Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) (29 page)

“You know the rules. There are penalties when you break them,” Landon said.

“They deserved to know what might have been coming for their daughter.”

“Bottom line, it was Brynn’s decision what to tell them, not yours,” Landon said.

“I can’t believe—”

“So what does this mean?” I cut Trevor off.

They glared at each other.

“I choose Trevor’s consequence. Time and place,” Landon said.

I shivered at the power in his voice. He infused it with such authority that I knew the outcome was not in my favor. The fact that Landon refused to make eye contact unsettled me more than I could put into words.

“Blasphemy and sharing our secrets are very serious offences in the group,” he continued. “I have to choose the proper penalty for his transgression or be viewed as a pushover.”

“That’s a lame excuse, Landon,” I challenged. “So you’re saying this is all about your reputation?”

“It’s about establishing a starting point, a new beginning for me in a new area.”

I acknowledged that Landon had the chance to sentence Trevor to a fate worse than the one Trevor chose for himself to keep me out of it, but I denied he would really do that to me.

I opened my senses to determine how he truly felt. I started to feel there was another purpose behind his plan when he sharply looked at me and inclined his head. “I must make preparations. Trevor, later.”

“I want to be there,” I stated.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Landon said.

After Landon left, I studied Trevor, wondering what it was about him that attracted trouble. I felt him scrambling for a resolution.

Trevor held my hand and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be okay.”

He didn’t believe it, and I didn’t either.

Dread filled me. Yet again, I found myself in a position I couldn’t change. I couldn’t prevent Landon from doing what he thought was fair to pay Trevor back. I couldn’t take back what Trevor had done months ago to make Landon feel the need to take action against him.

I had faith Landon would find a solution that all involved would feel was a fair level of severity. But his attitude disturbed me, and I couldn’t figure out why he felt different.

Elyse called my name and waved me over. A bunch of friends were here to have fun, and it was a party after all, so I couldn’t isolate myself trying to make sense of Landon. Trevor and I joined our friends for dinner, and we hung out with them for the rest of the night. They shared their thoughts for spring break destinations—a challenging topic for me because of my parents’ stipulations. They insisted I find a way to make it work for our senior year, and I gave them a noncommittal response.

Zach suggested going to a movie he wanted to see, and Samantha jumped on her phone to search movie times. My parents okayed me going even though it would make it a really late night.

The party cleanup was minimal since the caterer took the empty food carafes with her. The friends who were going out after helped, and we made short work of what was left. The dishwasher had a full load and another waited its turn on the countertop. I rinsed the last of the appetizer platters and left them to dry in the rack with the others.

I grabbed my purse and checked my cell on the way out.

No message from Landon.

Trevor and I drove to the theater with Jared and Elyse. I was too full from dinner to buy anything from the concession stand, but I waited while Trevor did. We sat as one large group in the nearly empty theater.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, I leaned forward to get everyone’s reaction. Zach had either been completely fooled by the movie’s trailer, or he had wanted to play a joke on us by taking us to a terrible movie. When Samantha confronted him, he justified his movie pick by saying it had been given good reviews. We stuck it out and made the best of it by laughing at the ridiculous lines, their delivery, and general plot. It was such a terrible movie that Zach would never live it down.

After the movie, we piled back into Jared’s truck. Trevor lingered in my driveway after Jared and Elyse had driven away. He was in great spirits, completely opposite from how he had been when Landon left. In fact, he was better than he had seemed in months. I was glad for his optimistic outlook, but I didn’t know where it suddenly came from. I certainly wouldn’t be so happy-go-lucky if I was in his situation, but maybe he had his own solution to his penalty on technical grounds.

“Do you know what’s in store for you?” I couldn’t help asking.

“I know what he’s going to do. I’m going to beat him to it.”

I looked at Trevor and evaluated him, the situation, and what I could do about it. I didn’t like it, but I accepted the answer was nothing.

“Good night, Trevor,” I said.

“Good night, Brynn. See you soon.”

