"I was wondering what kind of girl could have botched up a rescue attempt so badly. Now that I know it was you all along, everything makes sense."
"Go away."
Rome runs his nose down the side of my face, smiling at the way I shiver. "After all thes...
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ELLIOT AND NICK MADE FLASHCARDS IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR THE REUNION BALL. I think it's funny how the pair, who have interrogated mass murders and chased supervillains down international highways, still shake at the thought of Rome's family. Or maybe it's not so silly after all.
Sometimes I dream of a silver bolt striking through the air and a fire that consumes from the inside out. Sometimes I step out of the shower and look at the scar that still mars my body.
I think about my connection with each member of the Abernathys.
Friends with Elliot and his mate. Schoolmates with Ava, who's bullied me for years. A patient of their father, a maid for their mother, a coworker with Spencer. Rosalie is the only sibling I haven't met yet. Then again, there are the dozens of Abernathys from all around the world flying in today - great-aunts, second-removed cousins, distant nieces and nephews.
And of course, there's Rome. My mate.
"Okay, good. Now name this one," Elliot holds up a flashcard with enormous bedazzled sunglasses and a platinum-blonde bob. We're riding in a limo, on our way to one of the many Abernathy estates.
"Tessa Abernathy. Leader of the 'Women Supporting Strong Families' movement and calls herself an anti-feminist on her weekly blog," Nick swallows. "She won't like me."
"You don't need to worry about her approval," Elliot says. In his cutting crimson suit, he looks different from the boy I befriended in the past two years. He's slicked his hair back with a shimmery chemical so that the passing street lights make it glow ghostlike. Shuffling the deck, he pulls out another card. "Alright, how about these two?"
"Tana and Todd Abernathy. Teenage twins with identical powers of frost elementals. They don't really use them though, spending most of their time updating their many social media sites."
"Besides my family, I doubt any of the Abernathys work in the super field," Elliot grumbles. "A waste of powers if you ask me. They've become too reliant on the old money. Okay - this one?"
"Tobias Abernathy. He works in the parliament."
"Good."
As they continue, I turn back to face the window. I'm not sure why I'm not as nervous. Facing the Abernathy family is no small thing. Maybe it's because I'll have Rome by my side. And for once, that makes me feel better. Stronger. Like I'm more ready to face the world.
I still catch him on the news sometimes, defeating the world's supervillains. The amount of work seems endless. Even outside of battling supers, he has to come home and join meetings to figure out what his nemesis does next. And he's been doing this since he was in the SAVE Academy. I just joined the super field and it exhausts me.
Nick slams into me. "Winnie, look! Look!"
I roll down the window. The two of us duck our heads out to see an actual castle appear out of the night time fog. Stone, brick and marble, it stands out like a giant among the grassy fields and twilight sky. It would have seemed haunting if not for the windows, which illuminate a welcoming gold light.
