The Lost Savior

by Siobhan Davis

  “What is it?” Dane asks.

  “I think the third one might’ve been here. After I ended the one who killed my … who killed my …” I clear my throat. “After I took out the first guy, I heard a noise at the back of the barn, but before I could check it, out the second guy tore out of the barn across the field, and I gave chase. I forgot all about the other noise until now.”

  Dane is gone in a flash and back about half a second later. “There’s no sign of anyone now.”

  “Do you think he’ll come back for me?”

  “Not likely. The Herassan rely on pack mentality to achieve their aims, and I doubt he’s sporting the same swagger now his brothers are gone. He’ll probably go off and lick his wounds before deciding on vengeance.”

  “The guy who attacked me and my friends was acting alone.”

  “We believe he was a member of the elite guard, and they work on highly confidential missions, so they always work alone.”

  I wet my dry lips, drawing on the minuscule reserves of strength I have left. I lower my voice. “We need to burn my father’s body, and the barn, to make it look like a freak accident. There’s no other way to explain … how he looks.” My heart is downtrodden as the words leave my mouth. “I … I could do it but …” I hang my head, unable to speak another word as everything I’ve tried to dampen down rushes me. I can’t even look up at the guys, afraid any compassion will breach the dam again.

  “I understand, and we’ll take care of it.” Dane’s voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for doubting you.” I lift my head at that, tears pricking my eyes. “After what I witnessed in that field, there’s no more doubt in my mind.”

  I can’t even summon the energy to acknowledge him. A subtle shift in the air alerts me to his presence. “Come on, beautiful,” Cooper says, gently pulling me in to his side. “Let’s get you inside.” He rubs his hands up and down my frozen arms, pressing my head to his chest, and then we’re inside, standing in front of the fire.

  Mom is in the chair I vacated earlier, the coverlet draped over her body, her head back and her eyes vacant. Her hands are clasped around a red mug, but she isn’t drinking. She’s just staring into the fire like a shell of a person. Taking the mug from her hands, I give it to Cooper, and then I perch on the edge of the chair, resting my head on her shoulder. We don’t talk, for there are no words.

  Sometime later, Cooper helps me take Mom upstairs, and I tuck her into bed, pressing a kiss to her temple before exiting the room. We go back downstairs to convene with the others. Cooper drops into the chair, pulling me into his lap and wrapping me up in the blanket. I lean against his chest, worn out and still feeling numb.

  “Unfortunately, we have another issue,” Dane says, and I move my eyes to his.

  “We just went back to the house,” Maddox explains. “And Jack’s gone.”

  “Fuck,” Cooper exclaims. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

  “It’s not,” Dane agrees. “That’s where the missing Herassan went. My best guess is their mission was to retrieve Jack and capture Alinthia. Once he realized his brothers were toast, he cut his losses and tracked back for Jack.”

  I close my eyes, fisting Cooper’s shirt as I bury my face in his chest. I can’t deal with anything else tonight. I just want to close my eyes and forget this night ever existed. I want to wake up in the morning knowing this was all a bad dream.

  “Alinthia’s exhausted. I’m going to stay here with her,” Cooper says quietly.

  “I want Maddox here too,” Dane says. “Beck and I will go back to the house and see if we can salvage anything useful from any of the feeds. We’ll come back in the morning.”

  The guys whisper goodbye, but I don’t open my eyes, keeping them closed as Cooper teleports to my room. Maddox stays downstairs, murmuring he’ll stay in front of the fire. Coop helps me into my pajamas, crawling in the bed behind me and hugging me into his body. Surprisingly, I fall asleep rather quickly, and I’m grateful for small mercies.

  The next three days are pure hell on earth as news of my father’s passing spreads throughout town. Cooper doesn’t leave my side, and I latch on to him like he’s my lifejacket. Visitors come and go, and it’s exhausting. Jensen turns up with his folks, and it’s awkward as fuck. He can’t disguise the hurt and suspicion in his eyes when he sees me clinging to Cooper, but I’m in far too much pain myself to do anything about his.

