Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (2 page)

Neve emits a shocked gasp when I get to that segment of my confession. “That’s the explanation for your Eterno bond with Logan?”

“Yes. But, according to Griselda, if she was telling me the truth”—my chin juts up and I lock eyes with Ax—“that wasn’t intentional. Someone deliberately switched the DNA sample they were using on me.”

Haydn’s elbows are propped on his knees as he holds his face in his hands. “Who would do that, and why?”

“I don’t know.” The minute my eyes connect with his, he looks away, as if he can’t bear to look at me. My heart does an anguished little jump.

“I bet
he
knows,” Rylan pipes up, motioning his head in Ax’s direction.

“Do you?” I ask him outright.

Ax vigorously shakes his head. “I don’t, and my mother doesn’t know either.”

Haydn harrumphs. “You expect us to believe that?”

A muscle tenses in Ax’s jaw as he shoots a ferocious look at Haydn. “I don’t care what you believe. All that matters is what Sadie thinks.” He turns and faces me. “Do you believe me?” His earnest eyes search mine.

Though he’s still a virtual stranger, Ax has done more than enough to prove his loyalty to me. I drag my upper lip between my teeth. “I believe you.”

His answering smile threatens to split his face, and a pang of guilt punctures me straight in the gut.

Haydn throws back his head and faux-laughs. “You suckered another one in, huh?” He directs that jab at me. Transferring his attention to Ax, he says, “Trust me. You don’t want to go there. She’s not worth it.”

A caustic pain slices across my chest, and stupid tears well in my eyes. He clearly wants to hurt me. To inflict the worst pain imaginable.

Mission accomplished.

Haydn is like a complete stranger to me. He’s done a full one-eighty, as if his previous declaration of love was a fabrication. As if everything I know of him—his protective care of me, his loyal friendship, his unflinching support, his nurturing spirit—was all an illusion. Something I conjured up in my head. When I know full well that isn’t the case.

Hasn’t he listened to a word I’ve said? Does he honestly think I’m lying?

A humiliating tear cascades down my cheek before I can stop it.

Ax’s fists clench at his side, blanching white with the effort involved in restraint. Lucky for Haydn that he’s caged in. “Apologize,” he demands through gritted teeth.

Haydn looks at me as if he’s looking through me. I wish I could see into his mind, to know exactly what he is thinking and why he is thinking it.

How can everything we shared seem meaningless to him now? Did our friendship mean nothing?

He looks up at Ax, a defiant mask on his face. “Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t, I will make you.” Haydn barks out a dismissive laugh. A vein visibly throbs in Axton’s neck, and I fear he’s about to make good on his threat, restrained or not. “I’m not gonna say this again. Apologize to my wife. Now.”

Oh, boy. He so went there.

I could nearly kill him for dropping that bomb. As if Haydn needs any other excuse to add to his mounting suspicion.

You could hear a pin drop in the room. Several shell-shocked faces turn to me for clarification. Neve’s mouth hangs open like a fish out of water.

“Way to just put it out there,” I mumble.

Haydn emits a strangled sound. “It’s true?” he splutters, his face showing disbelief instead of anger for a change.

I nod slowly, as I glance down at my feet. I don’t know how to even begin explaining that, but I have to try. Reluctantly, I drag my gaze up and survey the faces of my friends. A myriad of expressions greets me, but I don’t sense suspicion or hostility from anyone but Haydn.

I rub my hands nervously. “Before I explain, you need to understand that I’ve no recollection of this because Griselda wiped my memory before she returned me to my four-year-old body. I’ve lived this whole other life I know nothing about.”

Ax recoils, and I cringe at my lack of sensitivity. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“It’s okay,” he mouths back at me.

I focus on the others. “I spent twelve years on Torc, and Ax and Izzy were the only reason I survived. I’ve seen memories of my time there, and I left recordings for myself. Ax was always there for me, and he didn’t approve of what his mother did to me. He … he’s …” I clear my throat, so embarrassed to be discussing this publicly. It also feels like a betrayal to be telling the others before I’m telling Logan.

“I love her, and she loves me. She just doesn’t remember any of it. Yet,” Ax interjects, and I could easily throttle him for the second time in minutes.

I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, drawing blood. I’m going to have to come clean with him, and sooner rather than later. But I have no idea how to let him down without devastating him. The thought makes me hugely uncomfortable.

