Free Between by Megan Whitmer Page A

front of my chest.
    Alexander didn’t mention Sam. Why wouldn’t he mention Sam?
    “Where are they?” I ask again, louder.
    Seth can’t quite make eye contact. “We don’t know.”
    They don’t know.
    They don’t know ?
    Tears form behind my eyes, and pressure builds there, waiting for me to break down and release them. I swallow hard and look at Alexander. “Are they still in the Between?”
    He shakes his head. “They haven’t left the mortal realm.”
    Are they together?
    They haven’t made it out of the mortal realm. So either Mom’s hurt and Sam doesn’t know enough to know where to go, or Sam’s hurt and Mom doesn’t want to leave him. Or they’re both hurt. Hurt. Not dead. Oh God, are they dead? Would the Fellowship know?
    I’d know. Right? I’d have to know. If my twin brother was dead, I’d feel it.
    I stare at the red string knotted around my wrist.
    The air is too heavy. I have to get out of here.
    “Charlie.” Seth steps toward me, lifting his hand like he might hug me. A hug is the absolute last thing I want right now.
    I need air.
    I push past Seth and step around Alexander toward the door. Two giant hands lift me by my arms and place me by the table, and I gasp.
    “You need to stay calm,” Alexander orders.
    “Stay calm? What if the Mothman found them?” The room closes in on me. I imagine the Mothman tracking them, howling, toying with them before he finally swoops down and—
    “We’ve already sent a team to the mortal realm,” Alexander says. “Whatever the outcome, we’ll know what’s happened to them.”
    Whatever the outcome. No three words have ever sounded so terrifying.
    Neither of them says it, but I know. It’s possible Mom and Sam are dead. Seth’s fingers brush across my shoulder and I jerk away, glaring at him. This shouldn’t have happened. The Mothman should never have been so close to us. We shouldn’t have left them. “You should’ve been there. You’re supposed to be watching the Mothman. That’s your job.”
    Alexander’s forehead creases. “Watching the Mothman?”
    Seth blinks and squints at me before he shakes his head. “ You are my job. I’m supposed to be watching you.”
    “Oh, I know I’m your Apprentice,” I say, waving my hand in the air and rushing my words, “but you’re on the Mothman’s unit. You’re supposed to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.”
    “No, Charlie. I never said that.” Seth rubs his hand up the back of his head. “The Mothman doesn’t have a unit, and even if he did, Adele and I wouldn’t be on it.” He takes a deep breath. “We’re on yours.”
    Alexander leans against the kitchen island.
    Mine? I can’t even comprehend what this means. “What do you mean, mine? I thought the units were assigned to creatures that need extra—”
    I grab the edge of the table when my head starts to spin.
    Oh my God.
    I stare down at my white-knuckled grip on the table.
    I was right. Back in the Between. Mom isn’t human. And I am my mother’s daughter.
    My lungs fill with air and stop, like the world will wait for me to exhale.
    I look to Seth.
    I am an assignment.
    “Charlotte,” Alexander says. He keeps his voice low and even. “Have a seat on the sofa. There are things you need to know.”
    Alexander’s hand presses against my upper back, and Seth stays beside me as the three of us move toward the sofa. The cool leather chills my thighs as I sink into it, and I slip my hands under my legs for warmth. Seth sits next to me. A stained glass window hangs on the wall across from me like a painting, and I focus on it. There’s a wide, white chest beneath it topped with a lime-green cushion. I stare at all of it, through it, until the colors blur.
    The founder stands in the middle of the room, larger than ever. He’s waiting for me to look at him, I know, but I can’t yet. My mind races. I’d pushed away these thoughts back in the Between. It’s so obvious. Seth flickered. Mom flickered. If Mom’s not human,