Page 14

“It’s not my choice. It’s yours.” Syril pulls out a long, slender black box and sets it on the desk.

My brain screeches to a halt, confused. “I mean, of course I want to stay.”

Syril nods calmly. “Orion tells me you get along well with everyone, but I knew you would. Maddox is a good judge of character — that’s why I asked him to find me someone. You see, our community is rather insular. Old-fashioned, even. We need fresh perspective to drag us into the modern age, or quite frankly, we’re going to slowly disappear into the shadows.”

“You thinkI’mthe fresh perspective?” I frown. I don’t understand what Syril means by ‘our community’, but more than that, I’m hardly anyone’s idea of fresh.

My life is bog-standard and that’s the way I need it to stay. I work, sleep, and go to the gym. I ate plain cheese tortillas for dinner the last five days in a row, and my idea of a good time is a cup of hot chocolate and a marathon ofUnnatural.

Sure I wasn’t always like this, but being fun isn’t exactly high on my priority list these days. Jumping feet first without looking was how I got into trouble the first time around.

Syril doesn’t reply, only slides the box toward me. “It’s your choice,” they repeat.

Okay. If it’s going to be like that.

I open the box. Inside is some kind of pendant on a braided cord, a deep red gem in a silver setting that gleams in the low light. I lift it by the cord and hold it up to the light. The gem glints with an inner fire, a multitude of colors winking back at me.

It’s a real stone.The thought enters my head in a flash. I drop the necklace back into the box like it burns, heart pounding.

“What’s that for?”

“Put it on,” Syril says.

Their voice is suddenly commanding. My hand moves without my permission and the pendant is in my palm, cold and heavy.

But oh no, my stubborn ass can’t just do what I’m told. “What if I don’t want to? This could be some kind of trick.”

“Then you’re free to leave. I’ll give Maddox a good reference, and he’ll find you another placement. A simpler one.”

Syril’s cool, even tone calms my kicking pulse. I take a deep breath.

“Okay.” The pendant settles on my breastbone, cool through my thin t-shirt. The metal warms to my skin right away. “Now what —?”

The words die in my throat. In the mirror on the far wall, the reflection of the office isn’t quite right. There’s me, standing like an idiot in front of the desk. Behind the desk, Syril has been replaced by a person with branches growing out of their head.

Panic claws me. For a moment I’m back in the Jungle, tripping hard on acid after three days of partying on uppers with Jasper’s friends.It’ll calm you the fuck down,Jasper’s voice rings in my ear.Jesus, Ezra, stop being such a pissbaby. Stay here and put this on your tongue. I have business to take careof.I grab the amulet, ready to rip it off. But something stops me. It’s the look in those dark, narrow eyes — the gentle, knowing look.

Instead, I sit down.

“Mind telling me what the fuck?” I prompt Syril.

The branches arch gracefully from their forehead, like antlers, entwining to form a crown. Some of them have wicked thorns. White flowers dot their tips. Syril’s face is… the same, yet different. Sharp and inhuman. Elegant. I blink hard as my head starts to spin.

They close the box and I bite back a groan of dismay. Whatever’s going on, I’m getting to the bottom of it. I’m not the guy who just lets things happen to me anymore.

“I’m a shadow dryad,” Syril says with absolute, honest seriousness.

I choke on a hysterical laugh. “Okay? Really? You’re some kind of… supernatural creature? Like from a TV show?”

“Monster. It’s the term we prefer.”

Monstersounds like an insult. But hey,queerwas an insult, and now some of us slap the term on gladly.

I take a deep breath. Pieces start to fall into place. “So you’re a monster. And — Orion must be one too.” For some reason that makes complete sense. “Shit, and Plato?”

“Ezra.” Syril puts a hand up. Their skin is papery like birch bark, with flecks of dark that I swear move before my eyes. Their fingers are long and slender. They don’t look any less intimidating as a shadow dryad than they did as a human, I have to say. “We’reallmonsters. Everyone at The Sanctum, and more. That’s what I’m saying.”

I swallow hard.