Emerge- The Betrayal

by Melissa A. Craven

  “You were amazing.” With one arm around her waist and his other hand splayed across her back, Aidan kissed her. And then he shoved her into the back of the van and slammed the door in her face.

  “Get her out of here,” he barked orders to Pilar and Neela, who’d jumped into the front seat with Ivy. “My family will take care of you. You two,” he said, leaning into the front seat to speak with Neela and Ivy. “You stay with Allie. You hear me? She is your full-time job now. Guard and protect her.”

  “You got it, sexy,” Neela said.

  “Now go.” He still had some work to do before he could go home.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Aidan

  Kelleys Island, June: 2 weeks later

  “Mr. McBrien, Ms. Hauser, we can’t thank you enough for bringing our daughter home.” Lola’s mother clutched her daughter’s hand. “And for taking the time to teach us how to understand her bond with Ace.”

  “And thank you for opening your home to Ace,” Naomi said. “I know if his parents were still with us, they would be grateful to know their son is settled with a nice family.”

  Aidan just prayed they would take his advice and bring Ace and Lola to Soma soon.

  “We will see you in a few weeks,” Lola said. “At Soma, right?” She glanced back at her mother. She was just fourteen when she’d left home for the Milan Initiative, but she was almost seventeen now and mature far beyond her years. She would never fit into her old life now. None of them would.

  “We will talk about it, darling,” her mother said.

  “I can’t stress it enough,” Aidan said. “Lola and Ace will never be safe on their own. The Syntrophos must stick together. You will all be welcome at Sterling Tower in Atlanta.”

  “I’m just afraid that’s not safe, either.” Lola’s father said. “We’ve heard such awful things about that place, but we will discuss it as a family.”

  “Perhaps we should just go somewhere off grid? Maybe that’s the safest thing for all of us.” Her mother twisted her hands in her lap.

  “Mom, you’re going to have to be okay with this,” Lola said. “After everything we’ve been through, Aidan and Naomi are my family, and I trust him with my life. We are going to Soma.”

  “Lola, we need to take some time to chill,” Ace said. “To put the Initiative behind us. But we will come.” He turned to Aidan.

  “Take care of yourselves.” Aidan pulled them both into his arms. “See you soon.”

  “You call us if you need anything,” Naomi added. Each time they left one of their own with their families, they took a little piece of Naomi’s soul with them. She wouldn’t feel whole again until they were all back together.

  “Are you going back now?” Lola asked. “To Allie?”

  “We have one more stop to make, and then we’re going home.” Aidan smiled as he left his youngest soldiers with a mother and father who would probably never get it. He and Naomi had escorted each of his Syntrophos back to their homes with an invitation to come to Soma within the month. He had no doubt they would all reunite there soon, but he gave them all an out. They would never be held against their will again. But they were family now, and they would stick together.

  Aidan drove away from the Kelleys Island ferry dock and turned his motorcycle east toward home. Naomi clutched his waist, her tension mounting the closer they came to their long anticipated reunion.

  Home? It was surreal after all this time away, so odd and yet so familiar. This place was in his blood. But he wasn’t sure he would ever call it home again. His home was wherever Allie was—Allie and Naomi.

  He left his bike in the driveway of his parents’ home. The home he grew up in. He would see them all later. Right now, he only had eyes for Allie.

  “I’ll let myself in,” Naomi said. “Go find her.”

  “I love you,” he reminded her.

  “Love you too.” Naomi left him where he stood.

  Aidan made his way up the grassy slopes behind the house. He found Allie sitting at the base of the old laurel tree along the cliff side where they’d spent so much time when they were young. Her arms rested on her knees, and she looked so lost.

  Neela and Ivy waved to him from their vantage point on the hillside, waiting and watching for any harm that might come to her.

  Allie smiled when she saw him, but it wasn’t the reaction he’d hoped for. She sat watching him with a wistful look on her face. He wasn’t sure where they stood now, but he’d expected some excitement … or at least anger.

