Sasha got the sense that the mother wasn’t just talking about the Senate’s well-laid plans for her future.
“Embrace this experience and it will go quickly. Resist it and you could be here for a very long time. Either way, it takes as long as it takes. It will be up to you and your teacher to make this a success."
Sasha nodded, drying her eyes. She would do this. She would find a way to get along with Jayesh.
"We will talk each evening as the sun sets over my gardens. I will wait for you there.” She gestured at the head monk waiting to take them to their rooms. “Rabishan will see you to your dormitories."
"Yes, mother," Sasha murmured, bowing her head as the mother left them for the evening.
"Please don't make this difficult," Jayesh and Sasha said at the same time after Mother Raghavan’s footsteps faded in the distance.
~~~
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Quinn: Fall
Atlanta, Georgia
“Why are you so twitchy?” Santi scowled at Quinn across the kitchen island.
“I’m not.” Quinn fidgeted with his breakfast. It always bothered him to eat in front of her, knowing she was never getting enough.
“You’re like a five-year-old messing with his cereal. Eat and get out of here. You know Livia’s a stickler for the schedule. And God help you if you mess up Lennox's day. She'll tear your face off.”
“I’m going.” Quinn drained the last of his juice and went to rinse his dishes. He hated making Santi clean up after him.
“You know you’re sweating, right?” She frowned up at him, checking his forehead.
“I’m just … off today, I guess.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, leaving her to her chores.
He caught a glimpse of himself in the foyer mirror on his way out of his penthouse prison. He looked like shit. He felt weird, too. Like a newly Awakened kid on the cusp of touching his power for the first time. He hadn’t felt like that in ages.
It wasn’t that long ago, Quinn. Just a year ago his last gift had manifested, but with four unique gifts in his arsenal, it wasn’t likely he’d ever have to go through that again.
Quinn stepped onto the empty elevator to make his way down to the training center. His life had settled into a new normal over the last few weeks and it surprised him how easily he had slipped into the routine of Soma. After a morning with James, they’d hit the gym to work with Lennox. He knew Livia only had them working together so he would get attached. That way, when she was ready to remind him who was in charge and what she wanted from him, she could use Lennox against him and it would hurt that much more.
Lennox came to Soma before she could even remember living anywhere else. Ryan found her wandering around the first floor lobby. She couldn’t have been more than two at the time. James suspected her parents feared raising a child as powerful as Lennox would likely be. To Quinn, she wasn’t much more than average. But to those who hadn’t grown up with someone like Aidan, in a family as powerful as theirs, he supposed Lennox could seem intimidating--especially to a young couple. They probably thought they were leaving her with people who would see she was trained properly. But they couldn’t have known they were sentencing her to a cold and clinical life that would never be her own.
“You’re late,” James said the moment Quinn arrived at the enormous training center where counselors worked with the Soma kids in residence. These kids were slated to hit the slave market in a few years and few of them realized it. Most of them came to the Fold for help and, in exchange, they’d lost their freedom. There were other kids, in a different part of the building, who hadn’t made it this far in yet. They lived in dormitories and thought they were lucky to be accepted into the program.
“Sorry. I’m not feeling up to my usual today,” Quinn said. “Had a bad night.” His dreams were leaving him restless. He dreamed of home almost every night he slept now. It was getting easier to remember he’d only been at Soma a few months, but he still missed his home and his family as if he hadn’t seen them in years. The ache of missing Sasha haunted him. So many times, he woke in a sweat after chasing a phantom of her through his dreams, reliving those final confusing moments with her. That last dance. Their last words to each other. The kiss. He’d wake up wondering what that kiss meant to her. What it meant to him now that he felt like he had five years’ distance from that night. Other times, throughout his day, he would get an overwhelming sense that she was in trouble and needed him. The separation from her was almost worse than anything he’d suffered at Michael’s hand.
“You’re training with Lennox this morning.”
“What, no pep talk today?” Quinn gave his trainer a shove.
“You don’t listen to anything I say anyway.” James returned the shove with a grin.
“What’s with the change in my schedule?” Lennox burst through the door looking like a street urchin, with her ratty hair in a messy braid over her shoulder and a smear of blood on her chin. “I have training at eleven on weekdays, not nine.” She didn’t like it when her routine changed without notice. She was a mouthy little kid with a tough skin. She needed it, living at Soma.
“Have you been fighting again?” James frowned down at her.
“Isn’t that what we’re all here for?” She crossed her arms.
“Depends. Were you the bully in whatever scrape you’ve gotten yourself into now?”
“No comment.” She wiped the dried blood off her chin.
“We’re working out, and then you and Quinn are going to spar,” James said.
Lennox wrinkled her nose at that. “He’s a giant ox. You want him to put me in the infirmary?”
“My aunt isn’t much bigger than you and I spar with her all the time,” Quinn said, thinking of Chloe. Her Awakening would have happened recently. The realization that he'd missed it and hadn’t even realized knocked the wind out of him. I’m missing everything.
“She’s just a little older than you are.” His voice took on a softer tone.
“You have an aunt who’s younger? That’s weird.” Lennox dropped into the chair beside him.
