Chapter 4 The Price of Secrets

Evie's hands wouldn't quit trembling.

She stood stuck, back jammed against the chilly wall of the bookstore's upstairs room, breath all shaky. The air between her and Nathan hung heavy, thick with fear, confusion, maybe a little mistrust too.

Nathan got possessed.

Something, or somebody, had hijacked him-his body, his voice, his head.

And they were after her pendant.

Nathan let out a sharp huff, fingers digging into the desk's edge like it was the only thing keeping him up. He looked rattled, not his usual cool self. That steady front of his was busted, muscles tight like he might snap any second.

Neither of them said a word for a bit.

"What the hell just happened?" Evie finally got out, voice barely there.

Nathan flicked his eyes up, those sharp blues raw, cutting into her.

"You tell me," he grumbled.

Evie swallowed, throat like sand. "You came in my room, but it wasn't you." Her voice wobbled. "No blinking, no normal talk. You said the key was 'theirs' and I couldn't run."

Nathan twitched, jaw locking up.

"Then," she pushed on, "I grabbed my pendant, and some kind of jolt shoved you off."

Quiet hit.

Nathan blew out a slow breath, muttered a curse low, then turned, raking a hand through his hair, pacing like a trapped dog.

Evie watched, dread creeping up her back.

He wasn't just lost.

He was spooked.

And if Nathan was spooked, shit was bad.

He stopped finally, swung back to her, face blank as a wall.

"Spill everything you know about that pendant," he said.

Evie froze up, fingers curling around the little metal chunk. "I told you already. My mom's. She handed it over before she was gone."

Nathan's eyes went dark. "She never said what it was?"

Evie shook her head. "Just told me, don't take it off, ever."

Nathan let out a long breath, wiped his face with a fist. "Figures."

Evie's brow scrunched. "Nathan, what's going on here?"

He didn't answer right off. Stared at her a good while, like he was chewing on whether to spill it or not.

Then he did.

"Evie," he said, low and heavy, "that pendant ain't just some keepsake." He huffed hard. "It's a seal."

Her gut twisted up. "Seal for what?"

Nathan's jaw went tight. "Something that shoulda stayed locked."

Cold hit her hard.

"I don't get it," she whispered. "Why'd my mom stick me with something dangerous?"

Nathan's look softened, just a hair. "Probably trying to keep you safe."

Evie's breath snagged. "From what?"

He paused, then dropped it:

"The Arcane."

A shiver shook her.

"The Arcane?" she repeated, voice small.

Nathan nodded. "What we call the hidden stuff, the world regular folks don't see. Power lurking in dark corners, old places, people who shouldn't mess with it." His jaw clenched. "Whatever grabbed me tonight, that's part of it."

Evie's head was spinning. She'd spent her whole life thinking the world was boring, normal.

Now, in one night, she'd been jumped, almost snatched, and watched Nathan turn into a puppet right there.

And somehow, she was smack in the middle.

Evie sucked in air, shaky. "What do we do now?"

Nathan eyed her a second, face unreadable. Then he shoved off the desk, moving sharp again, like he had a plan.

"We figure out who's after you," he said. "And we stop 'em."

The Warning

Evie barely slept after that.

Nathan parked himself by the window, watching the street like a hawk. Eyes glued down there, waiting for trouble to roll up.

She couldn't tell if that made her feel better or worse.

Morning came slow, tension still thick. Nathan hadn't said much.

Evie perched on the mattress edge, eyeing him careful.

"You're quiet," she said.

Nathan didn't turn. "Thinking."

"About what?"

His jaw twitched. "How somebody got in my head last night."

A knot clogged her throat. "That happen a lot?"

"Nope." He faced her then. "That's what's got me worried."

Before she could say more, a knock hit the bookstore door, loud and sudden.

Nathan snapped alert, body stiff, hand dropping to the knife at his side. He waved her back quick.

She barely blinked before he was gone, slipping downstairs silently as a ghost.

Evie waited a beat, then crept after him, couldn't help it.

Nathan hit the door, pressed against the wall, peeked through the hole.

Whoever was out there stopped him cold.

Evie's heart thumped. "Who is it?" she hissed.

Nathan's grip on the knife went tight.

"Stay put," he snapped.

Evie's stomach flipped. "Nathan, who?"

No answer. He just unlatched the door slow, cracked it enough to peek out.

A guy stood there.

Tall, long dark coat swallowing him. Morning light hid his face, but he gave off a bad vibe, heavy and wrong.

Nathan didn't say hi.

The guy tilted his head a little, then spoke, voice too smooth, too calm.

"You're in deep, Nathan."

Evie's blood turned cold.

Nathan didn't budge, face blank. "Funny," he said. "Was gonna say that to you."

The guy smirked, faint. "You know why I'm here."

Nathan's knuckles whitened on the knife.

"You don't wanna do this," he said, low.

The guy chuckled. "Oh, I do." His eyes flicked past Nathan.

To Evie.

A chill ran through her.

"C'mon, girl," he said, all slick. "No need to freak. Just here to warn you."

Evie's pulse hammered in her ears.

Nathan didn't move. Didn't talk.

The guy's grin stretched.

"Time's running low."

Then he just turned and walked off.

Nathan didn't ease up till he was gone.

Shut the door slow after.

Evie swallowed, hard. "Who, who was that?"

Nathan spun to her, face grim.

"Somebody I hoped we'd never run into."

Who was that creep? And what's he mean by "time's running out"?