Chapter sixteen

A curious silence settled between Audrey and Connor as they sized each other up in the rapidly fading twilight. Audrey looked Connor over from head to toe, wondering if she would have guessed that there was something special about him had she not already known. Were all Wishes as angelic-looking as he was? The only thing she had to compare him against was herself, and she definitely didn't think she was gorgeous, so maybe he was just lucky in that regard. He looked strong for someone their age, with broad shoulders and thick forearms that didn't seem to match his shy expression and gentle way of speaking.

"I don't think I've seen you before," Connor said, squinting at Audrey through the shadows.

"You haven't — I've never been here. Hang on, let me get my flashlight. I can barely see—" Audrey stopped short when she reached for a pack that wasn't there. She vaguely remembered setting it at her feet while she spied on the funeral. "Shit, I must have left it with—" she turned a slow circle, expecting to see Emandi lurking close by. But the woods were dark. "Emandi? Where are you?"

"Emandi?" Connor sounded uneasy.

"It's okay," Audrey assured him. "They're my friend." She chewed her bottom lip and considered her next move. Worrying about Emandi seemed laughable to her — they had survived for thousands of years without her. "I'm sure they'll catch up."

Without a flashlight to guide the way, Audrey decided to try her powers instead. She recalled the anger and outrage she'd felt only moments earlier as she watched the man strike Connor, and directed all of that fiery emotion down her arm. A ball of golden light flared to life, hovering just above her open palm.

"Woah!" Connor cried as he jumped back. "What— How did you—" His eyes, wide with disbelief, seemed to glow as the light in Audrey's hand reflected off their already brilliant green irises. When he lifted his gaze from the energy orb and back to Audrey's face, his expression had shifted. "You're... you're not a druid, are you?"

Audrey shook her head. "No, but they seem cool though."

"But you said you're a Starborn," Connor said, the pitch of his voice rising ever so slightly. He took a half-step back.

"I am," Audrey insisted with a frown. "My mom was human, but my other parent is a Star."

"How is that possible?"

"Do you really need me to tell you where babies come from?"

Connor didn't laugh. His throat bobbed with a hard swallow as he took another step back. "Why are you here?"

Only then did Audrey realize that Connor was, for some inexplicable reason, afraid of her. An unexpected wave of desperation washed over her. She didn't know what to say to secure this boy's trust; all she knew was that she didn't want him to run away. "Wait! I'm not— well, I don't actually know what you're worried about me doing, but I promise I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Then what do you want?" Connor's eyes narrowed skeptically.

Audrey sighed. That question always felt so hard to answer. "Listen, I've never known anyone else like me before. I didn't even know about things like Wishes or druids until now. I just..." she hesitated. Being this vulnerable around a complete stranger made her uncomfortable, and yet it felt like something she had to do. "I'm lonely, okay? I'm lonely and I'm scared and I thought you might be able to help me understand myself a bit better."

"I don't know if I'm the right person to help you with that," Connor said with a meek bow of his head. "Besides, what about your parents? I'm sure they can answer your questions."

"My mom is dead," Audrey replied bluntly. "And my other parent is..." she turned her face to the sky. "I dunno — off doing Star shit, I guess."

This confession softened Connor's rigid posture. He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought, leaving Audrey to await his verdict in awkward silence.

"Okay, fine," he said at last. "Come on, we can talk at my place. It's not far." He turned and walked into the woods, pressing his hand gingerly against his ribs where he had been kicked. Audrey glanced around one more time, but Emandi was still nowhere to be seen, so she scampered after her reluctant host.

They walked for a minute or two in silence. Audrey clocked the anxious way Connor's eyes darted back and forth, looking for danger in the darkness. She wondered if he was worried that the man from earlier might come back for him, or if there was something worse out there to be afraid of.

The earth beneath their feet dipped slightly and Connor stumbled at the unexpected slope. He let out a hiss of air between his clenched teeth as he winced.

"Is it bad?" Audrey asked, motioning to his side. He shrugged.

"It's not the worst injury I've had," he answered. "I don't think anything's broken, at least."

Audrey's eyes widened. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Um..." Connor's shoulders hunched with obvious discomfort, "not necessarily 'a lot' but... Let's just say it's not the first time." Without looking at her, he picked up his pace and hurried ahead.. "Anyway, we're here."

The only thing Audrey could see in the orb's radius of light was what looked like a small garden shed. Assuming this was the edge of Connor's property, she headed toward the narrow mouth of a path that yawned in the middle of some dense bushes.

