After a minute, Liam said, “I wouldn’t have let Ax bite you.”
“Huh?”
“I was just getting ready to stop him, but Christian beat me to it.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted you to. You should’ve gotten out.”
His hand rested on my calf. “I would never have left you.”
We didn’t say anything else. There was too much to think about, too much to worry about. May was gone and there were more Vykens than any of us knew how to fight. This was bad. Real bad.
“What’s that?” Steven asked from the front seat, waking me from my nightmarish thoughts.
Liam and I sat up and faced forward. A ways ahead there was a faint orange glow. The closer we drove, the bigger it grew.
“Oh no, please no,” I whispered, but in less than a minute I knew Rose’s home was on fire.
“You guys know the place?” Steven asked.
“Pull over,” Liam said.
Steven slowed up behind a fire truck. Two more were ahead of it. Liam opened the back door and slid out.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” he said and walked away, his face brightened by the fire’s blaze.
I scooted to the edge and let my good leg dangle. Every part of me hoped that the witches had survived. Maybe they were safe at Lucent. Several firefighters were attempting to put the fire out, but it looked like they were losing the battle. Even the rose bushes had been burned to a crisp. Rose’s lovely flowers. I looked up toward the sky, surprised it wasn’t storming.
“You okay?” Steven said, appearing from around the side of the van.
“I just can’t believe it. This whole night has been a disaster.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
I looked at him.
“You’re alive.” He smiled. “Did a friend of yours live here?”
“Something like that.” Although I barely knew Rose, I still felt a sense of responsibility toward her. Did that make us friends?
Liam returned. “The house is destroyed.”
“Any sign of the sisters?”
“No. Arik and Aaron came here shortly after the fire started. They searched what they could. They said the inside of the home showed signs of a struggle.” When he paused, I looked up at him. “And they found the conjoined twins.”
“Alive?”
He shook his head.
“What about Rose?”
“They’re not sure.”
I leaned my head against the inside of the van. “What a night.”
He rubbed my shoulder. “Let’s head back. There’s nothing we can do here.” He turned to Steven. “Thanks for driving.”
“Not a problem at all. I’m just glad I could help.” He walked to the front of the van and hopped behind the steering wheel.
I scooted into the van, mindful of my still-throbbing leg. Liam climbed in after me and closed the door. The van started and moved forward, slower than before.
“One thing I don’t understand,” I said, thinking aloud, “is why didn’t the witches use their abilities? From what I’ve seen they’re very powerful.”
“Even powerful beings have their weaknesses,” Liam answered. He was staring out the window when he began the sentence, but he ended it looking at me.
I averted my eyes and thought only of the witches. They may have had a weakness, resulting in the twins’ deaths, but Rose wasn’t there, which meant she either got away or was taken.
A few minutes later, Steven stopped the car in front of Lucent. A crowd greeted us, onlookers who had been watching the fire from a distance. Liam opened the door and jumped outside.
“Liam!” a voice called. A moment later, Kiera and Tessa appeared.
“Where have you guys—” Tessa stopped talking when she got a good look at me. “What happened to you?” She looked over at Liam. “To both of you?”
I slid to the end of the van. Kiera came and stood next to me. “We went to the warehouse the Council’s been watching.”
Tessa, who was on my other side, brushed her thumb against my cheek. “Looks like you found a fight.”
I reached up and touched a tender spot on my face.
“Are you okay?” Kiera asked.
“Fine,” I said. Liam was watching me intently. “Really, I am.”
“Dr. Han’s over there,” he said. “I’m going to talk to him.”
I nodded. “See you inside.”
As soon as he was gone, Kiera asked, “So what happened? Exactly.”
I slumped my shoulders, wishing I could just sink to the ground. “It was crazy. We went inside just to explore, but then all of a sudden we were surrounded by Vykens. More than we’ve ever encountered.” I didn’t have the strength to tell them about Christian and what he had done.
Tessa gasped. “How are you still alive?”
I looked at her. “May.”
“She was there?”
I nodded.
“No wonder I couldn’t find her,” Kiera said. “What was she doing there?” She gripped my arm as if her heart had stopped. “Oh no. Was she kidnapped?”
“No. She left to go see her father. She saw us there and saved us. We wouldn’t have made it out of there alive if it wasn’t for her.”
Tessa looked around. “Where is she now?”
It took me a moment to answer. “We left her there.” The words hurt to say.
Kiera’s mouth opened wide. “You did what?”
“I didn’t know what else to do! There were so many Vykens. They nearly killed us and—”
“It’s okay,” Tessa said, rubbing my back. She was giving Kiera a look that said “back off.”
“Liam thinks her father will protect her,” I said, hoping he was right. “As soon as we can, we’re going back with more help.”
“We’ll be there,” Tessa said.
Kiera smiled. “Agreed.”
“We’ll need all the help we can get.” I lowered myself to the ground, but as soon as my right leg touched bottom, I winced and stifled a cry.
“What’s wrong?” Tessa said.
“My leg . . . it’s broken.”
“The same one you broke when Christian died?”
