The City on the Edge
Forty-three

Hybrid. Not a shifter. A hybrid.

Ronnie stood up, ignoring the pain in her leg. Lorna tried to force her to sit back down, but she shook her head, walking away from them. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Many questions suddenly made sense.

“When I was at the manor, Blackburn asked me if I knew anything about hybrids.” She turned to face the room, her eyes darting wildly from face to face. “Sloan even said…” You think you’re just a shifter?

“I’m so sorry, Veronica. Something should have been said sooner, but no one wanted to place you in more danger than you already were,” Hazel said.

“Danger?”

“You’re smarter than this, doll.” Jack shifted where he stood. “Piece it together. Don’t you remember who attacked your home?”

She did. Hazel had helped unlock those memories when Anya had been taken. The White Guard had attacked her home.

No.

Ronnie wrinkled her brow, recalling the images, bringing back the image of white coats and charred wood. Not white and gold, though. She hadn’t noticed at the time, hadn’t needed to at four years old, but the coats surrounding her were white and silver.

“Purity attacked our home.”

“They were looking for hybrids,” Jack said. “Taven and your mother broke the law by creating a hybrid together. You.”

“Who is she?” Ronnie breathed out, her voice barely a whisper.

“A witch,” Hazel answered. “Her name-”

“I remember my mother’s name. Corinne.” It had been so long, Ronnie didn’t want to admit that the only thing she could recall of her mother was her long auburn hair that she always wore in a braid. Ronnie used to tuck little flowers in each criss-cross. “Where is she?” She looked at Hazel, but the old witch only shook her head.

Jack held up his hands when she turned her hard gaze to him. “It’s not my place, doll. I’m sorry. Truly. Your father asked his friends to keep it a secret. I plan on keeping that promise.”

Ronnie clenched her jaw, fangs biting into her lip. She expected as much but she hoped that at least Hazel would have more answers to offer. Hot fury bubbled up in chest like steam rising from boiling water. Sebastian winced from where he sat, climbing to his feet when the heat didn’t die down.

“It’s been a long night,” he said. “Everyone is tired. Why don’t we sort everything out in the morning?”

His words seemed to bring some relief to the room. Jack nodded, excusing himself with the promise of returning in the morning. He left out the front door, leaving it open for Ignis and the other hellhound to peer inside.

“As much as I enjoy the breeze on my nether bits, could I possibly get some pants?” he called inside.

Lorna sighed irritably. “I’ll take care of them.”

She stomped out of the room, leaving Sebastian and Ronnie with Hazel. Her fingers twitched at her side as she stared at the witch, anger seeping into every joint. How could she keep this a secret all this time?

“Did she tell you anything? I remember when you found me on the street after the White Guard tossed me out. Did she tell you where she was going?” Please, just give me an answer.

“I know she loves you. She never stopped.”

The words did little to bring Ronnie comfort, if anything, they made everything worse. Abandoned in her time of need by a mother who at the very least still loves her. As if that excused her fourteen year absence?

“I’m tired,” Ronnie said suddenly. “I’m going to bed.”

“Veronica-”

Ronnie left the room, ignoring whatever Hazel was going to say next. She didn’t want to hear it. Any of it. She needed rest. She’d been beaten, sliced open and tossed about like a rag doll. Her stomach rumbled but she pretended it was already full of food. All she wanted now was to sink into her bed and dream of nothing.

Sebastian came up behind her, hand on her elbow, helping her as she slowly ambled up the stairs on her sore leg. Hopefully, it would be better in the morning after a night of restful healing. His sugared scent washed over her, and she felt her anger begin to ebb away, small pieces breaking off with each inhale and disappearing.

“It’ll be okay,” he said. “I’m here. So is your family.”

“I know.” She broke away from him and headed down the hall.

She needed a bath, badly. Blood and dirt was crusted in nearly every crack of her body. She stripped out of her torn clothes. There would be no saving them. She started the water and climbed into the tub, not even waiting for it to fully heat up before she began scrubbing.

By the time she was done, the tub had become its own murky pond. No doubt she’d left a bed of silt at the bottom. She felt better though, wrapping a towel around her chest and stepping out. Lorna was in the hall with Sebastian, pushing some of Malik’s old clothes into his arms.

She pointed him to bathroom and sent him down the hall before heading downstairs to check on everything. Ronnie waited for him to reach her.

