Hyacinth (14 page)

Selene quietly
closed the door behind her, tears trickling silently down her cheeks. She’d
learned long ago how to hold in the sound of her sobs. The skill came in handy
now as she made her way through the darkened house back to her own room.

“Explain
yourself, Princess!”

Selene stood
straight and proud and refused to flinch at Xavier’s tone and choice of words. He’d
never been one to hold back ire.

“What could you
possibly have been thinking?” he continued.

Selene folded her
hands in front of her, patiently waiting for the head of the Vyusher High
Council to finish everything he wanted to say. She’d known this was going to
happen. She could also practically feel the anger coming off Griffin.

Just that
morning, Charlotte had teleported everyone to the Vyusher castle – Zara
included. As they had decided the night before, it was time to warn Selene’s
people.

Selene had Oren
convene the High Council so that she could inform them of the treachery being
plotted against them. She’d brought Griffin and Ellie to help her show her
people the danger they faced. Xavier was going ballistic without all the facts,
which was typical of him. Predictable, but annoying nonetheless.

She caught
Lila’s gaze and then motioned toward Griffin, hoping Lila would catch the
subtle hint to calm him down a bit.

“Are you going
to say something?”
Griffin’s voice sounded in her head.

“Let him burn
himself out first,”
she answered calmly.

Eventually, when
she saw that Xavier was winding down his argument, Selene held up her hand and
he fell silent. She rarely played the Princess card. Too many years of not
making any of the decisions, she supposed.

Selene stepped
to the center of the room and looked at each Council member in turn. When she
was absolutely sure she had their undivided attention, she spoke.

“I have come
here in good faith. I bring with me the ones responsible for ending my
brother’s terrible reign over our people and our minds, and you berate me for
it?” She looked directly at Xavier, who had the good sense to look at the
ground.

“These people
are our honored guests and will be treated as such,” she continued. “We’ve
uncovered a plot against me and against the Vyusher.”

A small gasp
whispered around the room.

“What plot?”
Xavier demanded.

“Maddox and
other ex-lieutenants are attempting to discredit me by framing me for the
murder of several innocent humans.”

A low murmuring
passed through the group.

“To what end,
Princess?” Mireilla, one of the elders and a friend to her mother asked.

“I’m not
entirely sure,” Selene answered.

Another round of
mumbling swirled. “What proof do you have?” Xavier demanded.

Selene narrowed
her eyes. At her mental request, Griffin summoned Charlotte and the rest of the
family, who had Zara with them.

“Zara?” Mireilla
spoke as they entered the room. “What are you doing with Selene?”

“We captured
her,” Selene answered. “Right in the middle of trying to manipulate me. Frame
me. You all know that she and I look a lot alike as wolves. Maddox had her
using that against me.”

“Lies!” Xavier slammed
down his fist.

Selene raised an
eyebrow, unimpressed with his theatrics. “We can show you,” she replied coolly.

“Show us how?”
Mireilla asked.

“This family has
several powers among them. Used together, they can show us what they’ve
experienced, as well as the truth of what you see. Will you allow them to—?”

“You expect us
to trust these people?” Xavier interrupted, pointing to Ellie and Griffin. “Gideon
forced us to destroy their family. You don’t think they want revenge?”

“I think that if
they’d wanted revenge, Ellie would’ve killed us when she was a dragon. But they
let us all leave in peace.”

A few of the Council
members nodded their agreement, but most appeared unconvinced.

“Maddox is
trying to frame me. Will you let Ellie show you—?”

“NO!” Xavier
bellowed. “You are showing your true colors, Selene.”

Selene blinked
in confusion.

“You are just
like your
brother
, and now you intend to continue what he’d started. I,
for one, will not allow you to take this pack down that path again!” He
practically spat the words at her, his face turning purple in his agitation.

“How dare you!”
Selene felt tension knot in her stomach. Something was going on here that she
didn’t understand, but she knew that she was losing control of this situation. “If
I were in any way interested in ruining this pack, I would’ve removed every
power by now.”

Xavier stormed
over to her and glared. “But look at how that turned out for your parents. You
wouldn’t have a pack if you did that.”

Selene blanched.
“Gideon controlled me just like he did all of us,” she murmured in a low voice.

“So you say, but
how do we know that for sure? You could’ve been acting in league with your
brother. For all we know, you could’ve been controlling him yourself!” Xavier
turned to address the room. “Council members, I put it to you. Selene was
Gideon’s greatest weapon, and we have no way of knowing for sure that she was
not just as responsible for the actions of this pack as he was. At her earliest
opportunity, she left us and joined with the family that destroyed him. And now
she comes to us with lies about former pack members, ones who left in peace, to
incite paranoia and turn us over to her rule and that of the
Svatura
.”

Oren rose to his
feet. “If Selene had wished to harm the Vyusher, she would have acted before
now.”

Selene shot her
beloved guardian a grateful look. Xavier’s accusations had paralyzed her in her
own fear and sorrow and fury. After all she had sacrificed for her people,
this
was they showed their appreciation?

“Not if she
wanted these
Svatura
to rule with her.” Xavier waved an angry hand at
Ellie and Griffin and the others. “She would need a catalyst, and so she has
made one.”

“We have
absolutely no interest in ruling your people,” Griffin declared. “We are only
here to protect you from a threat.”

“You expect us
to believe that? After what we did to your family?” Xavier scoffed. Griffin moved
to answer but stopped when Xavier held up his hand. “Council, I request a vote.
Let us determine now that the rule of Selene and her lineage be ended, and we
declare her no longer Vyusher, no longer a part of this pack.”

