Every step might make the difference in whether I take an injury my glim will inflict on someone else.
I arrive in the kitchen to find my breakfast laid out as usual—and Dad sitting at the other side of the island, nursing a coffee.
“You’re still here,” I blurt out, and then clamp my mouth shut. He usually leaves for work pretty early, but his original daughter probably wouldn’t have acted so startled by his presence.
Dad’s mouth curves into a crooked smile. Even after nearly two months in this reality, being in the same room with him still feels like sharing space with a ghost. A welcome ghost, but it’s hard not to be afraid he’s going to vanish any second like he was wrenched from my old life fourteen years ago.
“I rearranged a couple of meetings,” he says, tipping his head toward my breakfast to encourage me to sit. “I don’t like leaving you on your own so much.”
I jab my fork into the hardboiled egg the Devines’ chef cooked exactly the way I like it and keep my tone mild. “I’m not a kid.”
“I know. But you’ve been through a lot recently. Don’t think I’m going to stop worrying about you just because you grew up.”
My recent poisoning is still on his mind, of course. I can’t imagine how he’d freak out if he knew even half of the other troubles I’ve faced.
Normally he wouldn’t need to worry about me being on my own in the house, because his sister would be around.
I gulp down the bite of egg. “Have you heard from Aunt Daphne at all?”
Dad lets out a sigh I can tell he tried to restrain. “She texted me briefly last night, wanted to make sure everything’s fine here. I guess she’s gotten caught up with some sort of work project.”
The furrow on his forehead suggests he’s still as confused by her abrupt departure as I am.
I take the opening, treading carefully because I’m not sure how much Other Elodie would have known. “She’snever told me much about her job. It’s been a while since she had to go do anything on site.”
“Daphne’s always been tight-lipped about her work.” Dad looks down at his coffee. “I think it’s necessity, not because she wouldn’t want to talk with us.”
Huh. “You mean she has to keep it secret? Is she CIA or something?”
A short laugh pops out of Dad’s mouth, but there isn’t much humor in it. “It’s probably better if we don’t speculate. I don’t want to get her in any trouble with her employers, whoever they are. But I am surprised she’s been called in after so long working remotely.”
Now that I’ve got him talking about the woman who dragged me across dimensions to bring me here, more curiosity itches at me.
I shape my next question carefully, barely making it a question at all. “I guess… with her matches…”
To my relief, Dad fills in the blanks before I need to stumble much farther. “I’m sure that situation played into her backing off from more active work. Losing all of them so young.” Grief shadows his eyes. “It’s hard enough losing one.”
Guilt clogs my throat that I’ve made him think of Mom’s death, but at least I did get an answer. Aunt Daphne’s matches didn’t reject her, and they’re not simply living apart.
All three of them died.
How in the nine circles of Hell would that have happened?
I itch to ask more, but I don’t want to say anything that’ll make Dad wonder if I’m suffering from a sudden bout of amnesia. I’ll have to prod Daphne herself for more answers—sensitively—when she finally returns.
If whatever she’s involved in somehow ties back to my own problems, I’d like to know sooner rather than later.
I put on a cheery voice. “I’m glad she has us. Hopefully she can come home soon.”
Dad’s expression softens with affection. “I’m sure she misses you too, Sunshine.”
It’s not totally accurate to say Imissher, but I’d definitely rather have her nearby so I can keep an eye on her and her crazy schemes.
My uncertainties keep nibbling at me through the drive to school. As I emerge from the car, I can’t see any of my friends or my matches on the green.
My gaze snags on a different familiar face.
Grady Tadros’s dark hair stands out over the heads of his shorter friends. Resolve twists around my gut.