-14-
“You did it,” Katia yelled, and ran to give me a hug. I have a message for you from Lord Gavyn. I’ll give it to you later, she added.
Over her shoulder, I made eye contact with the others—Lottius, Skylar, Ravan, Gus, and Jazreel. Everyone converged on us, talking and laughing. Lottius pulled Jazreel along, the poor girl not sure whether she should be included in the hugs. They wanted to hear what I’d said, word for word. I did what I could, but I wasn’t a parrot. I finished with “I’ll be starting at the Academy on Monday.” I hoped Solange hadn’t made that up.
Katia squealed. “We have a few weeks till the tourney, so this is perfect.”
I laughed. “I’m supposed to charm the students into signing up to fix Rocky Beach, not win tournaments.”
The kitchen workers streamed in and out with drinks and food as we talked. The bold ones thanked us. Even Bilal came upstairs to see if we wanted anything else. I don’t know how long we talked and plotted before Katia indicated my bedroom with a nod, and we excused ourselves.
“Gavyn asked me to give you this.” She pressed a clairvoyant crystal in my hand.
I looked at the CC and frowned. “He said he supports what you are doing and this should help. It is for your eyes only.”
I nodded, my heart pounding.
“I’ll, uh, leave you alone.”
“Thanks. Tell the others I’ll be out shortly. Are you meeting Lord Gavyn later tonight?”
Katia blushed and nodded. “Ten o’clock. We have a date.”
I glanced at my watch. It was almost eight. She had time. “Don’t leave yet, okay? Please.” She nodded. “Oh, and make sure I’m not interrupted.” I disappeared inside the bathroom, closed the door, sat on the lounge, and activated the crystal.
Light shot from the crystal and Lord Gavyn’s face appeared. The picture zoomed out and showed him seated on some sofa, legs crossed and elbow resting on the arm of a chair. He looked furious. Not exactly what I’d expected.
“Listen, Lilith,” he said through clenched teeth. “Once again, I’m asking you to send my brother home. You don’t need him here. In three months, you’ll be together again, so you shouldn’t allow him to risk his life.” He paused and glowered.
I shook my head in confusion. What was he talking about? I didn’t know his brother.
“Celeste is threatening to come to the island to search for Bran. I can put up with his bullshit because he loves you, but I will not allow him to drag her down with him because of you. If you truly love Bran, get him off the island before someone discovers his presence and he ends up in your father’s dungeons.” He scrubbed his face and then disappeared from the image.
My heart pounded with both excitement and dread. Bran. The name sounded familiar. “Bran.” I practiced saying the name out loud and closed my eyes to see if an image popped up in my head.
“Celeste has changed,” Lord Gavyn said, and my eyes snapped open. He was back with a bottle of water. He chugged and scowled some more. “She took it hard when you left and even harder when Bran disappeared. She left the Guardians and came to find me. If you are her friend as she claims, you do not want her on the island, being brainwashed by your father’s minions. I’m begging you”—he made a face as though he’d swallowed something rotten—“get Bran off the island before it’s too late. Use Katia to get in touch with me if you run into trouble. Bran can be stubborn.” The light dimmed and the recording ended.
Bran.
Whoever he was, he loved me and was on the island because of me. I hadn’t met any guy who claimed to love me or know me…
Green Eyes. It had to be him. He knew so much about me, and my reaction to him always defied logic. No, it couldn’t be him. He looked nothing like Lord Gavyn, who had silver hair and gray eyes.
I had to know more. I had hours before my midnight date with Green Eyes…with Bran. I couldn’t wait that long for answers. Besides, Bran had refused to tell me anything. On the other hand, Lord Gavyn seemed to have no problem talking to me about the past. I was friends with his sister Celeste, whoever she was. I didn’t like the part about “brainwashed,” though. What did he mean?
I hid the CC in a stack of towels and left the bathroom, almost bumping into Katia, who was pacing in my bedroom.
“Well?” she asked.
I stood a little straighter and kept all emotions from my voice. “I want to talk to him. He said you can arrange it.”
Katia blinked and nodded. I had blindsided her by shifting from Lilith the friend to Lilith the Princess, just like Lady Nemea had taught me.
“Good. I will meet him at the east corner of the castle’s back terrace.”
Katia nodded again. “Okay.”
