“I’m sorry—” I started, but Mac jumped in. “Girls, I need a wood run. Pile’s getting low.”
I thought William would protest, eager to get more information from us, but Mac gave him a look that kept him quiet. I felt bad about leaving him out, but I needed more details, and I needed to come to terms with the facts. I would pull myself together, then confide in him what I knew.
“No problem, Mac,” I said, jumping to my feet. I picked up the canvas wood hauling sack by the door and stepped out into the cold. The cool morning air was refreshing as we walked in silence away from the house.
“So, he wants the baby,” I let out, once we were some distance away. I still couldn’t believe it. My brow wrinkled in thought. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen, Kara. There won’t be a baby. I mean, we haven’t . . . you know . . .”
“So.”
“So,” I said, ripping a loose branch from a dead tree trunk a little too aggressively, “babies don’t just happen, and I’m going to make sure it doesn’t.”
She laughed unconvinced. “Yeah, because I’m sure that will stop fate, no problem.”
“Why does he want her anyway? It’ll be years before she’ll be able to tell the future.”
“Her?” Kara answered with a smirk.
“Oh, you know what I mean.
It
, okay? Maybe he just wants the baby so he can kill it?”
We found a nearby fallen tree and began scavenging small logs and twigs.
“I don’t think so,” she answered skeptically.
“You’re supposed to know these things,” I spat, still feeling the need to blame her for Anna and Chloe. I sighed when I heard myself. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It
is
my fault you’re in this situation. I should have hidden them better. I just thought—”
“It’s fine,” I interrupted. “We’ll get them back.”
“About that,” Kara said, loading an armful of logs into the bag. “We have to be careful. Things are more complicated than they seem.”
Our eyes connected and I got quiet, waiting for her.
“I think that’s why they were flagged. Think about it. There must have been a reason. Maybe it was so he could use them as bait when the time was right. He’s smart, Elyse. Don’t underestimate him. He knows you’re alive. I’m sure he’s expecting you.”
I took a seat next to her on top of the fallen trunk. “Even if he is expecting me,” I said, finally sure of at least one thing, “the oracle gave me instructions. If we follow them, it’ll work.”
“I hope that’s true.”
We sat in silence for a while taking it all in.
“What happened after they took Anna and Chloe?”
She didn’t say anything at first, but slid off the log with her back turned, distancing herself from me. “You mean how did they punish me?” Her shoulders shrugged before she answered. “They threatened my family, like always, and gave me extraction assignments.” She turned, trying to keep her expression unaffected like these were the simple facts. Nothing to take personally. “The ones no one wants.”
My eyebrows lowered. “Like what?”
Her gaze dropped, and I saw through her hard and distant demeanor. “Children.” The word was soft and colored with shame. Our eyes connected briefly, mine horrified, hers desperate for forgiveness. “But I couldn’t do it, Elyse, not anymore,” she said quickly, needing to be absolved. “I ran out. I knew they’d find me, but I didn’t care. I was tired of being their slave, and I knew I deserved to die anyway after giving the two of them up to Christoph, after everything I’ve done in my life.”
“No, Kara . . .”
“They didn’t find me though,” she kept on. “The oracle did. She said I had been on the wrong side, but she would help me find the right one, where I was supposed to be.”
“Did you look into her mind?” I asked with quiet hopefulness.
“There was too much. Fear. War. Death. I just didn’t know what was real and what was prophecy. I didn’t see anything that could help us.”
“It’s okay.” I looked away. “So, it’s pretty bad out there?” Her lips tightened. “It’s tense.”
“But William’s family is okay, right? And our friends?”
“They’re fine,” she answered, tucking her short thick curls
behind her ear, “but you should know . . .”
“What?” I demanded.
“Iosif.” She shook her head. “He didn’t . . . they killed him, Elyse.”
“Oh,” I whispered, swallowing down the ache in my throat.
“Sorry.” She was trying to be sensitive, but Iosif ’s death didn’t hurt her as it did me. It was my fault that he was killed.
I felt sick. “We should probably go back.”
“You go,” she said with a subtle smile. “I have a feeling I should stay here for a while.”
