Villain (Starlight Book 2)

by D. N. Hoxa

  “Are you sure about that? Or are you as scared as you are selfish?”

  “Dad!” another warning from Aaron.

  Blood hot rage washed over every little part of my body, and I saw red in front of my eyes. I might’ve been a million things—everything from stupid to selfish, but I was never, ever scared of a fight. My hands were curled up in fists as I held his eyes. The feeling of safety he’d had until now because of the Elders was slowly starting to fade. In its place came fear.

  That only made me angrier, and without realizing what the hell I was doing, wind started to blow on Thomas’s face, lightly at first. As every alarm went on in my head, I wanted nothing more than to rip him apart into as many little pieces as I could because of exactly that. I could.

  Thomas’s pupils were completely dilated and the fear reflecting in them pushed me more. The need to see just what I could do to a body was tickling me on the tips of my fingers, waiting impatiently to release all the energy that was stored inside of me.

  But I stopped in my tracks at the growl behind me.

  “Enough!” Grandmother shouted.

  I didn’t think I’d ever heard a shout so intimidating before. Not that I was scared, but she broke my concentration and called to the rational part of brain. I had been ready to rip Thomas apart just for the heck of it. Just to see what I could do. I would’ve gone through with it if Grandmother hadn’t stopped me. I’d completely lost control of my mind and body. That was the first time I realized that being an Elemental came with a price, but I still had no idea how high that price was or what it was going to do to me. I still had no idea…

  “That’s enough,” Grandmother repeated, and her voice had returned to normal again.

  Taking my eyes off Thomas’s face was like leaving a glass of water untouched after walking through a desert for days. But I needed to regain complete control so I met Grandmother’s green eyes. She was furious. As she looked at Thomas, she took the phrase if looks could kill to a whole new level.

  “You are not to talk about this with anyone or anything,” Arlion said. “Dismissed.”

  His eyes were on fire as he looked at his shifter from below his lashes. His jaw was clenching as he gathered his hands into massive fists. If he looked like that—like he could take on the whole world and live to tell the tale when he was just angry, I couldn’t imagine what he’d look like in his lion form. Not something I wanted against me, that’s for sure.

  Before Thomas had the chance to argue, he was gone. The perks of the hologram were that the rules were always dictated by those who summoned you. They could choose to bring you in and throw you out at any second.

  “All of you here will not speak about this to anyone but each other,” Grandmother continued. She was still angry both at me and at Thomas. In their eyes, our little argument meant we lacked respect. In my eyes, we just chose the wrong moment to say the wrong words. “Do not make us regret telling you about this.” It was a warning, loud and clear.

  “Grandmother, I...”

  By the time the words left my mouth, we were back at the Base.

  “That was something,” Jack mumbled.

  Any other day, I would’ve mocked all of them for not daring to say a word in the presence of the Elders. Today just wasn’t that day.

  I made for the door immediately because I needed to get back to my room and my bed. And I didn’t want to see the look on the others’ faces from fear of what I might see there. I would understand if they felt the same way as Thomas, but that didn’t mean I’d have to like it.

  “Star!”

  I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and kept walking faster down the hallway, hoping Aaron wouldn’t catch up with me. Of course he did.

  “Star, wait,” he called again, but I didn’t.

  “Not now, Aaron.” I kept my head down and hoped he would let it go. As if.

  “Just wait for one second, for God’s sake,” he said, and he sounded as exhausted as I felt, like he even had the right to. Who the hell did he think he was? Especially after what happened barely six hours ago.

  “What do you want?”

  The tone of my voice alone should’ve made him drop it. Instead, it surprised him. What did he expect, that I would cry and jump in his arms and ask him to hold me because his daddy told me I was selfish and scared? The selfish part was nothing new to me. I would have handled it pretty well if Thomas hadn’t used the word scared. But I guessed there was a first time for everything.

  “What my dad said—” Here we go.

  “Don’t.” I didn’t mean to be rude. I just didn’t want to hear it. “I don’t care. Whatever it is that you think I want to hear, I don’t.” When I walked away this time, he didn’t try to stop me again.

  It sucked to be in my skin that moment. Who was I kidding? It sucked to be in my skin, period.

  I tried to distract myself by thinking of Samayan’s perfect face, his wicked smile. His eyes held each and every one of the answers I so desperately needed. For the first time in my life I liked the idea of torturing someone for information. I could almost picture Samayan in a triple-reinforced cell with shackles around his whole body as I pierced his skin with hot silver and asked him about all the things I wanted to hear.

  Maybe it was the stress. Maybe the confusion. Maybe both.

  I inhaled deeply, looking forward to the shower I so desperately needed, because going back to bed was an awful idea. My hand was on the doorknob when I heard something crack. I froze and stopped breathing altogether at the sound that was coming from inside my room. A million scenarios crossed through my mind in a second. Who could it be? Had I left my door open? Was it Ella?

  But Ella would still be asleep. It was barely six in the morning.

  Maybe someone from the Council? Maybe they’d managed to track me…but no. Everyone would know if the Council had found the Base, and they’d never send someone alone to my room. I doubted they were that stupid, but I'd be glad if that was the case, because I could tell there was only one person inside.

