The Gate

29. Love and Fear

Lena Matthews

As it turned out, Jane-Anne was secretly an ice princess. She had changed back into her school uniform in a matter of seconds, and was outperforming all of us on the rink. Her skates glided along the ice, leaving behind graceful white trails. Unlike the rest of us, Jane-Anne was in her element.

I was terrified to move my skates any more than a couple of inches. My hand dragged along the wall for an extra layer of security. I've never been ice skating in my life, but I had always assumed that it would be easy to move in a simple circle. I had assumed incorrectly.

"Not a lot of ice rinks in California, I see." Taylor teased. I glared at her. If Jane-Anne hadn't been present, I would have tried some dryad magic on her. Unfortunately, Jane-Anne was present, and I sucked at dryad magic.

"Watch out!" Carter called from behind me. That was all the warning I needed to dive for the wall and hug it like my life depended on it. Carter slammed into the wall, missing me by a few inches. He laughed breathlessly. "I am never going to be doing this again." He informed me under his breath, but still grinned.

"Right." I said, not matching his upbeat attitude.

"What's wrong?" Carter asked. "You know I was just teasing you about Jacob."

"It's Makaya. She gave me a summons. I have to talk to the Forbidden Court again." I huffed.

"Wait, why?" Carter asked.

"Apparently, my location during Flora's death was suspicious. I mean, I thought that being murdered was a good enough alibi, but I was wrong." I said, frustrated.

"Is it a private meeting?" Carter asked.

"Yeah. Why?" I responded.

"A private meeting is nothing to be worried about. It's something the Court does to appease the town. Nothing serious is going to happen." Carter explained.

"I don't care! Why is this town suspecting me of anything? They can't possibly think that-"

"This town is full of people that have been running from the Agency for years. Forgive them for being a little paranoid." said Carter.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Jane-Anne asked, gliding right next to us.

Startled, Carter fell onto the ice. "Little warning next time!" He complained.

"Sorry." said Jane-Anne, helping Carter up. "I wasn't trying to scare anyone. What were you guys talking about?"

"Um..." my mind was completely failing me, and Carter wasn't helping.

"Hey Jane-Anne, I bet you can't beat me in a race!" Kiara called over her shoulder. She was a bit better at skating than I was, but nowhere near Jane-Anne's level. Kiara's challenge reminded me of how Finn made Aurelie play rock-paper-scissors in the car while the agents loaded weapons.

"You're on!" Jane-Anne announced, dropping her earlier question. I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Can you guys try not talking about the Forbidden today?" Taylor asked, irritated.

"It's none of your business." Carter snapped.

"Keeping the secret is absolutely my business." said Taylor. She and Carter looked like they were two seconds away from trying to kill each other.

"What's going on with you guys?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm just stressed." Taylor admitted. "It's been a rough week."

"Is he okay?" Carter asked.

"What do you mean?" Taylor snapped.

"Your dad. I've heard some people talking." Carter elaborated.