I smiled. “Thanks.” I went to my closet to grab a cloak. When I reentered the bedroom, Katia was wringing her hands. “What is it?”
“He said, uh, he’ll be done in thirty minutes.” She winced. “I tried telling him he can’t turn down a meeting with you, but…” She shrugged. “He can be so…stubborn.”
“Stubborn,” I said at the same time, and frowned. How did I know that? “Tell him he has five minutes.” I watched her face as she telepathed Lord Gavyn. She didn’t know how to hide her feelings. “What did he say?”
She grimaced. “Thirty minutes.”
He was being difficult. Well, he was about to meet his match. “Do you know where he is?”
“At Lord Z’s. I mean, Lord Zhane’s. He owns a penthouse in the city and a club on West Coronis Beach.”
“Let’s go.”
Katia blinked. “Lilith—”
“If he won’t come to me, Katia, I’m going to him.” I was getting answers about his brother tonight. “You don’t have to come. Just give Ruby the location.”
Katia’s chin shot up. “No, I’ll come.”
She followed me outside. Jazreel and Lottius were arguing about something but stopped and looked up when we appeared.
“Guys, feel free to stay and keep ironing out our plans. If you need anything else from the kitchen, let them know.” I indicated the guards at the station at the other end of the room, then glanced over at Ruby and Callum. “We’re going to the city.”
Surprise flashed on their faces, but they didn’t question me. Lottius, as usual, didn’t accept anything without an explanation. “What’s going on?”
“It’s private, Lottie,” I said firmly. “Hold the fort until I come back.”
She nodded. Switching to princess mode had its perks. People responded without question. I adjusted the hood of my cloak, then something else occurred to me and I frowned at Ruby and Callum. “Shouldn’t you two be off duty by now?”
“We requested longer hours today,” Callum said.
After the development at the meeting, I kind of understood why. They’d probably wanted to eavesdrop on our discussion. “Okay. Lead the way, Katia.”
Soft jazz music and a buzz of telepathic conversation greeted us when we appeared in a hallway. Strong psi energies pulsed in the air. When Katia had said a penthouse, she hadn’t lied. Lord Zhane had an entire floor at the top of one of the buildings. Through a glass window, I could see the spectacular view of the castle and the city center where the three streets converged.
The tingle at the base of my spine started. I hadn’t felt it since the morning I sparred with Sir Norath. I hadn’t thought about it since Green Eyes had said it was my body protecting me.
Katia pointed at an arched doorway ahead. “That way.”
We moved as a group, Katia beside me, Ruby and Callum taking the rear. We paused at the entrance and I tried not to gawk at the room.
A large three-dimensional mural of the beach at sunset covered two of the walls and continued onto the ceiling. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but the clouds in the sky, or ceiling, actually drifted. The third wall had another mural of arches and a broad hallway, adding to the illusion of space.
I ignored the burning on my back and focused on finding Lord Gavyn among the guests. Lights were dimmed, so it was impossible to recognize anyone at first, but going by their psi energy, they were powerful. Some lounged on the couches, while others stood in groups, sipping drinks and laughing at their telepathic conversations. Floating trays delivered flutes of champagne to the guests, who were obviously comfortable because they were in their true forms. I spied fangs, wayward tails, pointed ears, and animalistic heads. I recognized a few of my sister’s friends from my party. Any second, I expected Solange to step into the room and reveal my identity. I pulled the hood of the cape lower.
The burning at the base of my spine intensified. I reached back to rub it. Bad idea. Heat shot up my spine. I stepped back from the doorway before we were noticed, almost bumping into my guards.
“Are you okay?” Katia asked, following me.
I shook my head. The surge of energy shot to my limbs. I looked at my hands and sighed. The writings were back. Why now? Would I release energy and hurt people?
Lil? Where are you?
Impeccable timing once again by Green Eyes. Please, let him be Bran. I couldn’t afford to be in love with one guy while fantasizing about another. My hands were starting to glow. I hid them under the cloak. Despite the thick fabric, I could still see the light.
Damn it, Lil! Talk to me. What’s wrong? I can feel your powers surging.
His radar must be tuned to mine. The familiar gentle brush of energy against mine didn’t calm me down this time. Katia said something I didn’t catch and I could feel the concern from Ruby and Callum, but none of that mattered. The power surging through me was threatening to consume me.
It’s happening again, I said. Heat is shooting up and down my spine and my hands are glowing. I don’t know how to stop it.
