Chapter 3
“What the fuck?!” Knox splutters out in anger and disbelief while the other three stare at me, waiting for an actual explanation.
I guess it was finally time to find out if they hate me for what I’d hidden from them. Or maybe just despise me completely for the thought of it alone.
I stare at Levington and Cassius before focusing back on my men. “I’d appreciate a few minutes alone with my mates.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch Levington and Cassius share a look before Levington gives me a sympathetic expression and nods. “We’ll be outside.”
They both leave—Cassius giving my men a wide berth—before shutting the door behind them.
“Sena?” Theon asks. “Talk to us.”
I take a deep breath and nod before jumping into it.
“When the attack happened in the War Games, I felt completely useless.” I glance down at Theon’s hand, while remembering the horrific scene.
“People around me we’re fighting and dying.
I remember looking over at the last spot I saw you all, but none of you were there.
” I glance up and look between them. “I’ve never been more frightened in my entire life. ”
Their eyes soften and Cyrus moves behind me, wrapping his arms around me.
“We felt the same.” Cyrus places a soft kiss on the side of my head. “Continue,” he whispers, and I nod.
“I thought that was the end. But then something happened.” My eyes flit between them as matching frowns surround me.
“It was like another part of my brain woke up and power started to build inside me. I… floated up into the air, and the power that was building inside me turned into light.” I chance a look at them to find their mouths agape, eyes wide, and expressions full of shock.
“Then light shot down on all the Terrigons and Beasts, quickly destroying them all,” I finish, and watch as they try to digest what I just told them before saying any more.
“You’re a royal,” Cyrus says.
Knox rolls his eyes at him. “Way to state the obvious.”
Cyrus ignores him, his entire focus on me. “That light… I’ve heard of it. It’s what creates the crystals, isn’t it?”
I shrug. “I only found out about the royal part when Cassius told me and brought me here. I have no idea how I did what I did, and I definitely don’t know how to recreate it.
” I frown, thinking about it. “I know that I felt desperate to help and panicked when I couldn’t see any of you.
” I shake my head. “I don’t know if that had anything to do with awakening it. ”
I glance between them as a myriad of emotions flit across their faces.
Knox is the first one to break the tense silence. “So, I guess that makes you our… Queen?”
I give him a look of disgust and he chuckles. “Pass,” I tell him. “I can barely manage you four. There’s no way I’m ruling over thousands of assholes.”
Cyrus moves around me and shares a serious expression with the rest before focusing on me.
“I don’t think you have a choice, Sena. This is bigger than any of us.
” His eyes soften and he stares at me with new eyes.
Like it’s the first time he’s really seeing me.
“Finding a royal means no Shadow will ever need the crystal or have to rely on the dark power from the Hollow and Void.”
Shock seeps into me. I’d never thought about that. Though to be fair, I only just found out myself. I have no idea what being a royal actually means, but the thought of having so many people rely on me… Talk about pressure.
Theon squeezes my hand, probably sensing my fears and apprehension. “We’ll get through this together,” he promises and my heart soars before quickly dropping when I realize what else I have to reveal.
“There’s more…” I tell them and they still.
I try to pull my hand away from Theon, but his grip tightens. He gives me a look that tells me not to even think about moving away from him.
Though I doubt he’ll feel that way when I reveal what I’m about to.
I sigh. “I just don’t want you all to hate me when I tell you all what I’ve been keeping from you.”
“Rip the Band-Aid off and just tell us everything,” Knox says giving me a pointed look. “Everything, Sena.”
I swallow hard and nod. “When I woke up in the academy with no memories, I wasn’t the Sena you knew before. Professor Graves…. I mean, Cassius switched my body with hers, but revealed that it was my body all along.”
I take a deep breath, my gaze flickering between them as I wait for their anger. But only silence greets me, followed by expressions of utter confusion and disbelief.
“What? I mean… What?” Knox stumbles over his words, looking at me like he thinks I’m crazy.
“I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. I’m not the Sena you grew up around. I’m…” I try to think of my name again, but nothing happens.
I really need to ask Professor Graves about that, I mean Cassius. He’s obviously not a real professor.
I shake my head. “I’m someone who grew up in the human world thinking she was human and nothing more. When I woke up in the Academy, I really didn’t know any of you.”
