The man nodded, dazed, and got back into the sports car. The engine roared loudly and the tiles squealed as he drove away.
Emma looked up at the house, knowing what was waiting for her and that it wouldn’t be pleasant.
Things had not gone as planned with Ava, not at all. And her father was not going to be happy about what Emma had done. He’d ordered her to get close to Ava—earn her trust and in time, convince her to return home. Not to try and compel her unless as a last resort. And she was supposed to run it by him first.
But what was Emma supposed to have done? The Rogues had failed miserably in their attempt to take Ava, and once Emma had spilled the beans about how she’d tampered with Caleb—which she’d had to do or they would have left her at some safe house, thank you very much—she had no choice but to reverse the effects. Not that he was important anyway. Ava was the important one, and gaining her trust was Emma’s primary mission.
A mission she’d undeniably failed.
Emma took a deep breath and started up the walk. There was no putting it off any longer. It was time to face the music. The thought brought a wry smile to her lips as she heard the familiar strains of classical piano through the door.
Emma raised a hand to knock, but the door flew open before she could touch it. Father did enjoy theatrics, on occasion. She walked in, following the quiet music down a hallway to the back of the house.
Father sat at the piano, his eyes closed as he played one of his favorite pieces.
Rachmaninov, Emma thought, although she couldn’t be sure. Her tastes trended toward more current artists.
She stood in the doorway, waiting, as he finished the piece, the notes hanging in the air for a moment before he lowered his hands and turned on the stool to face her.
“Well, you’ve certainly made a mess of things, haven’t you?” he asked, eyes glittering in the lamplight. His right was black, like Emma’s; the other, gold, like Ava’s. His hair was brown and wavy, not like either of them, and Emma often wondered which of her siblings had inherited that trait.
“I’m sorry, Father,” she said quietly. “I only did what I thought was necessary.”
“Yes, but that’s not really your job, is it?” His voice was calm.
Emma knew better than to be reassured by the fact he didn’t seem angry. “No, Father.”
“You were to get close to your sister. Form a friendship. Earn her trust.”
“Yes, Father.”
“And you tried to move too fast, in the end, pushing her away.” He stood, crossing to Emma, his tall frame looming over hers. “Did any of your work hold?”
Emma swallowed thickly, her eyes on the toes of her shoes. “I don’t know.”
“No. It. Didn’t.”
She looked up in surprise before thinking better of it.
“Yes, I know,” he said shortly as her gaze dropped again. “Of course I know. I have eyes and ears everywhere, dear daughter. Nothing escapes my attention. Your sister shook off your compulsion like it was nothing.” He reached out, his finger sweeping slowly down a lock of hair before tucking it behind her ear. The finger continued down her cheek and hooked under her chin, lifting her face until she met his gaze.
“This is why you must follow my instructions,” he said kindly, his thumb stroking her cheek. “Everything we’re doing is according to a very detailed plan. Each step must be followed in order as part of a carefully controlled timeline. If you go off on your own . . .” His grip tightened on her chin painfully, and tears formed in Emma’s eyes. “You run the risk of ruining everything we’ve worked for. Do you understand?”
She tried to nod, but he held her tight. “Yes, Father,” she whispered, tears of shame trickling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Father.”
“I know you are, dear girl.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and released her. “This is a setback, but not one we cannot overcome.” A wayward curl had fallen forward over his brow, and he swept it back to lie smoothly with the rest. Her father always liked things in order.
“I still have faith your sister will join us, but we need to move forward to bring home the others.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Are you up for the task?”
She nodded, desperate to get back in his good graces. “Of course, Father. You know I am.”
“Good.” He touched her cheek again, a soft smile on his face. “That’s good.” His smile fell. “Unfortunately, I cannot allow such disobedience to go unpunished.”
Emma swallowed nervously, her stomach twisting in fear, but she held his gaze. Father did not tolerate cowardice. “I understand.”
“It’s for you own good. So you remember next time and don’t repeat the same mistake.”
“I know, Father.” She closed her eyes as his palms pressed against her hair. The dull throb of a headache began behind her eyes, radiating outward and growing in intensity.
“I love you, Emma.”
“I love you, too, Father,” she whispered before the pain stabbed through her and forced a scream from her lips.
Eventually, she blacked out, awakening some time later curled up on the carpet with dried blood on her mouth and the last remnants of the headache fading away.
Her father sat at the piano playing Beethoven—or maybe it was Bach—and humming along with the melody.
Caleb tracked Ava down at the park in the center of the Guardian living quarters. She sat on a bench, watching a group of children on the swings, a soft smile on her face as she toyed with her necklace. He sat down next her, pulling her hand into his lap and interlacing their fingers before placing a soft kiss to the tip of her thumb. His gift settled with her near, and he wondered how he’d survived such a long separation.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
Caleb had been talking strategy with Gideon, Tiernan, and Tyra. He’d been surprised when Ava had opted out, saying she needed some time to herself. She’d never been one to sit back and let others make decisions, but she’d been through a lot.
“Fine,” he said. “I think we actually have a plan. Which is saying something, considering the personalities involved.”
She smirked. “Meaning you’re all stubborn as mules.”
