“Sorry, dudes. Nothing.”
Great. Now we had more questions and still zero answers. I wasn’t going to give up though. The only way Liv and I would ever be together again was by getting her memories back.
I would find her grandmother and force her to return Liv’s memories.
I had no choice.
Chapter Eleven
Liv
I passed weapons easily the next Thursday. It seemed like everyone in the school came out and watched. Rumors were flying about what I learned before my memory disappeared. I didn’t care. Maybe I should’ve, but what did it matter? It wouldn’t help me find my memory or avenge my parents.
I headed to breakfast early on Friday. I wanted to do more studying before I took the persuasion test that afternoon. Josie was excited for me to join her in the divines, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I planned to test on at least one more next week. I was going to fly through this so I could start catching Jinn and search for Bast.
Voices floated over from around the corner. I froze when I heard my name.
“Are you sure she doesn’t remember anything?” Amina asked.
“We’d be able to tell if she did,” Lianna replied.
“Could we though? Bast has been in hiding for over three thousand years. Olivia is the closest we’ve ever gotten to her. She’s been trained, even if she claims she hasn’t. She’s too good.”
“But why would Bast place her here?”
“I don’t know. If Bast knows what’s good for her, she’ll stay in hiding.”
Lianna snorted. “I know. Natalia’s been searching for a way to kill a goddess for years. I’m not sure she’s succeeded, but it’s no secret that her sole purpose is so she can kill her mother.”
“So what do we have to offer Bast?”
“Maybe Liv doesn’t remember anything or doesn’t even know Bast.”
“You’ve grown too close. Don’t let your guard down. That girl knows more than she’s saying. Trust me,” Amina said.
Their footsteps started up again, and I spun around and went the other way. My mind raced. Did I know Bast? Maybe she did this to me. Now I had even more reason to find her.
I met Goddess Kathryn at the front door after lunch wearing my street clothes. I’d managed to get some decent studying in, even with my mind buzzing with the new information on Bast. Kathryn grabbed my hand, and we appeared in the middle of town. She handed me an envelope.
“See you tonight,” she said with a wink and disappeared. Now I was intrigued. This test would be completely unsupervised, unless there were other goddesses around watching. It was possible. No matter what, though, I had to pass. This would get me one step closer to vengeance. I found a bench and opened the envelope.
To pass the persuasion test, you must arrive back at the sanctuary no later than seven. In your possession you must have the following:
A hundred dollars
A date for tonight’s dance
A piece of fine artwork or jewelry (not the ring you currently wear)
Thievery will not be tolerated. All must be attained using the art of persuasion.
Somehow in the next six hours I had to convince people to do these things for me. Oh, this would not be easy.
The first would probably be the hardest to obtain, so I would start there. A date would be a cinch as all of my persuasion practice had been on pretty boys, and jewelry stores loaned out jewelry all the time. A hundred dollars. Hmm. Would it be easier to convince one person to give me a hundred dollars or ten people to give me ten?
Ten. Definitely.
I spotted a doting grandmother chasing her grandson on the beach.
“Um, ma’am.”
The woman whipped her head up. “Yes?”
“I’m collecting money for a school project. It goes to a children’s charity. Would you be willing to part with ten dollars to help kids who aren’t as fortunate as your grandson?”
“Excuse me?” She scowled.
Uh, oh. “I’m collecting money for a charity.”
“Yeah, I heard that. But this is my son, not my grandson.”
Oops. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”
I raced down the beach. This was impossible.
A guy in a white button down shirt sprawled out on a bench, all legs and arms. I took a deep breath and sat next to him. I gave him the same spiel except I didn’t allude to his age at all. A creepy grin crawled across his face.
“Sweetheart, you gotta do better than that.” He leaned closer to me. “I’ll give you money for your charity, but only if you give me something first.”
I had nothing to give him, but I was dumb and agreed. He gave me the creeps, so I backed away a little. “Sure, what do you want?”
“A kiss on the cheek will earn you five bucks. Lips twenty. If you throw in some tongue, I’ll give you fifty.”
Oh, hell no. I slapped him across the face and stormed away, his laughter following me.
By six I was getting desperate. I’d only managed to scrounge up twenty-five bucks, and no one was about to part with a piece of fine art. Maybe I should’ve entertained creepy dude. I shuddered. Nope. The test wasn’t worth that.
I stopped at the entrance to the pawnshop. If I could get seventy-five bucks and another piece of jewelry out of my ring, then it should be fairly easy to find a boy who would bring me back to the sanctuary, because I needed a way back too.
I didn’t want to part with the ring. It was one of the few things I owned that could connect me to my past. But avenging my mother and father was more important than learning about my past. Besides, I could return tomorrow with Josie and get it back. She had cash.
The door jingled behind me as I entered. A wizened old man sat on the other side of the counter. I took a deep breath and handed him my ring.
“What can I get for that?”
He eyed the ring. “Fifty bucks.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? No way. It’s worth way more than that.”
He snorted. “Sorry, honey, I don’t know who sold you that, but it’s not real sapphire. Pretty though, but I have lots of pretty.” He waved his hand across the counter. Underneath the glass were dozens of rings.
