Chapter 41
Not Just Some Stupid Necklace
I replayed that specific sentence as I followed Soren again, ambling wordlessly through the woods.
“To me, you are all that matters.”
Each word made sense on its own, but strung together, they were nonsense. I could think of at least three different meanings for that phrase, especially considering this cult believed I was destined to save the world. It was also Soren’s job to protect me.
So many possible meanings.
But what did he mean by it?
And where were those stupid voices when I actually needed them? Couldn’t they explain something for once?
“Wow! You two are really hard to find.” Farren stood just a few yards off to our right, grinning.
I ran the short distance between us and threw my arms around her. “You’re okay! I was so worried something happened to you.” I stepped back with a frown. “Why didn’t you follow me like you said you would?”
“I did follow you,” Farren said with a shrug. “But you weren’t in the office when I got there, and the whole place was on fire. I figured you’d already left. Now, everyone’s out looking for you.” She glanced at Soren, who was leaning against a tree. “What happened to you?”
He nodded toward me and grunted. “Her loser ex-boyfriend.”
Thanks to that stupid comment, I spent the rest of the walk to the third rendezvous point explaining to Farren who Zade was and why he was neither my ex-boyfriend nor an evil cyborg-Mod out to get us.
She was, unsurprisingly, intrigued by the idea of me “sleeping with the enemy” and had way too much fun teasing Soren about it.
She even suggested that Zade and I might be soulmates.
I couldn’t help the blush that crept up every time Soren snarled in response, but kept my blushing smile firmly out of sight.
The third point in the Nest was a decrepit warehouse overgrown with vines and trees. It blended so well with the surrounding forest that I would have missed it, save for the person standing a couple of feet away, glaring right at us.
Adriel stood outside, keeping watch, when we approached.
“Cute of you to finally show up,” he snipped. “Fashionably late must be another Tower Troll trait that’ll get us all killed.”
Salah appeared in the half-open door. “Just ignore him,” she said, motioning for us to come inside.
Exhausted and not in the mood for this battle, I slipped past Adriel to follow Salah’s invitation. I’d just crossed the threshold when I heard Farren behind me.
“Actually, no!” Farren barked, glaring hard at Adriel when I turned back. “I am so tired of your shitty attitude! I’m done ignoring you. You can’t expect people to pity you and that atrocious face when you act like a complete jerk. Just lay off her already.”
“That’s enough,” Ezra said, appearing behind Salah. “Come inside.” He eyed Soren beneath his white, fuzzy eyebrows. “Let’s see if Zuri can fix whatever’s going on with you.”
While Zuri and Marigold crowded around Soren, Farren and I headed for the stash of water bottles. I downed an entire bottle in nearly a single gulp, a bit buzzed and smiling at Farren after she’d stood up for me just now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Veda saying something to Soren. The shake of his head was clearly the last thing she wanted to see. Her face fell, and she turned toward the exit. I had no problem guessing what he’d just told her with that single, silent gesture.
Riaan was gone.
My heart squeezed at the pain of losing someone so young and bright, but my pity wasn’t going to change anything. We needed action. While I didn't have the qualifications for comforting Veda in her mourning, I could sure as hell help her get revenge.
In a far corner, Salah was deep in conversation with Onezimuth, Winifred, and Ezra. Ezra glanced over at me more than once as I opened a second bottle and sipped more slowly.
Then the warehouse door screeched open against the dusty concrete.
“Now that I’m here, let’s get the party started!” Matthias announced, stepping inside.
“Matty!” Marigold squealed, shooting up from where she’d been fussing over Soren.
“I can see how worried you were,” Matthias said. “Over there, babying someone who can’t be killed, instead of out looking for your twin brother.”
I spotted Salah inching her way across the room. Matthias gave her a crooked smile and a nod. It seemed to glue her to the spot—she froze mid-step and only offered a slight nod back.
Marigold latched onto her brother like a koala.