Where are you? His voice rose in panic.
Lord Zhane’s.
He cursed. Why in Tartarus would you go to that man’s home?
I need to talk to someone.
Not there, you don’t. And definitely not tonight. Get out now.
Sometimes, his arrogance was annoying. I blocked him and wrapped the cloak tighter around me, crossed my hands, and hid them under my armpits. “Let’s go.”
We entered the room again and everyone turned to stare, the ones closest to us stepping back. The conversation died down as though someone had thrown a switch. Trays came crashing down, frothy drinks spilling on the furniture and carpet. No one bowed or spoke. Instead, waves of fear and hatred hit me hard.
What was their problem? Hadn’t I proven there was no need to fear me? I lowered the hood of my cloak and lifted my head. My glowing hands seemed to have a weird effect on them. There was mass teleporting, the people tripping and bumping on each other as they appeared on the other side of the house. Sharp fangs and canines bared as some snarled; hair rose on the backs of the hairy Werenephils as their ears twitched and their tails jutted up. I knew enough about animals to recognize aggression. Ruby and Callum flanked me, pushing Katia behind them.
Stop blocking me, dammit! Is your body glowing?
Yes.
I can’t get in there, so we’re doing this your way. Repeat after me. These are my people. They cannot hurt me.
Was he serious? These hate-filled people with claws unsheathed and fangs bared weren’t the Hermonites I knew. What?
Just say it.
Weird request, but why not. These are my people. They cannot hurt me.
Again. Say it like you mean it and control your breathing.
These are my people… I repeated the words over and over again, inhaling deeply, holding my breath, then exhaling. The glow disappeared first, then the writings. The tingle at the base of my spine remained, but it was deep. My body was reacting to the hatred in the room. I noticed that no one bowed. I didn’t particularly care.
“I’m looking for Lord Gavyn,” I said.
There was a collective sigh of relief in the room. Some looked behind them at the arched doorway, telling me Lord Gavyn’s location.
A tall man broke through the crowd. He had neon green streaks in his black hair had and some serious tats.
“Lord Zhane?” I asked.
He bowed. “At your service, Princess. Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you. I’m here to collect Lord Gavyn.” I hoped he heard me. That was for making me chase him to this party where people treated me like Public Enemy Number One.
“Of course, Princess.” Lord Zhane glanced at his guests. “The party will continue at the club, guys.”
The room cleared in seconds. Lord Zhane looked at the mess and sighed. “This way, Princess.”
We walked through the arched doorway and into what appeared to be a gaming room. It had a poker and roulette table, and a long bar with stools. Lord Gavyn leaned against a stool, a drink in his hands. He’d changed out of his black outfit and was back into his trademark white suit. Today, he wore a black shirt.
He started to bow, saw Katia, and froze. He put down his drink and hurried to her side. He glared at me briefly. “She shouldn’t have brought you here, Katia.”
He led Katia out of the room, leaving me with Lord Zhane and the guards.
“Would you like a drink, Princess?” Lord Zhane asked, waving toward the bar.
“No, thank you.”
“A seat, perhaps?” He pointed at a stool, then a chair.
He was charming, but that didn’t mean jack. After the reaction from his friends, I was treating him like a viper. “I’ll take the chair.”
He took the seat across from mine. “I heard about the High Council meeting. In fact, that’s all everyone is talking about now. I was impressed.”
I frowned, surprised by his comment. “You approve?”
“Absolutely. I don’t have the stamina to go against the system, so kudos to you for taking this on. We could use more people like you and less like me.” He leaned forward. “What made you think I wouldn’t approve?”
“When I arrived, I…” Was he the right person to tell about the hatred I’d felt from his friends? Lady Nemea’s teachings flashed in my head. “I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
“Nice comeback,” Lord Gavyn said, entering the room. His two guards flanked him. “There’s only so much you tell someone you just met, and my friend here”—he slapped Lord Zhane’s back—“happens to be in the business of selling information to the highest bidder.”
A weird expression crossed Lord Zhane’s before he glanced up at Lord Gavyn and smiled. “How well you know me, Gavyn. I think I’ll leave you with your guest.” He stood. “If you need anything else, I’ll be at the club.” Lord Zhane gave a stiff bow. “Your humble servant, Princess.”
