Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

CAMERON

W e'd agreed that Serath wouldn't go anywhere alone, not until we had a plan to lure out the faction, but we'd also agreed that it wasn't safe for me be to alone either. Offing me was still on the faction agenda, after all, and now they might use me to get to him. So once we were done at Stone Comfort, we made our way back to the tower. The plan was to find buddies so that I could go visit Melanie and Serath could see Farnell.

Curi and Orix were eating pasta at the table. They looked like they were finishing up. Curi's hair was wet and pulled back in a knot. He'd obviously just showered. Orix greeted us, but Curi didn't look at me.

Great.

Serath handed Orix the bag with the cakes he'd requested. "I need to see Farnell. You want to come with me?"

"Sure," Orix said, his gaze flicking to me then to a silent Curi, who was hyper focused on his almost empty plate of pasta.

I wasn't sure when the others would be back, but I could call Derek to go with me.

But before I could do anything, Serath said, "Curi, can you go to see Melanie with Cam?"

I stared at him in shock. What was he doing? We'd agreed to give Curi space. "It's fine. I'll call Derek. Derek! Derek, I need you." Long seconds passed, and nothing happened.

Strange.

"He might be out of range," Orix suggested.

"Our connection doesn't work that way, but he is coming into his own, so maybe he only senses when I'm in trouble now. It's fine, I can wait for him to get back."

"Why would you wait?" Serath said. "Curi's here now. Unless…Curi, do you have plans?"

Curi set down his fork and looked up, but not at me, at Serath. "No. I can go with her."

With her .

As if I was a job.

A chore.

My cheeks burned. "No, thank you. I'll wait." I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

I made it halfway to the next floor before Curi caught up to me. "Cameron, wait."

"Oh, so it's Cameron now, is it? Not her ." I couldn't keep the bitterness from my tone.

His shoulders fell. "I'm sorry. I was trying to…" He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "I don't know what I was trying to do."

He sounded so lost, so forlorn that my bubble of anger popped, leaving me deflated and weary. "I don't want us to fight. I don't want us to be awkward. I want us to be… us again."

"I know. I know, and I'm trying. I am." He fixed a smile on his face. "It'll be fine. I'll be fine. Let's go see Melanie."

His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and my heart hurt to see him pretending to be okay. I dropped a step and wrapped my arms around him, wanting to heal him. To put us back together. His body went stiff for a beat before he relaxed and returned the hug, and for a moment I had my friend back.

"Okay, okay that's enough." He chuckled softly and pulled away from me. "I don't want your mate going nuts because you smell like me."

"Good point."

He cupped my shoulders, and this time when he smiled, it lit up his eyes. "It'll be all right, you know. In time. You and I…we'll be all right."

"I know…" But there was a dark foreboding wriggling around in my belly that I couldn't shake.

Flora was expecting us and was quick to let us into Melanie's room. The last time I'd visited her, Melanie had recalled her past. She'd remembered being kidnapped and held here at the academy. She remembered giving birth and having her baby taken from her. The grief and rage had turned her into a vengeful spirit, and she'd tried to escape to exact revenge on Carter and Travani—the women responsible for her death. The wards that Yarrow had on this room had prevented her from leaving and neutralized her.

Today she was calm, looking out of the window with a wistful expression.

The door closed behind us. "Melanie?"

She vanished then materialized, facing me. "You came back." She was misty today, dark hair framing her gray face dominated by eyes that were pools of sorrow.

"Of course. I would have come sooner, but…things happened."

"I was angry," she said. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."

"I'm sorry for your pain. That I brought it all to the fore."

Every ounce of my being ached to tell her that I was her daughter, but I couldn't be sure there wasn't a listening device in here. I trusted Yarrow, but we'd agreed not to tell him everything we'd learned. Not yet.

"No. I'm glad I know the truth," Melanie said softly. "I'm glad I remember. They took my child from me. They killed me, and I've been trapped here ever since. When I remembered, I lost myself. It was terrifying, because for a moment I was untethered, hurtling toward a darkness that wanted to swallow me completely. I'm glad I was brought back. I don't want vengeance any longer. I want justice."

She was coherent and calm. She was herself again. "I spoke to Carter and Travani. I confronted them for you."

Her eyes flew wide. "You did?"

