Now, they sought redemption, thinking all would be forgiven with a few manners and promise of unlocked doors. I had wanted to scoff at first, but paused, remembering how I’d forgiven Bren—and Ryker—for all I’d endured.
Forgiveness was a powerful thing.
Time would tell if the men deserved the women and children who decided to stay. But the queen ordered our silence on the matter. She alone would share the news and give them choices, ensuring their safety, whatever they chose. She, to my utmost shock, was staying. Without a family to return to, the city was her home, for better or worse. Apparently, she’d only ever wanted to be free of a jealous, possessive husband who beat her child.
“It was in reaction to Bells being held at gunpoint while the boss shouted at her to return something she stole,” Bren continued. “Then I suddenly couldn’t move, overwhelmed by the blast of her emotions. It felt like Lune was pulling all of the surrounding energy to her, immersing herself in it.” I lifted my brows at the way he’d described my manifestation.
Dominic scratched his head, further ruffling his sandy brown curls. “Her ability is immersive then,” he murmured. “She reshaped reality to create her own.”
“And how did you feel afterward?” Dr. Stacey asked, her green eyes assessing me in that doctorly way of hers. “Different than your other manifestations?”
“Yes. With past projections, it felt like I was giving energy. The more I gave, the more nauseous or feverish I’d feel. But this time, I was shaky, like coming down from an intense adrenaline high. And it was . . . it was like taking energy.”
“Interesting that your abilities are so different from mine despite us both being Visionaries,” Dominic mused. “I would say that every human with the mutant gene has something in common though. Emotion. Or adrenaline, to be exact. It’s the key to triggering or enhancing our abilities.” He frowned in thought. “What did you steal from Rollie Jones that would cause you to project so intensely?”
Silence fell as I gauged the interest levels of my three companions. Only Bren and now Dr. Moore knew that I’d stolen back the memory serum. Not even Ryker knew. But I still didn’t know how many people knew about the box of serum in the first place. Dr. Moore had seemed genuinely surprised to learn about the contents of Bren’s backpack. He hadn’t known, and after feeling the emotions firsthand while inside his mind, I believed him.
I hadn’t spoken to Bren about it yet, but he must have been aware of what he carried. Still, I wasn’t ready to jump to conclusions. I needed to carefully play this out, consider each person from The Ridge a possible suspect.
Someone had stolen the new batch of serum from Dr. Bradfield’s lab. Someone with high security clearance. Multiple people could be involved in this operation. I could be surrounded by traitors in league with Renold right this very moment. The thought of Dominic, Dr. Stacey, Bren, Bells, Jaxon, and Yukiko working with that monster made me want to vomit. They all seemed happy with their home at The Ridge, but appearances could be deceiving.
I didn’t believe Bren was the traitor. My heart—and instincts—told me it was impossible. Unfortunately, evidence was currently stacked against him. If I’d been completely wrong about him this entire time, I already knew my heart would shatter into a million pieces.
And I wouldn’t bother trying to put it together again.
I wiped sweaty palms on my pants, doing my best to ignore Bren’s searching gaze as my heart hammered. What would he do when I revealed what I knew? But before I could utter a word, thunder rumbled in the distance. When it grew louder and closer, I rose from the tree stump I’d been sitting on and scanned the treeline. That sound. It was awfully familiar. Like . . .
“Yeehaw!” Jaxon cried as he burst into the clearing. On a charger. I squinted for a better look at the animal. Something was wrong with the thing. For one, it was incredibly tiny. And the pale fur was smooth. This must be a common horse. I’d always been curious about them, but now that I’d seen one, it was underwhelming compared to its mutated counterpart.
Yukiko arrived at a less reckless pace, barking at her boyfriend to control his mount. His inexperience showed as he yanked on the reins, causing the horse to balk, then paw the air. He yelped, tightening the reins even further. They were either going to tip, or Jaxon was going to fall and get trampled. I lurched forward and grabbed the reins, forcing Jaxon to loosen his death grip. The animal’s front hooves thumped to the ground.
