Fractured Truth (8 page)

“Where are you headed after this?” May asked.

“I should go to class, but I’ve got to take care of a few things first.”

“Do they even care if you go anymore?”

I finished the last of my milk. “Dr. Han said to go as often as I could.” I lowered my voice. “So what did you decide to do about your father?”

She glanced away. “I haven’t made up my mind.”

“Don’t. At least for a little while. Maybe Liam can talk to the Deific about him, see if they know anything.”

May didn’t agree, but she didn’t disagree either.

I wadded up my napkin and gathered my dishes. Before I could take it to the kitchen, a Lizen girl was at my side taking it from me. “Thank you,” I said.

I turned to Tessa. “Do you have school later?”

She nodded.

“One of these days we need to have a girls’ night out.”

“Hear, hear,” Kiera said, standing with the rest of us.

We all walked toward the door, May and Tessa making future plans. Before we went into the hall, I held Kiera back. “I’m planning on giving a lesson tonight during dinner.”

Her nose scrunched. “What kind of lesson?”

“I don’t want to give you specifics to, you know, keep you out of trouble, but be prepared. Maybe wear your hair back.”

She laughed. “It sounds like fun.”

“Fun probably isn’t the word people would use to describe it, but it won’t be boring. And hopefully when I’m done, we’ll have some new recruits for our class.”

“Good. We really need it.”

We were nearly to the elevators when I caught movement outside the window. It wasn’t the movement that captured my attention but the size of it. I gasped.

“Something wrong?” Kiera asked.

I stopped in front of the elevators. “You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I bolted to my right, toward the doors leading outside. I pressed on them and used my arm to shield my eyes from the early morning sunlight. After a few seconds my vision adjusted, and I moved into Lucent’s massive courtyard and looked around. A few girls were already on the sidewalk heading to class. Near the bell tower I found what I was looking for—a Lycan. Even from this distance I could see he was massive.

I took a deep breath and crossed the lawn to him. He was facing the outer wall, but as I drew closer, his body tensed, and I knew he was aware of my presence. His hair was black, as black as the long jacket that barely seemed to fit over his large frame.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

He turned around slowly, but it still wasn’t slow enough to keep me from stumbling back when I saw his face. It wasn’t hairy like I naïvely expected it to be; on the contrary, his skin was tanned a deep brown, and he had sharp, commanding features with thick, arched eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a jaw line that was as distinct as his high forehead. These
pronounced features made him look like a monster out of a fairy tale.

He turned away as if he knew his appearance was frightening.

“What do you need, Aura?” His voice was deep, so deep I half expected to feel the ground rumble.

I gathered some strength and stepped forward. “Are you in charge of your kind?”

“No one is in charge. We work as a collective.”

I cleared my throat. “Right. Well, I need something and hoped you could help.”

“We are here to protect Auras. Nothing more.”

“That’s what I need help with.”

“Explain.”

“I’m trying to teach Auras to defend themselves against Vykens.”

For the first time, his eyes met mine. “You are Llona?”

I nodded, surprised he knew of me.

“We agree with what you are trying to do. No race should be powerless.”

I smiled, liking him immediately. “What’s your name?”

“Petros.”

“So, Petros, will you help me?”

“What do you need?”

I straightened to make myself taller for what I was about to say. “I need two Vykens by tonight. Alive.”

I hurried away from Petros
and back to Lucent. He hadn’t given me an answer but promised he would discuss it with the pack and get back to me.

Inside Chadni Hall, the school was busy with students heading to classes. I wove my way in between them and headed to Dr. Han’s office. On my way, I removed my phone from my pocket and checked my messages. There weren’t any. This surprised me as I expected to see at least one from Liam. We frequently texted each other throughout the day. Usually dumb stuff, but still.

I pocketed my phone, an uneasiness growing inside me, and knocked on Dr. Han’s office door.

“Come in,” he said.

I opened the door. Dr. Han was with Mrs. Crawford, looking over a mess of papers across his desk.

“Am I interrupting?” I asked.

