‘I know.’
‘Alright then,’ Francis said suddenly, pushing me away. ‘Stop wasting time. You get Sebastian out of there and bring him home, you hear me? He’s gone through enough crap already.’
I nodded and climbed out of the cab. ‘Bye, France.’
My brother put the truck in reverse, foot still on the brake. He surveyed the large house looming in front of us. ‘And what makes you so sure she’s going to go along with this?’
I couldn’t help smiling. ‘Because it’s Katie.’
*
I pressed the doorbell, but I didn’t have to wait long.
Almost immediately, the door swung open, and Katie Lewis threw her arms around me, squishing the air out of my lungs. ‘Oh my gosh, you’re here!’
‘Hey, Katie,’ I said, breathless. ‘It’s so good to see you.’
She pushed me back, holding onto my arms. ‘Of course it is,’ she said. ‘I should totally be pissed at you right now, though. Don’t think I didn’t know you’ve been in town for weeks.’
Katie herded me inside. I paused, looking around the vast entryway. I never got used to houses this big. The high ceilings, the giant rooms – nothing like our small trailers back at the Circe.
‘I’m really sorry,’ I said, following her through an extensive kitchen and down a hallway. ‘My father wouldn’t let any of us away from the Fairgrounds this trip. Our schedule has been crazy. Plus, I knew you were in New York.’
‘Only for two weeks,’ she said, ushering me into her spacious bedroom. ‘It’s okay, being at my dad’s, but I was so ready to come home. I’m in desperate need of some lake time and a serious tan.’ She shot me a disgusted look. ‘Not all of us were blessed with skin like yours.’
‘Runs in the family,’ I said with a shrug.
‘Speaking of your family, how was the show tonight? I’m totally planning on coming to see you just as soon as I can get everyone together.’
‘It was fine,’ I replied, trying not to think about how I’d nearly botched our last routine. ‘Just a few first-night jitters. I’m sorry to come by so late. The show ran longer than expected.’
Katie laughed. ‘Well, I just got off work, and my Friday night plans involved some major television binge watching, so no worries. I’ve missed you like crazy, by the way. So, how’s your summer been so far? Did you get your graduation certificate? Oh, and how’s Quentin?’
‘He’s fine,’ I replied, feeling suddenly cold. ‘It’s all … fine.’
I looked around Katie’s bedroom. Like everything else in the Lewis home, it was huge. Everything matched perfectly, from the pastel walls, to the puffy bed pillows – even the frames of all the pictures lined across her desk. I picked up a photo of Katie, posing with a group of friends, and standing beside her was …
Sebastian.
I barely recognized him. His skin was a normal shade, his hair dark brown and wavy, flopping across his eyes. Not the luminous silver eyes I’d looked into so many times. They were simply hazel. No darkened lips or sharp teeth. And he was smiling, bright and full, as though he’d been halfway through a laugh when the picture was taken.
The guilt I thought I’d released taunted me again, savage and heavy. Sebastian told me he’d always been a gargoyle, and I had to believe him. But his life seemed so normal before all of this. Before he met me.
Katie took the picture out of my hands. ‘Josie, I’ve been totally patient with you, but I’m about to freaking blow up if you don’t tell me what’s going on.’
I glanced up, startled. ‘What?’
Her eyes narrowed into blue slits. ‘In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never once spent the night at my house. Like ever. And then, suddenly, you’re asking to come over, like immediately? Something’s up, and you’d better spill.’
Katie plopped on the bed, sending her mound of stuffed animals exploding in all directions. She looked at me expectantly.
I tried smiling, but my face didn’t know what to do. I wondered how Sebastian had managed to keep the truth of what he was from Katie and his friends for so long. Those first months during his change must’ve been horrible. But deep down, I knew he’d kept his secrets the same way I’d kept mine.
He’d lied.
Keeping my family’s Outcast Gypsy roots hidden was something we had to do – it was for our protection; it was how we preserved our heritage. But secrets like ours came at a constant cost. They built a wall between our world and the outside one. But it was a divide I was going to have to tear down.
‘Katie,’ I began hesitantly. ‘I’m not here for a slumber party. I came here because I need your help. But first, there’s a lot I have to tell you.’
‘No problem.’ She leaned forward eagerly. ‘I’m all ears.’
A lifetime and a very long past pulled on me. I respected our Outcast traditions, but I also valued my friendship with Katie – more than I even realized until now.
‘I guess I should start by telling you that I’m a Gypsy.’
‘Well, yeah,’ she replied, staring at me as though I’d told her the sky was blue. ‘I mean, what with your last name and the whole circus thing you’ve got going on. Not to mention the fortune tellers and folky music and stuff.’
‘No, you don’t understand,’ I said. ‘It’s not like that. We’re Roma. The entire Circe troupe. We make up part of the Romany clan, and my father’s the head of it.’ I fiddled with the bracelets on my wrist. ‘It’s not something we tell outsiders. Letting non-Roma into our world isn’t allowed. It’s one of our laws.’
‘Whoa.’ Katie uncrossed her legs and slid off the bed. ‘For real?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Oh my gosh! Actual Gypsies?’
‘Not all my people like using that name, but in my kumpania – in my group – we don’t mind. It’s what we are. Outcast Gypsies.’
‘Outcast from where?’
‘From Europe, from our original clans, two hundred years ago. My ancestors wanted to start a new life in America so we could follow our own ways.’
‘That is so unbelievably cool!’ she exclaimed, practically bouncing in front of me. Her brows lowered suddenly. ‘But wait, if you’re not allowed to go around telling people who you are, then why is your family so open with all the Gypsy stuff at the Circe?’
‘People don’t make the connection between our stage shows and our real life. My father says it’s using an old stereotype to our advantage. The Circe gives us freedom to live like we want and travel where we like, but without anyone knowing who we are.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s not like we’re the first circus to use a theme.’
‘So it’s a gimmick,’ Katie said. ‘You know, it’s kind of like what Sebastian’s brother does with his tattoo shop.’ She stopped abruptly, and I literally saw the wheels click into place behind her eyes. ‘Hang on. Is Hugo a Gypsy, too?’
An unsettling sensation pricked at me. I wasn’t betraying the Corsis, I told myself. I didn’t have a choice. ‘Yeah, he is. Everybody that works there is part of his clan.’
‘No freaking way,’ Katie exclaimed. ‘What about Sebastian? Is he—’
‘Sebastian’s not a Gypsy.’