“They’re going swimming.” I saw that he wasn’t going to say anything about it anytime soon.

“They’re not.” He frowned. “Let’s follow them.”

“Kellan, no.” I stood my ground as he tried to pull me behind him. “I’m going to school. Someone has to, or they’ll send the cops out here to make sure we’re all still alive. It’s weird that all of us haven’t gone back for a while and no one’s called.”

Kellan let go of my hand, but trailed behind the other two.

“I’m going to school,” I called after him. Did he no longer care?

He waved, dismissing me.

“Fine. I’m…” I stopped since he’d gone too far.

When I parked in the lot, I knew things were different. It wasn’t the same as before when we had changed Matt. And I wasn’t sure if this was because Dylan was dead, but as I walked inside and down the hallway, there was no grief in the air. I should’ve sensed it. His death should’ve been known. Then, as I got to my locker, my hand reached up to open it, but I froze when I heard Dylan’s laugh in the hallway. It had always been distinct, but it was even more so now.

Everything in my body went numb as I turned. I felt like it was in slow motion when the crowd parted and Dylan was at his locker, laughing at something Matt said in his ear. The two stood close with their hands on each other’s shoulders, giving their sign of bonding and approval to the other. Leah smiled beside them, eager for their attention.

It was how it had been a month ago.

I had thought… Oh God. I had no idea what to think anymore.

Leah caught sight of me, and her eyes widened in anticipation. She skirted over and clasped her hands together. “Is Kellan here? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Do you—wha—how’s your stepdad?” I had no idea what to say, but I needed to know what else he’d done.

She froze. All the liveliness died, and she backed away a step. “I don’t have a stepdad. You know that, Shay.”

“She doesn’t even have parents.” Matt laughed, coming up behind her. He rested both of his hands on her shoulders and drew her against him. She tensed, but looked away, biting her lip.

“You don’t have parents?”

“Foster homes, Shay. Get with the program.” Then he winked. “We haven’t seen you in a few days. How’s it going? Where is the rest of the Braden foursome?”

I narrowed my eyes and sensed into Matt. Everything we had done was gone. I looked at Leah and then at Dylan. I thought Kellan had killed Dylan, but now I cursed myself for not realizing it before. He’d gone back and wiped all of their memories. Somehow, the death of Leah’s parents hadn’t been changed, and it was now known that she lived with foster parents.

Kellan cleaned up all of our messes.

I remembered the exhaustion he’d felt when he’d gotten home that night. He’d been tired before, but he’d been depleted of all energy. He’d slept through the night, then the next day. I hadn’t thought about it, but I gave him some of my energy. In fact, I’d given it the very moment he’d reached for my hand that night.

“Shay?” Matt asked again. His voice had a husky flirting note to it, and I knew that he was their leader again. He was the same guy who had thrown me against the locker two weeks ago. He’d always pushed too far, edging too close to Gus and me, rebelling against Kellan’s rule.

I ignored him and walked away. He didn’t call after me, and no one said a word. They parted for me, and I kept walking. When I got to the art room, Mrs. Ullen perked up in surprise. “Shay! Are you here to paint?”

“Where can I find the guy who painted those canvases of Kellan?”

She frowned. “I’m sorry. What paintings are those? I don’t seem to recall any of your brother.”

“They were here two weeks ago. Someone painted them of Kellan, but he looked like a demon. I got upset. You said you’d take them down… Any of this sound familiar?”

“I’m so sorry, dear. I’m drawing a blank. I’ve only kept your paintings in the back.”

“They weren’t in the back. You hung them up on the wall. Right there!”

She looked where I pointed, but still shook her head with a hand now resting on her nape, looking nervous. “Shay, honey, I never hung any paintings up unless they were yours or a student’s. I only hang student paintings up in the studio. Yours either stay in the back or go in the studio downtown. That was our agreement. Are you feeling okay, dear?”

I threw my hands up in frustration. “They were there. Where did they go? How did you meet that guy?”

She kept shaking her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I really don’t. I’m so sorry.”

“I need to check the back room.”

Hesitant, she handed over the keys, but after I opened the door and looked through all the paintings, I didn’t find the ones I wanted. They were gone, as if they didn’t exist. How could all of this have happened? Did Kellan know about the paintings, too? Did he wipe her memory?

Then I cursed and headed back to my car. Of course, Kellan knew. He’d known the whole time that I had been painting. He knew what I had painted. He knew the painter, whomever he was. Kellan cleaned up everything and what perfect timing. The messengers would get there and find nothing. There weren’t even any traces or lingering trails where magic usually remained after a spell had been done. I’d felt them before, but somehow Kellan had obliterated them, too.