揑抣l tell her the truth, but I have to make her stay,?I said. 揑t sounds like we抳e got a few days to plan. Give me a couple days to think about it. But we agree, I抦 going, no matter what, right??
Circe sighed and rested her head against the window. 揑抳e seen you do some things that I didn抰 learn to do until I was much, much older. I know you抮e capable and Hecate showed herself to you when she hasn抰 done that for any of us in more generations than I can count. That has to mean something. Just make sure you抮e ready to go when it抯 time, because as soon as we have what we need, we need to roll out.?
She was hesitant. I could see it all over her face, but she was setting that aside for reasons that weren抰 entirely clear. I didn抰 really care. I was going to go with her to find the last piece of the Heart, and I was going to bring my mom back from the dead.
CHAPTER 11
The next day as we sat in the front room Circe convinced Mo that she and I both would stay behind while the others went ahead to find the last piece of the Absyrtus Heart. Mo wasn抰 happy about it, but she kept repeating that everything would be fine. I didn抰 think she actually believed that, but it抯 how she dealt with the crushing improbability of this entire scheme actually being successful. So many impossible tasks had to be completed within a short period of time, and the final task, actually reuniting the pieces of the Heart, was something none of us had a real handle on.
Circe and Persephone pulled together every piece of information they had about the Great Eye and where it might be located. I helped them read through texts and books and obscure websites, and after three more days, we still had nothing.
As Marie made arrangements for fake passports and chartered flights we turned our attention to what would happen if we were able to actually reach Aeaea.
揌ow do we combine the six pieces of the Heart??I asked.
Mo shot me a sideways glance.
揌ow are y抋ll going to put all the pieces back together??I made sure to act like I was upset but resigned to the fact that I wouldn抰 be going.
Persephone抯 face was tight. She didn抰 like lying to Mo. The two of them had become friendly. But she stayed quiet.
揟he first and most important step is finding the last piece,?Circe said. 揑f we can抰 do that, nothing else even matters.?
My phone buzzed in my pocket. The screen was still cracked, held together by packing tape, but through the fractured glass I could make out the name I抎 saved for the number that was calling me.
Karter.
I stood up and walked out of the room. Mo called after me, but I ran to my bathroom and shut the door. I answered the call and held the phone to my ear.
揃ri??Karter抯 voice called through the static.
I couldn抰 speak or move. I couldn抰 believe I was hearing his voice.
揃ri. Listen to me, please. You don抰 ever have to forgive me, I just桰抦 sorry. I抦 so sorry. I can抰桰 don抰 know what to say.?
I wanted to scream at him. To curse him out, but none of the curse words in my vocabulary felt adequate.
揥hat do you want??It was all I could manage.
Karter breathed into the phone. 揑 want to help you, but I don抰 know棓
揌elp me??My face flushed hot with rage. 揧ou can抰 help me! You were supposed to be my friend!?That was why it hurt so bad. After having to pull away from my friends back in Brooklyn all because they couldn抰 accept me exactly as I was, his friendship had felt like a lifeline. It pulled me back from feeling like I抎 never have another friend and then he抎 let it all go條eft me to drown in my grief.
揧ou don抰 understand. I can抰 explain. We梬e抮e going to get the last piece of the Heart and you have to just stay away. It抯 the only choice.?
揟he Heart doesn抰 belong to you!?
揑t doesn抰 even matter now. Just梛ust don抰 go after it. Hide. Please. Just go somewhere far away and wait. My family hates you. They抣l come after you when they get the last piece. Please, Bri.?
揑 don抰 care about you or your family,?I said. 揥e抮e going to get to it before you, and when we do you better hope I never see you again.?I couldn抰 hold it in anymore. All I wanted was to see him held responsible for his part in all of this. The plants from my room pushed their way under the door, through the keyhole, and knitted a curtain of leaves around me.
There was a click and the phone went silent. I stared at the screen as it went dark.
A text came through from Karter. Just one word.
Abana.
The doorbell rang, and I sat in silence as someone went to answer it. I moved toward the bathroom door, and the foliage pulled it open for me. As I passed through the curtain of leafy green buds, a delicate string of Erinus alpinus, fairy foxglove, wound its way around my ear and bloomed into a tuft of pink, pillowy soft petals near my temple. I took a deep breath and let the anger wash away from me. That anger could be useful, I抎 proven that with Lou, but it wasn抰 the right time.