“You can’t avoid touching people forever.”
I shrugged. “Sure I can. Besides, my hand hurts.”
“Sadie, your hand is fine and has been since Lacy convinced her nurse friend to partially heal it. You have proved time and again that you are in control of your Talent. Mrs. LaMotte has tried telling you that she doesn’t think your Talent is dangerous now that she’s been training you.”
“I don’t want to talk about Mrs. LaMotte,” I replied through gritted teeth. Through all the tangle of emotions I had felt and through the numbness that now threatened to overtake me, the one thing retained was an all-encompassing anger toward my so-called mentor.
“She wants to talk to you.”
“No.”
“Okay, but I feel helpless. You’re hurting and I can’t fix it. I miss holding your hand and seeing you smile.”
“Of course I’m hurting, Kian. It’s not every day you find out your mom died because of you and that you’ve been lied to your entire life.” I sighed. “Look, I know that I didn’t kill my mother, but my Talent weakened her to where her body couldn’t fight. You can’t comprehend how that makes me feel. And I’m so angry that Mrs. LaMotte kept everything from me. I don’t know how to process everything and until I do, you and everyone else will have to just wait.”
Kian stopped outside my door. He placed his hand on the handle and reached out for the key. I tossed it to him and he unlocked the door, but he didn’t go inside.
“I understand, Sadie, but can you try to work on the fear that you’re going to hurt someone? I can’t stand not being able to hold you when I see the sadness behind your eyes. You are not alone. Let me shoulder some of your pain. I can take it.”
Tears threatened to fall and the walls crumbled around my resolve. Who was I kidding? Like I could resist Kian. For the first time in days, I threw myself into his arms and buried my face in his neck. His strong arms wrapped around me, one clutching my waist as if I were something breakable and the other stroking my back in comfort. Kian always seemed to know how to make me feel better and I didn’t realize how much I had missed the strength and comfort he gave me.
I poured out my heart to him and true to his word he took all the pain and anger without complaint. Kian had snuck in and lodged himself in my heart, and I marveled that the thought didn’t freak me out like it would have months ago. Instead, it gave me a sense of comfort that I had never felt before.
I lost track of time wrapped in Kian’s comforting embrace, but even though I could have stayed all night, I had to pull away. Kian didn’t let me get too far before he tightened his hold on me. I looked at him, my brows pinched in question. He studied me and his full attention made my body shudder. Both of his hands cupped my face; his palms pressed against my cheeks as he wiped away the remnants of tears with his thumbs. His tenderness melted my resolve and I felt my body press against his, molding my curves against the hard lines of his muscular frame.
Fire burned behind Kian’s gaze as he released the hold on my face, snaking one hand behind my head, fisting a handful of my hair. His other hand began its decent, fingers lightly skimmed down my body in a slow caress until he reached my hips. His grip tightened as he grabbed ahold and pressed me tighter against his body.
“God, I missed you,” he breathed before his lips crashed into mine. This kiss, unlike any other we had shared before, was almost bruising in its intensity. When I opened up to him, he groaned, drinking the air from my lungs like a man who was parched and I was his only source of water. My hands roamed his body. His muscles twitched as my fingers explored and I loved knowing that he reacted to my touch. That in some way I affected him as much as he did me.
Kian’s hand dipped under the hem of my shirt and the heat of his hand on the bare skin of my back sent me over the edge. I released a whimpering moan in his mouth. Kian reacted, his Talent kicking in, and the next thing I knew he had picked me up and turned around and to press me against the wall. My legs wrapped around his waist and I felt his desire for me. I ran my fingers through his soft hair, pulling just enough to elicit a slight sting, the roughness of my touch spurring him on as he pressed himself against me.
I bit his lip in response and he trailed kisses down my neck, sucking and licking the hollow behind my ear. I arched my back, wanting more of him. His name escaped my lips in a shuddering breath and Kian’s lips found mine again. We were lost in each other when a loud cough followed by a snicker brought us back. Kian smiled against my lips as we kept our hold on each other.
