Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Maximoff.
And then to Jane.
My throat swells. I’ve felt the importance of remembrance more than most, I guess. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Everyone has gone quiet again, as it hits deeper with some.
Charlie isn’t amused. He probably believes it’s a parlor trick like his older sister. I wonder if he’s thinking Cordelia did a Wiki deep-dive and figured out Maximoff and Jane are the ties that bind. But then why would she even say that thing about Donnelly?
She tilts her head. “Many will divide, it seems. As time pulls some in a new direction…sooner than you think.”
Charlie rolls his eyes, then catches me staring and cocks a brow.
I shrug.
He mouths, vague.
She’s being vague. True. Except she says, “In this room, only six will remain where they are.” She spins on her heels. “You.” She points at Kinney, who flinches. “You.” She points at Audrey, who gasps, but Kinney relaxes knowing her best friend has the same fate.
Cordelia sweeps past Winona and Vada, and my sister is back to looking horror-stricken.
“They’re in two different grades,” Eliot whispers. “A split is imminent.” Winona and Vada will graduate first.
“You and you.” Cordelia rotates so fast to Tom and Eliot that I jump. Neither are taken off guard, but I realize she veers past me. “You and you.” She points out Charlie and Beckett.
Those four Cobalt brothers live in Hell’s Kitchen together. Also an easily searchable fact online.
“Those six, but you two…” Cordelia stops in front of Oscar, whose arm is around Jack’s waist. “My two exceptions, since you will remain but you’re always on the move, aren’t you?” She asks if they’re okay with touch, and they say yes. Then she asks if they’d let her read their palms.
Oscar looks to Jack. “What do you say, Long Beach?”
He smiles a loving, mega-watt smile. “Ride the wave.”
Together, they splay their hands out, and Cordelia traces their lines. “Beautiful.” She smiles up at them. “A beautiful love. A beautiful life.” She touches Jack’s cheek. “Do not stress.” Then to Oscar, “You will be there for him, always. It’s your heart’s true destiny. One day, you’ll even have a son.” She clasps their hands together.
Jack smiles politely, but he’s stunned.
“Breathe, meu raio de sol,” Oscar says.
“You too, Os,” Jack says since Oscar is a deer-in-the-headlights, and they laugh, then kiss.
I smile but take a nervous sip of seltzer.
Cordelia meanders around, connecting with different energies, I guess. Her dangly silver earrings sparkle in the dim lamp light of the room. “So that is six who are motionless, and only two exceptions.”
“You didn’t name anyone who lives in the penthouse,” Sulli says loudly and eerily.
Cordelia simply cocks her head, as if she didn’t know.
My heartbeat hammers.
“It’s a theory,” Jane says, easing the strain in the room. “But a very good one.” She mimes the tip of a top hat to Cordelia.
“My pleasure, dear,” Cordelia smiles, then addresses us all, “The rest will shift. That includes you all.” She gestures to the cluster of bodyguards. Akara, Banks, Thatcher, Farrow, Oscar, Donnelly, Quinn, Frog, and Gabe. All of Omega, plus Donnelly who’s technically Epsilon.
Cordelia expresses to them, “Many faces outshine yours, but you aren’t forgotten here.” Her smile softens lovingly. “Thank you.”
Her immense gratitude towards them takes me aback and floods my lungs. It’s as though she’s thanking them for their acts of service. For keeping the rest of us safe and alive. They protect us without thanks needed, and I’ve never really heard it given from a stranger this strongly.
My tears surge, and Sulli cries quietly next to Beckett. “Fuck,” she mutters, wiping her eyes. Beckett puts his arm around her.
SFO are the reason I was found.
I look at Donnelly. Thankyouthankyou. I’ll tell him again tonight.
Rubbing at my eyes with my fishnet sleeve, I restrain more waterworks, and Cordelia is wandering again. “Now, now, now…” She says, searching for something. “There is a strong presence among you…so strong. I feel…the energy like a…” She molds the air with her hands. “A beacon…she calls to more than one.”
Must be Sulli attached to Akara and Banks.
And then my stomach plummets. Because she comes to a complete stop.
Right in front of me.
64
LUNA HALE
I freeze. Cordelia isn’t staring past me. She makes direct eye contact. “You…” Say I’m not the beacon! If I am one, then I’m only calling to Donnelly.
I open my mouth. Fear staggers my breath, and Donnelly pushes out from Omega, maybe to reach me, to calm me down. I won’t cheat on you. I’d never cheat.
Then I relax when she says, “You’re the deepest emotional tether…because you’re tethered to the one who’s brought everyone together.” Donnelly. “And the one who will call you back.” Moffy. “And more…yes, you call to more people here. You’ve called to them quietly and possibly without you really knowing.” Why is Kinney crying? Xander tries to console her with Salem.