6. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Key
Her words hung between them briefly as he motioned toward the suede couch in the dimly-lit living room beside them. “Let’s sit down.”
Key didn’t take exception to his slightly strained tone. He’d invited her into his home after finding out that she was something unique—and she was grateful for it. Despite the fact that he’d unintentionally caused her pain, she had no reason to mistrust him. Without the disc, he wouldn’t have the upper hand—and judging by the short conversation they’d already had, that meant he had stepped out on a limb, too.
“Before we begin,” she started, “I want you to know that I’d never hurt you, Jax. It took trust on your part to give me that device, and I won’t break it.”
A jerky nod. “I appreciate that, and the fact that you were willing to come here, but frankly, I don’t even know where to start.”
“Perhaps you can start with how you found out about us.”
“I heard about all of this four days ago, at work. I had just started in my new position, and—”
When his words were cut off, she searched his face for a reason. His jaw was clenched, and his hands were fisted in his jeans. For a moment, he simply remained quiet. Then, he turned to her, solemn.
“I need your word that you won’t use this against me, Key,” he warned. “I’ll be breaking confidentiality by telling you what I know, what I’ve seen, and if it gets out that I was the one blowing the whistle, my life is over.”
“You have my word.”
Tension seemed to dissolve from his shoulders. “When I started my new position under Colonel Barlowe, we drove to a facility outside city limits. Wolves—or so I thought—were held in silver-lined kennels, and Barlowe proceeded to throw us into the deep end. He revealed that werewolves, vampires, and Raeths were real, and gave us our directive.”
“Which was?”
“The werewolves in the kennels would be released against a population of Raeths. It was our job to handle the administrative tasks while Barlowe continued their mission—subjecting people to rabid bites to forcibly infect them, before throwing them into cages.”
Key’s nausea rose so swiftly that she clasped a hand over her mouth. The flashes of it in her visions had a different weight to them when coming from a firsthand account.
“Those people were terrified, Key. I had to watch as a man was bitten and thrown into a cage like garbage.” Jax scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’ve sat there, every day this week, listening to people beg for mercy and wolves howling beside them. I’ve been trying to figure out how to help them.
“I don’t know what to do,” he continued. “I have no idea who to contact, and even if I did— werewolves ? No one would believe me.”
She took a deep breath. “ I believe you, Jax. What you’ve seen is connected to a terrorist group who’ve named themselves the Citizens of the Light. We’ve been fighting against them for the better part of the last decade, and they’ve killed many of our people.
“I’m a Raeth,” she revealed. “There are thousands upon thousands of us worldwide. When we discovered what the Citizens were planning, we joined together. Now, we’re simply trying to stay alive and keep the secret of our existence from being exposed.”
A growl built in the back of Jax’s throat. “What they’re doing: it’s wrong. They’ve peddled this propaganda that says all of you are somehow villains, but I don’t buy it. Even if you were, Barlowe and Rayn are destroying human lives for their goal of eliminating you. They have to be stopped.”
Startling, Key asked, “You’ve met Rayn?”
“Yes, why?”
Almost desperately, she wrapped her arms around him and inhaled the leather and spice scent of him. Ever since he’d given her his windbreaker, she had found it oddly soothing to wear it.
“ Jax .” Her words were muffled against his shirt, but nothing felt more right than when she was in his arms. “Rayn is dangerous, and any moment you’re around him could be your last. If he suspects you oppose their agenda, it’s over. He’ll put you in one of those cages, and you’ll never see the light of day again.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s a Raeth who’s turned against his own kind,” she said. “He and Torrin Scayde—the true leader of the Citizens —have been orchestrating our downfall for years.”
“Torrin Scayde, the editor in chief of the Times ?”
She nodded.
Sitting taller beside her, he uttered the words that were vital to their future. “I want to help in any way I can, Key. Just tell me how.”
***
Peace. It was always illusive. Key’s desire to grasp the concept was as consistent as the offshore breeze. The wind raked through the palm fronds above her head, the rustling providing background noise that was nearly impossible to drown out.
With her eyes closed, she could almost imagine that the end wasn’t near. That they’d already won. It was the escape she coveted most: success, and the end of her foresight.
But peace wouldn’t be hers today. That much was apparent given the panther that was currently prowling toward her palm tree temple where she sat cross-legged beneath the shade.
There would be no escaping this conversation. Her sovereign would request answers, and while she could be forthcoming with some, others would need to be withheld. Nero would not be pleased.
What Key hadn’t foreseen was the rough sandpaper tongue of the panther that demanded her attention. Retreating from the playful act instantly, her nose scrunched up.
“Yuck, Nero!”
