Chapter 2 #2
Avery slammed his hand down onto her small table, sending several candles into the air and splashing wax on the walls. I only stared at him while he began to pace. The Seer stared at nothing.
When Avery continued to pace and it became clear he wasn’t going to speak, the Seer spoke again. “You were there, Crusader. Something made him change his mind. What was it?”
“I don’t–” Avery cut off, his eyes darting across the floor as he went back through his memory of the night.
I yawned.
“It’s possible his mind changed,” he said slowly. “There was a minor…complication.”
“Ah,” the Seer hummed, then peered over the table to look into the flame of a candle on the floor. “Yes, yes. His loyalties were tested. You threatened the Princess?”
Avery glared. I chewed my thumb.
The Seer nodded. “I see. You threatened the Prince.”
My heart rate spiked, and I chewed harder at the skin around my thumb, stopping myself when I felt the sting of broken skin.
“I did what I had to,” Avery said almost robotically. “The Sensors were no longer useful to me.”
“Interesting,” the Seer dragged her nails through the wax again. “Then why did you start the fire before speaking to Alejandro?”
I froze.
Avery also froze for a moment, then his expression hardened. “Tell me what happened at the gala. Stop playing games.”
“I was not there, Crusader. How can I tell you what happened?”
“Enough!” Avery snarled. “You know what I’m asking. You told me I would regain my affinity if I could locate the Phantom. You told me she shared my affinities. Why–”
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Crusader. Have you been experiencing these delusions for long?” The Seer sneered, and my stomach dropped slightly. I looked to Avery in alarm, though he only tilted his head. “I told you the Phantom’s affinities are genetic, nothing more.”
Avery’s voice shook with thinly veiled fury. “You told me River–”
“I told you the Maelstrom would be able to transfer the divine affinity again. Why do you think that means it would be transferred to you?”
Silence, then he exploded.
Avery bellowed in frustration, kicking down every candelabra and smashing the two small tables kept by the boarded-over window.
He ripped at the curtains, then cursed when one of them caught fire from a fallen candle.
I extinguished the flames, then stuffed my hands into my hoodie pocket, quickly healing my sore thumb while I was at it.
Too bad there wasn’t a clock in here. My stomach felt like it was close to lunchtime. I wondered if the new kitchens were up and running yet.
The Seer raised a white eyebrow at me.
When Avery’s rage finally waned, his shoulders slumped, and he buried his face in his hands, like he actually felt bad for his outburst. I almost rolled my eyes.
“Your tantrum is telling,” the Seer said gravely. “You will be responsible for yet another death if you cannot control your temper.”
Avery breathed heavily, staring down at a puddle of red wax. His chest heaved, and he squeezed his eyes shut before hanging his head.
“Who do I need to look out for?” he asked. “I’ll avoid them at all costs. I can’t lose another confidant.”
I wrinkled my nose.
The Seer shrugged. “Can’t say. Karma will demand retribution. You are already responsible for too many innocent deaths. Those Sensors are beyond the veil. They’ll–”
“Spare me the spiritual bullshit,” Avery snapped. “I didn’t kill them, River did.”
I didn’t kill Alex, I thought, because that hadn’t been part of the plan. I didn’t know Alex was in the ballroom with Avery until Skye had fucking teleported away because she was. The. Fucking. Phantom.
Avery glared at me. I stared back, appearing bored. He wanted a reaction from me. I couldn’t give him one.
But the Seer could.
She snorted, a sound I didn’t think I’d ever heard from her, then rattled a weird noise that resembled a chuckle. “You ordered their deaths, the blame is yours. The son is not responsible for the sins of the father.”
Avery’s lips twisted, then he stared at the wall. “I have to go.”
Was he serious? He dragged me out here just to throw a fit?
“What do you want me to do?” I called as he shoved through the door. The wind was swirling outside, signaling the arrival of my other, even crazier warden. My stomach churned.
“You’re free to do whatever you want, River.” Avery sneered, then turned and strode away, muttering, “You always do.”
I laughed without any humor.
What a lie.
“Do liars go to hell?” I asked, turning to the Seer.
She shrugged. “How should I know? I’ve never been there.”
I scoffed. “What do you know?”
She shifted her weight so that she could sit more comfortably, causing the heavy chain attached to her ankle to loudly scrape across the wooden floors.
“The son is not responsible for the sins of the father,” she started again, and I rolled my eyes so hard, I saw stars. I turned on my heel, pulling the door open, then froze when she continued speaking. “But he may be doomed to repeat them.”
I turned toward her, anxiously chewing my thumb, then smiled.
“Good thing he’s not my father.”
Her returning smile was eerie.
“Good. You’re awake.”
I stepped into the lodge, shivering slightly from the fucking freezing water I’d splashed on my cheeks. I’d been practically sweating as I made my way across the new compound.
I couldn’t believe what I’d said to the fucking Seer.
She hadn’t betrayed me before, but how could I know she wouldn’t now? The fact that she was chained to the wall could mean nothing. Prisoners had sold me out for less before.
I stopped in my tracks, squeezing my eyes shut.
That wasn’t fair. Prisoners were desperate. Fuck, I was desperate. Who’s to say I wouldn’t sell someone out? I definitely would…
Not. I definitely would not. No matter how much I wanted to, I’d never thrown anyone under the bus.
It was dead quiet inside the lodge, the only sound being some soft murmurs down the hall near Avery’s office. I could feel two people inside the building with me, so I stepped across the carpet silently, hoping I could catch some of whatever conversation was being held inside the office.
The office door was wide open, and I crept as close to the door as possible without making a sound. Avery was back in a good mood, I could tell from the tone of his voice. I hated how my shoulders relaxed in relief.
“We need another Polygraph,” Avery was saying with a sigh. “I don’t trust Earl anymore.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as Gina replied to him. It’d only been a few hours since the Palace fiasco. Thankfully, Avery had intercepted her before she could start a land hurricane in the middle of the chaos.
“What about his daughter…what’s her name? Dana something? The one at the academy.” Gina said.
“Dani. I think she’s compromised,” Avery muttered.
“You think everyone is compromised,” Gina huffed. “Am I an idiot for trusting everyone you deem untrustworthy?”
Avery sighed. “Earl’s daughter has an affinity for making people trust her.
It makes sense you wouldn’t find her problematic.
My feelings of distrust come from that, but also because she hasn’t reported anything back in months.
Besides, her affinity isn’t the same as Earl’s.
She can only see truth. And her healing is sub-par at best.”
“Whose fault is that, I wonder?” Gina snarked.
There was an eerie silence before Gina spoke again.
“What’s wrong with Earl, though?” she asked, sounding as if she frowned.
“River…” Avery trailed off with a sigh.
They went silent. I imagined Gina was probably glaring at Avery. She did that a lot when he brought up actual concerns about me.