chapter 12
When Selene and Ellie entered the room, Griffin carefully hid his mixed emotions. Selene’s grey eyes looked almost silver, and she held herself with a regal poise. She looked as beautiful in broad daylight as she did in his dreams, and Griffin had to remind himself that he was looking at a killer—not an angel.
Selene’s heart couldn’t decide where it wanted to be, in her stomach or in her throat. Somehow it was managing to be both places at once. Or, at the very least, it was not in her chest, beating steadily as it was supposed to. She still managed to keep her cool mask in place and nod as Ellie introduced her to everyone. She noticed Griffin from the corner of her eye, but didn’t need to look his way to feel the waves of his hostility as he stared at the floor.
Selene sighed. That bridge had clearly been burned a long time ago.
Ellie turned to the others and started explaining her plan. “This will be a little different from last time,” she began. “Selene has agreed not to block any of our powers. I’ll be able to add Lucy’s and Lila’s into the mix. So you’ll all be able to feel for yourselves if what Selene shows us is the truth and what her intentions are. You’ll also be able to feel her emotions.”
“Ummmmm,” Selena interrupted. “I should warn you about a few things. First, I’ve been blocking others from knowing all of my powers for a very, very long time. It’s sort of an ingrained habit now. I’ll do my best to drop all my defenses, but I might need occasional reminders if you feel like something isn’t working right.”
Selene looked from face to face, trying to gauge their reactions. She relaxed a little bit. As far as she could tell, Griffin was the only person completely closed to her.
“Also,” she continued more softly, “Ellie tells me that she’ll be sharing my memories with you and the emotions associated with them.” Selene cleared her throat, trying to decide how to express her concern. “I’m afraid that they are very… um… painful, for lack of a better word. I’ll do my best to remember things accurately, and if I can lessen the discomfort for you, I will. But please just be prepared.”
Selene had no idea how she was going to survive what she was about to endure, let alone be able to protect anyone else. She’d never allowed herself to think about her past, and for very good reasons.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Lucy asked with a sympathetic smile. “I can sense that your intentions are in the right place, but I don’t have to use a power to know you’re afraid.” Selene nodded, grateful for the simple act of motherly concern.
“I want to do this,” Selene confirmed. “But let’s get started before I chicken out.”
The others gave a nervous chuckle, but all moved into a place where they could link hands with one another. Selene placed her hand in Ellie’s, who was sitting to her right, and then coughed as Griffin took her other hand, taking the seat to her left. She’d assumed he would sit as far away from her as possible, if he participated at all.
Selene looked at Ellie and nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated on picturing her memories as clearly as possible. Even without consciously applying her ability to see powers when they were in use, Selene could tell that Ellie was gathering her own power within her. The glow of Ellie’s gift in action would likely be almost blinding to Selene if she looked at her right now. She kept her eyes shut and waited for Ellie’s first question. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Let’s start at the beginning,” Ellie said. “Your parents?”
Selene smiled as she immediately pictured her parents’ faces. Her father had been a mountain of a man, with dark hair and a constant twinkle in his eyes. She remembered his booming voice and the way he used to throw her high up into the air, making her giggle.
Her mother was almost a mirror image of Selene—blonde and petite with soft, silvery eyes. She’d been sweet and affectionate. They had been the ruling family of their pack, attracting people with powers to them as naturally as waves find the shore. People came of their own free will, even without being sought or asked. They’d wanted to be a part of this special clan.
She recalled watching her parents rule from the same chamber where she’d met with the Council to request permission to leave. Her parents had been good and kind and strong. They treated others with respect and had been revered above all other leaders in return.
“There’s a sadness there,” Lila’s voice interrupted Selene’s thoughts. “What happened to your parents?”
Rather than answering, Selene moved her thoughts to her twin. Gideon had been older by about twenty minutes. Until Selene turned ten, Gideon had basically ignored her. She hardly had any memories of him in those years, just flashes of nothing more specific than a vague feeling of uneasiness around him. But soon after her tenth birthday, Selene had learned how to turn off another’s power. Gideon had somehow realized it before she did.
The pain of Selene’s next memory almost overwhelmed her. There was a collective gasp as her emotions slammed into everyone in the circle.
Lila glanced over at Ramsey’s tall, well-muscled form. She’d taken to heart Selene’s warning about rough emotions and had deliberately positioned herself next to the volatile firestarter to help with his control. Her green eyes darkened with concern as she caught him staring directly at Selene.
Catching her gaze, he gave her a crooked smile and whispered, “Don’t worry, Lily. I got it.”
Lila rolled her eyes but smiled at his pet name for her, then closed her eyes again, focusing on keeping him calm, regardless of what he’d said.
With concentrated effort, Selene pushed the ache associated with her next memories to the back of her mind and focused on the facts. Gideon had used his power for manipulation and had hidden his true strength, not only from their parents but from the entire pack. It was a power that he’d inherited from their father. The King could only plant suggestions in people’s minds. He couldn’t… and wouldn’t have thought to… force them to do something against their will.
But Gideon was something else altogether. He was not only able to force people’s cooperation, he was able to make them think it was their idea. He would sweep aside their convictions, their moral fiber, their very spirit, in order to get what he wanted.
Only Selene had retained awareness of his influence. While Gideon was able to force her to do his bidding, he wasn’t able to fool her into believing it was her idea. Others around her had followed Gideon blindly, unaware of the evil they were made to do. And Selene had been unable to stop any of it or talk to anyone about it. So many times she’d wished that Gideon could brainwash her too, just for the peace it could temporarily provide.
“You loved your parents very much. I can feel that,” Lila murmured. “What happened to them?”
Selene grimaced and then focused her thoughts on what’d happened to them. What she’d done to them. Selene’d relived this memory so many times she’d lost count - trying to figure out if there were a way it could have gone differently. So many times that she almost disappeared inside the memory is it came on.
She lost herself in that ghastly, fateful moment…