This stopped me, and I looked down at it, remembering. It was the same one. Somehow, though, this time was much more painful.
“Here,” Kiera said, “we’ll help you.”
They each took one of my arms and wrapped it around their shoulders. I lifted myself up on my good leg and hopped alongside them. Several girls parted and let us pass.
“So how did you break it?” Kiera asked.
Tessa moaned. “Give it a rest, Kiera.”
“Actually, there’s something I haven’t told you guys yet. Christian—”
“What’s going on?” Liam moved in front of us, stopping our progression. “I thought you said your leg was fine.”
“It will be. Soon.”
“Let me have her,” he said to Tessa and Kiera.
“I’m okay, Liam. You don’t have to.”
He scooped me up. “Let’s go, crip.”
Kiera and Tessa giggled behind me. He carried me up the steps and into the school. “You should’ve said something.”
“As if there isn’t enough to worry about.”
“You’re all I care about right now. You’re useless to me otherwise.” He looked down at me and smiled.
I dropped my head to his shoulder. “It will be better by morning,” I said. But deep down, the pain of who caused it would always remain. Liam was right. The Christian I loved was dead.
Liam took me straight to Abigail’s office. She used her Light to heal my leg the best she could and then insisted I spend the night in the medical room. Liam stayed with me until he slipped out in the early morning hours. I pretended to be asleep, but as soon as he was gone, I sat up. My leg still hurt, but the pain was manageable. As far as I was concerned, healing quickly was the only benefit of being half-Vyken.
There was so much to think about, so many proble
ms to solve. May was gone, probably being held captive now. Sophie and the others were still missing. Two of the witches were dead, maybe even Rose. And Christian was alive. And fighting against me. I reached up and unlatched the necklace around my neck. I almost threw it away but couldn’t, my hand hovering just above the garbage can. Christian, the old Christian, still held a special place in my heart.
After I dressed into clothes Tessa had brought me the night before, I tucked the necklace into my pocket. I’d put it in my dresser drawer—out of sight, but not forgotten.
While tying my shoes, I focused my thoughts on all I needed to accomplish. The first thing I had to do was confirm if Rose was really dead or not. I clenched my jaw, the thought worrying me. With Rose gone, Cyrus could control the Shadow and be unstoppable. No amount of Auran Light would contain it. I’d have to speak with Charlie. Maybe there was another witch somewhere who could do what they did.
I stood and clenched my jaw as a sharp pain reached bone deep. I waited for it to pass, but it never did. After a few deep breaths and several slow steps, the throbbing became tolerable. I left the room, taking my time.
Once I discovered what happened to Rose, I’d return to the warehouse. My hopes were to find Sophie, May, and the others there, but to do that, I’d need help and lots of it.
I limped down the halls of Lucent, trying to ignore my aching leg that felt like it might shatter every time I took a step. The place was quiet. Girls slept peacefully in their rooms, unaware of the dangers not far away.
Would they be ready when the time came? A war, the likes of which none of them, nor I, had ever seen before was about to erupt. Cyrus was creating more Vykens for a reason. He meant to destroy us all. Or use us as his feeders. And I’d rather die before I let either happen.
I pushed open the door. It was still dark, but in the east, the sky was graying. I inhaled deeply, blocked the pain from my mind, and took off—half-jogging, half-limping—toward the wall surrounding Lucent.
Christian broke my leg. He would’ve killed Liam. I pushed harder, pumping my arms back and forth.
Push through it, Llona. Stay focused. The more I pushed, the more Light ignited my insides, taking with it the pain.
The wall was just up ahead. I sprinted hard and didn’t hesitate when it came time to jump. A great cry, filled with pain and anger, tore from my lungs as I barely cleared the wall. I landed hard, but this time I took the pain in and used it for strength.
The forest was just beyond. It had been a long time since I’d run here and felt the night’s pulse beat around me. It was a force Vykens were drawn to. I sought it out now, not quite embracing it, but keeping it close. I had to be strong for what I was going to have to do.
I raced through the forest, dodging in out of the trees and their protruding branches. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of pine, earth, and—more important—blood. The smell was all around me, coursing through the veins of animals hidden within the brush.
Vyken poison burned my insides. It threatened to take me over, but I used my Light to contain it. Liam probably wouldn’t approve of what I was doing, but only darkness would give me the strength I’d need to do what had to be done. It helped me not to feel emotions, and that was going to be important for when I faced Christian next, because one of us wasn’t going to survive.
NINETEEN
When I returned to Lucent, the girls were gathering in the dining room for breakfast, and many of them had dark circles under their eyes. They were probably having nightmares about their recent up-close-and-personal encounter with Vykens. I was too familiar with those frightening dreams.
I spotted Tessa and Kiera just inside, but I didn’t go in to greet them just yet. I walked down the hall toward Dr. Han’s office, but he wasn’t there. A little farther down, I found him in the hall with Liam and the twins.
“We have to go now!” Aaron was saying. His face was redder than usual. I could only assume he was talking about going after May.
Dr. Han’s voice was calm but firm. “Not until we have enough support. The Council has promised to send help.”
