Chapter 31 Elodie
THIRTY-ONE
ELODIE
Desperation gets the better of me as I stumble up the steep steps, frantic and disoriented, scraping my shins, but I don’t stop, not even when I’m outside and the mid-morning air whips my hair around my face. I keep moving.
One foot in front of the other.
That’s all I have to do, that’s all it’s going to take to put some much needed distance between the disaster down there and me.
I’m no stranger to running from danger, but as I storm toward The Vale, too scared to look back over my shoulder, the familiar numbness that blankets me in its icky embrace doesn’t come. Not even when I silently beg for it.
Instead, my muscles ache with tension, refusing to let me hide from the truth. Despair creeps into anger, and when my cell phone vibrates in my pocket, signaling an incoming call, it takes everything inside of me to ignore it.
I’m used to silence so deafening it threatens to make my ears bleed, but instead, every part of me feels like it’s screaming, although, no sound parts my lips.
I reach the edge of The Vale without realizing it, every second passing me in a blur as my phone vibrates again. Frustrated, I tug the device from my pocket to see an incoming call from Kael. I scoff.
Fuck him.
My emotions have the better of me right now. I’m not going to see reason, so there’s no use in talking to him. Or the others, for that matter.
Rion didn’t bring him here, not if my father has been here since the day I made a run for it. It would have been Kael or Thorne.
Am I mad that it’s clear they’ve been torturing him? No. I feel nothing about that at all.
Am I enraged that he’s here when I thought I was free from him? No. It’s instinctive for me to feel scared, but his presence doesn’t quite floor me like it once did.
Am I frustrated that they’ve been keeping his location a secret? No. I was blissfully in my out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality, and that doesn’t change now.
What’s got under my skin is the truth Kael exposed.
He’s not your father.
This is some backward space shit.
I don’t care that he’s not my father; if anything, I feel relief. The twisted knot that forever lived in my stomach, connecting the two of us, is gone. The weight I have carried for so long is now non-existent.
It’s the fact that he’s known for a while. I could see it in his emerald eyes.
Kael fucking Forrester.
Waiting around would have led to some bullshit reasoning and excuses, and I’m not interested in either. He effortlessly exposed a part of me that I need time to process and understand. Time that would have been ideal to take before coming face to face with Warren Blackwood again.
Warren.
Not Dad or Father, just Warren.
The tightness clogging my throat eases as my cell phone vibrates again, but when I look at the screen, it’s Thorne’s name that flashes before me.
Fuck him as well. He took me down there with the intention of dropping this bomb.
Agitation gets the better of me as the vibrating becomes incessant, and I toss my phone without a second thought. Ease washes over me at the release of the obnoxious device. With that gone, I stop, planting my hands on my hips as I take a deep breath and scan my surroundings.
I thought I was walking aimlessly, but that can’t be true if I now find myself standing outside the library.
New books, it is. Wiping a hand down my face, I hurry toward the door, desperately in need of a distraction, but before I can wrap my fingers around the handle, it whooshes open toward me and Professor Grimm steps out.
His gaze locks on mine for the briefest moment before his eyebrows furrow and he starts shaking his head.
“Elodie, what are you doing here? Everyone is to gather in the dining hall,” he states, waving a hand for me to start walking, and I fall into step with him instinctively.
“Why?”
He raises his eyebrows as if it’s a stupid question that I should already know the answer to, but when I continue to stare at him blankly, he sighs. “As the arrival of rebels compromised the previous Institute Game, The Sanctum has opted to do a retrial.”
“And I’m guessing that’s going to start now?
” I surmise, hoping like hell that I’m wrong, but the way his mouth sets into a thin line and he nods his head diminishes my odds.
“Who says we won’t witness their unfortunate arrival again?
” I push, recalling the look in that vampire’s eyes as he whispered that awful nickname my way.
“Professionally speaking, Miss Blackwood, it’s within my advisement to discourage such fragile thoughts.
The rebellion penetrating our forces so quickly again is impossible.
” His words hang in the air, thick and strong, and I try to cling to them but they feel slippery as hell.
“But as your institute advisor for the games, I believe you deserve the truth that’s settled in my mind.