"Where are you going?" Connor called after her. Confused, Audrey turned to find him standing in the open doorway of the shed. Alarm bells sounded in the back of her mind.

"Is this some kind of joke?" she demanded. "I'm not following you into some sketchy shed, dude. If you're going to be a creep then forget it, I'm out."

To her surprise, Connor responded with a half-hearted huff of laughter. "Trust me — I wish I was joking." He stepped inside the shed and was swallowed up by the darkness. A second later, Audrey heard the telltale fssh of a match being struck. The flash of warm light inside the shed illuminated its interior; through the open doorway Audrey spotted a small, neatly made bed and a rickety wooden chair. A small square window flared to life like a television screen. Audrey's mouth fell open.

"Connor, do you live here?" she balked.

"I wouldn't call it 'living', but, yes." Connor stepped back into the doorway, this time holding a flickering lantern in his hand. "Are you coming or not?"

After quickly dispelling her energy orb, Audrey crept cautiously forward and stuck her head inside. Sure enough, the tiny structure was outfitted with a small wood stove, a table, and some shelves. It reminded her of the plastic playhouse that had sat in the corner of her kindergarten class as a child. Gobsmacked, she raised her eyebrows at Connor.

"Dude. No offense, but... what the fuck?"

He rolled his eyes. "Just get here."

Audrey obliged and Connor shut the door behind her. He stared at it for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then turned to his bed. Without so much as a grunt of effort, he picked the bed up off the ground, lifted it over their heads, and set it down against the door.

"What the—" Audrey exclaimed.

"Relax," Connor said, tugging the window's set of ragged curtains closed. "The door doesn't have a lock and the only person who ever knocks is my cousin. Trust me, the last thing either of us need is someone barging in and finding you here. Are you hungry? I'll make something to eat."

"You don't have to—"

"It's fine." Connor was already pulling things from the shelves. In the lamplight, Audrey could see the shadows of half-healed bruises on his tired face. She sank down onto the wooden chain and watched him work. A surge of guilt rose up inside of her; she suddenly felt bad about barging in on this stranger's life.

Connor turned toward the wood stove, pausing only to give Audrey an expectant look. "Well? What do you want to know?"

"Where do I start?" Audrey said. She tilted her head curiously. "First off: why do you live in a garden shed?"

The heavy iron wood stove door squealed as Connor pulled it open. He scoffed as he sifted the bed of ashes inside and lined it with fresh kindling. "Because they weren't allowed to make me live outside."

Audrey frowned. "Who's they?"

"My uncle and aunt." Connor spoke the words with such a flat affect that for a split-second Audrey wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. She gaped at him, wordlessly watching as he struck another match and tried to get the kindling to catch. "C'mon, light, you stupid—"

Shaking off her shock, Audrey jumped up and hurried to his side. "Here, let me help." Her practice was slowly paying off, and even though it took a few tries, she eventually managed to conjure just enough heat to create a spark.

"Wow," Connor whispered. He lowered himself onto the ground and watched the first few brave flames grow in speechless wonder. Audrey sat beside him and waited. Eventually, he turned away from the fire to look at her. "So, is that magic a Starborn thing?"

"It's not magic," Audrey answered curtly. "And, sorry, but you don't get to drop a bomb like 'my uncle and aunt make me live in a garden shed' and then just change the subject. What's going on here, Connor?"

With an exhausted sigh, Connor pinched the bridge on his nose, just above a bump that looked to Audrey like a break that didn't have a chance to heal properly. "How much do you know about Wishes?" he asked.

Audrey tried to condense everything Emandi had told her. "I know about the fallen wishing star, and how some people used it without permission, which pissed a lot of people off."

"Right." Connor looked back into the fire, which by now was crackling away happily in the stove. "All of those people — the ones who made wishes and the ones who were pissed off about it — are all technically Loyals."

"The most loyal followers of the Stars," Audrey said to prove she was following along.

"Right. My entire family are Loyals, although my parents aren't super strict about their beliefs seeing as, y'know." He gestured at himself and Audrey nodded. "My dad's brother, on the other hand, is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. He's one of those people who believes in the Stars' judgment very, very literally — whatever the Stars say goes."

"Isn't that what all Loyals believe?" Audrey asked.

Connor leaned back against the side of his bed and closed his eyes. "Like I said: it's a spectrum. Most Loyals are a bit more selective about what they believe. People like my uncle and his followers don't believe there's any room for interpretation, while others do."

"That's convenient." Audrey wrinkled her nose and Connor laughed.