“Stay here?” I didn’t want to explain things to William on my own. I couldn’t be the one to tell him about Iosif. “No, come on. Let’s go.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be pushy, Elyse. Just trust me. We’ll both be happy you did.”
I gave up easily, realizing there was a reason she was being resistant. I just had no idea why. When I got back to the cabin, something seemed off. There was no sound of Mac’s booming voice, or anyone’s voice for that matter. Things were too quiet.
It was hard to believe we weren’t safe in the haven, and with Mac around, I couldn’t think of a more secure place we could be, but my hand still clutched my dart gun.
I twisted the handle slowly, trying not to make a sound, but the place was so small, it was almost impossible for it not to be obvious I was entering. I flung the door open, in case I needed to act fast, but William’s hearty laughter settled my adrenalin rush.
He sat wide-eyed and amused at the table, which was set with two plates, wildflowers in a vase, and steaming hot breakfast.
“Somebody’s a little paranoid.”
I smiled, embarrassed. “Well, in my defense, the most powerful Descendants in the world are hunting me as we speak.” I closed the door behind me.
“Touché,” he conceded. “Anyway . . . Surprise!”
“What for?” I asked, stepping toward the empty seat.
“We missed your birthday. It was a month ago.”
I had forgotten, completely. There were just too many things on my mind these days.
“Yeah,” I answered with surprise. “I guess we did. How old am I again?”
“In human terms or ours?” he played along.
I shrugged. “Easy. A girl always goes for the lesser number. Eighteen sounds so much better than ninety.”
“Eighteen it is,” he said, coming around to push in my chair. “So, for the birthday girl we have pan-fried potatoes, quail eggs, and oranges.”
“You did all of this?”
“Mac helped,” he said, giving him credit. “We both thought you could use a little normal in your life.” He sat down across from me. “We all could.”
He was homesick, and I didn’t blame him. If I had a home and a family like he did, I would miss it too. But he was my home, and seclusion was what I was used to. I felt perfectly content living this way.
“Not that quail eggs are normal.” He laughed. “But close enough.”
“It looks amazing. Thank you,” I said, digging in.
I watched him from across the table, feeling lucky to have him. Whatever the circumstances, as long as he was with me, I knew everything would be all right.
“Just for the record, you’re my normal,” I added.
No matter how crazy or bad things were going to get, we could always come back to our secret world of each other, even if the universe of others was crumbling around us.
He combed his fingers through his honey-colored hair, the muscles in his square jaw flexing as he chewed. “Are you going to tell me what else you saw in that memory?”
I picked up the small vase of purple and yellow flowers, taking in their earthy sent.
“Not right now.”
“That bad huh?” he asked, cutting into an orange. “I just wish I knew what was going on out there.”
“Kara said it was tense.”
He looked up. “What does that mean? Is everyone safe?”
“Not everyone,” I said with regret.
William’s eyes became grave as he braced himself for the worst. “Who?”
“Iosif,” I answered. “They killed him. Because of me.” The guilt felt like rocks in the pit of my stomach. All of
this was because of me.
“It’s not your fault,” William said as he came around the table. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that happens.” My eyes were down in shame, stubborn tears beginning to fall despite my attempt to hold them back. He wiped them with his thumbs as he held my face in his hands. “None of this is your fault. You didn’t choose this, Ellie.”
He moved his face closer to mine so I would look up. When I did, his lips lured me in. His kiss was home, my relief from everything. It was soft and gentle at first, but soon the rush lifted me to my feet. It was easy to get lost in the moment, with the romantic breakfast and the privacy. My fingers found the buttons of his shirt, forgetting everything else.
“Bedroom,” he said against my mouth.
His lips moved to my neck sending a chill over my shoulders as he picked me up, wrapping my legs around his body. I wanted the distraction, needed his firm arms to hold me, and he gave in too. He closed the door behind us, leaving our breakfast half-eaten on the other side, and sat me down on the bed. His fingers tickled my sides as he lifted my shirt over my head. Our lips met again, the only sound our heavy breath as he slid in next to me, pulling me closer. When his hand grazed my stomach and settled on the button of my jeans I pulled away, heart beating.
