Chapter 25
MADDISON
Like he said, River is still waiting for me when I walk out.
When I was younger, my mother would tell me she’d wait for me when I did things like run to use the restroom at a store, went to school orientation, or ran into the store for her. She never did. So, even though River has been nice to me, surprise trickles through me at the sight of him.
When he spots me, he rises and crosses the empty waiting room. “How did it go?” he asks worriedly.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “Well, except I have a concussion.”
His eyes widen. “What?”
I shrug. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just need to rest.”
“Please don’t downplay it,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
I grimace. “I’m just worried about my training. I already missed today, and the doctor wants me to rest for three to four days. I’m never going to get on the team. And yes, I know, it’s probably the last thing I need to worry about, but it’s important to me.”
“Hey, I get it,” he assures me while taking my hand. “But it’ll be fine. I’ll do some research, and we’ll figure out a way to catch you up. But you need to rest. It’s always important to do that whenever you injure yourself.”
“I know.” Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.
We start toward the door, and then step into the sunlight. The sky is nearly cloudless, as if making up for the rainstorm of hell that it created last night. The wind is light and airy, and the air smells like lilacs. It’s a nice day, and yet, my chest feels heavy with darkness.
“Will you come to my dorm with me?” River asks as we cross the campus yard, walking underneath the shade of the trees, the leaves fluttering against the breeze. “So we can talk?”
“Sure. I can’t even get into my dorm, anyway.” I swing around a small statue of a crown—the academy is all about its statues.
River’s brows furrow as he glances at me. “Why not?”
Dammit, I didn’t mean to bring this up.
Way to put your foot in your mouth, Maddy.
“It’s nothing really.” I’m as casual as I can be about it. “I just don’t know where my phone is, because … well, either it fell out of my pocket yesterday when I was getting dragged into the trees, or they took it while I was passed out.”
The corners of his pretty lips tug down into an even deeper frown.
“I don’t like the casual way you’re talking about your attack.
It worries me that maybe you’re in shock.
” He pulls me to a stop in front of a stone water fountain and places his hand against my forehead. “Or is it because of the concussion?”
I can’t help but smile. “Do you think you can feel the concussion?” I tease.
He gives me a tolerant look but doesn’t remove his hand. Then he trails his fingers down to my cheek. “No, smartass. But I’m worried maybe it’s messing with your mind a bit.”
“It’s not,” I assure him, resisting the urge to lean into his touch, no matter how desperately I want to. “Honestly, this kind of crap is pretty typical for me.”
The crease between his brows deepens. “You’re used to getting taken by”—he lowers his voice—“a secret society.”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m used to being at risk for getting robbed, assaulted, and jumped by people who are after my father.”
“Right.” His frown is so deeply etched into his face that I almost want to kiss him to remove it.
Thank God, I don’t.
I think …
He slips his fingers up my cheek and into my hair. For a guy who’s never really dated, he sure knows how to use his touch to make me feel as if I’m being kissed everywhere.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” he promises, his gaze carrying mine. “Drew’s paid off. And we’ll figure everything else out.”
“You keep saying we,” I murmur, my pulse thudding as his fingers drift to the side of my neck. “I already told you I don’t want you to take on my problems. They’re mine. Not yours—”
He fucking kisses me. Just like that. Without warning and taking me by surprise.
When he pulls back, I can barely breathe evenly, my chest rising and crashing. And for a wind-kiss of an instant, I stand motionless, stunned into silence, my lips tingling from the feel of his.
But then I pull my head out of my ass.
“Did you seriously just kiss me to shut me up?” I accuse with an arch of my brow.
He offers me a remorseful look. “I’m sorry, but I wish you’d realize I want to help you.”
“And you thought kissing me would make me realize that? Or was it just to keep me quiet?” I give him a challenging look.
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip and pauses for a beat.
“Actually, I’ve wanted to kiss you since I found you in the woods yesterday, because I was so fucking relieved to see you.
But I also knew that it definitely wasn’t the time to do it.
” He swallows hard, his hand in mine stiffening.
He releases a breath as he stares down at the ground.
“I was so damn scared when I saw your location that I could barely think clearly.” He elevates his gaze to mine. “And it’s all my fault.”
I’m taken back by that. “What? No, it’s not. How could it be?”
