by Rachel Jonas
“For whatever reason—complacency, convenience, or maybe because they just got too comfortable—a lot of the clans have slacked on prepping the next generation for what’s really out there. So, as a result, most don’t have a clue how to manage their abilities, no idea how to even tap into them. There are several companion facilities to this one, but they’re all hidden.”
“Hidden?”
He nodded and put an arm behind his head. “By magic, by decoy houses on the property where the facilities were built underground.”
Underground … they were clearly hiding them well for a reason. My guess was the Sovereign. If he was anything like Liam described, I understood.
“But back to this training thing…”
He smiled and I relaxed a bit in my spot. “Don’t sweat it. You’ll get the hang of things. And whatever you don’t get in class, I’ll help you.”
I laughed. “I think you forget you’re talking to the girl who can’t even shift on her own.”
I felt his eyes on me and caught a glimpse of a smile when he replied. “And, if I recall … I helped with that too.”
Heat crept up my legs again as my stomach and head swam at Liam’s dizzying words. His not-so-subtle reminder of our kiss was enough to make me burst into flames right here.
“Cute, but, if that’s your plan for teaching me, I guess I’m doomed because that can’t happen again,” I said casually, hoping I pulled off the cool indifference I was going for. However, on the inside, I was anything but cool and indifferent. Hot and bothered was more accurate.
“Just sayin’,” he mumbled under his breath, still wearing that ghost of a devilish smile.
I was quiet. Thinking about his lips on mine completely wiped away all other thoughts, including our soon-coming journey to The Damascus Facility.
“Get some rest,” he breathed. “You’ll be fine there. Trust me.”
I nodded and didn’t question the certainty that came with those words. If Liam said things would be fine, then … they’d be fine.
He’d make sure of it.
—Chapter Five—
Evie
People always say time flies when you’re having fun, but I learned something else; time also flies when you’re dreading what’s to come.
I tried to hold on to my final moments with my parents for dear life, knowing they’d fade in the time between now and whenever they were allowed to remember me again.
If … they were allowed to remember me again.
“Sweetheart, you’re worrying me.” My mother’s words touched my ears and I knew I shouldn’t have held on. It only made this harder on me than it had to be. I’d hugged my father this same way before he left ten minutes before, but I couldn’t help it. We’d gone through some things over the last few years, but they still meant the world to me.
“I told you, if you’re not feeling great, you can miss school today. I’ll call in and we can watch a movie,” she offered, moving hair away from my cheek while I clung to her. “I’ll even make that soup you like.”
This was so hard, letting go. As badly as I wanted to stay, as badly as I wanted to curl up beside her on the couch in PJs while we zoned out in front of the television together … I couldn’t.
A gentle kiss was placed in my hair. “You’re not too old to be babied by your mom if you’re still under the weather.”
What I’d give to let her keep me under her wing forever. Right now, it felt like there was no safer place on the planet. But I knew better than that. If I didn’t go willingly, if I didn’t let the Elders handle this the way they saw fit, my parents would be anything but safe.
At that thought, I willed tears not to fall. If they did, there’d be no getting rid of her and our plan wouldn’t work. The Elder, turned ally, plus his witches, were due here at any moment and I didn’t want to risk my mother still being here when that happened.
“It’s okay. Go,” I insisted, forcing a weak smile as I pulled away from the crook of her neck. If I could have, I would have made this moment last forever.
One last glance passed my way and she smiled back, squeezing my hand in hers before letting it go. “Okay, but if you get there and start feeling terrible again, just call me, you hear?”
The corners of my eyes stung as I nodded. And then, just like that, she was gone. A cold chill passed through me and I felt the loss already.
Quiet steps descended the staircase behind me as I watched my mother’s car pass the window beside the front door. She was gone, and I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d never see her again. Or, if I did, it wouldn’t even matter once she’d forgotten me.
A warm arm encircled my shoulder and my throat stung as the stifled emotions began to suffocate me. Again, I found myself grateful for Liam’s overprotectiveness. He only left my side these past couple days for two reasons; to shower while my parents weren’t home; and when I left my room to interact with them to keep up appearances. Otherwise, he was right with me, keeping me safe, getting me through this.
It was that same protectiveness that made getting to Maddox’s vigil impossible. I would like to have gone, but Liam insisted I stay indoors because of the mutts. It was hard to argue with him on that, seeing as how I believed he was right—they were still out there. I wasn’t sure why they were in Seaton Falls, or why now, but I’d be happy never seeing another again in my life.
The tears I held back finally slipped down my cheeks—full of hurt, fear, anger. Slowly, one at a time. Not by the bucketsful like I felt they might. I was grateful for this small measure of self-control.
“Why does it feel like I’m always losing everything?”
The question left my lips without expectation that there’d be an answer. I believe Liam knew that, which was why he didn’t try reasoning with me. We both knew, to some extent at least, it was the absolute truth. This was just my fate.
I let my hand rest against my thigh, toying with one of my skirt’s pleats. I’d gotten dressed and gone through my entire routine to avoid my parents getting suspicious. And, as I stood in the foyer, I now stared through the panes of glass as I thought of Nick. Two nights had come and gone with no word. If nothing had changed, if we were allowed to just be normal teenagers like we once thought, he’d be standing outside near the porch, waiting to walk me to school.
