haven’t forgotten everything.”
“You have a problem with my having a drink?”
“No.”
Magnus resumed his seat, but not before downing half the glass of liquor he’d poured.
On a sip of her tea, Emerson tried for a different tact. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Not much has changed.”
She followed his gaze as it traveled around the kitchen. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Magnus drained the rest of his glass on a sneer. “There you go, putting words in my mouth again.”
“Well, how would you have me take your comments?” Emerson tried to hold her tongue. Knew she’d get nowhere pointing out to him what an asshole he was being, but damn it all if she could stay silent.“Need I remind you once more? You’ve lost the right to comment.”
“I have every right to comment. What the hell is this place? A museum? Life changes, Em. People change. Times change. And if you don’t change with it, you’re nothing but a dinosaur.”
And just like that, she was a teenager again, desperate to be understood and especially hurt because her siblings couldn’t understand her. Or couldn’t be bothered to.
“Just because I haven’t chosen to go gallivanting around the world doesn’t mean my life is stale. This is freaking New York City. I could live here my whole life and still not see everything there is to see on this island.”
“It’s more than that. Don’t you want more?”
“More of what?”
“Just more. More out of life. More out of your talent?”
What was
this
?
That same sense of unease that had gripped her so many moons ago when she’d worried if he was involved in the park incident nipped at her with iron teeth. “I use my talents every day, Magnus.”
“For what? So you can go out in the yard at night, dance a few rituals and draw a bit of fire in your hands? You’re better than that, Em.” He leaned forward, his large body pressing on the edge of the table and his eyes alight with a vivid, evangelical fire. “So much better than that.”
“It’s a gift, Magnus. It should be treated as such.”
“Damn it, Em. Why won’t you use it?”
The teeth clamped harder, a vise she couldn’t escape. “Use it how?”
“For yourself. For gain, Em. Don’t tell me you’re so bound up in all that white witch bullshit you can’t see you’re entitled to some benefits.”
The mug shook in her hands and she laid it down on the table before she cracked the handle. “Bullshit? Is that how you see my life? Grandmother’s life? Your heritage?”
“And there you go blowing it all out of proportion. Look, why don’t I just turn in? There’ll be enough time to catch up in the morning.”
“Emerson?” Her grandmother’s voice carried down the hall as she walked toward the kitchen. “Who are you talking to?”
Emerson wanted to argue and demand answers from Magnus, but the sight of her grandmother’s face had her holding her tongue.
“Magnus?” Hippolyta’s voice exhaled on a rush as she caught sight of her grandson. “Is it really you?”
Magnus laid his glass of clinking ice cubes on the table and stood, turning bright, welcoming eyes to his grandmother. “Grandma!”
Emerson watched as he swept their grandmother up in a fierce hug, the large lines of his body dwarfing her withered frame. The hardness she’d witnessed earlier vanished as if it had never been as Magnus hugged their grandmother.
Could he really turn it off so easily?
Or were there some people you couldn’t resist, no matter how hard you tried?
In a moment of frightening clarity, Emerson thoughtback to her evening with Drake a few nights before. He’d asked her to stay and she’d not only ignored the offer, but she’d cut him off at the knees. Despite doing the same for nearly a year now, he’d not grown tired of her or her attitude.
Why was she so intent on pushing him away? Or, more to the point, so afraid of letting him get close?
Mom
.
The thought whispered across her senses,
“You have a problem with my having a drink?”
“No.”
Magnus resumed his seat, but not before downing half the glass of liquor he’d poured.
On a sip of her tea, Emerson tried for a different tact. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Not much has changed.”
She followed his gaze as it traveled around the kitchen. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Magnus drained the rest of his glass on a sneer. “There you go, putting words in my mouth again.”
“Well, how would you have me take your comments?” Emerson tried to hold her tongue. Knew she’d get nowhere pointing out to him what an asshole he was being, but damn it all if she could stay silent.“Need I remind you once more? You’ve lost the right to comment.”
“I have every right to comment. What the hell is this place? A museum? Life changes, Em. People change. Times change. And if you don’t change with it, you’re nothing but a dinosaur.”
And just like that, she was a teenager again, desperate to be understood and especially hurt because her siblings couldn’t understand her. Or couldn’t be bothered to.
“Just because I haven’t chosen to go gallivanting around the world doesn’t mean my life is stale. This is freaking New York City. I could live here my whole life and still not see everything there is to see on this island.”
“It’s more than that. Don’t you want more?”
“More of what?”
“Just more. More out of life. More out of your talent?”
What was
this
?
That same sense of unease that had gripped her so many moons ago when she’d worried if he was involved in the park incident nipped at her with iron teeth. “I use my talents every day, Magnus.”
“For what? So you can go out in the yard at night, dance a few rituals and draw a bit of fire in your hands? You’re better than that, Em.” He leaned forward, his large body pressing on the edge of the table and his eyes alight with a vivid, evangelical fire. “So much better than that.”
“It’s a gift, Magnus. It should be treated as such.”
“Damn it, Em. Why won’t you use it?”
The teeth clamped harder, a vise she couldn’t escape. “Use it how?”
“For yourself. For gain, Em. Don’t tell me you’re so bound up in all that white witch bullshit you can’t see you’re entitled to some benefits.”
The mug shook in her hands and she laid it down on the table before she cracked the handle. “Bullshit? Is that how you see my life? Grandmother’s life? Your heritage?”
“And there you go blowing it all out of proportion. Look, why don’t I just turn in? There’ll be enough time to catch up in the morning.”
“Emerson?” Her grandmother’s voice carried down the hall as she walked toward the kitchen. “Who are you talking to?”
Emerson wanted to argue and demand answers from Magnus, but the sight of her grandmother’s face had her holding her tongue.
“Magnus?” Hippolyta’s voice exhaled on a rush as she caught sight of her grandson. “Is it really you?”
Magnus laid his glass of clinking ice cubes on the table and stood, turning bright, welcoming eyes to his grandmother. “Grandma!”
Emerson watched as he swept their grandmother up in a fierce hug, the large lines of his body dwarfing her withered frame. The hardness she’d witnessed earlier vanished as if it had never been as Magnus hugged their grandmother.
Could he really turn it off so easily?
Or were there some people you couldn’t resist, no matter how hard you tried?
In a moment of frightening clarity, Emerson thoughtback to her evening with Drake a few nights before. He’d asked her to stay and she’d not only ignored the offer, but she’d cut him off at the knees. Despite doing the same for nearly a year now, he’d not grown tired of her or her attitude.
Why was she so intent on pushing him away? Or, more to the point, so afraid of letting him get close?
Mom
.
The thought whispered across her senses,
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