Destined, p.15
Destined, page 15
Her pulse sped up and she willed it to slow so the lykans present would not hear it. “Yes?”
“Can you feel the girl?”
She pretended to take a moment and then shook her head gravely. “No. She’s not at the Center.”
“Well, where is she?”
Okay, Cy, time to draw on your best acting skills. Channel Meryl Streep. “I-I don’t know. I-I can’t feel her,” she said, pretending to be panicked by the thought.
“What do you mean you can’t feel her? You told me you could find anyone in the trace?”
She pushed a few tears into the corner of her eyes, brushing her hair off her face, making her hands tremble. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why …”
“Argh!” Marita threw up her hands in exasperation. Then she took a calming breath, turning back into the ice queen as she menacingly glanced at Blair, her voice low and terrifying. “How on Gaia’s green earth did this happen?”
Forty-eight hours earlier
Avoiding Lucien was proving easy. Avoiding everyone else?
Not so much.
It was easy with Lucien because he was angry at her, and he had reason to be. She had promised she would stay with the pack rather than fight at the Center. On the other hand, if he wasn’t being such an idiot, he would realize she would never go back on her word and realize that something was up. At the moment, his misunderstanding was working more in her favor than if he was questioning her motives. She needed him well and truly out of this.
This being …
Her, trying to build up the courage to confront Vilhelm. The idea of encouraging someone to break a Midnight out of prison and out of the Center was insane.
Maybe I’ve got Marita all wrong. Maybe it’s me with my stupid trace. Maybe being a half Midnight means my trace is broken. Maybe I’m the delusional one.
The truth was that she didn’t want to believe all these people she trusted were wrong and she was right. What about Marion and Magnus?
What about Albus?
What about her father?
Were they wrong? Did they give their lives to a lie?
Goddess, it was too awful to conceive.
Then she let herself feel Laila’s trace, and her gut twisted.
Could her trace really be so off that she would feel this sweetness from a girl who was evil? Was there ever really just good and evil?
Ethan had certainly been evil.
But was that like condemning Austrians because Hitler was a soulless fiend?
My head hurts.
She flopped back on her bed, staring up at the heavy silk canopy above, wishing she were anywhere but where she was.
“You have to make up your mind, Cy. Time is running out,” she snapped at herself. At this moment she was supposed to be at a water lecture. That’s what she had told Mordecai, anyway. When he realized she wasn’t there, he’d come looking for her. She was surprised, in fact, that there wasn’t a gaggle of bodies outside her room, but she guessed the ordinary candidates couldn’t access her floor.
Muffled voices suddenly floated through her walls from the hallway and she moved quick and quiet to press her ear against her door. Sure enough, she could hear voices coming from the elevator, which was at least fifteen meters around the corner and down the hall.
She recognized them. Mordecai and Marita.
Artemis, she loved her lykan hearing.
Grinning jubilantly, she pressed harder and felt her pulse race at the conversation.
“I don’t know what this plant of yours is going to pick up, Mordecai. From all accounts, she has had no one in her room.”
“The lykan. Lucien. Surely she’ll invite him into the room. We should learn something from that conversation.”
“And this plant? You’re sure it will go undetected by her?”
“Well, you could put a faerie in there if you aren’t confident in me.”
“One: Stop being impertinent. Two: You know why I can’t put a faerie into her room. It’s that bloody faerie of my sister’s, Saffron. She’s too influential among the faeries here and she happens to hold Caia in the deepest of respect, which is saying a lot for the sarcastic relic.”
“This will work, I promise.”
“And you’re sure you personally can’t learn anything more from her?”
“I told you, Marita, I got all the info I could on her special ability. I tested that tree she blew up and still nothing of any consequence. We won’t know for certain until we see it in action. But I maintain that I believe her when she says she has it under control.”
“And Jaeden?”
“I’m not going to get anything more out of her on that subject. Hence the plant.”
“Do you think she’s even aware of Jaeden’s … abilities?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”
“You better. We need that information if we want to be successful. So far the children are not reacting in any way.”
“Yes, well, this bug should tell us what we need to know.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then we find another way to get what we need. Perhaps a more direct solution, such as the one I suggested earlier.”
“It’s too risky. I told you it’s a last resort … impertinent … ”
Shock reverberated through Caia’s body. She pulled back from the door, staring at it in disbelief. Mordecai was working with Marita, trying to unearth secrets from her. What did they want with her? With Jaeden? What abilities? What children?
Oh goddess, she cupped a hand over her mouth to silence her snarl of frustration. Something seriously weird was going on here, and her spider senses were telling her it was something bad.
Enough was enough.
She straightened and glared at the doorway.
No more second-guessing herself. No more doubt. She’d been right all along. Something wasn’t right at the coven, and there were innocent people feeling the consequences, including herself and more importantly, Laila. She was getting the girl out today.
