Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 29

The music from the festival fades as a buzzing feeling drills into my temples, like power lines have been strung over my head and are now humming with electricity. I feel like my lips are floating off of my face as the breath catches in my throat. It's hard to breathe as the sickeningly sweet scent of cotton candy and popcorn twists my stomach into knots and I have the sudden urge to vomit.

Astrid must see the change in my face because she tilts her head, her mouth opening.

"Kara, trust me, it's not-."

"But that's what that woman said, that I'm going to be betrayed, what if she's like my mom? A real witch who is a Seer like her?" I say, unable to keep my thoughts from pouring out of me.

"Kara-," Tessa reaches over and touches my arm and I pull away from her.

"I need-, I need to talk to that woman," I sputter as I get to my feet, only to have Luke reach up and grab me by the wrist, his touch grounding me.

I look down at him. There is something pleading in his gaze, his eyes burrowing into mine. I hesitate, relax. I take a deep breath even as my chest shudders at the motion. 

"Look, let's just take a walk so you can calm down," Luke suggests as he gets up and begins to guide me away from the table before he looks back at the others. "We'll catch up with you later."

"Okay, be careful," Astrid says as she gives him a solemn nod.

"Come on," Luke murmurs to me as he puts a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I nod more times than I need to as he walks beside me. But I hardly feel like he's there, I'm trapped inside of my own body, my mind spinning in endlessly scattered circles. I try deeper breaths, forcing myself to count them. 

One. Two. Three. 

Luke doesn't say anything, instead, he takes the lead and heads for the horse barns where there are less people and it's quieter. The musty scent of horses and hay helps my racing heart begin to settle as I take a few deep breaths. I lean heavily against the wall as soon as we step inside of the barn. My mind is racing still, but I can appreciate the muffled quiet. No one else is around as Luke stops beside a nearby stall and pets a horse that pokes its head over.

"Kara, you can't tell me that you really believe her," Luke says in a low voice and I glance over at him.

He looks pale in the light cast from the overhead fluorescent light tubes, which makes him look older. He's changed over the year of us being separated. Not going to the same high school has given us space to grow apart and the realization pulls at my heart as it thuds heavily in my chest.

"But what she said-."

"Was exactly what that fortune teller lady said, yes, I know, but don't you think that Astrid is maybe messing with you?" he counters and I recoil at the thought.

"Why would she do that?" I ask as I lean away from the wall and take a step toward him, "Why wouldn't I trust her?"

He shrugs at this as his lips press into a line and he looks away and focuses on the horse that he's petting. The animal's ears flick forward, its dark eyes focusing on him with an intensity I wouldn't usually expect. It pulls away after a second, pointing away from him as it messes with its hay net. 

"Tessa told me how she got banned from her last boarding school, don't you think that she may not be the best source for the truth?" 

A spike of anger arcs through my chest at the sudden jab, along with a groan of frustration that I stifle.