“Who are they?” Keisha asked, sliding out of the car. Raisa was right behind her.
“People I would rather not spend time with,” Micah said in a low, hard tone.
Victor’s eyes met mine, and my heart squeezed. Even dressed casually—in jeans and a sweater that fit his long, lean form—he looked too handsome.
However, Ceris was a vision from another world.
With each step she took, her white dress and her white-blond hair floated behind her as if she was a model on a catwalk with those giant fans for wind effect. Her skin looked silky and her clear blue eyes shone.
I glanced from Ceris, to Victor, and back to Ceris. God, they were soulmates. Like husband and wife. For thousands of years.
Since the beginning, I never stood a chance against Ceris, but I hadn’t known about her. I hadn’t known who Victor was. I hadn’t known my feelings had been messed with against my will.
“Same here,” I whispered.
Keisha shot me a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look, and I shook my head.
Frowning, Ceris halted and pointed to Keisha. “Who is she?”
Keisha straightened. “I’m Keisha Cross.”
Raisa stood by her side. “I’m Rais—”
Ceris waved a hand at Raisa. “I don’t care about you.” She squinted at Keisha. “I didn’t mean your name.” She turned to Micah. “Her aura …”
Micah sighed. “I know. It’s different.”
“What? My aura …” Keisha asked, looking around herself.
“Hey,” Raisa called. “What about me?”
Nobody paid attention to her, and I pulled her to stand behind with me.
“I don’t really know who she is,” Micah continued. “She was helping Nadine when I got there.”
“What are they talking about?” Keisha asked me in a low voice.
Ceris narrowed her eyes. “Helping Nadine?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Keisha answered, dropping her head. After all she had fought against and all she had seen, always standing tall and proud, she now seemed afraid of Ceris. And calling her ma’am? What was the deal?
Ceris scoffed. “You could have done better.”
What the hell did she mean by that? More importantly, who cared what she meant? Not me. I gathered my courage. “Okay, enough of that. What are we doing here? Why did Micah bring me here?”
“I called him and asked him to meet us here,” Victor said.
“Why?”
He straightened his back like a commander about to give an order. “I think we have to stick together. All of us. These past three months have been hard on each of us, and I believe part of that is because we insist on being separated.” Wait, what? He was separated from Ceris? “We can only win this if we do this together.”
Raisa leaned into me. “What is he talking about?”
“Ditto to that question,” Keisha whispered.
“I’m not sure you want to know,” I muttered.
Victor eyed Keisha. “How strong is her aura?” I had forgotten he couldn’t sense auras.
Micah nodded a little. “Stronger than Nadine’s.”
“Then perhaps she’s involved in all of this,” Victor said.
“That’s impossible.” The words fell from my mouth before I could stop them.
“Is it?” he asked.
Not really, but improbable. If she was involved, who was she? What was she? Where had she been? And how the hell did I cross her path like I did?
Keisha kept her head lowered and said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“We have more important topics to discuss right now.” Ceris waved her off. “I’m not sure I agree with Levi. We can’t function as a group.”
“Who is Levi?” Raisa whispered in my ear.
“I agree,” Micah said, his tone absolute.
“Of course you agree.” Ceris showed him one of her evil smiles. “You only think about yourself, Mitrus. What you want is to see us fail, so you can join Imha in her chaos party.”
Teeth gritted, Micah took a step forward. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Not an easy feat considering his size and how much stronger he was than me.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snarled.
“I don’t? You’ll probably turn your back on us and go find Imha. Or you’ll go make your own Black Thorn and finish what you started.”
“Ceris,” Victor said in a warning tone.
Micah clenched and unclenched his fists. “You think so little of me?”
“Think so little of you?” Ceris snorted. “I know who you are, Mitrus. I know how you are. Imha might be evil herself, but you’re not far from it. I know you’re waiting for a golden opportunity to derail our plans, to betray us again.”
“You …” He lunged forward, but I held him again.
“Enough!” Victor shouted. “I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior from any of you.”
“You’re not the boss of me, Levi.” Micah spat at his feet.
Victor shot him an irritated look before taking a deep breath. He clasped his hands together. “True, I’m not. But I am what brings us together, what balances all of us. I am the centerpiece of our existence, and you have to respect that even if you don’t respect me.”
Micah jerked out of my grip. “With all due respect, I don’t want anything to do with you.” He gave me the keys to the car. “Don’t forget to ditch it after a couple of days. Police might not be worried about a car theft right now, but I’m sure if you’re caught, you’ll be in trouble.”
“What?” I glanced at the keys in my hand. “Where are you going?”
“I’m out.”
He turned and walked away. Rok jumped up from the branch and flew after him.
“Mitrus!” Victor shouted. “Mitrus, come back here. We have to stick together!” He sighed when Micah disappeared into the shadows of the trees. “It’s the only way we’re winning this.”
With my jaw hanging open, I watched as Micah walked away from me once more. The weight in my heart dragged me down.
“See?” Ceris smiled. “I knew he would walk out on us.”
Victor glared at her. “You said you disagreed with me, that we shouldn’t stay together.” He gestured in Micah’s direction. “There you have it.”
“It isn’t my fault,” she responded. “We don’t need his help. We can do this, the two of us.”
Victor shook his head. “No, we need everyone. You know that.”
Was he suggesting everyone as in me too? As nice as saving the world sounded, I couldn’t stay with Victor and Ceris. I would pull my hair out and scream until I was out of air and passed out. No way.
Besides, what could I do? Heal them, yes, but nothing else. I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t sense auras. I wasn’t part of their creed, and my visions were gone. They didn’t need me.
I turned to the car. “I’m out too.”
“What?” Victor approached me. “Why?”
Ceris sneered. “I knew she was weak.”
Three months of anger and frustration and deception surged into me, and I exploded.
“Weak?” I glared at her. “You threw me into hell and watched as I struggled. I—”
“I didn’t just watch. I was there. I helped.”
“You lied. You deceived me. If you stop and think about it, you’re not much better than Imha.”
“Don’t you dare compare me to Imha,” she snarled.
“It’s true,” I said, looking into her eyes.