21. Apryle
Chapter 21
Apryle
M y brain still feels rattled, and while the bleeding from my ear has stopped, it's left me with a dull headache.
As we approach the main building, an uneasy sensation ripples through me, burying my musings.
"Who do you think is here?" Kye asks, trying to prepare for whatever danger we're facing.
"I don't know." I squeeze his hand. "I doubt the others would put us at risk, Kye. Try to relax."
He snorts. "What is this… relax you speak of? I can't remember the last time I relaxed."
Nor can I.
"I guess this is going to be our lives for a while, huh?"
"I don't like it," he mutters.
"Me neither." I stop walking and roll to my toes to kiss him, sensing he needs a reminder of the good we do have among the shitstorm surrounding us.
His fingers instantly thread through my hair to rest on my nape. He pours everything into it, and so do I. Any moment could potentially be our last, so we have to make every second count.
"I love you," he says, and my chest fills with warmth.
"I love you too."
He smiles, a rare show of happiness from him. "Let's do this."
He grabs my hand before he pushes through the door first, his huge body blocking me from any danger that might lie inside. Normally, I would accuse him of being overprotective, but considering all the things that have happened, I appreciate this side of him.
It takes my eyes a second to adjust to the change in lighting, but as I glance around the room, I see the crowd that has gathered.
I do a quick head count and realize almost everyone in the compound is here, including my coven and their mates.
Roux is standing in Sawyer's arms, her back to his chest, and his thick forearms hold her close. She notices me first and attempts to slip free of her mate, but Sawyer doesn't let her go. That heightens my unease. Whatever is happening has him on high alert and protective of Roux.
She twists her neck to peer up at him, speaking in a manner that suggests she's trying to placate him. His heavy brows draw together as he says something to her before she turns, slipping out of his grasp. I can't hear what they're talking about, but from their body language, it's clear both of them are on edge.
I wait as Roux finally walks over to us. Before I can say anything to her, Savannah pushes through the crowd and throws herself at me. I wrap my arms around her as she hugs my waist.
"You okay?" I ask her, and she nods. "What's going on?" I direct this at Roux.
Sawyer's concern isn't an overreaction. I can sense the tension in the room. It vibrates through the air like a tidal wave, but I can't see any obvious danger to react to.
The two of them exchange a glance, not saying anything until Roux blows out a breath. The downturn of Roux's mouth tells me everything I need to know. I am not going to like what she is about to say.
"Hester is here."
It takes my brain a moment to catch up with those words. Hester, the woman who betrayed us by hiding the truth about her family, is here.
I want to have sympathy for her. She was the person who saved us from the Order, but everything changed the moment she withheld vital information from us. I am not someone who takes betrayal well, and hers cut deeply.
"Is she here to tell us more about her brother ?" I grind out the words, unable to hide my disdain.
The truth matters, and so does trust. Hester broke that irreparably.
"I'm not sure why she's here, Apryle."
Despite all of my anger, a surge of apprehension ripples through me. "Did the Order attack the Sanctuary?"
Roux glances over her shoulder, and I follow her line of sight to the gathered crowd. Cade, his brother, and his cousin are gathered around one of the tables, their huge frames blocking out anything behind them. I spot Halle's bright red hair and Dove's blue among the crowd of people, but I can't see what they are focused on. "I don't think that's why she's here."
"What do you mean?"
"Come and see for yourself."
I can feel how unsettled Kye is through our bond as we follow Roux. Savannah reaches out a hand, and I tighten my hold on her, keeping her close to my side. I don't know why, but I have a sudden urge to shield her.
The crowd parts slightly, allowing Kye to push to the front, and it's then that I see her.
Hester is on her knees on the floor, her head bowed, her dark hair curtaining her face. As her head lifts, I expect to see anger blazing in her eyes, not the fear she pins me with. I suck in a breath between my teeth, scared that whatever she's been through is enough to lay this stoic woman open.
I let go of Savannah's hand, instinctively stepping toward Hester, but strong fingers latch around my wrist. I twist to look at my mate.
His expression is a mask that, to outsiders, seems impenetrable, but I have a window into his emotions. He's guarded, his apprehension palpable through our bond. He doesn't know Hester, doesn't trust her either, and he doesn't want me near her.
My desire to keep my mate from losing his shit is a greater force in this moment than my need for answers, so I fall back to his side. Kye gathers me and Savannah against him, watchful of the woman who saved my life when I was hiding from her fucking brother.