Lord Gavyn walked behind the bar counter and started mixing a drink. He glanced at his guards. “Leave us. You, too,” he added, inclining his head toward Callum and Ruby.
My guards didn’t move.
He glared at them. “She’s not in any danger here.” The guards gave no indication they’d heard him. “Princess, send these two goons away or this meeting is over.”
“Are you always this rude or is it just with me?” I asked. He smiled and something about it reminded me of Green…Bran.
“If I’ve been rude, I apologize,” he said, bowing, and I couldn’t help feeling that he was mocking me. “I am your humble servant, Princess.”
Definitely mocking. “It’s okay, guys,” I told Ruby and Callum. “Wait for me in the other room.” They were reluctant to leave. “Go.”
Lord Gavyn watched them leave. “Idiots. If I wanted to kidnap you, they wouldn’t stop me.”
I ignored his bragging and waited until the guards were gone. “You go out of your way to make people dislike you, don’t you?”
He chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “It’s more like I don’t care whether they like me or not. Did you really expect me to meet you on the castle’s balcony? Is that what you’ve been doing with Bran? Sneaking around? How typical of you.”
His arrogance was starting to tick me off. “Did you know me when I lived with the Guardians?”
He sneered. “Let’s do away with the pretense, shall we? I don’t buy your lost memories story. I’m not judging, mind you. Whatever makes the year go faster, right?”
I shook my head. “You think I’m faking my memory loss? Why would I do that?”
He sipped his drink and took his time swallowing. “You defeated Raphael, just like they reenacted during your lavish party, but he never erased your memories. You know it. I know it. And everyone who was conscious when the Tribunal handed down their sentence knows it. You recognized me the night of your party, so I knew you were faking.”
What the heck was the Tribunal? “You looked familiar, so I asked my father who you are.”
“Bull. I can spot a fake a mile away. Your sister tried and I saw through her act the second she opened her mouth.”
“Are you saying Solange remembers what happened before the Great Battle?”
He chuckled. “Of course. Why do you think she’s busy doing what she does best, scheming? I don’t know or care what you did or who decided you should be in a coma for more than half the year. My concern is Bran. I know you love him, but you have to let him go. In three months, you’ll be together, so what’s the point of keeping him here?”
Why would Solange fake memory loss? And why did anger course through me at the mention of the Tribunal? “What’s happening in three months? What is the Tribunal?”
“Quit playing games, Lilith,” he snarled.
“I’m not, Gavyn,” I snapped.
He went silent and frowned as though taking a mental step back. A calculating gleam entered his eyes. “Do you recall our first meeting?”
“No, but from the look in your eyes, I’m sure it was memorable.” Lord Gavyn chuckled. The chuckle became a laugh. His reaction was annoying and puzzling. “What’s funny?” I asked.
“Our first meeting was memorable, all right. Bran had decided to join the Guardians just so he could be with you. He barely knew you, but was willing to give up everything for you. Ring a bell?”
“No.”
He made a face as though to say liar. “We tracked him down to the Guardian community. The two of you were together when my guards saw your psi energy and went a little crazy. The idiots lacked discipline.” He smirked. “That’s why they’re gone and I’m here.”
Did he have to brag about everything? “What has my psi energy got to do with them going crazy?”
“You have a limitless source of pure psi energy and they wanted it. Bran decided to be your protector.” Lord Gavyn shook his head. “The fool. He was willing to fight two P1 Energy Hermonites lobbing omni balls with his water powers. No one in their right minds takes on P1 Energy. Not even the Guardians.”
The more I heard about Bran, the more I knew he was Green Eyes. Water powers. Cocky. Stubborn. Noble. No wonder I fell in love with him. “Omni balls?”
He gave me another look that said he still didn’t believe I’d lost my memories. “The most powerful energy balls. They are usually unstoppable, but you, a sixteen-year-old, stopped them like they were Ping-Pong balls. That was when I knew you were different.”
Floating red fireballs and water rising from a swimming pool flashed through my head. I tried to hold on to the memory, but it disappeared. “What would anyone want with someone else’s energy?”
He shrugged indifferently. “To enhance theirs. Yours is pure and regenerates fast. You can enhance and replenish the energies of hundreds and still survive, and that’s without the Kris Dagger. At the same time, you can bend anyone to your will, render them powerless, freeze and destroy thousands like that.” He snapped his fingers.