A phantom memory of his hand in mine made my fist clench.
Where was he? Had he made it home and just didn’t want to speak to me?
That may have very well been the case, considering. I was sure seeing me with Liam was very confusing for him. No matter how casual I tried to believe our connection was, I was sure Nick could tell there was more. While ‘more’ was impossible for me to explain, I would certainly try. We vowed not to keep secrets and I fully intended to uphold that.
But … I couldn’t make steps in the right direction if he wasn’t around.
“They’re here,” Liam said flatly, but the undertone of tension in his voice wasn’t lost on me. As cool and collected as he pretended to be, I knew better. I felt the shift in his mood immediately.
“How do you know?” I asked.
He breathed deeply. “Because one of Baz’s witches has a flare for grandiose entrances. And I’m pretty sure I’m at the top of her crap-list for the punishment she received per my request.” As soon as the last word left his mouth, he clutched the side of his head in agony.
“She’s doing this?”
He couldn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. A thin trickle of blood dripped from his nose and I felt anger rise in me again. I hadn’t had a one-on-one encounter with this girl yet, but I already hated her—for her actions toward Liam now, for all she’d done to him days ago.
Liam finally nodded to confirm, standing straighter when the episode seemed to pass as quickly as it came.
“Swear I’m gonna snap her neck one of these days.” Something in his tone left me without question that he fully intended to do just that.
The next second, four figures darkene
d my porch. With the arrival of those who’d come to take everything away from me, my heart leapt.
Liam whispered, getting my attention as our eyes locked. “It’ll be fine.”
I nodded kind of frantically.
“I’ll do all the talking. Just stay close.”
As badly as I wanted to be brave, as badly as I wanted to be the fierce Evangeline he knew from before, I simply hadn’t tapped into her abilities yet. For now, my greatest defense … was him.
“They believe you’re still just as ruthless as you were in your past, so they’ll be more fearful of you than you should be of them,” he whispered calmly.
He turned to face me. I’m not sure what he saw in my expression, but whatever it was, he said more, an attempt to ease my mind.
“You can be as scared as you want to be on the inside, Evangeline.” His stare made my breathing slow. “But, on the outside … I need you brave.”
The pressure was on. These powerful beings had to believe I was bigger than them in the supernatural. I knew that, if I spoke, my secret would quickly be revealed. The only way I’d pull this off was to stay mostly silent, observing, passing all my thoughts and questions through Liam to the Elder, giving the impression that I thought too highly of myself to speak to him directly.
When I settled on a plan, I nodded, and Liam proceeded toward the front door. He opened it, allowing Baz and his minions to cross the threshold.
He looked the same as he did at the Council meeting—large, foreboding. In short, I was glad to have Liam guarding me as a tremor ripped through my body. The witches entered in silence and it was then that I noticed the bandage over the small one’s left eye. She hadn’t been wearing it when I saw her through Liam’s vision, but it was clear she’d endured some sort of trauma between then and now. It was brought back to my memory that he mentioned her being punished. Perhaps that’s what this was.
Punishment.
The Elder took several steps toward Liam and I held my breath, listening to his heavy steps as he crossed the hard wood. He stopped with a mere two feet between them, and to my surprise, he did something totally unexpected.
He knelt, lowering his head in Liam’s presence.
I had no words as I stared at this ancient thing bowing before him. But then, there was yet another shocker when he spoke, addressing me instead, using two words that made me swallow so hard my tongue almost went down my throat.
“My Queen.”
His gravelly voice was enough to incite a stampede toward the nearest exit, and yet, he referred to me as his queen. I was silent, watching as he proceeded to cast a loaded stare over his shoulder to the three cloaked figures who entered with him. The witches. At his glance, they seemed to come to their senses and lowered with slow curtsies. All four sets of eyes were focused on the ground, but then one’s gaze wandered up to meet mine and I knew who she was right away. The small one who tortured Liam.
I’d never forget her face. It was seared into my brain like someone had branded it there with a hot iron. I was almost startled by the strange swell of anger that filled me as we engaged in a stare-down no one else seemed aware of. Within me, from some place so deep I couldn’t even identify it, I wanted this girl to suffer. Her mirrored expression made it clear she wasn’t fond of me either. Based on the way I witnessed her treating Liam, I could only guess it was a general dislike for our kind—dragons.
I finally focused on Baz again and nodded to acknowledge him. When I did, he stood once more, but kept his head low. He also made no eye contact, which felt intentional.
“Your Highness,” he began, catching me off guard with yet another startling reference to my lineage. “My sincerest apologies for the way we must handle this delicate matter.”
I breathed deep and felt my heart squeeze at his words, but then I remembered what Liam said. I was allowed to feel whatever I needed to feel on the inside, but on the outside? I had to be a rock.
I wondered if that’s how it was before; if these were words he spoke to me often, back when this role I played as queen was my rightful place, not just a farce to keep me protected.