  He paused on the hillside near the laurel tree where she sat, uncertain how to approach her after all this time. He was both nervous and afraid. Nervous because he couldn’t think of what to say and afraid because she might reject him.

  Suddenly, Allie sat up straighter, a look of confusion puckering her brow.

  “Allie?” He finally found his voice.

  Allie closed her eyes tight like she was willing him away. She gasped when his shadow fell over her.

  “Open your eyes, Alexis Ann,” he said, crouching before her. “I want to see those weird green eyes again.”

  “You’re not here,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You can’t be.”

  “But I am.” He sat beside her just as he had when they met here as teenagers a lifetime ago. “Why don’t you trust what you see?”

  Allie opened her eyes, stilled filled with confusion.

  “I’m really here.” He took her hand. “Tell me why you think I’m not.”

  “The visions.” She waved her hand in the direction of the hillside. “They’re everywhere.”

  “All the time?” He frowned, realizing she really didn’t trust anything she saw.

  “Are you back?” Her voice was a strangled whisper.

  “I’m home.” His smile was hesitant, but then she flew into his arms.

  “You’re really here?” She leaned back, running her hands up the length of his arms. “For how long?”

  “I’m not leaving again.” It felt so good to say it. So good to hold her, knowing he didn’t have to leave—would never leave her again if he could help it.

  Allie hugged him tighter. “I swear, Aidan Loukas McBrien, if you ever slam a car door in my face like that again, I will tear your face off.” Her words came out garbled but they were like music to his ears.

  “I’m sorry about that.” His smile spread wide across his face. Here she was, the girl he fell in love with ages ago. His fingertips brushed the hair back from her face. “You have no idea how much I wanted to come home with you after the trial.” He held her at arms’ length, his hands cupping her face, and his thumb caressing the length of the tattoo along her throat. “But I had to take care of my people first. They depend on me.”

  “You brought them with you?”

  “Not all of them. Not yet. I gave them the choice to return to their lives, but they all chose to take a brief visit home to take care of their families. They will make their way to us in time. It’s the way of the Syntrophos. We need each other.” Aidan’s hands wandered down her arms, grasping her hands again. “To set the record straight, when we came for you at Soma, I never once questioned your position as First Princess and the named heir of Indriell. But I was so angry. I had a plan I’d been working toward for a long time, and I had to rethink things when you beat me to the punch. I convinced myself you were being used and manipulated. It was just so unlike you to reach for that kind of power. Then you told me off right before you turned away, leaving me and my soldiers gaping like morons. That was when I knew you really were the mastermind behind everything happening at Soma.”

  “I was doing it for you, you big dummy.” She sniffed.

  “I didn’t think you’d still … that you’d put yourself out there just for me.”

  “It wasn’t just for you. I did this for all of us. But bringing you home was my main motivation. It wasn’t until much later—when Darius pointed it out to me—that I realized all along I was telling myself I was going to rescue you
when I’d never even considered that might not be what you wanted. Not like I could have asked, but I shouldn’t have made that decision for you.”

  “We have to stop doing that to each other.” Aidan smiled.

  “Yeah.” Allie sighed. “It’s a lot harder than it sounds.”

  “I would get down on one knee, but I’m pretty sure you’d kick me in the nuts if I did.” Aidan gave a wry grin. “Alexis Ann.” He reached to brush a stray curl from her face. “You have my loyalty and my fealty.”

  “Aidan, don’t.” She squeezed his hand. “You are my equal. You don’t have—”

  “Of course, I do. I pledge my life and my service—and that of my army, no matter how big or small it may prove to be—to the heir and future queen of Indriell, however she chooses to reign. I will be her equal and her confidant. If she’ll have me?”

  “Why did you leave, Aidan? Before all of this madness started.”

  “Lots of reasons. None you’ll like.”

  “Try me?”

