House of Silence (Poisoned Houses Book 3)

by Lyn Forester

  A chill runs through me. “So, you took the abuse for the chance to be signed on as my secretary?”

  His black eyes reflect images of myself back at me. “You don’t need me to answer that.”

  “Never again, Nikola. This is the last time you withhold information from me.” I lean down to put our faces on the same level. “The good, the bad, whether it puts you in an advantageous position or it hurts me, nothing remains hidden. This is how you earn my trust.”

  His expression hardens with determination. “I want to stand by your side. I want to be in your bed. I want everything. If I have to share those positions, I’m willing to, but I’d be happier not to.”

  Behind me, Felix lets out an angry hiss, but I ignore him as I straighten, looking down on Nikola once more. “I won’t make those guarantees.”

  He leans back on his hands, the long lines of his body on display. “But you’re thinking about it now.”

  I can’t stop my eyes from running over what he offers, but my thoughts stay calm. “Did you plan for me to discover your bruises? Was this a ploy to gain my sympathy?”

  “No.” When I lift a skeptical brow, he sighs. “You aren’t drawn to weakness. This was not even on my list of options. I...underestimated Garrett’s pride with that game of 8-Ball.”

  I note the tension at the corners of his mouth and the way his hands press into the bench. “That bothers you.”

  “Yes,” he bites out.

  Unbidden, a smile slips across my lips. “I like seeing you bothered.”

  Nikola always seems so on top of everything, always one step ahead, that it actually comforts me to know he makes mistakes.

  “Don’t get used to it.” He pushes upright once more, then flows to his feet.

  I hold my ground, unwilling to back down, even in this. He stands with only a hand’s breadth between us, and the height difference makes it impossible to meet his eyes without looking up at him.

  My heart races at our proximity, and I will it to slow, to calm. I don’t think of Nikola as more than a friend, and an uneasy one at that.

  He bends slightly, lips close enough to my ear that his breath stirs my curls. “Shall I get dressed now? Or would you like to continue looking?”

  My head turns toward his. “Consider the shower. You reek.”

  “I could use some help scrubbing my back,” he murmurs, not at all swayed by the comment.

  “Don’t push it, asshole,” Felix growls. “We’re standing right here.”

  Nikola straightens. “So jealous, but not even sure you want her yourself. At least I saw Caitlyn for who she was from the beginning and accepted her. Of course, I’ve known her longer. Our relationship is more solid than yours.”

  Reaching out, I jab Nikola hard under the ribs, and he winces. “Don’t get cocky, or I won’t stand in the way when Felix punches you.”

  Nikola flexes his right arm as he steps to the side. “I think I could hold my own.”

  “Didn’t look that way a bit ago,” Felix sneers.

  “This and that are two different things.” Nikola waves away the comment. “Caitlyn fully understands why we would fight.”

  “Don’t think I’ll bother to console either of you for your bruises.” I bend to grab the jar of salve from the bench, the contents woefully low. “And I certainly wouldn’t ask Myrrine to help ease your foolish, self-inflicted pain.”

  Felix pouts. “The new Caitlyn is so mean. Kinda sexy, but mean.”

  At the sink, Connor passes me the lid. “If you instigate a fight, you deserve any punishment dished out. You’re still on the Dean’s watch list.”

  Felix widens his eyes. “You, too, bro?”

  “This is nothing new.” Nikola’s clothes rustle as he pulls his pants back on, forgoing the suggested shower. “When I was ten, I tried to impress her by climbing one of the trees in her Grandmother’s solarium. Fell straight out. I had no climbing skills whatsoever. I broke my arm, and instead of soothing my injury, she pointed out every way I could have done better and not fallen.”

  I pause in the process of screwing the cap back onto the jar to glance over at him. “At least I didn’t tell Grandmother who broke the branch off her precious cherry tree. Now stop telling stories to prove how well you know me.”

  He casts me an unrepentant smile. “But I have so many stories I could tell. And pictures.”

  I blanch. “Stop.”

  Felix, smelling something juicy, perks up. “Wait, what kind of pictures?”

