What the actual fuck?
Dane has his usual mask on, so I can’t tell what he’s thinking, and she has her back to me, so I can’t read her expression either, but the intimate way they’re leaning toward one another elevates my bad mood into orbit.
“What’s that all about?” Coop whispers in my ear, sliding his arm around my waist from behind.
“I don’t know, but I’d like to find out. Can you listen in?”
He chuckles. “I didn’t have you down as a rule breaker.”
“There is a time and place for everything, and I don’t trust that manipulative bitch. Dane is already suspicious of me—what if she’s using that to her advantage?” I peer up at him, frowning as I watch his features darken. “What is it?” I whisper.
Dane’s head jerks sideways, locking eyes with me. He removes Alandra’s hand from his chest, and her gaze follows his. The triumphant look on her face does little to reassure me.
Coop takes my elbow, steering me into the cafeteria. “He’s quizzing her about the APGP.”
I’m quietly analyzing my emotions and thoughts as we grab some lunch and walk to our table. Maddox, Kylie, and Beck are already there. “No need to ask what has you in such a pissy mood,” Maddox says as I slide into my seat.
“You two are all everyone is talking about,” Kylie unhelpfully adds. “Your long-lost twin showing up is big news.” She shoots me a sympathetic look.
“I’m going to explode by the end of the day.” I take an angry bite out of my wrap wishing it was Alandra’s head. “She’s in all my classes, and now she’s out there throwing herself at Dane and he’s lapping it up.”
“What?” Maddox arches a brow.
“He’s probing her about the APGP, and he’s probably using the fact she’s into him as an advantage,” Coop says.
“What a convenient excuse.”
“That sounds like Dane’s M.O,” Beck agrees.
“What sounds like my M.O?” Dane asks, placing his tray on the table and sitting down.
“Are you flirting with Alandra to gain intel?” Maddox asks.
Dane smirks, looking me directly in the eye. “Maybe.” He takes a sip of his soda. “Or maybe not.”
His three brothers stare at him in shock, while I sit on my hands to avoid the urge to slap him. I’m too angry to even think of a comeback, so I say nothing, focusing on eating my lunch as fast as possible. When I look up again, the guys are locked in a silent discussion, and I’ve reached my limit for today. “I’m going to the library,” I say, standing.
Kylie stands too, hastily shoving the last few mouthfuls of her lunch in her mouth. “I’ll come too,” she muffles.
“Tori.” Coop shoots me a pained expression.
“Forget it. I just need to get out of here and be by myself for a while.”
As we walk out of the cafeteria, I stop by my old table. Jensen stands up. “You can have my seat,” he offers.
I smile at him. “Thanks, but I’m not staying. I was just looking for Kenzie.” Her head picks up. “Can we talk?”
“If it’s about that skank of a sister of yours, then no thanks.” She sniffs, looking heartbroken.
“I’m sorry, Kenzie.”
“You knew?” I nod, and she scowls. “Well, thanks so much for the heads-up.” Sarcasm is thick in her tone.
“I didn’t find out in time to give you a heads-up,” I calmly explain.
She dismisses me with a wave of her hand. “Save it for someone who cares.”
“Kenzie, don’t take it out on Tori when it’s really Alandra you’re mad at.” Jensen doesn’t hesitate to jump to my defense.
“Perhaps it’s best you found out now. Jack is bad news, Kenz. I really want you to stay away from him.”
She harrumphs. “Oh, the mighty Tori has issued a command, and I should just jump.”
I haven’t a clue what I’ve done to earn Kenzie’s wrath these last few weeks, and I’ve just exhausted all my patience reserves. Screw this shit. After the way she’s behaved, she’s lucky I’m even speaking to her, let alone concerned for her safety. But I’m done expending energy on her.
“You are the biggest idiot, Kenzie,” Zara cuts in. “How many times do we all have to warn you about him before you’ll actually listen? Tori is only looking out for you.”
“No one asked her to,” she snaps, and I’m done.
Can’t say I didn’t try.
“I’ll see you later, guys.” Ignoring Kenzie, I offer Jensen a watery smile, wiggling my fingers at him.
Then Kylie loops her arm through mine, and we walk to the library together.
The rest of the afternoon follows a similar pattern—Alandra is in every one of my classes, and I’m forced to suffer in silence as she wraps every male around her little finger. They are falling all over her, undressing her with their eyes, smitten with every word that comes out of her mouth.
And she’s loving it.
There’s no doubt that a lot of this is for my benefit though, because she always makes sure I’m watching, sending smug, gloating looks my way.
I’m supposed to start detention today, but Coach worked something out with the new principal, so I’m excused on evenings when I have practice.
Maddox joins me at the track after school, as usual, but the normal competitive banter is lacking, and I miss it. “Are you still pissed at me?”
“A bit,” he admits, slowing down a little. “But it’s more the actual vision that has us worried.”
I grind to a halt. “You think I could do that? I could kill you all?”
He tips water from a bottle into his mouth. “Not willingly, no.”
“Jeez. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Weren’t you worried about the same thing?”
