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IT FELT AS IF ALL THE air had been sucked from the room. Rae’s mouth opened and closed several times, like a fish gasping for oxygen, but no words came out. Devon stood as far away from her as he could, his back pressed against the wall. And from the look on his face, Rae was willing to bet he would have traded his fox tatù in a second if it meant he could become invisible.
“Molly,” Rae finally started, “I can explain—”
Molly held one finger up, her eyes closed tight. “Don’t!”
“If you’d just let me—”
“Nope!”
“But really,” Devon said, trying his luck. “It isn’t what it looks like—”
“Please.” Molly finally cracked one eye open. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
The three of them stood in silence for another minute. Devon staring at the floor, Molly staring at the ceiling, and Rae trying desperately to keep her slip from sliding down.
Finally, when it could go on no longer, Molly threw up her hands and broke the silence with an exasperated sigh. “Fish and chips.”
Rae and Devon looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
“What?” Devon asked tentatively.
“If that’s a new expletive you’re trying out, I absolutely support you,” Rae automatically volunteered.
Molly’s eyes narrowed. “It’s what we need. Food. A boost in blood sugar. Fuel for a second wind. A distraction from this...unbelievable secret you two have been hiding!” Her eyes fell on both of them critically before resting on Rae. “And I need to have a talk with my best friend.” She turned to Devon pointedly and cocked her head towards the hall. “Alone.”
“Got it.” Devon started nodding so fast it looked like his head might detach as he backed away to the door. “Three fish and chips coming up. I’ll bring them right back.”
Still shaking her head Molly made her way slowly to the bed, taking a seat with another ominous sigh.
Rae crossed the room slowly to join her, catching Devon’s eye on the way out. Don’t you leave me with her! she told him using Maria’s tatù.
Absentminded sparks shot from Molly’s twitching hands.
Devon shrugged helplessly, but flashed her a grin and a mischievous wink as he vanished through the door. She’s your best friend, he seemed to say. Deal with it.
The door clicked shut behind him and the two girls slowly faced one another, each waiting for the other to speak. But just as Rae pulled in a deep breath to get started, Molly suddenly shrieked, “You and Devon?! You have got to be kidding me! This is...so amazing!”
Rae’s mouth dropped open in shock. “That is...not what I was expecting you to say.”
That was putting it mildly. Tatùs did not mix with other tatùs. It was absolutely forbidden, and Molly had been indoctrinated in those rules just like the rest of them. Then again, if there was one thing Rae had learned about Molly, it was that she never ceased to surprise.
“OW!”
Rae flew off the bed with a giant shock and landed with a thud against the wall.
Case in point.
She got to her feet and rubbed a lump on the back of her head, thankful that Charles’ tatù was already taking effect. “Yeah. That’s more what I was expecting.”
“How could you keep this from me?” Smoke was still swirling from Molly’s fingers.
Rae stared at her friend before walking over to the dresser and pulling a shirt out to wear over her slipping slip. She kept a careful distance as she rejoined Molly on the bed. But just as she began to make her excuses, she forgot herself entirely and buried her face in her hands. She finally looked straight at her best friend. “It was killing me!” she wailed, rewarded by a startled look on Molly’s face. “You have no idea how hard it was.”
Molly’s usual cheerful eyes flashed electricity. “I had no idea, because I’d never do that to you, Rae! I told you the first time I...you know...and you keep quiet as a church mouse!”
Rae’s mind reeled back in shock as she realized where her friend was going. “Oh...oh no, no, no. No! We weren’t going to... I mean, we weren’t about to... I couldn’t—”
“Spur of the moment thing, huh?” Molly nodded knowingly.
“No, it wasn’t spur of the...well, I guess it was. But I wouldn’t have actually gone through with it,” Rae protested. “I’m not ready for that with anyone. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Inside, she wasn’t so sure. Everything about being with Devon felt right. Natural. When they were together, it was somehow easy to forget the monumental difficulties of the last two years. With Devon, she didn’t have to be Rae Kerrigan. She could just be Rae. The girl he met at Guilder. The one he said he’d fallen in love with.
The one he said he’d never stopped loving.
A tangled web of thoughts and emotions clouded her mind, crowding out all sense and reason. On this one thing, she was clear:
Devon loved her.
If nothing else ever happened, at least she had that.
She raised her eyes and stared across the bed to where her best friend waited impatiently for an explanation. Molly was right. It was time to come clean.