  Connor adjusts his glasses. “I’d like to know that as well.”

  Nikola lifts his chin. “What are you willing to pay to see them?”

  I set the jar on the counter with a hard click. “Before you three start bartering over my childhood, there was something else I wanted to ask you about, Nikola.”

  He pauses for a moment before he slips on his shirt. “What’s that?”

  “Why all the subterfuge with reaching out to me through the forums? What exactly were you trying to lead me to?”

  His head tilts to the side. “I don’t follow.”

  Connor steps to my side, hand brushing against mine. “The maps. The weirdly coded messages. We get that it’s a public forum, so you couldn’t just come out and say what you meant there, but why not just come to Sparks directly?”

  Nikola shakes his head. “I really don’t—”

  “Wait!” Felix jumps in. “You’re Rim Jumper?” Then he smacks the side of his head. “I get it! Tri to find someone of worth! You’re Tri-Worth!”

  Nikola holds up his hands. “Wait, slow down. I have no idea what you all are talking about.”

  Connor frowns. “You’re not Rim Jumper?”

  Nikola slowly buttons up his shirt. “I’ve never once considered suicide.”

  No one points out his mistake. Jumping from the Rim is a time-honored way to commit suicide, which only goes to prove he’s not my mysterious messenger on the racing forum.

  Felix swears. “If it was that other Tri-Worth asshole, I’m really going to punch his face in.” He waves his hands at me. “This is why you shouldn’t respond to people on public forums, Sparks! What if he was trying to lure you out to have his wicked way with you?”

  “Is this some kind of torrid romance novel?” My hands move to my hips. “What have you been reading instead of studying?”

  “I don’t need to study!” Felix stomps over and grabs the strap of my satchel.

  I swat at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking another look at the messages.” He pinches my opposite side, and when my hand flies to block him, the satchel slips off my shoulder. He holds it aloft in victory. “Aha!”

  Connor folds his arms over his chest. “You realize it’s coded to only open to Caitlyn, right?”

  Felix wags a finger. “I bet it’s coded to one other person.”

  My narrow eyes shift to Nikola. “It better not be.”

  “I have no clue what’s going on right now.” Nikola turns to watch as Felix sets my satchel on the countertop next to the sink and pulls out my old folding-port. “I’m not familiar with this model. It’s not the one Councilor Lonette approved for your new suite.”

  Felix’s eyebrows lift. “So, you don’t have access to it?”

  “Why would I?” Nikola shakes his head. “I was already at Tri-Worth when Caitlyn would have gained this device.”

  “Let’s check, anyway.” Felix flips open the screen to reveal the red light-rings. “Just come over here and smoosh your hand onto the screen.”

  When Nikola glances at me, I wave him on, ready to get this over with.

  Nikola rolls back the cuff on his right hand as we join Felix. “It’s not going to work.”

  Felix shifts the screen to face the other man. “Humor me, acting-Secretary.”

  With a put-upon sigh, Nikola presses his palm against the screen.

  It flickers for a moment, then the red ring vanishes as it unlocks.

  Nikola snatches his hand back, star
ing at his palm in shock before he spins toward me. “Caitlyn, I swear—”

  “So, you didn’t know?” Felix cuts in, his gaze hard as he stares at Nikola.

  “Know what?” Nikola opens and closes his hand as if it no longer belongs to him.

  “You’re coded to Caitlyn.” Connor’s arm slides over my back in a gentle embrace. “Or, rather, Caitlyn is coded to you.”

  I stiffen in alarm, my heart kicking into overdrive. “What does that mean?”

  “It means our handprints read the same.” Nikola’s fingers curl against his palm. “This technology is decades away from being approved for use. It presents far too many opportunities for abuse.”

  Was this what Garrett was talking about with his wild accusations about my family’s dealing in illegal genetic experiments and the way he called Nikola and his mother abominations? But how did he know when neither of us did?

  Panic creeps in, and I lift my hands to my face, the lines and swirls no longer familiar. Another person’s hands where mine should be.