“Wait,” I breathed, sitting up and turning my back to him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, surprised by my resistance. “Am I going too fast?”
“No.” I looked at him. “It’s not that.”
He pressed himself up to sit next to me, and slid his warm fingers in between mine. “What is it?”
“I have to tell you something.”
“Okay.” He tightened his hold on my hand.
“In the memory, Christoph said something.” I swallowed hard, wishing I didn’t have to tell him. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him. I knew more than anything that I wanted to be with only him, forever, and this might have been the moment we would have completely opened up to one another. Now that I knew what Christoph was planning, we couldn’t risk it. “This isn’t just about me starting a war, William. They want something from us. Christoph wants our baby.”
“What baby?” he laughed. “There is no baby.”
“Exactly,” I said. “And we have to keep it that way. There’s no way I’m going to let him have my child. I’m not going to ever let that happen, even if it means . . . taking every precaution.” The roomed hummed with silence. “We just shouldn’t tempt ourselves.”
“And you heard
him
say that?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
A sense of hopelessness clouded the moment. Even after all we had overcome to be together, Christoph still managed to weasel his way into our world. I didn’t want to live by his terms. I wanted freedom. I could feel it in what I had found with William, a chance to love and be loved, to live a full life like everyone else, but even that had been tainted by The Council.
William looked off into the distance, his stony expression a mixture of surprise and disgust. “Well, you’re right. We’ll just make sure it doesn’t happen.” Even through the grim atmosphere, his subtle smiled shined through. “I’m assuming protection isn’t really effective if the baby is . . . pre-destined.”
I laughed. “Probably not.”
He picked my shirt off of the floor and slid it over my head.
“Thanks,” I said as I pulled it on the rest of the way.
We stared into each other, the forbidden making things all the more tempting. “To be honest,” he said brushing my hair back, “there are other reasons we should wait. I mean, other than making an oracle baby, which probably isn’t the best idea.”
“Definitely not the best idea,” I agreed, leaning into his shoulder.
“I don’t see why we can’t keep things innocent, though,” he said, moving in for a kiss. It was too easy to agree. His lips were persuasive as they moved softly over mine.
“Okay,” I whispered with our mouths touching.
My hands found the buttons of his shirt once again, but this time I clasped them shut, one by one, as he kissed the parts of my neck that were still bare. “You know I love you, right?” he asked.
I smiled. “Even though I’m plagued with prophecy?”
He laughed as we headed back into the living room to finish our breakfast.
“You know what? On second thought, the whole prophecy thing’s kind of a hassle. I’m not sure this is going to work out.”
When we reached the table I threw my arms around his neck. “Yeah. We’re no good together anyway,” I played along.
His warm fingers grazed the skin on my hips as he pulled me closer, but before our lips met, the front door flew open with such force I heard wood splinter. Suddenly I was pinned between the wall and William. His protective stance blocked the door from view, making him a human shield against me. Even so, my hand grasped the loaded dart gun ready to defend him at all costs. But none of it was necessary.
“Dad?”
Hearing the shock in William’s voice, I ducked under his arm. Dr. Nickel’s face was strained with worry.
“They’re coming,” he said.
4.
I DIDN’T NEED TO ASK WHO. I knew The Council would be looking for me as long as I was alive, but that fact had never scared us off before, not with the safe haven to protect us.
“They can’t get in. They won’t be able to find us,” I said. “Right?”
“Christoph is with them,” Mac added as he appeared in the open doorway with Kara. “My ability means nothing to him, kid. He can turn it off like a light switch.”
“How close are they?” William asked, clasping his hand around mine.
“Close enough,” his dad answered. “We need to leave.” We left everything but the weapons. Clothes, food, toothpaste. There wasn’t time for things that weren’t essential to escape. The five of us went on foot in a direction that was meaningless to me. I had never seen what was outside the edges of the safe haven, not since I’d been here.
When Mac stopped abruptly after our fifteen-minute trek into the woods, we all froze at once, bodies poised and ready to attack, eyes searching for threats.