Jaxon let out a relieved sigh, murmuring, “My hero,” but my attention was on the white mare. I had seen a flash of her large teeth. They were squarer than a charger’s, but I assumed they could still tear through flesh. Namely mine. If only I had a—
Someone tapped my shoulder. I stiffened but didn’t look away from the animal’s dark brown eyes. A hand materialized before me, holding an . . . apple?
“No thanks,” I said softly, careful not to spook the horse. “I’ll eat it later.”
A familiar chuckle stirred the hair near my ear. “It’s not for you,” Bren said, reaching for a rein to free up one of my hands. He placed the apple on my palm, then cupped my hand—like I’d done with him the first time he’d met a charger. I pressed my lips together as nostalgia washed over me.
He directed my hand toward the horse’s mouth, and although instinct had me tensing up, I trusted him. With my life. He would never intentionally put me in harm’s way, which was why he couldn’t be The Ridge’s traitor. He couldn’t! The thought stung like a hundred needles driving into my flesh.
“Relax,” he whispered teasingly. “They can smell fear.”
I narrowed my eyes. “If I lose a finger, my daggers will ensure you lose a body part too.”
He paused, as if considering. “Which one? Because you might miss certain parts of my—”
“Ugh, stop, you egotistical maniac.”
“Why, because you know it’s true?”
Yes. “No.”
“Throwing up in my mouth now,” Jaxon grumbled from his perch on the horse’s back.
Crap! We really needed to stop having these conversations around him.
Bren only snickered and nudged my hand into motion again. When the apple was directly beneath the horse’s nose, I braced for impact. But the strangest thing happened. The mare lipped the offering gently. No flash of teeth. No predatory gleam in her eye. I felt the tickle of whiskers, then the apple disappeared as she munched contentedly.
A surprised laugh left me. Bren continued to cradle my hand, turning it to rest on the animal’s neck. The coat was even softer than it looked. I stroked the fur, marveling at the difference between horse and charger. An ache suddenly formed in my chest. I missed Freedom. And despite her sharp hair and dangerous teeth, I wouldn’t have her any other way.
On impulse, I wrapped my arms around the mare’s neck and pretended, just for a moment, that prickly fur was jabbing my skin. When I eventually let go, my cheeks were wet. Bren gave my arm a squeeze before leading the horse away. I wondered if he missed his grumpy, pain-in-the-butt charger, Stalin.
A throat cleared.
“I hate to interrupt this touching moment,” Jaxon said, having dismounted while I was sniffing back tears, “but we have things to discuss. We would have been here sooner if you hadn’t taken my baby.” He mock-glared at Dominic. “Ryker’s mom let us borrow the royal horses. Cool, huh? Oh, speaking of the brooding prince, he’s finally up and causing problems already. Typical. Told his mommy all about the horrible way we treated him during the two months he was in our holding cells. Big baby.”
I snorted at his colorful description. Although, that did sound like Ryker. “Is he against the alliance?”
Jaxon shrugged and, rather stiffly, situated himself on a tree stump. “Not exactly. We explained why he couldn’t have been allowed access to The Ridge. I mean, it’s not like we were going to give him the tools necessary to crack open the mountain and steal away all the people with abilities. He seemed willing to listen with Bells there.” He rolled his eyes. “
Does he always stare like that? ‘Cause he looked about ready to eat her, and it gave me the heebie jeebies.”
Bren paused on his way over, looking more than a little peeved.
“Relax,” Yukiko said, taking a seat next to Jaxon and waving for us to join them. There were six of us now, all part of the inner circle. Five of which could be traitors. My stomach gave a sickening lurch. “Nothing’s going to happen between those two with the amount of guards stationed right outside the door.”
I squirmed, remembering Ryker’s kiss and touch. Maybe we should be a tiny bit worried for Bells. “There’s a window in the back—”
“Covered,” Yukiko assured. “They aren’t going anywhere. Besides, we might need him.”
“For the Tatum City mission?” I guessed.
“Yes. We need to know what he knows. Find out if Renold really does distrust Bren enough to imprison or kill him on sight. If Bren goes in knowing the full story, maybe he has a chance of—”
“He doesn’t need to go in,” I interrupted. “Only Ryker and I do.”