I came to stand in the circle. Liam gave me a disapproving look, but I tightened my lips and shook my head. This was not the time to reprimand me for being out of bed. I was done resting.
Liam’s jaw muscles flexed, but he turned back to Dr. Han. “Who is the Council going to send? More Lycans?”
“If they want to help, I will accept it.”
“Then you’re sealing our fate,” he said.
It was my turn to speak. I started first with Liam, my anger close to the surface from my earlier run. “Lay off Lycans. Whatever issues you have with them, deal with it and move on. It’s your problem, not ours.” I turned to Aaron next. “As for May, I want to rescue her more than anyone. She saved my life, after all, but we can’t risk more lives to do it.”
Aaron opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him. “If you give me a little time, a week maybe, I think I can get some of the older girls ready and, together with Lycans, we can get inside that warehouse. I’m sure May will still be there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Sophie and the others are too.”
The small group was silent, all looking at me like I’d grown a second head.
Dr. Han spoke first. “It’s too soon, Llona. You can’t expect the girls to learn everything you know in one week.”
“I get that it’s a lot to ask,” I said, “but let them decide, especially the ones who are over eighteen.”
“I can’t allow it.”
“No offense, but if those girls want to avenge their friends’ deaths and try to recover the ones who were taken, they have every right. It’s not your call to make.” My insides were boiling, unnaturally so.
“It is my call,” Dr. Han said, his voice strained. “I’m in charge of this school and everyone in it, and I won’t send Auras to their death.”
I shrugged. “Then we’ll leave. I’ll train them somewhere else.”
“Llona,” Liam warned.
I raised my hand. “Don’t. A lot is going on right now, and it’s about time we all put on our grown-up panties and do something about it.”
“This is reckless,” Arik said.
Aaron stepped close to me. “I’m with Llona.”
Arik rolled his eyes. “Of course you are. Dr. Han is right. We can’t risk any more lives. Not this soon.”
I turned to Liam. “Well?”
“I’m sorry, but they’re right.”
I huffed and said to Aaron, “I’ll be in touch.” I walked by the rest of them and headed to my bedroom, all the while trying to get ahold of my anger.
I entered the elevators and, as soon as the doors closed, I lit two Light balls and spun them in the air. This seemed to chase some of the darkness away. I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. Dr. Han and the others were right, of course. It was too soon. And this killed me.
The light dissipated and I leaned my head into the side of the elevator. Maybe if I worked night and day with the older Auras, they might be ready in a couple of weeks, but could we wait that long? The doors opened.
I trudged to my room, feeling more depressed than ever. Passing May’s room made it worse.
I opened my door and gasped as cold air engulfed me. I walked to the thermostat and tapped on it. It said fifty-nine degrees even though the dial was up to seventy.
I grabbed a blanket off my bed and wrapped it around me. I was about to collapse backward into bed when I heard movement from within my closet. “Who’s in there?” I asked and stepped back. The blanket fell from my shoulders. Because of everything that happened last night, I expected the worst to come slithering out, but thankfully it didn’t.
Rose stood in front of me, her face smeared with soot. “They’re dead,” she said. “My sisters. They killed them.”
“Rose!” I went to her and took her hands in mine. “I’m so sorry. I thought they might’ve gotten you too. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to see you!” I hesitated. “H
ow did you get away?”
“With much difficulty. It took all my strength to hide from them.”
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” I gave her a hug. She felt fragile and small in my grip. When we separated, I asked, “How did you get to my room without anyone stopping you?” She would’ve been hard to miss in her condition.
“They see what I want them to see. Besides, I didn’t want to talk to anyone just yet. You’re the only person on this earth who knows me now.” There was a great sadness in her voice. I couldn’t imagine such a fate.
“I’m glad you’re here. This is where you belong.”
“How did Vykens find us?” she asked.
I opened my mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say. How could I tell her that it was partly my fault?
“You did this?” she asked, as if reading my mind.
“I didn’t mean to. I was talking to my boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, or really, my dead boyfriend—”
Rose shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have plenty of time.”
“Then can we do something about the temperature in the room? I assume you had something to do with that?”
Rose’s gaze shifted to the thermostat, paused as if concentrating, then looked back at me. “It will warm up in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” I picked up the blanket and wrapped it back around me until it warmed up. “Where to begin?”
“From the beginning.”
I didn’t start talking until I got a good pace going, back and forth across my room, while I tried to figure out where to begin with Christian. Utah, I decided. I spoke of my first days of school when I met Christian, who turned out to be my Guardian, and how, over time, we came to love each other. I told her about coming to Lucent, and how I tried to end it with him to keep him safe. And then I spoke of his death. I almost cried during this part, but darkness was still too close to the surface. And finally I told her how Christian hadn’t really died at all. Cyrus had turned him at the last second, and now Christian was back, but not the man he once was. Unfortunately, I had figured this out too late.
Rose didn’t say anything after I said it was me who gave them the hint that the witches were close by. Eyes downcast, her fingers twisted the ends of her burnt sleeve. It must have been hard to hear that someone she trusted had betrayed her. Guilt tore at me, but I didn’t look away from her.
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