Quinn glanced up at James, wondering for the millionth time if he could trust him. He didn’t want these people knowing more about his family than they should. “My father is her much older brother. She’s only fifteen … sixteen now … and she’s an incredible fighter—even if she is small.”
“She’s fifteen and she trains? I guess I thought kids got to have an actual life outside this place.” Lennox frowned.
“She goes to school and she has friends but we all train every day, pretty much like we do here.” Quinn sat back and pressed his lips together as if to stop the flow of words. He didn’t want to be the reason Soma went snooping around his family any more than they already had.
“She has friends, though, so it has to be better than this place.” Lennox picked at a rip in her jeans. “So what, you’re going to kick my butt today?”
Quinn glanced back at James, wondering what his agenda really was.
Don’t worry about James, Lennox said in her peculiar way. He’s just doing what he’s told. He never tells them anything important and they don't push him. We can trust him. He’s just lazy, that’s all.
Quinn laughed at the kid’s honesty, wondering if James knew about Len’s situation.
“Quinn’s going to work with you for a while,” James said. “Just routine training, like always.”
“For what purpose?” Quinn asked, though he was certain today was just meant to give them another opportunity to connect now so Livia could use it against him later.
“Well, I’m not the best sparring coach and our little Len has some … personality conflicts with some of the other trainers.” He gave her a patronizing look.
“My personality is just fine. I can’t help it if everyone else sucks.” Lennox shot him a glare.
She’s a mini Allie. Quinn shook his head at the painful reminder of his friend.
“Ho
w about you show Lennox how someone small can take down a bigger opponent?” James suggested.
“Come on, squirt.” Quinn forced a smile for the angry little girl beside him. He might as well make this fun for her. She got precious little of that living here. “One of these days you’re going to grow into those limbs of yours.” He crossed the gym to one of the free mats.
“You sayin’ I’m short?” Lennox bit back.
“I’m saying you’re going to be tall … eventually, but right now you’re all arms and legs, so I’m going to show you how to use that to your advantage.”
“How?”
Quinn crouched low. “Come at me in an offensive strike.”
Lennox charged at him like an ox ten times her size.
“Good.” Quinn moved in a defensive sidestep, watching how Lennox responded, changing direction effortlessly. “Now use the span of your arm’s reach to overwhelm me as you come in for your first strike. You can easily reach my right shoulder and my left knee at the same time; use it to tip my balance and take me down.”
Quinn let her move in, showing her how to grasp him behind the knee and put all her energy into throwing him off-balance, using his weight against him.
The first time he went down, she kicked him for added measure.
“Sorry!” She reached to help him up. “I got excited.”
“Len’s a kicker. Better watch out,” James said dryly.
Quinn worked with her for most of the morning, under the careful watch of James—Livia’s eyes and ears. No matter what he said, at the end of the day, that was his job.
Lennox knew how to fight dirty, but her training was far behind what Quinn would have expected for someone her age.
“You’re fast and you have a good sense of how to move in a fight against someone bigger, but you don’t have to resort to cheap shots.” He rubbed his shin where she’d kicked him again.
“I find it quite satisfying.” Lennox laughed as she danced around him, eager to go again.
Quinn shook his head; the smile on his face felt foreign to him.
“Why do I hear laughter when I should hear fighting?” Livia asked from the observation deck above the gym. She stared down her nose, trying to give them her resting bitch face, but even Livia couldn’t help smiling at Lennox when she was clearly having fun.
“Did you see me flip this big ox?” Lennox asked.
“I did.” Livia nodded. “It seems he’s taught you a few new tricks. Care to try them out on me?”
“Bring it on, Liv.” Lennox grinned as Livia came down the stairs to join her on the mat.
Quinn couldn’t help but gape in surprise at the way Livia responded to Lennox—like a for-real, actual nice person.
Tossing her a bo staff from the weapons wall, Livia faced off with the girl, barely half her size but Lennox was determined to beat her. She moved fast and was a pro with the bo staff, but Livia kept her on her toes.
It was good to see Lennox enjoying herself, but it was bizarre seeing Livia act like a real person. When Lennox rushed in to grab her by the knee, Livia hadn’t expected it and went down like a ton of bricks. But she was ready for Len’s signature kick to the ribs and grabbed the girl’s foot, bringing her down beside her with a laugh.
“What have I told you about kicking?”
“Don’t be so predictable.” Lennox giggled.
Quinn couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Livia clearly loved that little girl. It didn’t make any sense how she could use her like she had.
“That’s enough fun for today,” Livia finally said. “I have work to do. Bring her home with you tonight, Quinn. We’re having dinner in the penthouse. This one is too skinny. I don’t think they feed her enough in the dining hall.”
“I don’t like the dining hall. Not since they took out the sundae bar.”
“From what I hear that was the only thing you’d eat.” Livia winked as she turned to go.
“Did she just wink?” Quinn looked to James for confirmation. “Or am I hallucinating again?”
“As difficult as it may seem, Livia isn’t completely heartless. She just has a demanding job she never really signed on for. Kind of like most of us here at Soma. She’s hard. She expects obedience and she has little patience for anyone other than Lennox, but she’s not pure evil.”
