Chapter 56
Stranger in the Midst
JESSICA
Six Years Ago
“Acouple of years ago, I lay in the exact same bed. It was in this same territory, where my family brought me after I was found. It’s in this same place that I met Shadow.
He’s my family, too. More than that, he’s my future, and I need you to wake up so you can tell us where he is.
Please, Reggie. I know you’re hurt, but I need your help. I need you to wake up. Please…”
I wipe the tears streaming down my face. Even though Skunk healed him, he still lost a lot of blood and hasn’t woken up yet. I glance up at the donated blood bag hanging from the IV pole.
He arrived with two bullet wounds to his torso. One of the bullets was still lodged in his side, making it impossible for the wound to close and stop the bleeding. Who did this? And why? I rub my thumb against the back of his hand.
The door of the clinic room opens, and Odyssey and Alexis, one of my fellow recruits, walk into the room.
“What are you two doing here?” I ask, annoyance clear in my voice.
“Your brothers sent us. They’re handling the rest of the guys and all of their questions. They asked us to watch over you,” Alexis replies.
Did they really? I’m surprised they didn’t send Elijah, Skunk, or even Owen.
Odyssey snorts. “Owen is about ready to lose it on a few of the recruits because they keep talking about your boobs. It’s probably best he stays with the twins.”
I roll my eyes at Odyssey. Whatever.
“How the hell do you know that? I was standing next to you the whole time. You did not talk to Kaminari, not once since we found out G’s a girl,” Alexis balks.
Odyssey grimaces and looks back at me. Sighing, I turn toward Alexis. Without warning, the ball of energy hits Alexis in the stomach, forcing him to fall to the floor. Rushing forward to check on Alexis, Odyssey comments on controlling my magic.
“Oh, like you’re some expert! You had magic for all of—what?—three minutes!”
“I have a better handle on it than you do!” he spits back.
“Lay off! Why are you always giving him—I mean, her—hell? It wasn’t like she did it on purpose.
” Alexis joins in, which only provokes Odyssey more.
The door flies open, and a very angry Elias stands in the doorway.
He could probably hear us arguing from down the hall.
Looking up at Elias’s seven-foot frame, I grimace and admit that it happened again.
Elias wipes a hand down his face, steps into the room, and closes the door. “Which one?” he asks.
Wincing at his question, I answer, “Both of them.”
He sighs. “These two gave you the most shit when you first started. Instead of striking them with lightning, you give them magic,” he scoffs.
Alexis’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “You can do more?”
Odyssey snorts. “You’d be surprised at how many secrets she has in that brain of hers.”
“That’s exactly what it is—secrets. You shouldn’t be privy to any information about her personal life because you didn’t earn it,” Elias lectures.
“Do I need to remind both of you that this isn’t high school?
Although we expect you to get along, there are some things you don’t need to know.
I don’t care if she kicks your ass and shoves a lightning bolt down your throats.
Your job, if and when you graduate, will always be to protect her and lay down your lives for her, if it comes to that.
Am I clear, or do I need to send your assess home so you can think about it? ”
“No, sir. We understand, sir,” they say in unison.
“Good.” Elias looks between the two of them before asking me, “Now what the hell can they do?”
“So far, Odyssey can hear everyone’s thoughts. I’m not sure what Alexis can do,” I reply.
Alexis steps away from us and turns his attention to Reggie. “Whoa. G, did you give this guy magic before he got here?”
“No. I never met him in person. I only spoke to him on the phone briefly. He’s Shadow's new personal assistant.”
“Well, I think we should leave before something happens.”
Elias pulls me close to him.
Alexis continues, “He’s pulling in electrical energy from his surroundings. You don’t see it?”
I narrow my eyes, studying Reggie, but I still don’t see anything.
Odyssey steps forward, tilting his head to the side. “He’s dreaming. He and Shadow are running. They’re getting shot at. Shadow’s yelling at him over the gunfire. ‘Find the Princess. Tell her what you know.’ Shadow has magic, too? The guard program is full of secrets, huh?”
Elias growls at him.
Odyssey leans closer to Reggie’s clinic bed. Alexis reaches out to stop him. Odyssey cocks his head, listening to something only he can hear.
“Wow. Shadow is a badass. He tried to save this guy, but there were too many men. He… Shadow got shot just as he was transporting them out of there.” Odyssey frowns.
“Shadow wasn’t with him. He tried searching for him.
” He shakes his head. “I think he passed out. He was shot too, right before he was transported out. When he woke up, he didn’t know where he was or what day it was.
It took him a while to find his way here. ”
“You can hear all of that in his head?” Alexis asks, concern etched over his face.
“No. I can see it. It’s like watching a movie.” He slowly looks at me. “What the hell did you do to me, G? I hear shit and see things in other people’s minds.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I never did this before.” I tilt my head back toward Elias. “I don’t know why or how I’m doing this,” I whisper.
“I think you could always do this, just on a smaller scale.” He lets out a deep breath. “Alright, you two knuckleheads. Let’s get out of here just in case something happens. Let’s go find Anders and Chris.”
I shake my head. “I’m not leaving until Reggie wakes up.”
“Are you crazy? This room is going to explode!” Alexis exclaims.
“No, it’s not. You’re probably just seeing his magic recharge or something.”
Alexis looks at me as if I've lost my mind. “How would you know that?” he demands, crossing his arms over his chest. His mouth opens and then closes, his eyes wide in surprise. His eyes dart between Elias and myself. “What is wrong with your skin?”
“Are you asking me?” Elias grouches, pointing at his chest.
Alexis briskly nods. His eyes shift to me, and his head jerks back. “Shit! I think I can see magic. Wow.”
“Better than listening to everyone’s fucked-up thoughts,” Odyssey grumbles.
“Alright, we need to get you two over to Anders. Let’s go.” Elias jerks his head toward the door. He faces me before following them out. “You want to go home? Talk to your parents?”
I glance down at the floor and shake my head. “I want to stay here.”
“Okay. You call one of us when he wakes up. Chris will want to ask him some questions.”
I nod and wrap my arms around his waist. When I bury my face in his shirt, the reality of what Odyssey just said sinks in. Tyler was shot, and he didn’t make it out of wherever he and Reggie were together. Odyssey didn’t say it out loud, but the unspoken message was there. He might be dead.
Cold dread ghosts over my skin and sinks into the empty hole in my chest. A muffled wail escapes from the back of my throat.
Please, someone tell me this is a nightmare.
I will wake up soon, and Shadow will be right here, training the recruits, lurking in the shadows to surprise me with a kiss. He promised that we had time.
“He’s not dead, little one,” Elias assures me. “I know what it sounds like, but I refuse to believe it was that easy to take him down. He’s not dead. He’s too smart and too tough, and he was trained for situations like this practically his whole life. Have faith. We’ll find him.”