“I will NOT
participate in this farce—” Oren began. But Selene laid a hand on his arm,
halting his words.

Raising her head,
she faced the Council and spoke in a clear, proud voice. “If my people truly
want me evicted from rule, I will not stop you.”

The vote
happened quickly. Xavier’s words of fear had swayed many of the Council
members. Selene closed her eyes for a brief moment and willed herself to remain
strong.

“I will abide by
this Council’s decision,” she said quietly. “But I implore you to investigate
the threat I have brought before you. We’ll leave Zara in your hands. You
decide what to do with her. And whatever you do, do
not
allow Maddox to
gain power over the Vyusher.”

Selene stepped
back and allowed Ellie to slip her hand around her elbow. Keeping her gaze on
Oren, she mouthed, “Goodbye.”

And then, thanks
to Charlotte, she was standing in Hugh and Lucy’s living room. Selene crumpled
onto the couch as her whole world came crashing down around her.

Griffin glanced
at Selene again, but she still hadn’t moved. As soon as they’d arrived home,
she’d sat down on the couch, pale as ghost. And there she had remained. Staring
unseeingly into space. Not moving. Not speaking. Not reacting. Just sitting.

They got no
response from their initial attempts to talk to her, and she strongly blocked
any attempts Lila made to help her emotions. Eventually, they all just decided
what she needed was space and time to process what had happened, so they left
her alone. They’d wait to discuss what to do next after Selene had pulled
herself together.

They ate dinner,
and afterwards Ellie, Griffin, and Alex went upstairs to study, while the
others hung out and watched some TV. Soon it was time for bed, and Selene still
had not moved. Ellie tried once more to connect with her but received no
response.

Ellie shot
Griffin a concerned look.
“You’ve got to reach her.”

“Tell me
something I don’t know.”

“Don’t be
snarky.”

Griffin stared
at his sister for a second and then gave a brief nod. He waited until everyone
had left, and then he sat down on the couch beside Selene.

“Selene.”

No answer.

“Talk to me,
please,” he tried again. He reached to brush a strand of hair from her face,
but she jerked away.

Griffin ignored
the painful emotions that shot through him at her reaction and instead focused
on the fact that she’d showed some kind of response… even if it was rejecting
his affections. Holding up his hands in surrender, he said, “I won’t touch you.
But I’m not moving from this spot until you talk to me.”

No reaction.

Griffin settled
himself more comfortably in his seat, never moving his gaze from her. It was no
hardship to stare at Selene. When she’d visited him in his dreams, he’d come to
memorize every line, every curve of her face. Of course, that was before he’d
known she was real. He’d thought she was beautiful in his dreams, but that was
nothing compared to seeing her in the flesh.

Finally, after
several long minutes of silence, Selene stirred.

“Go away,
Griffin.” Her voice was dull, colorless.

“Not until you
talk to me.”

“About what
exactly?”

“You pick. What
just happened with the Vyusher? How you’re feeling? Whether you’re okay?”

“I don’t want to
talk to you. Don’t you understand that?”

“You need to
talk to someone.”

She gave as
short, sharp laugh. “And you’re the best candidate? You pick then, I guess.”

Griffin thought
for a moment. If he could just get her started talking… “What did Xavier mean
about your parents?”

“I’ve already
showed you what Gideon made me do to them.”

Griffin shook
his head. “No, there’s more to it.”

“Couldn’t you
read our minds?”

“You were
blocking me.”

“There’s a
reason for that.” Selene looked down at her hands, which were clenched in her
lap. Griffin thought she was going to leave it at that, but after a few moments,
she let out a deep sigh.

“When I removed
their powers, it apparently drove them insane.” Selene’s voice was cold, almost
robotic. “Gideon didn’t kill them right away and took great pleasure in sharing
that fact with me. To test me, of course. See if I’d react. I didn’t.”

“Jeez,” Griffin
breathed. This girl had been through more than even he and Ellie had known. His
heart ached for her. He reached out without thinking about it, wanting to offer
her some kind of comfort. But she jerked away from him again.

“I’ve taken
rejection and isolation and exclusion all my life. So much that I no longer
allow it to affect me.” Finally she looked him, her gaze direct. “And I’m done
with it. I won’t give you the chance to reject me again.”

Selene stood up
abruptly. Griffin had no idea what to say to her. He’d thought his reasons to stop
what they’d been doing the night before had been good ones. But she’d shown who
she was today, and he knew with every fiber of his being that his fears had
been unfounded.

“I’d hoped for
something more between us,” she said, and he quickly masked his astonishment. “I
never expected you to ever accept me. I was a part of the worst horror of your
life. But I guess I was holding on to some small amount of… well…it doesn’t
matter now.” She moved toward the doorway.

“Selene –” He
had to tell her. Explain.

“No.” She halted
him with one word. “Just leave me alone.” She turned and walked away from him,
disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

Griffin let her
go. He’d thought that nothing could ever hurt as much as losing his family in
such a terrible way. But now he knew that he’d been wrong.

This was worse.

*****

Selene wrapped
herself in numbness like a protective cloak. She knew that the devastation
buried deep inside her would make its way to the surface eventually. She was
dreading that moment. She made her way to her room in search of some much
needed privacy. She undressed and got ready for bed in a zombie-like trance and
then climbed between the cool sheets. She lay there a second before she turned
over on her side and curled up in a pathetic little ball of frozen misery.