Slayer(75)

“To talk to Cosmina.”

I freeze with my hand on the door. “Your mom said we shouldn’t. She said you talked about it.”

“You and I both saw how much trouble Cosmina was in. My mother didn’t. What if it were you out there all by yourself?” His concern is so genuine that I feel like the worst person in the world.

I didn’t want Cosmina here because of how it would affect me. And because our last encounter made me reasonably reluctant to trust her. But I have so much that she never had. Life is harsh for Slayers out there alone, like Cosmina. It’s even harsh for Slayers who aren’t alone. Like my grandmother.

Whatever is in me that makes me a Slayer connected us. I shouldn’t deny that. “If I were out there, I’d want our help,” I admit. I’ve always had Artemis, after all. No matter how things are between us right now, ever since the fire, she’s been there for me. Leo trusts me. So I’ll trust him, too. “Oh, fine. Let’s go rescue Cosmina. Ideally with less carnage this time.”

Leo laughs dryly. “We won’t bring her back. She’ll have to work hard to gain some trust if she wants it after how she left you in the pit. But someone needs to check in on her.” Then his face turns thoughtful. Shy, even. Not blank like the mask he wears around the adults. “I’m glad you’re coming. It’ll be nice to talk.”

“Yeah.” My face betrays me by flushing bright red. “Talking is good.” It is good, with Leo. He actually listens instead of telling me how to feel. Honora interrupted us this morning. I’d love to talk more with him about being a Slayer. Or anything else, really. I’ve shifted from hating his presence to feeling like he’s someone I can truly depend on. Someone who believes I can do this, which makes it easier for me to believe it too.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” He climbs into the driver’s seat. “I haven’t been able to figure out how to bring it up, or when, or even whether I should. But—”

“Where are you going?” Artemis runs up to us from the direction of the forest, grabbing my door and holding it open. She was probably scouting for Doug. I hope Honora isn’t still out there, skulking around like a creep.

I hesitate, but only for a second. Artemis and I don’t agree on who to trust. We don’t even trust each other the way I once thought we did. But keeping secrets from her has only made things worse. “We’re going to Dublin to talk with Cosmina. Mom wanted us to check in on her.” I pause. “Well, she wanted Leo to. She definitely wouldn’t want me to.”

“My mother didn’t want either of us to do it.” Leo doesn’t so much as crack a smile.

“So you’re both disobeying your own mothers by doing what the other person’s mother asked you to.”

I try to sort through the tangle of connections. “Right. Wait, no. Well, yes. Sort of. No one’s mother wants me to go. Unless you know something about Wanda Wyndam-Pryce that I don’t.” Going to talk to a hostile Slayer who almost got me killed the last time I helped her? Wanda would probably approve, now that I think of it.

Artemis raises an eyebrow. Her tone isn’t critical. It’s almost . . . curious. Like she can’t quite understand it, but she maybe gets it. “You’re directly defying the Council.”

Leo shakes his head. “We’re Watchers. Athena’s a Slayer. This is our job.”

“I’m coming.” Artemis climbs into the backseat of the car. So much for talking with Leo. And I’m pretty sure he was on the verge of telling me something big. Personal, even. I really want to know what it was. She leans forward. “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Nina.”

I shrug, but Artemis is right. Even when I’ve disagreed with the Council’s tactics and ideologies, I’ve always done what they told me. But I can’t get over what Eve said—that if my mom wasn’t worried about the hellhounds, it means she had information we didn’t. Which means she’s connected to all this somehow. So whatever she doesn’t want me to do, I’m going to do.

I hate to go against Eve, but Leo’s logic makes sense too. My only real issue with talking to Cosmina is that I don’t want to. And good Watchers don’t get to make decisions based on their own feelings. Pretty sure Slayers don’t either.

Once again we head for Dublin. I stare out the window, hoping that the body count will be lower, if nothing else.

? ? ?

Leo’s fingers strangle the steering wheel.

“Maybe we could stop and get food?” I suggest.

“Why would we do that?” From the sound of her voice, Artemis’s jaw is clenched. I don’t dare look back. When she joined us I hoped it meant all was forgiven. But something still feels broken between us. I want to blame Honora, but I was the one who didn’t go to Artemis when I needed help.

Then again, maybe it isn’t only Artemis who needs to do the forgiving. Instead of supporting me through this maelstrom of suckage in my life, she’s been acting like I’m a problem she needs to solve. And she instantly sided with Honora over me. I want to blame Honora, and I still will. But that doesn’t mean Artemis is entirely without blame. Things were bad before Honora came back into the picture.

I spend the rest of the drive suffocated by Artemis’s steely silence. Leo isn’t any better. With Artemis here, he hasn’t said a word. I hadn’t pegged him for the teenage rebellion type, but this whole trip feels like him being mad at his mom for some reason.