My head was spinning, as more than twenty minutes came and went and Fagua still hadn't shown up. I wondered if she'd changed her mind and wouldn't make an appearance at all.
The doors sprung open just as I stood up, ready to leave, ready to give up.
"Winter, I'm sorry. I should have called, but the traffic was heavy tonight," Fagua explained.
I speed dialed Sky, putting it on speaker so he could hear what was going on.
"Don't worry about it."
As soon as I finished my sentence, she was in my arms and shaking as if she were scared.
"I thought after the afternoon in your room that you wanted me out of your lives. You haven't spoken to me since then," she said into my neck.
I held her close and started to use my powers to find out the truth—the one thing I promised her I'd never do again. Sky appeared at the door on cue, which meant I had to do it now; it was a now or never moment.
I closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach about what I was about to do.
"Let go of me and go to the front and sit down."
The joy that was in her voice and actions disappeared as she stepped away and moved to the front as I'd instructed her to do. My eyes still closed, I didn't say a word. I felt as if I were stuck in quicksand and the floor was going to take me. But then Sky came up to my side. He took a deep breath, and it was as if he was waiting for me to do something, but I couldn't move. I felt so guilty about what I was about to do, and he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"It needs to be done. Let's just do it," he said quietly.
I knew he was right; it was the only way. We both walked up to her, and Sky tapped me as if to say that I should finish what we'd started. Fagua never looked at me, which made me feel more comfortable with what I was about to ask.
"Who have you spoken to today?" I questioned.
"Winter, Sky, and Mayia," she replied in a flat tone, and Sky and I exchanged a look, as if to confirm what we'd already assumed.
"Is there something wrong with you?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm getting weak because I haven't mated with Husk. I'm losing my power." Her eyes pleaded with me to fix this and there was a tremble to her chin.
Sky and I were fixated on her, no more exchanging looks as the questions started to flood out of me.
"Why do you meet with Mayia every day?"
"I have no friends here. Only Mayia, and she is part wolf and part vampire. My only friend in SmallHeath is Rebecca, and she's a wolf. I feel as if with Mayia I can tell her anything and she's experienced it, even if she is younger than me. She feels like the sister I never had."
A wave of jealousy spiked in my chest as she spoke about Mayia in this light. I believed I was her confidant, but then I realized I had my brothers and as she said, she had no one but us and we were all still getting to know each other.
"Do you want to join Mayia's pack?"
"No. I just want to help. I need my powers back. I need to mate with Husk. I just…"
I wondered for a split second if my powers were wearing off, but then she spoke without being prompted. That did happen at times, especially when the spell meant that they didn't know the answer to the question. A sigh of relief escaped me.
"Don't know how. He hates me. And sometimes as much as I'm curious about him, I think I hate him too."
"What will happen if you don't mate with Husk?"
"We will both die," she whispered.
"Fuck!" Sky called out, but I didn't understand why he was surprised. We knew Husk had to mate; it was just a matter of time.
"What will happen if we don't help Mayia?"
"We will all die."