5. Chapter 5
Camille
Knowing that we were once again facing not one, but two Gilarian, sparked a new fear in me yet again.
We had checked the surface after the visitor had tried to control me.
He had disappeared just as quickly as he had popped up.
Everyone around me was on high alert now.
I couldn't blame them, even with the lack of information we had.
“Camille, I think we need to think very seriously about leaving here as soon as possible,” Jerrod admitted. "I don't think anyone is safe if we stay."
“Akio told us that Jovalia might have some answers about the Gilarian,” Kresh said softly. “I know we can’t do anything about Josiah anymore, may Gishara accept his soul, but your friend is still a possibility, I suppose. Though I wouldn't get too hopeful on that front either.”
I cringed at the realization. I hadn’t thought of the bond and what binding to Jerrod meant since before the ceremony, but Josiah was gone.
He was really gone. The bond that used to tie me to him was ripped away violently from me and replaced with a new one.
He was no longer of this universe, just like Hex.
We had barely accepted losing her after we had crash landed on Earth, only to lose Josiah so soon after.
A single tear slid down my face as I thought of what the end must have felt like for him. He had been alone, or at least in the sense that no one that loved him had been there.
Did his body burn like lava engulfing his cells like mine had?
Had his demise been fast, or painfully slow?
I wondered if he knew what was happening before it did—if he realized that the bond was shredding apart and taking him with it. I shuddered thinking of how scared he must have been if he had realized it.
“He would have been glad to sacrifice himself to save you,” Jerrod whispered, as he lightly swept the tear from my face. “If he felt for you even a portion of what I do, he probably smiled at the realization.”
“He was alone though. At least I had you there when it happened for me,” I wept softly.
He held me against his chest and murmured supportive words as I unleashed the sudden flood of emotions.
Even as I sat there crying over his brother, he wanted nothing more than to love me.
I never truly got to experience the bond for what it was, but it was like he was in my head.
Like he knew exactly what I needed, when I needed it, and how I needed it.
That realization just made me cry harder.
Josiah and I lost everything before it even had a chance to start.
“As much as I get the loss, we don’t really have time for regrets or any of that right now,” Veshkru admonished. “Unfortunately, there are always sacrifices in war.”
Jerrod’s heart rate immediately increased. “We will make time,” he snarled at Veshkru.
I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes.
“I’ll be fine. Veshkru is right. We don’t have time for this and my tears won't change the outcome. Josiah is gone. We need to move on before whoever that was, comes back looking for whatever it was he was looking for. Just us being here is putting everyone here at risk. Our presence is going to bring attention to this place and what is being hidden.”
“So, Jovalia?” Jade asked.
“Jovalia,” Kresh agreed.
While we were getting ready to leave, Akio came with a parting gift.
During Akio's tale of Arion, he had told us of a device they had used before everyone went into hiding nearly a millennia ago.
They no longer used them, but he wanted us to have a way to detect the Gilarian.
Had we had access to one of these on Salioes, we may have been able to mitigate a lot that had happened before we realized Josiah had been compromised.
We may have been able to incapacitate him before he snuck away back to Earth.
Before we made the journey to Jovalia, we got an urgent message from the Council.
They requested that we get into contact with them as soon as possible, as they had some significant news for us that couldn't really wait.
We all agreed that it would make more sense to speak with them before we left Arion and I was given the sedative for the trip.
For some unknown reason, though I had bound to a Salioan, my body still didn't seem to handle the travel.
We quickly made our way to the ship and sat together in the control bay.
The large monitor sat in front of us and we awaited the news the Council had discovered.
The captain began typing frantically on the keys trying to pull up the communication.
I got a sudden chill and my flesh tightened with goose bumps.
I looked over to Jerrod to see if I was just being paranoid, when I noticed his eyes were vacant and glossed over.
“Jerrod?” I said in a worried tone.
He didn’t answer. Everyone looked over at us and Jade put her hand on my shoulder in reassurance.