Mordecai’s and Marita’s footsteps grew closer, and Caia panicked. They couldn’t barge in here because that would be suspicious of them, and she had to maintain the cover that she trusted Mordecai completely. She began to sing loudly, making them aware of her presence. There was silence for a moment and then a soft tap on her door.
“Come in.”
Alone, Mordecai strolled in, a breezy smile on his face. “Hey, I wondered where you had gotten to. You weren’t in the lecture.”
Caia shrugged, holding her claws in tight so she wouldn’t attack the traitor right. “I just wanted to catch a breath before I head down to see Desi and Ophelia.”
He looked momentarily bewildered. “It’s just like you, Caia, to take people like Travelers under your wing.”
You smug son of a bitch.
She smiled tightly.
He strolled around the room making small talk, and if she hadn’t been looking for it specifically, she never would’ve noticed the ultra-subtle move he made, dropping something tiny and weightless into a vase by the fireplace.
So now her room was bugged.
His eyes creased in concern. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Honest. Just taking some time.”
“Well.” He grinned and headed toward the door. “Just checking up. Come get me if you need me.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Caia … have you thought any more about Marita’s offer? I think you should really consider it.”
I bet you do.
“I’m definitely giving it serious thought. Wouldn’t be here otherwise. You know, there’s just so much more to learn.”
Like just how sneaky and conniving the Head of the Coven is.
He smiled again and left.
Jeez, that magik was a great actor. She’d had no idea he was a scummy little toad working for his mistress. She withheld from snorting in disgust in case the bug picked it up and instead headed for the door.
She had a prison break to put into motion.
Twenty-four hours later
“There you are.”
She tried not to groan at the familiar voice that sent shivers down her spine no matter the occasion. And right now, she did not have time to deal with the person belonging to that voice.
“Ssh,” she hissed at him, sliding the actual book she’d been reading under a copy of Practical Tae Kwon Do: Back to the Roots.
“What are you doing here?” Lucien whispered, sliding into the chair beside her and leaning over to check out her reading material. He raised an eyebrow but made no comment. And then he lifted his silver gaze to hers and she had to force herself not to look away.
“Why are we whispering? There’s no one else in here.”
Caia glanced around the small, empty library and shrugged. “There could have been.”
Lucien stretched back in his seat, pinning her with a look of frustration. “I’ve come to a conclusion after our little meeting with Marita.”
“Oh?”
“At first I was angry. And then angrier. And then today I let my brain take over and I thought, no—Caia wouldn’t abandon the pack after what happened with Sebastian. She still feels raw about that, still feels guilty even though it’s not her fault.” He heaved a sigh, running his hand through his hair, before setting his elbow on the table and leaning toward her. “You still grieve for him. You would never leave us. So why did you tell Marita you would consider her job offer?”
Crap. She had so wanted his obtuse lykan self to not figure out this part.
Even though her heart was determined to race, she held tight in her seat, her butt clenched with the tension it took not to give anything away. “I don’t know what you’re babbling about.”
He smirked, unconvinced. “You’re delaying leaving here. Now, again, when I first came to that conclusion, I thought it was because you were kind of a rock star—enjoying the glory of being a mega-being.” He guffawed. “Then I came to my senses, and thought no, this is Caia, the girl who blushed at her first pack run, the girl who looks as if she would give anything to melt into the wallpaper every time we meet in Marita’s suite to discuss the MacLachlan attack.”
Oh Gaia, she really wished he hadn’t decided to get all perceptive where she was concerned.
“Lucien—”
He held up his hand to cut her off. “So that leaves me with one question.”
She waited.
His eyes narrowed dangerously and his head lowered in mimicry of his lykan when going on the attack. “What the Hades are you up to, Caia?”
“Lucien—”
“I am still your Pack Leader and I demand to know what you’re planning here.”
She wanted to tell him, she really did. But without knowing how he really felt about her, how could she trust him with this before she actually did it? If her plan went accordingly, she would have to tell him eventually. But now, when there was still so much at stake?
“The Center has made me see things differently. I really am considering Marita’s offer.”
He growled. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Caia—”
“Lucien, I’m telling you the truth, so drop it.”
His nostrils flared and he pushed back so hard from the table, his chair flew out behind him and smashed against the wall at the opposite end of the room.
Caia scowled at him. “Nicely done.”
“Don’t even start. Do you know how close I am to … to …” He made a choking gesture with his hands and bared his teeth at her. Instead of responding to him, she glanced in what she hoped was a casual manner behind him and flicked her wrist, setting the chair to right and returning it to the table.
He grunted at her use of magik and then turned on her, his eyes glittering as he leaned down so close to her face she felt his warm breath whisper across her skin. “I will get to the bottom of this.”
Trying not to blink, Caia eased away slightly but kept her own challenging gaze locked on his. “Good luck with that.”
With a harsh curse, Lucien jerked away from her and marched toward the double doors that led out of the library. She watched as he hesitated and half turned to glare at her. “Thought you might like to know that Jaeden is home safe and sound.”