  “At first it was the Darius thing. I knew that was going to be hard on you and even harder with me here. So, I planned to take myself out of the picture for a few months.” That wasn’t all of it, but he couldn’t tell her the real reason. She needed to see him as her Complement when she was ready. He wouldn’t rush her.

  “And then?”

  “And then Naomi happened.” He shrugged. “And it became even more complicated and more clear to me that we needed the time apart. But in the end, she needed me more than you did. You had Darius. She didn’t have anyone.”

  “I wish you would have discussed it with me first.” Allie stared down at their entwined hands.

  “I know. It was stupid and selfish. I only hope that one day you can understand what my eighteen-year-old head was thinking when I made those choices—not just for us, but for myself. I hope you’ll understand that I was doing what I thought was best for Naomi and me. And the time apart … that wasn’t just about you.”

  “The time apart was never the issue. I came to understand just how much we needed it, too. It was your silence that killed me.”

  “I never really left you, Lex. I was always right here.” He tapped her forehead. “For the last four years, whenever you’ve thought of me or spoke to me, I heard you.”

  Allie’s eyes filled with tears. “One of these days, I’m going to kick your ass for that.” She managed a watery smile.

  “You never answered my question,” Aidan said, brushing the tears from her eyes with his thumb. “Will you have me, my queen … to be? It would be my honor to serve the royal family.”

  She titled her head back, meeting his gaze. “Aidan, I don’t want you in my service. I want you as my equal and my friend. Besides, you have an army.” She flashed him a wide grin.

  “There’s the smartass I remember.” Aidan pulled her into his arms. Inhaling the familiar scent of his Complement, the darkness inside him faded just a little. He was finally home.

  Aidan almost fell out of his seat when the doors to Allie’s council chambers nearly splintered off their hinges.

  “Just who the hell do you think you are?” Naomi raged, baring her teeth at Allie.

  Oh, shit. Aidan rubbed a hand over his tired face. What now? In the days since joining Allie at Sterling Tower, the thinly veiled hostility between his Syntrophos and his Complement was a constant bubble of tension hanging between them. And judging by the look on Naomi’s face, it had finally burst.

  “Excuse me? Who do you think you are barging into my council like a deranged lunatic?” Allie raged right back.

  Naomi didn’t hesitate before she snatched a white marble statue from the entry table and launched it at Allie’s head.

  Allie ducked and the statue crashed against the thick windowpane behind her, sending an array of cracks across the surface.

  “Naomi!” Aidan stood, his chair thudding against the wall behind him. “What are you doing?”

  “Indeed,” Queen Alísun said, calmly rising to her feet. “Explain yourself, young woman. This is First Princess’s private council.

  Naomi ignored the queen, stalking across the room toward Allie. “You banished my father?” Her voice hard as steel. “I repeat. Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Stand down,” Livia said, putting herself between Allie and Naomi. “Before I put you down.”

  “Allie, can you please call off your guard dog? That’s my Syntrophos she’s threatening.” Aidan’s heart thumped in his chest, not sure which woman he needed to defend in this situation.

  “Stay out of it, son.” Gregg murmured, shoving Aidan back into his seat. “They need to deal with this without you.”

  “Greyson betrayed me, Naomi.” Allie stood her ground.

  “Wait, you sent Greyson away? From Sterling Tower?” Aidan asked, trying to keep the accusation out of his voice.

  “Seriously, don’t pick sides.” Gregg thumped him on the back of the head. “You’ll live to regret it.”

  “No,” Naomi snapped. “She sent him away from his home. The home where I grew up. She just tossed him aside like garbage.” Naomi’s hands clenched into fists. “What could he have possibly done to deserve that?” Angry tears gleamed in her eyes. “He was never anything but kind to you.”

  “He tried to sell me to the Coalition,” Allie said.

  “You’re lying. He wouldn’t do something so dishonorable.”