“You’re literally two feet away from Sadie’s room.” Luca laughed. “I can understand the heat of passion, but come on guys, no one wants to see you two dry humping each other.”
Kian and I disentangled from each other and I stepped around to greet Luca while straightening my shirt. I felt a little self-conscious about our PDA, but not even the least bit ashamed.
“Hey Luca. What’s up?”
Luca bent over at the waist and laughed. “I’m not even going to answer that.”
“Pervert.” I chuckled.
“I’m not the pervy one getting it on in the hallway.”
“What do you want, Luca?” Kian’s voice was harsh and had a hint of annoyance. Someone wasn’t happy at the interruption.
“I want to bleach my eyeballs, but as painful as that may be I’ll never get the visual of you two going at it like horny rabbits out of my head.” He shook his head as if he were trying to dislodge the sight of Kian and me kissing. Jerk. “I came to find you guys. Kian, you and Sadie were supposed to meet us in the commons thirty minutes ago.”
“What?” I demanded, the same time Kian whispered shit.
“Go on ahead, we’ll follow.”
Luca saluted, turned on the ball of his foot, and walked back toward the commons.
“Who are we meeting?”
“You’ll see.”
Kian pulled a blindfold out of his back pocket and I raised an eyebrow at the black slip of cloth.
“The blindfold was planned. That kiss, not so much.” He fumbled to explain. I chuckled as Kian reached out and grabbed both shoulders and turned me around. He stepped close and I could feel the heat from his body burning against my back. A series of light kisses trailed from my shoulder and up my neck, the final one placed behind my ear.
“You’ll love this. Trust me,” Kian whispered. My voice was lost and I could only nod in agreement.
The black cloth came down in front of my eyes, blocking out all light. Fear knotted in my chest and I stiffened, waiting for Kian to say or do something.
It felt like forever before he spoke. “Trust me,” he repeated and I felt his hand slide into mine. “I know you like feeling in control and having to rely on me is going against every instinct you have. Let that go.”
I took a shaky breath. “Lead on.”
Kian led me through a series of hallways that I had committed to memory since living in the Underground. Even if he hadn’t already told me we were going to the commons, I would have known from the map inside my head. Just as I knew the moment we stepped through the commons door, but unease crept up my spine and tingled at the base of my neck.
“Where’s all the noise?” My voice echoed and Kian let go of my hand. I stretched out to him, but he had stepped out of my reach.
“Take off the blindfold.”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to and I shook my head in defiance. A snicker came from my left and I jerked my head in that direction. Whoever had made the noise quieted.
“Is this a training exercise?” I asked.
“No,” Kian replied from my right. How many people are in here? As soon as the thought crossed my mind my Talent flared in response. A small grin curved on my lips as I activated my secondary. The room lit up with Talent signatures. A gasp escaped my lips as I struggled to count how many Caelians were in the room with me.
“No fair, she’s using her Talent,” Luca whined in front of me. His Talent signature brightened in my mind.
&
nbsp; “Just take off the blindfold, Sadie,” Lacy stated, sounding bored and not at all shocked that I was using my Talent instead of taking off the blindfold.
“Okay,” I relented and pulled the dark cloth up over my head.
“SURPRISE!” Screamed every person in the room and I jumped from the onslaught of sound. Balloons and streamers of blue and gold decorated the commons. Every person, both Caelian and norm, I had contact with on a daily basis was there smiling at my shocked expression.
I was speechless and confused. It must have shown on my face, when I heard a familiar voice boom from the overhead speakers.
“It’s your birthday, Sadie. Like we would forget it or let you for that matter.” My head jerked around the room searching for Madison, but I couldn’t find her. When I scanned the room with my Talent, I didn’t pick up on her signature.
“Up here,” Rebecca giggled.
I shot my eyes up and I saw Madison, Rebecca, and John’s smiling faces displaying on the screens surrounding the room. No wonder I didn’t detect them; they were patching through the communications system.
