Read Online Caged (Talented Saga) by Sophie Davis - Free Book Online Page A

On the short walk to her classroom, I glanced through her record. I immediately noticed the red flag in her file; Annalise’s husband, Jerald Mathias, defected to Colorado five years after their marriage to join the Coalition. Annalise had been thoroughly investigated at the time and cleared of any wrongdoing. She’d reverted back to her maiden name and continued working for Toxic.
    I found her room with mere seconds to spare. I quietly walked through the doorway and ducked into the back of the classroom. Not wanting to interrupt, I decided to wait until after her lesson to introduce myself. I leaned against the wall, surveying the class, and immediately felt self-conscious.
    I had forgotten that there was a reason why the students alternated days between physical and academic classes. My stretchy pants and tight workout shirt had fit right in during Donavon’s combat training, but I looked wildly out of place in this classroom, where all the students were wearing khaki slacks, crisp white dress shirts, and navy blazers. Instructor Cleary was wearing a red skirt suit with the collar of a floral-print shirt peeking out from under her formfitting jacket. Well, crap . Not only was I inappropriately dressed, I was willing to bet that I smelled. I’d have to remember a change of clothes tomorrow.
    Annalise Cleary began class as I wrapped myself in the lightweight jacket that I grabbed on my way out of my room. She gave brief instructions in Spanish, then the students opened their bags and began working from glossy books. After she was satisfied that all of the children understood her directions, she finally turned her attention to me. She motioned me over to the desk with a wave of her hand.
    “You must be Natalia Lyons,” she said warmly. Up close, I noticed that she was much older than she’d appeared from the back of the room. Lines crinkled around her blue eyes and the corners of her mouth when she smiled. Her nearly black hair, pulled back in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, had a handful of gray streaks interspersed.
    I held out my hand. “Yes, you can call me Talia.” I returned her smile, grateful for a friendly face after my encounter with Donavon.
    “Are you proficient in languages?” she inquired. Hmmm, I didn’t know. Was I supposed to be? Mac didn’t really specify.
    “Actually, I am.” I decided that answering truthfully was best, and languages had been my best classroom subject. I was fluent in most major languages as well as some that were more obscure; it was easy to learn languages when you were a mind reader.
    “Very good. I’ll give you the answer key for the assignments that I need you to grade, and you just have to see if the student’s answers match mine,” she replied, still smiling.
    “Great,” I tried to match her enthusiasm, but the thought of being relegated to grading papers made me feel more like crying. I failed to see how this was a productive use of my time. I reminded myself that remedial tasks were an unfortunate, but necessary, part of this assignment as I set to work.
    I spent the rest of the class sitting at Annalise Cleary’s desk, comparing test papers to the answer key. Every red mark that I made on a student’s paper made me wonder how this was helping find the person who leaked my identity.
    Once Instructor Cleary’s attention was diverted, I risked skimming the rest of her file for pertinent information.
    Annalise Bernise Cleary was born forty-two years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, the only child of Jonah and Eloise Cleary. The report listed her as an Elite-level Electrical Manipulator. In her junior year, she’d taken three placement tests – the Hunters, the Crypto Division, and for the Weapons Division. She’d placed with the Weapons Division and received a position there after the successful completion of her Pledge year.
    After four years of developing and manufacturing advanced weapons, Annalise requested a transfer to the School after her husband’s