Page 71 of Rising Reign

“No, he’s not. But we also don’t know how he’ll react. Slow and steady.”

I scowled at the floor but let Ender go ahead of me. As we stepped into the kitchen, all the voices went silent. People were spread out at the large kitchen table and the island. But I only had eyes for Franco.

He was perched on a stool, gripping a cup of what looked like tea. His hair was in disarray, and he had dark circles under his eyes. But those eyes were locked on me.

Franco straightened and poised to rise, but Ender held out a hand to stop him. “Just stay there for now.”

“End,” I hissed. “He’s fine.”

Franco shook his head. “No, he’s right. We need to see how I react.” Franco braced as if expecting himself to launch into the air and go on the attack all over again.

One minute passed, and then another.

“Do you sense any negative emotions?” Hera asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing. He feels exactly like he always has.”

The tension in Ender’s shoulders eased a fraction. “All right.”

But Franco still didn’t move. “What if I try to hurt you again?”

I shoved Ender out of the way and crossed to my friend—one of the first I’d made in Crescent Creek. I took his hand and squeezed. “You won’t.”

Clara set her coffee on the island. “You weren’t yourself. But you are now. They don’t have a hold of you anymore.”

Franco’s throat worked as he struggled to swallow. “I get these flashes of memory. All I could think was that I needed to stab you in the heart.”

“It wasn’t you. It was the dark mages,” I told him, wishing I could boot all of them to the depths of hell where they belonged.

Franco shook his head. “They all explained, but it just…it doesn’t seem real.”

“Dude,” Juan said before shoveling a bite of waffle into his mouth. “They turn into fuckin’ wolves. The tall one’s a vampire. It’s possible.”

Rhys’s lips twitched. “Thanks for noticing.”

Puck smacked him upside the head.

Franco’s gaze came back to me. “Tell me what we need to do to defeat them.”

42

WREN

“Oh, hell no,” Puck said, pushing to his feet from his spot at the kitchen table. “You can’t be involved with this.”

Franco stood with enough force to send his stool rocking. “I’m already a part of it. They brainwashed me.”

“Spelled you,” Clara corrected, taking another sip of coffee.

“Whatever. They messed with my head and made me try to kill one of my best friends. That’s going to haunt me for the rest of my days,” Franco snapped.

Guilt washed through me. It was my fault that this had happened to him. My choice to have friends in the human world. My power and gifts the dark mages were after.

“Don’t,” Locke said, moving to my side as he picked up on my thoughts. “This isn’t on you.”

Clara’s gaze moved to me as Locke pulled me into his arms. “He’s right,” she began. “I took you as someone with brains, and it would be moronic to take the actions of the dark mages on yourself.”

I stared back at her. “You said they tried to kill you.”