The MORE Trilogy (90 page)

He crossed to her and ran a hand over her hair. “Well done, daughter.”

Emma preened under his praise, arching into the touch like a cat. “Thank you.” She glanced up at him and swallowed. “I think . . . I mean, if you approve, of course, that it would be better if I met with Ava alone.” When his eyes narrowed, she hastened to add, “She’s sure to be upset. Perhaps she’d find me less threatening?”

“Are you certain you can handle that?” he asked. “Your sister’s powers are formidable.”

Emma stiffened. “I can calm her down. Reason with her.”

“Really? After what happened at the Colony?”

“Please, Father, I can do it. Let me try. I promise. I can do this.”

“Don’t grovel, Emma. It’s beneath you,” he said, his fingers tightening on her scalp briefly.

He’d always intended to let her go alone, of course. It was time for her to try to rebuild the relationship she’d destroyed with Ava. Emma would become an ally, someone Ava could trust. It had been his plan all along, before Emma had acted on her own and set things back.

“Father?” Emma said weakly, and he looked down to see her face contorted in pain.

Ah, well.

He hadn’t done it intentionally, but it probably couldn’t hurt to drive the point home a little more before he sent her on her way. He pulled back his gift and her features eased. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’ll go alone,” he said quietly. “And you’ll do exactly as you’re told. Right, daughter?”

“Yes, Father. You know I will.”

“It will be difficult to gain her trust again. Are you certain you’re up to the challenge?”

“I am,” she said quickly. “I can do it.”

He nodded and patted her cheek. “Remember, use your gift only as a last resort. She can sense it now.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Building trust takes time, and a common enemy always helps. Do you understand what I’m saying, Emma?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide—pale green and black.

So beautiful. A masterpiece, really
.

“Yes, Father.”

“You’re to go, and you’re to go alone. No cell phone. No trackers.”

Lucy’s voice echoed in Ava’s ears as she made her way through the forest, running as fast as she could. The trees blurred in her vision, her focus on the path before her—the gaps in the trees and firm ground beneath her feet. Caleb had shifted her as far as Red Lake and wanted to take her even closer, but Ava had refused, not wanting to risk putting her parents in any more danger.

It had been a heated but short-lived debate. She’d made him promise not to follow her, and although she could feel his fear, he’d agreed to wait for word if she promised to be careful.

Be careful.

Ava wasn’t exactly certain how she was supposed to do that.

Emma has my parents. Emma and Elias Borré.

Ava fought down another swell of panic and tried to focus on the task at hand—one foot in front of the other—setting course for the clearing near the Guardian Colony where she’d last seen Emma.

Where I almost killed Caleb.

Adrenaline coursed through her, mingling with her gift and flaring with an urge to find, to protect. To hurt those who dared to hurt her own. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to move even faster.

Then it hit her, like a punch to the stomach—the familiar twinge of Emma’s power—and her step faltered as guilt and memories followed in its wake. Ava slowed, feeling Emma drawing nearer with every step, until she stood just a few feet from the edge of the clearing. The air stilled around her, the forest growing silent as if it too sensed the tension radiating from every inch of Ava’s skin. With a trembling hand, she pushed aside a low-hanging branch and stepped into the clearing, heart pounding when she saw Emma standing in almost the same place where she’d last found her.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Waiting for . . . why?”

“To help you, of course.”

“Hello, Ava.” Present clashed with past as she spoke for the first time.

The air vibrated around them, and Ava fought to keep control of her anger, her power. “Where are my parents?”

“They’re not your parents, Ava. You know that.”

A rock zinged across the clearing, and Ava took a deep breath. She needed to stay in control. She needed to get to her parents and at the moment, Emma was her sole connection. “Where are they?” she asked. “If you’ve hurt them—”

“Nobody wants to hurt them. They’ve done us a great service, after all.” Emma smiled softly. “Caring for you all those years until it was time for you to come home. We all owe them a considerable debt.”

Ava didn’t rise to the bait. “Emma. Where are they? What do you want?”

Emma shook her head slightly. “You know, Ava. It’s so simple.”

“You want me.”

“
Father
wants you. He wants you to come home and take your place at his side.” She took a step forward, and it took all Ava’s focus not to turn and run, or cause a tree to fall on Emma’s head. One or the other was equally possible at that moment.

“And Borré thought kidnapping my parents and blackmailing me was the best way to gain my support?”