Jae? She was all right? Marita had said …
“Is she okay?”
Lucien twisted his mouth in derision. “Safe and sound generally implies such.”
“Sarcasm. Wonderful.”
He grunted and turned to the door.
“Lucien!”
Heaving a melodramatic sigh, his shoulders hunched in defense, Lucien refused to turn and look at her. He threw out an exasperated “What?”
“Is … is Jaeden … has Jaeden … Was there any mention of Jaeden having … abilities?”
He curled his head toward her, enough to raise a mocking eyebrow. “Such as the ability to morph into a wolf?”
She grimaced. “You really are unpleasant when you’re not getting your own way.”
“No. I’m just used to having my orders obeyed.”
“There’s a difference between that and abusing your position to nose into my privacy.”
Scowling, he made to turn away from her, and before he disappeared with a banging of the doors, he murmured, “Don’t think I don’t find the Jaeden question weird.”
When he was gone, Caia blew out a weary breath.
Jaeden was okay.
And she would remain so as long as Caia had any say in it.
Twenty-three hours later after that
Vilhelm stared back at her, wild-eyed and shaking.
“You’re sure this is going to work?”
Caia nodded, poker face on, her body steady as a rock. If they were to pull this off, she needed to project a calm confidence that he wouldn’t question.
She had to hand it to the kid—he was either extremely brave or stupidly in love. After hunting him down, it had taken very little to convince Vilhelm to break Laila out of the Center and take her to Ryder’s. It seemed they were both desperate enough to place their trust in a stranger. They stood now in a janitor’s closet, a few corridors away from the prison.
“You ready?”
Vil nodded excitedly. “Do it.”
With unruffled nerve, Caia raised her hand so that it hovered an inch in front of Vil’s face. Slowly and carefully, her fingers crackling with energy, she swept the air in a vertical motion from the tip of his hair to the tip of his chin.
“Is it done?”
She bit her lip, staring at Vil who was now the exact image of Vanne. “Not quite.”
Softly, she placed a hand on his neck, over his voice box.
“Cold,” he chuckled nervously.
With a satisfied nod, Caia pulled back. “Say something else.”
“I can’t wait to see Laila.” His eyes widened. “I can’t wait to see Laila. Wow, I sound exactly like Vanne.”
Caia nodded. “Remember, you have thirty minutes to get in there and get out of the Center before your face and voice return. Hold out your hand, palm forward.”
He did as instructed and she placed her small hand against his large one.
Lucien had almost caught her researching this act she was about to perform: the transfer of a small amount of her power to another magik. The transfer would last only ten minutes at the most, but they needed this so Vil could break Laila out of the bars in her prison.
Yesterday morning, Caia and Vil had managed to sweet-talk a junior officer at the containment center into giving up the name of the spell wrapped around the bars holding Laila in. He’d been more than happy to show off how the facilities worked for the VIP magik.
With the help of a little something Vil had picked up during an air element lecture, he was able to stop the memory of their having been at the containment center by temporarily starving the oxygen flow to the hippocampus of the officer’s brain, where memories were consolidated from short to long-term.
It tended to be a little painful and cause confusion for a moment, giving them plenty of time to get out before he came to his senses.
Lucien had then interrupted Caia’s research in the library where she’d discovered what kind of spell to counteract the one keeping the magik up around the bars. It was a small incantation that needed to be said while focusing the energy used to produce glamour on the bars. The temporary transfer of her power to Vil was necessary, since he wasn’t really good at anything but using his air element and being a Traveler.
“You remember the password and incantation?”
Vil tapped his brain. “Locked in tight.”
It was weird talking to him when he looked and sounded like Vanne. Filled with trepidation, Caia jerked her head toward the closet door. “You better get going. Remember you can trust Ryder—he’ll keep you safe. Don’t mention Laila being a Midnight just yet.”
“Got it.”
“Tell him what I told you to tell him.”
“Don’t worry, I will. I trust you.”
She guessed it was easier to trust the person who tells you they think the girl you love is actually a good person than the person who imprisoned her and forbade you from ever seeing her again.
It was at that moment the familiar, sickening, icy feeling shuddered through her body, and a wealth of new information poured into her.
“Crap,” she whispered.
“What, what?” Vil asked, frantic.
“Nothing. Nothing. It’s not about this. It doesn’t affect this. Go!” She pushed him toward the door and watched impatiently as he ducked his head out to make sure the corridor was clear. Caia closed the closet door behind her and nodded at him. “See you soon.”
He smiled tremulously. “Hope so.”
With that, they spun away from each other and headed in opposite directions. At the elevators, Caia picked up the intercom system.
“Center Reception, Chloe speaking.”
“Chloe, it’s Caia Ribeiro. Can you put me through to Marita?”
“One second, please.”
The line was silent for only a moment.