He doesn’t deserve to be hurt.

“It was my idea to get married before I was sent back to Earth when I was sixteen,” I continue. “So, yeah, I guess I’m married.” I run my hands through my hair and studiously avoid Ax’s gaze.

“You guess?” His voice is ice and fire.

“I’m embarrassed enough discussing this in public,” I hiss, finally finding the courage to look him in the face. “Can we talk about this later, in private?”

“Stars!” Neve exclaims. “Logan is going to lose his shit when he hears this.”

I scowl. “Jeez, thanks for that very helpful commentary.” I massage a tense spot between my eyebrows. “Are we done talking about
me
yet?”

“What else happened up there?”

I try to recall what else I’ve neglected to mention. “I saw the future,” I admit.

“What?” Fern shrieks, almost deafening me. “How on earth …?”

I tell them about the Perception room and the Tempo—the time travel machine—and the vision of the future I saw. My future with Logan. A future that I don’t even know exists anymore. Then I explain how I blew up the Tempo and nearly died in the process, except that Izzy and Ax showed up in the nick of time to rescue me.

Everyone looks emotionally drained by the time I finish relaying my sordid tale. I squirm in my seat, the metal bar of the lock digging into my hips. “Can you release us now?”

“Yes,” Neve says at the same time Haydn says, “No.”

She ignores him and frees all three of us. My body sags in relief. Ax stands up and stretches his arms over his head. His shirt lifts, exposing a tiny sliver of ripped skin. I don’t mean to look, but my eyes have an agenda of their own. I blush to the tips of my toes when he catches me gawking.

Haydn lets out a low whistle. “You’re a real piece of work.”

“It’s okay,” I say, turning to face him. “I got the memo.” He arches a brow. “The one that says you hate my guts. There’s no need to rub it in.”

His face is impressively neutral as he silently stares at me, not even attempting to refute my claims. Ax switches rows and sits down beside me. His arm snakes around my shoulders, and he pulls me into his solid chest. My level of anxiety is off the Richter scale at the uninitiated contact. I yearn to pull out of his embrace and tell him to keep his hands to himself.

But I don’t want to hurt him. Or humiliate him in public.

Haydn sends death glares my direction, and I do my best to deflect them. “Now it’s your turn,” I tell Neve. “Tell me what happened after I left.”

“This is going to be hard to hear, Sadie.” Fern speaks up first. “You should prepare yourself.”

“Nothing can be worse than thinking I might’ve killed Logan. I haven’t been able to sleep for worrying about him.”

Ax visibly stiffens.

Neve sits upright in her chair, a pained look contorting her beautiful face. “He was in a bad way, Sadie, and we didn’t have the right medical equipment to treat him onboard. His external injuries were fine, but it was whatever was going on internally that we couldn’t figure out. His stomach was burning up, and so swollen, and his temp was skyrocketing. It didn’t help that he virtually passed out after you were taken. From shock or his injuries, I’m not sure.” She sucks in a noisy mouthful of air.

“So, what did you do?” I take her hands in mine.

“We took him to Dr. Zuma in Rindyar. He was the only one we could think of at such short notice; however, it was stupid, thoughtless. But we were desperate … we knew we were losing him, and there wasn’t adequate time to devise alternatives.”

I frown, slightly confused. “Isn’t Dr. Zuma an ally? That’s where Logan took me after I was shot. I don’t understand.”

“We didn’t either,” Neve continues, chewing on the side of her lip. Alex moves behind her and plants a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “At first, everything seemed fine. Dr. Zuma treated Logan and nothing seemed untoward, except that he was jittery as hell. Turns out that Dante had seized control of the planet after your visit. I don’t know why he thought Logan would return—maybe it was just a lucky guess—but he had the place sewn up tight. The Saven soldiers were in hiding, and they chose their moment to pounce. We’d been so careful never to leave Logan alone but—”

“But I left him unprotected,” Haydn butts in, “and they took him. We only managed to escape by sheer luck.” He grinds down hard on his teeth.

“It’s not your fault.” The words leave my lips of their own accord.

“I don’t want or need your sympathy,” he snaps, putting me back in my place.

“Listen up, asshole,” Ax replies, instantly jumping to my defense. “Stop speaking to Sadie like that.”

