House of Deception: The Unrivaled Series

by Brandi Elledge

  After several dark corridors and a walk through the woods in the pitch black of night, Lana took me to a tiny, little shack. I had begun to cry, and she cooed to me while she paced back and forth.

  “He should have been here already, waiting on me. Why isn’t he here?”

  A handsome man burst through the doors. He looked at Lana, and then to me. He stretched his arms out, and she handed me over.

  The man traced my cheek with his finger. “She is beautiful, like her mother.”

  Lana nodded. Then she told the man that someone had been going to Calista’s room when she had passed them in the corridor.

  “They will kill Calista if they find out about the baby,” the man said, handing me back to Lana. “I need to go check on her.”

  “Wait!” she shouted. “Who will kill her?”

  “My father. I asked for sanctuary for Calista and my child, and he denied it.”

  Lana’s mouth dropped open. “Then what will you do? Where will you go?”

  He balled his hands into fists beside him. “They have been searching and searching for unrivaled, like my child … ones who have extreme powers, born of a perfect match.” He pointed at me. “They will test their serum on her. They know that Calista would never let that happen, nor would I.”

  “So, they will kill Calista?”

  He nodded.

  “What of the baby?”

  He shook his head. “Worse. They will kill us and make her their little soldier. That would be worse than death.”

  Suddenly, a look crossed his face, one of pure torture, and then he crumbled to his knees. “No!” he shouted, grabbing fistfuls of hair with wide hands. He screamed in pain as he yanked at his hair. “They killed her! No, not my love!”

  Lana’s eyes widened as she sobbed out, “No! How would you know?”

  So quietly that Lana didn’t hear, the man said, “I feel it, as any perfect match would.”

  It seemed hours went by as he knelt on the floor, rocking in pain. Then he finally found his way upon unsteady legs, his eyes glassed over.

  “Did they see you, Lana?”

  “Maybe … I don’t know. They usually look over the help.”

  “If they did, then it is only a matter of time before they come here to look for the baby. I will hold them off for as long as I can.”

  “Maybe they won’t kill you. For heaven’s sake, Laiken, they are your parents. Your house. Surely they will spare you.”

  “Calista and I were one hundred percent compatible. Perfect matches.” His voice broke on that last part. He was barely keeping it together. “Once I found out, I should have stopped seeing her.”

  “Fully compatible?” Lana’s eyes rounded in shock. “They will never stop searching for this child!”

  “My car is out front. Take her to Old Florida. They adopt babies who they think are human.”

  “There is no way she will pass as human.”

  “Calista promised to bind her the moment she was born. I can assure you that she did just that. This was always our biggest concern—that our child would be hunted.” His voice was raw with emotion. “I have to hide her, and the only way I can accomplish that is if you help me. Don’t be seen.”

  “You want me to just leave her?”

  “That is the only way she’ll survive.”

  There was a noise outside.

  They both grew completely still until they didn’t hear anything else.

  “Lana, you must go.”

  She ran out the door with me in her arms. The noises ceased to exist, as if frozen by her. Time stood still as she hopped into a small car, and then she didn’t look back as she punched the gas. After a couple of minutes, the noises of the world resumed.

  Lana had a hard time driving because it was her first time behind a wheel, and she was having trouble seeing the road for all the tears streaming down.

  As she gripped the steering wheel, I began to cry, and Lana began to sob. All in one night, she had lost her best friend, her best friend’s lover, and would soon lose their child. She knew she would never be able to see this child again. She would never be able to return back to her former house or seek out another. She was alone, as this child would soon be.

  That night, she vowed to do whatever it took to protect the child.

  I woke up groggy, finding Amaria looking at me worriedly as she helped me sit up. At some point, Raven had been dropped off, and she was sitting in a reclining chair until she saw me awake.

  She gave me a small smile. “Your aunt told me about what’s going on.”

  “How did you get here so quickly?”

  She looked confused.

  It was Amaria who answered for her. “You have been out of it for over twenty-four hours.”

  It had felt like half an hour instead of a day. I was shocked, though nothing should surprise me anymore.

  I took a deep breath, and before my courage left me or my memory failed, I quickly explained to them about the moments after my birth. Amaria cried pitifully, and Raven looked fascinated with the crazy and brutal ways of the unrivaled.

  Amaria dried her tears. “This serum that she spoke of; what does that mean?”

  I had to make a decision on whether or not to share the information that the Puppeteer had given me. All these years, she had grieved for her sister and longed for her questions to be answered. I couldn’t deny her this. Therefore, I told her every single thing that the Puppeteer had told me. Then we all sat there for several moments without saying a word.

  “So, there are vials of the serum still out there?” Amaria said. “And your father said that him and Calista were fully compatible?”

  I nodded.

  “Then that means that, when they do testing at the ball to cross-reference our bloodlines with potential mates, they are also coming up with a compatibility sheet for those who might produce offspring that could handle the serum.” She put her head in her hands. “We were told it was just for the best match possible. I didn’t even know that there was still serum out there. This is all so crazy.”