“Hey!” He laughed. “Takes one to know one.”
She shrugged but didn’t deny it. “Are they going to relocate the Colony?”
Caleb frowned. He and his father hadn’t seen eye to eye on that one. “Gideon doesn’t think it’s necessary, at least not yet. He’ll leave Tyra and a contingent here to guard the civilians when we go to New Elysia. He seems to think once we form an alliance the Colony will be welcome there.”
“You don’t agree?”
“I think he’s putting a lot of faith in the Council. I’m just not certain it’s warranted.” He waved a hand toward the children. “I also don’t like leaving innocent people here when the Rogues know where they are.”
“I don’t think the Colony is in danger,” Ava said quietly. “The Council is their target. If anything, they’d want the Guardians on their side.”
“So you think they’ll be back, just not to attack?”
“Eventually,” she said. “But I’m thinking they’ll need some time to regroup. I don’t think Emma expected to be going back empty-handed.” They sat in comfortable silence for a while, and Ava drew in a heavy breath. “I’ve been thinking . . .”
“Always a dangerous proposition.” She elbowed him, but her smile grew, which was his intention in the first place, so he took it as a little victory.
“I was thinking,” she said with a mock glare. “About this testing Gideon wants to do.”
“Yeah,” Caleb said slowly.
“I’ll do whatever he thinks is necessary. I trust him, you know.” She glanced at Caleb as if expecting him to argue the point, but he didn’t. “But if they don’t figure it out—”
“They’ll figure it out,” he said quickly. “If not Gideon, then the Council doctors—”
She held up a hand. “If they don’t. If
they can’t. And if it comes down to it, and the Rogues attack . . .”
Caleb didn’t like the way this conversation was heading. “Ava—”
“I want to fight,” she said firmly. “Especially after what Emma did—” She shook her head as if to eliminate the memory. “If they take control, they’ll do it to others. It’s not right, Caleb.”
“I know, but—”
“There’s no ‘but,’ ” she said. “If it comes down to it, I’ll use what I have to stop them. And I’m asking you not to try and stop me.”
“As if I could.” He played it off like a joke, but he hadn’t answered, and Ava knew it.
“You could,” she said softly. “Between you and Tiernan and Gideon and, God forbid, Adam, you could stop me. You would if you thought it was dangerous for me. You know you would.”
Caleb couldn’t disagree. The thought had crossed his mind.
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” she said, turning back to watch the children, her thumb rubbing little circles on the back of his hand. “I know what it will do to you if . . . if something happens to me.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you.” The thought filled Caleb with sick dread. His gift spiked, instinctively wanting to protect, and by Ava’s quiet sigh, he knew she felt it.
“Please,” she said, turning to look into his eyes and take his face in her hands. “I need you to promise me. I’ll do anything—whatever you and Gideon think is necessary. All the tests. Answer all the questions. I don’t care. But in return, I need you to promise that you won’t stop me if I’m needed.”
Caleb fought the rush of anxiety at her words, tears pricking at his eyes as he looked into hers. But in that moment, he couldn’t deny her.
“I’ll try,” he said, choking on the words as he covered her hands with his. “That’s all I can promise right now. I’ll try. I swear.”
Ava studied him for a long moment and then nodded, realizing that was the best she was going to get. She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
“It’s strange,” she said. “To think I have all these . . . siblings out there. And I don’t even know them.”
Caleb knew what she didn’t say: and I might have to kill them. He tightened his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close.
“And my parents,” she said quietly. “I have to explain all this to them somehow. I have to make sure they’re safe.”
“We’ll keep them safe,” he told her, the words quiet, reverent—a vow. “You have a lot of people on your side here, Ava. No one’s going to let anything happen to them.”
She nodded, leaning into his warmth, and he hoped he could keep that promise.
Eventually, the children went home and the sun slid below the horizon. Caleb pulled Ava to her feet and linked their fingers as they walked back toward the common room for dinner. They stopped on the path before the building came in sight, and Caleb surrendered to an urgent need to pull her close and wrap his arms around her waist. She sighed into the touch, tangling her fingers in his hair as he squeezed her a little tighter.
After a long moment, he pulled back. “No matter what,” he said firmly. “No matter what happens, we’ll get through this. I’m not leaving you again. We’ll face this together, and we’re going to make it. I know it.”
Ava nodded, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I know.”
“And I want . . .” He swallowed thickly, sure but nervous all the same. “I want us . . . together. Forever, Ava.”
She froze. “What are you saying? Do you mean . . .”
He nodded, as certain about this as he was about anything. “I’ve been afraid, Ava. For a lot of reasons. And I want to explain them all so you know just what you’re getting into here. But I want you to know that I’m in this for the long haul. And for us, that’s a really long haul . . .” He laughed, running a hand through his hair. He was rambling, and he couldn’t stop. “And I know it’s a lot to ask—”
Nothing else came out of his mouth, because Ava chose that moment to pop up on her tiptoes—and a little bit higher, thanks to her gift—to plant a soft kiss on his mouth.
He gasped into the touch of her lips, pulling her close and reveling in the feeling of their power mingling. It was like coming home. And it was only going to get better.
