Bonded Ever After (The Royal Gold Keepers #3)

Chapter 6

SIX

Elora

Sprawled on my bed the next morning, I stare at another page in my mother’s journal. I’d read all of them, but many of the pages contained cryptic notes. One, she spoke incessantly about a well-pruned bird draped in gold that was cowardly and greedy, but that had a speck of gold in its heart. She said she wouldn’t trust the bird with much, but that she had one weakness. It didn’t make sense to me. I knew she wasn’t talking about a bird, but I couldn’t figure out who the hell she was talking about.

She also wrote about my dad. To no one's surprise, she describes him as an amazing husband and father. There were plenty of entries about my daily life with the two of them, and it seemed most of our days were filled with laughter and fun. She describes me nicely, but the stories paint the picture of a passionate child with a bit of a temper.

All of it made me smile.

Then there was the blueprint of a building. I’d be comparing it to a map of Paradise Falls, but I couldn’t seem to figure out which of the science buildings the blueprint was modeled after. I sigh and set the journal and blueprint on top of the advertisement for the new science center building.

Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I try to figure out what to do from here. “You have to keep looking for clues,” I tell myself softly.

Turning back to the book and the blueprint, I pick them up, but glance at the advertisement as I do. I freeze, then pick up the advertisement and set it next to the blueprint.

“Holy shit.”

They’re a match. The new science center building has the same large opening as the blueprint and the same larger-than-average first floor. As I compare the windows, a sinking feeling grows inside of me. There’s no doubt that they’re a match, but why was my mom studying a blueprint of the new building? How is all of this connected? And why the hell would the Council remake the same exact building?

I need answers.

Gritting my teeth, I think of the two people I suspect actually know something and hide the journal and map back into the bottom of my Neverwood bag. I know it’s a longshot, but I hurry out of the house and head back to the woods, to the place I’d seen Ari and Veric. People wave to me as I pass, grinning. They try to rope me into conversations, but I politely tell them, “Another time.”

Fewer people are on the streets as I get to the edge of town. Then I slow my walking and sneak around, looking for any sign of Security. When I see no one, I slip into the trees and trace my way back to where I saw Ari and Veric.

There’s no sign of them, but I keep searching, aware of where I’m going, in case I get lost. I’m about to give up and accept that this whole thing is a big mistake when I see a flash of red between the trees. Rushing over to it, I stumble across both Veric and Ari. They have identical looks of shock on their faces as we stare back at one another.

“What are you doing here?” Ari asks, her voice filled with surprise.

“What do you know about the fire that killed our parents?”

Ari stiffens. “Nothing.”

“You know something ,” I accuse.

“You’re wrong.”

I glare. “Do you really think the fire was an accident?”

She curses, grabs my arm, and starts hauling me into the woods.

I allow it, mostly because these two couldn’t possibly be dangerous to me. Any chance that they have information that would be helpful to me far outweighs the risk of going with them. Still, I don’t like how far we trek through the woods before she finally stops. Veric stops silently behind her.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to say things like that?” she hisses at me.

“Why?” I challenge.

“It could get us killed,” she snaps.

“Why?” I ask again.

She glares.

“Do you think the fire was an accident?”

Her gaze slips to Veric’s, but his face is a mask of nothingness. “No. No, we don’t think the fire was an accident, okay? Is that everything?”

“Why were our parents killed? I mean, out of everyone, why them?”

She looks uneasy, glancing around the silent woods again. “Our parents were killed to keep a secret.”

A secret? “What secret?”

She doesn’t answer.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask.

She snaps, “You do realize that you’re the only one in this little group who can’t be killed for asking dangerous questions, right?”

I hadn’t thought of that. “I just need to know.”

“Questions are dangerous.” Veric’s low voice comes out low and husky from lack of use.

Ari’s gaze flies to him in shock.

He continues, “My father was a scientist working on genetic research at one of the labs. Just before the grand opening of the new science center, he was switched over to that new building. From that day on, he changed as a person. I remember him being stressed and upset. My mom would try to talk to him, but he seemed afraid to tell her whatever it was. I remember her telling him that they’d never had secrets between them, and he told her that these were the kids of secrets people died over. She begged him to leave the project, but he said this was not a project he could walk away from.” His gaze is distant. “I remember it all. Everything from those days before he died and she disappeared.”

The way he says “disappeared” sounds angry, like she hadn’t disappeared at all, and I wonder if that means she’s dead. Probably. My heart aches for him. To lose both your parents in such a short time… I can’t even imagine.

Ari twists her hands together nervously. “My mom and your mom met for days leading up to the opening of the building. Days where they would have us play together, while they talked in another room. But I would sneak over to their door to listen in on their conversation. They were talking about how to destroy that building. It seemed very important to them.”

I frown. Destroy a science building? “Why?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”

I look at Veric, and he shakes his head too.

Everything seems to center around this buildings—what they were hiding, what they were fighting for, where they died, and even that the building was important enough for the Council to rebuild.

“Do you have any idea why I don’t remember anything?” I ask.

She takes a deep breath. “The Council has the ability to play with our memories when it’s convenient to them.”

That’s sick. Someone played with my memories?

I need to figure this out. I need answers.

“I’m breaking into the science building tonight,” I tell them, knowing in my gut that that’s what I have to do.

Ari takes a step back. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. That seems like a dangerous idea.”

“How else will we figure out the truth?”

She lifts a brow. “Why do we need to figure out the truth? Our parents have been dead for years, why not just move on?”

“Have you moved on?” I ask.

Silence.

“After today, there will be people working in the labs every day. It’ll be impossible to get in without being noticed. This is our only chance, our only shot to see what was important enough to lead to our parents’ deaths.”

“I’m in,” Veric says simply.

I nod, then look at Ari.

There’s a flash of anger in her gaze. “If you get caught, you’ll get a slap on the wrist and Veric will be in major trouble. So would I. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Suit yourself.” I hesitate. “But I think you’ll regret not taking a chance to get to the bottom of this.”

“I won’t,” she snaps. “Sometimes self-preservation is the most important thing.”

“So be it.”

She turns to Veric with a pleading look in her eyes. “Don’t do this.”

His eyes gentle as they fall on her, but he shakes his head.

Her hands ball into fists, and she huffs before spinning around and storming off.

Veric gives me a look, waiting.

“The blueprints show a side door on the east side of the building. I’ll try to get an access card and meet you there after nightfall, when the celebration is at its busiest.”

He nods, then follows after Ari.

I wait for them to go, then release a slow breath. Being pregnant, I need to be smarter. I need to hide that I’m carrying Callum’s child and focus on a plan for that. This seems like the last thing I should be doing, but I was right. It’s now or never. A final chance to uncover the secrets surrounding my mother’s death.

I just hope I’m making the right choice.