  “I agree,” I said. I bit my lip then decided to tell her the rest of the story. “The Puppeteer is planning on using me as bait.”

  She jumped from the couch. “Explain.”

  I did just that, but the more details I gave her, the more livid she grew.

  “I’ll kill him myself,” she said.

  Raven sat in the corner, shaking her head. “This doesn’t make sense. Why would he want to use you as bait? What if another house can claim you? Then you would become their soldier.”

  I sighed then told them of how the Puppeteer had marked me. I was certain that my aunt was three seconds away from throwing things. She was mumbling under her breath, and her face was contorted with rage.

  “If that Puppeteer thinks for one second that we will allow him to use you in this way, he is crazy. Your parents died to save you. Died so that you wouldn’t be hunted down and forced to serve a house that is evil. Why would we serve you up on a platter?”

  “Because I don’t think the Puppeteer will allow another house to claim me. Also, he wants that serum.”

  “Yeah, for himself!” my aunt shouted.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think he can be injected any more. His father did a number on him.” I didn’t know why that made me feel sorry for him. I guessed because I’d had two parents who had loved me enough to sacrifice everything for me, whereas he had a parent who loved power so much that he would sacrifice his own child for it. “I think he wants to destroy the serum that is out there before the other houses find people like me.”

  “Either that or he wants to inject his hybrids to make them more powerful,” Raven said.

  My aunt shook her head. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because there is only one house that does not cage their people, and that is the House of Hybrids. He has the most powerful unrivaled living under his house, yet he chooses to give them t
he option of coming or going.”

  “Isn’t that kind of freedom scary?”

  She sat back down next to me. “He has opted to have no control over the hybrids, yet he is in the most control of any house. It could be because he is respected and feared, or it could be because he treats his people well. I don’t know. All I do know is he has kicked hybrids out of his house before, but no one has ever willingly left for another house. Plus, you said that your father commented you would be hunted because you were born of a perfect match. That is super rare.” She half-growled, “Damn that Puppeteer.”

  I reached out and laid a hand on her knee. “I know that all of this is scary. We can all agree to hate the Puppeteer for using me as bait, but we should also all agree that the other houses don’t need to be in charge of this serum. There are seven vials out there. If I can find them, then we need to keep an open mind.”

  She scoffed. “And how in the world did he think you would find them here, at the House of Deception?”

  I swallowed. “He said that you would probably want to keep me away from Lionel and send me to the ball.”

  “Oh, that conniving weasel. I could just break his neck!”

  A small smile lifted the corner of my lips. “So, you’ve thought about it?”

  She nodded. “I can’t just keep the two of you stuck in this house, especially now that we know you have the House of Deception blood running through your veins and you’re born of a perfect match. Your powers will be strong. The ball takes place on neutral ground. That is where you will be the safest.”

  “It seems as if the Puppeteer is always two steps ahead of everyone.” I gave her knee a final squeeze. “Well, now that we all know that I’m bait, and why I’m bait, I suggest we figure out what my powers are. Then we flaunt them. Send me to that ball and let them do their compatibility tests. The sooner we start trying to lure the people who hold the serum, the better.”

  She bit her lip. “This is a horrible plan.”

  “If there is one person I could have in my corner to fight for me, who would you elect?”

  “The Puppeteer,” she grumbled.

  “And what about me? I don’t have any powers or gifts. Remember? I’m still human.” Raven pouted.

  My aunt ignored Raven’s outburst. “I still don’t like this plan.”

  “Life expectancy of a human is twenty-five. At least this way I might get to live longer, especially if the Puppeteer is the one backing me.”

  Raven raised her eyebrows. “Or you’ll die quicker.”

  “My powers—whatever they may be—are unbound now. It’s just a matter of time before someone comes across me. It’s better to be hiding out in the open, knowing the Puppeteer will come to my rescue if I should need him, than be holed up somewhere on my own.”

  “Your powers have been hidden for so long that I don’t know the timeframe of when they will show up, but I’d really like to know what you’re capable of before we send you to the ball.” My aunt wasn’t happy with the way things were unraveling, but she was no longer shaking with anger.

  She looked at Raven. “Some of the unrivaled get to take their human maids with them, or their secretaries. That would be humans who write down notes for them.”

  I rolled my eyes. Man, the unrivaled were a lazy lot.

  “Raven, you will need to go with her so I don’t worry as much.”

  Raven looked a little miffed that she would have to act like my human servant, but she nodded anyway. “I guess it’s better than going back to cleaning kitchens.”

  My aunt looked so distraught. “I have a horrible feeling about all this.”

  There was a knock on the door that had the three of us stilling.

  Amaria put a finger to her lips. “Act normal,” she whispered. Then she stood up from the couch and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. She opened her front door and there stood the handsome guy, Cal.

  He smiled, showing a dimple under his left eye. He had a huge basket in his hands. “Hey, Amaria, mind if I come in?”