“I guess it started when I got to Guilder,” she began quietly.
“No freaking way!” Molly interrupted loudly. “We were living together, for Pete’s sake! There is no way you kept that all from me! How could I have not seen it?”
Rae shook her head quickly. “No, we didn’t get together right away. I mean...the connection was there from the start. I think Devon and I started falling in love all the way back in my first year at school.”
“Love?” Molly raised her eyebrows so high they were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. “That’s what we’re talking about here? You two love each other?”
“I think so.” Rae’s voice came out almost a whisper. “He says he does, and I’ve never stopped loving him. It’s just...complicated. Really complicated.”
Molly snorted with laughter. “Yeah, I should say so! Not only is it completely illegal for two tatùs to date, but the both of you work for the Privy Council. It’s not like it’s going to be an easy secret to keep.” Her face clouded momentarily. “Then again, you did keep it from me all these years...”
“Molly!” Rae’s face crumpled in remorse. “You have to believe me—I wanted nothing more than to tell you. It was tearing me up inside, not having my best friend know. I just...I didn’t know how you’d react.” She hung her head. “You grew up in the world of tatùs. I didn’t. These rules banning us have been pounded into your head since childhood—I just don’t see it that way. Not to mention, I didn’t want to risk you getting in trouble if Carter or anyone else were to find out.”
Molly brought her hand up to her mouth, as if just realizing the gravity of their problem. “Oh...wow, that’s right! How do you get away with it? I mean, with Carter’s tatù and all? Can’t he just touch your arm and know?”
Rae shook her head. “I’ve wondered that a lot. And to be honest, I’m still not entirely sure he doesn’t. He’s had plenty of opportunities when my guard has been down to probe hidden thoughts. And not just mine, but Devon’s as well. I honestly couldn’t tell you what he knows. Kraigan,” she said, hating the name, “taught me one thing. He showed me how to block Carter’s ability.”
“Guess he isn’t completely useless. Besides wanting you dead and all that.” Molly got to her feet and started pacing, flicking her hand as if to push the thought of Kraigan away. “Rae, I don’t know. This is just...just so unexpected. I mean it’s amazing, don’t get me wrong. My best friend finally has a boyfriend! But...you and Devon? Most of the time I think you guys hate each other. You’re always fuming or brooding or stomping off by yourselves.” She suddenly shrugged. “Although, come to think of it, the two of you have always had a strange kind of connection. Like there was the world that all of us were living in, but then there was a different world as well—one with just the two of you.”
Rae blinked in amazement at the unintentionally profound nature of her statement. It was a perfect way to sum up Devon’s and her relationship. It was a relationship of two worlds. One was blissful. Free. Two people clearly meant for each other coming together in the most natural of ways. But the other world couldn’t be more different. They lived under a microscope. Holding on to each other in the center of an ever-shrinking noose, just waiting for it to finally close in around them and end things once and for all. They didn’t know who they could talk to, they didn’t know who they could trust. In fact, in this other world—let’s call it reality—Rae thought bitterly, she wasn’t entirely sure she could even trust Devon.
“I don’t know what to do,” Rae said softly. “I know it’s against the rules, but I can’t help how I feel. The heart wants what it wants.”
“Oh, Rae...” Molly reached out her arms like she was going to hug her, but at the last second had a change of heart and smacked her in the shoulder.
“Okay Molls, you gotta pick an emotion here.” Rae grimaced, rubbing her shoulder. “This whiplash is killing me.”
“I just can’t believe I didn’t know!” Molly fumed. “I actually understand why you didn’t tell me, but I don’t know how I didn’t pick up on it myself. I was living with you, and I had no idea.”
Rae took a chance and flashed a mischievous smile. “Well I am rather sneaky, you know.”
Molly laughed and threw a pillow her way. “Yes, Miss Kerrigan, you have completely outdone yourself. But enough is enough. You and Devon are together? Fine.” Her eyes sparkled with scarcely contained merriment. “Now you have to spill. Tell me everything!”
Over the last two years, there were dozens of times when Rae had imagined what it would be like to talk about her relationship with Molly. But not once in all those imaginings had she realized how much she actually needed to lean on her best friend.
She told her everything. Every detail, every question, every heartbreak. Every moonlit kiss and never-ending night when she had stared at her phone, waiting for him to text while he was undercover. How much it had hurt her to see him with another girl in their first year of school. How it had ripped at her heart to find him broken and bruised at the motel. How Devon’s own father had specifically warned her to stay away.