“Do you need me to show you how to work the tub?” she asked.

He smiled, tired and always kind. “I think I’ll figure it out.”

“I left it a mess. Sorry,” she admitted with a sheepish shrug.

“Don’t be. Maybe the dirt will be a nice change from home.”

Ronnie smiled back. He disappeared into the bathroom and after a few minutes of fumbling and whispered curses, she heard the water begin to fill the tub. She could have made it easy on him and insisted they bathe together.

A curl of arousal wriggled in her stomach. It was a tempting idea.

She shook her head and walked down the hall. No, it was a bad idea. It wouldn’t be right, after everything that happened. It would be worse to put Sebastian in such a position. She was better than that.

Ronnie stopped at the bedroom door. Oh. She and Lorna usually shared a bed, but they weren’t doing that anymore, were they? Where was Sebastian going to sleep? Where was she going to sleep if Lorna wanted the room?

The stairs creaked behind her and she turned around. Lorna stood at the top of the stairs, a thick blanket in her arms. She looked at Ronnie with an awkward smile on her lips.

“I’m bunking with my sister,” she said. “I figured the two of you probably have some things to talk about. You could use some privacy. And I don’t see all three of us fitting into the bed.” She shrugged, uncomfortable.

“Lorna…” Ronnie wasn’t sure what to say.

What could she say that hadn’t already been said? The need to reassure Lorna, to make up excuses, had her opening her mouth, ready to fall into their old pattern, but she stopped herself.

Time and space.

“It’s okay, Ronnie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ronnie watched her disappear into Constance’s room. She sighed and went into the room they used to share. The mess was still there, a collection of both hers and Lorna’s things meshed together in a system that somehow worked. They had grown used to one another over the years.

Ronnie milled through the piles of old junk and the worn journals that Lorna had kept through the years. The pages were still crisp, filled with scrawled spells and sketches of herbs. This had been their shared space for the last fourteen years. It wasn’t anymore and it still hurt to think that it was for the best.

Sebastian knocked on the door before poking his head in the room. “Um, Lorna said to sleep in here tonight.”

“We’re bunking together, it would seem,” Ronnie told him.

His eyebrows rose, surprise on his face. He shut the door and stood in the middle of the room, taking in the piles of clothes and stacks of books with a fond smile on his face. Ronnie expected he was accustomed to much more extravagant accommodations in the Marble City that the Edge just didn’t offer. She suddenly felt embarrassed by the lack of anything of substance to offer him.

“Don’t be like that,” he said softly, watching her. “I like it here. Somehow, I imagined your room would look exactly like this. A little colorful and a little chaotic.”

“Lorna and I have shared this room since were kids.” Ronnie fell back into the memories. Playing with toys that they two of them made themselves. Sometimes, she would watch Lorna practice her magic, reading spells from dusty books she pocketed from the old witches in the market. She and Lorna had explored each others bodies for the first time, and every time after, in that very bed. The bed she was supposed to share with Sebastian now.

“I’m sorry,” she said suddenly. “I’m not sure for what, but I feel like I need to apologize anyway.” Sebastian didn’t respond, he simply watched her, offering her an ear for her grievances. “I think I upended everything when I saved you. I drew Sloan’s attention to my family. I got pulled into a rebellion I don’t want any part of, even though a part of me knows that Alukorra’s right. Anya was captured and we fell right into Sloan’s hands. I ruined the relationship I had with Lorna.” Her voice grew thick and she wiped furiously at her eyes. “I left my own people behind to die at that manor. Anya’s dead and I lead Sloan right to our front door.”

It felt good to let it out. In less than a week, Ronnie had been put through more trauma than she’d suffered in her entire eighteen years. Even though all that remained night’s threat lay smoldering on the front lawn and Sloan had run off with his tail between his legs, Ronnie still felt like she lost an important battle. Like this whole evening was just a small step to something much bigger, looming over her while she scrambled around madly trying to prepare.

It was enough to take her breath away.

“I know it’s hard,” Sebastian said quietly, moving across the room to stand before her. “I know that I’m a new face around her. I don’t know you and your family that well.” He broke off, rubbing the back of his neck. “I actually don’t know you at all. It’s only been a few days, though, honestly,” he captured her gaze, his blue eyes shining intensely, “it feels like years.”

“It does,” Ronnie breathed.

