Page 10 of Truthfinder’s Promise

His gaze fixed on Valkyrie. “You look like him. Why do you look like him?”

“Because I was my father’s first experiment,” Valkyrie answered. “Fitting that I ended him. Don’t you think?”

Rath glanced to Veritas for confirmation. The girl nodded with complete confidence, and that was something. Any ordinary Truthfinder would have needed a clearer statement from Valkyrie to confirm that she had indeed killed Elijah. Saying that it was fitting that she had ended him was a shaky statement that didn’t directly say she had.

“So he’s dead. What do you want from us?”

Siren stepped forward. “Do you know what the Aspect Society Council is?”

Rath kept his mouth stubbornly shut, obviously not wanting to admit to any ignorance. But Veritas shook her head.

“Everyone with Aspect in the United States falls under the jurisdiction of the Aspect Society Council. It’s meant to govern our kind and make sure no one is taken advantage of simply because others are stronger than us.

“I won’t lie to you—when I first found out what I was and fell under that jurisdiction, I did not receive a warm welcome. You see, I was Elijah’s second experiment. And I didn’t even know I had power until I was sixteen. He trapped my Aspect inside me and stored it up like a bomb, because that’s how he intended to use me.

“And when I stumbled into this world, the Council was very afraid of me. I think they would have killed me if they’d been given the chance. They were too focused on me, on what I could do, to bother trying to find the person who’d done this to me.

“It took Valkyrie to prove what her father had done. To kill him, and to remove the previous council. Since they’ve been gone, we’ve been working to find all of the people Elijah has harmed. You’re the last.”

“So why should we trust you?”

“Because that council is no longer in charge. I am. And I don’t hold people accountable for things they haven’t done.”

“What happens if we come with you?” Veritas asked. “Will you separate us?”

How many of “us” were there? Rath and Veritas were the only two who had shown themselves. Were the rest of the kids here, or had some of them left?

“You won’t be separated,” Siren assured them. “There are others like you. They live at a school together.”

After Elijah’s death, Valkyrie had wanted nothing to do with the home she’d grown up in. She’d ended up donating it to the Savage Foundation, which was the organization Siren had founded to help others like her and Valkyrie. Valkyrie’s old home was now called The Refuge, and it was both school and home to all the kids they’d found so far.

“Should you decide to go there your education, both the Null and the Aspect sides, will be finished. You will have time and space to plan for the future, and you’ll have a home at the school for as long as you need one, even after you turn eighteen.”

Rath was quiet for a moment, and the distant expression on Meredith’s face made her think he was talking to someone. In his head. Which was not a thing. Telepathy was definitely not a thing. Then again, they’d all thought teleporting wasn’t a thing either, and Random had finally proved that wrong so…

“And if we don’t want to go with you?”

“Then you don’t. I’m not here to control you. I’m here to try and fix what Elijah broke. I’m here because I understand how it feels to be on your own in a situation you don’t understand and feel you have no control over.

“By the time someone offered to help me I didn’t know how to take it. I didn’t know how to trust them. And they didn’t try to force me to. They just offered. So that’s what I’m doing for you. Offering.

“If you want to stay here without oversight, that’s your choice. We ask that you allow us to supply you with food and medical care, and station some of our people nearby in the event you need assistance.”

“That’s it?” Rath asked. “We don’t want to come with you and we don’t have to?”

Siren shrugged. “I told you, I’m not into force.”

Rath nodded. “Good. Then get out.”

“Alright,” Siren agreed easily. “We’ll have a couple people stationed off the property. Big RV, can’t miss it. They have medical and trauma training, if anyone needs it. We’ll drop off food and hygiene supplies as well. We can leave them outside the gate if you don’t want to let anyone inside again. If you have any immediate, critical needs, let us know and we’ll take care of them.

“And Rath? I have no doubt that you’re doing a good job of taking care of everyone. But I also know you have multiple kids here. Most adults wouldn’t be prepared to be a parent to all of them, and expecting it from yourself is a lot to ask. If you change your mind, my offer stands at any time.”

Siren headed for the door without hesitation. Meredith had seen so many of these interactions by now that none of it surprised her. And Rath wouldn’t be the first to turn down Siren’s offer. Meredith knew some people would say Siren was making the wrong decision. That since some of the kids here were as young as six or seven, adults had the responsibility to make a decision for them regardless of whether they wanted it or not.

And maybe that was true. But Meredith also saw the wisdom in how Siren handled things. If she dragged them all out of here kicking and screaming, it could take years to ever earn their trust, and she might never get it. They would feel like they had no choice in anything that happened to them.

By giving them the option, Siren could ensure their needs were met while giving the older kids time to realize that they did not, in fact, want to be parents. To realize they’d already been forced to shoulder too much responsibility and it would be nice to have someone else help them out.