  I shake my head. “No, my father must have added Nikola to my security approval list somehow.”

  Silent, Felix pulls up my settings, then turns the monitor to clearly display my name as the only registered user.

  My stomach drops to my feet. “How did you know?”

  Connor answers. “With Garrett going on about genetics tampering, it was a safe bet.”

  Felix turns the folding-port back toward himself and taps away at the keyboard.

  After a moment, he glances over at Nikola. “You’re probably stuffed full of other tricks, too.” His typing slows, and he murmurs, “Getting rid of Garrett was a good idea.” Then, even softer, “Nikola and his mom still put you at risk.”

  I shiver, and Connor’s hold on me tightens in support. I always knew I was genetically engineered to fit my grandmother’s goals for me, but at least I knew I was singular in my design.

  Now, to know parts of myself aren’t even mine...

  My heart pounds, the panic I keep pushing back surging to the forefront. The air seizes in my lungs, and Connor’s calming hold turns restrictive. I don’t want to be touched, not when this body isn’t even mine.

  “Hey, it’s okay.” Connor squeezes my shoulder. “You’re still the same person you were a minute ago.”

  Felix’s voice sounds muffled through the rush of blood in my ears. “Shit, it’s happening again.”

  “What’s happening?” Connor pulls me closer as if to protect me, and it heightens the panic.

  Trapped. Trapped by Connor’s hold. Trapped by my family. Trapped by my very body. I’m not a real person. Just a construct, pieces cobbled together in the image of a person.

  Cracks form in my mind. I struggle to focus on the light ring, to bring myself back to a place that can process thought, but the wheel sputters, the converter coil finally losing its spark.

  White noise floods my mind, like the thoughtlessness of when the mind specialist wiggled his way into my brain. He did something in there, broke something before I pushed him out.

  I reach for my ears, but something holds my arms down, stops me from digging out the worms that want to eat my brain.

  Cold water splashes onto the top of my head. I flinch back to escape it, but my shoulder strikes a wall. Boxed in, confined. The world closing in around me.

  Firm hands grasp my cheeks, lifting my face to the cold spray, and I sputter as water fills my mouth.

  Different hands smooth my hair away from my forehead, followed by Felix’s voice. “I think it’s enough. Shut it off.”

  Something blocks the spray, though I still hear it pattering on the surrounding walls, and the hands on my face shift, fingers threading through my wet hair. “Caitlyn, can you hear me?”

  I shake my head, not because I can’t hear, but because hearing tells me Nikola holds me, that Nikola’s hands touch my face, hands that mirror mine.

  How is that even possible? They’re not the same size, the same shape. From the way he cups my head, his hands are bigger, stronger, reach farther.

  Gasping, I grab hold of his wrists, bigger than mine, broad enough that my fingers can’t wrap around them. “Why? Why would he do this?”

  “Who?” Felix strokes my hair again, his voice coming from my right. “Your dad?”

  “He had no right!” Blinking my eyes free of water, I stare up at Nikola’s face, directly in front of mine. “It wasn’t his turn!”

  A mirroring pain twisting his features. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t understand.” Felix edges farther into the shower stall to twist off the water.

  Fingers cold and wet, Nikola tries to wipe the water from my face. “The Lonette family uses reproduction facilities to produce their offspring.”

  Felix shakes his head, flinging water everywhere. “Yeah, a lot of people do. It cuts down on anomalies.”

  “It also lets parents pick and choose specific traits,” Connor puts in from somewhere outside the shower stall. “Designer babies.”

  “In the Lonette family, they skip generations to remove favoritism in the council seat. Her grandmother should have had sole ownership of how Caitlyn was designed.” Nikola’s thumbs stroke over my cheeks. “But she never would have approved coding us to match. She hates everything about my mother. If she wanted to play with genetics, she would have matched Caitlyn to Garrett. Which means Councilor Lonette broke another tradition and input his own designs over her grandmother’s.”

  “He broke me,” I whisper, clutching Nikola’s wrists tighter. “Grandma had a plan, and he broke it. I’m the poison.”