Emma sighed and looked through the trees for a moment before she turned back to Ava, brow furrowed with concern. “Father means well, even if it’s not always apparent. He sees a great future for our people and that sometimes . . . affects his judgment.”

“Was it his idea to make me into a killer?” Ava spat. “Or was that all you?”

Emma actually had the grace to look chagrined. “That was my mistake. I . . . shouldn’t have done that to you, Ava. I apologize.”

Ava let out a humorless laugh. “You apologize? You twisted my mind, manipulated me, made me create and destroy an innocent animal—tried to get me to
murder
someone I love, and all you’ve got is ‘I’m sorry’?”

“I didn’t want to do it,” Emma replied, tears glistening in her eyes. “Father . . . he needed you. He can be—” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed, fingers pressed to her lips. “He’s a dangerous man, Ava,” she said. “I love him, but you don’t want to cross him.”

Ava’s skin chilled. “What will he do to my parents?”

“Nothing,” she replied quickly. “If you do what he says, he’ll let them go. We’ll blur their memories, and they’ll go on with their lives none the wiser. Safe and sound.”

“And what does he want in exchange for that?” Ava asked. “None of this ‘take your rightful place’ crap either. I want specifics. What will it take for him to let them go?”

Emma closed the space between them, and Ava felt their connection—like the one to Sophie, Isaiah . . . even, to a lesser degree, Evan. The bond of the Twelve.

“He needs a show of faith,” Emma replied. “You do something for him and he’ll do something for you.”

“Like releasing my parents?”

“Eventually, yes. Once you’ve proven yourself trustworthy. Once you’ve bound yourself to him and cut ties to the Council and the Guardians.”

Ava’s heart pounded in her chest. “And how, exactly, do I do that?”

“One step at a time,” Emma said. “First, I take you to meet our father.”

It had gone better than Emma had expected. Not that Ava had embraced her with open arms, welcoming back her long-lost sister, but she hadn’t picked her up and thrown her across the forest.

It’s a start.

She led Ava out of the clearing on the opposite side of where she’d entered, and her sister seemed surprised to find a gravel road a short distance away, Emma’s SUV parked and waiting for them.

“Where are we going?” Ava asked.

“It’s not far.” She rounded to the driver’s side and got in, Ava following suit after a brief hesitation.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.

“It’ll be all right,” Emma replied. “I’ll be there with you the whole time.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

Emma swallowed her disappointment at Ava’s brusque reply. “I know you don’t trust me. Not after what I did. But I’d never let him hurt you,” she said. She expected Ava to argue the point, but she just turned away to rest her head against the window.

They drove in silence for a while, Emma navigating the narrow, twisting road with halfhearted attention. She was too focused on Ava, the return of her sister—the bond of the Twelve stronger than any mated couple.

She needs to accept her fate, her destiny . . . embrace the place she’s going to have in this new world once—

“What happens when I meet him?” Ava asked, still gazing out at the passing scenery.

“He only wants to talk to you.” Emma chewed on her lip as she glanced at her. “Ease your pain a bit?”

Ava started at that and turned to face her. “How?”

Emma turned a corner and they emerged onto a paved road. “I don’t know everything.”

“But you know something.”

Emma nodded and tried to sort out her words before speaking. “Each of us, when the block is lifted, is compelled to return home, to return to Father. The longer we wait—”

“The more painful it is.”

“Yes.”

“And if we don’t go to him?”

Emma looked at her but didn’t answer when the tension in Ava’s jaw made it clear it wasn’t necessary. “We need each other,” Emma explained. “Our bond, as the Twelve, is extraordinarily strong. You’ve felt it, right?”

Ava shrugged a shoulder and looked back out the window.

“Our bond to Father is even stronger. When we are near him, we are finally complete. He relieves our pain, and his presence, his influence, solidifies our gifts.”

“Kumbaya.” Ava wanted to scream.

“It’s what we are, Ava,” Emma said quietly. “It’s what we were created to be.”

Ava glared at her, eyes flashing. “He’s not God.”

“No, I know that,” Emma hastened to add. “But he
is
our father, and he wants to help us.”

Ava turned away to look out the window again, and Emma let it go. She ignored the impulse to reach out with her gift to soothe her sister and tried to do it with words instead.

“I know it’s scary,” she said. “I know it’s not something you want. But it will be okay, Ava. I promise, it’ll be okay.”

Ava didn’t respond, but she didn’t argue either, so Emma claimed that as a victory.