  “Not at all.” She opened the door wider for him. “You’ve met Thorn, but this is her best friend, Raven.”

  He gave her a nod. “Pleasure.”

  Raven stared at Cal like he had made the Milky Way. Her mouth was open, and she was actually drooling.

  He gave a nervous laugh as he walked into Amaria’s kitchen where he placed the basket on the counter. “I didn’t see you ladies out and about yesterday or this morning. I figured you were probably hard at work with unbinding Thorn’s powers, so I didn’t know if you would feel like cooking, especially with all the explaining you’ve probably been giving Thorn.”

  She looked shocked for a second. “What do you mean?”

  A confused look crossed his face. “She thought that she was human before she came here, so I’m sure she has a ton of questions.”

  She laughed nervously. “Oh, yeah, of course.”

  He was still looking at her strangely. “So, I thought I’d bring you ladies some food.”

  “That is very sweet of you,” Amaria said, trying to cover up her nervousness. “Would you like to stay and eat with us?”

  His smile grew. “If you don’t mind?”

  I could tell by my aunt’s rigid body language that the last thing she wanted was company for dinner, but she pasted on a fake smile. Then she started going through the basket. “I’m sure the girls would love some food.”

  “I’m starving,” Raven piped in, staring at Cal.

  He gave her a frightened look.

  I bit back a smile before I excused myself to go freshen up in the bathroom. When I came back out moments later, everyone was quiet as they placed plates and drinks around the table.

  At first, we were all awkward as we gathered around the table. Moments before he had entered, we had been in the middle of a heavy conversation. A ton of information had been recently dropped on everyone’s lap, and we were all probably feeling a little overwhelmed.

  Ignoring the tension in the air, Cal made jokes and, before I knew it, we were all listening to his stories with interest. He kept sneaking glances at me all throughout the meal. Everything was going seemingly well … right up to the moment I sneezed and a bolt of lightning came crashing down on the table. It was an illusion, so there was no harm, other than the fact that Cal was now staring at me.

  Everyone knew where that illusion had come from, but that didn’t stop me from trying to cover it up.

  “Wow … um … Amaria … didn’t know you could do that. Super cool.”

  Amaria didn’t say a word. Instead, she just stared at Cal.

  Another sneeze was coming, and I squeezed my eyes shut, praying it wouldn’t come out. My prayers went unanswered as another bolt hit the table.

  Cal gave me the biggest smile before he looked at Amaria. “So, it didn’t take you two months to remove the binding?”

  She sat back in her seat. “Cal, if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll kill you.”

  “Relax. Who would I tell? Besides, it’s not that big of a deal unless she carries a higher percentage from a different house. And didn’t she say she was part human?” He swiveled his head toward me as he studied me then the picture hanging on the wall directly behind me.

  Amaria immediately dropped the illusion, and the pictures instantly disappeared, but it was too late. Plus, that action furthered his suspicion.

  “Amaria …” he said without ever taking his eyes from me. “What happened to your sister?”

  “That is none of your business.”

  He didn’t take offense to her tone. If anything, he seemed remorseful. “The way our society runs things is wrong. The way this house is ran is even worse. We should be more accepting of others, but what we once found hurtful and hateful in the humans, we now possess.” He looked directly at me. “I’m sorry for whatever pain you have endured. I swear to you that any secrets this family has are also mine.”

  Did I think we could trust him? Probably not. This was a
world where you either fought to survive or you died. Those who had secrets to keep were the ones most affected. Still, I found myself saying, “Thank you.”

  “My powers are similar to what you just demonstrated with that sneeze. I could help you harness it better.” He blushed. “I mean, that is if you need help.”

  Amaria was still looking at him like she might kill him just to preserve our secret. Then she stood from the table like a woman on a mission. “Cal, I’d like to remind you that these ladies are under the protection of the Puppeteer. Anything that happens to them, he will personally take offense to.”

  “Amaria, you don’t need to insult me. I will not betray any of you.” He took a knife and made a small incision on his finger.

  The only one that was calm over this was Amaria. She jumped up to grab a tiny glass bottle and handed it over to him. Then I watched as he squeezed droplets of his blood into it.

  “I vow to you, Amaria, that I will not tell any secrets of Amaria’s, Thorn’s, or her friend’s, Raven. May my blood bind me to this oath.”

  Amaria took the bottle from him and capped it.

  She caught the look of bewilderment on my face and explained, “If he breaks this oath, he will be in serious pain, and I’ll be alerted. His blood will start to boil, and the glass will shatter.”

  “Neat trick,” Raven said.

  It didn’t mean that he couldn’t betray us; it just made it harder for him to hide it.

  “So, were your parents a compatible match, or did they just fall in love?” Cal asked.

  I looked to Amaria, who gave me a small nod.

  “Both,” I said, refusing to tell him that they were a perfect match.

  Raven took another biscuit, slathering more butter all over it. “Can someone explain this compatibility thing better to me?”