“We were just finishing up,” Mrs. Crawford said, swiping a long curl of brown hair away from her face. She came to me and gave me a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“A lot better. Thank you.”

She pulled away and looked at me. “We’re going to get Sophie back. You know that, right?”

I startled at the comment. “How can you be so sure?”

She lowered her voice. “I’m a little bit psychic.”

“Really?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Before you say anything, Llona,” Dr. Han said as he gathered papers in front of him into a neat sack, “we don’t know anything about how Jackson escaped or where he’s at, but we’re working on it.”

I tightened my lips, wishing he knew more. “I hope we’ll know soon, but there’s another reason I’m here. I had a thought last night and wanted to go over it with you two, Liam, and the twins. Can we meet later today?”

Dr. Han opened a black book. “I’m available at one.”

I turned to Mrs. Crawford.

“That’s good for me,” she said.

“Have either of you seen Liam or the twins?” I asked.

“I spoke with Aaron earlier today. They had a meeting with the Deific this morning, but were coming back around noon.”

“And Liam?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I haven’t spoken to him either,” Dr. Han said. “Would you like me to call him?”

“No, thanks. I can do that. Oh, and, um, I never got the chance to say sorry for storming from the Council’s meeting.”

Mrs. Crawford laughed. “I’m surprised you made it as long as you did.”

I glanced at Dr. Han. He was smiling too.

“So you’re not disappointed?”

“I admit I would’ve liked to see things go differently, but considering the circumstances, I think you conducted yourself very well.” He interlocked his fingers. “But know this, the Council truly cares. They want Sophie and the other Auran girls found and have done things you don’t know about to try to accomplish this.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “They tracked Cyrus’s expenses for the last
several years and just yesterday came across a warehouse he purchased about five years ago.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Where?”

“In Albion, less than an hour away.”

“Then let’s go! Right now!”

He raised his hand to silence me. “They’ve sent someone to watch it, but just for a few days. At least until we can tell what it’s being used for.”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe it. This is the first huge break we’ve had and you’re not going to act on it?”

“We will, but I won’t risk any more lives. Do you understand?” His voice was firm.

I didn’t trust myself to say anything out loud.

“It’s three days of surveillance, Llona. As soon as we get an idea of what possible dangers there may be, we’ll go in, but I want to make sure we do it with enough manpower.”

I clenched my jaw and nodded, thinking of Liam. He’d want to go.

“Come back to my office at one, and we’ll have that meeting of yours,” Dr. Han said.

“Right. See you.” I walked to the door, but Mrs. Crawford stopped me.

“Hey,” she said, and I turned around. “That thing you wanted from the Lycans. You’re going to get it.” She winked at me.

I left Dr. Han’s office, hoping she was right. Because if she was, then she really was psychic, and we’d get Sophie back. I glanced at the clock. In one hour I was supposed to teach Auran Sparring with Kiera. Normally, if I had time to kill, I’d hang out with Liam.

Liam.

I pulled out my phone and looked at it again. Nothing.
Liam’s fine
, I told myself, but I sent him a message just in case. A moment later a text came back saying he was at the Deific. My chest seemed to lighten. He was okay. I replied that I wanted him to meet with the others and me at one. His answer surprised me. “I’ll try.”

I leaned against the wall, my chest tightening again. But why? I dropped my head back and thought of Christian. I had to find him.

The halls were quiet now. My sensitive hearing picked up the lecturing voices of Auran teachers behind closed doors. I decided to go running. My muscles felt stiff from being in bed for almost three days.

Within ten minutes I was standing outside the school in my yoga pants and running shoes. It was a cool autumn morning. Most of the leaves had already turned all kinds of reds and oranges, half of them already fallen to the ground. Winter should’ve been here by now.

I sprinted down the long lane leading away from Lucent Academy. Trees on each side of me blurred past. I slowed only when I passed Waverly Hall, the house where the Guardians stayed. It used to be that you couldn’t go by this place without seeing several Guardians outside playing basketball or doing something rowdy. But now only a handful of Guardians lived here. All the others were sent to watch older Auras on the outside. The Guardians who didn’t leave with Cyrus, of course. I hadn’t seen any in a long time and wondered if Cyrus had changed them.