“Even though a lot of tragedy has occurred in these last few days, a lot of good has happened too.” When Ronnie frowned, he continued. “Your relationship with Lorna may have changed, but maybe it changed for the better. You were honest with one another and it’s clear she still cares about you. We may have caught Sloan’s attention, but in doing so, we ruined his plans. We exposed him. His secret laboratory isn’t a secret anymore. We may have been pulled into a rebellion, but it’s a rebellion that may be able to do some good. That has already done some good. While Purity was storming through the Edge, the rebellion was out there saving as many as they could, remember?”

Ronnie nodded. “I remember.” Jack did say that he and Bale had their people out helping supernaturals get to safety.

“And your sister,” Sebastian grew quiet, aware that the topic of Anya was a sensitive one, “her death wasn’t for nothing. Because of her, we know exactly what Sloan was doing. Her death galvanized the ones who loved her into taking action in her name. In the Marble City, we call it the Avenging Law, though for us, it’s really just an excuse for public revenge. We aren’t as perfect as we like to think we are.”

Ronnie blinked at him, not sure what to say. It never occurred to her that the Marble City would hold public executions of their own kind. She never considered that humans would treat their own as horrendously as they treated the supernaturals. Sebastian was right. They didn’t know each other at all.

“We’re strangers,” Ronnie whispered, reaching out to run her hand up Sebastian’s chest, as if she could feel the bond sitting there behind his ribs, wrapped around his heart. “Even with the imprint, we’re strangers.”

Sebastian placed his hand over hers, pressing in close until she could see the thin ring of silver that circled the blue of his iris, nearly imperceptible but there. “For now. My father used to tell me that a stranger today could be the most intriguing soul in the world tomorrow. And I certainly replace you intriguing.”

Ronnie couldn’t help the smile that spread over her lips, uncertain tension bleeding out of her body. A laugh bloomed in her chest, but it morphed into a yawn as it climbed her throat.

“I’m tired, too,” Sebastian chuckled. He looked at the bed, then back at her, a pink flush already blossoming over his cheeks. “Do we, uh…” he coughed. “Are we sharing a bed?”

He always appeared so reserved, with his impeccable human upbringing bestowing him with perfect manners, that the timid tightness that clenched in Ronnie’s chest didn’t surprise her. She stepped away, deciding to be the bold one.

“Yes, Sebastian,” she answered. “We’re sharing a bed.” Her fingers found the edge of her towel. She looked at Sebastian, at the flush of his cheeks and the way he averted his eyes. “I usually sleep nude.” He made a choked noise. “But if it makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep in a shirt.”

He swallowed. “Please.”

He turned around while she dropped her towel to the floor. She picked up the first t-shirt she saw and pulled it over her head. It was an old one of Malik’s that she liked and had taken for herself. The hem skimmed over her thighs, covering enough that Sebastian would sleep easy.

“Okay,” Ronnie said, climbing onto the bed.

Sebastian cleared his throat, turning around. He let his eyes roam over her and visibly sagged in relief when he saw she was covered.

“Is this alright?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this. We’re a little more strict in the Marble City.”

“I figured.”

“Would it bother you if I took of my shirt? It’s a little warm in here?”

Ronnie smiled. So polite. “I don’t mind.”

She watched him pull his shirt up over his head and fold it neatly, looking around for a place to set it down. He carefully moved the clutter on the wardrobe aside, making room for his shirt.

There was no shame on Ronnie’s face as she too in her fill of Sebastian’s body. He wasn’t as muscled as she was, softer around the middle where she was firm. Still, there was definition to him and a bulge to his arms where he’d spent his days in the Marble City learning how to swing a sword.

He was a picture of beauty in her eyes, her heart beating just a little faster as he climbed into bed next to her. They lay down together, eyes meeting, blue to gold. A musk swept over her, a scent she recognized as arousal, though Sebastian kept his hands dutifully to himself.

“I know that this bond is new for both of us,” he said softly, “but I don’t regret anything. I’m not leaving. I want to stay here with you.”

Ronnie smiled. She slid her hand across the sheet, offering it to him. He took it, entwining his fingers with hers. “I want you to stay with me.”

He lifted his other hand, hooking his fingers gently beneath her chin. “May I?”

When she nodded, Sebastian leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers before pulling her close and tucking her against his chest. She listened to the steady beat of his heart as it slowed, heralding his slumber. Ronnie nestled in as close as could, basking in his warmth, and let her eyes drift shut.