“Because …” He summons a deep breath. “Come with me to my dorm, and I’ll tell you what happened?”
Perhaps I should be worried, considering what he’s saying. I’m not. I’ve been around a lot of awful, sketchy people in my life, so I can pick up on bad vibes. River doesn’t have any at all. He’s a good guy. That much I do know.
He’s also a fantastic kisser. That’s something I wish I didn’t know.
I’ve never fallen for a guy before, so I’m no expert on how it feels, but as River and I wander toward the domed entrance doors of the academy, I can’t seem to let go of his hand.
And it’s weirding me out.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks as we step into the hallway and the door swings closed behind us.
“Yeah, totally.” I sound like a dumbass. But I’m twitchy. And uneasy. I feel entirely out of my element.
Pull your hand away, Maddy. Just let this go before you get too attached. You’ve got bigger problems, anyway.
I fail miserably, and by the time we arrive at his dorm room, I’m still clutching his hand as if it somehow belongs there. Which it doesn’t.
When we enter the main living quarters of the room, with our hands are still clasped, Finn is sitting at the table, eating what looks like an early lunch.
His attention magnetizes to our interlocked hands and curiosity floods his features.
Then his lips quirk as he glances at River.
But when his attention wanders to me, apprehension floods his features.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asks, seeming too tentative for him.
River was so sure that he wasn’t involved in what happened to me. I want to believe that’s true, since I thought Finn was my friend, but I’m wary by nature.
He must sense what I’m thinking because he swiftly says, “I swear I didn’t know the society was going to do that. If I had, I would’ve stopped it.”
“Would you have even had the power to do that?” I wonder as I release River’s hand, but only to scratch my wrist. Anxiety is whispering through me over the subject.
His lips pull into a frown. “Well, I probably couldn’t have stopped them from trying, but if I had known, I would’ve come to you and warned you.”
I study him closely, searching for lies hidden in his eyes. But genuine honesty is flowing from every inch of him, so either he’s a fantastic liar, or he’s telling the truth.
“Fine, I believe you.” I sigh heavily, exhaustion flooding my body.
River pulls out a chair at the table. “Sit down. The doctor said you need to rest.”
Finn is mid-bite in his sandwich and pauses. “You saw a doctor?”
“Only because your brother was persistent.” I sink into the chair and lower my head into my hands. “Apparently, I have a concussion and have to take a few days off from training.” I pull a face, but my hands conceal it.
“Jesus, Mads,” Finn mutters. “I didn’t realize …” A shaky breath eases from his lips. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve been paying more attention, but I was distracted by something else.”
“It was an important something else.” River takes a seat beside me. “Something to do with you.”
I lift my head, my brows pulling together as I look at him. “What’s going on?”
River glances at Finn. I track his gaze just as Finn blows out the heaviest sigh. Then he slants forward and rests his arms on top of the table. He slips a ring off his finger then on again.
“The reason I was so distracted and didn’t realize what the society was up to was because I was digging into some stuff about you and that necklace.”
I perk up at that. “Did you find something out?”
“We both did,” River explains, trading a hesitant look with Finn before looking at me. “You remember how I was getting the necklace looked at by an appraiser?”
“Shit, I forgot about that.” I shake my head. “My mind is a little more messed up than I thought.”
“You have a concussion.” He lightly brushes his fingers across the side of my head. “Of course, your mind is going to struggle.”
He has a valid point.
“What did you find out?” I ask then direct my attention to Finn. “And you? What did you find out?”
Finn repeatedly continues to slip that ring on and off, a nervous fidget evidently.
“The necklace is genuine,” River finally answers, rotating in the chair to face me. “The appraiser confirmed it.”
“Okay.” I absorb what he says with a frown. “So, I’m guessing my aunt stole it or something?”
“Would she do that?” Finn asks, crossing his arms on the table.
“I don’t know. Stealing isn’t her thing.” I waver, resting back in the chair. “It’s my father’s thing. And sometimes my mother’s. My aunt was always the more stable one.” Or, well, that’s what I believed.
But with the text she sent me, I’m questioning everything I know.
“There’s more,” Finn proceeds with heavy reluctance. “I looked into the family name that necklace is linked to—Everford.”
“River told me about that.” I shift my weight as this horrible feeling overcomes me that something terrible is about to happen. “He said the bloodline was extinct.”