TERRIBLE THINGS

twelve

Kova winced. He'd forgotten to tell them about what had happened at the Rose Petal Ball. For some reason, Jase hadn't shot Kova that night. And Kova knew that Jase had every reason to. Red had pointed out his weak point. Jase would have known exactly where to hit him.

So why didn't he?

"Lilja..." he said, voice soft. "At the Rose Petal Ball, Red grabbed me, and ah... Jase was there."

"What?" Lilja asked, her eyes wide with alarm.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Tamīka snapped, standing up and Kova shrank beneath her gaze.

Swallowing his nerves, Kova focused on his trembling hands. Tamīka was just tired and frustrated. They all were. "It was not... important," Kova said. "He did not shoot me."

"Kova..." Huraira said, her words slow. "I know Jase better than anyone. There is no way he wouldn't shoot a Smile, especially Cinderella." She froze. "Unless... you don't think he could have recognized you?"

That was the only logical conclusion Kova could come to as well.

"You best hope not," Lilja said. "We all know the rules about what would happen if a human unwilling to negotiate discovered our identities."

Huraira's face paled as she looked down. This was why Kova couldn't share his suspicion with his sisters. Because if Jase got too close, he would get killed. Ignorance was vital for his survival. He hadn't said anything of the night so neither had Kova. They ignored it. Just as Kova ignored the fact that Jase had been aiming for him, ready to fire, until the crown of roses slipped.

Neither Kova nor Jase had to know anything if they didn't acknowledge it.

"Jase... saw I was fighting Red," Kova said, avoiding Huraira's gaze. "He wants to kill her. I think... he wanted to use me." That had to be it.

"That seems like a fair assumption," Lilja said. "He did the same tonight."

"What?" Huraira snapped. "That's why you guys came?"

Lilja nodded, slowly. "He asked and we weren't going to let a chance slip away. Besides, I was afraid you might be there." She turned back to Kova. "But you're not off the hook. How did you get away from Red? Even if she likes you she wouldn't just... let you go."

"Did you find her weak point?" Tamīka asked.

"It's on the back of her neck," Huraira blurted out. "I mean... she was wearing some kind of leather patch around the back of her neck and it looked like the same material as the Cinderella suit."

Tamīka lost it. Sputtering curses, she knocked her chair over, before picking it up and throwing it against the wall. "Damn her!" she howled. "Damn her, that's Parthēna's design! She only ever made four of them!"

"Calm down, Tamīka!" Lilja snapped, but her eyes were glowing with the same feverish light. "She might have just stolen one!"

"Bullshit!" Tamīka hissed. "We both know all the other suits still have their patches! And the one on Huraira's use to be Fanaka's!"

"My suit has a patch?" Huraira asked.

"All Smiles have at least one weak point at the nape of their neck," Lilja said, looking down. "It makes sense to outfit all our suits with the patches made from the spare material of Kōvhakiēl's suit."

"Um... how do you know every Smile has a weak point there?" Huraira asked.

"They just do," Lilja said.

"Except the Konrad," Kova said, supplying that bit of information, helpfully.

"Yes, every Smile except the Konrad," Lilja said, nodding. "But she's all the way across the Senari so we really don't need to worry about her." She closed her eyes. "But every normal Smile has weak points. The size, amount, and position vary but there is always a constant weak point on the back of the neck. We'd just always assumed Red was like the Konrad but this... changes things."

Tamīka sighed, returning her chair to the table and sitting back down. "So Red has a weak point," she growled. "Let's go kick her ass."

"We need to be at our full strength for any attack. We should wait for Parthēna's injury to heal before doing anything rash," she said. "We don't even know the location of Red's base."

"Fanaka wouldn't have hesitated," Tamīka muttered.

"Tamīka!" Lilja snapped.

Tamīka growled. They were about to fight again. "Fanaka wouldn't have allowed Parthēna to get shot in the first place! All you ever do is boss us around," she spat. "We don't take risks, we don't do anything fun, and you seem perfectly fine letting Ko galavant around with Red! I'm sick of it!"

"Then leave!" Lilja hissed. "All you do is whine and complain. You're just a useless Chimera! I have no idea what Fanaka saw in you!"

"Lilja-" Kova said, cutting in.

"Shut up Kōvhakiēl!" Lilja snapped, turning her rage on him. "Just shut up. You're not Fanaka. No one here is Fanaka!" She threw her hands down onto the table, suffocating every sound in the house.

Kova stiffened at her words. "Do you think I am not aware of that?" he asked, trying to calm his breathing. He didn't need to have a panic attack in front of them. "I am going to bed."

He already had too many things to think about.

[author's note]

tensions are rising and the strain causes the bonds of family to shake