chapter Twenty-Six
MY EYES CRACKED OPEN, and my surroundings rocked. I was in a dimly lit room with mahogany paneled walls—walls and furniture I’d seen before. The swaying of the room and familiar scenery jarred my memory. I was on the Narcolym Council’s airship.
I touched the back of my pounding head. A tender knot bloomed beneath my fingertips. Panicked, I dug for my communicator, but my pockets were empty. Damn.
I glanced around me. There were no windows. Only one door. I jumped off the small cot and stumbled toward it. Grasping the brass handle, I twisted, my hands slipping around the knob. Locked. Of course. I slumped against the cool wood.
I pressed my ear to the door. Footsteps echoed in the hallway just outside the room. I backed away from the door. Crap. I didn’t have any kind of weapon. Quickly, I scanned the room. The only thing here was that stupid cot and a desk with a chair. A chair!
I ran to the desk, balanced myself, and raised the chair above my head. I threw it against the floor. It didn’t break. I did it again and this time a leg came loose. I knelt and pried it from the seat. I heard a click and the door began opening. I stood my ground, my wooden stake held out in front of me.
“Put that away,” a Narco said. “I’m not a vampire.” He sauntered toward the center of the room. His black hair was slicked back, and his pale, unearthly features hard. He was the Narco Council member I’d seen the day of my test. “Wouldn’t want you to poke one of those precious violet eyes out now, would we?” He motioned for me to take a seat on the cot.
I shook my head. “Whatever you have planned,” I said, sizing him up, “I’ll die first.”
He tsked me, waggling a finger. “You should have never been raised Shythe. Your attitude would have been far more accommodating if you were brought up Narcolym.” He studied me a moment. “I have to admit, though. You were the last one I suspected. That was an amazing performance you gave.” He leaned against the desk. “You even managed to fool one of my best soldiers.”
I relaxed my grip on the weapon and squinted. Did he mean I’d fooled Reese? If Reese didn’t report me…My mind drifted. I sat down on the cot. I didn’t feel I was in immediate danger. He still needed me, after all.
I glared at him. “Then how did you find me?”
He crossed one ankle over the other. “Hair sample,” he deadpanned. “I became bored waiting for my soldiers to locate you. And with today’s amazing advancements, there was really no need to wait any longer to discover if you were alive and here in Haven Falls.” He grinned.
I felt the back of my head, remembering my hair being yanked before I began my performance. “The blindfold.”
“I see that the Shythe haven’t raised a complete fool.” He uncrossed his legs and took a step toward me. “Although, it would have been much better for you to have come to me first. We could have avoided this whole painful process. That was my intention, of course. I didn’t want to force you to hand over you power.”
I studied him. I could take him. Maybe he felt me considering it, because he halted mid-step.
“Well, I have no idea how to just give you my power,” I said. “So you’re out of luck.”
A viscous smile snaked across his lips. “There are ways to persuade you to learn how.” He paced slowly. “Those you care about, perhaps. It’s come to my attention that your mother is still alive.” He faced me. “For now.”
“You bastard, don’t touch her.” I jumped up, but before I reached him, he blasted me with a ball of Flame, sending me crashing back into the cot.
“You’re not the only one with power, Destiny,” he said. “And I’m sure we can figure out a way to help each other without anyone getting hurt.”
I clutched my chest. The burned fabric of my blouse wafted up my nose. He hadn’t sent enough power to actually hurt me, but I assumed he probably could. “I have no idea how it works. I can’t just hand it over,” I pleaded for my mother’s sake. Then what he called me hit me. The hair test might have proven who I was, but my mom was the only one allowed to call me Destiny. “And don’t use my name.”
“Why not?” He arched an eyebrow. “I’m the one who gave it to you.”
Recognition hit me all at once. No. He was lying. Trying to use me, trying to make me more upset. “You’re a liar. My father’s dead.”
“I’m sure your mother told you as much. I wonder if she’s still as fond of me as I am of her.”
I wanted to tear his eyes out. But I controlled my anger, swallowing it down into the pit of my stomach. “I don’t believe you, but…I’ll do whatever you ask.” I bowed my head, feeling my power wanting to burst forth. “As long as you don’t go near my mother or my friends.”
“Excellent.” He clapped his hands together. “You may call me Drevan, if not Father, by the way.” He shook his head, glancing down to the floor. “Seventeen years I’ve longed for this moment. And I’ve been waiting to find the one to release us even longer.”
I scowled at him. “Why did you end the experiment, then?”
