Page 7 of Scars of the Sun
“No, no, please, get it off, that’s fucking huge?—”
“Shh, shh, she didn’t mean it.” To my express horror, Sylvie steadied my forearm with a touch that was strong enough to stop my squirming. She offered a palm, to which the spider quicklyretreated and settled. To take that a step further, Sylvie passed a gentle fingertip over the spider’s back,and leaned her ear closer to it.
I shook out my arms, knocking off the imaginary spiders that were crawling all over me. Sure, the depression was far from my mindnow, but it was replaced with watching my sister-in-law whisper and listen to the vile thing. Was this worse? Yeah, this was worse.
Sylvie nodded down at the spider, as if they’d come to an agreement, which was crazy. My heart was still threatening to beat out of my ribcage, and when she extended her arm a little, to let me get a better look at the thing, I scrambled back a good three steps. Or ten.
“This is Petunia. She said she’s sorry for scaring you.” I swatted at my arms again, making sure there weren’t like—fuckingeggsor something on me. “She’s lived here for a while now. Since Josie and I enhance the garden through the winter, she’s survived the past two freezes here and helps us a lot by munching on the pests.”
My hand was absolutely not shaky when I ran it along my scalp, trying to calm my breathing. “This is crazy. Sylvie, you’re talking to a spider who could havekilled me.”
The spider was crawling around her forearm, like it didn’t have a care in the world. No, I knew crazy, and this was downright insane.
“Uh, it’s about as crazy as your brother and mother being able to turn into wolves. And Iamtalking to her. She was just curious. She was born here, and she’s never met someone that’s afraid of spiders before.”Petuniatrailed down to Sylvie’s fingers that were a shade or two darker than mine and stayed still while Sylvie lowered her back into the garden bed. I kept my eyes on the black and yellow thing, making sure that it continued to wander away from me.
Realizing that I’d almost scrambled out of the garden area completely, I took a step closer. Sylvie laughed, and I frowned, slowly returning to my basket. “You know, Ollie lets her take rides on his shoulder while he runs around.”
Just the thought of that made me shudder and compulsively check that mine were spider-free. “And my brother allows that? You truly have him in your thrall.”
She fluttered her fingers in my face, giggling loud and light when I batted them away. “You better believe it.”
I scoffed, and after triple checking that no spiders were laying in wait, I got back to work while Sylvie wove through the plants, boosting with magic any that looked like they needed a little something. Which, there wasn’t much, but the heat these past few days had been pretty brutal with summer in full swing. The garden behind the cabin was tended more regularly, but from what I understood, this was her grandmother’s garden, a decades-old endeavor that she was determined to keep thriving.
After I had a basket full of jalapeños, the plants had all been watered and pruned, and we were both slick with sweat, our rhythm was broken by Sylvie’s phone ringing.
I gathered our tools, packing up for the day.
“Okay, baby. Are you sure you’re okay?” That got my attention. Orion and the elders were supposed to be meeting with the Serafim Group today. I’d overheard my brother discussing more details about the shifters who were looking to open a few locations of their business on Antler Pointe Pack territory, and I was guessing by the concern in Sylvie’s voice, it hadn’t gone as well as they’d hoped.
Fully leaning into my eavesdropping, I stilled and could make out what my brother was saying on the other end. The acoustics of the call were as if he was in the car. He sighed, “I’m fine. We’re going back to Vera’s to discuss all we learned today.Are you sure you don’t mind picking Dahlia and Ollie up from school?”
“Of course not. Do you need anything?”
His blinker clicked beneath his voice. “No. I love you.”
Sylvie’s smile was soft as she fiddled with the delicate gold necklace she wore, “I love you, too, baby.” They exchanged more routine information before hanging up, about when O expected to have dinner ready and their desire to both read to the babies tonight, and I mentally added this to my list. Number Ten felt heavy, in a good and somber way. My brother, though busy with all his responsibilities, was happy and loved, and it was a blessing to be witness to it.
I screwed my face like I’d tasted something bad—that spider has truly fucked with me.
She hung up with my brother, and once we had all our things put back in the small and neatly organized shed, we locked up the house and filed into Sylvie’s car and started toward the Montessori school. Full, dark clouds started to push away the lighter wisps that’d covered the sky earlier. Even with the windows up, I could feel the thickening in the air with the impending afternoon storm.
Flyers reminding parents of the quickly approaching end of the school year lined the sidewalk and entryway leading inside, and a worried thought lodged in my throat before I swallowed it back down. Sure, I wouldn’t be taxying the babies to and from school, but summer break would involve having to entertain them even more, right? Yeah, no, it’d be cool.
We were allowed back, closer to the main space that held the most play and learning areas. All the furniture was child-sized and a pale wood that provided a subtle undertone to the splashes of colorful toys, books, and plants that lined the windows. The older children had more formal classrooms, and I absentlyremembered that Delaney had said that was the age group he worked with.
“Mama!” There were at least two children shouting for their mothers, but I could pick out Ollie’s voice and scent anywhere. It was a perfect combination of my brother and Sylvie’s—a calm and cloudy winter morning just before snowfall.
He was an early walker but managed to not fall as he tottered over to us. Dahlia must’ve heard or sensed our arrival because she was quick to make her way over, beating Ollie with her much more coordinated sprint. Her scent was slightly different than her brother’s, the height of a cold and bright afternoon.
We checked both children out for the day and made our way to the car. They babbled excitedly, Dahlia in full sentences and Ollie with his own baby noises and screeches, and I settled into the passenger seat, content to listen and let their happiness stand in for my own.
While rain sprinkled lightly upon us, I helped Sylvie get them in the house, their snacks prepared and presented, and coerced them both to short naps to tide them over until bedtime. Dahlia, thankfully, didn’t fight it, but she tried to stall as we walked her to her bedroom.
“Auntie Mona, what are those?” She pointed a little finger that I followed toward the front door. I craned my neck to see what was new, what she might not be able to identify, and all I came up with were my pink roller skates. I supplied her with the name after picking her up. Her lips pursed in toddler contemplation, and I startled with how much she looked like my brother. Her red french braids bumped against her shoulders as I walked her down the hall and into her room. “Can I try?” she asked while I tucked her on top of her comforter and reached for her blanket at the foot of the small bed.
“Well, they’re my size, so they’re too big for you.” I braced myself for her to start begging to have her own pair, but instead,she pouted and nodded sleepily. I gave her a quick kiss on her head and left her to sleep off the hours at school.
But as Sylvie and I sat on the patio, enjoying the last patters of the quick summer storm, I kept turning over what Dahlia said. I’d gotten my first pair of skates when I was around her age. While I’d learned in the smooth, sprawling driveway at home and at the rink, I might be able to teach her the basics at the park.