Entwined

by A. J. Rosen

  “For a moment I let myself think that having a soul mate—having him as my soul mate—might not be so bad. So I came here. Now?” Tears sprang to my eyes. “The last thing I need is to be forced into a deep connection with someone who can read my mind but can’t ever truly understand me.” I wiped a tear that had escaped. “But after everything, it also sort of terrifies me to think that I might have a click. I’m already a mess from losing Carlo and Bryan. What would it be like to lose your literal other half? I can’t even imagine.”

  “Wow, Montgomery,” Adrian said. “I didn’t realize it ran that deep. But you’re right. I think I know where we can get information like that.”

  “You do?” I said excitedly.

  “They didn’t exactly teach us anything about changing our fate or giving back the gift of clairaudience at the academy. But they did mention the consequences of doing so—bringing the gods’ wrath and all that. I looked into it more at the Royal High Court Academy’s library after what happened with Marsela.”

  “Great! Let’s go there now!”

  A breeze of wind tickled my neck and the sound echoed again, that whispering voice coming from the Oak of Dodona. I looked around, but everyone else was walking normally—enjoying the day and talking to their friends as if they didn’t hear what I was hearing right now.

  “We can’t, it’s not open to Regulars,” Adrian said. “You know only Royals and Pure Royals can study at the Royal High Court Academy. Only they have access to the library.”

  “I won’t be borrowing anything, and it’s not like they require everyone to slide an access card to enter,” I argued.

  “It’s exactly like that,” Adrian said.

  “Geez, Zeus!” I nearly went on to protest when I realized I had the solution at hand. “You have access, right?”

  “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.”

  “And can’t you just pull some Pure Royal strings to get me in?”

  Adrian responded with an apologetic shrug.

  “Freaking mashed potatoes!”

  There had to be a way to get in there. Maybe someone could make me a fake access card? Or I could borrow one? I had never wished Kris had gone to the Royal High Court Academy before, but if she had, I could’ve borrowed her card. There was no way I could borrow Vlad’s—breaking the rules wasn’t his thing, and he wouldn’t hand it over to me without asking a million questions. Damn. If only there was someone I could— “Wait!” I grabbed Adrian’s bicep. “Your sister! Caitlin went there, right? I could use hers.”

  Adrian leaned forward with a devilish smile. “Now that sounds like a legit plan. I’ll get her access card for you. I’ll text you when I have it.”

  With a plan in place, Adrian and I parted ways.

  As I passed through the front doors of the Hyped, the three stern ladies sitting behind the reception desk eyed me up—perhaps they hadn’t been informed that I was banned from participating in the activities and thought I was breaking the rules. I ignored them and dashed to the set of open elevator doors.

  Entering my suite, I expected to have peace for a few hours, but I found my best friend waiting by my door, looking a little worse for wear. Still, she yelped in joy the instant she saw me.

  “I thought Vlad was meeting up with you?” I said as I held open the door for Kris.

  “Oh, he did. He brought me aspirin and candies,” Kris replied with a yawn. She immediately headed for my bedroom, kicked off her shoes, and flopped onto the bed. “I figured it would be best to hide out here with you so my parents won’t see me in this state when they get home from Council. I hope that’s okay?”

  I stared at the empty space. Two cups were still on the counter, chairs were pulled slightly away from the table, and the blanket Vlad had used was neatly folded on top of the sofa. Everything was exactly as I had left it that morning, which meant neither of my parents had come home. I always complained about their presence, how overprotective my dad was and how much of a nag my mom was, but now that I hadn’t seen them lately, I had started missing them. Moreover, if this plan I had with Adrian was a success, I might never see them again.

  “Ave?” Kris eyed me worriedly. “I can go if that’s not okay.”

  “Of course it’s okay!” Despite knowing I would have to figure out something to tell her when it was time to meet Adrian, I lay down next to her on the bed. It was so nice to feel like things were back to normal again.

  Kris turned onto her side to face me and tucked her arm under the pillow, getting cozy. “How was breakfast?”

  I relayed all the drama.

  “Nikki slapped her sister?!” Kris gasped in disbelief. “In public? Did she get in trouble for that? And she congratulated me?” This time I cracked up while my best friend shook her head, her blond hair coming loose from the bun she had piled on top of her head.

  “It’s hard to believe, but that’s what happened. And no, she didn’t get in trouble. Renata probably didn’t want to report her own sister, and it happened so fast that I doubt anyone except the three of us saw. She’s lucky no guards were around either.” I reached out for Kris’s hand and held it. “Anyway, I don’t care about Nikki or Renata. I care about you. How’s your hangover?”

  “The worst. I won’t ever get drunk again.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back. “We both know that promise will be broken.” Kris swatted my behind and I laughed.

  “Damn! This means I can’t join phaininda.”