They all continue to stare at me silently.
“I’m waiting for the punch line, Sena,” Malakai says with a scoff. “Because there’s no way this is happening. Only Variants can switch bodies, and you are not a Variant.” His eyes narrow on me.
Realizing this isn’t going to be as straight forward as I thought, I open the connection between us all and let them in.
I let Knox into my mind and let him hear every thought and worry I have right now.
I let Theon feel the truth behind each word hoping it will help them understand that this time I’m not lying to them.
“No, but a Variant did switch my body,” I tell him. “A couple times, apparently.” I frown when I think about it, trying to make sense of it all as I say it out loud. “I was switched as a child and then switched back before I ended up in the Academy.”
Theon narrows his eyes on me but after a moment they quickly widen with shock. “She’s… telling the truth.”
“How can any of this be true…” Knox is next to search me for any lies. I keep myself wide open and let every worry and fear be known. The shock on his face slowly morphs from confusion to suspicion and back to confusion before moving to an expression full of hurt.
Guilt eats me up, twisting my stomach in knots as I watch him. I don’t try to listen in on his thoughts. I’m too afraid to hear what he thinks of me now.
“So you were someone else before all this? You really didn’t know us?” Theon swallows hard, looking at me like he doesn’t even know me, which I guess is true, though I still can’t help the nauseating churn twisting my stomach into knots.
“I know it’s hard to believe—”
Knox chuckles but there isn’t an ounce of humor in it. “You just told us you’re the last royal. As far as accepting things that are hard to believe… this…” He shakes his head. “This is so fucking far beyond that.”
Theon squeezes my hand, gaining my attention. “So you’re not the Sena we knew before?”
“No,” I tell him and them. “When Dawn assumed I had amnesia, I thought it was better to go along with that rather than to try to explain I literally swapped bodies.” I wince.
“Hearing it out loud, it sounds like something out of a horror movie,” I mumble, more to myself then them, though they hear me as they share a shocked look full of disbelief before all glancing back at me.
“Sena… this is…” Cyrus starts but stops as if lost for words.
“A lot, I know,” I tell him and them as silence sweeps into the room once more.
Theon slowly drops my hand to rub the back of his neck, and my stomach drops.
“I don’t… I don’t know how I feel,” he admits while the others stand there and stare at me with a myriad of conflicting emotions crossing their faces.
Tightness coils around my throat and chest and I immediately lock down any connections between us, not needing them to see how much this fucking hurts.
“I understand. I’m… still trying to wrap my head around it,” I admit.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Cyrus asks, no longer staring at me in awe but more like I’m some experiment gone wrong.
I avoid their gazes and look down at my hands, gripping them tight to stop the small tremble working its way through my body. “I was afraid to tell you all. I thought—”
Malakai releases a strangled laugh. “We’re your fucking mates, Sena. Or is that even your name? Fuck! I don’t even know anymore. Who the fuck are you?!”
Ice floods my body making every inch of me feel like stone. “I’m the Sena you all know. From the moment I woke up in the Academy until the time you got to know me, that was me. The Sena you knew before, the one that sent you to the Void and was a complete bitch was never me.”
They freeze, their anger and disgust pausing for a moment as they realize what I just said.
“I know, I should have told you all sooner. But how was I supposed to tell you that I had literally switched bodies?” I glance between them. “Especially in the beginning when our relationship was mostly hot and cold. Would you even have believed me?”
They grow quiet and the distrust and anger in their eyes slightly dims.
“You all hated me,” I remind them, and they wince. “Hated her.”
Theon clenches his jaw as he watches me like he doesn’t know me anymore. “Maybe if you hadn’t of hidden this from us for so long, we would have—”
“What? Accepted me?” I shake my head and stare right at him before zeroing in on Knox. “I asked you once what you would do if you found a Variant. You told me you’d kill it straight away and anyone involved.” I stare at him as my eyes burn and blur.
“I’m involved with a Variant, Knox,” I tell him with nothing but attitude in my voice feeling as frustrated as they are right now.
“I had no choice in the matter and lived a shitty life because of it, but I still was. Are you going to kill me now?” I raise a brow and give him a look, wondering if he’ll go through with his promise.
He winces but turns around, giving me his back without answering while he clenches his hands by his side.