The door jingled again, and I chewed my lip. “What if you gave me fifty bucks and another one of those rings?” I pointed to a set of classy looking rings.
He pulled out a different tray. “Only one of these.”
They were junk.
“What do you think you’re doing?” an angry voice asked.
My head jerked up. The guy from the bookstore stood there, his face twisted in rage. I couldn’t help myself. I swooned. Even in his anger, his eyes pierced mine. My heart raced. I could kiss that grimace right off those beautiful lips. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a quick deep breath. I had to focus. I had to pass this test. I opened my eyes again and looked up into his gorgeous face.
“Are you talking to me?” Hopefully my voice didn’t come out too breathy.
“Yes. What are you doing?” He spoke through gritted teeth.
“None of your business.” I turned to the shopkeeper, which made it much easier to concentrate, but I could still feel the heat of his body behind me and something else that I couldn’t place. It was almost as if he buzzed. “These are junk. I need something nicer.”
The shopkeeper pulled out another tray. “But then I’m only giving you twenty-five for the ring.”
The guy reached around me and snatched my ring out of the man’s hand. He gripped my upper arm and dragged me out of the shop.
“Excuse me.” I shook out of his grasp. “Are you insane?” If he caused me to fail this test, I would personally rip him limb from limb. Hot or not, he was interfering in a bad way.
His face softened. “No, but you can’t get rid of this ring.” He handed it to me.
“I need the money,” I said with a glare.
“How much?”
“Seventy-five. I don’t suppose you have that
on you because you just ruined my one chance at even getting close.” I only had forty-five minutes left. I wasn’t passing now.
He whipped out his wallet and handed me a hundred dollar bill. My eyes widened. Who knew it would be this easy? I snatched it from him.
“Why do you need the money?” he asked, concern on his face.
I looked away. “It’s a stupid test. I’m going to fail anyway.” My stomach tightened. This was so dumb. I wouldn’t have to persuade a Jinn to do anything. The goddesses just needed to give me a vessel and teach me how to trap them. Nothing else mattered.
He raised his eyebrows. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t get everything I needed, and I only have forty-five more minutes.”
“What else do you need?” It seemed odd that he wanted to help me. Maybe he really did know me from before.
“A piece of fine art or jewelry and a date. While you might be able to be my date, I don’t suppose you have a fancy piece of art in your pocket?”
He fumbled with a chain on his neck and handed me a necklace. The charm was gorgeous. It was a miniature stained glass charm of a night sky.
Holy freaking cow. If he didn’t make me so nervous, I’d kiss him.
“Wow, you’ve saved my neck. Do you want to come up to the castle with me?” All the locals called it the castle. Now I could kill two birds with one stone. I’d be able to see if he knew me and pass my test. Plus, I actually wanted to talk to him more.
“I can’t. Good luck with your test.” He reached out and stroked my cheek and then disappeared right in front of me. I blinked. I’d only ever seen goddesses do that. Who else could?
Jinn? No. He couldn’t be one of them. He was too nice. I shook my head. This was a mystery for another day. Tonight, I had to pass my test. I looked at my watch. Twenty minutes.
I found a group of guys outside the local ice cream shop. I was fairly certain a few of them had been in my persuasion class or up at a dance. When I asked if someone could escort me home, they practically fell over themselves to help. I wasn’t sure if that was because I batted my eyes or because they wanted to hang with the goddetts. Either way, I arrived with minutes to spare.
I handed the necklace and money to Kathryn and hustled off to change. I’d done it. Two tests down, five more to go. I was now one step closer to avenging my parents.
I met my date back in the ballroom. He was surprisingly good company, but I was distracted most of the night. I couldn’t get my mind off the guy from the pawnshop.
He had a perfect face—strong jaw, sexy five o’clock shadow, and dark piercing eyes. There was definitely something familiar about him, but I couldn't figure out what. The way he insisted I not sell the ring, as if it meant something to him. Maybe it did. I should’ve interrogated him more.
But then I wouldn’t have made it in time.
And I would’ve failed my test.
Who was he? A friend, maybe. A tiny thought wriggled in that maybe he was my boyfriend. But I dismissed it. If he’d been my boyfriend, he would’ve told me who he was. Unless whoever took my memory threatened him.
I chuckled to myself.
I was going mad—inventing secret hot boyfriends. Maybe I’d been trapped in this castle with girls too long.
Chapter Twelve
Liv
The week was the best yet. The divines were much better company, but mostly because I had Josie. I didn’t even mind that I sucked at magic still. I wanted to test in a few other classes, but none of the teachers thought I was ready.
Wednesday afternoon, I showed up to defense, determined to prove to Sensei Kane that I was more than ready to test. I was pretty good at fighting—when I wasn’t running away. Then I just fell over, but otherwise I could hold my own.
I arrived a few minutes early to see if I could talk to her. She was alone in the room, putting out mats. Her head jerked up.
“You’re not ready,” she said before I could say anything.