If silence was weighted, I’d be pinned to the ground right now, struggling for air.
I forced my eyes to connect with each and every one of them, saving Bren for last. Their reactions were vital. Dominic and Dr. Stacey seemed surprised. Yukiko and Jaxon looked more than a little alarmed, the latter gaping with his mouth open. And then there was Bren. Oh Bren. Storm clouds swirled in those golden eyes.
“Explain,” he said through gritted teeth.
And so I did. I told them about my mission for Renold, how he’d questioned Bren’s loyalty even then. I told them about Ryker’s, how he was my Keeper and meant to safely return me—with or without Bren. I told them everything the boss had revealed, that Renold was indeed planning something big but hadn’t even told him.
“So you see,” I said, unable to hold Bren’s stare any longer, “Renold doesn’t trust anyone, least of all Bren, and it’s too dangerous for him to return. But he definitely wants me and Ryker back. We could easily explain away our long absence by saying we were kidnapped, but escaped. Then Ryker completed his mission by tracking down Bren and delivering him to the Recruiter Clan. And if no one radios Renold about his brother’s death, he can be assured of Ryker’s continued loyalty.”
“Wait.” Dominic leaned forward. “His brother? As in, Ryker is the Supreme Elite’s—?”
“Nephew.”
He blew out a stunned breath. “We didn’t know that. So who’s to say Ryker isn’t still loyal to his uncle?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
His forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“He won’t risk being cut off from his mother again. Or Bells,” I added, still avoiding Bren’s gaze. “With the proper leverage, he’ll help us complete this mission.”
Silence settled over the camp again, each person mulling over the information I’d dumped into their laps. The question was, did they trust me to complete the mission?
Bren stood and started to pace, yanking agitated fingers through his hair. “I can’t let you go in alone.”
“I won’t be alone.”
“Let me rephrase. I can’t let you go in without me. I still don’t trust Ryker.”
I jumped up as the moment of truth finally arrived. I hated, hated what I had to do next, but I couldn’t waste this opportunity. My knees shook as I rebutted with, “Oh, but I can trust you?”
He jerked toward me, his expression a mess of shock, confusion, and hurt. I bit my lip, determined not to cry. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked softly.
“It means that you’re hiding something. From all of us.” I turned and produced a backpack from behind my tree stump. It was mine, but I’d added one additional item to it when Bren had been occupied earlier today. I undid the zipper and revealed the box of serum, watching his face closely. Guilty or not, he was a good actor, a good spy. I couldn’t let my guard down. “You never explained where you got this. You never told me if you stole it from Dr. Bradfield’s lab so you could give it to Renold.”
He blinked several times, shaking his head. “I didn’t steal it. There was one detail about my mission that no one knew about: the contents of the package Renold asked me to pick up. His mission for me was simple: wait at a predetermined site for a package to be delivered, then return. I stayed there for two days. When nothing happened, I decided to rig a tripwire so I’d be notified when someone arrived. The alarm went off the evening before I left.
“But that’s why I told you my mission’s been compromised,” he continued, almost pleading with me to believe him. “No one at The Ridge knew the exact dropoff location, so when someone inside gave Ryker the coordinates, I knew they must be working for Renold.”
When he finished, there were tears in his eyes. They were in mine too, because I wasn’t finished.
“Since no one else knew, you have no alibi.” My laugh was flat. Empty. “I begged you to be real, Brendan Bearon. But you still have secrets, and I . . . I don’t know what’s truth or lie.”
Bren’s expression fell. I wondered if he sensed my pain. The pain I felt for doing this to him.
I looked down at the box. “Maybe we’ll never know who stole this serum, but I know one thing for certain: I don’t want it in Renold’s hands.” I opened the lid and pulled out a vial, sweeping a glance at the faces around me. “So I’m going to destroy them.”
The serum slipped through my fingers and struck the ground. When it didn’t break, I stomped on the glass with the heel of my boot. A pop and tinkling sound filled the air. Everyone was on their feet now. Dr. Stacey gasped. Dominic looked shell-shocked, staring at the broken vial with such intensity that I worried he was having a stroke.
