Allie pulled away, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Her fingernails biting into the flesh of her palms, she screamed with the rage of her judgment gift and the agony of all the years of separation from Aidan.
Livia rolled her chair back against the wall, fear stark on her face.
“Allie!” Darius charged through the back door. “What’s happening?” He stumbled through the kitchen in his rush to reach her. All of Allie’s fear, hurt, and rage poured into their Syntrophos bond, scorching them both with the heat of her power.
As he slid into the office, Allie lifted her hand, sending a wave of solar energy against him. Darius slammed into the wall, his feet dangling above the floor. She pressed the weight of her gift against him, her sense of reason gone.
“Allie, no!” Livia stood. “He is your Syntrophos—”
Allie lifted her other hand, flinging Livia back into her chair.
“Did you know?” Her voice sounded like gravel in her throat.
Darius didn’t answer.
She balled her hand into a fist, using her gift to release him, only to slam him back against the wall again. Chunks of sheetrock and plaster dust rained down around them. “Did you know?”
“Allie,” Livia said calmly as if talking to a cornered beast. “If you expect him to answer, you need to let him breathe.”
Allie dropped her hands, letting Darius crash to the floor in a heap, his face red and his eyes wary. “Did I know what?” he rasped. “I’m going to need a little more information, Red.”
“Aidan,” she hissed. “Did you know he’s been some kind of captive for the last three years?” She slammed him against the wall again.
“What is she talking about?” Darius shot a glance at Livia, still imprisoned in her chair.
“He didn’t know, Allie. Let him go,” Livia said.
“He’s a McBrien,” Allie snarled. “They like their secrets. Of course, he knew. He’s been telling me for years Aidan is just off living his life, and I should do the same.” She slammed Darius against the wall once more before she let him drop to the floor again. “But he’s not, is he?” She balled her hands into fists to keep herself from injuring Darius any further. “It’s like Quinn and Sasha all over again.” Her voice trembled. “And I’ve just been here, doing the college thing like an idiot.” Gasping to catch her breath, tears blurred her vision.
“Allie, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Darius said, getting to his feet. “But my brother is a student at the Cologne Conservatory in Germany.”
“He’s not, Darius,” Livia said softly. “He dropped out years ago.”
“You really didn’t know?” Allie sank to the floor in a boneless heap. All the fight drained from her body. Heat flooded her face when she realized what she’d done, and she covered her eyes in shame. What was she thinking, attacking her Syntrophos like that? “I’m so sorry, Darius,” she whispered through her tears.
“It’s okay, let’s just back up a bit here.” Darius slid to the floor beside her. “And maybe let your sister out of that chair?”
Allie pulled the rage back into herself, suppressing the emotion. Her judgment gift sparked and crackled at her fingertips, begging to get out. Darius and Livia obviously didn’t deserve her wrath, but the rage of her gift still consumed her sometimes. It was rare she lost it like this. She’d worked so hard to maintain iron control over her deadliest gift.
“Deep breaths, little sister.” Livia crouched beside her. “I had no idea she would react so violently.” She cast a wary glance at Darius.
“Allie and Aidan … teenage angst.” Darius lifted his hands. “Boom.” He shook his head. “They’ve had a rocky history. You probably should have come to me first.”
“I wasn’t sure I could trust you.”
“I love my family. I would die for them, but my loyalty is with Allie now. We are bonded in a way most people will never understand. If Dad is hiding something, he’s hiding it from me, too. She should have known that.”
“I can still hear you guys.” Allie sniffed. “I’m so sorry. I just lost it.”
“You know, when I taught you how to use your solar gift that way, you promised never to use it on me.” Darius helped her to her feet and eased her back into the chair.
Allie hands trembled as Livia placed a fresh glass of wine in front of her.
“It won’t happen again,” she promised. “But you need to be straight with me, Liv, right now. What is going on with Aidan, and why wasn’t I informed?”
“I’d like to know that myself,” Darius said, sitting on the armrest beside her.
Livia returned to her seat with a sigh. “A few years ago, Aidan was drafted into the Senate. In the beginning, he still lived with Scott, and he continued to attend classes while training with the Senate.”
“This sounds a lot like what Sasha has been through before.” Allie frowned. “But you said he was missing. I don’t understand.”
Livia shook her head. “I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this. But Gregg lost contact with him more than a year ago. Aidan is no longer in communication with his family.”
“You haven’t spoken to your brother in a year, and you didn’t think that was weird?” Allie glared at Darius.
“We haven’t spoken much since he left. Things have been a little weird between us since I bonded with his girlfriend.”
“So no one knows where he is now? No one knows if he’s safe?” The rage swept through her, pulsing like a heartbeat. Her fingertips ached to release her judgment.
“I don’t think he is in danger, but no one seems to know where he is,” Livia said. “Not even Liam.”
“No way. Aidan wouldn’t willingly work for the Senate.” Darius said, shaking his head. “And if he did, Dad would kill him, unless they took Aidan by force and threatened the family.”
“I don’t know all the details,” Livia said, “but from what I can gather, the Senate hasn’t given anyone much of choice where Aidan is concerned.”
