by M. H. Soars
“Lex, it’s true. Ethan is adopted,” I said, trying to help her understand that not all was lost. She looked at me with suspicion.
“How did you know that?” She took a step back, like suddenly being near me was dangerous or unbearable. “Did you also know about me? Did you know that I was adopted?” Her voice broke at the end of her question, and my heart folded in on itself. I had known that the day would come when Alexia would look at me with distrust and hate, but it hurt nonetheless.
I wanted to deny it and say no. A few minutes ago that would have been the only answer I could give, considering the compulsion. But the blockage was gone. Durgin must have lifted it as soon as Alexia entered the room. I couldn’t keep lying to her. Once she knew everything, there was no way she would trust me anymore. It might as well start now.
“We all knew.”
Alexia’s eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes glistened, and tears rolled freely down her cheeks. She bolted from the living room without another word. I meant to follow her, but Durgin placed a restraining hand on my arm.
“Let her be. She needs time to process everything.”
I yanked my arm from his grasp. “Don’t touch me! Wasn’t it enough that you had to keep her role in the Prophecy a secret? You had to keep her away from her real family, too? How could you do such a thing?”
“We had to keep her safe, and her real father couldn’t provide the protection she needed.” Gary tried to make me see things their way.
“Bullshit! What you did was despicable and cruel. I know enough about Mr. Lancaster to say that the loss of his wife and baby daughter devastated him. You did this to him. You destroyed Alexia’s family! You’ll be lucky if she helps you at all.”
“Samantha! Calm yourself.” Durgin placed his hands on my shoulders and looked down on me with those unnerving eyes. His gaze would have put fear in my soul if I hadn’t been so furious. “Yes, we did despicable things in the name of the greater good. But what's done is done. No sense in crying about actions that cannot be changed. Alexia will be hurting for a while, but once she pulls through her sadness, she’ll need the strength of her family — you.”
I wanted to hold onto my anger at any cost. Then I wouldn't have to dwell on my own guilt. But Durgin was right, I couldn’t deny him that. Alexia was going to need our support. What she had discovered was just the tip of the iceberg of deceptions that surrounded her life.
CHAPTER 35
Alexia
I couldn’t stay one second longer in the same house as those liars. My own family. Oh my God. What a joke. How could they have kept this from me? I could understand Larry and Gary doing it, but my cousins, as well? Why? I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t think straight, knowing that sooner or later one of them was going to try to talk to me. There was nothing they had to tell me that I wanted to hear.
There was only one person in the entire world who understood what I was going through, and that was exactly who I intended to go see. So I changed out of my dress, tried to clean some of the grime from my face, and packed an overnight bag with some basic necessities. I opened the window, letting the cool night air embrace me and calm my nerves.
I hadn’t done what I was about to do in a million years. Once upon a time, Sam, Matt and I would climb out of this very window when we wanted to sneak out of the house without anyone being the wiser. This side of La Maison Falafel had a wooden lattice with climbing vines. It was as good as any ladder.
I reached the soft grass and stayed quiet for a few minutes, making sure I was completely alone in the garden. Once I was satisfied, I crept through it half-hunched until I touched the edge of the driveway, just a few feet away from the gate and freedom.
I didn’t have a car, so I had to walk at least fifteen minutes down the road until I came to a busier street. Then I caught a cab. I gave the driver Julian’s address and prayed that he was home. He hadn’t looked so well when Sam hauled him out of the gymnasium earlier. I hoped that he hadn’t ended up in the hospital. No matter; I would wait for him until he got home. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go.
I got my phone out and debated whether to call Ethan and tell him we weren’t really brother and sister. But was it my place to tell him that? Would he react the same way I had when he learned his father had kept the information from him? I couldn’t make that decision on my own. I needed time to calm down, and I needed someone who had experienced the same thing I was going through to give me some advice.
Things with Julian had been odd lately, but I still considered him one of my closest friends. He was my only close friend now, and I needed him desperately.
I was relieved when the cab was allowed through Julian’s gate after the driver exchanged a few words with someone on the other side of the intercom. I paid the fare, and when I exited the vehicle Julian was already waiting for me by the front door.
After one quick look at my face, Julian knew that something was terribly wrong. He opened his arms, and I ran toward him and his embrace.
“Shhh, Lexi. Everything will be all right,” he said. I didn’t know whether to believe him or not but he was there for me. That was all that mattered.
Matthew
I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was how cold I was. My vision was blurry at first, but I blinked a couple of times until I could see the clear sky above me. I slowly sat up and looked around. I was in the middle of a meadow, and I was stark naked. No wonder I was cold.
Slowly, memories started to come back to me. I recalled being burned alive back in the gymnasium, but had no memory of being in pain. I looked down at my arms and legs. Not a single piece of skin was scorched. But I was covered with a gray dust that looked like ashes. And the Phoenix will rise from the ashes. Could that be true? Had I died and come back?
Then I thought of Sam, and my heart skipped a beat. She had escaped the fire, there was no doubt in my mind about that. But then my head started to hurt as more memories came tumbling back in a rapid succession of images and sounds. Oh, no. Not you, Sam. Not you.
I hugged my midsection and lay down again on the cold ground, absorbing what my mind was showing me. The brutal reality that had somehow been stripped from my memory was back, and a horrible feeling gnawed at my insides. Somehow, the rise of the Phoenix had lifted the block Durgin had imposed on my mind. I remembered everything that happened during that week in Arcadia seven years ago. But I wished he had stripped those memories for good, because now I would never be able to look at Sam again without feeling shame and guilt. I closed my eyes and wished I had died for real in that fire.
Sometime later I found myself in front of a colonial-looking house in a nicer part of Santa Barbara. I had stolen a blanket from an unsuspecting couple who had decided to make out in the warmth of their car instead of outside like they had apparently intended. It turned out that I had woken up in the middle of the Kissing Grove.
I rang the bell and waited until a surprised Lucas opened the door.
“Matthew?” He took in my bedraggled appearance. “What are you doing here?”
I gave him a level stare. “I know who you really are.”
He frowned at me like he didn’t understand what I was saying. I went on. “I remember everything.”
His eyes narrowed. He understood my meaning then. “I see,” he replied. He stepped aside and invited me in.
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ACKNOWLEGMENTS
The first thanks goes to my dear sister, Monique, who helped me come up with the general concept of this series during a very fun and tipsy afternoon. The somewhat weird names some of the characters have are due to our state of mind that day. I would like to thank my parents as well for their unwavering support and for always believing in me. I couldn’t have done without them.
Thanks to my crazy husband and his weird ways to help me get this book done. Thanks to Matthew van Buuren, the first person who read the book with critical eyes and gave me wonderful tips to make the story bett
er than it was. Thanks to my editor, Bridget Boland, who brought this novel to a whole new level. And finally, thanks to everyone who reads this book and falls in love with the characters. It was a blast writing their story and I hope you enjoyed the read.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M. H. Soars is what we like to call a United Nations child. She was born in the United States but grew up in several different countries which gave her a broader perspective of life. She has always been passionate about books and stories and at a certain point had a comic book series going.
With a background in fashion design she always thought she was going to follow that path. But the characters in her head kept begging to be set free. So she decided to write their stories. A couple of years and a baby later, the first installment of her Arcadian Wars series is finally done.
M. H. Soars currently resides in New Mexico with her husband and baby daughter. She loves to read novels in the YA, PNR, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Chick Lit genres. When not devouring said novels, you may find her shopping online (she's an expert), blogging about fashion, or trying to teach her daughter to walk (even though she's too young for that).
If you would like to learn more about M. H. Soars and her projects, visit her Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/MHSOARS