chapter 29
Consciousness did not return to Selene gradually.
“Wake up, Selene. Your people need you!” Oren’s voice was like an alarm clock jolting her out of sleep, and her eyes flew open. Soon she was assailed by memories, and she gasped. Panicked, she looked around and took in her surroundings.
I’m at Hugh and Lucy’s… I’m safe now.
She let out a relieved sigh and relaxed slightly as realization of where she was sank in. Then she noticed someone was dozing in the chair beside her bed. For a brief moment, she thought…hoped… it was Griffin. But she quickly realized it was Ramsey.
“You must be sick of having to watch me sleep,” Selene murmured.
Immediately, Ramsey’s eyes opened. “Hey, there. Huh, we do seem to spend a lot of time watching people sleep. Ellie last year, now you twice.” He sat forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Nice to see you again. How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a truck.” She groaned and propped herself upright in the bed. “Ugh! How long was I out?”
“It’s been about a day or so.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
He chuckled at her astonished expression. “You must’ve been pretty darn tired.”
“I guess so.”
“What do you remember?”
She shook her head. “Everything… I think.” She sat up straighter in bed. “Did they save the girl that was in my room?”
Ramsey nodded. “Yeah. She’s still out cold, but Hugh says there’s nothing physically wrong with her.” He shrugged. “We have her in a room at Dex and Charlotte’s house.”
Selene relaxed a little more. Then the memory of what had woken her filtered back into her consciousness, and her shoulders tensed again.
“Oren called for me. Was he in here? Something’s wrong. Gather the others. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Hearing the urgency in her voice, Ramsey jumped up and left the room. Selene flipped back the covers and dressed as fast as her still-weak limbs would allow and then ran downstairs. As she entered the living room, she was immediately engulfed in a warm hug from Lucy, followed by everyone else.
Selene was taken aback. Hugs were not the norm in her life. But the family’s affection was contagious, and she found herself returning their embraces.
“We were so worried about you,” Hugh said, his hands on her shoulders. His concern warmed her heart. Besides Oren, it’d been a very long time since anyone had cared about her welfare.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Only her desperate need to speak with Oren immediately kept Selene’s emotions in check.
She could feel Griffin’s absence. In vain she glanced around for him, though she knew, even without asking, that he wasn’t there. But she couldn’t dwell on that now.
“Oren, we’re ready,” she called out.
Immediately, his ghost-like figure appeared before her. He bowed deeply. “It warms my heart to see you safe, My Lady.”
Selene allowed herself a tiny smile for her old friend. “Thank you, Oren.”
“Unfortunately the news I bear is not the –” He abruptly stopped speaking as Griffin walked into the room.
“Please go ahead, Oren,” Griffin said after several moments of awkward silence.
“I was saying that the news I bring is not pleasant. My Lady, the Vyusher are in grave peril.”
Selene’s eyes widened. “What has happened?”
“Maddox has been approaching other Svatura clans and families,” Oren explained.
“To take them over?” Nate asked.
“Not quite… possibly worse. He’s turning them against us. These are people that the Vyusher attacked while under Gideon’s control. They have every reason and every right to hate us and to wish for revenge.”
Selene’s expression remained neutral, but inside she was a raging storm of conflicted emotions.
The room erupted with frantic outbursts.
“Wasn’t Maddox one of Gideon’s lieutenants? Why wouldn’t they turn on him, too?” Dexter asked.
“But they need to know that Gideon was responsible for all of that, not the rest of the pack!” Adelaide declared.
“If we could forgive the Vyusher, anyone could,” Ellie said.
“We can’t fight them, though,” Hugh insisted. “These are good people who’ve suffered great loss.”
Selene waited patiently. Eventually, the din died down, fading to silence, and all eyes turned to her.
“Oren?”
With the one word, she was asking for guidance from her trusted friend.
“You should come home, My Lady,” he advised. “If they agree, bring your new friends with you. They could, perhaps, convince the others of the truth.”
“But I can’t—” Selene started.
“The Council has instructed me to extend an invitation to you all,” Oren cut her off. “They prefer to offer an apology to you in person, if you accept.”
Shoulders back, head held high, Selene turned to face the others. “I will not ask you to put your lives in danger for us. Not after what we’ve already put you through.”
Everyone stared at her in silence. Then Ellie reached for her hand. “If you think we’re letting you go through this on your own, especially when we have a real chance to help save lives on both sides, then you’ve got another think coming.”
Selene took a deep breath and shook her head. “I can’t let you do that,” she whispered.
“You should know by now that no one lets Ellie do anything,” Alex said. “She just does it.”
“And we agree with Ellie, anyway. We’re coming with you….We can help.” Lucy insisted.
“This situation could easily degrade into outright war. You understand this?” Selene looked at each one of them directly, gauging the strength of their convictions. She couldn’t allow herself to rely on people who might abandon her in the end.
“We won’t walk away from this, or from you,” Ellie assured with a squeeze of her hand. If Selene didn’t know for sure that her shields were up, she would’ve sworn that Ellie had just read her mind.
Indecision clouded Selene’s thoughts. She turned to face Oren, who gave her a small nod. “All right.”
“What’ll we do about classes?” Adelaide asked. “Spring semester starts next week.”
“I, for one, refuse to let this situation take away from my opportunity to go to college,” Selene finally answered. “Maybe Charlotte could take us back and forth. I want to at least finish my first year.”
She glanced around and was relieved to see nods of agreement. The fact that these people trusted her gave her a much needed morale boost.
“Gather what you need for a long stay. We leave tonight,” she said.
Oren’s form disappeared, and the Jenners and Pierces began to prepare for their travel. Through all the hustle and bustle, Selene noticed as Ellie and Griffin engaged in a mental conversation.
After a little while, Griffin looked directly at Selene, his expression unreadable. “I have something I have to do,” he said.
“I understand,” Selene answered, though she didn’t really. She just assumed he didn’t want to be a part of helping her.
With a curt nod, he turned and walked away. Her hope shriveled and died with every step he took away from her.