by Tamar Sloan
With that, all eyes turn to Tristan. He lifts a crooked smile. “I prefer Tristan.”
Alden scans him from head to toe. “So this is why you were snooping at the library.”
Tristan has to work not to frown. “Not that there was anything to find.”
Alden chuckles. “That’s because I’ve removed any shred of information about aliens or pods after Mirror Point had several land here.”
Tess gasps as Tristan feels like his heart just tripped over itself. “Pods?” As in more than one? “Here in Mirror Point?”
Zarius is the first to break the stunned silence that follows. “Maybe we should all sit down and catch up.”
He leads the way into the lounge and Alden looks around. All their houses look pretty bare because of the frequent moves, but now they’re down a couple of bookshelves and a coffee table.
Tess smiles apologetically. “Please, take a seat. I’ll bring out something to eat and drink.”
Alden nods, sitting himself on the single armchair facing the couch. Zarius sits across from him but Tristan finds there’s too much energy buzzing through his body to sit. He stands beside the couch, watching Alden closely.
Zarius leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he clasps his hand beneath his chin. “Tell me everything, Alden.”
Alden brushes his eye patch. “Well, most of my pod was destroyed on impact. There must have been some sort of interference because I was knocked off course. It seems several others were, too.”
Zarius and Tristan glance at each other. That’s why they haven’t been able to get so much as a whiff of another Zodiac Heir. Until now…
“Recovery was slow with this planet’s primitive medical system. By the time I was able to start tracking the pods that landed nearby, the Zodiac Heirs were gone.”
Tess enters, holding a tray with coffee and cookies. “Have you been able to find any?”
Tristan has to work not to frown. He’s not sure if he likes Alden, and now the dude is eating his sweet treats.
Alden takes a biscuit, smiling in thanks. “I have my suspicions.”
That has Tristan perking up. “There are others here?”
But Alden shakes his head. “From what I’ve pieced, they were taken to a local orphanage. Most were adopted out quite quickly.”
“So they could be anywhere,” Tristan mutters. Back to square one. He looks squarely at Alden. “We’ll need to see what information you have.”
“Your father had to learn patience, too.” Alden turns to Zarius. “I’ve removed every shred of evidence about the pods from the public record. It’s all at my house. I’ve been waiting for you to find me.”
Tristan frowns. “You didn’t think to go looking for us?” It took sixteen years to get here. That’s a whole lot of time they could’ve saved.
Alden pins Tristan with his one eye. “I had to keep the information hidden. If you couldn’t find it, at least Chardis wouldn’t either.”
Zarius sighs. “He’s right, Tristan. If there was a trail, Chardis could’ve found it before we did.”
“I think he already has,” states Alden.
The Skins asked where the others were…
Zarius shifts forward, his gaze intense. “The Skins have already attacked us, twice.”
Tess’s hand flutters to her throat. “The second time was here.”
Alden straightens. “They know where you live?”
“We’ve increased security,” says Zarius. “They won’t be taking us by surprise again. In the meantime, we’ll look for a new residence.”
Alden nods, scratching his chin. “It will need to be close to the school.”
This time, it’s Tristan who moves closer. His whole body tingles with the need to ask the next question. “There are others there, aren’t there?”
“At least one. I’ve been following her for a while now.”
Her…
Every part of Tristan stills, hanging on what’s about to be said. “Who? What’s her name?”
Alden looks thoughtfully back. “Brielle. I believe she has powers.”
The one word slams through Tristan. Brielle. A Zodiac Heir.
His heart thunders out one word, over and over.
Soulmate.
Alden glances at Zarius. “She’s the only one who wasn’t adopted when several babies arrived at the orphanage seventeen years ago. I’ve organized a couple who are…sympathetic to our cause to take her in. She needs protection.”
Tristan starts to pace. That’s his job. He’s about to become Brielle’s shadow.
Zarius pushes upright. “Tristan, we need her to see the stones. To touch them.”
