Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (30 page)

I drop down beside Logan, silently accepting the comforter he offers me. Turning my back to him, I close my eyes. His arm rests gently around my waist as he snuggles in closer to me.

I wake sometime in the early hours shivering despite the comforter and Logan’s solid form at my back. He is draped around me like an octopus. Sounds of snoring and heavy breathing surround me on all sides. A severe jab of pain slices through my skull and I wince.

A hand reaches out to me, and I look up into Ax’s worried eyes. I move to shake off his concern as another painful dart pierces my head. Butterflies roar to life in my chest as I massage my head with firm fingers. Ax sits up the same time I do, alarm etched across his face.

A succession of sharp jabs assault me all at once, as if a thousand knives are perforating holes in my skull. I sit up on my knees, screaming, as I cradle my head in my hands. “Haydn!” I screech, attempting to crawl outside. Ax creeps toward me as Logan jolts awake. “Stay back! Both of you.” A massive boom sounds in my ears as something akin to a battering ram tries to impact my head. Stars explode in front of the pinky haze blanketing my eyes, and fire starts to zing up and down my arms. I can feel my body transforming and panic rears up full-throttle.

“Let me in!”
Logan pleads through our connection as Haydn grasps me by the waist and hauls me outside.
“I can help you fight her!”

“No! She might do something to you!”

“Dammit, Sadie! Let me in right now.”
Logan forces the connection and I let it flow through me, unable to stop him because all my energy is concentrated on blocking Griselda.

“You can’t ignore me forever, Sadie,”
Griselda sneers distantly in my head, and I quake all over. I’m vaguely aware of a tightening around my wrists and ankles and the sounds of bickering as I thrash about, waging a vicious inner battle. A solid weight presses down on top of me.

“Get the fuck out of her head!”
Logan demands.

Griselda sneers.
“I didn’t realize this was a party for three. My, my, Axton will be most disappointed not to have been invited.”

“You won’t win!”
I grit out, latching onto the Eterno connection and straining my mind as far as it can stretch.

Griselda’s voice grows weaker.
“I never lose!”

“You will this time.”

“I’ll kill you all,”
she threatens.
“I’ll start with Axton and Logan, and then I’ll take my time with you. You’ll wish you’d never been born by the time I’m through with you.”

“
I’ll kill you first.”
I expand my mind with everything I’ve got, powering it with Logan’s support through the line and infusing it with the love in my heart for both boys. She will not harm a hair on either of their heads.

Her impact is diminishing, and the pounding in my head is easing off.

“I’m coming for you, Sadie. For all of you.”
Her last statement is only a shadow on the outskirts of my mind.

I silently scream as I evict her with the last vestiges of my strength.

The pain in my head evaporates as if sucked into an imaginary void. My lungs constrict with the weight on top of me, and I struggle to breathe.

“Get off her, Haydn. She can’t breathe,” Logan yells, but the solid mass doesn’t flinch. I don’t even have the strength to try to push him off. I’m mentally and physically drained.

All of a sudden, the pressure eases, and I try to focus my eyes. Haydn is being restrained by Ax and Logan. “The threat is over, Haydn,” Logan reassures him. I blink up at them, but I can’t offer any words of platitude. My tongue is as numb and dazed as the rest of me. “Look.” Logan points at me. “Her eyes are back to normal.”

I try to sit up, but my arms refuse to work. Logan and Ax dart to me at the same time. For once, they aren’t arguing as they ease me into a sitting position. Nausea races up my throat, and I push them away. Crawling on all fours, I haul myself into the corner, hunch over, and throw up.

I slump against the wall when I’m done, too exhausted to move. Moist strands of hair plaster my sticky forehead. Logan slips his arm underneath me and lifts me up. My limbs dangle loosely, and I’m struggling to keep my eyelids open.
“Sleep, Angel. I’ll take care of you.”

Logan reluctantly wakes me a couple of hours later.
“We need to leave now, Sadie. If you’re not feeling up to it, you can stay here.”
There’s a slight hesitation.
“Axton has agreed to stay behind with you.”

I test my limbs and they feel functional. My head aches a little, but it’s nothing a bit of brisk mountain air won’t cure. I pull myself up.
“I’m fine, and I’m coming with you.”

The line drip-feeds his emotions and thoughts. He wages a little war within himself, one side of him wanting me to stay here to fully recover, the other side refusing to leave me anywhere with
him
.

“I can do this,” I say confidently as I stand. The others are already outside, getting ready to leave, so I quickly dress and eat and we set off.

The soldiers send suspicious looks my way that are none too subtle. It’s okay, though. I totally get it. Haydn is his same new-to-me self. Ax looks like he has a million things he wants to say, but it’s me who needs to do the talking.
“I’m dropping back to talk to Ax,”
I tell Logan, letting go of his hand.
“I have to tell him about his mom’s threats.”

“It would be best for everyone if Griselda just followed through on her threat.”

I gasp as Logan’s hideous thought reaches me through the Eterno connection.

“I didn’t mean it!”
he says urgently, pulling me off to the side.
“Honestly, I didn’t! The thought just slipped into my mind unbidden. I dislike him because he’s trying to steal you from me. But I don’t wish him dead. Please say you believe me.”

His emotions filter clearly through the line, and my anger disappears.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.”

He sags in relief.
“Go talk to him.”
He motions at Ax with his head.
“You’re right, he shouldn’t be kept in the dark anymore.”

