‘Elle?’ She chokes on the word. ‘Elle!’ Her body is shaking next to mine. ‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ she says, into my hair.
She pulls back to look at me, her eyes wet with tears. Her white blonde hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail and there are tired bags under her eyes. There is tension across her forehead that even her bright smile can’t dismiss. She looks like she’s been through so much since I left.
She lets out one of her easy laughs and shakes her head at me. ‘This just doesn’t feel real.’
I laugh with her. ‘I can’t believe I’m here either,’ I say.
She studies me, searching my face for any clues as to what she’s missed while we’ve been apart. So much has happened, but nothing has changed between us. It’s clear she still worries for me like the little sister she’s always treated me as.
‘Your eyes…’ she says, looking at them with uncertainty.
‘Oh,’ I rub at them tiredly. They must be flashing with purple. It’s been happening more frequently since I took the inhibitor band off. ‘They’ve started doing that sometimes. It’s a side effect of leaving the ARC.’
She nods, but doesn’t seem sure she likes the new development. She looks over my shoulder to the others standing behind me and grins when her eyes land on Sebastian. ‘You’ve been looking after our girl?’ she asks him.
‘Trying to. She can be a bit of a handful sometimes.’
I scowl over my shoulder at him. He’s grinning widely and shrugs his shoulders. ‘What?’ he asks innocently, laughter playing in his eyes. His face becomes more serious as he looks at Quinn. ‘How’s my dad?’
‘He’s … he’s okay. He’s keeping watch at the moment, but he’ll be back here soon,’ Quinn responds. ‘He’ll be so happy to see you and Elle again.’ She looks away and allows her gaze to travel over the others in our group. ‘Who’s the hunk?’ she asks, eyeing Aiden.
I swiftly elbow her. ‘Quinn, you remember Aiden. He’s Dr. Wilson’s grandson. And this is Lara and Hunter,’ I say, introducing them.
Quinn grins, and then turns back to me. ‘How the hell are you guys back here?’ she asks. ‘Why are you back?’
I glance at the others and Aiden steps forward. ‘We have a cure for the tainted and we need volunteers to test it on.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
A woman steps over to stand beside Quinn. She’s quite beautiful with vivid hazel eyes and touches of grey to her brown hair that only seem to accentuate her beauty. There is an undeniable strength to the woman’s stance and confidence radiates from her expression.
‘This is Rosa,’ Quinn says, her tone filled with respect. I vaguely remember the woman’s face from before I’d left the ARC.
‘You are on the council,’ Sebastian says.
‘Was on the council,’ she responds, without missing a beat. She turns and eyeballs Aiden. ‘What exactly do you mean when you say you have a cure?’
He clears his throat and takes a step forward. ‘The tainted have a specific mutation that has occurred within them, which enables them to return to the surface unharmed,’ Aiden explains. ‘Without this mutation, anyone brought to the surface will be overexposed to Lysartium, which makes them extremely unwell.’
Quinn shoots me a nervous glance when she hears this and I give her a small shake of my head. ‘I’m fine,’ I mouth, which makes her worried eyes calm a little.
Aiden continues. ‘The cure we’ve created will stop the mutations from ever occurring. People will be able to come to the surface. They’ll no longer need to live in the ARC.’
Rosa narrows her eyes. ‘And you want to test it on people?’
Aiden nods. ‘That’s right.’
She pauses, her eyes clouding as she considers his words. ‘The doctors here also thought they had the cure. They administered it to some of the patients in the hospital when the men came and started dragging people away. All of their test subjects were killed by it.’
Rosa must be talking about Aiden’s grandfather and the others who were in the morgue. If the recruiters were taking normal people to the surface it certainly explains why they were desperate enough to administer a cure that may not have been ready.
‘The cure I have works,’ Aiden says, his eyes misting with tears. ‘I have had access to the effects of surface exposure, and was able to use a combination of talents that stop mutations and adapt to the Lysartium. I would have no problem testing it on myself if I wasn’t already tainted.’
