the truth of my impatience written on my soul. I take the handkerchief and press it to my wound, deciding that I’m not going to let it heal. Instead, I’m going to pick at it, never letting the scab stick. I’m going to use it to remind myself of this moment. How it felt finding out that Essos killed me, and that his sister, who was so kind to my face, helped cover it up.
CHAPTER27
Ido as I am asked the next day. I show up to breakfast ready for the day in black tights, a red pencil skirt, and an off-white blouse. I have a hard time finding my appetite as I dig my thumb into the cut on my hand. I opt for plain toast with butter, my stomach turning at the thought of the French toast sticks on Cat’s plate or the runny eggs on Zara’s.
Helene walks into the room in a black dress and a large-brimmed sun hat, sunglasses on.
“Kisses, everyone. I have to go make sure my husband hasn’t flooded our house in the week I’ve been gone. I’ll be back in one month to see you all one last time. Behave, brothers of mine, or I’ll call Mom. Also—” she turns to Ginny, who has a book beside her “—bye.” With a wave of her hand, Ginny vanishes, as if she was never there. Just as quickly as hurricane Helene swept into our lives, she is gone, just a wisp of air, the smell of apples faint in her absence.
Essos clears his throat and stands.
“Daphne, if you would be so kind as to join me today, I have something I would like to discuss with you.”
Zara wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I stand, knees shaking, to follow Essos into the hall. We walk side by side to his office, and he opens the door to let me in.
“I had wanted to surprise you with this, but Finn counseled me that I should probably talk to you about it first.” He gestures for me to sit on the couch. Instead of sitting in the nearby chair, he sits beside me. My body slides closer to his, and I don’t fight it, even though my brain keeps trying to tell me to move away. I stay silent, letting him continue.
“Do you want to meet your parents?” he blurts out, watching my face carefully. For a second, I forget to breathe. The world goes hazy before narrowing into a pinprick. Essos’s hand is on the back of my neck, guiding me to hunch over. “Breathe, love, breathe,” he orders softly. His grip grounds me. Essos’s other hand rests on my knee, giving it a firm squeeze to keep me present.