The Schism (The Broken Prism Book 4) Read Free

was halfway through repacking his bag when a gentle knock on the door stirred him from his thoughts. Expecting Zane, Hayden turned and was momentarily surprised to find Zane’s mother looking back at him, Bonk perched on her shoulder. Since he had left the door ajar when he came in here to sulk, he wondered how long she had been standing there watching him in silence. Judging by the sympathetic, slightly sad look on her face, longer than he would’ve cared for.
    “Hi, Mrs. Laraby,” he blurted out on instinct. “Sorry about the mess in here; I was just cleaning up now.” He had no idea why he bothered; whatever she had come up here to talk to him about, it wasn’t the state of Zane’s bedroom, which usually looked like a tornado had recently swept through it.
    “I thought you might be napping,” she ignored his previous greeting, stepping further into the room and setting herself gently on the edge of Zane’s mattress to face him. “I’m told that fighting monsters can be very tiring work.”
    Hayden forced a small smile and resumed packing his knapsack, much slower this time, mostly to give himself something to look at other than Mrs. Laraby, because she made him miss his own mother.
    “Usually it is, but this one went pretty quick. The worst part was the cold and the ice.”
    “Zane tells me you’ve been having trouble sleeping, and that your magic is beginning to suffer as a result,” she changed the subject abruptly.
    Without thinking, Hayden responded, “Zane talks too much.”
    Instead of scolding him, Mrs. Laraby smiled and said, “Yes, sometimes he does. I suppose with so many sisters he has to, if he ever wants to be heard.”
    A long moment of silence fell between them, during which Bonk took flight from Mrs. Laraby’s shoulder and coasted down to Hayden’s.
    “You know, Hayden, you can talk to my husband or I if there’s something on your mind. You’re like a son to us, and we’ll do whatever we can to help you.”
    Hayden swallowed a lump of emotion and continued his careful folding of a black sock, tucking it neatly into his bag.
    “Even if Zane gets killed following one of my hair-brained plans?” The words were wrought from him almost against his will. “Will I still be like a son to you then?”
    The silence spiraled horribly between them then, but Hayden refused to be the one to break it. Even Bonk shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other on Hayden’s shoulder, like he was trying to think of a way to end the awkward moment but had no idea how.
    When Mrs. Laraby spoke again, it was about something else entirely.
    “I came upstairs because you have a visitor, who seems to think you’re going to be spending the rest of the winter holiday with her and requests that you bring your things downstairs so that you can depart immediately.”
    Surprised out of his funk, Hayden met her gaze for the first time since she knocked on the door and said, “Tess is here?” unable to keep the enthusiasm from his voice. He wasn’t sure that he would sleep any better at her house than at Zane’s—especially because her father might still fantasize about killing him—but the thought of seeing her cheered him immensely right now.
    Mrs. Laraby said nothing, and Hayden began throwing the rest of his belongings pell-mell into his knapsack, forcing the bulging bag to close and slinging it over his shoulder. He had followed Zane’s mother halfway down the stairs before he had the courage to say, “You never answered my question.”
    Frowning thoughtfully, she turned to look him in the eyes and said, “I’m not sure what the answer is yet.”
    Hayden felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his favorite family in the world turning on him, in the event he ever did something stupid enough to get their only son killed.
    At least she didn’t lie to me about it.
    There didn’t seem to be anything left to say at this point, and he hurried past Mrs. Laraby down the last few stairs and turned the