“But I am. You’ve seen me. I win all of my sparring matches. And last week when you had three girls on me at once, I fought them all off.”
“Yes, but then you couldn’t get away. Half of defense is getting away from the attacker, and you can’t do that.”
I clenched my fists. “Yeah, I can. Please. Let me prove it.”
She didn’t say anything as she placed the last mat on the floor. Without warning, she sprung at me. Before I knew what was happening, she had me pinned to the ground with my face pressed into the mat.
“If you can get out of the door before another girl walks in, you’ll pass.”
I pulled my knees into my chest to buck her off. She still managed to hold on, but I elbowed her in the nose and scrambled up.
Then I ran.
I looked behind me to see how far away she was.
She was steps behind me. I hesitated for a second and plowed right into Josie.
We landed on the ground in a heap. Behind me, Sensei Kane guffawed.
Dammit.
This wasn’t over. I’d try again and next week, and I’d pass. And I wouldn’t violate the number one rule. No looking back.
On Saturday, Josie and I decided to go back into town. She wanted to do some shopping, and I just wanted to get out of the castle. I was frustrated because I wasn’t able to pass any more tests, which meant I wasn’t any closer to getting my revenge.
I tried to tell myself that getting out of the castle had nothing to do with that guy, but I was fooling myself. It was definitely about that guy. I was hoping to run into him again. This time I would get answers. Like why my ring was so important and how he knew me—because he definitely knew me. He helped me because he cared about me for some reason.
Plus he could totally disappear.
I kept a close eye out for him as we did our shopping.
“So are your parents rich or something?” I asked.
I eyed a shirt that was over a hundred dollars. Josie liked eclectic, expensive shops.
Josie shook her head. “You passed persuasion, right? Watch.”
She took the skirt in her hand and approached counter. “Excuse me, is this on sale?”
The woman shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”
“I think it is. Ninety percent off.”
The woman looked confused for a minute. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Josie handed the woman a twenty, and she bagged up the skirt.
“I passed persuasion. I couldn’t do that,” I said after we exited the shop.
“Yeah, there might have been some magic involved. I’ll teach you later.”
“Magic. Right. I can’t do anything.” This was so infuriating. I was fairly confident I could pass defense and discernment. Seduction was a challenge, but that was only because I wasn’t terribly confident in that realm. Magic was a mess though. I couldn’t even unlock a door, which was the first lesson we learned.
We turned a corner, and I saw the guy arguing with a woman in front of a café.
“Josie, I see someone I know. Meet me here in an hour?”
She nodded, her eye already on an outfit in a window.
I rushed down the lane, not wanting to lose them. He had answers for me even if he didn’t want to give them. A few feet away, the guy looked over at me and smiled.
“Gabe.” The woman stomped her foot. “This is ridiculous. You’re going to get hurt.”
He didn’t take his eyes off of me. The woman turned her head and rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later. Be careful.”
“Hi.” He ignored the woman as she stormed away.
“We need to talk.” I said, fingering the starry necklace. The goddesses had given it back to me, telling me I’d earned it.
“Sure, let’s walk down by the beach.”
I took off the necklace and handed it to him. “This is yours. Thanks for letting me borrow it. It’s beautiful work. Where did you get it?”
He still buzzed with energy. I’d never felt that on anyone before, but he definitel
y had something different about him.
He grinned, his fingers closing around the necklace. “You made it.”
I frowned and fell into step next to him. “So, your name is Gabe?” It seemed fitting, and I liked the way it rolled off my tongue.
He kept his gaze on me. “And you are Liv.”
“How long have I known you?”
“That’s an odd question.” He kept his expression neutral, but his shoulders were tense. Did he really have no idea? No, he was playing dumb. We made our way onto the beach.
“Humor me.” I slid off my flats and dug my toes into the sand.
“A few months.”
My palms went sweaty. He did know me. A few months. I wanted to know how we knew each other. Was this perfect specimen of a man my boyfriend? But it seemed so bold to ask that question. I started with something easier. “Who am I?”
“You are Liv.” He stared out over the water. He was trying to be calm, but I wasn’t buying it.
“What’s my last name?”
“Williams. Do you not remember?”
“No. I know my first name, and that’s about it. Where am I from?” I asked, excited now. He obviously knew me, but maybe he didn’t understand my memory had been taken from me.
He took my hand. I looked down at our intertwined fingers. I barely knew this man, but something about it felt comfortable and safe, so I didn’t shake him off. This was entirely unreal. I stared into his gorgeous dark eyes.
He placed a hand on my cheek, and pain crossed his face. “Someone removed your memories for a reason. Maybe it was to keep you safe.”
So he did know, but he was being evasive. I shook him off and took two steps back. I clenched my fists.
“Why are you here?” I demanded. He knew who I was, and he was keeping important facts from me.
“Because I didn’t want to be away from you. I didn’t even know your memories were gone until I ran into you in the bookshop and you didn’t recognize me. My heart broke that day.”
I tried to speak, but no words came out. I didn’t know how to ask the question. “Were you and I… were we, you know, like together?”
The Glowing Sands (Sons of the Sand Book 3) Page 6