  “I’m afraid he did, Naomi,” Gregg said gently. “Your father made a desperate choice to sacrifice Allie to save Isebeau. Luckily, Livia intervened and we managed to avoid a terrible outcome. But we can no longer trust Greyson. If it were up to me, his punishment would have been far worse. Allie showed great restraint when she sent him away. Your father took Isebeau to a remote community in Ontario where she can recover in peace.”

  “I’m afraid we cannot allow Greyson to return, Naomi,” Allie said. “But, of course, you are free to visit him as much as you’d like.”

  “He’s with Isebeau?” Naomi’s eyes glazed. “They’re together? Finally?”

  “I would have helped him,” Allie said, her shoulders slumped. “I loved Greyson like another father. I would have done anything to help him find his Complement, but he betrayed me and I can’t have that around me during these trying times.”

  Naomi turned her ashen face toward Aidan. “You don’t think…” Her tears broke free, falling down her face as her knees gave out.

  Aidan lunged to catch her before she fell. “I don’t know, but we’ll go find him.” Aidan guided Naomi to his seat. “If it was him, he didn’t know about our bond,” Aidan murmured, crouching beside her. “He’d never hurt you.” But Aidan felt sick at the idea because he knew she was right.

  “It had to be him.” Naomi shook her head. “He betrayed us?”

  “No. He betrayed me.”

  “What is she talking about, son?” Gregg asked.

  Aidan stood on shaky legs, running a hand through his hair. “When the Initiative first came looking for me, they knew everything about me. I mean everything. They knew things only someone who’d known me my whole life would have known.”

  “He betrayed both of you?” Naomi frowned. “And me.”

  “Naomi.” Allie crouched in front of her. “Your father loves you more than anything in this world. If he knew Aidan was your Syntrophos and his actions led to what you’ve experienced with the Initiative, he would have died before betraying you like that.”

  “But he sacrificed Aidan.” Naomi turned her wide eyes on him. “He’s the reason you’ve suffered.” She shook her head. “I can’t ever forgive him for that.”

  Epilogue

  Aidan

  Sterling Tower, December: Six months later

  Aidan’s smile wasn’t forced, but it still felt foreign on his face. The last six months at Sterling Tower with Allie, Naomi and everyone he loved finally together in one place should have been easy.

  I should be happy. He sat beside the bonfire, watching his Comp
lement and his Syntrophos playing in the snow with the youngest Soma kids. Allie and Naomi would probably never love each other, but they were trying, for his sake.

  Allie had planned an end of term holiday party for all her students at Sterling Tower. She even got the old Immortal who lived in the Warehouse to transform the huge landscape under his roof into a winter wonderland. Kids were ice-skating on the lake and sledding down the hills, basking in the brisk winter sunshine. The whole place looked like a holiday card.

  But Aidan still felt absent. Maybe he’d changed too much. He hadn’t expected to pick up where he left off, but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard either.

  “She’s an amazing person.” Brigs came to sit on the log beside Aidan in front of the warm fire. “You’re a lucky man.”

  “The luckiest.” Aidan’s jaw creaked with tension. He hated the idea that Allie was ever with this dream walker douche-bag. Unfortunately, Brigs was an integral part of the protection that separated Sterling Tower from those who opposed the royal family—and he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

  “So are you ever going to get your head out of your ass and be the guy she needs or are you going to spend the next century brooding about your difficult past?”

  “Excuse me?” Aidan turned a menacing glare on the man sitting next to him. “You might want to leave, now.”

  “You’re a scary dude, Aidan. You could probably hand me my own ass without moving from your seat, but you’re also kind of a dick.” Brigs lifted a flask from his coat pocket, pouring the contents into his coffee. Without a word, he offered the flask to Aidan.

  Aidan held his cup out, watching as Brigs tipped the clear liquid into his steaming coffee.

  “That woman loves you. Even when you left and broke her heart, she tried her best to move on with yours truly, but she still loved you. Even when she didn’t want to. You can hate me, but both of us know I never really had a chance.”