I LOOKED UP AND MET PUCK’S eyes that were lined with dark eyeliner. I grinned. Sunday had been good for him. He didn’t smile back. But he stared at me. I let him. I knew he was thinking, making a decision. I just hoped that decision would end with him talking to me.
After a minute or so, he broke our eye contact and sat next to me. He set his hand down on the swing and I reached for it but pulled back at the last minute. I didn’t want to give him the opportunity to reject me. That might just be too much.
He didn’t look at me or speak. I let down a shield, just a little bit to gauge his feelings. He smelled of pine and tasted of sour grapes. Sorrow and anxiety.
“I can feel that, you know.”
I put my shield back up and pulled back into myself.
“Sorry. I just wanted to know how you were feeling.”
“You could’ve just asked.”
“I’m a little scared of you right now.”
“You’re scared of me? It should be the other way around.”
I shrugged.
He turned to face me. “How’d you do it anyway?”
“Do what?”
“Steal my power?”
“You know about that?”
“I suspected. You just confirmed it. How’d you do it? I’m so utterly aware of you all the time, I don’t know how you did it without my knowledge.”
“I did it while you were asleep, and I didn’t take any of your power. Just a sliver of the Master Guardian power. I had to, I’m sorry.”
“Did you know that it would make you all-powerful?” he asked.
“I had suspicions. Really I just wanted some control over both the Guardians and Destroyers. I couldn’t let myself or any of the other girls be controlled or manipulated or taken advantage of again. I didn’t realize it would give me as much as it did. I only took a small amount, I swear. I didn’t want to hurt you. I hope someday you understand that.”
“I just wish you would’ve trusted me. I could’ve helped you, you know. I might have fought you a little bit at first, but you didn’t even give me a chance. There are things I did too, sacrifices I made for you. You have no idea how much I’ve given up for your sake, and you don’t even trust me.”
I took a chance then, while he was talking to me. I put my hands on his cheeks and looked him deep in the eyes.
“I do trust you. You have always been my rock. You’ve been the one person I could always count on, no matter what. But Puck, I don’t trust the Master Guardian.”
He pulled away and stood up, his face beet red. “But I am the Master Guardian. Or I was. I don’t know what I am anymore, now that you stole my power.”
I stood up and took a step toward him. He didn’t back away. “Of course you are still the Master Guardian, just like Jason is still the Master Destroyer.”
How could I explain this to him?
“When I was the Master Destroyer, I could always separate that power from my own. But Puck, when I used the Master Destroyer power I did things that I never would’ve done on my own. Ever. That is how I know I can’t trust the Master Guardian. Because he isn’t you. He’s every Master Guardian who has ever lived and he will make decisions that are not the same decisions you would make. He’ll do what he feels is best for the Guardians. As he should. But those choices may not be what is in the best interest of myself or other female Shades. I have to protect them. I did what I had to.”
He nodded once and I saw tears glimmering in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I miss you. The thought of not having you in my life kills me. I fought so hard to win you over from Kai and now I’m losing you again.”
I took another step toward him. “Puck, we can make this work. I know we can.”
He wiped at his face, leaving black streaks everywhere.
“Your mascara is running,” I said with a grin.
He laughed. “I feel like such a girl.” Then his smile fell. “But I just ache, right here, you know.” He put his hand on his chest.
“I know. I hurt too.”
He sighed and rubbed at his cheeks. Most of the black came off.
“Come on,” he said. “We should go to bed. We can talk more about this tomorrow.”
I wasn’t sure where we stood. We were at least talking again, but I didn’t think we’d made up completely just yet. He didn’t make any move to touch me, but he held the door for me to go inside.
We found Andrea in the living room, making up the couch with a pillow and blanket.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Elizabeth has plenty of rooms.”
“Yeah, I was supposed to bunk with Sunday, but Wyatt’s in there with her and I thought that might be a little awkward.”
I didn’t really approve, but I wasn’t Sunday’s mother and she’d been through enough to make her own decisions.
“That’s okay,” said Puck. “Naomi’s going to stay with me, you can take her room. We all need to get a good night’s sleep.”
My heart fluttered and I looked over at him. His lips formed a small smile. And I knew then that not all was lost. He was going to try to make it work with me.
I’d do anything I had to do to make it work with him.
Sunday
Over the last several months I’ve been pricked by a Prickly Pear, a Golden Barrel, and—the worst—a Cholla. I thought I understood pain. But I didn’t. Not by a long shot.
EARLY MORNING WAS THE TIME OF DAY Julio’s men would be the least guarded. So we got up very early and drove over to the cave. Most of the crew was heading for the cave cells while my team would head straight for the rose.
Wyatt knew a back way to the rose that didn’t pass by the cells. We didn’t want to risk getting caught up with that fight. At the entrance to the tunnel there was only one guard. Jordan approached him and the man stiffened. Seconds later he was on the ground, snoozing.
“I gotta learn that trick,” I reminded him as I stepped over the body.
“You’ve got enough tricks. This one would make you invincible.”
