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I threw down my pillow and got out of bed as he walked closer. He wrapped his arms around me.
“You do not know how scared I was when Mrs. Beatty told me to pack, and they took my phone away,” I whispered against his chest.
“Why did you think I put up such a huge fight? Mavis just told me she needed my help with something. You scared me shitless yesterday.” His gigantic hand covered the entire back of my head and pushed me tight against his chest.
The familiar buzzing that came from him put me at ease.
“I thought being needed was your fix.”
“Apparently not when I’m in love.”
My stomach melted into a pile of goo.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”
I nodded.
“Neither will Maverick nor Mavis.”
He tugged on my hair ever so softly to lift my face. His lips were right there, meeting mine. My palm brushed his jaw as the kiss deepened.
I could kiss Drake Evans forever.
Around eight, we had breakfast. Mrs. Beatty sure was one hell of a cook. There were fresh pancakes, an assortment of healthy muffins and poached eggs with crispy bacon.
After our hearty breakfast, we went outside for combat training.
Drake started where Alex had stopped, and I hit his palms with my black gloved fists I hated using him as my dummy. The guy in the woods was long gone, and it got replaced with someone that I could easily spend the rest of my life with.
After a few minutes, every muscle in my body ached as my breathing became rapid.
I had a couple of breaks through the lesson as a blinding, stabbing pain overpowered the side of my torso.
I grunted.
“Come on, Soph, push through it,” Drake said. “Let’s go.”
I breathed hard and growled at him, which he obviously thought was funny.
We finally took a break after an hour because I felt dizzy. God did not create me for any of this.
Mrs. Beatty put a plate filled with chicken lasagna and a green salad with different colored berries and nuts in front of me. She gave me like twenty minutes to rest, and then Maverick took over with the training.
Around two, I called for a timeout. I heaved, resting my palms on top of my knees, trying to catch a breath. Mrs. Beatty ordered me to take a shower and get some rest.
Around three, I woke up, and it was training with Mrs. Beatty.
There was no stone circle around, so it was loads of reading from a book she’d brought with her. It had all three domains inside, and she told me it was crucial to learn the Spirit domains, even if I only had one. Knowing the other two was as crucial as knowing my domain. The faster I could master them all, the easier my life was going to be.
“I thought that took years.”
“It does, but you are behind in training, Soph, so you just have to suck it up.”
I hated reading textbooks. It was so dull, but this book was different. It had a lot of information about how to release your shield, your projection, and the visions.
The visions they mentioned sounded nothing like the dreams that I was getting. Every Spirit fae with the domain of Sight received their visions differently. They all had a griffin to decipher the images they’d seen. Some saw it in different stages, only broken events. Some would get messages in a book or newspaper. The words of the book would swirl around and form brief messages, broken messages and the griffin deciphered those messages. It was like they saw another part that would make it clear for them. A few saw it on a TV screen. Others got told by a relative that long passed. But none of them was as clear as I saw mine.
My dreams were pretty straightforward. No translations needed. I just didn’t know the people in them, and I felt every jolt of pain.
Why was I so different? I didn’t like this one bit, and it felt as if there was no information on what I could do. No information on how to help me become what I needed to become.
Late afternoon before dinner, Drake took me for a jog.
“Stay close to the cabin, Drake,” Mrs. Beatty said.
“Will you relax? She’s safe.”
We jogged down a trail that ran past the lake.
“I have to tell you something.” I said in a severe tone and looked back at the cabin.
He looked around. “What is it?”
“I’m not great at jogging.”
He relaxed immediately and stared at me with no emotion on his face. His eyes widened. “Run.”
I shrieked as I ran as fast as I could with Drake chasing me.
My muscles burned, my throat got dry and my chest was on fire about a mile away from the cabin. I stopped and asked for a timeout.
Drake laughed. “It’s not even twenty minutes yet.”
My palms rested on my knees. “I don’t care.” I puffed as I tried to catch my breath. I could feel my pulse racing in my arms and legs.
Drake tackled me down to the ground, and I laughed as his lips pressed hard on mine. “She might have a hawk-eye, but she can’t keep you under her surveillance for twenty-four hours.”
I grabbed the sides of his face, and our lips collided, kissing each other desperately, like our kisses were the very air we breathed.
The weeks flew by and my daily routine stayed the same. I woke up, had breakfast, trained with Drake, trained with Mav, showered, ate lunch, and rested. Three o’clock was study time, and this session was about all three domains and then once a week, Mavis and I discussed this in full. I didn’t ask her why my dreams were so straightforward. Soon calling her Mavis came naturally.
Around six at night, I jogged with Drake or Maverick, as Mavis liked to change things up. And then it was dinner, bath, and bed. At two o’clock, Drake would sneak into my room to sleep.
Eventually my body lasted longer during combat training and runs. It changed by gaining lean, sculpted muscles. I could run for forty-five minutes straight without getting tired and without the pain, and I was really getting good at kicking some butt, too.