I went inside, washed up, and collapsed into bed.

• • •

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew Landon had decided the time and place of Trevor’s sentencing. It was all happening too fast. I hadn’t had the chance to talk to Landon, to reason with him. To encourage him to find a solution that allowed him to maintain his façade yet didn’t harm Trevor—and me by extension.

Landon and Trevor stood across from me, an overhead light eerily illuminating them, partially hiding their expressions in shadow. Their defensive stance matched the harsh angles highlighted on their faces. Darkness engulfed the rest of the space, wherever we were. I stared past them and took in symbols sketched on the wall. I sensed others around us; their anticipation of what was to come crushed me. Instinct told me they had included the infamous leader and his orderlies. I didn’t care about any of them. I cared about the two people in my sight. Was Landon’s conversation on the beach warning of things to come? Did he relish telling me what he was about to do to Trevor?

I hadn’t predicted him capable of this level of treachery.

“Don’t do it,” I said, giving him a warning he didn’t need. It was part threat, part request. He already knew what I didn’t have to vocalize: if he did this, we were at war. There would be no reversal of his action. Nothing he could ever do would change this.

“Brynn, Trevor knew the rules and deliberately broke them. I have the right to select the severity of the punishment. You cannot influence my decision, or interfere in what I choose once I decide it. I purposely brought you here so you can have this experience,” Landon said.

“What experience? Knowing what happened to Trevor while everyone else in his life wonders? Send me with him,” I pleaded, hoping my sacrifice would snap him out of this decision. In all likelihood, I had just signed my death certificate. What remote location of the world was he going to drop Trevor in?

I took a step toward them and felt an invisible force resisting me. I attempted another step forward, but my foot hung in midair. The energy pushed back, preventing my advance. It felt like I was walking into a wall. I retreated to my original position, and the pressure evaporated.

“Landon, take this rune off,” I demanded.

Landon smirked, and while it wasn’t the playful smirk I had grown to love, it reminded me of a time I wanted to get close to him before I knew it was him in the woods.

I had to touch Landon before he disappeared with Trevor.

I closed my eyes and inhaled a long, deep breath, seeking that place inside myself that had the ability to override runes. I had overrode the one Trevor put on me to avoid contact with Landon, and I knew I could override the one Landon had placed on me now.

I found that part of my brain, encouraged it to come alive, and willed it to weaken the rune. It immediately softened. I tested out its strength and was surprised and exhilarated to advance a step. My eyes flew open and met Landon’s.

Landon turned his head and nodded. Orderlies surrounded them in an instant, forming a physical barrier. I continued forward, determined to get to them, but I was outnumbered by Landon’s guards, who kept me at arm’s length. I unsuccessfully tried to pull out of their grasp. The more I fought, the stronger their grip became.

I backed away from the orderlies, and they released their hold. My brain refused to process it. I looked desperately at Landon, hoping he would admit this was a sick joke or a really bad dream. It had to be a dream. Was he really going to go through with this? He would do this to me, to us? I knew the answer to that. Or thought I did. Someone I cared about—trusted with my life even—was going to betray me by way of someone else I loved and trusted with my life.

“This will finally avenge my ancestors for their weak decisions,” Landon said. “Trevor’s sacrifice will reverse the damage inflicted to my family name and raise our standing in the group. He made himself an easy target by his rookie mistake.”

Trevor rolled his eyes, an act that said he thought Landon’s little speech was overdramatic. I couldn’t believe he felt comfortable enough to find humor in this. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t freaked out at his situation. Why wasn’t he resisting this? Why wasn’t he fighting Landon? Why didn’t he freeze everyone but us and get us out of here? It would be a temporary solution—we couldn’t run forever—but it was better than not fighting. This couldn’t be Trevor’s solution—to just go along with whatever Landon wanted. There was no grim acceptance coming from him to justify his laissez faire attitude.

There was something deeper going on, and I was in too much shock to process the purpose behind it.