  With a deep breath, I prepared myself and turned the knob as silently as was possible. My room was dark. Only the small lamp was on, as I’d left it. Someone inside breathed evenly, like they weren’t even afraid to be there, and I let my senses determine what it was. The energy that washed over me was…weak. A half fey, but weak, even for a half.

  A bit disappointed that there would be no fighting, I opened the door wide. The half fey jumped right in front of me, and instinct took over. I grabbed a slim wrist with one hand, and my other caught the throat of the girl whose face I couldn’t see. I pushed until her back was against the wall, and she had nowhere else to go. A cry escaped her throat and her straight hair was everywhere on her face. Her pulse was going crazy and her breathing heavy.

  “Who the hell are you?” I pulled her arm up and used her hand to turn the light on. The switch was right next to her head.

  “I-I-I…I’m…” I loosened the grip around her throat a little and let go of her wrist.

  Whoever it was, she had no intention of hurting me. And even if she did, she didn't have the strength. Her slim hands went to her face, and she pushed her hair away.

  Her whole body was shaking.

  But so was mine.

  She pulled the last strand of hair away from her face and finally found my eyes. Her lips parted in surprise, and her look was probably mirroring mine.

  “S-S-Star?!”

  I watched her still, pretty sure that my imagination was playing tricks on me, or that the stress from the last week was finally catching up on me.

  But a minute later, she was still there. I let go immediately and took two steps back, still doubting my sanity.

  “Kate?” I asked, my brain overloaded by my constant attempt to validate the picture in front of me. As minutes passed and we watched each other with our hearts in our throats, she didn't disappear.

  “Star,” she said, her voice a bit stronger, more similar to the one I remembered.

&
nbsp; Nostalgia washed over me at the sight of the girl whom I’d called my best friend four years ago. But I couldn't speak and I couldn't move.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked in barely a whisper. I studied her for a few more seconds, trying to make sure that it wasn't just my imagination that she was really, truly standing in front of me in an RR Base—before I found my voice.

  “What are you doing in my room?” Or in an RR Base. Or in fucking Kentucky!

  Her pupils dilated with a fresh wave of shock as the meaning of my words hit her. She tried to step away from me, but she was still against the wall. There was nowhere to go.

  “You’re…you’re the Raven?”

  My heart picked up the beating again. How the hell did she know about the Raven? How did she know about the Base, first of all?

  Only one way of finding out.

  “How do you know about the Raven?” It was as clear a question as it gets. “How do you know about this place?”

  She swallowed hard, and her eyes went over every part of my body before she looked up again. “Are you the Raven?” she asked instead of answering.

  “Yes! I am. I’m the Raven. How the hell do you know that, Kate? What are you doing here?” I was running out of patience, fast.

  Having no other place to go, she went and sat on my bed, her eyes filled with tears.

  “You’re the Raven.” She spoke more to herself than to me. And then she nodded a couple of times. She looked up at me, down at the ground, then up at me again. “You’re the Raven?” Again.

  I walked over to her and almost shook her by the shoulders. “For God’s sake, Kate. Tell me what you’re doing here!” I wanted to know if I’d already gone insane. Does a person know when they’ve gone insane?

  Kate took another couple seconds to clear her throat. “I’m half-seer. My...my sister is the Oracle. We just arrived at this Base, and she told me to come looking for you. She said she wanted to talk to you...”

  I laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?” It made no sense to me at all and that just showed how good whoever was playing me was.

  But Kate shook her head. “I’m not.”

  “But…but…” but I knew Kate. Kate used to be my best friend, though I was never really hers. And Kate was not part fairy.

  “Are you kidding me? You were the kindest person I knew, the most naive teenager to have ever existed, the girl who befriended janitors. You are the Raven. And you can't believe I’m half fey?” Kate exploded in a hysterical laughter, and she stood up to pace around the room.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the dream to end and wake up at the sound of my annoying alarm clock. I was delusional. I was overwhelmed. I hadn't talked to anyone for four years, and I desperately needed someone to talk to. Just a friend. So of course my brain would go and project the figure of the girl who used to be my best friend. My only friend.

  Yes. That’s it. That has to be it.

  But when I opened my eyes again, she was still there. She wasn't laughing anymore. She had the hiccups, and she was making ridiculous sounds as her body went up and down every few seconds.

  “How is this possible? How is it possible that you are the Raven?” Kate asked, her eyes searching every part of my body again. “I mean, you’re Star. Just…Star!”

  “Geez, thanks, Kate. You never told me you were half-seer,” I said, and she laughed as if all of this somehow amused her. I didn't find any damn thing worth laughing about so I just watched her.

  “I cannot believe it. Star is the Raven!”

  “Will you stop saying that already? It’s driving me fucking mad.” It really was.

  “And you’re cussing! Star is cussing!”

  For the love of God…“Kate!” I shouted. She abruptly stopped in the middle of her hysterics and turned to look at me. “Stop.” She even stopped breathing. “Leave.”