And if the second Gemini stone lights up, then what his heart suspects will be proven true.
Tess places her hand on his arm. “She’d need to come here. We can’t afford for the stones to be unprotected.”
“You’re right,” agrees Zarius. He turns back to Tristan. “Invite her over. We can talk to her, show her the box.”
Uh oh.
Tristan rubs the back of his head, trying not to suck his head down into his shoulders. “That’s probably not going to be as easy as it sounds.”
All eyes turn to him and he shrugs sheepishly. “I kinda told her…ah, everything. She wasn’t exactly receptive.”
Zarius’s head sinks into his hands. “Patience, son.”
Tristan shrugs sheepishly. “Apparently a lack of it runs in the family.” Which would explain why it’s the one thing Zarius hasn’t been able to teach him.
Alden stands, too, his face taking on the fierce lines he had in the library. “You have to befriend her, find a way to connect. How else are you going to ensure her safety?”
“Or find out whether she’s one of us?” adds Zarius.
Tess is the only one brave enough to crack a smile through the tension that just replaced the air in the room. She looks steadily at Tristan. “You’ll find a way.”
Tristan nods. “Damn straight I will.”
This is what he’s spent his whole life preparing for.
Finding another Zodiac Heir.
Finding his soulmate.
16
Brielle
The usual tribulations aren’t fazing Brielle at all today.
Not that any of the morning’s events have been normal.
Suki apparently confessed her infidelity to Zayn, who dumped her in return. She came to school with no makeup and wet cheeks, and as soon as she and Cassandra spotted Brielle in the hallway, they scowled at her. If looks could kill, Brielle would’ve burst into flames. As if it was somehow her fault that Suki cheated.
“What’s their problem?” Adalind asks as she catches up to Brielle in the hall on the way to Cooking class, noting the wicked glares.
“Who knows,” Brielle says with a sigh. Because honestly, she doesn’t care.
She can’t stop thinking about last night with Eye Patch Guy. Is she really the target of some mystery danger, or is she merely the object of some delusion the crazy librarian has? She’s not sure which possibility is more frightening.
Eye Patch Guy knows where she lives. If he really is just insane, he could sneak into the orphanage and abduct her. And he’s a very large man, she wouldn’t stand a chance against him if he snapped.
But if he’s not crazy… That opens up too many possibilities and unknowns, all of which have Brielle jumpier than a frog on a caffeine high.
“Brielle? Did you hear me?” Adalind nudges Brielle’s arm as they enter the classroom.
“Huh?” Brielle shakes off her ponderings and turns to Adalind.
“I asked if you’re ready for the big dinner tonight with your hopefully new parents,” Adalind clarifies, climbing onto her stool at their station and letting her backpack slip off her shoulder and land on the floor.
“Oh, uh, yeah.” Brielle sits on her stool so nervously that she almost slides off the other side. She takes a deep breath and adjusts herself.
Adalind frowns an
d raises an eyebrow. “What is up with you today? Everything okay?”
No. Nothing is okay. But she’s not about to tell her only friend that. “Sorry. I was up all night working on my History paper so it would be out of the way and I could be clear-headed for the dinner tonight.”
“Doesn’t sound like it worked,” Adalind says with a chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this tired, or this jittery. I hope you didn’t take one of those energy shots, they’re horrible for you.”
Brielle fakes a laugh, hoping to end the conversation there. How in the world is she going to get through the dinner tonight if she can’t even keep it together for two minutes with her best friend?
“So you actually decided to show up today,” Adalind says, making Brielle look up to see Tristan approach their station. His blue eyes twinkle as they lock onto her like they’re made of diamonds, and her lungs stop working. “Or are you just going to randomly walk out again like you own the place?”
“Why, did you miss me?” He flashes Adalind a teasing smile that is nothing shy of delicious, then winks at Brielle, reminding her to inhale and get her lungs functioning again.
