The Secret Heir (Alinthia Series Book 2)

by Siobhan Davis

  Over my fucking dead body. If she goes near him again, I will fireball her skanky ass.

  Dane barks out a laugh. “I’m sure you don’t, but that wouldn’t help your cause. Trust me. Coop is infatuated with Alinthia.”

  Something inherent dies inside me when I hear his scathing tone. What is Dane doing?

  “I guess there’s no accounting for taste,” she scoffs.

  “Don’t be like that,” he snaps. “You promised there’d still be a place for Alinthia, and I’m holding you to that. My brothers care about her a lot.”

  My brothers.

  Not him.

  His brothers.

  I have never wished to take back my words as badly as I wish I could take back my “I love you” from last night. I rub at my aching temples, wondering what the hell I was thinking and how I could think I was in love with that double-crossing jerk. Zorc was right about him. Dane does have an agenda, and it’s not one that supports me or the Academy.

  “And what about you?” she purrs, and I can just imagine her thrusting her chest into his face.

  “I don’t have time to indulge in any of that shit. I have a job and it’s my sole focus.”

  “Spoken like a true romantic.” She cackles and I’m really beginning to loathe that sound.

  “Romance is for pussies. Power? Now that’s something I crave. I’m done with bending to the will of the Academy, being a slave to the prophecy. I know what I’m capable of, and it’s so much more than what’s been ordained my destiny.”

  “Now that, I can relate to. And if it’s power you’re after, then you’ve come to the right place. We would make a formidable team, Dane. We rocked it last night, and I can tell we’d rock it in every way conceivable.”

  Silence ensues, and then the unmistakable sounds of kissing greet my ears.

  My heart is shattering.

  Splintering and cracking and ripping apart.

  “We’d better head back before we’re missed,” Dane says, his voice a little breathless.

  “Party pooper.”

  He laughs but it sounds forced. “Let me talk to my brothers tonight, and I’ll come to your place then.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Her voice drips with desire when she adds, “I’ll be in bed waiting.”

  “Wow. You don’t do subtle, do you?”

  “I go after what I want. And I want you. In my bed. Inside me.”

  “A woman after my own heart.”

  “I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement, Dane. Just remember what I said. We would make a great team, and if you’re willing to make some … compromises … you could have the future you desire. Think about it.”

  The clackety-clack of her heels on the tile floor signals her exit. I wait another couple of minutes until I hear Dane walk away. Rubbing a hand over my aching chest, I straighten up and head back to class, fighting tears the whole way.

  CHAPTER 36

  The remainder of class passes by in a blur. Everything I heard swirls around and around in my troubled brain, my thoughts veering left and right until I think I’ll drive myself crazy. Add the pain in my heart into the mix, and I’m not in a good place right now. When the bell rings, I hop out of my seat and walk over to Kylie’s desk. “Can I come back to your place?”

  Stuffing her books in her bag, she looks up at me, frowning. “Of course. My parents are at work, and Daniel is going out.” She stands up, pressing her mouth to my ear. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re about to burst into tears?”

  “I’ll tell you when we get to your house.”

  “Tori?” Coop places his hand on my shoulder, and I hang my head. He pulls me around so I’m facing him, tilting my chin up. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” His eyes are creased with worry.

  “Not now, Coop. I’m going to Kylie’s. I’ll catch you later.” I can’t even give him a fake smile to reassure him.

  “I’ll come with.”

  “No!” I snap, instantly regretting it. I refuse to take my anger out on the wrong Roth brother. “I’m sorry for shouting, Cooper, but I just need some space right now. ‘Kay?”

  “Tori. Just give me a couple of minutes. Just hear me out.”

  “Tori?” Kylie asks. “Are you coming or what? I have to leave in a hurry since Daniel is waiting for the car.”

  “I’ll speak to you later, Coop. I’ve got to go.” I peck him on the lips quickly before following my bestie out to the parking lot.

  “Can we get out of here pronto?” I ask once we’re seated in the car. I’m expecting Coop to stage an intervention, and I just want to get as far away from here, from Dane, as possible. Kylie finishes sending a text, and then she cranks the engine and maneuvers the car out into the line of traffic.

