Page 70 of Lies That Blemish
Ana and Victory both nodded.
“Alright, we’ve got one more stop before dinner,” Maxim announced, and then all of a sudden, I was backing out of the room against my will.
“Don’t leave!” Victory ran for me, crying. Maxim threw his hand out, and Victory froze mid-step, eyes wide.
“Don’t hurt her!” I screamed. My voice was my own, but my movements were not. I was still backing out of the room, and I’d just reached the doorway. Ricov and Whitney, followed by Maxim, were next. Both Victory and Ana were frozen in place, tears streaming down their faces.
“No one’s hurt. We’re just laying down some authority.” Maxim smiled at me. “Have a good night, girls. Be good so your sisters won’t have anaccident,” he told them and then shut the door.
“You didn’t have to scare them like that,” I spat.
The girls pounded against the door, and my gaze flicked to Whitney. What I saw there gave me hope. There was a cold, calculating look in her eye. A quiet, simmering fury. She was planning something. I peered down to see her pinching the outside of her thigh. It was barely noticeable, but I saw her do it when the slight movement drew my gaze. Why would she be pinching herself unless… Did pain keep Ricov from hearing our thoughts?
“Shall we go to the testing site now, Prime Leader?” Ricov asked Maxim.
Maxim nodded.
Ricov seemed too preoccupied with Maxim to have read my thoughts.
We all walked down the hallway then in unison, Whitney and my feet matching cadence with Maxim. He was clearly controlling us both, and I hated every second of it, but I was at a loss for what to do. I couldn’t even think properly with Ricov around.
I just let go and let Maxim control me. Anything to keep Victory safe.
I hated who I’d become, from strong leader to loyal puppet.
Chapter 22
Valor
Sorak was a nice city,but I couldn’t enjoy the sights while Elaine lay dying back home, and my sister was a prisoner of war. I paced the carpet in the large home that Tej and Arjun had brought Virtue and me to. Anika and Meera were here, my sister’s friends from boot camp. But I was too overwhelmed to really talk to anyone. I just wanted my family back together. One second, we’d been driving to Sky Reach, and then the next, a dragon landed on our car, tossing us off the road. I thought now that I had a creature, I’d be a badass fighter and be able to protect my sisters, but it turned out I was a healer who couldn’t heal under stress. My throat pinched as I thought of Elaine bleeding out in the woods while I was helpless to stop it.
‘You did the best you could. You are still learning,’Zara told me from the backyard, where she patrolled with the other creatures.
‘I failed everyone,’I corrected her.
“Hey,” Arjun entered the room with Anika. He was holding a plate of food. “You should eat something.”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” I told him, continuing my pacing. Maybe I should take Zara back to Amersea and help Aisling. I felt better now, less rattled. Maybe my healing gift would return.
“Valor, right?” Anika approached me with a kind smile. “I don’t think I’ve officially met you, but I’ve heard about you from Aisling.”
The moment I looked at her, I knew there was something broken about her. It was like with Tetra—I couldn’t focus on her face when her foot was calling to me. I hated to call someonebroken; it felt rude, but that’s what I saw. I saw people now as puzzles with pieces missing. Tetra’s missing piece was in her foot, and Anika was missing a piece in her head.
“Something’s wrong with your brain,” I blurted out.
Anika’s eyes flew wide, and I winced. “I’m sorry, I just meant…”
Crap. Subtlety was not something I had mastered yet.
“Did your sister tell you?” Anika asked me.
I frowned, unable to look away from her brain. It was like a picture in my mind getting clearer and clearer every second. Little noodles that were supposed to be connected were not in her case.
“Tell me what?” I asked dreamily, taking a step closer to her and cocking my head. I could see the noodle-like strands of energy that were broken, and where they were broken, there was no light. It was a dead zone.
I sounded crazy. I knew that. But that was what I saw.
Anika was watching me, and I pulled my gaze away from her head and met her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I have a new gift that I’m still learning how to?—”