  Her mouth was still hanging open as a shiver ran through her. I couldn't go along with it. Not until I had at least another hour of sleep and a long shower.

  “Okay,” Kate whispered, and without another look back at me, she walked out the door. She probably wanted to get out of there as much as I wanted her to.

  I dropped on my bed again and rubbed my face furiously. “How much more are you going to throw at me until this day is over, huh?” I asked whoever was listening. If someone was listening to me.

  Surprise, surprise. Nobody answered me.

  13

  ——————————

  I did wake up at the annoying sound of my alarm clock. And I did wake up feeling worse than I did two hours ago.

  Everything was very confusing, and I needed a large black coffee asap. I dragged my feet from under my blanket only to see that I had slept with my clothes on, again, and went to the bathroom for that shower I was yearning for. The water pouring over my body gave its priceless help in soothing me and calming my nerves, and I could honestly say that I didn't think of Aaron for about ten minutes. It’s called progress, baby.

  Keeping my mind blank was harder than it sounded when each thought in my head was trying hard to grab my full attention. But nothing was going to be thought about until I had that coffee I promised myself first. I dragged my feet to the kitchen area, ignoring the eyes that were on me the whole way and finally opened the door, remembering to turn my senses off. I didn't bother to look around. I knew Aaron probably wouldn't be there, and Ella would be right where she always was. I kept my head down as the sups made way for me.

  “Morning,” I said to Marie—the one friendly face that didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out.

  “Good morning, Star,” she said with the same smile on her face as every other morning.

  “I’m just going to make myself some coffee today.” Eating didn’t even cross my mind.

  “Coffee is ready. Hold on.” She reached for a mug in one of the cupboards and filled it with black, steamy coffee. My mouth watered.

  “Looks delicious,” I said as I reached out for it impatiently.

  “Of course it is. I made it,” Marie said, and she winked at me before I turned to leave with a goofy smile on my face. Damn it. How could I have not noticed how much I’d missed having a friend before?

  Nick was sitting across from Ella, and judging by the look on their faces, they were talking about something serious.

  “What’s up?” I asked as I took the seat next to my sister. I sipped my delicious coffee after I put three spoons of sugar in it. Kai used to say that I drank sugar with coffee, not the other way around. I didn't even bother to acknowledge the stinging in my stomach at the thought of her face. Like I said, coffee first, problems later.

  They both gave me a weak hey, and avoided my eyes.

  “What’s going on?”

  Ella sighed. “We heard about the message,” she whispered. She got the stink eye from Nick, who had probably told her not to say anything to me. And I didn't have to ask to know who’d told him. I was seriously going to kick Jack’s ass for real one of those days.

  “Nothing you need to worry about, Ells,” I said reluctantly because I didn’t want to lie to her.

  “You’re not planning to surrender, are you?”

  “Of course not. Like I said, you don’t need to worry about it. Everything’s under control.” The lie slipped easily from my mouth because I had no other choice, and even I believed those words were true.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Jack’s voice came from behind us. “And Nick.” He nudged the shifter before he took his seat next to him with the thermos in his hands. I wanted to start shouting at him and maybe even give him a fist on the face for telling the kids, but I controlled myself. There was no way he was getting away. We had training right after breakfast.

  Nick gave Jack a look that said I don't like you loud and clear, and I wondered how it was that they showed so much dislike for each other but almost always ended up talking and telling each other important stuff. And they were sworn enemies by nature from birth. The world was
weird.

  “Hey,” Aaron’s voice came from behind us, and this time I couldn't control my poor heart and keep it from skipping a beat. I ignored him as he made his way around the table and sat directly across from me like he always did. Well, like he did before he ran away. From me. Good reminder.

  I kept my eyes on Ella and pretended to be very interested in something she was saying. It was about cooking and definitely not one of my favorite topics. Cooking sucked.

  By the time I headed to the training room, my head was a mess. As if to spite me, Kate was calling me from behind before I could disappear. I had too many things on my mind, and I needed to straighten them up before I dealt with any of it. Including Kate and her sister. Who was probably there to tell me the damned prophecy.

  And what better way to clear my head than by fighting?

  “Hi,” Kate offered with a weak smile when she reached me. She looked much better than she had last time I saw her. Except for her long hair and her defined features, she hadn't changed much in the four years we hadn’t seen each other. I’d never seen her dressed so casually before—she wore a white shirt and black leggings—but it looked great on her. Everything always looked great on her. Even pajamas. “Um, about last night...well, morning, really—” she started to say, but I didn't let her. I knew this was as awkward for her as it was for me. We both needed time to adjust.

  “It’s okay, Kate. Yesterday was a long day. I’m headed for training right now so maybe we can…talk later? I know you said your sister wanted to see me” I finished, wishing the damn conversation was over already.

  Kate nodded. “She did. She does. I…I’m going to training, too. Thomas said you start at ten. So maybe we can go see my sister afterwards?”

  Holy crap. I didn't know she was going to train. She was the same age as me, but I had no idea that she was going to stay long enough to start training, or if she lived in another Base. Or at home. Did she even support the RR all the way? I didn't know anything about her anymore.