  She is fidgety as fuck the entire drive, and it’s only adding to my own anxiety. She changes the station on the radio for, like, the umpteenth time, smiling at me, but it looks a little off. I sense she has something she needs to get off her chest too.

  I wonder if it’s happened.

  If she’s finally sick of me and all this alien shit.

  Or if she’s freaking out because I briefly explained at lunch how we were attacked last night.

  I wouldn’t blame her if she said she didn’t want to hang out with me anymore. Honestly, I wouldn’t. I would miss her like crazy, but I wouldn’t hold it against her.

  Daniel is pacing back and forth across the porch when Kylie pulls up, looking as agitated as the pair of us. He races down the steps as soon as we exit the car. “What took you so long?”

  “Where’s the fire?” Kylie deadpans. “And I thought you were sick? And that’s why you stayed home from school today?”

  “I was. I mean, I am.” He’s completely flustered, dragging his hands through his hair. “But I need to go meet some of my buddies. There was a ton of activity in the area last night, and we need to investigate.”

  Oh, Lord. It’s fucking laughable. How ironic that the very thing he seeks is standing right in front of him.

  “Hey, Tori.” He deliberately calms himself down as Kylie presses her keys into the palm of his hand. He studies my face. “Are you okay? You don’t look so hot.”

  “I’m fine, Daniel. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now.”

  He nods, as if he understands. “Well, you take care.” He gently squeezes my shoulder.

  “And you better take care of my baby,” Kylie warns, patting the hood of her car. “Or don’t bother coming home tonight. Capiche?”

  “Chillax, sis. I’ll look after your fucking car.” He gives her a quick hug before jumping in the car and driving off, tires squealing and dust balls forming in his wake.

  “He just gets weirder and weirder,” she murmurs, shaking her head as she unlocks the door and lets me in.

  We fix a snack and a drink in the kitchen and eat at the island unit. “So, what’s the latest?” she asks, glancing momentarily at the clock on the wall.

  “Are you sick of all this, Kylie?” I ask. “Are you sick of me?”

  “What?” She looks surprised. “No. Of course not. Is that what this is about?”

  I shake my head. “Not really, but you seem off with me, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to hang with me anymore.”

  Tears pool in her eyes. “That would never be the case. I would never voluntarily cut you out of my life, Tori.” Jumping up, she squeezes me tight. “You’ve got to believe that. You’re my best friend, and I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I sniffle. “Man, we’re a pair.” I try a smile, but it’s feeble.

  “Spill it. What has you so upset?”

  She clears away our plates while I fill her in on my eavesdropping. Hovering by the window, she seems distracted. I slide off my stool and join her. “He just arrived,” she says, and her face drops a little.

  Cooper is propped against the fence outside, not even attempting to disguise his presence. He waves at us, and we wave back.

  “I’d invite him in,” Kylie s
ays, “but we need our girl time.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure her. “He won’t expect it. He’s just doing his protector thing.”

  She rubs the back of her neck. “I, ah, just need to go to the bathroom. Why don’t you make us some coffees?” she suggests before practically racing out of the room.

  What is up with everyone today?

  I’m halfway through drinking my coffee, and Kylie still hasn’t returned. Putting my head down on the marble countertop, I close my eyes, wondering what I’m going to do. If Dane is going to side with Alandra, then I can’t stick around here anymore. And even though I suspect the other guys would most likely side with me, I can’t ask them to choose between me and their brother. Perhaps it’s best if I just quietly disappear into the night. But where would I go?

  A sharp ache pierces my chest cavity, and I emit a desperate sigh as a vision pops into my mind. It’s like the last one I had, only this time I’m getting the unedited version.

  I’m back in that ornate temple with the thick gold-encrusted walls, standing over my four protectors, with fire flickering on my palms. Their hands are clasped behind their backs, their faces bloodied and bruised, despair evident in their eyes as they look up at me.