“I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Hey, Len, clean up here and put your weapons away. We’ll meet back in my office in five,” James instructed.
“Don’t we have people for that?” She scowled at the mess of weapons and towels on the gym floor.
“Len.” James sighed.
“Fine, I’m going.” She stalked off with a huff.
“It’s Lennox,” James said, lowering his voice. “She’s a special kid. Everyone loves her. Even Livia.”
“Her life is so cold and monotonous. Kids like Lennox don’t belong here.”
“She doesn’t know any better, Quinn. Sure, she wishes for a life outside of Soma, but you can’t really miss what you never had.”
Quinn eyed his trainer. He wasn’t so sure James knew any better either.
~~~
“I’m starving,” Lennox said as they stepped into the penthouse foyer. “Something smells amazing.”
Quinn was hungry too, but he was anxious to see Santi again. His training sessions were running longer and longer, and she rarely got to leave the apartment. They never had much time to talk privately anymore. Only on the nights they slept when Livia didn’t. And even then, Santi was often too tired to talk much. He found himself missing her during the day and then feeling guilty about it when he inevitably thought of Sasha and the growing distance between him and the girl he’d loved most of his life.
“I made your favorite, chica.” Santi smiled as she set the table, her chains suspiciously absent.
“Spaghetti and meatballs?” Lennox grabbed a seat at the table set for four.
“With lots of garlic bread,” Santi said.
Quinn gave Santi a perplexed look. This had all the makings of a family dinner and that didn't bode well for any of them. This had to be some kind of attempt to disarm him—a false sense of peace that could shatter at any moment.
Santi shrugged, moving to pour iced tea into the glasses.
“Dessert?” Lennox asked.
“Sundaes.” Santi winked. Her eyes were dark. She hadn’t slept a full night in months. Nor had she eaten more than a meal of bland chicken and steamed vegetables since he arrived. It was enough to sustain a mortal, but the limited diet was taking a toll on her Immortal body.
“You had to cook all of this?” he asked as she placed a huge bowl of pasta and meatballs on the table with a basket of cheesy garlic bread. Her hands shook from the effort to restrain herself.
“Every delicious-looking bit.” Santi sighed.
“Dinner ready?” Livia asked as she swept in from her office with a look of grim determination on her face and a tumbler of whisky in her hand. “I’m starving,” she said as she sat down at the head of the table and nodded to Santi to serve them.
Quinn sat across from Lennox, fuming as Santi served each of them before she could join them. Lennox chattered away, but even her anxious rambling couldn’t mask the sound of Santi’s rumbling stomach. On most nights they each fended for themselves. Quinn usually ate in the dining hall downstairs with James so he wouldn’t have to eat in front of Santi.
“This is bullshit, Liv,” Quinn finally said when Santi sat down beside Lennox to a plate of brown rice and canned tuna. The whole thing was barely three bites.
“It’s fine, Quinn. Just eat,” Santi insisted, but he could see the longing in her eyes. Mind games were the way of life around Soma, but this he couldn’t stand. Watching her needless suffering when he knew she was a breath away from giving up. It was too much.
“Just let her eat, Liv. Please?”
Lennox nearly dropped her fork. “You don’t let Santi eat?” That is totally messed
up. She glanced at Quinn in uncertainty.
“Hush, Len. It’s okay. I'm just on a special diet. I made this for you, so I want you to enjoy it,” Santi said.
“Let her eat,” Quinn demanded.
“What’s with not letting her eat?” Lennox said. You don’t understand, Quinn. Livia doesn’t like doing this to people. She has to.
“That’s enough, Lennox,” Livia said. “Santi knows her diet will improve when her behavior does.” Livia narrowed her eyes at Quinn. Gone was the Livia he’d seen that afternoon. Her armor was firmly back in place.
“This is sadistic, even for you. Can’t you see she’s never going to fall for your stupid games? She will never agree to a life of slavery.”
"Slavery?" Lennox’s eyes widened in alarm. Who’s a slave? You guys?
Quinn glanced at the brand on her ankle and wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear. She doesn’t even know she’s a slave?
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Quinn.” Livia’s voice held an edge of warning for him to shut up.
“Well, I won’t sit here and watch you do this to her.” Quinn stood up to leave, not sure which “her” he was more incensed on behalf of—Santi or Lennox.
“You will sit here and have dinner with us and you will enjoy it,” Livia demanded. Her tone said Santi would pay the consequences for his outburst if he didn’t sit down immediately.
“It’s fine, Quinn. Please, just sit and eat,” Santi begged.
With a curt nod at his seat, Livia told him she would let it go if he obeyed. It was lenient for her in the extreme and it was the best outcome he could hope for at this point.
With a shaky breath, he sank back into his seat and nearly laughed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lennox wrapping meatballs and pasta into her napkin and shoving it into the pockets of Santi’s cargo pants. He was pretty sure by the hint of a smile on Livia’s face that she knew exactly what Lennox was up to.
Immortals of Indriell- The Collection Page 96