Page 2 of Crescent Kingdom

That was what she was trying to give to me. That knowledge only made me more nervous, my stomach doing dips and whirls. I swallowed, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

I glanced up at her as she guided me down the hall. “What’s wrong?”

It took everything inside me to ask the question. Because I knew the answer could be bad. Had someone figured out one of my secrets? My supernatural side?

Mom had worked with me not only on my shields but also on how to hide my scent. The one that told other supes I was a hybrid. Because if they knew that, there was a chance they could tell my father.

The person we were running from.

Ms. Alder’s jaw clenched so hard it looked like it might pop right out of the socket. “There are some people here who need to talk to you.”

My stomach sank. I pictured humans in lab coats ready to drag me away. To experiment on me because I was different.

But as we rounded the corner, I saw something else. There were two police officers dressed in their typical blue uniforms, guns on their belts. And a woman in a suit who didn’t quite fit right, her frizzy hair pulled back into a bun.

My stomach twisted again, my mind trying to put the pieces together. But before I could, that woman was striding forward. She had a gentle smile on her lips. “Hi, Sarah.”

I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t.

The woman’s smile wavered a bit. “Why don’t we sit down?”

Ms. Alder’s hand left my shoulder, replaced by the woman’s as she guided me toward a bench outside the school office. The one you sat on when you were in trouble and waiting to see the principal. I’d never sat on it before.

As I lowered myself to the seat, the cold from the metal seeped through my jeans. I didn’t look at the woman or the police officers speaking in hushed tones. I stared straight ahead, focused on the second graders’ art projects lining the walls above the blue lockers. They were self-portraits. All different shapes and shades.

I tried to examine each and every one, to see the feelings in them. To understand them.

“Sarah,” the woman cut into my thoughts. “I’m Maggie.”

It was rare that adults gave me their first names. The use of hers now made me wary and on edge.

“I work with the police when children are involved in a case.”

My gaze snapped to her, but still, no words came.

“I’m so sorry, Sarah, but your mom passed away this morning. She’s with the angels.”

A buzzing sound lit in my ears. It intensified with each second that passed, making my whole body vibrate with it. “No.”

The word wasn’t a whisper, but it wasn’t a shout either. It was a demand. An order for this woman to tell me she was lying.

“I’m so sorry, Sarah.”

I hated her saying the words over again. I hated her sorries. And I despised her use of a name that wasn’t even mine.

“We were able to locate your father. We know you haven’t seen him for some time, but he wants to be here for you now.”

My spine snapped straight. Fear, thick and black, spread through me as I heard the soles of someone’s dress shoes clicking on the linoleum.

No. No. No.

I barely remembered my father. Quick snapshots. I mostly remembered my mother’s screams—the ones she let loose as he hit her.

But Mom showed me his photo once a month. That, along with pictures of his closest enforcers. All the people I needed to know so I could run if I saw them.

Only now, there was no option to run.

The man stepped into the artificial glow of one of the overhead lights. His sad look was just as fake as the light above him. I knew it just by looking, but I could feel it, too—the sliminess pushing against my shields.