“Then why hasn’t Dad turned the world upside down looking for him?” Darius asked, confused.
“I think it’s time we go ask him.” Allie stood and crossed the room. “Now,” she called over her shoulder. “Greggory McBrien has some questions to answer.”
Chapter Eight
“Pick up the pace, Officer McSlowton.” Allie fought the urge to hit the gas pedal with a zap of her solar gift. Darius didn’t like it when she did that.
“I am driving the speed limit.”
“You two sound like an old married couple,” Livia said, snorting from the backseat. “We’re almost there, but we’re going to miss the last ferry.”
“We’ll get a boat at the marina,” Darius said. “It’s just going to be a cold night on the water.”
“Take the tunnel,” Allie said, chewing her thumbnail.
“You sure about that? You hate the tunnel.”
“It’s faster.”
“Yeah, but do we have to? I hate the tunnel.”
“Please, Darius, just get us there.”
“Aidan has been missing for a year, Allie, twenty more minutes isn’t going to make a difference,” Livia said.
“Not funny, Liv.” Allie glared at her sister in the rearview mirror. “I can’t believe this has been happening right under my nose. I’m clairvoyant.” Allie hammered her fist against the dashboard. “How do I keep failing so miserably?”
“You haven’t failed, Allie. You’re too hard on yourself.” Livia leaned over the front seat. “I trained hundreds of kids during my years at Soma, and the biggest frustration everyone experiences at this age is not being able to fully understand their gifts yet. It takes time. You know this.”
Allie ran her hands through her hair impatiently. She knew her sister was right. But Allie had dreamed of Aidan so often. What have I missed? She chewed on her thumbnail. So many nights she’d spent caught in a labyrinth, looking for the shadow that was always just out of reach. She inevitably woke up calling
his name. She’d always thought the dream came when she missed him most. She assumed the fact that she could never catch him had just meant he wasn’t a part of her life anymore. The dream was about not having closure. But could it have been a warning he was in trouble all this time? And what important clues had she missed by suppressing her visions? She’d pushed them away for the sake of convenience.
“I’m so stupid,” she whispered. “I’ve dreamed about Aidan for years. I should have seen this coming.” She would figure this out. She owed him that much.
“The queen has taught you how difficult dreams are to interpret," Livia said. "They often seem to be about one thing and end up being about something else entirely. It is the nature of foretelling. Nothing is as it seems and more often than not, you figure it out after the fact. You’ve seen the evidence of that yourself. Many times.”
“I know. But this is Aidan. How could I fail him, of all people?”
“If I know my brother, he’s the one who doesn’t want you to know anything.” Darius pulled into the Terminal Tower parking garage. It was late. They would be able to access the tunnel there without notice. "I’d bet my shirt he’s the one calling the shots in this mess.” Darius pulled onto the train tracks and hopped out of the car to enter the code behind a panel in the wall.
It would be just like Aidan to try to protect me from this. Allie’s hands balled into fists in her lap. All of this was bringing up old feelings she thought she’d put to rest years ago. Feelings she didn’t want to face again.
As the concrete wall slid aside and Darius pulled forward, leaving the train station behind, Allie stared out the window, the fog of her breath misting the glass. The dark, narrow tunnel brought back bad memories of the night her judgment gift emerged. So much changed that night; she sometimes wished she could go back to the time just before everything fell apart. To the time she’d spent with Aidan, and the moment she’d finally admitted she loved him. She squeezed her eyes shut tight as the darkness of the icy tunnel engulfed them. The memories were painful, yet bittersweet. She still loved Aidan, just as she always had. That had never changed. Yes, she’d built a life for herself without him. She’d found happiness with Darius, and she thrived at school. But she still missed him so much it took her breath away whenever she let herself about him. Allie had dated casually all through college, mostly mortal boys brave enough to ask her out. But nothing serious. She was happy with her life. And all this time, Aidan was in trouble, and, like always, she was the last to know.
“I’m so sick of this,” Allie said, brushing her hair away from her face.
“What?” Darius asked.
“I’m twenty-one-years old. I’m about to hold two degrees. I’m the heir of a dead nation, and I’m as independent as a young Immortal can be, but I’m still kept in the dark about the things that matter. I know I’m not officially an adult in terms of my training, but dammit, I’m an adult in every other sense of the word. I am not a child, and I do not need people making decisions for me.”
“Especially considering your position,” Livia said. “I will stand by your side in this, sister. You are absolutely right. This boy, Aidan, if he is behind this attempt to keep you in the dark as Darius believes, it’s high time he stops making decisions for you. You will never become the woman you are destined to be if you aren’t taken seriously by those who profess to love you. You need the truth and brutal honesty now, not kid gloves and sugar coated half-truths.”
“All of that, yes. Say that to Gregg when we get there,” Allie huffed.
“You can tell him yourself. You’re a big girl.”
“That poor man is going to rue the day he ever met me.”
“Greggory McBrien!” Allie stormed up the steps from the crypt, charging across the empty common room. “Where are you, Gregg? I know you can hear me.”
“I take it you are displeased with me?” Gregg stepped from the corridor leading to his office. “To what do I owe this late night visit?”