“I got permission from McCredie to use the screens and Luca set up cameras all over so they can watch the party.” Kian pointed to each camera posted throughout the room and handed me a small microphone. “So they can hear you over the crowd.”
“I forgot my own birthday,” I whispered.
“Stress can do that to you. Make you forget things and act crazy.” Luca slipped his arm through mine and led me to a chair in the middle of the room, the crowd parting without a word from Luca. Next to a chair, stood a stoic Mrs. LaMotte, back to her designer clothes and tight bun at the nape of her neck, but instead of the distant and sometimes harsh stare, her eyes were open and warm.
“Happy birthday, Sadie,” she said, her face lighting up.
Conscious of the audience around me, I schooled my face to be blank and ignored her comment as I sat down in the chair. Kian presented me with a birthday cake. Every voice rose in singing me ‘Happy Birthday’ and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I knew my face was bright red from embarrassment.
After eating cake, I mingled and thanked everyone. Every now and then I would pause and converse with one of the St. Vincent’s crowd. I was just beginning to enjoy myself when Kian announced that he needed me back at the birthday chair.
Groaning, I shuffled my feet as I made my way back to the center of the room. I could hear Rebecca giggling through the speakers and I gritted my teeth because I knew what was coming. Presents.
Kian motioned for me to take a seat before speaking to me through a microphone of his own. “I was informed by your friends how much you hate presents, but it’s not a birthday unless you receive at least one gift. So we decided to pool our resources and get you one gift you would appreciate. Sadie, on behalf of everyone here and those who are here in spirit, we gift you…”
A loud explosion rang through the speakers. I jumped to my feet and stared at the screens as my friends began screaming. Dirt and small chunks of debris were falling from the ceiling in Madison’s room. John held onto Rebecca who had a gash on her forehead, blood pouring out into her eye as her eyes focused off screen toward what I know to be the window.
“What’s happening?” I screamed into the microphone.
“Explosion… sure… need… go….” Her voice broke through the static. I shot more questions her way, but they didn’t seem to hear me. Another explosion. This time it was louder and closer to where my friends were. I watched, completely helpless as Madison and John helped Rebecca out of the door.
“Alpha team to external control.” Rang throughout the Underground complex. It was then I knew those explosions were not some sort of freak accident.
“Sadie! Sadie!” Cayden’s voice screamed from across the room. His feet slapped against the concrete, echoing in the silence as everyone starred at the screen dumbfounded.
Cayden stopped in front of me, his chest heaving as he struggled to calm his breathing. This guy wasn’t used to any kind of physical activity.
“Uncle… I mean McCredie sent me. There has been an attack on St. Vincent’s. So far there have been two…” Another explosion rang through the speakers before the screen went black. Cayden winced before continuing. “Three so far. We don’t know much, but alpha team is going in to help. McCredie said you can go if you want.” Cayden motioned toward me.
I didn’t wait for him to continue before I was running toward the external control center located in the parking garage. Since it was difficult to transport troops quickly out of the Underground, the external control acted as a temporary rally point before large missions. It was wired to the actual control located in the administration wing.
When we exited the elevator, troops were loading into black vehicles. I scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Captain Monroe was giving orders to the last group of soldiers awaiting their vehicle. His eyes met mine and he nodded morosely. I ran to him and he took in our group. Luca, Kian, and Lacy had all followed me out and my heart swelled.
“Sadie, I figured you would be coming. Your group will ride with me.” He turned on his heel and walked/ran toward the final vehicle. We piled into the vehicle and I was thrown into my seat as the Captain took off in a hurry.
“Any news?” I asked.
“Nothing solid. There are reports of hostiles on site and a few confirmed casualties. The Texas National Guard has been called in, but we will arrive first.”
I nodded and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, forcing down the tears threatening to fall. My friends had to be okay.
They had to be.