Rosa looks uncertain, but Quinn’s eyes are bright and a pit of worry enters my gut. I have a bad feeling Quinn intends to be one of the people who will volunteer.
‘And there are no side effects?’ Rosa asks.
‘There shouldn’t be.’ Aiden hesitates before he continues. ‘But, the tainted mutation has given rise to numerous gifts; we call them talents. If someone takes the cure they will never become talented. They will only ever be normal like you are now.’
Rosa glances at the rest of us before looking back at Aiden. ‘Yes, we’ve seen these gifts over the last few days.’
Several people who have been listening in and are loitering nearby seem to recoil at her words. When the recruiters showed their talents for the first time it must have been so frightening for them.
Gemma steps forward. ‘Elle and her friends used their gifts to fight the men who were taking people,’ she says, coming to our defence. ‘They fought them and they won. The gifted men have left the ARC.’
Gasps of shock echo through the group, and whispers rush through the crowd as the people in here eye us with awe.
A hint of respect enters Rosa’s gaze. ‘They’re truly gone?’ she asks, her voice edged with disbelief.
Gemma nods. ‘And one of the groups they had taken was rescued from the hospital,’ she adds.
Rosa turns to look at us. ‘It seems I should be thanking you.’
Aiden inclines his head accepting her thanks.
‘But,’ she continues. ‘After being subjected to those men and their gifts, I’m not so certain any of us will be rushing to volunteer to enter their world.’
‘Not all talents are bad,’ I say carefully. ‘And talented or not, don’t you want to see the sun again? To feel the wind against your face and the rain against your skin? The surface is beautiful and if this cure works everyone here can safety return to it.’
The room has gone totally silent, and every eye that is on me is filled with yearning and hope.
‘Well, I’m convinced,’ Quinn says, breaking the silence.
Rosa shoots her a look, her intense eyes admonishing Quinn for speaking out. When she faces us again she’s regained her composure. ‘I will call for the citizens to gather tonight in the Atrium and I’ll tell them what you have told me. I will explain your request for volunteers and give people the choice to take part in your trial. How many people do you need?’
‘As many as possible,’ Aiden responds. He pauses and looks around the room, his brow furrowing. ‘But, even just a few will be better than nothing.’
Rosa purses her lips as she considers his words. ‘You will come with me and help explain the situation to the other ARC citizens,’ she says, pointing at Aiden. ‘But, I think it’s best if the rest of you stay here and wait.’
I want to be a part of the discussion and open my mouth to object, but Aiden cuts me off before I get a chance. ‘Rosa’s right, the four of you should stay here. You scared a few people by wielding your talents earlier. That might not help our cause.’
Rosa turns to Quinn. ‘Why don’t you take them next door so they can rest while we meet with the others.’
Quinn nods and leads us away. The room practically explodes with conversations the minute she shuts the door behind us. She takes us to another room down the corridor. It’s smaller than the one we’ve just been in and there are a few mattresses scattered on the floor.
She places a lamp just inside the doorway, which gives us a small amount of light. Then lingers by the door as we all
pile in. ‘I want to stay, but I should go talk with the others. I can help convince them that this is the right thing to do.’
‘You should go,’ I agree with her.
She pauses by the door, ready to leave. ‘Do you really have those gifts you were talking about?’ she asks.
‘Yeah,’ I laugh softly, ‘but I’m not very good at them.’
‘Cool,’ she says, with a grin. ‘Okay, I’ll catch you guys in the morning.’
As she leaves she shuts the door behind her and I let out a sad sigh. I miss her already and haven’t spent nearly enough time with her.
‘Do you think people will volunteer?’ Lara asks.
Hunter shrugs and lowers himself to sit against the wall. ‘We can only hope they will.’
She lowers herself to sit beside him. ‘What will we do if no one agrees?’
‘They’ll agree,’ he replies, sounding completely certain.