“Aidan. Where is he?” She took a step toward him. “And don’t you dare tell me he’s at school because I know he’s been missing. For a goddamned year!”
“I see.” Gregg stepped aside. “Why don’t we continue this shouting match in my office?”
Allie stalked down the long hallway behind him, her hands itching to wrap around his throat.
“Dad, she’s mad as hell, and I can’t say I blame her,” Darius said. “We need the full story.” He steered Allie toward the sofa and pulled her down beside him.
“How can you have a level head with this?” Allie fumed at the way Darius spoke so calmly with his father. “He’s lied to us for years.”
“It’s what Aidan wanted,” Gregg admitted.
“Is it?” Allie shot to her feet again, folding her arms across her chest in an attempt to keep her temper and her power in check, when what she really wanted to do was slam him around the room a little bit. “And why is that? It has something to do with him protecting me, doesn’t it?” It was classic Aidan. If he thought something might affect her negatively, he would take it upon himself to handle the situation for her without ever asking what she thought about it. Once upon a time, it might have been necessary, but it was insulting and infuriating now.
“He was trying to protect all of us,” Gregg said, lowering himself wearily into his armchair.
“I’m not that fifteen-year-old girl any more, Gregg. How could you not tell me?”
“He didn’t want you burdened with this. He loves you so much, Allie; you have no idea. Please just sit, and I will tell you everything I know.”
Some of the fire went out of her as she perched on the edge of the sofa beside Darius.
“When Aidan first went to school in Germany, it was supposed to be temporary.” Gregg sighed. “It’s one of the reasons we agreed to let him go in the first place. But things changed for him that summer, and he decided to take one more semester abroad.”
Her shoulders drooped. “And what, he didn’t trust me to understand?”
“I truly think my son found a life for himself at school. I suspect he experienced some of the first stress free days he’s ever known, focusing on himself and his music.”
“I would have understood,” Allie insisted. “I’ve been doing the same thing here. I would never begrudge him that.”
“He knows that, Allie.” Gregg voice was soft. “But by that fall, the Senate had already started building a case against him,” he continued. “Someone filed an anonymous report, claiming Aidan was a powerful unknown. It would have been a nuisance to deal with the legal matters, but as they observed him, they were no longer concerned with the reasons he was never registered with the Senate. They were only interested in his power.”
“Cut to the chase, Gregg. Please?” Allie begged. "Is he okay?" She sat, wringing her hands in her lap, her power buzzing beneath her skin in her desire to do something. Anything but sit here helplessly.
“You need to understand that this is not like Quinn’s situation. Or even Sasha’s. He isn’t suffering. That much I do know. But he has been denied his freedom. I believe the Senate thinks he is too powerful to be trusted, and they want him under their thumb so they can use him for their benefit.”
“Why the hell haven’t you gone in there, guns blazing?” Allie said, voice rising in accusation. “The Gregg I know wouldn’t sit here quietly while his son is in trouble.”
“You don’t think that was my first response?” Gregg’s tone matched hers. “I’d like nothing more than to wage war against those who have dared to take my son from his family.”
Allie gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “He’s agreed to this, hasn’t he?”
“Aye.” Gregg stood and headed for the bar at the back of his office. “They arrested him at school. They interrogated him for days, refusing to allow Scott to post bail or even act as a representative of the family. The crime was ours.” Gregg shook his head in frustration as he busied himself pouring drinks. “Aidan was barely eightee
n at the time. By our laws, it still should have been his parents’ responsibility to have him and his abilities registered with the Senate. It wasn’t his crime, but they charged him with it anyway and escalated the crime to an international felony. I never should have let him go away to school.” Gregg leaned against the counter, dropping his head in frustration, the weight of his son’s predicament heavy on his shoulders.
“It was just an excuse to take him.” Allie sat with her elbows on her knees. The whole situation was beginning to make more sense. Gregg had fought Aidan’s entire life to save him from this exact thing. This was killing him. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault, Gregg.”
“I know.” He raised his head, placing four cut glass tumblers on a tray. “Things happened fast in the first few days Aidan was in custody. We couldn’t get close to him. Our hands were tied. And then one day, he just came home, saying the charges were dropped.” Gregg grabbed the tray of drinks along with the matching decanter, serving them each a double shot of his best bourbon.
Allie sat with her drink in her hands and her heart in her throat. “He made a deal.”
“Aye.” Gregg returned to his seat, tossing back the contents of his glass in one gulp. “I was there when they brought him back. Aidan insisted he hadn’t made a deal. That he’d only received a slap on the wrist and some community service. He was supposed to teach a class for young Immortals with gifts for healing.”
“I don’t buy it.” Allie took a sip of her drink, the burn in her throat a welcome distraction.
“Neither did I,” Gregg said, pouring himself a refill. “I couldn’t fathom why they’d let him go. But things settled back to normal right away. He attended classes and in the afternoons, he trained with a new group of students for his community service. But Aidan wasn’t himself. I knew something was wrong, but he refused to talk about it, insisting he had the situation under control. I found out later that things were far worse than I ever anticipated.”
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