  Phaininda, from the word fenakidzo, meant “to deceive.” The game was simple: With the field being divided into three parts—one home field for each team on either side of the center part—two teams were set to play against each other. At the beginning of the game, each team started in their own territory and the referee would throw a small ball into center field. From this moment onward, the players were allowed to move freely in the field. If one team managed to throw a successful pass from the outfield to the center field, they scored a point, however, passes inside the center field did not count. After a point was recorded, the team who didn’t score would hold the ball in their field while the scoring team occupied the center field in order to block passes in the area. The trick was to pretend to throw the ball to a particular player but then suddenly throw it to another—a small ball trick in the game of softball. Kris was a fan of sports, but with her hangover, there was no way she could play today.

  “Vlad already informed them that I’m not in good condition to play, but I was hoping I could still show up and play a bit.”

  “Well, how about watching that new crime series everyone has been talking about instead?”

  We spent the day in front of the TV, making our guesses of who the killer was. Yawning, Kris stretched out on the bed. “I feel so tired today and we didn’t even do anything.”

  “I know, right? We’re a lazy pair.”

  “Let’s go get something to eat.”

  Twenty minutes later, we had managed to pull ourselves out of bed and were walking side by side, nestled in our winter coats. We found a diner called A Taste of Heaven, which reminded me of Adrian’s failed attempt at making me eggs. I tried to stifle a laugh. My best friend eyed me inquisitively and nudged me, begging to know what was so funny. I told her all about Chef Adrian, and soon she was laughing along with me.

  “Wow, you managed to get Adrian to cook?” Kris shook her head in disbelief. “That’s a first. He always said that his hands don’t do manual labor.”

  “And, honestly, it should probably stay that way.” I grimaced, thinking of the gooey egg running down my hand.

  We took the table in the corner beside the window. I ordered a cheeseburger and a root beer while Kris ordered a sausage platter and a strawberry milk shake. A comfortable silence fell between us as we watched the passersby through the window. A couple crossed the street, holding hands, then stopped by a
street lamp, and the guy leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. They looked like freshly clicked soul mates to me. But there was something about the intensity of the kiss that reminded me of last night’s kiss with Vlad.

  “Kris?”

  “Hm?”

  “What do you remember from last night?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  I wasn’t afraid to talk to Kris about anything—even when the matter involved her brother. “You ordered me to kiss your brother during Basilinda.” I also knew when she was faking innocence. Kris was about to open her mouth when I raised one interrupting finger. “No, you don’t get to say that you were too drunk to remember anything because I’m your best friend and I can just tell that you do remember something.”

  “Fine.” Her scowl turned into a playful smile as she continued, “Since I am your best friend, that means I get to ask you any questions I like.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, did you actually kiss him?” There was a twinkle in her eyes.

  “I did.”

  “Continuing with my best-friend-question-asking privileges . . .” Kris leaned forward, wiggling her eyebrows. “Was it a good first kiss?”

  “Holy inventor of ketchup!” I pointed one finger at her, wide eyed. “You did that on purpose!”

  She burst into laughter.

  “Why? Why did you order me to do that? You know I hate your brother as much as cats hate water!”

  “Some cats don’t mind it,” said Kris with a shrug. “And to answer your question, I did it because you two were acting like idiots all night long.”

  “Oh, your brother might have been, that’s nothing out of the ordinary, but I certainly was not.” I snorted.

  “I’m an observer, you know. You were looking at him, and when you weren’t, he was looking at you. It was really frustrating to watch, so I thought, why don’t I do you both a favor.”

  Was he looking at me last night? He had kissed me, true, but did he enjoy it? Had he felt it? Had he felt the electricity spread through the rest of his body as I had? His green eyes had looked so tender when they were locked with mine. And then later in the night, when we had hot chocolate, there was a different kind of intimacy then.

  “You do like him, don’t you?” She grabbed my hand and squeezed.

  “I—” I bit my lip and tried my best to come up with an answer but realized that I didn’t have one. I knew my feelings for him had changed as I’d begun to see him in a different light these last few days. But did I like him? I had no answer to that. At least, not yet. “I don’t know.”

  Kris understood the struggle going on inside my head as she let go of my hand and moved to the seat beside me. She reached her arms around me and held me tightly, knowing how much I needed it.

  “I’m really sorry if what I did upset you. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.” She paused, her hand rubbing up and down my arm. “You’re my best friend and there’s nothing I want more than for you to be happy. If you do like my brother, you should tell him. If you don’t, well, you should tell him that, too, because I can assure you that he likes you very much. You are the first girl I’ve seen him treat so differently.”

  “Oh, you mean horribly? I still remember him calling me a flibbertigibbet short stack of pancakes.”

  My best friend laughed, neither confirming nor denying my statement. A small frown formed on her forehead. “What’s up?”

  Kris blinked a few times before turning to me. “It’s Domenico. He just woke up.” And just like that, her frown was gone and her smile returned. There was no mistaking the affection in her voice and eyes every time she mentioned his name. “He’s complaining about his hangover.” She broke a giggle and added, “Now he’s complaining that I’m telling you about it.”

  “At one in the afternoon? He’s even lazier than us. How does it feel? The click thing?”

  “I don’t feel like I’m myself,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” That was one of my worst fears besides losing any more people in my life: losing myself.