“That might not be so bad. If I could have that and Wyatt’s memory thing, I’d be set for life.”
Puck stopped and turned to me. “That’s not funny, Sunday. That kind of power is not good for anyone.”
I was about to retort when we heard muffled shouting.
Wyatt spoke quickly. “It’s coming from the other tunnel. They’ve reached the cells. Come on, we need to hurry if we are going to do our job. Sunday, are you sure you can pull this off?”
“No. But I’m sure gonna try. Lead the way.”
We reached the cavern and it was eerily empty.
“Where is everyone?” I whispered.
“They probably ran toward the cells when the fight started. We don’t have much time.”
Wyatt took my hand and pulled me toward the rose. Puck and Jordan went to guard the other entrances to the cavern. The yelling from the tunnels was getting louder.
Wyatt kissed me quickly. “You got this. I’ll be right behind you. If you are in trouble at all, just yell out and I’ll help you.”
I stood over the rose and held out my hand. It shook a little bit. This could totally backfire. The rose crept up and wrapped itself around my wrist, and though I could feel it trying to pull out my power, it couldn’t. I took a deep breath, pulled, and the rose’s power came rushing toward me. At first it felt just like any other power, but then I could feel many different kinds of energies within it. Everyone who had ever had their power taken was rushing into me. I kept breathing and pulling. The rush was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
Behind me, I heard a scuffle and Julio’s voice rang out.
“You stupid girl. Do you really think I’d let you get away with this? No, I’ve tried the polite ways with you.”
I turned to look, all the while still pulling at the power from the rose. Julio stood on the far side of the room. Wyatt stood off to my left; Jordan and Puck were nowhere in s
ight. I continued to pull but then I saw something that nearly made me stop. In Julio’s right hand was a gun. He cheated. Guardians never fight with weapons. Though he broke every other rule. What made me think he’d follow this one?
What had he done to Puck and Jordan?
“What do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth, still pulling, hoping I had enough time to finish this.
He guffawed and it echoed around the cave. Then he raised his gun and pointed it right at my head.
“It’s too late for any negotiating. What I want is you, dead.”
Before I could react or say anything, his gun went off.
Naomi
The first few guards went down without much of a fight. It was almost too easy. Morgan led the way, since he’d been down here many times before. We arrived at Ruth’s cell and found Julio and many other Guardians standing guard. This was a trap. Based on the number of people here by the cell, there couldn’t be that many by the rose, and hopefully that meant Sunday would be successful.
Kai was right by my side.
“You ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
I approached Julio. “Give her back.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“Because it’s over. You can’t keep doing this.”
We were totally outnumbered. I was actually concerned about our ability to win this thing. My only hope was that I could make them fear me right away. The fact that Julio allowed me to approach him was stupid.
Before he could say anything, I grabbed his hand and began to pull. If I could take him out, then maybe Morgan could talk the rest of them into backing off.
He stiffened. The man next to him freaked out.
“Bitch. Let him go.”
Julio’s power felt wrong. I didn’t like taking it, but I had no choice. Strong hands gripped my wrist. Kai was no longer at my side. He and several others were breaking through the line of guards to get to Ruth.
I lost my concentration and stopped pulling for a second. I had maybe half his power. The pain in my wrist was awful. I looked up and saw a man with muscles the size of melons. Even though I had stopped pulling, he continued to squeeze.
“I can break your wrist. Easily. Let go.”
I reached over with my other hand and grabbed his wrist.
“I can take yours, too.”
I pulled again, hard, and felt the rush of energy. Both men cried out. Instead of letting go, the muscle man squeezed harder and I heard a bone snap. I screamed as excruciating pain exploded in my wrist. My breath came in rapid bursts and I lost all concentration. The pain was overwhelming; before I knew it, I was on the floor, surrounded by shouts and drowning in agony.
“You okay?” Jordan leaned over me.
“What are you doing here?”
“They have things pretty well under control. I heard yelling and came to help.”
He picked me up and I cried out, cradling my wrist.
“Sorry. I’m going to move you or you’re going to get trampled. As soon as all of this is over, we’ll find someone to heal that.”
I looked around. “Where’s Julio?”
“I’ll find him after I get you out of the way.”
We moved deeper into the cave, closer to the rose. When we got near the entrance to the cavern where the rose was kept, we could hear Sunday’s voice.
“Shit. I shouldn’t have left them.”
He set me down and raced toward the entrance. I followed at a much slower pace. A loud gunshot rang out and I flinched. Who the hell had a gun?
Within the confines of the small cave, the energy felt so strong that it was disorienting at first. But as I approached Jordan, the smell of melting plastic filled my nostrils and I could taste burnt toast. It was overwhelming and usually a sensation I’d only felt from Destroyers. But this was coming from Jordan. It was raw and strong. He shoved that hatred away from him, toward Julio who was standing in the middle of the room holding the gun.
Julio collapsed and I looked to where the gun was pointed. Sunday and Wyatt were both on the ground.
In spite of the pain in my arm, I ran for Sunday.