I lift up on my toes and brush my lips against his, almost like it’s second nature at this stage. When I think of how I used to shy away from any type of physical contact, I realize just how far I have come. And since our Eterno bonding, my craving to constantly touch Logan is at an all-time high. No one would ever have predicted I’d become the queen of PDAs. I smile quietly to myself.

Shaking the thoughts from my mind, because now is not the time to dwell on them, I refocus on the present.
“I won’t be long.”
Logan nods, walking on ahead without me.

Ax can’t keep the wide smile off his face as I hang back to talk to him. It does nothing to dampen my guilt or my discomfort.
Can’t he see I’m with Logan now?
I don’t understand why he’s still holding out hope. I wish he wouldn’t.

Logan casts a fleeting glance over his shoulder, and his frustration barrels through our connection.
“I’m about two seconds away from wiping that smug grin off his face.”

I sigh. I am seriously fed up of all the hostility.
“Logan.”
My warning is clear.
“I’m yours. Chill out.”

“Just hurry back to me.”
He turns around, granting me some measure of privacy.

I shove my hands in my pocket as I wait patiently for Ax to approach. I fall into step with him a few minutes later.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“A little tired, but apart from that, I’m fine.” We are nearing the peak of the mountain, and though the sun has made an appearance high in the sky, it’s bone-numbing cold at this elevation. A thin blanket of snow coats the ground, and we have to slow our pace to ensure no one slips.

“I’m sorry she did that to you. I hate her for it.” His gloved hands twitch at his side.

“I hate her, too.” I glance sideways at him. “For so many things. But mostly for what she did to me, her vendetta against Logan, and because of what she’s … threatening to do to you.”

He stops abruptly, and the solider at his back narrowly avoids colliding with us. “Jeez, man. Could you give us a warning next time? I almost fell over the edge.”

I pull Ax into the side to allow the soldier to pass. “Sorry,” I say on Ax’s behalf.

“What did you mean by that?” Ax’s probing eyes penetrate mine.

“Let’s walk and talk,” I suggest, yanking on his arm. We can’t afford to be separated from the group. “I wanted to spare you this, but I can’t stay quiet anymore. Your life is in danger, Ax. Your mother has threatened to kill you, and it isn’t the first time.”

He slams to a halt again. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as I explain the recording I left for myself back on Torc and how she had threatened to kill her own son if I didn’t kill Logan. Then I fill him in on what happened in the early hours of the morning, when she tried to mind-jack me.

He is deathly quiet, and it worries me. “Now do you see why you can’t go back there? She’ll kill you.” Still he says nothing, shows no emotion. I’d be happier if he screamed or cried or cussed or threw something. This non-reaction is terrifying. “Say something, please.”

Ax claws his hands through his hair. “There was no point, was there?”

“I’m not following.” My brow puckers in confusion.

“All the years I spent trying to make her love me.” He pins me with a chilling look that freezes my insides. “While she was preparing to kill me.” His voice cracks at the end, and I don’t hesitate.

I pull him off to the side and wrap my arms around him. “She’s a monster, Ax. And she doesn’t deserve you as her son.” I look up into his blurry eyes, horrified to see tears forming. “You are everything she isn’t. Honest, good and kind and—”

“I’m fine,” he says, suddenly prying my arms off his waist. “I don’t care.” He takes a step forward.

“But, Ax—”

“There’s nothing more to talk about. Go back to Logan.” He batters his forearms.

“Ax.” I touch his arm, but he brushes me off. As he does, a small cylindrical metal object falls out of his jacket pocket. I bend down to retrieve it the same time he does. His arm is longer than mine, and he reaches it first, picking it up effortlessly. “What’s that?”

“Nothing.” His eyes shut down as he pockets it and tugs the zipper fully up.

I have an uneasy feeling, and I’m not usually one to ignore my instincts. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“I said it’s nothing.” His look holds considerable challenge. “Go.” He flicks his head up the way. “Go back to him. I want to be alone.” His tone is surly, but it’s nothing compared to the dark look in his eyes. I flinch, confused, and if I’m honest, a little bit scared. He looks so much like her—his mother—when he stares at me in this way. It sends shivers cascading all over my body.

I rejoin Logan without uttering another word to Ax. Logan was a silent witness to the whole epic fail, but he doesn’t bring it up and neither do I. We are only a few hours away from the Control Center, and I’d prefer to focus on that.

The sun is hovering at the mid-way point in the sky when Haydn stops to address us. We are back on solid ground again, having successfully navigated the second mountain. Grass feels spongy under my feet, and a warm breeze helps banish the stiffness in my limbs. We aren’t too far now and nervous anticipation buzzes around the group.

Haydn draws us into a crevice at the side of the mountain. Maintaining a deliberate low tone, he issues precise instructions. “When we round the next bend, the structure will be in sight. We are planning on approaching the Control Center from the rear. From our intel, there are only two soldiers manning the back entrance, so it should be easier to gain entry.” He pulls a black device out of his pocket and punches a couple of buttons. A holoscreen surfaces with an image of the facility layout.

It’s much smaller than I imagined though that does little to steady my nerves. Haydn continues his instructions. “Myself and the commander will hold fort at the front while the Narik guard will form a perimeter around the rest of you. Four of the soldiers will remain strategically hidden in the hills above the Control Center, with Izzy and Axton, to provide protection as we make our approach. They’ll maintain a close eye on our progress from a distance so they can intervene where or if necessary.”