  “Geez, Ave, why do you look so scared? It’s not a bad thing.”

  “Care to explain?”

  “From what I knew beforehand, even those who couldn’t stand each other before the click became inseparable afterward.” Kris’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

  “Okay.” I uttered the word slowly, not connecting how that had anything to do with what she’d just said. “They didn’t feel like themselves once they clicked?”

  “No, it was even before the click happened.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “After our clairaudience is awakened, it’s like the gods are trying to send us a message, because everything—feelings, emotions, desires—is intense.”

  “Sure, that kind of message, two halves impossibly destined to become one.” Had I changed? Had my feelings for some people changed? All I felt was sick after my Awakening.

  “And when you both finally have the click, everything becomes even more magical. It’s like Domenico and I are one. He understands me, and I understand him. Completely, perfectly. Some people might say that it’s because we can read each other’s minds.” Kris paused and shook her head before continuing. “But it’s more than just clairaudience. It’s this unbelievably strong connection. He can feel what I’m feeling, not just hear it from my inside head.”

  She put her hand on top of mine. “I’m not good at explaining things. You know how happy I am that you decided to come here. And now that I’ve experienced it, I want the same for you.”

  We hugged for what seemed like a long time. In the back of my mind I had always worried that our friendship would never be the same after the click. Now I knew better than to doubt our bond. There was always a place in her heart for me. I was genuinely happy for her. I truly was. But that didn’t mean that I wanted the same for myself. If anything, her words gave me more validation that I would lose my freedom. My feelings, desires, and emotions would no longer be mine. Independence was rooted deep inside of me; I simply would not allow myself to be taken over.

  “Domenico will be meeting my parents tomorrow at dinner. I’m kind of nervous. I really like his family and I want him to feel the same about mine,” Kris said.

  “Don’t be nervous. Your parents are amazing! He’s going to fit right in. Look, if he can get along with Vlad, he’ll have no problem getting along with your parents.”

  Kris nudged my arm. “Admit it, you’re finally coming around to Vladimir.” She puckered her lips to make a kissing face in my direction.

  I rolled my eyes and she giggled, knowing she had successfully gotten a rise out of me.

  After our lunch, Kris headed back to her suite to get ready for Laphria—a ritual honoring Artemis, which everyone who participated in the Gathering must attend. Well, except those who were on probation and banned from joining. Kris told me she would video-call me so I could see what she was wearing, though I already knew she would look stunning.

  Back at my suite, I sat in the living room, cross-legged on the couch with nothing but a mug of hot chocolate to keep me company. I could not stop thinking about how Kris had described her click with Domenico. I knew for her it was romantic and beautiful, but to me, it was anything but. It would change me. Perhaps not into a completely different person, but it would change me. Kris’s explanation had confirmed that.

  Yes, Kris did say that she knew it was true love because Domenico could understand her perfectly, but how could he not understand her when he could dig deep into her mind? That was cheating, right? The Hellenicus idea of normal was not the kind of normal I wanted. Was it truly worth it to have this so-called love at the cost of losing your freedom?

  Realizing that I had just mocked something that Carlo had believed in all of his life, I suddenly felt bad.

  My eyes flew open. Carlo’s voice mail! T
here had been so many things going on these last few days that it had completely slipped my mind. Maybe a part of me couldn’t bear to listen to it, hence why I had shoved the thought of this voice mail to the back of my mind. But I was now ready to hear what his final words to me were. I pulled out my phone, quickly unlocked it, and listened.

  Avery, you have to run. The Court isn’t safe. You are in grave danger. The Faction will find you and you won’t stand a chance against them. There are things that you don’t know—that I wouldn’t know if I hadn’t found your file in my father’s safe. Come to Seattle and I’ll show you. I’ll explain everything. But now you have to ru—

  I didn’t understand. The urgency in his voice made me tremble. I replayed it over and over. His voice sounded breathy, almost as if he was running. The Faction—wasn’t that what the woman who attacked me had said? The warning in his voice—had he died feeling as scared as he sounded in the voice message? Had he been driving recklessly because he was panicking about me—or was it something else?

  I curled up into a ball, wrapping my arms around my legs as tightly as I could. I felt like if I let go, I would fall to pieces. I tucked my head down and squeezed my eyes shut tight, as if that would erase the thought of Carlo’s final moments.

  I told myself that I could have ten breaths like this and then I would get up. This was not the time to be weak.

  I had to return my gift to the gods and leave this place. The sooner, the better. If I lived out the rest of my life as a Nescient, I wouldn’t even have to bother with whatever this Faction was. I would be safe. More importantly, I would be free.

  I uncurled from my fetal position and unlocked my phone. Feeling the sudden need to hasten our plan, I sent a message to Adrian.

  Have you found it?

  Chapter Sixteen

  It had not even been a half hour when I received a disappointing reply from Adrian.

  I can’t find my sister’s card—sorry, A.

  I searched for my backpack and pulled out my laptop. The internet probably wouldn’t yield any insider tips about the Hellenicus, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.