Sunday
The first thing I noticed was that the rose wrapped around my wrist had gone slack and brown.
The second thing was the sheer amount of power I had flowing through my veins. I couldn’t tell where I began and the others ended. Stars burst behind my eyes. I closed them for a few seconds then threw up a few internal shields. They kept any internal powers from manifesting. That felt much better.
The third thing I noticed was the limp body lying on top of mine.
I pushed and he rolled off of me.
“Wyatt, are you okay?” I leaned over him, placing my hands on his chest. His eyes were closed. My hand met something wet and sticky. Oh, no. He must’ve taken the bullet meant for me.
“Wyatt!” I screamed.
His eyelids fluttered opened. “Take it,” he croaked.
“Take what?”
“My power. Take it.”
“What? Wyatt, no. What are you talking about?”
“I can feel myself fading. Take it. I want you to have it. Please.”
His eyelids fluttered again and I realized I was losing him. Tears streamed down my face as I cradled him in my arms. I wasn’t about take his power. I focused on the power inside of me and thought of black soil and warm sunlight. But as I tried to heal him, I found that I couldn’t focus enough to make it work. There were too many competing powers inside of me.
“Sunday, this isn’t going to work. Please just take my power.” Wyatt’s voice was weak and I knew he was fading. I sobbed as I pulled. For some reason, that would work where the healing would not.
As soon as I had finished pulling all of his power, he opened his eyes once more, and squeezed my hand. For a half second I thought those ocean blues were going to steal all my memories—and I almost wished he would, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain. But then I realized he couldn’t do it anymore. I’d taken that ability from him.
His eyelids floated shut and just like that he was gone.
I sobbed over his body when Naomi put her arms around me. I flung her off and stood up. She yelped.
“Where’s that bastard? I’ll kill him myself,” I roared.
Puck walked up beside Naomi. “He’s already dead. Sunday, I’m so sorry about Wyatt.”
I nodded and fought back the tears that were already forming.
Puck put his arm around my shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Jordan will carry Wyatt.”
Sunday
When I get married—a long, long time from now—I will have a bouquet of only cacti and succulents. But of course Naomi wouldn’t hear of such. Hers would be only Granada roses.
FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, I didn’t leave my room at the hotel. I slept, painted, and cried. Naomi and a few of the girls visited me, and Puck came a couple of times. But even though I asked questions, no one would answer. I wanted to know what happened to Julio and how the fight for Ruth went.
Lincoln never left my side.
My power was odd. I had to keep most of it hidden or I blacked out from the strength of it. I didn’t want to rid myself of anything until I knew what I would need. I did manage to find my own power among all of it; it was nice to have back, but it felt foreign now. I wasn’t the same person I was when I lost it.
One morning, I woke and showered, determined to leave the room. If people wouldn’t give me answers then I would go searching for them. I was towel drying my hair when a knock sounded at the door.
I found Jordan standing there, looking contrite. I waved him in. He wrapped me in a hug.
“You okay?”
“As okay as can be expected. How about you?”
He shrugged.
We moved to the balcony and watched several of the Jena girls playing in the pool. I didn’t care that it made me seem like a creep; I just needed a distraction, something to watch other than
Jordan, who seemed anxious.
“What happened to Julio? No one will tell me.” I’d asked every single person who came into the room. I gathered that he died but people avoided giving me the details.
“I killed him.”
Okay, not what I was expecting. I spun around.
“What? How?”
“You and Wyatt seemed to have things under control and I heard yelling from the cells, so I went to help. It was stupid, I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath and continued. “Anyway, after I helped Naomi, I heard your voice and ran back toward you, but I was too late. I saw Julio fire the gun at the last second. I got so enraged that I directed all that anger toward Julio along with the sleeping thing. Apparently those two don’t mix. It killed him before he could take another shot.”
Jordan’s face had gone pale. I grasped his hands. Murder wasn’t something that you could just erase from your soul. He’d be haunted by that for life. We were both sort of broken in that way.
He shook his head and looked at me. “What about you? How are you handling all that power floating around in your body?”
“I put up a ton of internal shields. When things calm down, Naomi is going to take me over to Alejandro’s greenhouses and I’m going to get rid of a lot of it. I’m planning to keep Custos’, Wyatt’s, and my own. Naomi’s been really busy over the last couple of weeks. I’ve barely seen her.”
Jordan nodded. “I know. I’ve met with her several times. She’s got a good handle on things. Will you still be a Guardian when all this over?”
“I think so. Wyatt and Custos were both Guardians so I don’t know how it can be avoided. I’ll have my own power too, so I might be part Shade. I honestly don’t know. Naomi had Kai’s power all this time but she kept it very separate from her own. I’d like to figure out how to blend all my powers together. But then I’d probably need to turn my own Shade power into Guardian power. I need to talk to Puck about that. Naomi’s not sure how to deal with me being a Guardian instead of a Shade, but I want to help her with what she’s doing no matter what I am. I believe in this.”
“I do too, actually. But I could really use your help. The Guardians could use you.”
I creased my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 75