“I’m sorry,” Ethan says. “I know you must have. It’s just the look you’re giving me. It almost looks like you’ve never seen a greyskin before.”

I try to shake my head, but I’m frozen. “I don’t know,” is all I can mutter.

“I have to admit,” he says, “I get pretty shaken up even after three years of this crap.”

But I barely hear him. As I stare into the fire, I wonder what I would have done this time if I had seen Ethan getting devoured in my vision. Would I have been able to stop him? Or is the future I see already set? Could I have stopped Ethan? Could I have stopped Lucas?

Ethan lowers his head to try and meet my eyes, but I stare straight ahead. “You can go to sleep,” I tell him. “Just leave me your bat.” I know I won’t be able to sleep tonight, so I might as well let the other two get some rest. My thoughts are racing. I can’t help but watch the images of the day play over in my head again and again. I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. The feeling drains me, but I cannot sleep. Slumber will have to take me another night.

Lucas is dead, and flashes of the future make me feel confused. Through all this, I can’t help but think about the past and how this all started. When Ethan finally agrees to go to sleep and let me keep watch through the night, my thoughts drift to the time I first heard about the greyskins. What a terrible day it was.

Chapter 4 - Waverly

Three Years Ago

Hattie sat across from me, holding her cards spread out in a perfect row in front of her face. I looked down at my hand and shook my head. “Got any eights?” I asked.

Hattie shook her head and smiled. “Go fish.”

I let out a short sigh and drew another card.

“Got any sevens?” Hattie asked me.

This time I shook my head. “Go fish.”

As she reached down, I couldn’t help but look at her wedding band and engagement ring. The diamond was small, and the yellow gold, slender. The jewelry was nothing like what my mom wore. My mom’s ears and fingers were usually weighed down with stones of different shapes, colors, and carats, and each day she wore a different set depending on her clothes. But not Hattie. Hattie wore her simple ring proudly, and on her hand, it seemed much bigger and more precious than any jewelry my mom could ever afford.