Drawing in air, I exhaled a falsely confident reply. “I understand it needs to be done.”
At that, Baz finally met my gaze, his milky-white stare coming before a single nod. “Shall we proceed, then?”
I glanced up the stairs where Liam said this would take place. “Sure.”
I led the way and, as expected, Liam acted as a barrier between me and them. My pace slowed as we crept down the hallway with my door at the end of it. Time had run out. The moment I was dreading most had arrived. My feet stopped and the only sound to be heard were the cloaks of Baz and the witches as they dragged the floors. The four closed in on Liam and I.
“Your room?” Baz asked.
I nodded, but said nothing as I stared at the door.
“Scarlet, Marin, Lilith?” At Baz’s words, the three stepped up beside me, the small one watching me from the corner of her eye—the one she still had, anyway. Each one placed a hand on my door and then reached for me. However, I snatched my arm away before they had the chance, immediately shifting my gaze toward Liam just as Baz did the same. Liam’s eyes were calm and reassuring, but I had no intentions on letting these three lay a hand on me. I’d seen what they’d done to him.
“It’s fine, Evangeline,” Liam stated calmly. “They need a point contact to cast the spell and to effectively hide your room and belongings with their magic.”
He explained that part to me first thing this morning—how they’d make my room appear to be nothing more than a blank section of the wall to the human eye, thus erasing all traces of me from the house. But I didn’t want them touching me. Any of them.
Especially her.
My eyes went to the witches again and I didn’t like how hard they were to read. They all had the same smug expression and I hated it. Hated them without spending more than five minutes in the same space.
“My Queen, you have my word you’re in no danger. Should any harm come to you, these three are well aware of the repercussions.” At Baz’s words, his witches’ faces went blank as if suddenly aware of their place.
“You’re perfectly safe,” he added.
I watched Liam again and he nodded, agreeing with Baz. I slowly extended my arm. When I did, three small hands pressed into my skin and the witches closed their eyes. Mine, however, were wide open. Afraid didn’t even begin to explain how I felt.
Liam’s arms were crossed over his chest and I noted the tension in his forearms. While I watched him, he watched the witches. The intense expression he wore made my gaze return to them as well. Their chant started as a soft murmur, words I didn’t recognize as English. My door began to vibrate. Slowly at first, and then hard and fast. Their mouths continued to move, but the speed at which they uttered these phrases … it was inconceivable. Their lips were a blur and their sound became one as the frame of my door lit with an ominous glow.
A strange tingling suddenly struck my palms and I knew that, within the clenched fist I squeezed, a flame had ignited. I gave Liam my word I’d keep calm, though, and I was sure shifting right now was the opposite of keeping calm, so I bridled it.
The door continued to shake violently as it rattled against its frame. My heart raced right along with it as the intensity of the witches’ chant grew louder, reaching a crescendo. And then, all of a sudden, it all stopped. The witches breathed deeply and slowly released my arm.
I blinked, unsure of whether we were finished or not. “Is … that it? It’s done?”
Scarlet nodded once, wearing a dark smile. “It is. You’re as good as forgotten.” She made no secret of the joy she got from saying those words.
I meant to look away from her, but couldn’t. My shifter had locked in on her, memorizing her features, making sure I never forgot.
“That will be all, Scarlet,” Baz said sternly, causing the small witch to cower right away.
“I need to get her out of here,
” Liam interjected with urgency. “If someone comes back, they’ll think we’re all intruders. Plus, Evangeline’s due at the extraction point soon.”
I glanced down at my watch and my heart sank. He was right. My next stop was The Damascus Facility, and… I wasn’t ready.
“Very well,” Baz replied, gesturing for his minions to head downstairs. They did so right away, but before he followed, he paused to speak again, addressing me directly. There was a sense of humility I didn’t miss.
“I hope you’ll find the accommodations I arranged to your liking.”
His weary eyes rose to meet mine, and I don’t know, there was a softness to them I wasn’t expecting. Seeing him address the clan at the Council meeting painted him in a frightening light, as did the terror he rained down on Liam before realizing who we were. But now, before me, he was mild and respectful. I hadn’t forgotten that his initial solution for dealing with my parents was to kill them. But I was also aware of the fact that he was willing to work with Liam to find a compromise. I didn’t trust him yet, but I at least mirrored his respect to a degree.
“I’m sure I will,” I replied. “Thank you.”
I kept it to myself that I thought these special arrangements were unnecessary. I knew all parties involved in catering to me meant well.
Baz nodded, and then exited with his witches.
A gentle glance passed my way as Liam spoke. “Ready?”
I looked around at the home that hadn’t been home for very long, but … it represented so much more in my heart. This was the place where my parents would live on without me. The place where memories would be made, and the place where … I’d be forgotten.
A thought fluttered into my head, a fear that, eventually, if I kept being erased from peoples’ lives, kept losing those I cared about, I’d eventually just cease to exist. But it was the feel of a strong hand taking mine that brought me back, reminding me there was one who’d never forgotten, had never let go.
And he was here now.
Taking a final look around, I nodded, squeezing his fingers tighter. “Ready.”