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

defection. The Interrogation Division had done a thorough investigation, clearing her of any involvement, and the transfer had been approved. Following her reassignment, she put in her dues as an assistant Instructor before being receiving her own class seven years ago.
    The students seemed to genuinely like her, always giving her favorable reviews. Janet also appeared pleased with her teaching abilities and had nothing but praise for the woman in her annual reviews.
    Annalise had never remarried after her husband’s defection, and I can’t say I blamed her. After a betrayal like that, I wouldn’t have either. Besides her ex-husbands having proven a traitor, there was nothing suspect that jumped out in her file. Well, nothing except her Talent Ranking.
    Elite-level Electrical Manipulators weren’t rare, and I’d come across a handful in my time at School and with Toxic. They all shared a unique brain pattern, one that I hadn’t felt in my brief interactions with Instructor Cleary. All exceptionally strong Talents gave off a signal of sorts, emitting a crackle that felt like a tiny shock to my system. When I formed a strong enough connection with one to read her mind, the impulses were stronger and sometimes even uncomfortable. Annalise didn’t radiate so much as a spark. I made a mental note to double check the information with Penny later that evening.
    After World Languages, I was off to aid an Instructor named Cadence Choi in her defensive combat techniques class.
    From a quick look at Cadence’s file, I learned that she was a twenty-four-year-old Mid-level Light Manipulator from Brooklyn, New York. She was the youngest of Clarence and Raven Choi’s three children. Her middle brother, Daniel, was a Low-level poly-morph who currently served as a guard for one of Toxic’s weapons facilities. Randy, her oldest brother had been a guard at Tramblewood Corrections Facility, the prison where Toxic housed the highest-priority offenders. He’d been charged with treason and jailed after helping an inmate escape. The inmate had been Ian Crane’s sister-in-law. Interesting, very interesting.
    After Randy’s fall from grace, the entire Choi family had been scrutinized, but they’d all been found innocent of any nefarious deeds. Despite that, both Cadence and Daniel’s movements were still heavily monitored. I would have to remember to ask Penny to pull Daniel’s file for me.
    Thankfully, I arrived to Cadence’s class with plenty of time to spare. I walked straight up to her and introduced myself.
    “Hi, Cadence? My name is Talia, Talia Lyons,” I said, extending my hand to her in greeting.
    “I was expecting you yesterday,” she replied, pointedly staring at my fingers like they might bite her.
    “Sorry, my paperwork had some problems,” I lied. My personal situation with Donavon was none of her business.
    Cadence Choi was not much larger, or much older, than I was. She wore baggy gray sweatpants and a white short-sleeve shirt. All of her facial features were scrunched. Her eyes could only have been described as beady, her pupils so large that they looked like black orbs, set deeply in her face. Her nose was small and very turned up at the end, like she had once made a face in reaction to something malodorous and her nose had subsequently been stuck that way. Her mouth was small and puckered, like she was ready to kiss somebody at any moment.
    “Were you in the student’s Offensive Combat Techniques class this morning?” she asked. I nodded in reply. “Good. We will be learning the defensive maneuvers that correspond to the combinations Donavon taught this morning.”
    I didn’t need to delve into Cadence’s mind to know that she had a major crush on Donavon. Her beady little eyes lit up like a firework when she said his name. I had an overwhelming urge to giggle.
    “Roger that,” I said instead. She gave me a hard look, trying to decide if I was mocking her.
    I hadn’t establish enough of connection to