A Fractured Light (Beautiful Dark)

everything to go back to normal.” I shrugged. “Maybe it’s good that it didn’t go back to normal. Maybe things needed to change.”
    “Ooookay, Skye,” Ellie said hesitantly, glancing at Maggie for support. “I guess? Thanks?”
    “Good,” I said. “You’re welcome.” I leaned my elbows on the table. Ellie and Maggie looked at each other. “El,” I said. “Ian’s into you. You should ask him out or something. He’s kind of shy about it.”
    “Yeah,” she said, her eyes glazing over as if she’d used too much brain power for one day. “Sure. Maybe. Okay.”
    “What was that about?” Ian looked nervous as I rejoined our table.
    “Nothing. You may get a phone call soon or something. Just saying.”
    “Skye . . . ” He looked livid. His face was red beneath his freckles, and even his ears had tinged pink. “What did you say to her!” Dan snorted next to him, trying to hold back laughter. Cassie elbowed him in the ribs.
    “I just said you had the biggest—”
    “Skye!” Ian was turning purple. “You didn’t!”
    “—heart of anybody I knew,” I said. “If you’d let me finish. Thank you.”
    Everyone laughed. Aunt Jo ordered another round of pizzas, and Asher threw his arm around me.
    “You were amazing up there,” he whispered into my ear, squeezing me.
    I smiled at him. It was the happiest I’d felt in a long time.
    “I have an idea,” I said suddenly. Everyone continued talking. “Guys. GUYS! ” All eyes turned to me. “I was thinking. Spring break is coming up. Aunt Jo, would you let us hike out to the cabin for a few days?”
    “You have got to be kidding me,” she said, shaking her head.
    “Come onnn,” I pleaded. “I think we get cell reception out there, and we’d promise to call if anything happened. We’re super responsible.”
    “You’re also terrible actors,” she said, looking around at Cass and Ian, Dan and Asher. She sighed. “But I’ll think about it.”
    The group began talking excitedly about plans, with Aunt Jo interjecting, “I haven’t said yes yet!” at regular intervals. I leaned back in my seat, fitting snugly into the crook of Asher’s arm. It would be fun to spend a few carefree days in the woods with my friends. But I had another reason for wanting to go back there. The cabin was where my parents had lived once. It was where the uprising had started. It was where a new faction of angels and half-angels had begun to form. Rebellions happen when your will to fight is strong enough. My parents and Aunt Jo weren’t able to succeed. But my will was strong. And I had the power to back it up, now.
     
    Aunt Jo and I had taken separate cars to the race that morning, and I drove home alone in the twilight, the tiny car whipping tightly around the bends in the mountain roads. I felt giddy and alive.
    I pulled into the driveway, realizing I was used to seeing Asher waiting for me on the porch or just inside. But today the porch was empty. Aunt Jo’s car wasn’t in the driveway, either, which meant that she’d taken a detour past the store to check in. I felt a little relieved to have the chance to be alone for a while.
    I glanced around, instinctively, for Guardians, even though it was stupid. If there were any Guardians nearby, they would be hiding, making themselves scarce. Haunting the woods . Thinking of the Guardians made me wonder how Devin felt about my coup on the mountain. Of course, my friends didn’t know about that part—they just thought I’d gotten the second best time of the day. Asher knew the real reason for my elation. I could only imagine that Devin had seen it, too—watched as I took control of both sides of my powers. I wondered if he was lurking somewhere now. Waiting for the right moment to say something—if he was planning to say anything at all. It always made me a little sad to think of Devin. In those marathon training sessions behind my house, he’d pushed me so hard, you’d never have thought he was capable of moments of great tenderness. But he could surprise you. He’d surprised me.
    He’d hurt me, too.
    But how could I forget the good times? I couldn’t just throw those to the wind and let them blow away forever. I held on to those moments between us like a special secret. Maybe one I didn’t want to share with anyone. Not even Devin himself, if it came down to it. I’d rather let those moments live inside me, where no one could tell me that I was wrong or naive for wanting to see the best in