I frowned, remembering my premonition on the training field. “There’s no way I’d knowingly hurt anyone.”
Lord Gavyn drained his drink and pushed his glass aside. “That’s where you are wrong, Princess.” He smirked. “You have hurt people. Surely even you can’t have forgotten that victorious raid on Coronis Isle.”
I stood. “If you’re done telling me about Bran—”
“Scared of the truth? You? Now that’s a side of you I’ve never seen before.”
I wanted to slap his smug face. “I’m not scared. But I will not sit here and listen to your lies.” The problem was that I had a feeling he wasn’t lying.
“Lies? How do you think the Guardians destroyed Coronis Isle and killed so many of our people? You used the Kris Dagger to freeze every Hermonite on the ground and in the air, and the rest of your Guardian pals finished them off. Why do you think Zhane’s friends weren’t too happy to see you tonight? They didn’t fight the Archangels, so they remember that raid. You killed their parents, Princess. Their uncles and aunts, their older brothers and sisters. You even killed my mother, mine and Bran’s.”
My stomach roiled as the conversations I’d had with my friends zipped through my head—the Guardians attacking Coronis Isle and killing so many of their parents, taking Katia’s sister and the Specials, raiding their businesses.
I shook my head. “No. I went to the island with my father to retrieve the dagger. I could not have hurt my people.” I fought queasiness. “If I did anything, it was by accident or the Guardians made me do it. I’d never knowingly hurt anyone. I would never do something that…”
“Whoa. Okay.” He raised his hands. He studied me, eyes narrowing as though he was strategizing. “Forget the part about the raid. I was only playing with you.”
His words slowly sank in. “You mean what you just said—”
“Was a lie,” he finished, and grinned.
I slapped him hard. “You are the most despicable, arrogant, self-centered… Why would you say something like that to me?”
He rubbed the cheek I’d slapped. “Because I’m a jackass. You were on the island to retrieve the dagger and you helped Bran rescue our sister Celeste. It just so happened that the Guardians were attacking at the same time. You were not involved.”
I wanted to hurt him, really hurt him, until he begged for mercy, but it wouldn’t make a difference. I was an empath. I could tell when someone was feeling sorry for me and he was. Why would he pity me unless everything he’d said was the truth? Could I have really killed my own people with the Guardians? I was only sixteen when Coronis Isle was destroyed.
“You’re not going to start crying, are you?” he asked.
My tears were threatening to fall, but to cry in front of him would be beyond humiliating. “Of course not.”
“Good. One, you are not the crying type. And two, I’m not the consoling-females type.” He reached for the decanter with whatever alcoholic mixture he’d made, poured it into his glass, and took a sip. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “Want some?”
“I don’t drink alcohol, you jerk.”
He grinned. “Who said I was offering alcohol?” He reached for a bottle under the counter, splashed some of the contents into a glass, and shoved it at me. “Don’t sip it. Throw it in the back of your throat. It’s the best remedy for weeping females.”
“I’m not crying,” I snapped.” I studied the clear liquid. “Are you sure this isn’t alcohol?”
“Coward.”
I tilted my head and threw the drink into my mouth. I sputtered and coughed as the liquid burned its way down my throat. My eyes watered. “What in Tartarus was that?”
“It doesn’t matter. Still feel like crying?”
No. In fact, I felt warm. I glared.
He laughed.
Hating him was a waste of energy. “What kind of a person was I before the Great Battle?” Other than the kind who could kill her own people.
“Annoying. Arrogant.” He gave me a look that said he was remembering our past encounters. “You had and have a right to be, I guess. You are powerful and can manipulate most elements. You are the Chosen One, after all, the one destined to wield the most powerful Nephilimic weapon.”
The weapon was useless now, but I decided not to tell him that bit of information. I didn’t trust him. He liked to play games, and I refused to give him more ammunition.
“You care about the people here?” he asked.
“Of course I do. Why do you think I’ve taken up the Subsixers’ cause? They are just as important as everyone else.”
His expression grew thoughtful. “And you’d never hurt them?”
I shot him a glare. “What do you think?”
“I think your heart is in the right place, so I’m going to be honest with you.”
“Why? You’ve been lying all this time.”
Annoyance crossed his face. “Just shut up and listen. You cannot afford to be ignorant like most knuckleheads around here. Information is power, and as your future brother-in-law, it’s only right I watch out for you while you’re here.”
