Cold Kiss

falls open. “What?”
    “She already knows. We talked while you were asleep, before she left for work.”
    My heart skips a beat, a frightening moment of nothing where it seems suspended in my chest, open and gasping.
    “Gabriel, what exactly did you tell her?”
    He comes closer, and takes one of my hands. “The truth.” He shrugs.
    “The truth.” My voice sounds faint, and I can’t come up with anything else to say. I assumed she would think Danny was on drugs or something, which was bad enough, but the truth?
    I’m still gaping when Gabriel squeezes my hand. “Look, I know it’s weird, but there are things I haven’t told you either. It’s not something either of us have seen before, obviously, but just trust me, okay? It’s cool.”
    “How is it cool, Gabriel?” I wrench my hand away. “And what do you mean things you’ve never told me?” My heart’s beating fine again, but now I feel smothered, like there’s not enough air in the room. This isn’t his problem, and now his sister knows about me, knows what I did to Danny, what Danny is, and if I ever thought I could keep my life from getting completely snarled with Gabriel’s when this is over, I was so wrong.
    “Stop that.” He follows as I back up against the wall, breathing hard to make sure I keep breathing at all. He stops just short of me, though, and holds up his hands. I can feel him in my head, just a gentle pressure, and I close my eyes.
    “No fair.”
    “I’m sorry.” He waits until I open my eyes again. He’s still, but his face is set hard, resolute. “It’s not like that, I swear. I want to help, Wren. And you can’t take him back to that garage. He left once, and you know he’s not going to be content to stick around anymore, not unless you can pull some more magic out of your hat.”
    Shit. He’s right, of course he’s right, and I hate it.
    “Don’t … don’t look in my head,” and I know I sound sullen, all of five years old, but I have to remind him that there are boundaries, even if I can’t remember to keep within them all the time.
    “I’m sorry.”
    When he reaches for my hand this time, I let him take it. Despite how Danny scared me in the park, I hate the idea of him not being right there, only the length of my backyard away from me. “This is just for now, though. I’m going to figure this out.”
    “Right.” There’s nothing hidden in his eyes now, and I can’t help but believe him. “It’s the weekend as of tonight. If nothing else, I’ll be here when Olivia isn’t.”
    “Yeah.” I glance at his bedroom door again, amazed that it’s still quiet inside.
    “Just go,” Gabriel says softly, and his thumb runs over the back of my hand. “Deal with your mom and everything. I’ll call you if … well, I’ll call you later.”
    I don’t put up a fight when he kisses my forehead, a whisper of pressure. But it seems important that I’m the one to let go of his hand first.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    MOM’S CAR IS IN THE DRIVEWAY WHEN I GET home, and that’s such a bad thing. She only leaves the salon during the day if dragons have attacked or it’s raining grape juice, so she’s clearly counting this as a disaster. It’s not like I didn’t expect it—I’ve never skipped before, not a whole day anyway.
    I’m probably only imagining the dark smudge of cloud hanging specifically over our house.
    I don’t bother to be quiet when I shut the front door behind me, and I leave my backpack in a heap on the floor beneath the coatrack. A chair scrapes across the kitchen floor, and Mom’s standing in the doorway to the kitchen a second later.
    “Well, you’re not dead,” she says tightly. Her hair, usually pulled up into a neat knot at the back of her head, has escaped half its pins, and her eyes are bruised with worry. “Or hurt. You may wish you were in a minute, though.”
    I swallow hard and stand my ground.
    “Care to explain?” She leans against the doorjamb, arms folded over her chest. It’s all too casual—I know her, and I know she’s seething inside.
    “I cut school.” I should have thought of a reason to give her when I was walking home, but I was too busy freaking out about what might happen if Danny comes out of his magic coma.
    “That’s pretty clear, Wren.” She takes a step forward, and I can feel her power lashing now, crackles of electricity in the air around her. She’s usually better at keeping it hidden, controlling it, and I’m suddenly scared by the