  The funeral mass is packed, and the ceremony was beautiful, or so I’m told. I wouldn’t know because the whole thing is a blur. Jensen steers well clear of me, and I’m shocked that he doesn’t attempt to speak to me, not even to keep up appearances. I know Jensen had a lot of time for my dad, and it hurts that we can’t even speak to one another anymore. I hate that I’ve done this to us, and I’m rethinking how I’ve gone about everything, wondering if there was a better way of handling things so at least we came out of it as friends. But the wary, almost suspicious, way he looks at me throughout the ceremony has left me in no doubt that our relationship is in tatters.

  The four guys are my shadows the entire day, and while I spot plenty of inquisitive glances in our direction, no one dares start any rumors in the middle of a funeral. My friends offer their condolences, but it goes in one ear and out the next. By the end of the ordeal, my jaw hurts from trying to keep a composed expression.

  Kylie drags me aside after the last straggler has left the house. She’s asked me a couple times to tell her what really happened with Dad, but I haven’t found a window of opportunity to speak to her until now.

  I force the guys to go home for a while, telling them I need girl time and I need some headspace. They’re not happy about it, and I’m guessing we have about fifteen minutes before one of them shows up here. I’m also in no doubt that Dane and Cooper will be using their abilities to keep tabs on me, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Perhaps it’ll be good for them to hear what I have to say.

  I fill Kylie in on everything, including my suspicion that the guys are keeping something from me and my concern that I trusted them too readily. The creature in Jack’s body and the two alien freaks from the barn both alluded to stuff I had no knowledge of, and certain things had registered in my brain that night, things I’d had no choice but to shove aside until after the funeral.

  But now I want answers.

  I want to know why they were lying to me and why I fell so easily into the trap they set for me.

  I’m blaming the bond for skewing my emotions, and I’m not entirely convinced now that the things I feel for them aren’t some manipulation. Be it the connection or the curse or a mix of both. While I know they care about me, and they’ve gone out of their way to support me, especially these last few days, the fact they held important stuff back doesn’t instill confidence.

  My head is all over the place, and I need to talk to my bestie, because right now she’s the only one I trust one hundred percent.

  “Shit, Tori.” Kylie shakes her head sadly. “I am so sorry you had to go through that. That’s awful, and you should never have had to see him like that.”

  I clutch on to her hand. “As long as I live, I’ll never forget how he looked, and it’s my fault, because I didn’t stop it in time.” I look away, too ashamed of my weakness.

  “Cut that crap out, Tori. It is not your fault. You didn’t ask for any of this! And your dad wouldn’t want you to sit here beating yourself up for something that was out of your control.” She squeezes my hand, and I look up at her. “He knew what he was walking into that night, Tori, but he did it because he loved you and he wanted to save you, and he did. His death brought your powers to the surface, and you were able to end the threat. If you hadn’t, how many more would they have killed? And where would you be now?”

  “Kylie is right,” Maddox says, appearing in the room and startling the crap out of both of us.

  Cooper pops into the room by his side, immediately sinking to his knees in front of me. �
��We have been keeping stuff from you but only to protect you until you were ready to hear it all. I swear you can trust us. Trust the bond. And we were planning on telling you once you moved in, then everything happened, and we didn’t want to burden you with it until you got through the funeral.”

  I stand up, and Kylie rises with me. I glare at both guys. “I want to know everything, and I want to know it now.”

  Chapter 43

  We’re in the middle of a tense standoff in the sitting room of the Roth house. No one is talking. Everyone is standing up, on edge, and waiting for someone to kick things off. Considering I demanded this meeting, it may as well be me. Kylie subtly squeezes my hand, and I clear my throat. “What is the prophecy and how come I know nothing about it?” I school my features into a neutral line even though I’m hopping mad on the inside.

  “What have you learned?” Dane asks, folding his arms across his chest as he eyeballs me.