"What is she doing here?" I demand to the room.
I can't stop the anger lacing my words. Hester knew things that could have helped us, and she kept them to herself. I get that she was scared—I saw that fear in her eyes when she talked about her past—but she was supposed to be on our side. She was our sanctuary—until she wasn't.
"She wants our help. Can you believe that? The audacity is astounding," Sawyer drawls, and I notice Roux is back in his arms, as if he's too afraid to let her out of his grasp.
I've learned this is something he does often. He might project smiles and sarcasm, but it hides his true feelings.
"Help with what?"
"I had a vision." I don't know what it is about the way Hester says it, but cold spreads through every cell in my body.
There is a sense of doom sitting heavily in my stomach, which feels hollow. The fact that she's here is warning enough that whatever she saw was bad. Hester had stayed behind after we left with Callum to fight against the Order so when her throat bobs and her eyes dart from side to side, my anxiety grows.
"Are we supposed to care?" Cade growls. "I don't believe a single word that comes out of your mouth. You lied to us and used the girls for your own gain."
Cade isn't wrong. She did that, and probably more that we don't know about, but Hester also protected us. She saved me and the others from being shipped off to some Order prison to be poked and prodded.
I can't forget that.
"We should see what she has to say," I tell him.
"I want to know what she saw too," Abel says. Tessa is sitting with him, his hand pressed against her rounded stomach, where their pup grows. I can't even imagine the conversations they have had about the future and keeping their child safe.
It makes it more imperative than ever to get this shit done and to destroy the Order—and Revna's little fan club—completely.
There is so much at stake, and I won't allow anything to happen to any more children. Tessa and Abel will be parents without fear of the Order coming for their child. Savannah will live a long, happy life. And if Dove and Jackson have a child that was taken by the Order, they'll get that pup back.
"I know I have no right to come here and ask for help," Hester says, "but I am. You were right, all of you were right, when you said we had to stick together in this."
This time, the hint of hysteria from her has me gently pulling free of Kye as I send reassuring vibes through our bond. He lets me go, reluctantly.
Slowly, I walk over to Hester. I don't think she will do anything to me, but I keep a hold on my power, just in case I need to defend myself.
Her eyes follow me as I crouch down in front of her, and I can tell she's rattled. "What happened?"
I can sense her magic, and it calls to me. My head may not trust her, but my power does. Unsurprising, considering she was once part of our coven—technically, she still is. It was Hester who showed us how to control our gift and how to work together to harness our combined strength. For that reason, we owe it to her to at least hear her out.
"We have to take down the Order as a united front."
"The Order that is led by your brother," Wyatt notes.
"The one you never thought to tell anyone existed," Sawyer adds.
They are not wrong, but I wish everyone would shut up for a second so we can get the truth.
Hester sighs. "I thought keeping a distance from my brother was the best thing to do. Build my safe place, don't bother him, and he wouldn't bother me, but I was wrong. He's never going to stop trying to destroy me." Her gaze moves to me and to the other females in our coven. "I… I'm scared."
I know it breaks her to admit that, and her pride must have taken a beating coming here, but the fact that she is also tells me it's the truth.
"Tell us everything you know," Cade says. "And we'll consider it."
She lifts her gaze. "If I give you everything, what guarantee do I have that you won't just kill me?"
"I guess you'll just have to trust us," Sawyer answers with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "That's not a nice feeling, is it?"
"What do you think having this information will do? What do you think it'll fix? Do you think it will enable you to defeat him? It won't. My brother is driven by something you can never understand. He hates hybrids, Sawyer, and yet he's put that hate and all the years of hunting us down aside to carry out whatever this insane breeding plan of his is."
"What do I think it'll fix?" His eyes are shiny with menace. "Nothing. There's no putting the horse back in the barn. All we're doing now is trying to survive and for some reason you don't seem to want to help us with that."
"I do," Hester counters. "I just…" Her eyes squeeze shut, and I can feel the pain radiating from her. "It's hard to talk about it."
"Then why are you here?" This question comes from Jackson and he is pissed. "If you don't want to explain what you know, then coming here makes zero sense. You can't sit this one out, Hester. You're either in or you're out, and I don't trust you to have our backs."
"I understand that, and I'll be the first to admit I've handled things badly, but you have to understand… what I saw ."
"And what was that?"
Her gaze moves from him to lock on me. The shiver that works up my spine is ice cold. "I saw you, Apryle, and I saw what you're going to do."