I bristle at that. “Why do you say that?”
He looks over at me. “You hate being caged. You hate being indoors, but you force yourself into a box of expectations. Your animals need freedom, and you deny them that. So when released, you feel free at last, and it helps stave off the darkness that usually hijacks you when you use power.”
His lips purse like he’s thinking something over.
“I’m more animalistic in instinct. My brother is more witch-mannered. Being caged should have been worse on me than him, yet I was the one who wouldn’t break.”
It’s almost a tragic reminder that he doesn’t believe he’s broken, even as he chases his own death. Absentmindedly, I rub my hand over my heart when a dull ache starts there.
“Explain this bond between us that I’ve felt since that day I woke up in a deserted cabin with the distinct feeling I already missed you,” I say on a rasp.
His head pops up, silver eyes meeting mine.
“I can’t. That’s still magic,” he answers as his jaw tics and he turns away.
“I’ve seen my mother and father. It’s more than magic. It’s two souls intertwined in a way that I envy. And—”
“I have to go see if we’ve made any progress on pinpointing locations, and I have to tell them about the night stalker Hannah turned into a power-sucking monster that even I struggled with. I should have already done that,” he says as he walks out, still barefoot, without another word.
“Pushed too fast, Ella,” I mutter to myself when the door shuts.
Wrapping up in his sheet, I dematerialize and land back in our house that has already been magically repaired. Dad startles when he sees me, his eyes dipping to the sheet then popping back up to meet mine as his jaw tightens.
“Adam still dead?” I ask him, a little worried about dead people not staying dead, given our track record.
“Adam! I told you his real name started with an A,” Dice says, still looking like Polly as he pops up from behind the counter next to Dad, a wrench in his hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Fixing the sink,” Dice states as though it should be obvious.
“We have magic,” I say, even though the word magic makes me smile a little.
“I don’t have that kind of magic, so I do things the old fashioned way when monster men come crashing into the house and cause me to soil the clothing I can’t remove,” Dice says, sounding a little miffed and utterly ridiculous.
“Did you really—”
“Of course not. I don’t have that biological urge,” Dice groans.
Chaz walks in, looking relieved to see me. “Have you seen Kya? She started sneezing and then disappeared, so I’m freaking out because immortals don’t usually sneeze unless something bad is happening to them. What if that monster was contagious?”
I point at Dice. “That monster is who’s contagious. Kya started turning into Polly number three and apparently wanted to ensure none of us saw. I saw. I was just coming out of the trance when she showed up.”
Everyone looks at Dice, and his eyes widen as his phone rings. I see Karma’s name flash across the screen, and he ignores it before putting it down.
“Why are you dodging Karma’s calls?” Chaz asks him. “She might be calling about Kya.”
“She can call someone else about Kya. If she asks, I’m not here.”
Kane groans.
“Your pregnant girlfriend who can’t leave her safe house is calling you, and you’re dodging her calls?” Dad asks him on a huff.
“Dray and I got a code word. If there’s anything wrong, he’ll text it to me.”
His phone chimes with a text, and we all go stiff as Dice panics and scrambles to grab his phone, then heaves out a breath as he sags against the counter.
“It’s not Dray. Just Karma threatening to tear my balls off if I don’t come see her now. No biggie.”