I felt fierce and ready, but what was worrisome was that nobody took another jab at trying to kidnap me again—not that I knew of.
Mavis’ phone rang during dinner for the first time since we’d gotten here. Mavis picked it up, getting up from the dining table.
“Skylar,” Mavis answered.
She closed her eyes and opened them again. “What do you mean, the tracker didn’t work?”
Everyone stopped eating and looked at Mavis. Abruptly she cut the call and threw the phone on the floor and stamped on it with her heel. Pieces scattered across the floor. My heart pounded.
“Mavis!” Maverick jumped from his chair.
“The tracker didn’t work. They got cut off the first five minutes after Kim was taken”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, Maverick,” Mavis bit back.
“Shh.” Drake’s hand lifted to keep us quiet, and everyone fell silent. My heart galloped as he got up from his chair and walked over to the window.
“Drake,” Mavis whispered as he reached the light and switched it off. The cabin became so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
Maverick stood close to me as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. What is going on? Are they here? Did they come for me? No, Mavis told me that Flint is the only one that knows where we are.
Drake slightly pulled the curtain away.
He dove to the ground a second before the windows exploded. Glass rained down on him. Suddenly hairy limbs and claws ripped through his skin, and a growl escaped his lips.
“Maverick, run!” Mavis yelled.
Mav grabbed my hand, and we were out the back door. We ran as fast as we could, and Maverick’s arms flailed behind us. The earth rumbled as giant roots sprout from the ground, closing our path.
We ran into the forest away from the cabin as fast as we could. He pushed me against a tree that had a semi hollow and waved his hands. Vines covered most of me. Only a sliver of a view was left open, just enough for me to see his face. “Stay, lass, until one of us comes for ye.”
“I can fight.” I pleaded.
“Sophie, stay, please,” Maverick begged.
I heard his footsteps running away replaced by footfalls nearing as my heart faltered in my chest. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. You can fight now, Sophie. You are not that helpless girl of three months back. Three months? It felt longer.
The footsteps passed my hiding spot and faded as they ran deeper into the forest. Screams from far away filled the air. I did not know whether it was Maverick’s screams or the enemies’. My breathing became rapid, praying that it wasn’t Maverick.
Everything became quiet after that. It was silent for a long time.
“Sophie,” Drake’s voice yelled, and I opened my eyes.
Was it a dream? It was quiet again.
“Sophie!”
“Drake,” I yelled as loud as I could and slapped against the vines and ivy that covered me.
Where the hell is Maverick?
“Sophie!” His voice came closer.
“I’m in here,” I yelled louder, pulling harder on the vines, trying my best to free myself.
“Soph,” he called out again.
“Here,” I screamed as loud as I could, tugging, kicking, and even biting at the vines to free myself. “I can’t get out!”
The leaves and the vines that covered my hiding place got ripped off. The chilly evening breeze seeped through first as Drake’s giant hands destroyed the vines and the roots that entrapped me.
“Is Maverick okay?” I asked.
Drake didn’t answer me, as he still kept tucking at the bark, breaking me free.
There was finally enough space to climb through. I wrapped my arms around him as he lifted me off the ground and kissed my forehead.
“Is Maverick okay?”
“No, he is badly hurt. We need to get him to Hank.”
I froze. The buzzing that usually came from Drake wasn’t there. I let go of him and looked up into his eyes, remembering what Sabine could do. He squinted as his Adam’s apple bopped.
I pushed him away, and dropped to the ground. “You are not Drake!”
“Sophie, don’t be absurd. We don’t have time. Mavis is waiting. We have to go.” He grabbed my wrist.
“No, you are not Drake. Drake!” I yelled and tried to free my arm from his grasp. I brought my face to his fingers and bit hard.
A roar left his lips as his fingers sprung loose from my wrist. I turned around and ran.
The leaves crushed underneath my footsteps as a second pair of footsteps followed. A hand grabbed me.
I didn’t think, I just went to my go to moves and SING. My limbs connected hard with parts of his body and the imposter fell on the floor, grunting, lying in the fetal position. I just took off and ran. Trees became a green-brown haze the faster my legs pushed me forward. I hopped over tree roots and climb over fallen stumps. I was heading deeper into the forest. My gaze searched for any type of thicket to hide under before I totally got lost.
Suddenly I tripped as my foot got hooked on something, then I noticed vines twirling around my other leg. I clawed at the vines, knowing these were not
Maverick’s doing. The tightness were severe, vines cut deeper into my skin as they captured my arms.
I gritted my teeth not to make a sound of how much it hurt.
More vines twirled around my body, trapping me on the spot.
A girl stepped out of her hiding place, circling around me, scrutinizing me with her glare.
She had long, pointy ears and curly brown hair.
Her eyes were feline shaped and crystal green. In the moon’s light that seeped through the treetops, she was a vision.
She kept staring at me.
Drake’s doubleganger caught up, and he puffed. He limped with gigantic strides, nostrils flaring and jaw muscles pumping.
He lifted his hand high when he got closer to me and swung it back across my face.
I literally saw stars.