His eyes darkened “Not me, them.” He cocked his head toward Haven. “Your weak Shythe couldn’t handle a few dead children. Of course they weren’t killed, but I couldn’t let them know who I was searching for. The Narcolym have to become the freed race.” He laced his arms across his chest. “I had to try and build trust between the races before I could convince them it was imperative we try again.” He chuckled deeply. “Oh, but power and fear are wonderful tools where trust fails.”
I hated him. More than anyone. More than Reese. Reese had only been Drevan’s pawn. If I ever escaped, I was going to make it my mission to destroy Drevan and all Narcolym.
“Come,” he said.
I ignored his outstretched hand, standing on my own, and followed him into the corridor. He led me to the center of the airship, right before a giant window.
Stepping hesitantly toward the glass, I pressed my palms to its cool surface. Below, just past the bay, the city erupted in lights and fire. Smoke billowed from the tops of buildings. The fight—no, the war—had begun.
“Call it off,” I said, panic lacing my voice. I shot my head toward him. “You said if I agreed you wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
He took a step forward, looking directly into my eyes. “I didn’t do this.” He turned his gaze toward the city. “This is your army, though feeble it may be, trying to get you back.” His lips curled into a sinister grin. “I’m preparing to move the airships as we speak. Once we’re beyond the Shythe reach, past the barrier, I’ll do as you ask.” He looked at me. “I’ll call it off. Then we shall be on our way. But…” He paused, glancing out the window once more. “If the Shythe choose to try and pursue us, I’ll make no promises for their safety. They’ll be destroyed.”
I gulped down my racing heart, forcing my voice past the aching lump in my throat as I stared at the burning city. “How soon can we leave?”
I sank onto my cot. Soon I’d be on my way to the Narcolym haven where Drevan would try to harness my power And then he’d probably kill me. My chest ached as I thought about never seeing my mother again. She’d never know what happened to me. And I’d never see Jace, Lana, or Nick, either. Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them back. I wouldn’t allow Drevan to think I was weak.
I still didn’t understand how my power was the key to the curse. And I was sure he wasn’t going to let me know just yet. He was smarter than to monologue like the bad guy and give away all his secrets right before a daring rescue.
Except, for me, there wasn’t going to be a daring rescue. I’d been careless, feeling sorry for myself over Reese, and allowed myself to be taken. I didn’t want to believe I was the one they wanted, that all these things could be true. I wasn’t ready to give up, but I didn’t see any other way to save my family and friends. My only option was to leave in order to protect them.
Right now, they were down there waging a war. I knew Jace was trying to fight his way up here, but that wouldn’t happen. They outnumbered us by many. Not only that, the Narcos had an army of Feyan, with super powers that would obliterate the Shythe soon. I paced my cell, wishing the airship would take off so the fighting would hurry up and end.
I sat back down on the cot and buried my face in my hands. I was terrified. Before I allowed the first tears to fall, I heard a click. My head shot up, and I rushed toward the door, anxious to hear that I needed to buckle up or strap in. Whatever they did on airships when it was time to go. But I was shocked to see it wasn’t Drevan or one of his Narco minions.
Reese stood in the doorway. “Dez, listen close—”
His words broke off as I slapped him across his face. “Why did they send you? Huh? To torture me more?” My hand stung, and I pumped it a couple times before pushing him away. I turned my back to him and marched toward my cot. “You can go to hell, Reese. Get out.”
“Dez!” he whisper-shouted.
“What!” I faced him.
“Shut up.” He rubbed his face, then stormed over to me and placed his grappler into my hand. “They didn’t send me, and you don’t have much time.” He went back to the door and peeked out. “It’s clear. Most of the guards are fighting, but we only have a short window before Drevan raises the barrier spell again. He’s about to move the airships out. So you have to get off the ship now.” He looked into my eyes—his wide and worried. “I’m sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
I turned the cool brass device around in my hand. “Why are you doing this?”
“I love you.”
His words seared into me hotter than any flame could. His eyes gleamed, begging me to believe him. I clamped my eyes shut, ordering my pounding heart to steady, before I looked at him again. “I don’t trust you.”
“I know.” He dipped his head. “And there’s nothing I can say to change that.” He took a cautious step toward me. “Just hear this first. The only thing I withheld was the full truth of where I came from, how I was raised.” He sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want you to know that part of me. I didn’t even know my mom.” He pressed his lips together. “I thought if I protected you and kept the Narcos from discovering you, they’d stop searching and carry on with their secondary plan. They’d never find you, and no matter how long they bred the races, they’d never find the one. And that would even prevent a war.”
