Endure by Carrie Jones Read Free Book Online

because we both know that now I am one of those things.
    Earlier this year, Jay was kidnapped by my biological father. He was tortured and bound to a bed where pixies fed on his energy—his soul, basically. We rescued him from this hellish pixie house in the woods, Devyn and Issie, Betty, Nick, and me. He didn’t remember any of it.
    “It’s not just that Jay is remembering what’s happened to him.” Callie clears her throat. She meets my gaze. I resist the urge to look away. “We saw you take that guy out the other night after the dance. That wasn’t playacting and it wasn’t because he hit on you. Those were mad fighting skills, Zara. Mad. Fighting. Skills.”
    Austin does this weird male-posturing thing where he lifts up one leg and puts it on the coffee table and then he goes, “And that’s just weird, Zara. You’re all Miss Pacifism, Amnesty International, write letters for political prisoners, end all war, and there you are just beating on somebody?”
    None of us say anything. Cierra and Danielle hang back watching. Winking, Paul reaches over and takes a sip of Cassidy’s drink. “You mind?”
    She shakes her head.
    “Thanks.” Paul puts it back. He’s like that—always in everybody else’s stuff. Nobody thinks anything of it anymore. He crosses his arms over his chest. “If we’re in danger, we should know. If you know something, you should tell us. It’s your responsibility to tell us.”
    And it is. It is our responsibility. Would I want to be in the dark while pixies were running around? Is it fair to not tell them? Honestly, though, I’m not sure of the implications of telling. I’m not sure if it will make them safer or make them panic, and we don’t even know for sure everything that’s going on.
    I look up at Dahlberg. He’s so sweet looking still, but his eyes are wounded and half dead. When he couldn’t remember what had happened to him I thought that was good, keeping him safe and sane, but maybe the not knowing is haunting him anyway, killing him slowly with partial images and questions. I touch the tip of my juice bottle with my finger for reassurance and then lock eyes with him. “Are you really starting to remember?”
    He closes his eyes after a second and swallows so hard that his Adam’s apple visibly moves up and down his throat. “I remember teeth, being trapped on a bed. I remember you taking me down these ornate marble stairs through all these monsters. There was a wolf and a tiger out in the cold. I know it sounds crazy but I also know that you saved me from something, Zara. I am positive you did.”
    Devyn leans forward on the couch. I nod at him. Nick clears his throat and I can tell just by looking at him that he’s okay with this. The decision is made. I wish Astley wasn’t late so he could know too.
    “Maybe they can help,” I say to Nick, even as a knife seems to stab into my stomach. What is that? It’s all I can do not to crumple over. I soldier through it and say, “We can’t do it all by ourselves. Not even with Astley’s people. It’s just too big.”
    “I know.” He motions for Paul and Cierra, Callie and Danielle, Dahlberg and Austin to pull up some chairs.
    My stomach sort of flops around inside me. If we tell them, then their innocence is gone—just gone. Their entire perception of the world will be shattered. If we tell them, they could potentially tell other people, who could tell other people, and more and more regular human beings will know that the world isn’t anything like they thought—that there are secrets lurking right next to them, predators that look human but have needs, horrible needs.
    “Oh my gosh . . .” Issie looks at me. “Is this kosher?”
    I nod. Cassie swallows hard. She grabs Issie’s hand. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s better for them to know what they face.”
    “But it could go viral.” Issie makes big eyes. “The whole world could know.”
    “That’s the risk,” I say. “It’s a big