I sigh. “Yeah, but it hurts to hear you say it.”
He plants his hands on my shoulder, examining my eyes. “I know you care about us and that you would never set out to hurt us. But we know Arantu wants you, that there is some dark, evil magic at play here, and there is too much strange shit going on that we don’t know about to discount the fact that your vision may become a reality.”
“Unless it’s not real. Unless it’s a byproduct of the curse and it was planted there for a reason.”
He shrugs, draining the rest of his bottle. “We can’t rely on guesswork or assumptions, and everywhere we turn, we run into more obstacles or dead ends. It’s not giving any of us a warm and cozy feeling. And you keeping secrets from us, Coop keeping secrets from us, is not reassuring in any way. That’s why we’re pissed.”
I think of the other secret I’m hiding and wonder whether I should tell the guys what Zorc said to me on Cerlyon, but I can’t shake the feeling that Dane is hiding something and that tipping him off isn’t in my best interests. But, if Alandra is telling the truth, and that’s a massive if, then the elders can’t be trusted either. Did they tell Zorc that to drive a wedge between us? To create doubts in Dane’s leadership? Perhaps, but they aren’t responsible for Dane’s cagey, hostile behavior, and something’s driving that.
No. Something tells me I am right to keep this secret to myself for now.
When I emerge from the locker room after my shower, Maddox is nowhere to be found. I check my cell, reading the text he sent a few minutes ago. He’s spotted some strange dude hanging around the school and he’s gone to check it out—I’m to meet him at the car. I sling my bag over my shoulder, and hurry through the quiet corridors.
As I advance toward the exit, I spot Alandra locked in a passionate embrace with Jack in one of the empty classrooms. The door is open, and their joint groans reverberate through the deserted passageway, curdling my stomach.
My sneakers barely make a sound as I walk by, but they break apart, turning to look at me as if attuned to my presence. Jack wraps his arms around Alandra from behind, unashamedly cupping her left breast. My face contorts unpleasantly, and she laughs, this horrid, superior laugh that pierces my eardrums. She skips toward
me, and Jack stays where he is, propping his butt against the edge of a desk and crossing his feet at the ankles. His sleazy gaze rakes over me, and a shiver crawls up my spine.
Alandra plants herself in front of me, looking left and right, before leaning in to my face. “You should just give up now, because you can’t win against me. I’m smarter than you, more skilled than you, and I’m not weakened by human emotions. This will be less painful if you just give in to the inevitable.”
“Meaning what?”
She grins. “Surrender to me. Relinquish your connection and release your protectors from the bond into my care.”
“Your care?” I snort. “Yeah, as if that will ever happen.”
“I know what you’ve seen. I get visions too.” She pretends to inspect her nails, casually throwing the statement out.
An icy-cold chill crawls over my body. “I don’t believe you.”
A malevolent grin pulls her lips up at the corner. “I couldn’t care less what you believe. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes—how they die at your hands—and I’m giving you a way of protecting them. There is a way to relinquish the bond, and then I can claim them and keep them safe. Not my problem if you’re too stupid to see what’s right in front of your face.”
My sixth sense is on high alert, and while I don’t have any answers, I just know this is all a ploy, a trap—to what end I’m unsure—but I’m not falling for this.
For any of it.
It’s why I haven’t entertained the idea that she’s my sister for even one minute.
I tip my chin up and pierce her with a confident stare. “I don’t know who you are, and how you’ve come to be here, but I know you’re not my sister, and I don’t trust a word that comes out of your mouth. I certainly won’t entrust the lives of my protectors to you.”
She shrugs nonchalantly. “Then you’ve just sealed their fate.”
CHAPTER 33
“What guy was hanging around? Did you catch up to him?” I ask Maddox once we are seated in the car and on the way home.
He stares straight ahead, keeping his eyes focused on the road as he replies. “I think it was the same guy you noticed before. The description matched. I followed him for a while but then I fell back to come get you.”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he keeps popping up. He’s a bounty hunter, isn’t he?”
“Probably.” He looks sideways at me for a brief moment. “It’s more important than ever that you stick with one of us at all times.”
“I know that, and I don’t go anywhere by myself anymore. Any notion of personal space is long gone.” I stare out the window, Alandra’s parting comment sitting uneasily at the forefront of my mind.
“It won’t always be like this.” He reaches over patting my knee, and I take his hand, linking my fingers through his. “I know you were planning on working with Beck when we got home, but I’d like to train with you. I want to see if you can summon your fire ability at will, and I think that’s more important than poring over books about ancient Egyptians.”
“Don’t let Beck hear you say that.”
“I’m not disputing the fact his work is important, but, right now, gaining more control over your abilities has to take precedence. Now that the curse is lifted and you’re making good progress, we need to build on that.”
“Agreed.” I’m in no mood to argue, and I’m jittery so physical training is exactly what I need to soothe the frayed edges of my nerves.
Once we’re back at the house, I get changed and then head to Beck’s room to update him.
“It’s okay. Maddox already told me,” he says as I hover in his doorway. He’s lying on his stomach on the bed, elbows propped up as he scans one of the books that arrived today.