“It’s okay, Camille. He’s just experiencing a vision. I’ve seen it many times before,” Jade articulated, trying to calm me.
It only lasted a few moments and he began slightly shaking his head as he came out of the vision. I could suddenly feel the uncertainty radiating off of him.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly.
“I’m fine,” he said roughly. “Captain, make the call, now.”
“Wait, what did you see?” I questioned.
He didn’t answer me. His face remained stony and hard.
The feed to the Council appeared on the screen in front of us.
Jerrod looked away from me, his face suddenly stern and pensive.
The four of the Council members looked to us with the same cold faces that I had dreaded to see so many times during meetings with Josiah.
Now, I sat with Jerrod, as his mate instead.
“Brothers,” Jerrod said, reverting straight into his Council position.
“You look well,” Jayce commented.
“As do all of you,” Jerrod responded. “What news do you have?”
“You already know of the news,” Jorel declared matter-of-factly.
“Out with it,” I demanded.
“Ah… I see Camille hasn’t changed in the slightest,” Jairen noted. “Usually bonds will at least transfer some of their mate’s good qualities. Unfortunate that it doesn't seem to be the case here.”
I gaped at them. I had not missed the bluntness of this group in the slightest either. They always found a way to insult me.
Jerrod quickly jumped in, sounding irritated, “Remember to whom you’re speaking to, Brothers.”
“This woman seems to cloud rationality of those around her quite effectively,” Jeriko confirmed.
Now I was furious. These fucking Council members were always talking about me like I wasn’t in the same fucking conversation. They seemed to always talk about me, rather than to me. My heart rate jumped quickly in irritation as the previous meetings I had with them replayed in my head.
I tightened my jaw, trying not to say something that would cause more issue, but it was already too late.
My emotions were spilling over to Jerrod and the irritation was all too apparent.
I could feel that he was losing his temper quickly.
He clenched his jaw in rage, as the irritation flowed from me, openly to him.
Suddenly, Jeriko began gripping at his neck like he was struggling to breathe.
His hands clawed at an unseen force, like he was trying to loosen a rope, but there was nothing there.
Nothing was actually constricting the flow of the air.
The entire Council looked over at him with wide eyes.
Everyone seemed to be in a fit of panicked confusion as to what was actually happening.
Just as quickly, realization dawned on them.
Their eyes snapped over to Jerrod and his eyes grew wide too.
Everyone involved appeared to be either panicked, confused or horrified.
I had no idea what was happening. Then, Jeriko gasped deeply as the hold was released and the air was able to fill his lungs once again.
What the fuck was that?
“Telekinesis! When did this manifest?” Jade queried in horror.
“I… uhhh… I’m not actually sure,” Jerrod admitted.
“We aren’t even near them,” Kresh said in alarm.
Jerrod got really quiet. He obviously didn’t know he could do something like that. Neither did any of the rest of us. But, the moment was becoming a distraction and the Council didn’t contact us without reason. I needed to know what was so important that they would risk the delay of our departure.
“Let’s just get to the topic at hand and we can hash this out later,” I suggested, trying to downplay what had just happened.
Kresh looked over at me with a side eye. I knew the comment was inappropriate, but the longer the news was put off, the more my gut told me that something was wrong.
“Very well,” Jayce said softly, acting as though Jerrod hadn't just tried to kill Jeriko. “Our news is an adjustment to previous assumptions.”
“What does that even mean?” I asked, annoyed with his circular speech and consistent riddle talk.
“It means that there have been some unforeseen developments on the Earth front. We now have a double agent of sorts, on the inside of the Gilarian operation,” Jorel explained.
“A double agent? How could you possibly have gained something like that?” I gasped.
We all looked at each other in questioning glances. Everyone except Jerrod. His face was unreadable, sullen. How could they have possibly gotten someone to pretend to work with Amelia, but actually be working on our side? She’d never trust a random outsider with pertinent information.
After a long and insufferable pause, Jairen finally answered, “Because, Josiah is still alive.”