Haydn flips up his middle finger, and I stare open-mouthed at him. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Haydn was a victim of body snatching. This is so unlike him.

“Haydn.” Neve pins him with a glacial look. “I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say your attitude is not helping. So, cut it out, or go take a nap or something. You’re as grouchy as a grizzly bear in need of a decent feed.”

“You’re falling for all this crap?” he says in an incredulous tone.

“Haydn, we know Sadie.
You
know Sadie, and she’s telling us the truth. I’m not gonna lie, it’s one hella mess, but she isn’t deceiving anyone. And she’s dead right on one thing. We need to figure out a way to rescue Logan. That should be our only priority.”

“That
is
my only priority,” he growls, almost affirming her grizzly bear comparison. “I’m all ears.” He folds his arms across his chest and purposefully averts my gaze.

I’ll take it. Happily. Ignorance is easier to accept than all the hurtful, barbed comments.

“Any ideas?” Neve asks me.

“Do we know where he’s being held or can we find out?”

“I’ve touched base with a few trusted friends on the ground in Saven. While they can’t confirm it categorically, it appears that all the prisoners are in the dungeons under the palace. That’s our safest bet,” Rylan says.

“Well, what about Logan’s original plan then?” I say. “To infiltrate the palace via the tunnel network from the old Saven district?”

“We’d thought of that, but it’s risky. Logan may have given up that plan or Advisor Mellor may have. We still don’t know if he’s trustworthy or not.”

“Logan wouldn’t give up anything.” My voice brims with confidence.

Guarded looks are traded around the room, and large goose bumps sprout on my arms. Tension lances the air.

“Not willingly, no,” Neve quietly answers.

“Oh, God.” I slap a hand over my mouth, as her insinuation sinks in. “Dante wouldn’t …”

“He would.” Her face pales. “Dante hates him, Sadie. He’s had it in for him for years. Who knows what he’s been doing to him.”

I hate to agree, but as I recall everything I know of Logan’s erstwhile beloved brother, I know her concerns are justified. Dante has always resented the fact that he was overlooked by King Adjani in favor of Logan, and he landed the blame for the death of their mother squarely on Logan’s shoulders. I remember how Dante targeted me on Thalassic City purely to antagonize Logan and how—according to Neve, Haydn and Logan—Dante has constantly sought ways to provoke Logan into physical retaliation. That Logan is trapped in Dante’s lair is more than just concerning. We have to get him out of there, and fast. There is no time to spare.

Another thought occurs to me. “How long has he had him?” Time is like some abstract concept to me at the moment.

“Three days. More than enough time to …”

I gasp, clamping a hand over my distressed mouth. Neve grabs me into her arms. “I’m sure he’s still alive, Sadie. If Dante had already killed him, we’d know about it. He won’t miss out on the opportunity to gloat.”

“If that’s the case,” I ask, trying to quell my burgeoning hysteria, “what’s his game plan?” I ease out of her embrace, pulling my knees into my chest. “We need to figure out what he’s up to.”

“He wants Logan out of the picture so there’s no one to contest his leadership,” Haydn says in a grim tone.

“Why hasn’t he done it yet? Why wait?”
What new, sick game is Dante concocting now?

“It’s like Neve says, he wants to turn it into a spectacle. He probably already has the wheels in motion.” There is no tenor to Haydn’s tone. It is flat and unfeeling, and that touches a raw nerve.

“You don’t have to sound so uncaring!” I spit out. “Have you already given up on him?”

Haydn hops out of his seat super-fast, putting his face right in mine. His aggressive stance is intimidating, but I stand my ground, refusing to cower.

Ax wraps his arms around my waist, drawing me against his sturdy chest.

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for you!” he yells, glowering at Ax and me. “And you don’t get to tell me what I do or don’t feel. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”

I say nothing to defend myself because there isn’t much I can say. Haydn’s right. I set all this in motion. I
am
to blame. But that’s of no use to anyone right now, least of all Logan. He needs me to stay strong.

I shuck out of Ax’s arms. “I think we should stick to Logan’s plan and enter the palace via the tunnel.” I’m deliberately ignoring Haydn’s outburst and the thorny atmosphere in the room. “Have we enough weapons onboard? Enough fuel to get us to Saven?”

Neve swings her head to Rylan, silently diverting the questions his way. “Just about, on both counts,” he confirms.