“Glad you’re alive, by the way, Ellie,” Matthias added, nodding in my direction this time. “Guess they wouldn’t have relaxed and pampered Mr. Invincible if it had been you missing.” He bared his teeth in a grin.
“Oh, don’t be salty, Matty,” Ezra tisked. “It just shows our trust in your ability to survive. Besides, you were the one who ran back toward the burning building.”
“I was so worried about you,” Marigold whined. “Why did you go back?”
“I thought you were going back for Marigold,” Zuri chirped, tilting her head. She was standing now, arms folded like a pint-sized judge.
“I had a very good reason,” Matthias grinned devilishly. “Couldn’t leave this behind.”
All eyes snapped toward him, and he waited a beat before he let a golden chain slip between his fingers. The ornate scepter charm glinted in the dim light.
I jumped to my feet and rushed toward him. “My necklace!”
He dropped it into my open palm and muttered, “Don’t say I never did nothin’ for you, Rapunzel.”
“You went back in for her stupid necklace?” Marigold hissed, swatting his shoulder.
“I went back to find you. But I saw you heading toward the rendezvous point. Then I remembered the necklace and the fact that she didn’t have it on when I'd seen her in the woods. And it’s not just some stupid necklace.
” Matthias maneuvered around Marigold and me, toward the older guild members, watching with small smiles and narrowed eyes. “Right, Ezra?”
The old man chuckled.
No one else seemed fazed by the insinuation that the necklace was special except me. Soren shook his head at Matthias, and I knew that would be the end of it—no more answers today.
I thumbed the pendant in my palm and watched Matthias a bit longer. He winked, then launched into his story about barely surviving an Extermin attack.
Not just a stupid necklace?
No. I was done with these unanswered questions.
I clenched the necklace in my fist and stepped toward Ezra to demand an explanation about the heirloom, but I didn’t make it far before Winifred cleared her throat. The room quieted immediately.
The faint gray outside the windows warned that dawn was close.
“Eliana,” Ezra said slowly, “We were just discussing what’s next.
” He raised his voice, addressing the room.
“After you all get some rest, of course. While the other survivors from Chapel will be relocated to new bunkers, I’ve assembled this specific group to carry out two tasks: protect Eliana, and infiltrate The Tower to take down Abadon. ”
“Abadon?” Matthias raised an eyebrow.
“The Founder,” Ezra said. “Based on recent discoveries, we firmly believe he is the Dark One.”
Sharp breaths echoed around the room.
“There’s no point in fighting if Elle here won’t do her job,” Adriel chided, standing in the doorway and twirling a branch in his fingers. “We should just run for our lives and let her get herself killed trying to take out some low-hanging fruit like Azazel.”
“She’s going to fight,” Soren said, standing straighter.
He resembled more of his old self again after Zuri had done whatever it was she did.
He turned to me with an unreadable face, the dead glare in his eyes a sharp contrast to how he treated me while we were hiding from the Mods together. “She’s going to get her vengeance.”
I opened my mouth to protest, pure reflex, but stopped. Then I bit my inner cheek and nodded. “I’m going to take down Abadon and Azazel both. Maybe I’ll off you as well, Adriel, if you’d like.”
I caught Farren’s silent snort out of the corner of my eye. Soren’s mouth twitched at the corner.
Ezra gave a weary shake of his head. “As I was saying, the plan is to take down Abadon. It’s the only way to keep Eliana safe.”
“However,” Winifred stepped into the pause Ezra left, “Ezra and I don’t entirely agree on how we should do it.
We see two options. Ezra wants to reach out to an old friend for help.
Personally, I don’t trust this friend. I plan to infiltrate The Tower through The Red Room in The Last City.
Answers are waiting there.” She turned toward Adriel, whose scar stretched with his grin. “I hear you know the way.”
“Hell yeah, I do!” Adriel whooped and punched the air.
Veda cleared her throat. “Is it the friend I met in the mountains last year? Galadriel?”
Ezra nodded.
