Finally, only Jack and Kate remained in the tiny, cramped space. I kept my gaze down, locked on Aidan’s and my intertwined fingers. I couldn’t look at Jack—didn’t want to remember how he’d betrayed us all.
“I was hoping I could talk to you,” Jack directed at Aidan. “I have . . . I mean, there’s something I’d like to say to you. Alone.”
Aidan shook his head. “It’s not necessary. Trust me. I understand.”
“It is necessary,” Jack argued.
I rose, fiddling with the bedcovers. Clearly, Jack needed to say his piece. “I’ll be just outside, okay?”
“I’ll go with you,” Kate said, then turned toward Aidan, patting his shoulder awkwardly. “It’s really great to see you, Aidan. I’m glad you’re back.”
“Thanks,” he murmured.
With one last glance back in his direction, I followed Kate out, leaving Jack to his apology. Perhaps then we’d all be right again. The Winterhaven Warriors—plus two, if you added in Tyler and Max—back together at last.
I only hoped that this time we wouldn’t be called to a fight.
16 ~ Girl in the Mirror
What about this one?” I stood in front of a colorful painting, tipping my head to one side as I considered it.
Aidan stepped up behind me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “You like this one?”
I nodded. I couldn’t explain it, not exactly, but something about the image—a girl gazing into a mirror—captured my interest. Her weird, disjointed reflection was discordant with her equally odd figure. Still, I got it. I often felt that way myself. “Yeah, I do. What about y’all? And don’t make fun of me,” I added, seeing Joshua’s mouth widen into a grin. For some unknown reason, he loved to tease me about my Southern accent. “Y’all is a very useful word, you know.”
“Amen to that,” Tyler said. “Yeah, this one’s as good as any. Picasso, right?”
“Wow, you have learned something in class,” I teased. “Go figure.”
“Okay, I’m writing it down.” Joshua took out the checklist Dr. Andrulis had given us when we’d gotten off the bus. “What’s the title?”
Tyler stepped up to the card bearing the painting’s information. “Girl Before a Mirror. From 1932.”
“Ah, a fine year,” Aidan said.
Both Joshua and Tyler turned to face him, looking puzzled.
“What? Young men’s fashions were quite enjoyable then,” Aidan deadpanned. “Way better than the 1950s, trust me.”
I just shook my head, amazed as always at the reminder of Aidan’s extraordinarily long youth.
“Dude, you are so freaking weird,” Tyler said.
“Haters gonna hate,” I said under my breath.
“I heard that.” Tyler’s eyes danced mischievously.
Joshua tapped the paper he was holding with his pen. “Okay, so that’s our painting. Now we have to pick our second project. Want to try the sculpture garden? Or check out some photographs?”
“You think they’ve got a naked picture of Violet’s twin at this museum, too?” Tyler asked with a leer.
“Yeah, what was the deal with that?” Joshua asked.
I just stared at him, caught completely off guard. Truthfully, I hadn’t given Isabel a thought in months. I’d been way too terrified about the future to dwell on the past.
“What?” Joshua asked with a shrug. “I figured it was okay to ask now that Tyler knows the truth. I mean, that was Aidan in the photograph, wasn’t it? At the Met?”
Beside me, Aidan reached for my hand. He looked suddenly pale, his eyes hollow.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, giving his hand a squeeze. When he didn’t reply, I squeezed harder. “Aidan? What’s going on?”
“She didn’t deserve it, what they did to her,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes had a distant, faraway look. “All because of me. And now . . . I’ve put you in danger too.”
“Shh. I’m not . . . It’s fine. C’mon, do you need to get some air?” I was flustered, surprised that he’d gone from his usual self—laughing and making jokes—to this shell of himself in such a short time.
“Yeah, you look like shit,” Tyler said. “Maybe you just need something to eat.” He must have immediately realized his error, because he visibly recoiled as soon as the words were out of his mouth. “Oh yeah. Right. Never mind.”
“Guys, do you mind going on and picking out our second piece? I’m going to take him outside for a few minutes.”
Joshua nodded. “Sure, no problem. Text me when you’re back inside, and we’ll meet up. Take your time, okay?”
I let out a sigh. “Thanks.” Aidan didn’t say a word as I led him outside into the bracing March chill. I found a stone bench, and we sat in silence for several minutes.
“You’ve got to tell me what’s going on, Aidan,” I said at last, unable to bear it for another moment. “Seriously. I’ll just breach your mind if you don’t. You’re starting to scare me.”
When his eyes met mine, they were slightly unfocused. His jaw was clenched, a muscle working furiously. What the hell?
“This is madness,” he said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t be here. I should never have allowed you to agree—”
“You don’t get to make those decisions for me,” I snapped. “Okay? I need you here. Don’t you get that?”
He was wringing his hands now. “You don’t need me. Isabel certainly didn’t need me. Neither of you deserved the fate to which I’ve sentenced you.”
I reached for his hands, stilling them. “Look, I’m not some helpless little opera dancer, okay? Forget about Isabel—that was a hundred years ago. I’m here now, and I can take care of myself.”
He closed his eyes, looking defeated. “You wouldn’t be in any danger if it weren’t for me.”
I let out an exasperated huff. “I’m a Sâbbat, remember? Which means I’m going to be in danger pretty much my entire life, whether you’re here or not. So what’s your point?”
“And as a Sâbbat, you belong with your Megvéd. Not me. Never me. He can protect you in ways that I cannot.”
“I am with my Megvéd. We’ve been training, you know. We’re prepared to face whatever’s coming our way.”
He shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re going to be up against.”
“And you do?”
“They killed her, Violet.” His voice broke on my name. “And there was nothing I could do, no way I could save her.”
“But that’s not going to happen to me. Okay? You’ve got to believe that.”
I was that girl gazing into the mirror, I realized with a start. When Aidan looked at me, he saw Isabel—or, at least, someone who reminded him of his long-lost love. But the reflection that I saw staring back at me was someone entirely different. Stronger. More powerful.
Would Aidan ever see that girl?
“C’mon, you’ve got to give me some credit here,” I said, taking his hand and laying his palm against my cheek. “Have some faith in me. In Matthew.”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I can’t . . . This is ripping me apart. I shouldn’t be here.”
“This is exactly where you should be, Aidan. Here, with me.”
Several seconds passed in silence, Aidan’s ragged breaths beginning to slow.
Finally, he nodded. “You’re right.”
I turned my face into his palm and kissed it. “Thank you,” I murmured. “You know, you probably shouldn’t have come on this trip. You should still be in the infirmary, resting.”