I don’t have his confidence though. After seeing the way the recruiters treated the citizens down here, I won’t be surprised if they are too scared to return to the surface. Not to mention that people have already died down here because they were given a cure that didn’t work. It’s going to take a lot to convince them that Aiden’s cure can be trusted.
Lara falls asleep easily, and it takes a while longer for Hunter to start breathing deeply, but Sebastian and I struggle to keep our eyes shut. We both sit on one of the mattresses with our backs against the wall. The room is darkened, but not totally black. There’s a soft glow from the small lamp by the door and I’m glad for it. I couldn’t stand to be in the dark right now.
I hug my knees to my chest, resting my chin on them. I can’t stop thinking about the possibility that there won’t be any volunteers. That everything we’ve gone through down here will be for nothing. So many people have died because of Joseph and I want him gone more than ever.
‘You okay?’ Sebastian asks, keeping his voice low so he doesn’t wake the other two.
‘I’m okay. Just worrying,’ I give him a small smile. ‘Just for something different.’
I hear him shuffle closer so his shoulder bumps up against mine. ‘This will work out, I’m certain of it.’
‘I wish I had your confidence.’
‘It will work out because it has to. You saw the way Quinn reacted when she heard. She’ll be the first person in line to volunteer and there will be others who feel the same.’
‘What if I don’t want her to volunteer? Something could go wrong.’
Sebastian pauses, before reaching out and taking my hand in his. ‘Or something could go right.’
I turn to look at him. His face is close to mine and his eyes hold such sincerity I can’t help but want to believe him. As I look at him, I begin to feel nervous and I suddenly notice just how close he is. I can feel his breath against my face and his blue eyes become intense as he watches me. He glances down at my lips and I all but stop breathing. My worries seem to disappear and all I can think about is how close he is and how much I wish he would touch me.
As if hearing my thoughts, he slowly lowers his head forward and gives me a sweet, lingering kiss.
My lips tingle against his and my heart warms as I feel him lightly cup my face with his hand. When he pulls back to look at me his blue eyes seem to sparkle. They are brimming with the depths of his emotions and he pulls back slowly as though he’s worried he’s gone too far.
He lightly traces his thumb along the ridge of my hand and focuses down on our entwined fingers. When he looks up, he seems as nervous as I feel.
‘Dad always used to tell us, that when you love someone, you tell them,’ he says. ‘You don’t wait for the right moment, or hold back because you’re scared. You say it aloud, because there are no guarantees of tomorrow. There is only ever today, and I don’t want to imagine another tomorrow where you don’t know how I truly feel.
‘I know you told me that we couldn’t be together for now, but I love you and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.’ His voice is husky and low, and my heart races in response to his words.
I had wanted distance while I tried to put back together the fragile pieces of myself, but now I realise more than ever that life is always fragile. In a moment everything can change and, for once, I want that change to be good.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve denied my feelings for him. I’ve brushed them aside or hidden them deep within myself, afraid of what it could mean to allow myself to care. Even now, my emotions feel so strong they threaten to burst from the very seams that hold me together.
I can’t find the words to tell him how I feel, the depths of how much I care for him and how much I want to be his. So, instead of talking, instead of bumbling over words I can’t get out, I lean forward and kiss him.
I kiss him softly at first, feeling the surging rush of warmth rise up inside. He seems surprised, but only momentarily. And then his arms come around me, pulling me towards him and I am lost in the swirling, dizzying, head-rushing perfection of his kiss.
I am slightly dazed when I pull myself away from him. I feel breathless and faint, but entirely wonderful all at once. His eyes are wide and heated as he takes me in, and a slow smile builds on his lips until he’s completely beaming at me. He gathers me in his arms and I can’t stop myself from smiling as I cuddle into them.
He kisses me on the forehead. ‘I love you Elle Winters.’
My heart constricts at his words. ‘I love you too, Sebastian Scott.’