Somehow, I doubted he cared one way or another if anything happened to me. “What information?”
“Do you know why your hand glows green before you heal someone?”
“That’s my body protecting itself.”
“No, that’s the power of the Kris Dagger protecting you. For whatever reason, the powers shifted from the dagger to you. Celeste let that detail slip by accident. You are now the most powerful weapon, not the dagger. No need to look horrified. Your secret is safe with me. But if you continue to heal people around the island, everyone will know and that will tilt the power struggle in their favor, so no more healing minions.”
“In whose favor?”
“Your enemies’. Those who hate what you plan to do, and I’m not talking about taking up the minions’ cause. You are the Chosen One and they have no interest in uniting with the Guardians. Oh, and don’t forget those whose brains you fried while you were in a coma. Some are still not fully recovered and they’re pissed.” He drained the rest of his second drink. “Back to why we’re having this meeting. I want Bran off the island.”
Those I’d hurt… How could I have forgotten about them? As for Bran, I wasn’t his keeper. Besides, I liked having him around. But I decided to play along. “Okay. Can you describe him?”
Gavyn frowned. “I gave you his description in my first message when I thought you’d lost your memories.”
I made a face. “I didn’t watch it.”
“Why not?”
“I hid it and went to watch the fireworks, but when I went back for it, it was gone. When we finally found it, someone had erased it.”
“Damn it. Someone knows Bran is on the island.” He teleported from the other side of the counter to my side. “Find out who took it. I don’t care how you do it. Read their thoughts. Mind blend with them. Get the names of everyone they’ve told and erase all their memories. If your father learns that Bran is on the island…”
My jaw dropped. “My father would never hurt anyone unless they deserved it. And I’m not erasing anyone’s memories.”
He leaned closer and snarled, “Bran joined the Guardians to be with you, Lilith. According to your father, Bran is a Guardian and therefore, an enemy. If they catch him within a foot of you, they’ll give him the same treatment they gave the two traitors you fingered a few weeks ago.”
I started to worry. Gavyn was right. If Father believed Bran was a Guardian, he would throw him in the dungeon and drain his psi energy. “What do you want me to do? And please don’t say erase memories.”
He glanced over his shoulder before whispering. “Do everything in your power to find him and tell him to leave. Don’t trust anyone with this except Katia. I wasn’t lying when I said you defeated Raphael during the Great Battle, and he didn’t erase your memories. Something or someone erased them here on the island. You should be asking yourself who and why.”
He was a raving lunatic, making up stories and filling my head with ugly suggestions. My memories were erased during the Great Battle. “Are you implying—”
“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you the truth. Don’t trust anyone except Katia. Find Bran. He’ll confirm everything I just told you. Black wavy hair, green eyes, and dimples, he’s hard to miss. After you find him, have Katia contact me.”
Green Eyes was definitely Bran. The guy who loved me. The guy who came to the island to be with me. The guy who might be in trouble if anyone knew he was around. “I’ve seen him.”
“When and where?” he barked.
“Everywhere. He appears when I least expect him and disappears again. It started after I regained consciousness. He refused to tell me his name, but insisted I would know it when my memories returned.”
“So, he’s okay,” Gavyn mumbled.
“Yeah. He even telepathed me when I came here and told me to leave. He doesn’t like the company you keep.”
Gavyn shrugged as if he didn’t care what his brother thought. “Somehow, I knew he’d find a way to get your attention. And he knows better than to come to Zhane’s house. The dark lords meet here all the time and they would have recognized him.” His expression became serious. “What I said is true, Lilith. It’s too dangerous for Bran to be on the island. Convince him to go home. If that fails, contact me through Katia. I’ll come and get him out. Maybe keep him chained up for the next three months.”
I frowned. “You never explained the three months.”
“That’s when you’ll decide whether you want to live with the Guardians or here with your father. The Tribunal said the choice would be yours.”
Lady Nemea’s words came back to haunt me. She’d meant choose. My father wanted me to choose him. “Why would I want to live with the Guardians? This is my home.”
Gavyn smiled. “I hope that’s true, Lilith, because the people here need you. Whether you realize it or not, they really need you. Remember everything I told you,” he said, then started for the arched doorway.
I stared after him, more confused than before, unanswered questions burning my tongue. Who the heck was the Tribunal?