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A group of wo and had clearly been out enjoying the steps and the nus they carried
Phoebe sniffed the air
“No, Phoebe,” Jason said “Those women are not suitable They haven’t been paid, for a start You can’t just—”
“Phoebe?” Stella stared at Phoebe in astonishment
“Stella!” Phoebe whipped off her dark glasses, blinking in the dark light as though it were reet her sister, but was stopped by Jason
“Too fast Too soon,” Jason whispered
Freyja cautioned her day in and day out to slon But this was her sister, and Phoebe hadn’t seen or talked to her for almost two months
“I hardly recognized you” Stella took a step back as she approached “You look—”
“Fantastic!” one of Stella’s friends chirped “Is that a Seraphin jacket?”
Phoebe looked down at the leather coat she’d borrowed fros to a friend”
“Your voice—” Stella remembered they were not alone, and stopped herself
“How are Mum and Dad?” Phoebe was starved for news of the fae of stories about all that had happened the previous week
“Dad’s been tired, and Mu But how could he since—you know” Stella drifted off into silence
“Who’s your friend?” one of the wolance at Jason, as standing a few feet away
“Oh, that’s my stepbrother Jason” Phoebe beckoned him over Jason strolled in their direction with an affable smile
“You didn’t tell us you had a brother,” the other woman murmured to Stella, “never mind one who looked like that”
“He’s not—I htly She glared at Phoebe
Nore and blaize and irl in the faive up, and give way to keep the peace
But Phoebe was a vas than she had been before Miriam’s blood entered her veins Her lips curled and her eyebrows rose She returned Stella’s glare,the blame with scorn
Not my problem, Phoebe said silently
Based on Stella’s due It was not like Phoebe to challenge her But Stella, unaccustoht back
“What happened to Marcus?” Stella asked “Does he know you’re out with another man?”
Phoebe reacted as though she’d been bitten by a poisonous snake She recoiled, horrified at the suggestion that she was being unfaithful
“Let’s go, Phoebe” Jason took her arm
“Oh, I see” Stella’s look was triuht you’d have a little fun on the side?”
Stella’s friends laughed, a bit nervously
“He calls Mum and Dad every few days, you know,” Stella reported “Asks after them, after you Even afterjust fine—without him”
“Don’t you dare” Phoebe was inches away frootten there That wasn’t good It otten to move like a warmblood
“What are you going to do?” Stella asked softly “Bite me?”
Phoebe wanted to She also wanted to wipe that superior expression from her sister’s face and scare the piss out of her friends
“You’re not my type,” Phoebe replied
Stella’s eyes widened
“Don’t fuck withher voice “As you can see, I’irl I used to be”
Phoebe turned her back on Stella It felt freeing, as though she were saying farewell to the ways of the past in favor of a new, shiny future
She walked away, the sky-high heels of her boots clicking on the paveht up with her and slowed her walk to what felt like a crawl
“Easy there, Phoebe,” Jason said
They walked in silence for hours, until the hts of Paris calasses back on
“Tonight didn’t go very well, did it?” Phoebe asked Jason
“You were supposed to hunt and feed froht with your warmblooded sister in full view of her friends On balance, I’d say it was mildly disastrous”
“Miria to be furious”
“She is,” Jason agreed
Phoebe caught her lip in her teeth, anxious “And I’ry”
“You should have had Margot while you had the chance,” Jason commented
Ain her purse
“Do either of you have a light?” she asked, barely looking up from the screen
“Sure,” Jason replied, tossing his lighter to Phoebe with a smile
29
Their Portion of Freedom
1 JULY
I began to unravel a few days after Matthew’s birthday party As with ns It was not until the first of July that I kneas in trouble
The day began well enough
“Good htly to Matthehen I finished showering and dressing I slippedsneakers “Time to rise and shine!”
Mattheered and then pulled me back into bed
Our latest fa the terrible twos slightly ahead of schedule, one with a griffin and one who liked to bite—had proved far es, or facing down the Congregation and its ancient prejudices Both of us were utterly exhausted
After an energizing tussle under the canopy, Matthew and I went to the nursery to rouse the twins Though the sun had barely risen, the rest of Team Bishop-Clairmont ake and ready for action
“Hungry” Becca’s lower lip trembled
“Sleeping” Philip pointed to Apollo “Shh”
The griffin had abandoned the fireplace and soht caused it to list alar out over the side The cradle swayed gently in time to his snores
“I think we should considerPhilip free of his blanket and the griffin’s wings
Apollo opened one eye He stretched and then sprang into the air Just when I thought he ently glided the re distance to the floor Apollo pecked at his chest feathers and shook his wings into better order His long tongue lapped around his eyes andthe sleepy dust away
“Oh, Apollo,” I said, unable to stifle a laugh at the griffin equivalent of the twins’ , face washing
Apollo bleated out a plaintive sound and hopped toward the stairs He was ready for act two—breakfast
Becca was chattering a blueberries into her an to fuss
“No Down” He isting and thrashing in his booster seat while Matthew tried to clip him securely into place
“If you would stay put while you eat, ouldn’t have to tie you to your chair,” Matthew said
With those words, so inside me snapped
It had been well hidden, twisted tight in a dark part of my soul that I chose not to notice
The pottery bowl containing my breakfast of cereal and fruit fell frostone floor, sending cera up of wo and had clearly been out enjoying the steps and the nus they carried