“Yes,” she whispered against his mouth when they drew apart to catch a breath.
He grinned. “I’m not sure I actually asked anything yet.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, her grin matching his. “Yes. To everything. Anything. All of it.”
Caleb couldn’t find it in himself to push the matter, so instead he just kissed her again. And they stood, wrapped in each other’s arms long after darkness fell, forgetting all the challenges that stood before them and simply remembering what it was like to be together.
To be meant to be.
Excerpt from Twelve: Book 3 in the MORE
Trilogy Coming in 2014
A block of ice smashed against the wall above Ava, raining down a shower of freezing crystals. She cursed under her breath and made a dash for the adjoining building—a detached garage—and pressed her back against the wall next to Caleb.
“I thought you said she’d be reasonable,” she said, sneaking a glance around the corner and ducking back just as quickly when another bowling-ball-sized block of ice shot their way and landed at their feet.
“That’s what the intel said,” Caleb replied, his eyes darting around as he tried to figure out their next move. There had been a plan, of course. There was always a plan. But as Ava was quickly coming to realize, when it came to the Race, such plans often fell apart.
“We should have brought Adam,” she muttered.
“He was needed back at the Colony.”
The dampener could mute gifts, sometimes block them altogether, but Gideon was leery to let him go too far from the Guardian Colony ever since the Rogue attack. Caleb had assured his father that he and Ava could handle it. It was supposed to be a routine mission, after all.
“Well, he sure would have come in handy with Miss Ice Ice Baby over there,” she said with a disgruntled frown. She spotted a couple of garbage cans propped against the house and an idea began to form. “You think you can shift us behind that tree on the other side of the yard without her noticing?”
Caleb snuck a quick peek. “Yeah. What are you thinking?”
“I need to get where I can see her so I can try and bind her.”
Caleb stiffened. “No way.”
“Come on, Caleb, it’s no big deal.” Ava felt a familiar rush of frustration. He’d been like a mother hen lately, and she was fine.
“You can’t use your gifts. You promised. Not until we figure out—”
Another ball of ice ricocheted off the corner of the building and they fell to the ground, covering their heads.
“We need to do something!” Ava snapped. “I’m open to other ideas.”
They’d received word of a possible Half-Breed named Sophie near the border in Minnesota, and Caleb was supposed to get to her before the Council did. Ava had begged to go along, after nearly going crazy with boredom while holed up at the Colony for almost a month. He’d agreed only because there’d been no time to argue, and no one else to go with him. Since his kidnapping and manipulation, the Guardians had instigated a strict buddy system. Even Caleb was subject to it.
They’d driven to Minnesota, but had left the car at the gate so they could shift into the neighborhood where Sophie lived. Caleb had been careful to materialize out of sight of the house, only to find the girl standing at her mailbox, staring at them wide-eyed and scared out of her mind. When Caleb had stepped toward her, she’d taken off running toward the house, and the ice bombardment had commenced.
A cryokinetic. That’s what they called her. Someone who could use cold and ice, like a pyrokinetic used fire.
Ava still couldn’t believe this was her life now.
Protectors would be coming soon—within
a day or two if their intel was correct, not that Ava wanted to rely on that—but Caleb and Ava had yet to get to the front walk, let alone the front door. Ava knew their only chance was to bind Sophie long enough to convince her they weren’t there to hurt her. Convincing Caleb of that, however, was easier said than done.
“We can wait her out,” he said as a burst of smaller ice pellets hit them. He pulled Ava into his arms and rolled closer to the wall to shield them from the worst of the blast. “She’s panicking . . . afraid . . . and her gift is lashing out. She can’t keep it up for long. When she calms down, or gets tired, we’ll be able to get to her.”
“And how long will that take?” At his silence, she pushed away from him. “You have no idea, right?”
Caleb rolled over to sit braced against the wall and glared at her with a mulish expression, but said nothing.
Ava took a deep breath and crawled over to sit on her knees between his sprawled legs. She reached out to touch his face, the mingling of their power settling them both. “I’ll be okay,” she said softly. “I won’t use much. You know it’s only bad when I try to do too much—”
“We don’t know that.”
“I’m fine,” she said, willing him to believe it and ignoring the ache behind her eyes. “We have to do something. It’s only a matter of time before a neighbor calls the cops.”
As if emphasizing her words, another ice ball crashed into the garage door.
Caleb glared in the direction of the noise, and she knew he was desperately trying to think of an alternative plan of action.
“Come on.” She got to her feet and held out her hands. “We need to do this. Now.”
Caleb tried to stare her down, but when she didn’t look away, he took a deep breath and let her pull him to his feet. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked, obviously unconvinced.
“I’m sure.” She stepped close and wrapped her arms around his waist as another ice ball flew past them. “Let’s go.”
Ava closed her eyes as Caleb shifted them across the yard and took only a second to steady herself before peering around the trunk of the tree. She spotted the girl peeking out from the living room blinds. Ava used her gift to rattle the garbage cans by the garage and smiled when another ice ball flew in that direction. She reached out for Caleb’s hand, using his gift to boost her own and to ground her.
The Guardians (MORE Trilogy) Page 24