” My breath stutters as he sighs, but his pace doesn’t falter as he continues to lead me toward my impending doom.
It’s only when we’re standing behind the dining hall that he comes to a halt, hands planted on his hips as he tilts his head at me.
His gaze searches mine. For what? I’m not sure, but when he runs his hand down his face, he speaks.
“I believe the rebellion has someone on the inside aiding them.”
“Who?” I blurt, but he shakes his head with a grimace.
“I don’t have enough knowledge to confirm or deny any suspicions at this time, but my concerns grow as our security weakens. My gut is telling me to stay on high alert, and I always trust it.” He pats me on the shoulder, a glint of sympathy in his eyes, before he starts walking again.
Swallowing my nerves, I follow behind him, watching as students flood the dining hall in a hurry.
I clear my throat as I step inside, watching as Professor Grimm scurries toward the rest of my group.
I consider holding back a second when I spy Kael, Rion, and Thorne, but then I remember whatever Grimm has to say is essential right now, and I need to put my feelings aside before I jeopardize my safety out of rage.
“Gather ‘round, everyone. Quickly,” Professor Grimm hollers, waving everyone closer.
Kael spots me first, his jaw tight as his eyes narrow, but I look away before I do something stupid.
Thankfully, Ocean appears in the crowd, like a siren parting the seas and drawing me to danger, but I go willingly.
She links her arm through mine the moment I’m close enough, but doesn’t say a word as she directs her attention to Grimm.
“Listen closely. I have no idea what Institute Game you will be entering this morning, so I can’t give you any advice on what challenges you may face, but stick together, work as a team, and the rest will come naturally.”
I nod in understanding as a few people spout questions at him, but I’m distracted by a pair huddled in the corner to my left.
Willow and Professor Drayker. Anyone else would believe their whispers were a plan of action for whatever is about to come, but the way they both stared deep into my soul, unabashed and wrought with tension, makes one thing clear: I am the topic of conversation.
Maybe I am overthinking it.
Shaking my head, I glance at the tree that still sits all pretty in the center of the room, and a moment later, it disappears. In its place stand the five members of The Sanctum, with a swirling portal behind them, and a gold dish and stand in front.
I don’t like it, not one bit, and with the way Ocean tightens her fingers around my arm, she doesn’t either.
“Students of The Vale, welcome to the bloodbound trial,” Anya declares, throwing her arms out wide with glee as my veins turn to stone.
Bloodbound? I’ve read about that in one of the books. What was it about? Think, Elodie. Think!
“It is with true certainty that we can confirm that two more institutes will leave the games today. As always, the game on the surface is simple: find the exit with your bound. The challenges you may face are something else entirely,” Saken declares, sending a flood of whispers through the room as a shudder runs down my spine.
Cordelia claps, taking a step forward as she points toward the golden bowl. “Please, join us. Prick your finger to connect with your bound and engage in the games. Pairings are selected at random and chosen in clusters of twos or threes. See you on the other side.”
They’re gone in an instant, leaving my head reeling.
I press my fingertips into my temple, the action doing little since I can only use one hand. Ocean has claimed the other and there’s no chance of me getting it back right now.
Taking a deep breath, I watch as students form a rushed crowd toward the golden bowl, but before I can even consider taking a step, a shadow casts over me.
“We need to talk,” Kael states, and I shake my head.
“Not right now, we don’t,” I insist, refusing to meet his gaze as I try to step around him, but he plants a hand on my shoulder, rooting me to the spot.
“Elodie,” he warns, and I scoff, still refusing to look at him.
“I have enough on my plate right now. I don’t need your bullshit as well,” I grumble, whacking his arm away, and to my surprise, he lets it fall to his side.
It catches me off guard so much that I tilt my head back to meet his eyes.
“I don’t care what you do. I’m not bothered by what you’ve done.
I’m furious at the fact you’ve known a vital piece of information that concerns me and you said nothing. ”
His lips part as his nostrils flare, but I don’t want to hear it. Ocean must sense the desperation in me because she drops her hand from my side just in time for me to scoot around the vampire blocking my way and head for the challenge.