“The Iniquitous were once part of The Enchanted they just … chose a different life. Thaddeus was one of the Chosen Ones.”
“No,” I said again but I knew the man in the picture was my father. I could see parts of myself in his green-gold gaze, in the shape of his cheek bones. I looked more like my mother but there were parts of this man in me … and I hated it. I wanted to scrub myself free of anything that resembled this man. He was nothing to me. Nothing.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why did you show me this?” I asked. I meant to sound angry and menacing but my voice came out soft and crackly with the threat of tears instead.
“I thought you deserved to know.” His voice was soft, and I could tell he was actually sincere. “It’s not like I didn’t tell you what he was.”
“What,” I repeated. “You told me what he was, but you didn’t need to show me who he was. I did not need to put a face to the monster, Theodore. This man, my father, he killed my mother, didn’t he?” I don’t know why but my gut screamed at me that the words I spoke were true.
Theo stood shell-shocked.
“Didn’t he?” I screamed in the hallway.
He nodded his head.
I took off running before he could stop me and let the tears fall freely.
Chapter 10
EVERYTHING IS A LIE.
The thought kept crashing through my mind like a roaring ocean.
Everything is a lie.
Everything.
Is.
A.
Lie.
Nothing I had been told my whole life was the truth. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
Theo might’ve already told me this, but seeing it presented right in front of my face, and learning my real father murdered my mother was soul crushing. I hadn’t asked for any of this. I didn’t want to be a part of this world, but I was. I was born into it, chosen for a destiny I didn’t know and nobody else probably did, either.
I wanted to go back home, to the man I’d grown up believing to be my father, and have everything go back to normal.
I didn’t want this.
I ran through the hallway and past some people milling around outside the dining hall. I saw Naomi and she sent me a dirty look when she saw Theo chasing after me.
“Mara! Mara, wait! I’m sorry! Please!”
I put on a burst of speed.
I had done track all through high school. I didn’t have super long legs, but I was still fast, and I knew I could outrun Theo if I was determined.
I ran up the main staircase and instead of turning right toward my room I turned left. Theo would expect me to go to my room so I knew I couldn’t go there. I thought about turning back around and heading for the library but I knew he’d look there once he realized I wasn’t in my room.
I looked over my shoulder, which turned out to be a very bad idea, and smacked into someone. We fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
My head bumped his and we both said, “Ouch.”
We couldn’t seem to get untangled.
“All right, love,” he purred in a British accent, “let’s both stop moving so we can get out of this mess.”
I ceased my squirming and we managed to separate.
“I’m sorry for running into you.” I looked at the floor so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
“No worries. Girls run into me all the time,” he joked. “Apparently, it’s all the rage.”
“What is?”
“To run into the fellows you like.”
“I don’t—”
“Och,” he made a sound in his throat. “I’m messing with you, love. Let me help you up.” He held out his hand as he stood.
“Thanks.” I took it.
“Do I know you? You look familiar but I feel like we haven’t met before—I suppose I could always be wrong, though.”
I finally forced my eyes to his face. The guy had an almost elfish face with blonde-brown hair sticking up wildly around his head. Pale scruff lined his cheeks. His teeth were endearingly crooked which reminded me of my own gapped front teeth. He was a few inches taller than me. Probably five feet ten. His eyes were a warm brown and looking intensely at me waiting for—oh, right.
“We haven’t met. I’m Mara, I only moved in here yesterday.”
“The name’s Winston. Now, Mara …” He leaned against the wall across from me. “Why are you running around and into people?”
“I was trying to get away from … someone.”
“Ah,” he breathed, fighting a smile. “This way.” He turned and walked further down the hallway. He didn’t turn to see if I was following. I scurried after him when I heard Theo desperately calling my name.
Winston swung open a door and motioned me inside. He closed the door and turned to me.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” He waved his arms dramatically, encompassing the room. “Have a seat, love.”
“Where?” I asked, looking around. I didn’t see a chair and the bed was covered in several suitcases and half unpacked clothes.
“Right.” He scratched the back of his head. His blue shirt lifted to show a strip of smooth stomach. I noticed that his ears stuck adorably out of his mess of hair. “Sorry.” He dumped clothes and several suitcases off his bed. “There,” he said clearly pleased with himself. “Sit, come on now, it won’t bite.” He patted the comforter.
The room was decorated much like mine only Winston had taken the liberty of personalizing his. The walls were dark, and the floor was covered in clothes. His quilt was black and he had black curtains blocking the light from the window. He turned on a light beside the bed illuminating the space.
“Sorry for the mess,” he mumbled. “I just got in from London.”
London. Why did that mean something to me? Suddenly, it clicked.
“You’re one of The Chosen Ones,” I breathed.
“Yes.” He looked up at me from where he was bent over picking up clothes from the floor, his eyes narrowing. “But how do you know? That information is under lock and key. Only a few know what I am.”
“I’m like you.”
He stopped what he was doing and raised to his full height. “You’re a Chosen One?”
“That’s what they keep telling me.” I raised my hands in an I don’t know gesture.
“What were you really running from?” he asked becoming alert. “Is someone after you? Do we need to go? I have an emergency bag. Hang on a sec, let me find it.”
I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Winston, it’s only my protector. He … upset me,” I explained. “I needed to get away from him. He won’t let me out of his sight.”
“You’re out of his sight now,” Winston pointed out.
“Only because you helped me.”
Winston smiled. “So, you have a protector? Lucky you.”
“What about your parents? Your family?”
“They live in London. I see them once, maybe twice a year. It’s safer for them if I’m not around. One thing you learn quickly being Chosen is everyone you love dies. Don’t get too attached, Mara, that’s my advice to you.”
His words were like a bucket of cold water dumped on me.
Was I the reason Ian died? I had to be. Maybe they’d meant to get Dani and had killed him by mistake.