Chapter 21: Ticking Clocks
The hum clawed at my chest again, a jagged buzz like a blade grinding bone. Three days. Three whole days since Mom's suitcase rolled out the door—and not a single word. No calls. No texts. Not even one of her cheesy "Mama cares, muah!" notes.
Even when she was furious over the cash I'd dumped on her, she still checked in. But this? This silence was different. Sharp. Heavy. Like Norwegick's dusk—gray, breathless, waiting. After Hale's disgrace, Ramsey's exposure, and Dr. Carter's fall, I'd left this town scorched. But now, I was stuck in the ashes. My vengeance was starving, and Mom's absence gnawed at me like a fresh wound.
I slumped on my bed, Dad's knife cold in my hand. His notebook lay open beside me, the word "pact" practically bleeding off the page. His death. Marcus's. Liriwick. Mystery M. And now, Mom—vanished after calling me the Female King for the first time. Something was unraveling. Something big.
And Denis? Don't get me started.
Three days and not one update since I told him to track her. Not one. Was he playing me? Was Mom—no, I couldn't think that.
"Shit," I muttered, heart pounding. Everything was spinning.
"Aaaargh!" I yelled, flinging my hands skyward. "Motherfucker! I can't take this anymore!"
I clasped my hands together. "God, I swear, I'll be good—just let her be okay. Please. 'Cause right now, I'm shitting my pants."
The hum growled low, amused at my panic.
My stomach answered back. Fine. Food first. I ordered pizza and a milkshake, inhaling both like they could plug the hole in my chest.
Ring ring ring.
Unknown number. My spine straightened.
"Hello?" I barked.
"It's me. Denis." He sounded winded. Suspicious.
"You bastard," I snapped.
"Hold up! I can explain," he blurted. "Lost my phone. Lost her trail for a bit. Wasn't easy tracking her without a lead."
I narrowed my eyes, as if he could see it through the line. "Is she okay? Worth all this stress?"
He paused. "Yeah. I mean—she's in Edenville. Just... you know. Single mom vibes. Probably mingling. Taking a break. Nothing heavy."
I gripped the phone tighter. The hum turned sharp, suspicious.
"You're telling me she's just out there having fun?"
"Pretty much," he said, way too casual.
"Oh, really?" My voice dropped to a whisper edged in steel. "Then watch her, Denis. Protect her with your life."
Silence.
"Got it," he muttered.
"Because if you don't," I said slowly, "I'll take it instead."
I hung up.
The hum exploded—piano chords and chains, the Silent Noise screaming in my skull. He was lying. I could hear it. Mom wasn't just 'mingling.' She was connected to Edenville, to the pact, to everything Dad died for.
I trusted her to come clean. I still did. But three days of silence? That trust was thinning by the hour.
Norwegick was still my battlefield. And I'd burn it again to unearth the truth.
The hum whispered, fierce and soft:
Be strong, my Female King.