Adalind scoffs. “Yes, desperately.” She rolls her eyes.
“How are you, Brielle?” he asks, as if forgetting Adalind is there at all.
“Fine,” she says.
She’s not sure how to feel about Tristan. The same time yesterday, he’d given her a cryptic warning to stay safe, and after last night, she can’t help but wonder if he has anything to do with Eye Patch Guy. Her brain says to keep her distance, but her body can’t help but gravitate toward him, like he’s the magnetic positive to her negative. Now that he’s so close, and she can smell him and feel his warmth, his proximity is fogging her senses and stealing her focus.
And he’s looking at her with such intensity. Like she matters. Like she’s important. No one has ever looked at her that way. It makes her want to let down her walls.
“Good.” Tristan’s smile widens. Does he have any idea how charming he is? “I was hoping we could have lunch together today.”
Before Brielle can answer, Adalind interrupts with, “Uh, no, she’s already got a lunch date, dude. Sorry.”
For a split-second, Brielle is grateful for the road block her friend dropped. But the relief quickly fades as she realizes she needs to know once and for all what Tristan’s agenda is. She can’t keep being the rope in this tug-of-war between the massive red flags and her powerful attraction to him.
“I’m sorry, is your name Brielle?” he asks Adalind. “I believe Brielle is a big girl and can answer for herself.”
Adalind’s jaw drops and her brow creases, but Brielle interjects before Adalind can chew his head off.
“It’s alright, Adalind. Can we skip lunch just this once? I actually would like to talk to Tristan about something.”
Adalind scoffs and looks away, crossing her arms in silent rebellion.
“Great, it’s a date then. And Adalind, I’m not trying to steal her from you. We can all have lunch together.”
Brielle hardly even needs her lie-detection ability to know that his invitation is false and that the last thing he wants is for Adalind to join them. Brielle has to admit that she hopes Adalind doesn’t take him up on it. She won’t get anything out of him in front of an audience, and she’s not sure she wants Adalind to hear the things he may have to say.
“Whatever,” she huffs. “As long as I don’t have to sit with the drama club, I’ll be fine. Those guys never shut up.”
Brielle laughs, relieved that Adalind doesn’t seem too burned by Brielle picking him over her, even though that’s not exactly the case. The air needs to be cleared. And Brielle needs to know if Tristan is someone she can trust.
Brielle’s heart is bouncing off the walls of her ribcage like a nervous hummingbird as she waits for Tristan in the hall outside the cafeteria.
This isn’t actually a date, she tells herself, resisting the urge to tap her toes. This is just two friends having lunch at school. No big deal.
But her body seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to Tristan, and her heart continues to ping pong inside her chest.
“There’s the girl I’ve been looking for.”
Brielle turns around and Tristan is walking toward her, his smile having the same effect on her as headlights for a doe foolishly crossing a nighttime road.
“I was thinking we could eat on the lawn,” he suggests, waving toward the double doors that lead to the football field. “It’s a beautiful day.”
Brielle nods, hoping her smile doesn’t scream love-sick school girl. “Sounds good to me.” Being outside would get them away from the prying, accusatory eyes of Cassandra and Suki, and afford Brielle and Tristan the privacy to be more candid with their conversation topics.
She follows him out the double doors, her lunch bag in hand despite her complete lack of hunger. They walk quite a ways from the brick walls of the school, past the bleachers where a couple are sneaking in a makeout session. Heat rushes up Brielle’s neck at the fantasy of her and Tristan in their place, but she quickly shakes the thought away. She can’t allow herself to be blinded by her feelings for him. She needs to know the truth first.
“This spot looks perfect. What do you think?” He juts his chin toward a large oak tree by the fence.
The site looks a few notches more romantic than what she’d originally pictured when he asked her to lunch, but she shrugs. “Sure.”
When he sits up against the thick brown trunk, she hopes he doesn’t notice her knees quiver as they bend beside him. He withdraws a plastic Tupperware from his backpack.
