Chapter 32
Kieran
I didn’t know if I wanted to strangle her or kiss her.
Seph sat beside me in moody silence, staring out the window like the trees rushing past were the most fascinating thing in the world.
I scowled.
She didn’t get to ignore me now.
Not after what she’d done.
“Seph,” I said. It came out like a growl.
She rolled her eyes. “What?”
For a moment I just stared at her.
Even beaten and bloody, she was beautiful.
Her braid had started coming loose, pale strands falling across her face. Her eyes were wide and bright with emotion. No matter how angry she was, she had never been able to hide what she felt.
Not from me.
“What, Kieran?” she said again.
I cleared my throat.
“Keep your head down,” I said. “Or at least pull your hood up. We don’t need anyone spotting you.”
“Yes, sir,” she saluted me, her perfect lips twisted in a scowl.
Heat stirred through me. I shifted in my seat.
Yes, sir.
I didn’t want her to realise what those words did to me.
“How long is this back road?” she asked finally.
“Why?” I said. “Planning your next stunt?”
“No. I just want to get back to Ash. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
“Ash is fine,” I snapped. “He told you. He’ll heal.”
“Yeah, well,” she shot back, “maybe I just want to see someone who actually likes me right now. Ever think of that?”
“So, what, this is a pity party now?” I said, though the words stirred something uneasy in me. “Feeling sorry for yourself?”
“No!” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, if all you want to do is fight with me, I’d rather we didn’t talk at all.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
We fell into an uneasy silence. It lasted all of five minutes.
“Eight hours,” I said.
“What?”
“The trip will take eight hours.”
“On the road?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Yes. With me. Deal with it.”
She growled and turned in her seat.
“What’s wrong with me, anyway?” I muttered, unable to stop myself.
“Isn’t that the million-dollar question,” she muttered.
“Seph.”
“What? What, Kieran? I told you I don’t want to fight.”
“I don’t want to fight either.”
“So why are you always doing it?”
I growled at her.
“You want me to coddle you, but I won’t.”
“Coddle me? Kieran, I don’t want you to coddle me!”
“Then what do you want?” I couldn’t help myself.
“I want my Kieran back!” she burst out suddenly. It sounded like the words surprised her as much as they did me.
I stared at her. “I’m right here.”
“Are you?” she demanded. “Are you my Kieran? The one I used to talk to and tell all my secrets to? Or the man who manipulated his way into my home to steal them?”
Her voice faltered.
“I’m losing track, Kieran.”
I swallowed hard. “Look, I know what I did seems unfair—”
She scoffed.
“But I never faked how I felt about you.”
“And how did you feel about me?” She looked me straight in the eyes. “Tell me.”
“I…”
I didn’t know how to answer.
She just shook her head.
“Yeah. Just like I thought.”
She sighed and stared out the window.
“Pull over, Kieran.”
“No,” I said.
“Please.”
“Seph.”
“Stop the damn car, Kieran!” she demanded, a new urgency in her voice.
I slammed on the brakes.
She threw the door open and jumped out before I could stop her.
“Seph, wait!”
But she was already running toward a sign on the side of the highway.
She stopped in front of it, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wild.
I read the words.
Blackwater Point — turn left.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
“What? What is it?”
“Blackwater Point. My father said that’s where Marr is.”
“What? When?”
“I went to see him. Dev took me.”
“Dev took you? What the hell?”
Why the hell didn’t Elliot tell me?
“Look, that doesn’t matter. Listen to me, Kieran. Marr has Echo. At Blackwater Point.”
“Echo? Your ghost?”
“She is a person, Kieran! A real person. Marr has her in this tank. I told her I would save her. I promised her.”
“Whoa, slow down. Seph, we are in no position to raid Marr’s lab right now and you know that. It’s just the two of us.”
“I’m not asking you to raid it! Can’t we just go check it out? See what’s there?”
“And if Marr catches you?”
“He won’t. Please, Kieran. Just a look. Recon. That’s all.”
“Recon?”
I hid my smirk.
“Kieran, I can’t leave her to suffer. You know that.”
She fixed those dark, starlight eyes on me and I faltered. I had to clench my fist to stop myself reaching for her.
I growled under my breath. “Fine. But we will look only. Nothing else. Is that clear?”
She crossed her heart. “Crystal.”
“And we can’t take the car in. We will have to hide it and walk in.”
“Fine.” She nodded eagerly. Then she finally looked at me and smiled. “Thank you, Kieran.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
**
The walk to the old desalination plant was quiet and slow going. It was still daylight, but morning had given way to the softer hues of afternoon. I could hear birds and the distant rush of the Aurelion.
Seph walked silently beside me like a shadow. I was almost impressed.
She knew how to move without drawing attention.
I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised me.
When we spotted the first building, I stopped her and pulled her into the shadows. We were close enough now that if there were cameras, we risked triggering them.
I scanned the area, looking for the telltale blink that would give them away.
When I spotted the first one, I sent a bolt of lightning into the tree where it hung and shorted it out.
“Impressive,” Seph whispered.
I almost smiled. Almost.
We ducked behind an old, rotting tree stump and peered toward the plant. It was silent. Run down.
It looked abandoned.
So why were there cameras here?
“What’s that sound?” Seph whispered.
I paused to listen.
Moans. Scratching.
But where was it coming from?
A few feet from us sat a metal grate—an air vent.
We moved closer.
The sound grew louder as we approached.
Ferals.
A lot of them.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
Suddenly Seph jabbed me in the leg.
“Get down,” she hissed.
I looked up just as she dropped flat against the ground. It took half a second to see why.
The SUVs that had been following us rolled into the plant parking lot.
I muttered a curse and flattened myself against the ground. Seph did the same.
A door slammed and someone stepped out.
A woman. I could tell by the way she moved.
She removed her mask, and my stomach dropped.
Cara Long.
She looked exactly like I remembered. Her hair was shaved close to her head. Her arms were sinewy and strong. A long cut ran along her square jaw—probably from the fight at the airstrip.
She stalked forward, clearly furious.
The tall figure beside her pulled off his mask, revealing a blond man with a sharp jaw.
“Cara—”
She shoved him away.
“Get off me, David. This is your fault.”
“Cara, I’m sorry—”
She spun and kicked him hard in the kneecap. Then again in the ribs.
“We were so goddamn close. We almost had her!”
“At least we know what she looks like now. Plus, it looks like she needs her hands for her power. This is good. We have new information.”
“It’s not enough! Without her this plan is fucked. Let’s just hope that goddamn doctor has a better idea.”
She stormed toward a nondescript door and slammed it behind her.
Her companion, wincing, limped after her.
“We need to go. Now.”
Seph wasn’t listening. Her face had gone pale.
“Seph!” I barked.
She turned toward me. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“He’s here, Kieran.”
“You don’t know they’re talking about Marr.”
“But—”
“You don’t,” I cut in. “And if there are as many ferals down there as I think there are, we need to get the hell out of here before someone spots us.”
She looked back toward the plant. Her hands lifted slightly, reaching for someone who wasn’t there.
“I can feel her.”
“Seph, please. We looked. Now we have to go. We can take this back to Elliot.”
I thought I might have to grab her. Shake her.
But finally, she nodded.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I asked, almost too hopeful.
“We need to go. You’re right.”
It was like she barely saw me.
The walk back to the car was silent.
When we finally got back on the road, I couldn’t help but glance at her.
She just leaned her head on the window and watched the day fade.
And for the first time, I didn’t fill the silence.