Page 36 of Raze
The woman nods at my confusion. “In a world where we have to hide who and what we are, this is the only place they can freely be themselves. That means using their gifts when they’re upset or happy or having fun. Just like you can use your hands to hold or to high five or to hit, gifts can be very much the same.”
Her words almost echo what Kellan was trying to tell me earlier. Was this what he meant? But that can’t apply to me. Sure, others might be able to do fun things with their gifts, but not me. I can’t play around with my gift.
“I’m Cibrina, by the way. I run operations here at the Guild. I presume that you’re Raegan?”
“You know about me?”
Her eyes slip to Aiden, and her smile deepens. “I’ve heard about you. And when you arrived in the city.”
Aiden clears his throat. “Cibrina, would you mind keeping Raegan company? I have a short matter to deal with.”
“Of course.” She nods with a smile.
He disappears around a corner.
“So, how did you meet Aiden? Or find the Guild?”
Cibrina hums softly. “Well, I found the Guild first. I’m anattorney who likes to help gifted clients, in particular. When one of them mentioned the Guild to me, I joined and became its exclusive lawyer.”
“Was that when…Thorne was in charge?”
“Mm. Indeed. Though, I can count on one hand the number of times I saw him, let alone spoke to him.” Her gaze flicks around us before returning to me. She continues in a hushed tone, “He kept his distance from the members and used intermediaries to approve or post the jobs he wanted done. Distancing himself made it harder for anyone to catch on to what he was doing, so we’re all grateful to Jackson for getting close to him and revealing his true goal.”
I’m not so sure that Jack had gotten close to him on purpose like that, based on what Kellan told me, but I keep that thought to myself and merely nod.
She straightens and resumes her normal volume. “Anyway, I met Aiden when he stepped in to become the new master of the Guild. It started with me demanding to know who he was and what happened to Thorne and, for some reason, he decided to trust me and told me the truth. I helped smooth his transition in with the rest of the Guild, and he made me the director of operations once he saw what I could do with my gift.”
“And what’s that?”
She smiles and lifts her hands up as if there’s a keyboard in front of her. Gold light in the form of lines fades in to the air around her, forming a glowing outline of keys and a screen. “It’s called Archive.” Her fingers dip and rise over the intangible keyboard. Golden text appears on the screen.
Raegan LaRoux
Age: 22 years old
Birth day: September 26th
Gift: Disintegration
Gift type: Tangible
I’m not sure what’s more shocking; the fact that she knows my gift, or my birthday. I didn’t even remember when that was. The text keeps scrolling upward and revealing more information about me. No! There’s still a room full of people here who could read it. I swing my head back and forth to make sure no one is watching us, then step forward and reach out, as if I can swipe it away. The gold light fades out.
Cibrina gives me a kind smile. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t upset you. Showing my gift rather than explaining it is easier.”
“No, it’s—I’m okay. I’m not used to sharing so much about myself with others. How did you know all that about me?”
“Well—” Her smile curls. “I may have gotten that from Aiden.”
I draw in a frustrated breath. Aiden.
She must read my expression, because she waves her hand. “Oh, it’s not that he specifically offered that information to me.” She taps the side of her head. “Everything I hear and see automatically gets stored in my Archive gift so I can pull it up again later. Even if it’s information made as a passing comment. And it’s not something I can turn on and off.”
“Oh,” is all I can manage. That gift is…a bit terrifying. Does that mean this entire conversation is being recorded by her gift? Is it picking apart everything we’re saying?
“Thank you, Cibrina,” Aiden says, rejoining us. His dark gaze sweeps over me, and I press my lips together. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“Not at all,” she answers.