  “Not much, but that thing that escaped from the basement made cryptic remarks along with the aliens I encountered, and I know it’s something to do with me.” I don’t tell them about the vision that surged to the forefront of my mind that night in the field, because I’m not ready to share that yet.

  If ever.

  “You should know the others wanted to tell you from the outset,” Dane says, “but I made the call to hold it back until I felt you were ready to hear it.”

  I snort. “Why doesn’t that surprise me in the least?” My nostrils flare as I lose control of my tenuous emotions. “You don’t get to choose what you can and can’t tell me or when! This is my life we’re talking about!”

  “This affects all of us, Alinthia, and I’ve only ever done what I felt was right for everyone.” Dane is quick to defend his actions.

  “I know about the whole ‘I die, you die’ part of it, but that only proves my argument. I should’ve been aware of all the facts from the very beginning. How the hell can I function as an equal member of this team if you keep pertinent information from me!?”

  “But that’s part of the issue, Alinthia.” Dane takes a step toward me. “You’re not an equal member of this team, and you never will be.”

  “You’re our leading light, Tori,” Cooper adds, looking at me through hooded lashes. “There is no way we could ever be your equals. Not when you are so much more.”

  I moisten my lips. “What does the prophecy say about me exactly?”

  Beck steps forward. “Let me give you some of the background first, but please take a seat.” He gestures toward the couch. “I know you’re pissed, and you’ve every right to be, but you’ll understand once I show you.”

  Swallowing the painful lump in my throat, I cautiously sit down on one end of the couch, Kylie loyally dropping into place alongside me. She takes my hand, and I cling to her touch. I know once I hear this there is no going back. Dane and Beck remaining standing, but Coop and Maddox drop into chairs, never taking their eyes from me. The soul bond is bereft at the obvious rift in our connection and the layer of tension existing between us, but it can take a jump off a tall cliff for all I care right now.

  They should have explained this at the start so I had some inclination of what I was dealing with. It could’ve put certain things into perspective for me. Now I’m worried something’s been set in motion that could’ve been prevented. Something that is pulling me along a path I don’t wish to be on.

  Dane flicks the light switch off and closes the drapes, with his mind, plunging the room into darkness. Beck begins projecting images from his mind onto the wall as he speaks. Kylie is stiff beside me, fear and excitement exuding from her pores.

  “The prophecy has been at the center of sacred legend in the galaxy for centuries and centuries. It’s been said to originate in Nantor, once a great super race and the planetary hub of all political power in the galaxy. An elite group of guards, the ones chosen to protect the royal family, were the first to discover the ancient writings.” An image of a weathered-looking brown scroll with faded, strange scrawl flashes on the wall.

  Beck continues as the image flashes to a photo of a group of men, wearing molded silver chest plates and matching helmets, their hands clasped around the handles of heavy-looking swords. “It took years before they found someone skilled enough to read the scribes, and it was descendants of the original guards who finally deciphered the script.” His eyes flit to mine, and I’m conscious of the attention of all the guys. They are all anxiously awaiting my reaction. “The prophecy spoke of centuries of war and discontent and the advent of an evil overlord, the kind that had never been in existence before. It spoke about the battle between good and evil and how one supreme being would be born, a chosen one who would be destined for greatness, would unite the species and restore peace to the galaxy. An entity so powerful she would assume Godlike abilities that would be more than a match for the darkness threatening to consume the world.”

  More drawings flash on the wall, showing a ghostly female in long robes and glowing eyes, suspended in air. Bile travels up my throat, and all the blood leaches from my face. I have a million questions, but I hold my tongue, letting Beck continue. “A few centuries ago, further scrolls were unearthed, pointing to other complexities in the prophecy, and a special order was selected to study the ancient text and to create a blueprint for protecting our heritage and ensuring the future of all nation races.”