  Approaching footsteps slap off the marble floor, and General Arantu looks up, smiling as he places a hand on my arm to stall me. We turn and grin at one another.

  “No!” Someone bursts into the temple, racing toward the dais. “Don’t hurt them!”

  My heart is frantically thumping in my chest as I recognize myself. That’s me. Not the imposter up on the altar.

  I run up the steps, positioning myself in between my twin and my protectors. Alandra’s eyes burn bright as she growls at me.

  “Step down,” Arantu instructs, pulling her back a little.

  I glance over my shoulder at Dane, Maddox, Cooper, and Beckett, and the bond reignites, sending tingles of power racing through our connection. Tears prick my eyes at the sight of them.

  “Alinthia.” Arantu’s commanding voice booms around the cavernous space.

  Slowly, I turn and face him. “Let them go and I’ll do whatever you want, but don’t hurt them. Please.”

  “No!” Dane shouts. “Don’t try to reason with them, Alinthia. It won’t make any difference. We’re still dead.”

  “You always were the voice of reason, Dane,” Alandra purrs. “Pity you didn’t take the opportunity I offered you when you had the chance.”

  “I will never join you. Never.”

  “Stupid fool.” Bending down, she grips his chin tightly. “You’re as gullible as your brothers.” She drops his face and turns to me with a wicked glint in her eye. “And you are the definition of too stupid to live. It was so easy to manipulate you.”

  Throwing back her head, she laughs. As she does, her features transform, and my face slips away, revealing her true form. She’s a good head taller than me, with broader shoulders, and longer limbs. Her long silver hair falls in unwavering straight lines down to her waist. Her midnight blue eyes are cold and unforgiving, her lips thin and unyielding, but there’s no denying her beauty, even if it is an austere, ferocious kind of beauty. She puts her face right in my shocked one. “You had a chance to save them back on Earth, but you didn’t take it either. Their deaths will be on your conscience forever.”

  I shriek as I jump up, stumbling on the stool and almost losing my balance. Kylie comes into the kitchen at that precise moment. Her eyes look bloodshot and red-rimmed, but I’m too freaked out over the vision to figure out why.

  “Oh my God.” I grab tufts of my hair. Kylie carefully approaches me, her brows knitting together. I run to her, taking her hands. “I just had another vision. It’s a trap, Kylie.” Her pallor turns ashen. “She’s a trap. I’m not the Daughter of Darkness, Alandra is!” I race to the window, peering out, but Coop is nowhere to be seen. I spin around. “Shit! You’ve no car! I need to get back to the house. I need to warn them.” I snatch my bag off the ground, rummaging in the pockets with fumbling fingers for my cell. My heart is galloping in my chest, and a heavy weight presses down on me, constricting my air supply.

  Sounds of screeching tires and car doors opening and shutting distracts me, and I look up. Alarm shoots through me. “What’s that?” I ask Kylie, forgetting the cell and running back over to the window. My breath hitches in my throat, and I gasp. Six blacked-out SUVs and two trucks are parked in the drive, and men dressed in head-to-toe black combat gear are preparing to swarm the house.

  “Aaghh!” I cry out, instantly dropping to my knees as an electrifying pain shoots up and down my arms. I look over my shoulder, seeing the strange red handcuffs securing my wrists together.

  Horrified, and in unimaginable pain, I lift my chin, piercing Kylie with a look of disbelief. Tears are streaming down her face. “What have you done?” I struggle to my feet, no easy feat with your hands tied behind your back, whimpering as darts of pain travel to every part of my body. I cry out as excruciating pain ravages every part of me.

  “I’m so sorry, Tori.” Kylie is openly crying now. “They made me. They were going to take Daniel. What could I do?” she beseeches. Pounding on the front door starts in earnest. “It was an impossible choice! And I didn’t know what to do. I had no one to talk to,” she babbles on. “And this could be a good thing for you, Tori.” She puts her hands on my shoulders, and I see blatant fear in her eyes. “They’ll keep you safe. No one will be able to get to you where they’re taking you.”

