Mina wanted to lash out and scream her pain and her loss to high heavens, but she couldn’t do that. Charlie’s wailing drew her gaze back toward the house. Brody held her brother as he continued to cry loudly.
What a terrible miracle. He was talking. He’d never spoken a word…until now. Until their mother died.
Everything pressed down on her, and she couldn’t breathe. The world grew smaller, colder, darker. Hope was blinking out like a dying star and being swallowed into a black hole of nothingness. She couldn’t survive this. Not when the war was costing the lives of her family.
Her knees collapsed beneath her, and she wanted to give in, give up. The darkness seemed to be her only peace, so she let it claim her. The cold grass pressed against her cheek, and her eyes closed.
***
“Stupid. How stupid could you be?” An angry feminine voice greeted her ears.
Mina opened her eyes and saw a dark head of short hair blur in and out of focus. When she tried to look beyond the shadowy form, she saw the faint outline of the familiar fireplace and bookshelves of her front living room. She was stretched out on the sofa, covered with an old woven blanket.
The girl studied her. Her short black hair with purple highlights looked even darker in the light. But the tone, the snarky tone of voice, was all Ever.
“Dumb. That’s what you are,” Ever snapped.
“Who? Brody?” Mina asked, for once close to agreeing with the pixie.
“Oh no. I’m not mad at him.” She thrust her thumb in his direction. “He’s tolerable. He actually did something smart. Kept you from doing something stupid by running after the omen and suffering the same fate as your mother. You, on the other hand, are foolish. You went back to the Guild? How stupid can you get? The final blast of exploding Fae power probably attracted a whole bunch of evil Fae. They could be sniffing out errant bits of magic hoping to scrape it up, and then you go and get spotted by an omen. I can’t leave you alone for a few hours.” Her hands waved in the air, and she started to speak in pixie. It was impossible to follow along, but Mina just assumed she had run out of human names to call her and had to berate her in her own language.
Mina sighed and dropped her head back onto the cushion. She let Ever’s anger roll off her, ignoring it easily.
Brody sat in a high-back chair nearby, head in his hands and elbows resting on his knees. His hands rubbed his face. He looked consumed in guilt.
Charlie sat on a rug, his arms wrapped around his knees as he rocked himself, staring off into the distance. This wasn’t good. How was she going to keep him safe?
Then Mina remembered what her mom had done. She shoved the hurt away and hid it behind her anger. She didn’t have time to mourn her mother’s death when she had her brother to look after. How could their mom do this to them? How could she abandon them so easily?
She sat up and flung the blanket off of her lap and walked over to Charlie. Kneeling beside him, she wrapped her arms round him. “I’m so sorry Charlie.”
Her brother hugged her back, his shoulders shaking in silent sobs. “M-Mom,” he gushed out.
She couldn’t help but cry tears of relief. Her brother was speaking, and the sound of his young, unsure, and unused voice was the one glorious spot in her grim future.
“I know, sweetie. I know.” She rocked him.
“Mina,” Charlie whispered.
It unlocked something insider her. And then, with Charlie, she let the tears and grief overtake her. Their pain and grief poured out in loud, uncontrollable sobs.
When Charlie finally cried himself to sleep, Mina whispered, “I’ll protect you, Charlie. I promise.”
Brody came over and helped lift him onto the couch that she’d vacated. Mina pulled the blanket up to his chin, and her hands accidentally brushed his cheek. It was hot. She touched his forehead. Charlie was burning up.
She grabbed a digital thermometer from the bathroom. His reading was 101 degrees. She got a wet washcloth and put it over his forehead and searched for some liquid fever reducer to give him.
“Mina, can I talk to you?” Brody spoke softly over Charlie’s sleeping form.
She didn’t want to even look at him. He was the reason her mom was gone. He barely knew her mother, yet he listened to her mom instead of her. How could she trust him?
“I’d rather not,” she said stiffly.
Brody’s hands fisted, and he took a deep breath, about to say something, when they heard a knock.
All three of them turned to the door. Ever’s wings started to flutter, and she hovered off of the ground. Brody reached for the fire poker, and Mina walked quietly to the window and pulled the curtain aside to see Nan’s Volkswagen Beetle parked out front. They hadn’t even heard it pull up.
Mina opened the door, and her best friend rushed in the door. Her blonde hair hung plaited in one long messy braid, and she wore a sparkly headband over her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed with worry as she rushed inside.