“You bring your own lunch? I thought I was the only one left in our generation who did that.” She chuckles, lifting her insulated lunch bag.
“School lunches don’t cut it for me. I prefer healthier options. And no one cooks better than my mom.” He takes the lid off the container to reveal a dish of sautéed veggies and some kind of fish, and even cold, it smells delicious. There’s also a chocolate chip cookie cocooned in plastic wrap sitting on top of the concoction.
“And I suppose cookies count as a healthy food option?” she teases. “I’ve been eating right all along and I didn’t even know it.”
He picks up the cookie, unwraps it and raises it to his lips. “We all have our vices,” he says before taking a bite.
Brielle laughs, fingering her lunch bag and debating how to bring up the tenuous topic.
“So how are things going with your potential parents?” asks Tristan, catching her off guard. “You had a meeting with them a few days ago. Did it go well?”
Tristan’s genuine interest in her is one of the things that makes him so irresistible.
“Yeah, the meeting went well, and I’m supposed to have dinner with them tonight.”
“That’s great!” He nudges her arm encouragingly, and even that slight brush of their skin is electrifying.
“If it even happens now,” she adds, casting her gaze down at her still unopened bag.
Tristan frowns and tilts his head. “What do you mean?”
She sighs. “Last night at the library, they walked in on a…an argument between Suki and me. The scene did not cast me in a flattering light.”
Tristan’s brow smooths and he shakes his head. “Whatever happened with Suki, I’m sure that brief moment in time wouldn’t override the things they already like about you. Have they mentioned anything to you since about cancelling the dinner?”
Brielle shakes her head. “No, but it’s not like I’m the easiest person to get a hold of with no cell phone. For all I know, there’s a message waiting for me at the orphanage from them.”
“I’m sure you’re worrying for nothing and your dinner will go off without a hitch,” he says, his tone lighthearted. “If this couple are smart, they’ll see you for the sweet, intelligent, captivating girl that you are.” His eyes turn turquoise as they bore into her, like he can see right through her.
; He’s not just saying these things to flatter her, she can sense it. He really means it.
She lets go of her bag and puts her hands firmly in her lap. “Tristan, why do you like me?” Might as well be blunt.
He blinks a few times. “What?”
“You’ve only just met me,” she clarifies. “And yet right from the first moment, you’ve shown way too much interest in me, and I want to know why.”
He leans closer, and she gasps, unable to lean away. “I know you feel it, too. That pull. It’s not something I can explain, or resist.”
Brielle is both paralyzed and trembling at the same time. The intensity in his blue eyes, the truth she can feel in his words, it’s all completely overwhelming, and her resolve is all but shattered. There’s only a tiny whisper of doubt keeping her from diving in head first.
She forces herself to swallow to reawaken her motor skills. “That thing you said, about aliens. You were serious. You truly believe it, don’t you?”
He looks down, his eyes darting over the grass around them, as if he’s debating something. Then his eyes return to hers, and she tries to deny that under his gaze is her favorite place to be.
“I don’t just believe it, I know it,” he says, voice filled with conviction. “I have lived it every day for the past seventeen years.”
“And you came here looking for others like you,” she adds. “What makes you think there are others?”
He takes in a long, heavy breath. “Zarius, the man I call my father, was actually a palace guard and right hand of my real father, King Pharis of Gemini I, the Gemini Guardian. During the celebration of my birth, the space station we were on was attacked. All the other Zodiac Heirs aboard the station, princes and princesses like me, were sent in pods to Earth for their protection. I was lucky, sent with Zarius, who raised me with the truth of my lineage. But there are twelve other heirs on this planet, one for each sector of the universe, most of whom likely have no idea who they are. One of those princesses is the other Gemini Heir, my perfect match. My soulmate... My family and I have been searching for them my whole life, and so far, you are the closest we’ve come.”