I step inside, quietly closing the door. “Can we talk for a sec?”
He rolls over, sitting up in a cross-legged position. “Sure.”
“You haven’t really said much to me since my admission, and I wanted to check we are okay.” I perch on the edge of the bed, trying to gauge his expression.
“It makes all of us nervous when you keep stuff from us. You’re vulnerable, and that has us walking on eggshells.”
“You mean I’m weak.”
He shakes his head. “No. It isn’t the same thing. Until you awaken and receive full power, you are at risk. We can’t protect you from all threats unless you are honest with us. The lack of direct action by our enemies grows more concerning.”
“Because it implies they have a different strategy?”
“Yeah, and none of us know what that is.” He taps his finger off the page of the book. “And I hate that I know nothing about this symbol and how it ties to the dark magic at play and how it’s connected to ancient humans. I’m completely confused, and that makes me very concerned. This is like a game of chess, and we’re playing blindfolded. Every move is strategic. Every anomaly could be strategic, and you keeping stuff from us is dangerous.” He drags his lip between his teeth, and small lines furrow his brow. “Sometimes, I wonder if our personal relationship is getting in the way of our professional duty.”
My shoulders tighten with tension. “What are you saying?”
He curls his fingers around my wrist. “Not what you think.” His gaze darts to my mouth, sending a shot of liquid lust straight through my veins. He clears his throat, forcing his gaze back up. “If you don’t tell us something because you’re worried about upsetting us, it could become a problem.”
I mull over his words. “So, what you’re saying is I have to be able to depersonalize stuff and look at it completely objectively and from a strategic perspective instead?”
“Exactly. Perhaps seeing visions of the future is an ability you have, but it could be manipulation too. We just don’t know, but we need to figure it out together, and that means you have to tell us immediately if anything strange happens: otherwise, we’re all at risk. We need to trust that you trust us enough to share everything with us, because we can’t protect you unless we’re a united team, and right now, we’re more divisive than I can ever remember.”
“That’s my fault.”
“No.” He vehemently shakes his head. “We’re all responsible in different ways, but this isn’t a blame game. We just need to get on the same page now and ensure we’re stronger and smarter moving forward. We can’t defeat our enemies otherwise.”
“Alandra made some cryptic comments to me as I was leaving school today. She’s definitely up to something. When the others are back, I’ll fill you in.”
He nods. “I’ll let Dane know. I’ve also heard back from my contact. I sent him the recording from the ship, and he says he’s made a discovery. He’s a nervous type, and he wants to meet face to face as he prefers to tell me in person, so I’m going to rendezvous with him this weekend.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I think so too.” He smiles, and he looks so sexy with his glasses, ruffled hair, and his rosy cheeks.
“Ready, princess?” Maddox asks from behind before I can tell Beck how adorable he is. In one conversation, he’s managed to elevate my mood and inject me with some much-needed hope.
“Sure.” I stand up, peering down at Beck. “So, we’re good?”
He rises, surprising me when he folds me into his arms. “We’re good.”
Maddox and I train until it’s pitch-dark and my limbs are weary from the effort involved in summoning my firepower while dodging his concerted efforts to catch me. But I’m definitely getting better at controlling it, and that makes me happy. When we’re back in the house, I tell everyone what Alandra said to me in the corridor, and Dane updates us on his conversation with her. According to Alandra, the Academy is not to be trusted, and Dane said she made some valid points he is working to prove. As usual, he holds his cards close to his chest and doesn’t elaborate further, which does little to ease my suspicion.
The rest of the week follows a regular pattern. We go to school, keeping a close eye on Alandra
and Jack whose growing closeness is disconcerting and only seems to highlight the fact that neither of them can be trusted. I spend my nights training with Maddox. While I can summon my firepower at will, I still haven’t worked out how to project it in a steady stream like I did the night of the barn. I only hope that when I’m next put to the test the instinct will come naturally.
It’s after dinner on Thursday night, and I’m standing by the window in my bedroom getting ready to close the drapes when I notice flashing red lights coming from one of the outbuildings. All the tiny hairs raise on the back of my neck as I watch thick reddish strobes of color emanate from all four corners of the barn where Beck keeps all the main technical equipment. “Cooper!” I shout, invoking superspeed and racing downstairs.
He meets me at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Beck?” I shriek, brushing past him and darting into the living room. I almost collapse on the floor at the sight of Beck sitting on the couch with a tablet in his lap. “Oh, thank God.” I clamp a hand over my heart.
“Tori, what has you so freaked?” Coop asks, taking my elbow. Maddox and Dane blink into existence in the room.
“I saw strange lights coming from your barn just now, Beck.”
“What kind of strange lights?” Dane inquires in an urgent tone.
“I saw tons of red flashing lights coming from all corners of the barn.”
“Stay with Tori,” Dane commands Coop. “Beck, follow us.”
The three of them disappear, and I chew on the corner of my nail, pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor. “I have a really bad feeling.”
“Try not to worry,” Coop says, failing to hide his own concern.
The Secret Heir (Alinthia Series Book 2) Page 24