I quickly pushed away from him, tripping over my own feet and hitting a spelled privacy wall hard. Grunting, I placed a steadying hand on it. And damn if King Collins didn’t try to grab my shoulders. I spun away, shouting frantically, “Goddammit, don’t touch me!”
He instantly held his hands up in the stunned silence, his worried brown eyes running over my face. I kneeled over, placing my hands on my knees, trying to get oxygen into my lungs. With a manic sob trying to escape me as I stared dizzily at my boots, I gasped, “Aria, what do their eyes do?”
“They…um…” Her voice was shaking. “Sometimes I think I see them flicker.”
“You goddamn mother-fucker!” I screamed in rage and unbelievable pain, and the entire room shook furiously as I started to glow dimly. In a flurry of hysterical energy, I instantly straightened, turned, and threw an arm out, shooting stars’ fire in a blinding white flash of flames at the bedroom wall. The wall exploded exquisitely, the explosion pausing in midair when I flicked my glowing wrist. I breathed out stars…and every little blasted piece of wall disintegrated with a small puff of white smoke. The suite was no longer really a suite since the front room and bedroom now connected.
I dropped my hand, shaking it at my side to keep from tearing up the entire fucking room. My teeth clenched and I shrieked again. I instantly started to pace in the silence that was so profound it would have unnerved me—if I was in the right frame of mind. I growled at them all, slashing my glowing hands in the air, utterly violent. But there was an agony inside my gut like I hadn’t known before—betrayal. “You all should have told me this before!”
King Collins’s eyes were enormous on his face as he stared where the wall used to be. His attention turned to me, his jaw hanging. He spoke in the softest tone. “Caro, you need to calm down.”
“I. Am. Pissed.” My nostrils flared, and I inhaled heavily, slashing another glowing hand through the air. “You have no clue what the fuck is going on here.” I growled quietly. “What a fucking fool I—” No, that wasn’t completely right. “We’ve all been taken for.”
Dawning comprehension resonated in the silence.
Cool, frosty words from King Collins as his lids hooded. “Please elaborate.”
“I can’t,” I hissed. I paced again, running my trembling hands through my hair, still glowing dimly as my emotions continued to spiral. “Dammit, I can’t elaborate.” My feet ate up the floor until I stopped dead in my tracks, running a hand over my face. I was trying to think past the chaos controlling my mind. “I’m going to need…fuck, what was it?”
I snarled, pissed at myself. “Dammit, think!”
I stared blankly at King Collins’s chest, zoning in to the memory of my short schooling at the Temple. Everyone stared, mercifully quiet, as I breathed in great gulps of air for an indefinite amount of time. Until it came to me. Again, a choked sob of the betrayal tried to escape, but I pushed it down and let rational thoughts reign over the fury.
With one more shaky inhale, I pulled the cool solace of white nothingness over myself, and I slowly lifted my eyes to King Collins, stating in a void voice, “The less people in here right now, the better. I want to speak only with the most powerful, and the rest need to leave the lodge immediately, but discreetly. No one can speak one word aloud of what happened in here until they are far away.” I paused. “You need to trust me on this one without questions, for everyone’s safety.”
Chapter Fifteen
King Collins had trusted me.
Elder Farrar, Elder Zeller, Elder Merrick, King Zeller, King Collins, and Brann were the only ones left in the suite with me. They watched as I paced. The others were going directly to the private airport, staying there until we arrived later tonight.
“Okay.” I exhaled heavily. “I can’t explain in detail, but I think it’s safe to say the people you’ve met aren’t who they appear to be.”
“How is that possible?” Elder Zeller asked, clearly disbelieving me. “No Shifter once picked up a lie on their identity.”
My lips pinched, and I stopped pacing to rest a hip against the arm of the couch next to King Zeller. I stared at his dad. “Everything I’m going to say will be cryptic, so you’ll have to work with me here.” My head teetered back and forth in thought. “They are who they say they are.” I sighed. “But not.”
Elder Zeller’s dark eyes stared unflinchingly, and he stated dryly, “That is so very helpful.”
“You are not being helpful,” I muttered, running a hand over my face and glancing at King Collins. I flicked a finger at Elder Zeller. “I’m not sure we need him. It’s obvious he doesn’t trust a damn thing I’m saying, and right now I need the fucking trust to work through this.”