Kate Evangelista - Til Death

“Everything we’ve done, we did it because we love you.”

My grandfather spoke again before I could speak the insult at the tip of my tongue. “Caroline, we’ve become complacent. We didn’t even realize what Bowen was doing until it was too late.” Gramps checked his rising tone. “And we still have the Maestro to deal with.”

“Never mind that for now.” I surprised myself at how calm the sentence came out. I wanted to move away from the topic of Bowen. So I asked, “What really happened the day my parents left me with you?”

Gramps’s face turned grim again. “You have to know, Selena, they loved you very much. They put everything they had into keeping you safe.”

The cold recounting from Gramps became the third stab of betrayal. “I don’t understand. What are you really trying to say? What am I?”

“You’re a very special girl, Selena. What we call a Seer.” Grams smiled through the sheen of tears in her eyes.

The word pinged in my mind. It sounded familiar, yet not, at the same time. “A Seer,” I repeated.

My grandfather nodded. “Your powers go beyond just having visions of the future. In the wrong hands—”

“We thought if we didn’t train you that your powers wouldn’t get strong enough to attract attention,” Grams interrupted.

“Why do you think we chose one of the remotest towns within one of the widest states?”

“I think what your grandfather is trying to say is we specifically chose this town to protect you. Keep you safe. Your parents died putting up the shield that’s kept us under the radar all these years.”

The knot on my brow tightened. “Then why don’t I feel safe? So much for their protection.”

“Selena! I won’t tolerate your rudeness,” Gramps barked.

That did it. I stood up so fast that my chair crashed to the floor. “Well, I’ve had enough of the secrets and lies.”

I ran out of the kitchen to the front door. I couldn’t take it anymore. After yanking it open, I stumbled out until grass pricked the underside of my feet. The cold night air shocked my system. I panted for no reason other than to try and ease the pain and frustration gripping my insides. Strong arms wrapped around me, sending a sobering electric charge through my body.

“Step away from her, Sloan.”

The command in Kyle’s voice startled me.

“Just let me make sure she’s okay, Hilliard,” he said without any heat.

“If you don’t move, I’ll be forced to make you move.”

“Kyle!” I looked over Dillan’s shoulder at my best friend. He held a long staff in his left hand. “Put that thing away.”

He didn’t move. “Selena, we need to talk.”

“Oh, yeah?” I stepped away from Dillan. “ Now you want to talk? After all the lies?”

His gaze faltered. “I had to lie. Unlike some people, I know how to follow orders.”

“Screw you, Hilliard!” He had his sword out in a flash of blue sparks.

“Dillan!” Panic punched my gut. I couldn’t take a brawl right now. “Please, don’t do this.” I positioned myself between him and Kyle, staring up at him until those eyes, sapphires in the night, looked at me. “Please.”

He inhaled, and on the exhale reverted his sword back to a charm.

“Thank you,” I mouthed before facing Kyle. “So, you’re Illumenari too,” I said to him. It sounded more like an accusation.

“Only by birth.” He lowered his staff.

“And your parents?”

“Legacy.”

“Riona and Garret?”

“Mercenaries.”

I didn’t care that Kyle wouldn’t look at me when he answered all my questions. If he was feeling guilty, he should be. I was too pissed at him to care. This cold commanding person was a stranger to me.

“All the years you wanted us to be in the same group?” I forced myself to ask.

“To stay close to you,” he said in a deadpan voice. “My mission was to keep an eye on you. Protect you.”

His vulnerability softened me a little. “What about Mr. Sloan? You knew about him?”

“Yes.”

“And Dillan?”

“Only by reputation.” He looked up then, anger in his storm cloud eyes. “Why don’t you ask him the real reason why he’s here in Newcastle?”

I turned around to face Dillan just as he paled. Fear covered my chest like ivy. “What’s he talking about?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, locking eyes with me. I saw a deep hurt there.

“I’m sure it mattered to Katarina,” Kyle spat out.

Dillan stepped forward, slamming into me. “Hilliard, I swear—”

I held him back as best I could. “Kyle?”

“A disgrace, that’s what you are, Sloan. The very first Guardian ever demoted. And all because you couldn’t do your duty.”

Guardian? What the voice told me in the Fall Festival clicked. Find the Guardian. It had meant Dillan. I looked up at him now. He froze at Kyle’s words, his expression hardened. I didn’t have the patience to stay and figure this crap out. I looked beyond his shoulder to the farmhouse. Tonight was the worst night of my life and I had to get away from all the crazy. I backed away from him.

“Selena, where are you going?” Kyle asked.

“I need time to think.”

“It’s not safe out there for you,” he insisted, coming to my side.

“I don’t care!” I pushed him.

A whistle kept the both of us where we stood. I glanced back at Dillan.

“If you really want to be stupid at least take Sebastian with you,” he said without any emotion.

Dillan

No Rest for the Wicked

Dillan paced the length of the farmhouse’s porch like a caged animal. In his head he lectured himself about allowing Selena to walk away with Sebastian. It still wasn’t safe. He should be there in case they needed help. Once he’d made his decision to follow, he’d get about ten steps away from the farmhouse just to turn around again and double back. Then the pacing resumed.

“Will you stop?” Kyle sat on the top step, his back against the railing. “You’re making me dizzy.”

He stopped and pointed at him. “If you just kept your pie-hole shut…” He snorted as he paced, trying his best to dissipate the frantic energy flowing in his blood. “She didn’t have to know about my demotion, Hilliard.”

“Doesn’t feel so good when someone else spills your secrets, huh?”

Cracking his knuckles at the dig, he thought of the myriad of torture techniques he could use on Kyle and still keep him alive for days. The prick had gotten on his last nerve. Mentioning Katarina to Selena ranked high on his list of low blows. He stared the guy down, imagining him strapped to an electric chair with him at the lever. Then he stopped the pleasurable yet morbid thought. Selena didn’t need to mourn the death of another person in her life tonight. No matter how much he hated him.

By the time the nearly full moon had reached its peak, his feet had worn a path in front of the farmhouse. David and Caroline hadn’t come out since Selena stormed off. What they told her, he had no idea. Out of respect, he didn’t reach out toward the kitchen with his hearing no matter how much he wanted to. Kyle had filled him in on David’s and Caroline’s identities when they reached the front porch. Selena had one of the best Illumenari pedigrees, coming from the original ten families. Her grandparents hid their power well. They officially scared him. But they had to trust Selena more. Whatever came her way, she could take it.

“How did you know it was Bowen?” he steered the conversation toward more useful avenues as he took a seat several steps down and balanced his arms on his knees, staring out at his car parked yards away.