“I feel like I don’t even know you right now.” Jack shook his head with a sigh. “But I guess we don’t have a whole lot of options.”
“Come on.” Abigail pointed across the street to a clothing store. “Clothes first, then food and information.”
Chapter Nineteen
Leah
“I want you to understand that showing you this does not bring me any sense of joy.”
Leah stood with Elizabeth in the empty room previously occupied by Jack and Abigail. They were alone. Leah looked over at the young girl with regret in her eyes, or as close to the look of regret as she could feign.
“When did they leave?” Elizabeth asked just above a whisper. “Why—why would they have gone without me?”
“I’ve told you before, but you won’t trust me yet.” Leah placed a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “They fear us, because they don’t understand us. They fled the palace in the early hours of the morning, even killed a few guards in their hurry to escape.”
“No.” Elizabeth turned to look at Leah. “Abigail wouldn’t have killed anyone. She’s not a murderer.”
“How well did you really know her?” Leah asked with a shrug. “You didn’t think she’d leave without you, either, but she did that, as well. The truth is, she’s happy with Jack. They’re off probably already outside the walls, starting their life together.”
One of the many gifts Leah possessed was the ability to read people. What she saw in Elizabeth’s eyes now was someone close to the edge, so very close in believing the lies she was being spoon fed. In cases like this, a simple nudge was all that was required.
“As soon as you complete your training, you’ll be free to go after them, if that is what you choose.” Leah looked at Elizabeth once more. “But I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to leave until you have a better understanding of your gifts.”
The witch and her apprentice stood in the vacant room. The stillness was so complete that Leah could hear the beating of her own heart in her ears. She knew what was coming next; she had seen it before.
“Okay.” Elizabeth moved toward the open door. “Teach me. I want to learn.”
“Wise choice.” Leah followed Elizabeth from the room and through the palace underbelly. “You’re progressing through each lesson faster than even I anticipated. Give me a few more weeks, and you’ll have what you need.”
Elizabeth didn’t say a word. Her short, determined steps said everything her breaking heart could not.
Teacher and student passed through the calm palace labyrinth that made up the training area for Elizabeth’s lessons. They passed large chambers, living quarters, and storage rooms. Leah looked at each chamber with a smile. She had spent a large portion of her time below the palace, perfecting her art as well as experimenting and training those she had hoped would be the answer she was so desperately seeking.
But none of her subjects had proved as valuable or as powerful as Elizabeth. The girl was one of a kind. Perhaps one day she would even be more powerful than Leah herself. The thought scared her at first. It was something she had never had to worry about before. Even with Ashley, who was a master behind the mage blade and a heartless killer.
Elizabeth was special because the girl already had the potential to use magic when she was born. The experiments done on her had only amplified what was already there. These thoughts led to Leah wondering who the girl’s mother could have been. She had read the reports on the Burrow Den incident. Abigail and Elizabeth’s father was nothing to consider. He was fanatic, but no magic flowed through his veins.
The thoughts came to a halt as Leah followed Elizabeth into their training room. This room was like no other in the palace underbelly. Where everything else was sparsely decorated with plain, grey stone walls and floor, this room was made up of shiny, white marble flooring and white pillars standing side by side that didn’t hold a ceiling at all.
In place of the stone ceiling that should have been, was a view of the stars and galaxies beyond. The pillars rose ten feet tall until they simply vanished into space. Gazing at the beautiful scene had been Elizabeth’s favorite thing since she was introduced to the room, but not today. Today she was on a mission.
Elizabeth stalked to one end of the long room, ignoring the many magical artifacts along the walls that usually gave her pause. With the queen’s unlimited recourses, Leah had quite the collection of magical artifacts. Ancient books with worn leather covers stood neatly in the corner of the room, staffs and wands etched with magical runes had been placed on holders and mounted on the wall.
Elizabeth ignored them all. She reached the end of the room and turned to Leah. She shrugged off her black cloak and took a stance, one foot in front of the other, arms wide, legs bent. Magical yellow flames burst to life in her open palms.
“Let’s start.” Elizabeth nearly shouted the words.
Things couldn’t have been going more perfectly if Leah wanted them to. She could practically see the hurt and anger in her apprentice’s eyes.
“It’s obvious that you’re angry for being abandoned by those you thought you could trust.” Leah shrugged off her own cloak and took a similar stance at her end of the room. “Use that anger now. Let that drive your actions and give you strength. Begin!”
Chapter Twenty
Sloan
It was the best she could do, still he deserved more. Sloan stood at the cemetery in Term only a few hours after Oliver had died. The cemetery itself was a poor, dilapidated piece of land, but it would have to do. The plot of earth that acted as the place for Term’s residents to be laid was a dry patch of square ground littered with deteriorating grave markers and withered flowers.
Sloan found a spot near the left corner of the plot of land for Oliver. No matter how dead on her feet she felt, Sloan had insisted on helping with digging the grave. She, Aareth, and Ashley took turns shoveling the rock-hard soil, while Edison and Elwood fashioned a makeshift headstone.