The panther’s green eyes laughed at her before he bumped his head into her chest, the softness of his fur tickling along her skin. Her disgust quickly morphed to joy as she sunk her fingers into the downy-soft, midnight black fur of Nero’s animal.
Her sovereign was gifted. While she had the ability of foresight, her sovereign could shift into the big cat, as well as read and control emotions. His third gift, however, was perhaps the most important. It would be crucial for the battle ahead.
Nero retreated once he was satisfied with her affection. One look toward the palm trees though, and a wicked glint entered those eyes.
Key gasped, pleading, “Nero, please don’t.”
There would be no dissuading the cat. He stretched up along the palm tree, rising to his full height, and raked dangerously sharp claws down over the bark. Marking his territory as effectually as drawing a ward, the panther bared yellow fangs in a warning yawn before the shift overtook him.
Only seconds later, a smug Nero was sitting beside her.
“Did you have to ruin my palm trees, too?” Key asked, giving him a dry look. “You’ve ruined everyone else’s.”
“Of course. My clan, my rules.”
The cheeky grin he gave her loosened some of the anxiety in Key’s gut, but her shoulders still sagged. Over the last few days, things had changed rapidly. Jax had entered her life without warning, and it had seemed like the kiss of chaos to a foreteller who relied on knowing exactly what the future held.
“I know what you’re going to ask me, sovereign.”
“Then do I need to ask it?” At her nod, he sobered. “Why didn’t you tell me, Key? Why didn’t you share the burden?”
“I couldn’t. Had I involved you, it would’ve irreparably changed the future. I couldn’t risk our victory just so I could have a confidant.”
“I would’ve helped you carry the burden,” he replied. “It hurts my heart to know that you’ve been alone to this, and for centuries, no less.”
“I haven’t been entirely alone to it, sovereign.” While it was partially true, it was also partially false. “Cassandra and I have spoken in the past, and she knew what I was attempting.”
“She may have known, yes, but she wasn’t your friend.”
Key’s face fell. Her sovereign was right—as he usually was. Luna, Zia, Nero: all of them had been her closest companions throughout the years, but none of them had understood the complexity of what she was working toward.
Luna still didn’t.
The healer wouldn’t know before the end. To involve anyone outside of the twelve couples she’d already informed—save Derikles and Jax—was to compromise their chances of success.
“You’ve been my friend, Nero. You and Zia and Luna. Eden, now, too.” A watery smile. “While I couldn’t share the subject matter of my visions, you were always there.”
But that answer only nominally appeased her sovereign. “Tell me how I can help you.”
“Sovereign, I’ve informed you of all that I can—for the present, at least. I have to hold my cards close to the chest for a while, playing them strategically while the dice are still being cast. Trust me, you’ll know more as soon as I’m able to tell you.”
“As soon as you’re able.”
“This I can share: everything so far has fallen in place.”
Key’s foresight returned with the force of a hand grenade, and for a moment, she was lost to the visions that flickered behind her eyes.
Innumerable flashes of a future that was both within reach and unfathomable played out before her. They were scenes from a play she’d orchestrated: a victory that was both near and far away, the fallout of defeat, and the pain and tragedy of loss.
Nero, well accustomed to the gaps in her attention span, simply waited her out. When the visions cleared, Key’s focus returned to her sovereign.
“How is Eden faring with the archives?”
“She’s in love,” he chuckled. “Seems like I have to pry her away from those books every night. She goes through them so quickly.”
“Not a bad thing.”
“No—and Nina’s been keeping her company, visiting often.” Nero frowned. “Isaiah, too, for that matter. They’re both looking for something, but they won’t tell me what.”
When he cast her a suspicious look, Key smirked. “Spoilers, Nero.”
With a huff, he got to his feet. “Should I be expecting you to remain on campus tonight, or will you be taking off once more?”
“I’m leaving for Paracel in a few minutes.”
“Oh?”
“Mmhmm,” she said.
When it became apparent she wouldn’t reveal anything else, Nero rolled his eyes. “Good luck.”
She would need it. Locking onto Aidan’s signature, a psychic thumbprint of sorts, she teleported directly into the Elemental’s great hall where the werewolf alpha waited.
Beside him, Lucy gave her a tentative smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Key.”
“Thank you for having me,” she replied. “Are Jeremiah and Zia somewhere within shouting distance?”
“Always!”
Jeremiah’s voice echoed from elsewhere in the complex, and he and Zia quickly made an appearance. Having mated Nero’s second, the red-haired wind Elemental had become a common sight back home on Oahu. Key had grown to appreciate his sunny personality despite their rough introduction.
“Lovely,” Key said. “Now that you’re all together, I can tell you why I’ve gathered you here. Tomorrow, I’ll have a task for you.”