Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Silas

Iwas the first of their group to be taken by the Academy to be experimented on, so in some ways it feels almost appropriate that my cell phone is the one that rings. We head southwest, on a mission to get as far away from the city centre as possible. My heart leaps into my throat when I see that it’s Millie calling, and for one hopeful moment as I answer the phone, I wonder if she managed to escape after all; if anyone could do it, Millie could. Either way, we are going to find her and get her back. Nothing else is important. I know where she is and once we are out of the city, I’m building the biggest army of supes and raiding the fucking academy.

All hope is dashed when I put the phone to my ear. Gone is the musicality of her voice, gone is the touch of self-deprecating humour that sends my nerves into overdrive even as I laugh. She sounds like a shell of her former self, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hear that she’s not well. “Hey, Silas.”

Just those two words are enough to sow the seeds of panic into my chest. “Boots! Where are you? What happened?”

At the sound of her name, Shade, Landon, and Hunter all stop dead in their tracks, whirling around to stare at me . Landon’s eyes flash with questions -- where is she? Who took her? Is she okay?-- while Shade looks like a live wire, dangerous and liable to explode at any moment.

For his part, Hunter is suddenly awash with emotion: regret, disappointment, worry, and fear flash across his features in the space of a few seconds. It’s like ripping the scab off a wound that’s only just started to heal, only to realise that it’s been infected since the beginning. He can’t help but blame himself for some of this, at least in part for everything that’s gone wrong so far.

I know Hunter wishes he could snatch the phone and tell her he’s sorry, tell her he was a fool to think himself worthy of her; he’s never been under any illusions of superiority. His abilities are pitiful in comparison with the rest of the group’s, and he’s unqualified to be receiving affection from someone so steadfast, so determined, so pure, in spite of everything the world has thrown at her.

When I put the call on speaker, holding a finger to my lips, her rasping voice comes through, and we all share the same emotion. Anger.

“...doing well,” she says. “Hanging in there, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Where are you?” I demand.

There’s a sound, followed by a new voice. “Nice try, Mr. Aconite. You will be brought here when you’ve met with our arranged contact.”

The sound of that bastard’s smug voice is enough to make me want to break the phone into pieces. It’s all I can do is remain silent, to not call the self-righteous prick every name in the damn book. But the thought of Boots tied up somewhere, half-drained and fighting for her life, keeps me quiet.

I never, ever thought I would be in this position, bent out of shape over a girl, but here I am, silently panicking. She’s beautiful, yes, and she’s spirited, but I have had beautiful girls before. And had damn good sex before. This is something else, something deeper, something no piece of shit delinquent like me should be experiencing.

But…

Love. I’m in love with the damn Brix girl.

“Are you really sure you want to-”

“I’m not agreeing to anything until you put her back on.”

A pause, and then Millie’s voice comes through again. She sounds like all the strength has gone out of her. “Silas, please. I need you guys to come here.”

“What if it’s a trap?” I ask, knowing they’re listening but not caring.

Boots hesitates for just a second, but it’s enough to tell me everything I need to know. “Please,” she says at last, her voice cracking. “You guys are all I have left.”

“We need to go get her.”

“Like hell,” snaps Shade. “That has ‘trap’ written all over it.”

“I know,” I say. “We don’t have a choice.”

“Academy agents are going to be crawling all over us the minute we show up,” Landon says.

“I know,” I repeat. “But Millie’s there and I can’t leave her a second longer, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to save her.” She did the same thing for me once, I think. She barely even knew me, and she put her life on the line to save me. Now it’s my turn. Eyes flashing, I look from Shade to Landon to Hunter. “And if any of you guys feels the same way about her that I do, then you’ll do the same.”

Hunter looks at his feet while Shade and Landon exchange a glance. None of them need to use the L-word; it’s there, practically written on their faces, hanging around them in all its fullness and beauty, and they know it isn’t a discussion.

It never was.