It was a small gathering: Edison, Elwood, Aareth, Ashley, and herself. If it weren’t for the occasion that had brought them all together, it would have been a nice day. The sun was high overhead with a warm breeze that kicked up puffs of dirt like someone blowing soft puffs of smoke from a cigarette.
The five escapees from New Hope stood in a circle around Oliver’s body once the grave had been dug. It was a peaceful silence that they all shared. They all understood how important a moment like this was.
“He took me in and believed my story when no one else would,” Ashley started with her unemotional, almost cold way of speaking. “I don’t know where I would be without him, or what would have happened to me.”
“I probably had the least amount of interaction with him.” Aareth stood beside his wife but not as close as Sloan would have guessed. He wore borrowed clothes from one of Kimberly’s guards that was a size too small for his muscular frame. “But he had to have been a smart and brave man. He knew what the queen was doing before any of us, and he was already making moves to block her plan of attack. Granted, he did try and have Jack and I killed during that meeting of The Order, but he thought we were working for the queen at the time, so I guess I can forgive him for that.”
All eyes remained down as Aareth’s words died on the wind. Sloan knew she should say something, but the words just weren’t ready to come out. She was battling a heavy sense of regret at not seeing, in the queen, what Oliver had from the beginning, and at always being so cold and distant toward him.
“He was a brilliant mind,” Edison said through a quivering voice and a heavy onslaught of tears. “He started the revolution against the queen. It’s our job that history remembers him as a hero, not a criminal.”
Elwood took a small step forward, running a finger across his bulbous nose. “Eeheeeee teeeeeenaaaa feeeeeedom toooooo. Keyblah sheeeenow sacka doooo.”
“Elwood says that he was a good man and friend,” Edison translated for the rest of the group. “He also used some vulgar language a
bout the crown that I’m not going to repeat. I didn’t even know he knew some of those words.”
The scene stilled again. Sloan knew she had to say something. Although all eyes were still down out of respect, she understood everyone was waiting on her. Never the shy type, Sloan was now having a problem speaking.
“I … I knew him for a long time.” Sloan fought the tears that stung her eyes. “He was always just this guy who worked alongside Edison and the crown. I was … I was always rude to him, and he didn’t deserve that.”
Sloan studied the patch of soil between her boots. All of a sudden it was the most interesting thing in the world. Tears dropped down her cheeks and made tiny craters in the dusty ground. Although the tears came, her voice never quivered.
“He would always ask me out, and I shut him down every time.” Sloan couldn’t help a tiny laugh as she shook her head. “Who would have thought that he was actually the best of us? We didn’t deserve him, but by God, we will avenge him.”
Sloan was done crying. The few tears she shed were enough. Her mind was already transitioning from remorse to vengeance.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sloan
Once they had lain Oliver’s body in the ground and covered it, Edison and Elwood rolled the headstone over. It was nothing more than a simple rock, too plain to be what Oliver deserved, but it would have to do for the time being. The inscription was short and to the point, chiseled in with a hammer and chisel provided by Elwood. It read:
Doctor Oliver Livingston
The best and brightest among us. Your death will not be in vain.
Sloan walked with the rest of the group back to Kimberly’s estate. Aareth and Ashley walked in silence. Edison was explaining to Elwood why they couldn’t just bring Oliver back from the dead like Ashley.
Citizens from the town of Term walked by on their various day-to-day tasks, stealing glances at the group. It was impossible for anyone to have missed the events of the previous night. Sloan and Kimberly’s slug match would have been enough to cause chatter, let alone the altercation between the New Hope soldiers and Aareth.
Sloan couldn’t help seeing that a few of the glances sent their way were more sneers than simple intrigue. One face in particular made her pause. Kade was under the shade, the porch of The Shifter provided. He leaned against one of the posts, arms folded across his chest.
He waved to Sloan and motioned her over.
“I’ll meet you back at the estate,” Sloan said to the rest of the group. She was beyond exhausted, but seeing Kade reminded her of a promise she had only recently made to herself about not having any more regrets.
“Are you sure?” Aareth spoke for the first time since they left the cemetery. He eyed Kade up and down. “We don’t know anyone here.”
“I’ll be fine,” Sloan said over her shoulder as she crossed the dirt road and joined Kade on the porch.
“I don’t think that big guy likes me very much,” Kade said, loud enough for Aareth to hear. “He looks like he wants to hurt me.”
“Yeah, well, Aareth is going through a lot right now.”
“So are you.” Kade nodded toward the cemetery. “I was going to ask if you needed anything, but it looked like a time for you to share with your friends.”
“You were right, thank you.”
“Listen, I know you’re dead tired, but word on the street is that you, Kimberly, and some kind of wolf shifter killed the entire detachment of New Hope soldiers last night.”
“Word on the street would be right.” Sloan took the opportunity to sit on the railing that surrounded the porch of The Shifter. “Before you say it, I know. More soldiers will be coming soon.”