I picked up my pace, knowing I had to be back soon. In a short time I reached Rose’s house. I stopped and stretched on her lawn. I even contemplated knocking on the door to ask for a glass of water but decided against it. I only saw her at night, so she probably slept during the day.

When I was finished, I stood up and admired the dozens of rose bushes crowding her yard. One particular bush drew my attention. I walked over to it and studied the white petals of the roses. They were unlike any I’d ever seen before. Tiny red veins spread across the petals until they ended in a solid red tip. Amazing. I glanced around to see if I was alone. I was.

Very carefully, I took hold of the bottom of the rose stem and snapped it back. I had to show one to May. A cold wind
picked up just then, startling me. I sucked in air and glanced up into the sky. Dark clouds were moving in fast. Where did those come from?

I stepped back, holding the rose in my hand. My hair whipped around my face, and a chill exploded all over my skin. I looked around, wondering why I was suddenly creeped out.

A vibration in my hand made me look down. The rose. I lowered it into my other palm, barely feeling its weight. Despite it being broken, I considered putting it back. Then it began to move—crumble is more like it. In a matter of seconds it became a powdered gray dust.

“What the?” I dropped it and brushed my hands off. Wind carried the particles toward the same rose bush I’d plucked it from.

Glancing around, I slowly moved back until I reached the road. The sky had grown darker, and the temperature felt like it had dropped ten degrees. Time to go.

I took off, running fast. When I was a safe distance away, I slowed up and giggled uncomfortably. I couldn’t believe that just happened. Something was seriously wrong with Rose or her house or something.

A drop of rain fell on my arm, followed by another. The more it rained, the more relaxed I became. At least it wasn’t snow. There were no cars on the road. Just me attempting to balance my way along the yellow line in the center of the road. Always balancing.

“Llona?” a voice called from my right.

I stopped.

“Over here.”

I turned slowly and stared into the forest. A dark figure stood deep within the shadows. I probably wouldn’t have gone, but I knew the voice. My knees went weak, and as I went to take a step I almost fell. “Christian?”

The figure said nothing but remained still.

I continued forward, having to know for sure. If only the sun were out, I’d be able to see better.

As I drew closer, his features came into focus. But so did something else, and I stopped, shaking my head. “No,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Llona.”

By the way I was feeling, light-headed and dizzy, I knew Cyrus had bit him. Christian had Vyken poison inside him. My strength gave out, and I fell to the ground.

Christian came to me and knelt down. “I won’t hurt you.”

I shook my head again, unable to look at him. I couldn’t bear the thought of him having to fight the constant darkness. I would never want that fate for him.

He touched me then. His fingers caressed my cheek and slid gently to my chin. He tilted my face up.

The tears clouding my vision fell now, warming my cheek. He was even more handsome than I remembered. His hair was the same light brown, shorter than before, and his eyes were an even brighter blue, like the color of sapphires illuminated by white light.

He smiled at me and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, I was scrambling into his arms. They came around me and held me tight.

I ignored the intense dizzy feeling and just breathed him in. All those nights that I’d wished for just one more moment with Christian—that moment was here. Rain poured onto us, but I’d never felt warmer. We were together.

After several minutes, I finally pulled away and looked at him, my hands on each side of his face. “Where have you been? What happened?”

He smiled again, exposing the dimple I fell in love with more than a year ago. “Before I answer your questions, how are you doing? When I saw you get hurt the other night, I lost it. They had to lock me up to keep me from coming to see you.”

“They?”

He cleared his throat. “I guess I should explain.”

“Please. I’m so confused.”

“Part of it, I’m sure you already guessed. Cyrus bit me that day.”

Another tear fell, partly from joy and partly from sadness.

“For a long time, I thought I was dead. The last thing I remembered was being buried by that wall of dirt. When I finally came to, I was in a dark room. I think I was there for several days, maybe weeks. A Vyken, Charles, came to me soon after. He explained what I was and that I would be fighting with them from then on.”