A low growl escapes his lips and he pulls me in for another kiss. The surge of attraction I feel for him overwhelms me and for a moment I almost forget I’m back in the ARC. Almost.
His eyes are bright and filled with warmth as he pulls away from me, and the same large smile is still plastered across his face. I curl up next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. It feels so right to be with him this way and, resting in his arms, I finally feel like I am home.
‘We should get some sleep,’ he says, after we’ve been sitting there silently for several minutes.
I nod, stifling a yawn, and move to stretch out on the mattress we’re on. He lies down beside me, and it’s difficult to ignore the warmth I can feel radiating off of his body.
‘Night Sebastian,’ I say.
‘Sweet dreams,’ he responds.
I bury my face into the pillow, my eyes feeling suddenly heavy. I don’t want to go to sleep, but I know how important tomorrow is. Everything could change tomorrow and I need to be ready for it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When I wake in the morning I feel a twisted combination of elation and devastation for all the things that happened yesterday. How can such a short period of time have so many highs and so many lows?
I slowly push myself up. Sebastian is already sitting at the edge of the mattress, his eyes focused intently on the ceiling. The others are in similar states, their minds clearly deep in thought.
Lara clears her throat from the other side of the room. She’s sitting against the wall with one of her legs out in front of her, propped up on a pillow. I can just make out a smile on her face in the dim light of the room. ‘Sleep well?’ she asks.
My cheeks warm in response and I’m glad it’s too dark for her to see it. Unfortunately, she can probably still feel the emotions coursing through me. ‘Yeah, you could say that.’ I look at her leg. ‘Is your ankle feeling any better?’
She chews on her lower lip, as if debating whether to tell me the truth. She sighs. ‘If anything, it feels worse. At least Aiden thinks it’s only sprained.’
‘I’m sure it will be better in no time.’ I give her a reassuring smile, before I glance at the door. ‘No one’s come yet?’
She shakes her head. ‘No, it’s still early though.’
Sound of movement down the hallway beyond the door reaches my ear and I wave for the others to be quiet. ‘There are people coming.’
We all stand and move back from the door, drifting closer to each other as we wait to
see who’s coming. The door handle turns and a beam of light enters the room.
We all relax a little to see Rosa and Aiden standing there. Behind her walks Luke, Soren, Quinn and an older man. I hear Sebastian quickly gasp when he sees him.
‘Dad?’ he whispers. ‘Dad!’ He runs over to the man, shouldering past Quinn and Rosa, and grips him up in a hug.
I take a step closer. Sebastian’s dad looks so different, I hadn’t even known it was him. His hair has greyed and his face has so many lines on it that weren’t there before. Adam Scott was like a father to me for a long time, but even I have trouble recognising him now.
Adam lets out a sob and collapses into Sebastian’s arms. I can see them both clearly shaking from here and I wipe a tear from my eye as I watch their reunion. I move over to the two of them, keeping my distance, not wanting to interrupt, but as soon as Adam sees me he pulls me in to join their hug.
I struggle to keep my tears inside and I can hear Adam breaking down. He had thought we were gone forever, now he finally has us back.
When I step away from Adam and Sebastian I catch a glint of tears, unshed in Sebastian’s eyes.
‘They’ve told me what it’s like up there. Is April okay?’ Adam asks, as he pulls back from Sebastian.
‘She’s good.’
Adam grins. ‘And Isabel?’
Sebastian’s shoulders slouch and he slowly shakes his head. ‘Mum died a few years ago,’ he says softly. ‘She was brought to the surface too soon.’
Adam slowly nods, the reality settling heavily on his shoulders. It was one thing to think that his wife might be dead, but another to know it was true. He’d spent years in the dark about her and it’s painful to watch him accepting the truth.
Quinn rubs my arm and I turn to see Rosa watching us as she waits.
Hunter clears his throat. ‘Were there any volunteers?’ he asks.
She nods. ‘Quinn and Adam have volunteered.’
Destined (The ARC Book 4) Page 20