I huffed. I had to admit, it was a good plan. “I can’t believe you.” I ground my jaw stubbornly. Good plan or not, I was still upset. But my chest tightened as I thought about what he must have gone through in Drevan’s army.
Reese grabbed my arms. “Do you think if all I wanted from you was to move up in rank, I’d be here now?”
“You said as much.” I yanked back, but he held me firm.
“I said that at the hotel to make you run, Dez. To stay away from all Narcos. I was willing to let you go if it meant keeping you safe from them.”
His words hit me again, splintering my defenses. I opened my mouth to retort, but he pressed on. “And if all I wanted was to gain your trust and turn you over to Drevan, why would I allow a little thing like kissing some other guy hinder that plan, huh?” His eyes searched mine. “That hurt, but I still stuck close to you, making sure the Feyan didn’t discover who you were.”
“Cogs.” It hit me. “You never wanted to dance with me—you were just fending that other guy off.”
He pressed his lips into a hard line. “I did want to dance…but yeah, more than that, I wanted to keep you hidden from them.” He brushed the hair from my eyes and ran the back of his hand over my cheek. “I know you can’t forgive me for omitting the truth, lying, whatever. But know that I fell for you the first time I ever laid eyes on you. And you’ve changed everything about me. Everything I thought I stood for.”
I wanted to hate him, to blame him for everything that had happened, but his words punched through the last barrier guarding my heart. “Reese…” I hung my head, allowing warm tears to spill down. “I wish you would have let me in…told me the truth.”
He brought me to him and clutched my trembling body in his arms. “I was trained not to. But all that doesn’t matter now.” He kissed the top of my head. “You have to get out of here right now.”
I backed away and searched his violet eyes. “But…aren’t you coming with me?”
His face lit up, but just as fast it fell. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I’m the Feyan commander.” He weighed his words heavily. “I have to hold the last flank back until you guys raise the original barrier spell. My order is to take out the Shythe.” A beat. “All of them.”
My mouth fell open. “Drevan was going to kill everyone no matter what I did.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “And when he finds out you’re gone, he’ll send every last one of us in there to tear down Haven searching for you. So you see”—he rubbed his thumb over my cheek—“someone has to be here to hold the Feyan back.”
“But when we raise the barrier you won’t be able to get in—” I broke off, a hard lump choking my words. “And when he finds out that it was you who released me, he’ll kill you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said sternly. “It has to be done. I’m the only one who can hold back the Feyan. And make sure you remind Jace that I can only do that until daybreak. You have until sunrise.” He studied my eyes, making sure I understood.
I nodded, then squinted up at him. “Jace?”
He smiled. “Long story.” Then he craned his neck, checking the door. “But I promise you, I won’t get myself killed.”
“But you’re going to leave, regardless.” I swallowed. “With the Narcos.”
He held my face, bringing my eyes to meet his. “It’s better than the alternative.” I raised my eyebrows, and he continued. “All of us getting killed.”
I fell into him and wrapped my arms around him. “I was prepared to hate you forever.” I beat my fists against his back, anger and grief welling up inside of me. “Then I get you back just to lose you again.”
“You have to go.” He pushed me away from him. “Drevan will have his spell back up soon.” His eyes scanned my face, his brow creased. Then he kissed me.
His lips ached against mine. And I knew this was it. The last time I’d ever feel his lips. I pulled him closer, wanting to remember every motion, every caress.
It was over too soon, and Reese led me through corridors and out onto the deck. I anchored the hook into the side of the ship as Reese took off his belt and slid it around my waist.
“Glad I changed out of that bustle,” I said, trying to clear the ache from my voice.
He smiled and caressed my cheek with his thumb. “You still drive me crazy.” Then he scooped me into his arms and lowered me over the side of the ship.
I cranked the gear on the side of the grappler and began my descent. I kept my eyes on Reese, watching him get farther and farther away from me. And then he disappeared into the night sky, altogether. Panic flooded me as I realized I didn’t get to tell him I loved him. I wanted to shout out, but it was too late. He was gone, and I couldn’t call attention to myself.
I waited to feel the ground underneath my feet. But instead, arms wrapped around me, guiding me to the floating dock. Preparing to fight, I spun and summoned my power.
“Hey,” Jace said. “It’s me.”
“Jace!” I hugged his neck. “Damn, I was ready to blast…” I looked back up at the airship. “How did you know I was escaping?”
“Reese and I worked it out.” His eyes flicked over me. “For now.”
I squinted. “You worked it out without killing him?”
His lips curled into a side-grin. “You said you wanted to be the one. Remember?”
He grabbed my hand, and we took off down the dock toward the smoke and chaos of the streets of Haven.