"Yes. They admitted everything. They were being blackmailed, and they've regretted their actions ever since. The drug they gave you, the one that killed you, was meant to take your memories and put you into a deep sleep. It was given to them by the blackmailer. They planned to return you to your home. But the drug killed you. They're not sure if that was the blackmailer's intent or if your body reacted adversely to it."

Her dark brows furrowed. "They took my baby and were going to simply send me home?"

"I don't condone what they did, but you need to know that they acted in fear. They acted selfishly."

She shook her head sharply. "I don't care about them. I just want to know where my baby is. Can you find her for me? Please. If I could see her once, then I can finally be at peace. Will you help me find peace?"

Curi took my hand and squeezed. "She's waited long enough, don't you think?" Was he saying I should tell her? "I don't see how it can hurt, and even if the room isn't secure, I trust Yarrow."

He was giving me the green light to reveal the truth, and god I wanted to…needed to.

Melanie took a step toward us, her hands clasped to her chest, dark mournful eyes filled with expectation, because she could probably sense something was about to be revealed.

I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. "I can help you, Melanie. In fact…I know where your daughter is."

She exhaled shakily. "Where is she? Please, bring her to me."

Do not cry, do not cry… "You already know her. You made her coffee most mornings, and you kept her company at night. You watched over her and helped her when she was in need…"

Melanie's eyes welled. "What…Are you…You're saying…"

I blinked back tears and nodded. "Yes. It's me. I'm your daughter."

We moved toward each other, both stopping as we realized that we couldn't hug.

Spectral tears slipped down her cheeks. "I wish I wasn't dead, simply so I could hold you. I never got to hold you…"

A sob shook my chest, followed by another as regret for something I hadn't even realized I was missing rolled through me. "I'm sorry. So sorry for what happened to you."

"No…no, sweetie. Don't be. It's done, and you're safe and…What happened to you? Where have you been? Who raised you? I have so many questions."

I took a moment to collect my thoughts. What should I tell her? How much did she need to know? "I had a mother, and she loved me. She died when I was ten." I told her about Romi and Lionel. Then I told her about Ivor, and she went as still as stone.

"You…You found him?"

"He found me." I filled her in quickly on what we'd discovered and how we'd deduced that Lionel was responsible for taking me from her, which meant he must have been Travani and Carter's blackmailer. I spoke in hushed tones, words coming fast, and her eyes grew round, her chest heaving with quick breaths. But she didn't interrupt me again. "No one can know any of this. Not yet."

"I understand," Melanie said. "I understand everything now." Her spectral form flickered then bloomed with color. Her wishy-washy gray eyes took on depth till they were the same slate gray as mine, and her dark hair lightened to a dark blond shade. "I feel…different."

"I think you're free," Curi said. "Can you see a light? A doorway to the beyond?"

"No," Melanie said. "Not yet. I'm not done yet."

Of course she wasn't. "You need to see Ivor, don't you?"

She tipped her head to one side. "No, sweetie. I can't leave until I know you're safe. Truly safe. Let me help you. Drop the wards on this room, and I can be your eyes and ears."

Curi and I exchanged glances. She could be invaluable to us, but… "I don't want to stop you from moving on."

"You're not. I want to do this. Please let me."

I hadn't had a chance to get to know my father, but maybe…maybe I could get to know my mother. "I'll speak to Flora and get you out."

I'd hoped to take Melanie with me, but Yarrow had set up the ward on the room, and only he could drop it. We left her with a promise to see her soon. Yarrow's classes ended at six, so he'd be back to let her out then.

"You did the right thing in telling her the truth," Curi said as we neared the tower.

"Thank you for encouraging me to do it. And for coming with me."

"Anytime. We're a team."

"We are."

"But I have been wondering what will happen when we've stopped the faction."

Huh? "What do you mean?"

"The alpha isn't a villain, not like we've been led to believe, so once the real villains are taken down, what then? Will there even be a call for guardians? Let alone elites?"

I came to a sudden halt. "Fuck, I never thought of that…"

He shrugged. "Our world will change." He kept walking, and I jogged to catch up.

"But that means no more tower. No more team…"

"There'll always be some threat to fight. Order to be kept. The elite won't be a thing any longer, but we'll always be friends."

He sighed dramatically. "Or we could all die horrifically at the hands of the enemy."

"Not happening. We're going to win because…because we have to."

He chuckled. "Well, that's the best reason I've ever heard."

"Shut up!" I elbowed him, and he elbowed me back. We both burst out laughing.

Maybe things between us would be all right after all.