Cold Tomorrow

[27]

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I wake with a stranger's voice in my ears, the same stranger from my dream:

You've chosen your path. I hope you're ready to accept the consequences.

Too late, I recognise it.

Keon.

In my head.

The remnants of his voice fades into the morning. I struggle to understand it. While it's clear he has some sort of telepathy, the real terror is his words and what them mean. Somehow, he knows. He knows what I've been doing, what I've been thinking. He knows I'm not taking his advice; I'm not stopping.

And now: consequences.

My thoughts jump straight to Caden, a sick feeling churning in my gut. I want him here, before me. I want him tangible and real and safe. He's too far away, lost under too much mystery and confusion. I don't if he's hurting. I don't if he's alive. I don't know what my actions are doing, if anything.

Keon said consequences. What will be the consequence for this?

Suddenly I can't sit around any longer. Scott said they were doing everything they could and I trusted him. I trusted that, this time, the council knew what they were doing. I put myself on a ledge and trusted the wind not to blow.

Well, the wind's blowing.

I leave my room with all intention of getting ready and doing something, just going somewhere. I don't know where I'd start, where I'd look, or even how I'd get there. But anything feels better than waiting around.

But when I enter the dining room, I find Katherine sitting at the table, cradling a mug of coffee, looking dejected and all-together not well. She stares into the liquid as though it will give her answers, as though it will show her what she's missing.

I know what she's missing.

I pause, half twitching towards the door, fingers burning for the doorknob, while the other half battles with the thought of leaving her like this. Everyone else is gone. I'm the last one left. If I leave...

I sigh and take a seat opposite, resigning myself to the outcome of this decision. A piece of my heart flakes away as I come to completely comprehend my actions. I feel like I'm signing Caden's death certificate. It's irrational and unfounded, but the feeling sticks.

Please, be okay, just a little longer...

Katherine's silent.

I break the morning quiet. "She still loves you. You know, that right?"

Now Katherine looks up. For a few heartbeats, she just stares at me, leading me to wonder if maybe she was simply day-dreaming and I mistook it for sadness and regret.

"I know," she says at last and I find relief in knowing I wasn't wrong. "It just felt very final."

"It was also very sudden," I add. "She'll come back."

It's silent for a while. I stand up and make a quick cereal breakfast. My hands shake. When I return, Katherine says, "I suppose I should have seen it coming."

"How could you?" I ask around a mouthful of cornflakes.

Katherine sighs. "It's..." She shakes her head. "It's in her blood."

My spoon slips out of my hand and flops back into the bowl. The milk erupts in miniature tsunamis, splashing over the edges of the bowl. I hurry to grab a hand towel and wipe up the mess.