River Cast

“You know I haven’t asked anyone about that faerie.” Jaeden shuddered at the thought of her. “No one seems to want to bring it up. What was it like, Cy?”

Caia turned back to her with tears shimmering in eyes that blazed with hatred and anger. “It was shocking and heinous. She was you, Jaeden. She must have watched you for weeks, memorizing your mannerisms, the way you laughed...”

Jaeden gulped at the thought of that ghoul pretending to be her, sleeping in her bed, wearing her clothes, laughing with her friends. “No one had any clue?”

“None whatsoever. It was Saffron, Marion’s faerie - she felt her in the house, knew she wasn’t...”

“Me.”

“Yes,” Caia answered hollowly. “Then I started getting the visions of you through Ethan’s eyes.”

That someone had paid witness to the scars on her soul was difficult for her to deal with, but looking at Caia’s pained expression, the fury in her eyes that was there for Jaeden because she genuinely cared, made it a little easier to cope with. “Ryder told me you saw everything.”

Caia nodded, blinking back tears. “I am so sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.”

“Don’t be,” Jaeden bit out. “You didn’t give up. That’s what matters.”

“I didn’t save Sebastian.”

Like always his name set off a fire of grief in Jaeden’s chest, her breathing labored and her throat burned with unshed tears. He had been her best friend and he had died trying to protect her.

“Sebastian would have found a way to be there with or without you bringing him along. I was his best friend and he did what either one of us would have done for him.”

Caia choked on a broken sob. “I miss him.”

She swiped at her own tears. “I miss him too. But I’m glad you had each other through it all.”

After a moment of silence, one that now felt a little easier between them, Caia reached across and squeezed her hand. “Thank you for believing in me. For being willing to fight for me. It means more than you can know.” She choked letting go of her hand. “I thought I was going to be doing this all alone. You’ve all surprised me.”

Jaeden chuckled humorlessly. “Well there are more surprises to come.”

“Meaning?”

She braced herself. “Something happened to me because of Ethan’s... torture of me.”

Caia went on alert instantly. “What?”

Just get it over with. If anyone is going to understand feeling like a freak... Cy has to be that person.

“I have telekinetic abilities.” And with that she concentrated on a plant pot Ella had placed by the porch stairs and willed it to fly past them and smash against the nearest tree.

She took a little satisfaction in surprising Caia, her jaw dropping as the ceramic lay in pieces, the plant pulp on the ground. And then her face tightened with worry and she turned back to Jaeden with growing panic in her eyes.

“I think I know who tried to kidnap you.”

“I can’t believe this.” Lucien ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the ends viciously. “This is insane.”

Caia couldn’t believe it either. She had called Lucien out from the house and had refused to tell Jaeden anything until they had gathered at Ryder’s apartment. Caia had insisted Laila and Vil be present as well. The six of them sat staring at each other, the atmosphere thick with tension and a terrible foreboding.

“Caia, are you sure?”

She shook her head frantically. “No, I’m not sure. But Mordecai was very interested in Jaeden, and then I overheard him and Marita discussing Jaeden’s ‘abilities’ before they bugged my room. They kept mentioning your abilities in relation to the fact that the ‘children weren’t reacting in any way’.”

“It’s true,” Lucien added in a defeated voice.

“And you think it’s because she knows about my telekinetic abilities?” Jaeden asked angrily.

“She has trace,” Lucien replied.

She has trace, yes, but not like mine. She tapped into Jaeden’s trace to find out what she was up to – the illegal rogue hunting. When there, she must have found out that Jaeden had telekinetic abilities because Ethan had tortured her.

The mention of her trace, however, made Caia’s heart pump rapidly. “Guys, Marita is keeping tabs on everyone close to me.”

Ryder frowned. “What do you mean?”

“She told me her trace isn’t like mine. It’s not as advanced.”

“There’s a surprise,” Jaeden muttered teasingly.

“No, this is bad, people, very bad. To find someone in Daylight Marita has to tap into that person specifically. She’ll be watching me, through you. I had Lucien on alert, he’s blocking himself from her, but I didn’t think about you guys.”

Laila’s delicate eye brows puckered into a frown. “What does this mean?”