  Sadness fills Nikola’s eyes. “No, that’s not true.”

  Felix shoves all the way into the shower. “What are you talking about, Sprinkles?”

  “The Mortium.” In my mind’s eyes, the delicate, purple plant in my grandmother’s garden opens to reveal an orange blossom instead of the white one she hoped for. “I’m the poisoned one. That’s why sentencing Garrett doesn’t bother me.” My focus shift to Felix. “It should, right? It’s not a sign of strength. It’s a sign of sickness.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean about Mortium.” Felix pushes Nikola’s hands away to pull me against his chest. “But, no, you’re not sick. You’re not poisonous.” He leans down to press cold lips to my forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t hold you to a different standard than I hold Connor or Dec or myself.” Another kiss, this one lingering longer, his chill lips warming against my skin. “I’m so stupid. I’m sorry, Caitlyn. Don’t doubt yourself.”

  A hand cups the back of my neck, and Nikola leans in. “Don’t let your grandmother’s games get in your head. She’s a crafty old woman who kept the High Council on their toes during her term. She knows how to play on people’s insecurities better than anyone else.”

  My heart aches at that, but I can’t deny it. As much as I respect my grandmother, I know she manipulates me just as much as my father does, if not more. At least Father never pretends to care for me.

  A shiver rolls through me, bringing with it the realization I’m cold. No, I’m freezing. I shiver again, teeth chattering. “Why am I wet?”

  “You weren’t responding to the usual methods.” From his corner, Nikola raises his voice to travel outside our little box. “Did you heat a bathrobe?”

  “Yes.” Connor appears in the doorway, a fluffy white robe in hand.

  Felix tugs at my wet clothes. “You’ll warm up fast if you take these off.”

  “Is it your habit to tell people to strip?” Nikola asks drily.

  A surprised snicker escapes me, and I push out of Felix’s arms to step unsteadily out of the shower and into Connor’s waiting embrace. He folds the warm robe over my wet clothes, then plunks another on top of my head, swaddling me in instant warmth.

  Felix steps out, yanking his sodden shirt over his head and throwing it into the hamper. “Hey, where’s my warm robe?”

  Connor jerks his chin to the left. “
Still in the next stall over.”

  Shivering, Felix shoves his pants down. “Where’s the love, bro?”

  “Aww, you need a hug?” Connor opens one arm in invitation.

  Felix turns his nose up. “Not from you.”

  “A little room, please?” Nikola hovers in the entrance to the shower, blocked in by Felix. His clothes cling to every line of his body, somehow making him look more exposed than when he was almost naked.

  “Show-off,” Felix grumps as he stomps toward the other shower stall and pulls two robes from the warming bar on the inside.

  Nikola smirks. “Not going to tell me to strip again?”

  Felix’s eyes sweep over him. “I’ve seen what you have. Not impressed.”

  From where I stand, Felix doesn’t exactly look indifferent, and I’m not sure how that makes me feel. Earlier, with Felix’s hands on Nikola’s bare body, it made me warm in places only newly awakened. But am I really okay at the idea of Felix touching Nikola? How do I actually feel about my childhood friend?

  Too much is changing too fast and without our full team’s knowledge.

  “We need to talk to Declan.” The words escape my lips before the thought fully forms, and the others look at me in surprise.

  Finally, Felix hands a robe to Nikola. “We’ve tried. We’re not getting through.”

  I straighten out of Connor’s hold. “We’re not getting through as representatives of the council. But what about the forums? Does he still check those?”

  Felix’s eyes widen. “Maybe?”

  He takes a furtive step toward the outer room, and I shove Connor aside, racing ahead of him. The second robe falls off my head as I run, my head suddenly cold, but I make it to the end of the wall that separates the showers from the front of the bathroom first, my focus narrowing on the folding-port where it still rests open next to the sinks.

  I’m shocked no one came into the bathroom and discovered the contraband device sitting out in the open. Not the best plan for keeping it hidden from the school authorities. Only the time of night saved us, most people either still out entertaining themselves, or else already in bed for the night.