“I’ll find him,” I vowed to Landon through gritted teeth. I infused it with every bit of emotion I felt. Trevor smiled warmly. “I’ll find a way. No matter the cost.”

Landon’s demeanor slightly softened. He cleared his throat and continued, “This is what I want. This is what I’ve always wanted. You’re just collateral damage.”

I felt my heart shatter. It splintered and fractured like tempered glass hit by a single devastating blow, sending a shock wave throughout my body. As the weight of crushing despair separated the pieces, they crumbled and disintegrated. I was numb to the dull ache in my chest, the black hole threatening to engulf me if only I agreed to let it. Part of me didn’t care if it did.

I was hollow, desolate. I would never function the same. I would be forever broken. Just the thought that he could
think
of doing this crushed me. This wasn’t something I could heal from.

I hoped feeling never returned. It would save me from living with the agony every day for the rest of my life.

I knew there wasn’t much I could do to change the course of my life. I knew looking back on all the things I could have done differently, including not forcing myself into their secret lives, wouldn’t do anything other than make me hate myself and my selfish choices. I knew that this had been planned, thought out. I had been used, set up, a pawn in his game.

I also knew that every person who played a part in breaking me would live to regret it.

That truth sent another shockwave through me, a dark one. But this time instead of pushing it away, I welcomed the blackness. I accepted the void of my absent heart. I invited vengeance to fill it. Desire for retribution fueled my cells. It dulled the numbness, replacing it with a frostiness I didn’t think myself capable of. I viewed the world through different eyes. I analyzed the situation as a new, dangerous predator. I felt it. I owned it.

A new sensation started then. My empty heart space warmed just enough for me to miss the chill. What started out as the size of a needle point grew to a thousand needle points, then hundreds of thousands, gaining momentum in the blink of an eye, until I was sure my clothes would erupt in flames. It pierced me. I wondered briefly if this was how quickly rage and desire for revenge filled a person, and if I’d feel this all over, every moment of every day, until the moment it was satiated.

How long would I blaze with violence?

The answer was immediate: as long as it took to settle the score.

Soon, the hole in my chest was on fire, consuming me, burning me where I stood. It overshadowed the pain of my missing heart, distracting me from the drama unfolding before me. Wasn’t anyone going to help me, prevent me from burning alive? Couldn’t they see the torture displayed on my face?

How was I even able to stand? I opened my eyes to realize a force other than myself held me up.

Landon and Trevor stood on either side of me, equally supporting my weight. Everyone else in the room was frozen in place. Now he used it.

And as suddenly as it came, the warmth diminished, fading until it was a single flame, flickering gently, warming my skin. Its own entity, it lived with me, breathing its own reprisal.

“It wasn’t supposed to cause that level of physical pain,” Landon said urgently in my ear. “It’s painful, sure, but that seemed extreme,” his distant voice said. How could I not feel extreme pain? He was so close, I could cause
him
pain. The new wave of anger gave me strength to stand on my own.

Landon and Trevor flashed back in place across from me.

The guard surrounding them unfolded to make a solid line of defense.

I looked past them into the only faces I cared to see. They both wore masks of tightly controlled emotions, barely hidden beneath their facades. Hiding their true emotions was killing them as much as it was killing me.

But I could feel their individual triumph and elation.

I felt how they felt, more connected than ever before.

They faded before my eyes and took the last of my strength with them.

I fell to my knees and woke up in my bed.

It was morning, the beginning of a new day.

I stared at my ceiling as realization set in.

What an incredible plan.

I sat up, pushing the covers away. I pulled down on my pajama neckline and gazed at the intricate tattoo decorating the skin over my heart.

I smiled wryly at it. Its location was no surprise after what Landon had put me through: they both held places in my heart. Landon covered as many of the bases as possible, making me feel a variety of extreme emotions at once. He went far beyond the original intent of having me endure a single strong one. He pulled us all into the same dream, or at least made me think everyone was there. The threat to Trevor’s safety—his
life
even—and the possibility of Landon’s deceit destroyed me enough to allow the transfer.