them out of the air. I looked to Tommy to see if he had anything to say about Queen Camillia driving his car, but his eyes were still fixed on Nelly from where he seemed to hover only a few feet away. The thought of following the Queen anywhere made me more than uneasy. But, whatever she’d shown to Kayden made him agree that we had to leave, so that was good enough for me. For now.
I looked down at my unconscious sister, guilt and worry as thick as storm clouds sweeping through me, and decided to head for the van, where Nelly might be able to lay down. Kayden came with me, along with Soraya, Catherine, Tommy, and Patterson. I raised an eyebrow at my Mother when she began heading toward the Mercedes with the Queen and Gavin and some other Warrior I didn’t recognize, who was also cradling a girl. They were the only ones among this group whom I’d never met before.
My Mother came back to where I was standing outside of the van and looked down sadly at Nelly, who hadn’t stirred in the slightest. I had to resist the urge to shrink back out of her reach. I was gripped by an inexplicable, overwhelming protectiveness, and though I knew my Mother meant Nelly no harm, that didn’t mean I wanted to let her near her. Or anyone near her, as a matter of fact. I didn’t like the way they were all still gawking at her. I bit down on my bottom lip and I tasted blood in my mouth. My fangs were out.
“I’m going to ride with them,” whispered my Mother. “Make sure this isn’t some kind of trap. Also, I’d like a word or two with ‘her Majesty’.”
I couldn’t help but notice the malice that dripped from my Mother’s words when she said her Majesty. “Tend to your sister,” she said, before turning and walking stiffly for the Mercedes again.
Tommy slid open the van’s side door, revealing a carpeted interior with only two seats, the driver’s and the passenger’s. In the driver’s seat Victoria shot me a smile that made my lips curl, even though it seemed to be genuine. This night just kept getting weirder and weirder. It was a good thing that by now, I was used to weird. How much had changed in the short time I’d been gone? And why did I have the awful feeling that my sister was at the center of it? Did her secret somehow get out?
I crawled into the van and laid Nelly down gently on the floor. Lifting her head, I placed it in my lap and brushed her soft hair out of her face with my unsteady fingers. Kayden crawled in next and tucked something into the back of my pants, I knew by its cold, smooth feel that it was my Gladius. I’d forgotten I’d dropped it.
Tommy sat on the other side of me, his bare shoulder brushing mine as he bent his head over my sister. I felt Kayden’s arm go around my shoulders, and I didn’t see it, but he must have given Tommy a look that made him scoot over, but only a few inches. The others climbed in, slid the door closed, and we started off down the road that led to only God knows where.
We were all silent for what seemed like an eternally long time, and though I had questions piled higher that the Empire State Building, I couldn’t seem to form any of them clear enough to get them through my lips. I only stared down at my unconscious sister, and let the air go in and out of me. The Queen had said that Nelly was fine, but she didn’t look fine to me. Her lips were slightly parted, and dark circles hung like shadowed half-moons below her lids. She was alive. I could feel that in my bones more so than see it in her face, but that didn’t mean she was fine.
And it was my fault. I’d left her to this.
“What happened?” I asked, feeling like a broken record. Or maybe just broken.
“Oh, you should have seen it, Alexa,” said Victoria from the front seat. My head jerked up. This wasn’t the Victoria I knew; the bitch who hated me and my sister and had tried to kill me. No sarcasm or malevolence rode her words. In fact, she
I looked down at my unconscious sister, guilt and worry as thick as storm clouds sweeping through me, and decided to head for the van, where Nelly might be able to lay down. Kayden came with me, along with Soraya, Catherine, Tommy, and Patterson. I raised an eyebrow at my Mother when she began heading toward the Mercedes with the Queen and Gavin and some other Warrior I didn’t recognize, who was also cradling a girl. They were the only ones among this group whom I’d never met before.
My Mother came back to where I was standing outside of the van and looked down sadly at Nelly, who hadn’t stirred in the slightest. I had to resist the urge to shrink back out of her reach. I was gripped by an inexplicable, overwhelming protectiveness, and though I knew my Mother meant Nelly no harm, that didn’t mean I wanted to let her near her. Or anyone near her, as a matter of fact. I didn’t like the way they were all still gawking at her. I bit down on my bottom lip and I tasted blood in my mouth. My fangs were out.
“I’m going to ride with them,” whispered my Mother. “Make sure this isn’t some kind of trap. Also, I’d like a word or two with ‘her Majesty’.”
I couldn’t help but notice the malice that dripped from my Mother’s words when she said her Majesty. “Tend to your sister,” she said, before turning and walking stiffly for the Mercedes again.
Tommy slid open the van’s side door, revealing a carpeted interior with only two seats, the driver’s and the passenger’s. In the driver’s seat Victoria shot me a smile that made my lips curl, even though it seemed to be genuine. This night just kept getting weirder and weirder. It was a good thing that by now, I was used to weird. How much had changed in the short time I’d been gone? And why did I have the awful feeling that my sister was at the center of it? Did her secret somehow get out?
I crawled into the van and laid Nelly down gently on the floor. Lifting her head, I placed it in my lap and brushed her soft hair out of her face with my unsteady fingers. Kayden crawled in next and tucked something into the back of my pants, I knew by its cold, smooth feel that it was my Gladius. I’d forgotten I’d dropped it.
Tommy sat on the other side of me, his bare shoulder brushing mine as he bent his head over my sister. I felt Kayden’s arm go around my shoulders, and I didn’t see it, but he must have given Tommy a look that made him scoot over, but only a few inches. The others climbed in, slid the door closed, and we started off down the road that led to only God knows where.
We were all silent for what seemed like an eternally long time, and though I had questions piled higher that the Empire State Building, I couldn’t seem to form any of them clear enough to get them through my lips. I only stared down at my unconscious sister, and let the air go in and out of me. The Queen had said that Nelly was fine, but she didn’t look fine to me. Her lips were slightly parted, and dark circles hung like shadowed half-moons below her lids. She was alive. I could feel that in my bones more so than see it in her face, but that didn’t mean she was fine.
And it was my fault. I’d left her to this.
“What happened?” I asked, feeling like a broken record. Or maybe just broken.
“Oh, you should have seen it, Alexa,” said Victoria from the front seat. My head jerked up. This wasn’t the Victoria I knew; the bitch who hated me and my sister and had tried to kill me. No sarcasm or malevolence rode her words. In fact, she
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