  Shock at her betrayal takes a back seat to everything else. A loud crash resounds from the hall, and I know we have seconds before we have company. “Kylie. You need to go to the house and tell Dane not to trust Alandra. Tell him I had another vision and she is Arantu’s daughter, that’s it’s a trap.” She nods her head vigorously. “Promise me, Kylie!” I’m struggling to keep the hysteria from my voice. “You owe me that much at least. Don’t let them get taken. She will kill them.”

  “I promise,” she says, as the men enter the kitchen doorway, pointing their weapons at me. At least twenty men fill Kylie’s kitchen, surrounding me from all sides. They have helmets covering their faces and protective vests strapped across their chests. One of them steps forward, slowly removing his mask.

  “Come quietly and you will come to no harm,” he tells me.

  “You can’t do this! I’m an American citizen!”

  “We know exactly who you are, Ms. King. We’ve always known.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I head up the military operation of a secret, special branch within the US government, one dedicated to researching, studying, and containing alien life. We knew an alien craft crash landed here almost eighteen years ago, and we’ve kept a close eye on you growing up.”

  Holy. Shit. They’ve been watching me this whole time?

  Ignoring him and his shocking revelation, I eyeball Kylie. “Go now! There’s no time to waste. And find Cooper too.”

  “The boss would like a word with you, Ms. Trainor,” he says, glancing over his shoulder at Kylie. “So you’ll be coming with us.”

  “No!” I yell. “No. You don’t understand. She needs to warn them!”

  “You are both coming with us, and that’s not up for negotiation.” Stark eyes pin me in place.

  The hell it isn’t. I close my eyes, calming my body and mind, pushing the pain ripping through my limbs to one side. If I can summon my firepower, I can release my hands and fight my way out of this. The power tingles in my veins and I focus harder, but the more I try, the more intense the pain crippling me becomes. I scream as violent tremors rock my body, dropping to the ground and convulsing. “Make it stop!” I yell.

  “Stop trying to initiate your powers, and the pain will lessen,” the man says in a flattened tone. “The more you fight this, the harder it is.”

  “Screw you, asshole.” Summoning the last vestiges of my strength, I hop up and lunge at him.

  A piercing pain infiltrates my forehead, penetrat
ing bone-deep. My tortured screams are the last thing I hear as I black out.

  CHAPTER 37

  Maddox

  Dane has been prowling the living room like a caged tiger since Cooper took off after the argument in the school parking lot. “Quit pacing. You’re giving me whiplash looking at you,” I tell him, floating three bowls of soup over to the table. Beck wastes no time putting his tablet down and digging in.

  Dane flips me the bird, but he stops pacing, sliding into the seat beside me. He stares into his bowl, frowning, and I take pity on him. “We trust you to make the right decision, Dane. We may not like it, but you always know what you’re doing. Coop will see that when he calms down.”

  He’s unnaturally quiet, still staring numbly into his soup. Beck and I share a look. “She’ll understand, Dane,” he says.

  Dane’s head jerks up, and his eyes radiate pain. I feel for my brother, and the difficult choices he has had to make. “Will she?” He sighs. “Maybe Coop is right. Maybe I should have taken Alinthia into my confidence, but I knew the ruse would work better if she wasn’t aware.”

  “And it did. Alandra has fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. She thinks you’re into her and that you share her views on the Academy and her being the Chosen One. Mission accomplished.”

  Dane picks up his spoon, absently stirring the soup. “But at what price? Alinthia may never forgive me.”

  “She’ll forgive you,” Beck and I both say in unison.

  He shakes his head. “I don’t think she will.” He gulps painfully. “She told me she loved me last night, and then she catches me kissing Alandra today. I took it too far. I should have pushed her away. I feel ill just thinking about it.”

  Trying not to feel jealous, I focus on cheering my brother up. Dane has always done whatever is necessary to protect us, and to ensure we do what’s required, while shielding us from stuff we don’t need to know. That strategy has consistently worked well until recently. Now, I fear all it has achieved is to create suspicion and tension among us, which is more harmful than the things he was trying to protect us from in the first instance.