"Trust me — taking everything the Stars say literally is..." He paused and considered his words thoughtfully. "It's not an easy way to live. My uncle helped establish this commune decades ago so he and others who share his beliefs could do their own thing. I've been here since I was seven and, let's just say it isn't a life I would choose for myself if I had a choice."

Audrey shuffled backward so she could lean against the bed too. She folded her legs and draped her arms over her knees. "If you don't like it, why don't you leave?"

Connor stared at her, his brow knitted tightly over his bright green eyes. "I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"Why would I be joking?"

"I don't leave because I can't," Connor said, speaking slowly in a way that made Audrey realize she was missing something important in this story — something she probably should have known. "I mean, yes, I hate it here. But even the worst things here are better than what would happen to me if I left."

"Why? What would happen to you if you left?" Audrey said, risking the chance of asking another apparently stupid question. It took a second for Connor to answer.

"You really don't know, do you?" he asked, to which Audrey sheepishly shook her head. Connor licked his lips and leaned in conspiratorially, like he was about to share a dangerous secret. "What do you think all those super loyal people did when they learned about a bunch of unsanctioned Wish kids?"

Something about the intensity in Connor's eyes sent a cold trickle of dread down Audrey's spine. She shivered. "I honestly don't know."

A heavy sadness swept across Connor's features, and his whole body seemed to slump under the weight of it. He ran a hand through his golden hair and locked his gaze on hers as he whispered,

"They killed them, Audrey."

Even with the fire crackling only a couple feet away, Audrey was chilled by Connor's words. Her brain struggled to comprehend the idea of people—of children—being murdered over something their parents did.

"Is that true, or are you just trying to freak me out?" she asked.

Connor jerked back, scandalized. "Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Because it's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Audrey punctuated her point with a raise of an eyebrow. "The Wishes didn't do anything wrong and even if they did, what good would it do to kill them? And, like, how does a group of people get away with murdering a bunch of kids anyway?"

"I think you're seriously underestimating these people." Connor tipped his head back and rested it against the mattress. He closed his eyes, but his expression was too tense to look peaceful. "The Loyals aren't just devoted — these are powerful people with a lot of influence. Think about how badly my parents must have wanted me to misuse the wishing star. Why would they send me away to live with my uncle if I wasn't in real danger?"

Audrey couldn't argue with that. Her mother had wished for her too, and Audrey knew she would have done anything to keep her safe. In fact, maybe she had. If what Connor was saying was true, perhaps that was why she'd never been allowed to tell anyone the truth about her parents. What would the Loyals think of someone like her? Audrey swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. Rather than tug on that thread, she decided to stay focused on Connor. "So, does your uncle know that you're being abused by his followers?"

Connor rolled his head to face her. "That was my uncle."

"What?" Audrey cried. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "The guy who was kicking your ass is your uncle? Why would he hurt his own nephew?"

"Because he hates me just as much as the Loyals do; everyone here does."

Audrey had to pull in a deep, slow breath against the building prickle of electricity under her skin. "Then why would your parents send you here, of all places?"

"Because my uncle and his followers won't kill me unless the Stars tell them to, but the Loyals don't need permission to take matters into their own hands," Connor said as he massaged his forehead. "This place is remote and hard to find, and at least while I'm here my parents know that I'm with family."

"I'm sorry, but that's fucked up," Audrey growled. "Even if the world really is dangerous for Wishes, I don't think this is what your parents would want for you." She waved her hand around the tiny shed.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Connor's mouth. "I bet you would really get along with my cousin."

"Why?"

"Because you both care way too much about other people." He shifted his gaze back to the flames. "You have the righteous indignation thing in common too."

"Does that mean your cousin also thinks you should get out of here?" Audrey asked. Now that Connor had pointed it out, she couldn't ignore the indignation in her voice. "Because if so, I'd love to meet her."

Instead of answering her question, Connor just sighed. It was an exhausted, sad sound that made Audrey's heart hurt. "Listen, do you think we could pick this interrogation back up in the morning? I'm tired."

"Oh, sure..." Audrey mumbled. Her tent was in her missing pack, which meant she was going to have to find somewhere else to sleep. She was debating what would make a better mattress—pine needles or long grass—when Connor hitched his thumb over his shoulder.

"You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

Audrey scoffed. "Not a chance! You probably have a broken rib or two right now — I'm not going to let you sleep on the damn floor."

After a few minutes of bickering, they finally agreed that Audrey would sleep on the floor on the condition that she at least took the thin blanket and flat pillow. Neither did much to make the cold ground more comfortable, but it didn't really matter; Audrey was both physically and emotionally spent, and she fell asleep in seconds.