“I was going to say that.” Kade took a seat next to her, so close their arms brushed. “But I was also going to say you should talk to the people here in Term. They’re a salty bunch, but they’ve all had their run-ins with New Hope. Along with that, Kimberly has a strong say in the goings-on in the city. If the two of you work together, you might be exactly what this city needs.”
“And what would that be?”
“Leadership to finally stand up against New Hope.”
“The power the queen possesses, and the amount of soldiers and magic she has would overwhelm Term if it came to an all-out fight.” Sloan rubbed at her tired eyes. “We can hold off the next wave of soldiers that come, but after that, they’ll send an entire battalion.”
“You sound like you have experience with the crown.” Kade shifted his orange eyes in her direction. A hint of anger laced his words. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were involved somehow.”
“Yeah, well, good thing it’s none of your business.” Sloan stood from her seated position. “Listen, you’re cute and you were nice to me, but unless there’s something else, I should really get some rest. I’m dead on my feet.”
Kade stood from his spot leaning on the rail. He looked like he wanted to say more, but all he said was, “I’m sorry. I can get a bit aggressive when it comes to New Hope. You don’t deserve that. Once you’ve gotten some sleep, you’ll need to eat. I’ll swing by, and we can go grab a bite.”
The first thing Sloan thought of was: what would Kade’s reaction be if he knew she was an ex-soldier from New Hope? And … had he actually just asked her out on a date? He had, hadn’t he?
Sloan blinked, trying to buy more time. Her sleep-deprived mind wasn’t cooperating at the moment. Although she wanted to make a quick decision, the thoughts just weren’t coming fast enough. The idea of living life without regrets pushed forward. She knew what she had to do.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Sloan did her best attempt at batting her eyes, but the whole flirting thing had never been her strong suit.
“Yeah.” Kade leaned in closer. “Are you okay? Do you have something in your eye?”
“What?” Sloan immediately stopped blinking. The sly, seductive smile she thought she was sending him disappeared. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Kade raised an eyebrow. “You had some kind of nervous tic or something going on with your eye, and your lips were all crooked.”
“Are you messing with me?” Sloan let out an unexpected laugh. “I should punch you right now or something. I would, if I had the strength.”
“Of course I’m messing with you. But you didn’t give me an answer.”
“Yes, that sounds nice.”
“Great, get some sleep. I’m sure Kimberly will want to talk with you, as well. I’ll swing by her estate tonight.”
Sloan looked at Kade, wondering what she was supposed to do next. She had never been out on an official date before. Sure, she had hung out with members of the opposite sex, but terms were always muddied. When she really thought of it, this was the first time anyone had ever used the word “date” when talking with her. The proper etiquette for the moment escaped her.
“Earth to Sloan.” Kade waved his hand in front of her face. “Go, get some sleep.”
“Right, well.” Sloan was about to offer a salute, then just patted Kade on the shoulder with an awkward motion of her hand. “See you tonight, then.”
Sloan walked off the porch, too tired to be embarrassed. She walked down the dirt roads of Term like she was in a dream. Shadows of the citizens passed by on either side of her, but Sloan was too tired to tell if they were looking her way or not.
When she reached the estate, none of Kimberly’s guards moved to stop her. Sloan trudged up the long flight of stairs and found the room where Oliver Livingston had passed. The bed he had died in was there. Blankets messed and a shallow impression of his body still lay on the sheets.
The midday sun still streamed through the open window when Sloan curled up in a ball by the side of the bed. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she did remember the nightmare that came for her after.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sloan
The woman had red hair like a torch had been lit on her scalp. The robes that covered her body we
re dark blue, maybe purple, it was hard for Sloan to tell. Her eyes were penetrating, like bright mage lights directed only at her. She stood above Sloan’s sleeping figure.
Sloan stumbled from her sleeping position on the thick, red-carpeted floor. Everything was how she remembered. The bed that had held her dead friend was still there beside her. The chairs, table, and sofa that used to be in the middle of the room had been pushed against the walls to provide room for the bed.
“Your change is coming.” The woman looked Sloan up and down like she was inspecting a prize horse up for auction. “And you are not prepared for the thirst that will follow.”
“What?” Sloan winced, trying to make sense of what the woman was saying. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she had to be dreaming, but that part was buried down deep, locked away in light of the realness she felt. “Who are you?”
“Who I am is not important. Listen to what I have to tell you. You’re about to go through a very harsh transition. The chemicals that have altered your body are not as much of a gift as you think they are. You’ll thirst for the blood of others once you have fully turned, sleep will be a memory, and you’ll have the ability to change others with a single bite.”
“What … what are you talking about?”
Sloan looked the woman up and down again. Her fair skin, the light sprinkle of freckles on her face reminded Sloan of someone, she just couldn’t recall who.
“Look at yourself!” The mystery woman was on her in a moment. Somehow, she was stronger than even Sloan. She grabbed Sloan by the arms and dragged her to a bookshelf where a circular mirror sat facing outward. “Look at yourself!”
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