  The image rolls to a desolate planet, showcasing rust-colored barren landscape coated in a haze of fog. Vast mountains stretch skyward, the peaks just visible beyond the layer of smoky cloud. The sky is an eerie combination of orange and reds. “As the prophecy began to unravel, and the events transpired as the ancient scribe had predicted, this order was persecuted by evil forces and forced into hiding. Protecting the legacy for future generations was vitally important if those championing justice were to stand any chance of halting the growing domination of the evil overlord.”

  “Who is he?” I ask.

  “His name is General Arantu, and he is the one who invaded Verron shortly before we were born,” Dane confirms.

  My stomach does a twisty jump. “Why?” I ask it though I have a strong suspicion I already know the answer.

  Beck looks to Dane, and Dane nods. The image on the wall transforms, and nausea churns in my gut. The picture shows an extravagant city, glittering brightly with glass skyrises, sophisticated buildings with curved roofs and smooth lines, pristine landscape, and a sprinkling of water features. Vessels float through the sky over the city, and a myriad of flashing lights illuminate the nighttime sky.

  The image is less pretty at the forefront, showing the man and woman from my visions—my parents—on their hands and knees in front of an imposing man wearing a flowing black robe. The man is tall with a striking face. His angular jawline contrasts with flawless skin, a strong nose, full lips, and a thick head of silver-blond hair. His hair is long and free-flowing, floating in the gentle breeze. His eyes cause an intense bout of shivers to ricochet up and down my spine, and I clamp a hand over my mouth as the urge to puke accelerates. His eyes glow red, almost sizzling with powerful energy, and he stares at my parents like he wants to devour them for breakfast.

  “That’s the day General Arantu arrived on Verron. His armies occupied our territories within the hour, putting the entire planet on lockdown. Anyone who disobeyed or dared question his authority was terminated on the spot. Our esteemed leader, your father, was confined to the royal palace, under house arrest.”

  My eyes pop wide. I guessed from my visions that my father was someone important, but I never imagined he was the leader of the planet. Maddox’s nickname for me takes on a whole new meaning, but I shove those thoughts aside for the moment, wanting to stay connected to the conversation, so I don’t miss anything.

  Beck’s features soften. “Your mother, heavily pregnant with you, was confined to her quarters under armed guard.”

  “He came for me.” It’s not a question.

  “Yes,” Dane confir
ms.

  Coop sits up in his chair, leaning forward on his elbows. He longs to comfort me. I feel it through the connection, but I’m sick of being babied. I thought I was coming to terms with who I am, but I didn’t even know the half of it. “Who am I really?”

  “You asked us before if every female had four protectors, and the answer is no,” Dane explains. “You are the only one with four protectors because you are the focus of the prophecy. The prophecy outlined how four males would be born at the same time as you with special gifts and unique abilities to protect you and watch over you as you grew, to ensure you achieved adulthood and awakened to fulfill your destiny.”

  “Awakened?” I choke out.

  Beck’s expression is full of sympathy. “The prophecy says when the chosen one reaches eighteen she will be granted supreme power, becoming the most powerful being that has ever existed, with the ability to settle the battle between the forces of good and evil once and for all.”

  Ignoring the “chosen one” comment for the moment, I ask another pressing question. “What does General Arantu want with me?”

  “General Arantu controls sixty percent of the galaxy, and he rules with an iron fist. He won’t stop until he reigns supreme. The identity of the chosen one was a heavily guarded secret, so no one knows how he discovered the truth. He turned up on Verron with plans to take you once you were born and groom you to use your gifts for nefarious purposes,” Beck says. “Imagine what he could do if he succeeded in turning you to the dark side. There would be no stopping him. Ever.”

  “And, unfortunately, he’s not the only one who seeks you out,” Dane cuts in. “The prophecy is a source of much discontent among the galaxy. Those who believe in it wholeheartedly seek you out to protect you, to support our efforts, and to ensure you achieve your life’s mission. Those who want to stop Arantu believe if they eliminate you then the bigger threat is contained.”

  “And supporters of Arantu have spent the last seventeen years roaming the galaxy for you. They want to take you to him, so he can bend you to his will.”