Covet (Clann)

council…taking Tristan like that…” How could I begin to explain how everything had seemed like no big deal, until it had spiraled completely out of control?
    “You are your mother’s daughter, aren’t you?” she murmured, her shoulders sagging, and the disappointment, the utter defeat, in her posture was worse than a slap in the face could ever be.
    Then she turned toward me, and I could see the tears pouring down her cheeks. I couldn’t hold back my own tears and sobs any longer.
    “Come here,” she said, holding out her arms, and I was a first-grader all over again, running into my mother’s embrace for comfort. Only this was no skinned knee or bruise from falling off my bicycle in the street. This was so much more, and I would never be able to make all my mistakes from this year right again.
    I told her I was sorry, over and over, even as I knew no amount of apologies would bring Nanna back to us.
    “Shh,” she whispered, running a hand over my hair just as she used to do when I was little, but it only made it so much worse because I didn’t deserve to be comforted or forgiven.
    She shook her head, filling my nose with her favorite Wind Song perfume, and sighed. “You didn’t know what the Clann was truly capable of because I didn’t want you to know. I tried to shelter you from all that ugliness, just like your grandma tried to shelter us both from her health problems, apparently.” She leaned back, cupped my face between her calloused hands and gave me a sad smile. “I had really hoped you wouldn’t ever have to experience the same troubles your father and I went through. And yet history just keeps on finding a way to repeat itself, doesn’t it?”
    She looked over my shoulder at my father and her eyes grew even sadder, which I hadn’t thought possible.
    The air whooshed out of her in the heaviest sigh I’d ever heard from her. “Where’s Nanna’s…?”
    “It is all being taken care of, Joan,” Dad said with a softness I hadn’t thought him capable of. “Though of course there are other things to discuss when you are ready.”
    She nodded. “Savannah, why don’t you go get some dry clothes on. Rest if you feel like it, and tomorrow we’ll talk some more, okay?”
    I nodded, so empty and tired now, it was all I could do to drag myself into my room and change into a giant T-shirt to sleep in. I slid under the blankets, my feet bumping against a stack of freshly folded laundry Nanna must have left at the end of my bed for me to put away.
    I fell asleep with my fingertips rubbing the soft twisted nubs of the lavender-colored afghan Nanna had crocheted for my sixth birthday.
     
     
    TRISTAN
    I paced the length of my room from the bathroom door to my desk then back again, my fists curling and uncurling. What an unbelievable mess this morning had turned into, and just when I thought I’d finally figured it all out for Savannah and me.
    I tried the knob on my bedroom door. An electric jolt zapped my hand, forcing me to let go with a yelp and a curse.
    My parents had put one heck of a spell on my door to keep me here. No doubt the window was covered, too.
    Would they let me out for dinner? For school tomorrow?
    Growling out a sigh, I sat on the edge of my bed and dropped my head into my hands.
    I needed to get out of here, get to Savannah. Be there for her while she dealt with all of this. She talked about Mrs. Evans all the time. Her grandma had been like a second mother to her, especially since her mother was on the road all the time. Losing her would be devastating for Savannah. She would need all the support that she could get right now.
    I should be there with her. Instead, I was a prisoner in my own bedroom. And because of the other spells my mother had placed on this room years ago, I couldn’t even dream connect with Savannah as long as I was locked up. The only time we’d been able to connect our minds in our sleep was when I camped out in the backyard.
    If I smashed my desk chair through my window, would that break the spell on it, too?
    A sharp double rap on my door made me jump to my feet.
    “Yeah?” I said.
    The door swung open. Emily poked her head in. “Hey. Thought I’d see how you’re doing.”
    I frowned at her. “How are you able to open the door without getting zapped?”
    “Selective spell. Mom set it to work only on you. Don’t try walking through the doorway just because I opened the door, though. The minute your toe hits the threshold, you’ll get