“No!” Lucien shot out of his chair, his eyes filled with worry. “She knows!”

Caia had to fight with herself not to cry in frustration as she nodded jerkily.

“What?” Ryder and Jaeden were panicking. “What does she know?”

“We have to believe that Marita knows, through you two, about my plans to go to the Council,” Caia explained. “I can’t wait around for their next meeting.” She turned to Vil who suddenly looked flustered by the attention. “Vil, you have to take me to Alfred Doukas now.”

“What, Caia, wait.” Lucien crossed the room to her, taking her by the arm. She felt his grip on her tighten, his eyes boring into her with fear. “That could end up being a trap. I won’t let you risk it.”

“Who is Alfred Doukas when he’s at home?” Jaeden asked.

Caia peered around Lucien to answer her, “He’s a Council member I met at the Center. We hit it off.”

“Caia.” Lucien shook her. “Please, don’t do this.”

She reached up to wrap a hand around his neck, drawing him down to place a soft kiss on his lips. “I have to,” she whispered as she pulled away.

“What if I say no?”

“Lucien. You know this is our only plan now. Think of the pack. If Marita knows, she could hold the whole pack as traitors to the Coven.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“You can’t. Vil hasn’t even tried travelling with one other person before.”

“All the more reason for you not to do this.”

“Stop thinking like my mate and start thinking like this pack’s Alpha.”

He growled in frustration and jerked away from her to make his way over to Ryder, who placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Vil, are you ready to do this?” she asked, trying to appear as calm as possible. Inside she felt as if all her nerves had snapped and her body was barely holding it together. This was it, this was really happening, she was really going to do this.

The Traveller had gone as sickly-looking as she felt, but he nodded determinedly. He glanced around at everyone staring at him and tried to shrug it off as he turned to Laila, cupping her face in his hands. “I’ll be right back for you, I promise.”

Laila smiled sweetly at him and reached up to press a kiss on his lips. “I’m proud of you,” she whispered back.

Caia held her hand out to him and he reluctantly let go of his girlfriend and strode towards her, enfolding his cool hand in hers.

“Good luck, Cy,” Jaeden offered quietly.

She nodded gratefully and squeezed Vil’s hand. “Ready, partner.”

“Alfred Doukas?”

“The very one.”

Vil blew out his breath between his lips, readying himself. “OK-”

“Wait!” Lucien snapped. He looked ready to bust someone apart. “You better get back here pronto or I will kill you.”

She grinned at him, trying to appear confident. “I love you too.”

His face, along with the rest of the room, suddenly streamed past her in a blur of color and movement, her stomach plummeted, and she felt as if she had no control over her body. The only thing she could feel was the tight grip of Vil’s hand. And then it stopped just as abruptly as it had begun, and she found herself losing balance and falling into Vil’s arms.

“Are you OK?” he asked frantically.

She shook her head trying to clear it and clambered to straighten up. When she did she heard the gasps and the spluttering coming from behind them. Vil tensed, and Caia turned around in his arms to face Alfred Doukas, and what she imagined must be his family. He sat at the head of a grand dining table. Men, women and children sat around it with him, eating their dinner. She barely registered the expensive but old-fashioned decor of the room because Alfred Doukas was gaping at her like a fish out of water.

“What... who...” a plump woman at the opposite end of the table was throwing down her napkin, glaring at Caia and Vil as if they were vagabonds.

“Mr. Doukas.” Caia rushed forward and he pushed away from the table, his face creased in concern.

“Miss Ribeiro... what on Gaia’s earth...?”

“Please, Mr. Doukas, I must speak with you alone.”

Seeming to understand the urgency, he assured his family everything was alright, and led Caia out of the dining room and down a dark wood-paneled hallway to his study. He turned on her as Vil shut the door behind them.

“What is going on?”

Here goes nothing.

“Mr. Doukas, I need you to call an emergency meeting of the Council. Now.”

He paled. “Why?”

“Because I mean to ask them for the right to run against Marita for Head of the Coven.”

He stumbled back, his hand going to his forehead, his eyes disbelieving. “You can’t be serious.”

Please believe me, please.

“I am quite serious. I believe that Marita is no longer the right person for the job. Please, I’ll explain everything... to all of you.”