“They seem to care for each other,” Mom added, not as convinced as my father.
“Dash cares only about himself,” Dad scoffed, disdain in his tone. “He used Charlotte. I won’t let him anywhere near her again. He would only disappoint her, hurt her. We’re sparing her the heartache. She is young, and there is plenty of time for her to develop feelings for another boy. I’ve noticed that she’s been spending time with Ryker.”
So my father approved of him, but not Dash. Good to know.
“If they were together—”
“I’m not going to let that happen. She is here, with us, and he isn’t coming back on his own, but make no mistake, I will find him,” Dad said with determination.
“We need him. His DNA is too important. I am so close. The others I’ve tested on are showing signs of success. There haven’t been any side effects of concern. I have a good feeling about this. It is what we’ve been working toward.”
I gasped, my hand flying over my mouth to keep from making any other noise that might get me detected. Oh. My. God. They were experimenting on people with abilities. But why?
“You’ve replicated their DNA?” Excitement laced Dad’s words.
“Yes, I’ve been able to isolate the mutated strand sequence that gives them the abilities. We’re moving into the testing stages. I can start administrating injections in a few days. We’ve been able to harvest cells from all of the Gifted that have come into the Institute, except of course Dash and Charlotte.”
“Charlotte’s cells were unusable, you said. We’ll just have to try again. There is something special about her. She isn’t using her abilities to their fullest potential.”
“Give her time, Ethan. She has been through an enormous amount of change. It will come. We must be patient with her.”
“It concerns me—her wish to protect the Slayer. I don’t want her to do anything that could put her in danger.”
“She is a smart girl,” Mom said.
“And that’s what worries me. Charlotte is resourceful and cautious. She doesn’t trust us yet. He managed to get inside her head and fill it with doubt.”
I was about to burst into the room and tell them both they knew nothing and badmouthing Dash wasn’t going to make me trust them, when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped, whacking my head on the wall.
Ember stood beside me, grinning like a fool, doing her best not to laugh and failing. “Hey, sis. Fancy meeting you here. Hear anything interesting? Let me guess. They’re talking about you. It’s all they ever talk about anymore.”
I rubbed the back of my skull, frowning. There was no point in denying that I was eavesdropping, so I didn’t even bother. “It’s not my fault the entire Institute is obsessed with me.”
Her auburn hair flowed loose over her shoulders in soft waves. It made her seem like less of a hard ass and more like the sister I remembered. “If you say so, but if you don’t want to be the center of attention, you might try not objecting to every rule.”
“I don’t. My only objection is being treated like I’m a prisoner. Besides, all anyone here is interested in is the meaning behind my crazy eyes and what kind of gifts they’ve given me.”
“You got that right.” She leaned a hip on the wall, watching me with heat in her eyes. Ember always seemed to be running hot. “Another tip: stop bringing up Dash in every conversation. The jerk left you here. He fled without so much as a goodbye. Why do you care what happens to him?” she challenged me.
“Why do you think?” I shot back. “You’re my sister. If there is anyone I should be able to talk to about this, it’s you.”
“You’re a fool if you think he loves you,” her voice inflating in volume.
“So I’ve been told,” I mumbled.
“Ember, is that you?” Mom’s voice called out a moment before she stuck her head outside the lab door. Surprise flickered in her eyes when she saw Ember wasn’t alone. “Charlotte. Wow, this is a pleasant surprise. Both my girls. I wasn’t sure this would ever be possible again.”
“We’re just one big, happy family,” Ember said dully, breezing her way into the room and propping a hip up on the desk that sat in the center.
I gave a small smile as I walked in, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Hey, Mom.”
Ember put her arm around my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. I just bet she wanted to choke me. “Big sis was wandering the halls, looking a little lost.”
It took all I had to pretend as if I hadn’t just found out that Mom was experimenting with the DNA of the Gifted, searching for a way to duplicate their powers, but I forced my expression to be blank. “I was looking for you,” I told her as I inconspicuously pinched Ember in the side and weaseled out of her chokehold.
“Did you need something?” Mom asked, her long white coat swept with her movements, but before I had a chance to say anything, she turned to Ember. “How about you use a chair instead of my desk?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not staying.” Ember straightened, lifting her brows at me.
Was she going to tell Mom that I’d been spying on her? I held my breath waiting for Ember to out me. Monroe would have taken the secret to the grave. Ember I was positive would use it for ammunition or blackmail.
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Mom asked. “The three of us haven’t gotten to spend any time together.”
With her hand on the doorway, Ember glanced back into the room. “Can’t. I’m allergic to lectures, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on your mother-daughter time.”
I rolled my eyes.
Ember winked at me. “See you later, sis.” Then the devil disguised as my sister headed out the door.
I exhaled as I listened to Ember’s boots clatter down the hall. Definitely blackmail. It would come eventually.
I glanced around the room, taking in the space that occupied so much of my mom’s time, and realized my father was nowhere in sight. He must have gone out another door while Ember and I had been having a row.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Mom asked once she sat down. Her fingers wrapped around a tin mug on the desk.
It unnerved me how she quickly jumped from doctor to mother, especially when she had just been plotting to steal my DNA.
Not cool.
But Mom didn’t so much as blink an eye. “Don’t tell me Ember and you were arguing again?”
I shook my head. “Shockingly, no.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad to hear that. I was beginning to worry the two of you would never be friends.”
I crossed my ankles and then re-crossed them the other way, unable to find a comfortable position. “Is that what you want? For Ember and I to be like we once were… close?”
A faint smile curved her lips. “Of course. Don’t you?”
“I don’t know what I want,” I admitted.
“I know this isn’t easy for you. You were tossed into this world like many of us were. I didn’t want this life for you, Charlotte, and if I could change it, I would. But sometimes things happen for a reason. We can’t always change our fate.”