Page 20 of Avalon Tower
“But the veil doesn’t hum, Nia. It doesn’t make anyone’s skin prickle.”
I blink at him. “It does. Like bees. You haven’t heard it?”
“Only you can hear it humming like that. Because it resonates with your magic.”
I frown at him. “No, you’re confused,” I say slowly, as if talking to a little child. “I don’t have magic. I’m fully human. My dad is a boring finance guy named Walter, and my mom…well, you’ve met my mom.”
“But you do have magic. A rare form of magic. You’re a Sentinel.”
I turn, gripping the rail again, and stare out at sea. “No, listen. I haven’t seen Walter in a while, but…” Walter was definitely human. No one so boring could ever be Fey. “Anyway, I’m fully human. I’ve never in my life used magic.”
One of his dark eyebrows shoots up. “A Sentinel can disable the veil. That’s what you did. You disabled the veil’s magic with your magic. Sentinels are the only ones who hear the hum of the veil.”
I shake my head. “It must be one of the fugitives.”
“It’s not one of them. Sentinels are extremely rare, and it’s not them. Only a Sentinel can feel the magic on the veil prickle their skin. Exactly like you described. None of the fugitives heard the veil hum. Only you did. And now, your vacation days are over because MI-13 currently has only two Sentinels, and we need another.”
My eyes widen as his words sink in. When I think about it, Walter and Mom cheated on each other all the time. I suppose my dad could be anyone…
Oh, hell, no. I won’t be getting out of this easily, will I?
CHAPTER 6
My jaw drops. “You can’t be serious. Me?”
The briny wind whips at the dark waves. “For reasons that are beyond me, you’ve been born with a gift,” he says. “You have a responsibility to use it.”
“You’ve got the wrong person.” The truth is, I’m barely functioning.
He nods at the others. “Not that long ago, you were the one insisting that we leave no one behind. Are you all done caring about others now?” A note of mockery rings in his deep voice. “Let me guess. It was a good story before. But now? It’s interrupting your luxurious vacation a little too much, right?”
“I’m not trained. I’m not qualified. I’m asthmatic.” I can’t handle stress. I hallucinate. I hear voices. I am fundamentally broken.
He stares out to sea. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised the little pixie princess would rather not get her hands dirty.”
Prick. Blood rushes to my face. “It’s not that I don’t care. I just don’t want to be a liability.”
“Why are you even trying to talk her into it?” Viviane sidles up to him, standing so close their arms touch. “The girl was covering her ears and screaming at shadows just a few minutes ago. We can’t have someone like that on a mission. She’s cracked.”
I clench the railing and stare out to sea. I hate the fact that she’s right.
“The American doesn’t need to be a fully trained Agent of Camelot,” says Raphael. “All she needs is to get a crew through the veil using her magic.”
Did he say Camelot? “You really think I’m half Fey?” My brain is still scrambling to keep up.
Viviane ignores me. “You’d enter the veil knowing that your life depends on her abilities?”
They’re really talking about me as if I’m not right here. I’m about to speak up when Tana rushes over.
“Raphael.” Her voice has a sharp edge. “The cards are warning of danger.”
“From where?” Raphael asks, turning to look at the horizon. “The patrol ship in the north? Or are they coming from France?”
Tana shakes her head. “From below.”
For a second the words just hang there, no one saying anything. Then Raphael shouts, “Battle stations!”
“What’s going on?” I ask.