“Are you crazy?” the girl said. “Without her, the entire mission fails. What about that don’t you understand? Get a grip on yourself.”
“She knows I’m not him!” the guy roared in Drake’s voice.
“How?”
“I don’t know.” A gob splattered on the floor. My face didn’t sting at all. This was so weird. I, however, felt great that I hurt him. I wished I inflicted more pain on the asshole.
“What is this?” The woman got a hold of my pendant as I felt the string cutting hard into the back of my neck. Now why do I feel that, and not the sting that should burn my cheek?
“Leave it,” another man said. I couldn’t see his face. I just stared at the ground.
“It could be a tracker?” The girl sounded as paranoid as Mavis.
“It’s not. It’s a healing jewel, one of the strongest. She is useless to us if she gets headaches. She needs it. How did she know you were not him?” the man asked the imposter.
“I don’t know. She hugged me and asked me about Maverick.”
“What did you say?” he roared.
“That he is badly hurt, and we need to get him to Hank, I used all the names you gave me. She just looked at me, and she knew I wasn’t him.”
“Change back. It’s no use that you are trying to be him anymore. Free her, and let’s go,” the man said, and I could feel the vines on my arms and body retreat. I willed my body to wake up. Where the hell were Mavis and Drake? Where was Maverick? They couldn’t be dead. They were strong. I needed to get out of this and willed my body to wake up, but like always, it failed me in the times I needed it the most.
Nothing wanted to move.
I got hoisted around someone’s shoulders as my sight, whatever could make me see more after I went down, faded and became black.
32
SOPHIE
An icy draft and chattering of teeth woke me. My body pressed against hard cement floor. I was in a square concrete cell with a barred gate. A stainless-steel commode and sink sat in the corner, with a feeble excuse for a cot, a thin mattress, and pillow covered the lower part of the opposite wall.
The side of my face felt bruised from where the impostor had hit me. My hand lifted to my head. There was no crown on it yet.
I crawled to the cot and grabbed the blanket to cover myself. I tried to take in breaths as my body shivered. Calm down, Sophie. My stomach protested like a beast. How long have I been here?
I crawled to the barred gate. Three more cells sat across from mine, divided by steel steps that went to the lower level.
“Hey, are you okay?” a boy asked, coming from the cell next to mine.
“Yeah, just cold. Are you okay?”
“Had better days. Are you the Spirit fae? The one they have been waiting for?”
“I wish I could tell you no, but that would be a lie.”
He cursed, and my eyes widened.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Turning fourteen,” the boy whispered.
“How long have you been here?”
“Four years. They took me with two others. Don’t worry, you will get food soon. They make sure that our energy levels are high.”
I shivered again and tried to warm my body by rubbing my arms. “Do you know where we are?”
“Someplace near a forest, but they have a Shield fae here, and with Enzo’s projection, they will never find us. Apparently, they need a fae with Sight.”
“How do they know it’s my domain?”
“Enzo, they call him the Dark Griffin. He is a phoenix griffin, and his sight is strong. I think he saw you.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Almost two days. Murkle kept giving you something to sleep.”
“Who is Murkle?”
“The hag that keeps us in line if we try to escape. She is an Earth fae.”
“Is she young?”
“Nope, that is her daughter, Evangeline. She is an Earth Fae too.”
“How did the one guy turn into one of my friends?”
“Blaze, yeah, he is an idiot, and believe me, he’ll become anyone to taunt you.”
“How?”
“His mother was Enzo’s sister, and his father, a Spirit Fae.”
My eyebrows squinted at the revelation. Like Drake and me. I remember what Mavis had told me. Why phoenix griffins weren’t brilliant matches for anyone but other phoenix griffins. When they lose themselves, say during sex, the flames wanted to play too. “How? Their fire will burn them alive.”
The boy chuckled. “I didn’t say the guy lived to see his little reject get born.”
I got what the boy meant. She burned him during conception. “What do they become?”
“Something that should never exist. They don’t have a griffin form, but the guy’s projection is twisted. He can turn into anyone you know. If he does that, don’t give him the satisfaction, please. It could really mess up your trust in the ones you love.”
I wondered how many times it had happened to him? How many times was his mother cruel to him? How many times did his father or someone he loved come to save him?
The only problem was that I didn’t know my friends that well, only Drake, and I wouldn’t even know this guy wasn’t him if it wasn’t for the way Drake’s touches felt.
“Do you know when they are going to put this weapon together?”
“No, but it’s real soon, in the next day or two.”
“What is your name?” I stuttered as my teeth chattered. I couldn’t even think in this cold.
“Damon; I’m a griffin.” I remembered his name. Mavis mentioned it during the meeting.
“I’m Sophie. Nice to meet you. Wish the circumstances were better.” My breath misted in front of my lips as I released each word.
I tried to warm my body, and would give anything to have Drake appear on top of those stairs, anything for my furnace.
I’d never been this cold.
“Try to get some sleep. It will bring tomorrow faster, then you will get something to eat.”
