Bitter Demons by Sarra Cannon Page B

asked. Her voice was all business.
    “I…” I shook my head, trying to think of how I was going to explain this without telling the whole truth. “I had to go to the bathroom and the one downstairs was being used.”
    I struggled with the lie. Did she pick up on it? I couldn’t tell. Her face didn’t show it if she did.
    “Caroline came up here to use the bathroom too,” Meredith said.
    Her mother asked a few more questions about how much time I spent with Caroline and whether she’d said anything unusual to me that night. I told her about how we’d talked at the beginning of the party, but had parted ways shortly after.
    “I want both of you to sit down on the bed,” she said. “Be very quiet and do not interrupt me.”
    Meredith and I sat on opposite sides of the bed. I sat as quietly as I could, but my heart was beating so hard, I was afraid they would hear it.
    Eloise walked to the balcony door and stood very still for a few seconds. Her eyes closed and she held both of her arms out to her side, palms up. A strong wind blew in through the open door. Her hair and skirt blew back, and I shivered. The energy in the room grew dense, electric.
    I imagined that if I lifted my fingertip and reached out toward the Prima, the air would ignite in flame or hot lightning.
    After a time, there was a noticeable sense of release, like breathing out. The wind stopped blowing and Eloise turned to the two of us on the bed. Her eyes were angry and less controlled than before.
    “The memories here have been blocked,” she said. “Someone very powerful has been here.”
    “Can’t you just unblock them?” Meredith said.
    “I did the best I could,” her mother said. “But all I can see is the silhouette of a girl walking onto the balcony. I can feel Caroline’s happiness. A sense of freedom or something. But I can’t quite tell what she’s happy about. Then, there’s only fear. And darkness.”
    Happiness. Caroline felt free because she was able to get away from herself for a little while. Away from the condescending tone in her sister’s voice and the pressure of being Caroline. Of course, I didn’t see how being me for a few hours really could have been much better, but something had made her happy tonight. I tried to take some comfort in that.
    “Sheriff Hollingsworth is sending everyone home after her men ask some very basic questions about Caroline,” Eloise said. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you can remember?”
    I swallowed. “There was a bird,” I said. “On the balcony.”
    Her mother drew her eyebrows together, questioning. “What kind of bird?”
    “A crow,” I said. I didn’t mention the blue eyes. I already felt ridiculous even mentioning it, but if it would help them find Caroline, I had to tell.
    “What? You think a bird carried her away?” Meredith said. “Don’t be ridiculous. It probably just smelled the blood like a vulture or something. Can’t you remember anything that will actually help us?”
    “I suggest you head home, Harper. We have to assume that Caroline was kidnapped. Until we know for sure whether the person responsible is specifically targeting futures, I think you should lay low and be extremely careful.”
    Lay low? What did that mean, exactly?
    “You mean stay at Shadowford?” I asked.
    “I mean stay in your room with a guard posted at your door and a protection spell on your windows,” she said.
    “A guard?” I repeated, shaking my head.
    “You should take this very seriously, Harper,” Eloise said. “Being Prima comes with extreme responsibility. Your life is no longer your own. You should keep that in mind.”
    Again with the responsibility. Expectations. Pressure. I never asked for this life. It was thrust upon me after years of unhappiness and never being able to trust anyone. I’d never gotten seriously attached to anyone in my entire life, yet now everyone expected me to be willing to sacrifice everything for this town. How could I do that