By the time she had finished, even she had to admit they had a rather epic tale. But unfortunately, they could only live in one of the two worlds at once. Right now they were happy, blissful, in love. But it was only a matter of time before the other world, the real one, caught up with them. And Rae had absolutely no idea what either she or Devon would do when it did.
“Okay...” Molly said slowly, blinking as she absorbed an absurd amount of information in a short amount of time. To be honest, it was the longest Rae had ever heard her go without speaking while awake. “So that covers how you two got together, and then how he said it wouldn’t work out, and you kind of fell apart. There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
Rae grabbed a hair band off her dresser and swept her remaining curls up into a ponytail. Devon must have been aiming for a fish and chips shop on the other side of London, because she had been talking for nearly an hour and there was no sign of him.
“Just the one thing?” she asked teasingly. “That’s a lot better than me, Molls. Shoot.”
Molly crossed over to the dresser and tossed Rae a designer hoodie to zip over her t-shirt and bedraggled slip. Then she tossed her a pair of leggings. “I don’t understand what happened tonight. You said you guys were broken up. But you sure didn’t look very broken up to me when you were—”
“Okay, enough. I get the gist,” Rae interrupted her.
Molly grinned and plopped back down on the bed. “So what happened? You two get carried away in the excitement of looking gorgeous tonight, or what?”
Rae sat down beside her and frowned thoughtfully as she considered. “I...I don’t think so. It wasn’t like tonight triggered something new. It’s almost like...it pushed him over the edge? I think my being hurt might have unlocked something that was already there. Make sense?”
“Sure.” Molly nodded seriously. “He thought he was going to lose you, so his true colors finally came out. Beating out the Privy Council, the world of tatùs, and even his own father.” She flipped her hair casually. “It’s actually not so uncommon. It happens in movies all the time.”
Rae burst out laughing and pulled Molly into a tight hug. “I’m so glad I was finally able to tell you,” she said sincerely between chuckles. “You’re my best friend, Molls. You needed to know.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “You sure are the pot calling the kettle red!”
“Huh?” Rae shook her head, unsure of what Molly was saying.
“I would never have guessed goody-two-shoes you would fall for goody-two-shoes Devon.”
“Ohhh...”
Molly, face completely serious, continued, “Leave it to you to fall in love with someone with a tatù, but at least you finally have someone you care about! I thought I was going to have to build you a sex-bot or something with MacGyver.”
“What’s a sex-bot?” Rae grimaced. “Gross!”
Just then the door clicked and the two girls pulled away, still giggling as Devon poked his head nervously into the room. “Knock, knock,” he said tentatively, his eyes darting between the two of them. “Did I give you two enough time, or am I going to get shocked when I come in here?”
Rae chuckled and rubbed the fading bump on her head. “You’re safe. I took the shock that was meant for you about an hour ago.”
Devon grinned. “Glad to hear it,” he joked. Then he held up an oil-soaked paper bag. “I bought dinner. Hope you girls are hungry.”
Molly hopped up from her seat on the bed and walked over to him. She eyed him up and down before snatching the bag away, planting her feet in front of him and standing eye to eye. Or—given their height different—eye to chin. “Devon Wardell, in the last two years, I’ve come to love you like a brother.” She paused, editing. “I mean, a distant sort of brother with sometimes questionable fashion sense, but a brother nonetheless.”
Devon tried to keep his face straight as he placed a warm hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Molls...”
“That being said.” All at once Molly’s face changed from angel to demon. “If you hurt my best friend, you’re going to find out exactly what this tatù of mine can do.” She wiggled her fingers ominously. “And I can assure you, it’ll not be something you will easily forget. If you live.”
“Understood.” He tried to smile, but ended up taking a nervous step away. “Shall we eat in the kitchen?”
“Sounds great!” Just like that, Molly was all smiles again as she flounced off down the hall. “I’ll grab utensils.”
Devon watched her go with a baffled look on his face before turning to Rae. “Does she always just...” He snapped his fingers. “Turn on a dime like that?”
Rae grinned and patted Devon’s shoulder before heading down the hall. “Don’t try to understand the complexities of the feminine mind,” she advised. “It’s beyond you mere mortals.”
By the time the two of them got to the kitchen, the food was already plated and Molly had poured three glasses of orange juice. “Don’t knock it,” she warned as Devon eyed the juice skeptically. “You need your vitamins. They’re good for the skin.”
