Lost Causes by Mia Marshall Page B

responsibility in you. Even now, it pains me to keep your mother and grandmother locked up.”
    I winced. It didn’t just pain me. It tore at me every day.
    “Exactly,” Deborah said. “You still feel compassion. Though you hope you will not murder again, it is inevitable. If you live, it will be as a monster. Come with us. You can end your life in relative peace, on your terms. Those you love will remain safe.”
    A low growl rumbled behind me, and I thought Sera actually hissed.
    The problem was Deborah wasn’t wrong. Not entirely.
    However, I’d had months to consider my options. Sure, the first had been “run for your life and never get caught,” but that option came with too many downsides. There was another possibility, though, one on which I’d pinned all my hopes.
    “What if I learn to control it? If I can prove I’m not a threat to anyone?”
    Deborah shook her head. “Duals wreaked havoc for hundreds of years before we decided to eliminate them. There is no reason to believe you will find a solution when others did not.”
    “But what if I could. Give me a month, Deborah. Like you said, I’m in my sixties. That’s a whole lot of time spent not harming people. I can manage another thirty days. If I figure out how to do it, imagine what would change. Full-blooded elementals with different magics could have children together without the fear of sending more duals into the world. You’re already keeping Trent Pond alive, experimenting with the drug. Why not let me live, too? One month. That’s all I ask.”
    When I started speaking, I presented a reasonable argument. By the end, I was begging. Pride was for people who didn’t have a death sentence hanging over their heads.
    Michael’s eyes darted between us. “That seems like a good compromise, Deborah. We can go now.” He climbed into the driver’s seat, more than ready to leave us far behind. Michael hadn’t grown a backbone since our last encounter.
    Deborah moved to the car and opened the rear door, gesturing me inside. “I do not consent to your terms. We will not allow you to be loose in the world.”
    I caught a flash of dark blue against the car’s black interior. Another person. One with a needle in hand, I’d guess. The council would have replenished their supply after we left my family’s island.
    My feet were glued to the ground. “Thirty days,” I repeated. It was becoming a mantra. I needed more time. We hadn’t been through everything—my friends hadn’t uprooted their lives, my family hadn’t sacrificed their freedom—for it to end like this. Not when Luke had been seconds from telling me how to control it.
    Deborah saw my resistance. “At most, we can offer you the same chance at life Trent currently has. You will be contained while your associates pursue this mythical cure. If you come with us now, we can discuss that possibility.”
    The words came too easily. I didn’t believe them, and neither did my rage. It crawled toward the surface, gleeful and determined. Deborah took an involuntary step back when the anger reached my eyes.
    “Oh, hell.” Sera glared daggers at the woman. “You couldn’t give her thirty days? Miriam, tell me you brought the case with you.”
    Just a little, whispered my fire side. If I only used a little, I could maintain control.
    I threw a wall of fire outside the Bronco’s door, blocking Miriam’s exit. “I don’t need drugs,” I insisted, stalking toward Deborah.
    The woman used those I loved as bargaining chips. She couldn’t be allowed to harm them, and I couldn’t let her continue to pursue me.
    For the first time, Deborah looked afraid. She was so old and powerful, so unaccustomed to being threatened, that perhaps she’d never truly believed I would harm her. It’s why she chose to meet me in the desert with nothing but a few photos as defense.
    Michael turned the ignition, ready to flee.
    Deborah hurried into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.
    One moment we