“Then my vote is with Ezra.”
“Aw, c’mon!” Adriel groaned.
“There’s no need for a vote,” Winifred said. “Ezra and I have already decided. We’ll go our separate ways. He’ll take Zuri with him. The Last City isn’t safe for someone her age.”
“And she’s too valuable,” Soren added. “Farren should go with Ezra, too.”
“What?!” Farren screeched. “No! I’m going to The Last City!”
Soren’s jaw flexed. “They need a fighter, and you’re the second-best here. Besides, Galadriel is a bit tempestuous. I think you'll be able to help convince him.”
Winifred nodded.
Farren slitted her eyes and set her jaw in a firm clench but said nothing else.
“I’m going with Ezra, too,” Veda said calmly. “I’ve met Galadriel. I think I can assist in persuading him. And I don’t believe violence is how we’ll win this.”
Wait, what?!
“You don’t believe violence will help us?
!” The rush of red came on me like a tsunami, and I snapped.
“You’re the one who lured me into this cult with promises to kill Azazel!
Now you’re anti-violence? You bribed me into training with a weapon you lied about.
How can you claim you don’t want to use violence now? ”
Soren’s cold hand resting on the back of my neck did nothing to dissolve the lava rising there.
“My brother’s dead,” Veda said, voice flat.
The chill from Soren’s hand spread like frostbite through my nerves, freezing me in place. He squeezed, just enough to remind me where those bruises had come from the night before, or maybe to let me know that I should shut the hell up because her brother’s death was all my fault.
“I’m going to The Last City,” Salah cut through the silence and took one step closer to me.
“Marigold and I are going as well.” Matthias cracked his knuckles with a smirk as if he hadn’t just witnessed his friends dying a few hours ago.
Winifred looked to me. “My plan only works if you and Soren go to The Last City. You’ll find something there—something you didn’t know you needed.
” Her gaze dropped to the necklace still clenched in my fist. “It will give you some answers, and perhaps some guidance. Something both of you need to see.”
A thumb pressed into the hickey on my neck just under my left ear again, but I fought against the urge to inhale sharply from the mix of discomfort and want.
Want?
“I’m going to The Tower,” I said as I shook off my other thoughts. “That’s always been my plan. Might as well kill Abadon while I’m taking down Azazel.”
Adriel’s cheer surprised not only me. Half the room broke out in laughter, most likely from the shock of him willingly agreeing with me on anything.
“I have something else I need to take care of, and then I’ll catch up with the party in The Last City,” Onezimuth added once the commotion calmed.
He ran his tongue along the front of his top teeth, making his upper lip bulge out.
“I happen to have an idea of where it is.” He winked at Adriel and earned a mauled grin.
“Before we do anything,” Ezra cut in. “We should all sleep. Can’t travel in the daylight anyway, not with such big groups.”
Lots of nods and hums of agreement sounded around the room.
Soren leaned down and whispered against the cusp of my ear, “You definitely need to get some sleep. I want you well-rested.”
Why the hell was his voice so low on that last word?
The goosebumps washed over me again, along with a strange tickle that spread across my scalp.
I knew what it was, but I preferred to feign ignorance and chalk it all up to fear at the dark edge of his tone.
If I chose to fear him, then I couldn’t get nearly as hurt.
I wouldn’t dare to feel anything close to attraction or affection.
I wouldn't dream of belonging anywhere in his vicinity.
As everyone moved to either snack or sleep, Soren followed Veda toward the exit, throwing one last look over his shoulder. His eyes made it clear: that wasn’t a suggestion.
I didn’t know how I’d fall asleep. The past few hours clawed at me. So did the urge to disobey.
But I did sleep.
Probably the moment my head hit the threadbare pillow on a dusty cot in the corner of the safehouse.
I could’ve slept on a bed of spikes with how tired I was. The weight of everything was too much for a human body to carry.
So, no, my sleeping had nothing to do with Soren’s bossiness or some secret desire to please him.