He muffled a snort of laughter and took a big swig as Rae sat down beside them. The food hit the spot, salty and delicious. She hadn’t even realized she was hungry, but before she knew it she was licking the last of the grease off her fingers and leaning back with a satisfied smile.
“Great call with the food,” she stated, thanking Molly.
Molly chomped down on a chip. “Someone has to keep track of these things. Do you realize that you two haven’t eaten since breakfast? Rae, you’re becoming nothing but cheekbones.”
Rae laughed and slurped down the rest of her juice. It really had been a long day. She was about to slip away and call it a night, when Molly suddenly leaned forward with a frown.
“So in all the excitement of catching you two in the act,” she gave them both a devilish wink, “I totally forgot to ask. What on earth were you talking about with your mom?”
Upon hearing her question, Devon leaned forward as well and stared at Rae. He wanted the information, too.
The sated smile faded from Rae’s face as she considered what to do. These days, it seemed impossible to know who to trust. Not only had she snuck off to Stoke on her own to find the key she didn’t know existed, but she had also found out about the evidence locker from a member of the Xavier Knights. Not exactly the easiest story to tell. At least Jennifer, her teacher, had kept the key a secret.
As she stared at Molly and Devon, she found herself reassured. They had both proven themselves, hadn’t they? Time and time again. Who could she trust if not them?
She took a deep breath and twiddled her thumbs on the table in front of her. “I figured out the secret code and headed to Stoke. When I got to the Wade factory I found a key my mother had hidden in the old factory there. A key that Luke says matches an evidence box he found while going through my mom’s file. Kraigan followed me, but I don’t think he knew about the key. He didn’t know my mom.”
Molly frowned. “Wait—Luke? Why on earth would Luke know anything about it?”
Rae closed her eyes in a grimace. “Because he works for the Xavier Knights?”
“What?!”
“Keep going.” Devon instructed as he soothed Molly.
“He’s going to come here,” Rae said. “He has the box, I have the key. And inside is the first ever concrete information I’ve been able to dig up on my mother. It could literally be the key to finding her.”
Her two friends were silent for a moment before Devon dropped his gaze. “And I stood in your way.” He said it so softly he could have been speaking to himself.
Without thinking, Rea reached out and squeezed his hand. “You didn’t know.”
“Wait a minute,” Molly said loudly, oblivious to their exchange. “Could this evidence box have anything to do with that note and the code we found? Was that the secret code?” She slammed her hand on the table in triumph. “I knew it went to a lock box!”
“Hold up,” Devon leaned forward again, “what note? What code?”
Molly shushed him excitedly. “If you intentionally remove yourself from Rae’s life for any amount of time, you’re going to miss big things. Enormous things always happen when she’s around. She found a hidden note from her mom, and it had a secret code. And I’m a master spy. Keep up.”
Rae shook her head and grinned. “The note led me to the factory, but it burned up in the fire before I could decipher any more of it. All I know is that it led me to the key.” She struck her forehead as she remembered. “The key...it’s back in my room at Guilder.” Great thinking, Rae. You’d go to meet Luke and get the box, and then what? Smuggle it back to school?
“So what’s the plan?” Molly asked, grabbing the plates and stuffing them into the dishwasher.
“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Rae’s brows pressed together. “I just found out there was a box when Luke called me, and with the soon-to-be princess getting attacked and everything...I forgot the key isn’t here.”
“But the box is.” Devon looked at her with sudden determination.
“And it’s not even midnight,” Molly took over, “and Guilder is only an hour’s drive away.”
“It’s more than an hour,” Rae said.
“Not if Devon’s driving.” Molly nodded in his direction.
Rae stared back and forth between her two friends, not understanding their abrupt shift in dynamic. Molly’s eyes shone as she rocked back and forth on the edge of her seat. Even Devon had set his jaw in that way he did when he made up his mind to do something.
“Whoa, what are you guys thinking?” Rae tried to temper them. “Carter told me point blank I couldn’t go. I can’t risk you guys getting in trouble by breaking rules.”
“I’m not suggesting we break any rules,” Molly said innocently. “You two are the rule-breakers here, not me. I’m only repeating what you already told him.”
Rae grinned as a warm hum began coursing through her veins. “Yeah? And what’s that?”
“You said you’d be back by breakfast...”