He suddenly swayed, inhaling a ragged breath. “I-I had a prediction. A solid impression as to how Lune will defeat Renold. But she has to confront him personally. She has to endure more hardship before he’ll reveal his secret—”
His words ended in a strangled gasp. He jerked away from Dr. Stacey who’d come to stand beside him. And then I saw it. A quick flash of silver. It was there and gone again so fast, I could have been mistaken. But when Dominic continued to gasp and cough, clutching at his throat as if unable to draw air, I knew.
I knew who The Ridge’s traitor was.
Dr. Stacey met my stare.
Watched me pass the box of serum to Bren and slowly unsheath my daggers.
She bolted.
I charged after her.
As she dashed into the treeline with sure swiftness, I realized how drastically I’d underestimated her. The inconspicuous doctor, quietly earning her patient’s trust, was the ultimate spy. More than a spy, actually. She had multiple skill sets.
She was wicked fast. Fast enough to stab someone at a party without anyone noticing. Fast enough to jump me from behind, inject me with paralyzing serum, and be ready to play the doting doctor half an hour later.
And she was smart. Smart enough to use her high security clearance to open Ryker’s cell door and lead him to my location in Medical.
Crap. Crap!
It all fit. She was the only person who knew where to find me that morning. And she was in close communication with Dr. Bradfield. Close enough to steal serum from his lab without anyone noticing—or maybe even leave The Ridge for a couple hours without raising suspicion.
She had said Bren didn’t want my memories restored until after he’d left, because it would be easier. Had that been a lie?
Now wasn’t the time to figure everything out, though. She was twice my age, but she might as well have springs in her shoes. I resheathed my daggers to free up my hands. We needed her alive for questioning, and my best bet was to tackle her from behind.
Suddenly, she disappeared. I didn’t even have time for confusion as my boot caught nothing but air. And then I was falling, crashing, tumbling down a steep hill. I tried to loosen my limbs, but my hands instinctively shot out to break my fall. Pain stabbed up my right arm as my wrist bent under the im
pact.
I didn’t scream. I was too busy trying not to get impaled on a stick or tree branch. When I finally reached the bottom, I hit the ground with a jarring thud. Air whooshed from me. I couldn’t breathe, but I struggled to pick myself up anyway, inwardly chanting my old mantra.
Push past the pain. You are not weak!
Every bone in my body protested the movement, but the thought of Dr. Stacey reaching Tatum City and telling Renold all that she knew numbed the pain. I scanned the forest floor, thick with greenery that could easily hide a thin, scrappy woman. Hide. Which was exactly what she would do. I forced myself to still.
To listen.
The slightest of sounds came from the left. I crouched low, advancing on the noise with caution. It could be anything. A squirrel. A wererabbit. A saber cat. But it was her, facedown and motionless. Dead? No. Her back slowly rose and fell. Unconscious, then. I debated what to do. Carrying her to camp wasn’t an option. My wrist was probably sprained, and there was no way I could drag her up this hill.
Maybe I should bind her hands and wait until she woke up, then drag her to camp. Her shoelaces could be used to secure her wrists. I bent down and untied one. I was halfway through the loops when her boot kicked up, smacking my cheekbone. As I landed hard on my butt, something flashed. Silver and thin, like a needle. I grabbed ahold of it.
With my injured hand.
Hot agony streaked up my arm, and I couldn’t hold back a scream this time. My good hand joined the struggle for the needle as Dr. Stacey put everything she had behind the attack. The needle inched toward my face. She was strong, but lacked my conditioning. I was on my back with an injured wrist, though.
My only choice was to endure a moment of intense pain. A single moment and it could all be over. At the thought, adrenaline snapped through me. I welcomed it eagerly, knowing the rush would mask some of the pain. But if I couldn’t endure it . . .
Game over.
There was no time for doubt. I rolled, throwing her aim off balance. She renewed her efforts just as my good hand fell away. The pain didn’t register at first, shock softening the blow. But when nothing but a sprained wrist separated me from possible death, I felt it.
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