We arrived at the orphanage in record time and as we entered the gates as loud gasp escaped my throat. Large chunks of the buildings were collapsed and smoke was pouring out of the holes in the walls, indicating that there were multiple fires lit throughout the campus.
Students were flowing out of the school in waves, trying to avoid bullets and streams of color that could only be someone using their Talent. Larger kids were carrying the smaller ones, their faces whitened by ash with blackened trails of caked dirt under their eyes left from the unrestricted flow of tears. It seemed the attackers were not trying to hit the children escaping.
A few of the older students and administrators were gathered together, trying to distract and retaliate against the attackers. This small rebellion against the invasion held the attackers’ attention away from the vulnerable groups of students. I wasn’t even sure they knew we had arrived. My mind didn’t register the alpha team as they joined in the fight. I was more concerned with my friends. Where were they?
Another explosion shook the ground as Captain Monroe stopped the vehicle as close to the mayhem as possible.
“Sadie, don’t go running in there half-cocked,” the Captain yelled over the sound of battle as he grabbed my arm.
“My friends.”
“We’ll find them,” Kian reassured me as the Captain placed a hand over his ear piece, listening to the report from the alpha team leader.
“The attackers are from the Koenig family,” Captain Monroe confirmed my suspicions. “They aren’t wearing their typical uniform, but one of ours recognized their leader.” Anger blinded me as I added another reason to why my grandfather had to die. My Talent shook underneath my skin, begging to be released. I hoped my grandfather was stupid enough to show his face here.
“Sadie! Look!” Lacy’s voice pulled me out of my angry thoughts and my mind snapped to attention. She was pointing to a large pile of debris close to the worst part of the fight and hiding behind it were Rebecca and John who looked beyond exhausted. When did they get there?
Frantic, I searched for Madison and found her joining the fight. Fire snaked around her entire body as she lobbed fireballs at the attackers. John watched her from behind the debris, ready to jump out and hide her if need be.
“Captain,” I growled, ready to join my friends in defense of my childhood home.
He pointed to a tra
il that would lead us around the back of the fight, so we could join without detection. We followed the Captain, stopping only to help a disoriented little girl find her way back to the group of children marching off campus.
When we came within range of John and Rebecca, I pushed out in front of the group and reached them first. John was pale from exertion and Rebecca’s eyes were unfocused, staring at the building.
“John.” He turned around, arms raised for a fight before recognition dawned. He threw his arms around me in a tight embrace.
“Sadie. What the hell are you doing here? Are they your grandfather’s men?” Kian stayed by my side as Luca and Lacy followed the Captain into the thick of battle. My stomach sank at the thought of my friends walking straight into danger.
“Yes, but I had to make sure you guys were safe. What happened after the second explosion?”
“We melted into the crowd trying to escape the building as it was falling around us. Once in the lobby another explosion rang out and a large piece of building fell on a group of students and teachers. We were helpless as we watched them die. Crushed, Sadie. It was awful! We saw the soldiers invading the grounds and I decided to hide the girls. Madison was pissed, but she stayed with us until we got outside. I thought I had picked a path away from the fight, but I walked us right into the middle. I’m too weak to use my Talent anymore and Rebecca won’t talk. Madison left us to fight.”
“I saw her on my way over. She’s okay. When did she learn to ignite her entire body?”
John’s eyes widened. “That’s a first.”
“Let’s get you out of here,” Kian stated as he lifted Rebecca to stand. She double-blinked as she came back to reality. Tears streamed down her cheeks. I threw my arms around her.
“We have to leave now, Rebecca. We can cry later. Okay?” She nodded and gathered herself. Kian led the group as we returned the way we came. An intense heat pressed against my back and I looked over my shoulder to see Madison running toward us.
Either we hadn’t made it far from the battle or the Underground troops were losing ground. The soldiers seemed closer than before. Madison made it to us, the fire gone, but the heat from her Talent remained. She clasped Rebecca and me on the shoulder and pushed us away from the fight.
The Caelian Cycle Boxed Set Page 25