Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

CAMERON

" T his is fucking ridiculous," Curi snapped, raking a hand through his hair. He'd tugged off the band holding it captive, and it tumbled about his shoulders in angry waves. "How many times are we going to have to tell our story?"

"Until they believe us," Levi said from his perch on the edge of one of two armchairs occupying our temporary holding room. "It's a common tactic to separate us and interrogate us to look for holes in our story."

"There won't be any holes," Sharniza said. "We all experienced the same shit."

Yeah, we were aware that we were probably being listened to, if not watched. They'd put us in the same room for a reason. A whitewashed room with no windows, shitty tube lighting, and not enough seats so we were taking it in turns to park our asses.

Serath hadn't said much since we'd been transported through a port to a nondescript building and into this room.

So far, we'd each been shuffled from here to a magnolia interview room and back again. Each time two goyles, whom none of us had met before, questioned us, while Orix sat in a corner and listened. I was pretty sure the mirror in that room was two-way glass. Certain that higher-ups were watching us.

Adaline had been the first to be taken off to be interviewed, and although she'd returned when they'd come to take Levi, she'd been cleared once Sharniza had been interviewed. They'd come for me next, and I'd told them our story in my words, about the graynite attack and about Romi being one of them. I'd explained how Serath had attacked me but how, in that moment, our bond had snapped into place and helped him fight the thing inside him. I'd recounted the arrival of more graynites hell-bent on attacking the first batch, and how it had allowed us to escape. They didn't know about the faction. There was no way of telling them that without revealing how we'd found out about them.

Since then, we'd all been interviewed. Twice. All except Serath. They hadn't spoken to him at all yet. And he, in turn, had barely spoken to us.

Outwardly calm but coiled like a spring, his tension communicated itself through our bond. He'd been through too much. He needed the ordeal to be over.

I covered Serath's hand and squeezed. "You okay?"

He smiled tightly. "I'm fine. Just a little claustrophobic."

Because he was trapped again. This was bullshit. I was done. I crossed the room and hammered on the door with my fist. "Hey! Hey, let us out!"

A smooth voice I recognized as Ulrickson's filled the room. "You will sit down, Miss Basque. We're not finished with our inquiries."

His pompous-asshole tone provoked the anger raging through my veins. It flared lava-like before cooling to ice so that when I spoke, my tone was cold and clipped.

" You may not be done, but we are. We almost died fighting graynites that should have had no way of knowing where we were. If you want to question anyone, it should be yourselves. Who knew the location of the elite trial? Who had access? Hmmm ? Or is this your attempt to buy yourself time to cover your tracks?" Silence, deep and stunned, greeted my accusation, and I couldn't deny the flicker of satisfaction that gave me. "We're done. Let us out so we can go home. Now."

"Serath Halle still needs to be questioned," another voice said, one I didn't recognize.

"Fine, then question him. But you can do it here, with us all present. You're not taking him out of our sight."

"You have no right to?—"

"We have every right," Levi snapped. " We were the ones in the firing line. The ones who almost lost their lives. If anything, we should be interviewing you ."

"One of you is a traitor," Curi said. "Working with the graynites who took Serath in the first place, and there is no way we're letting you get your hands on him again."

"You want to talk to him, you can do it with us all present," Shar finished.

Our unity had pride swelling in my chest. "We've cooperated with you. Told you everything we know. We've waited patiently. But we're done. You can either open the door and let us out or we'll break it open ourselves. I think you're forgetting who we are. We're the fucking elites."

Silence reigned for several seconds as they processed our words. The door wasn't anything special. It was locked, but there was no doubt in my mind that either Curi, Shar, or Serath could bust it open if they wanted. Derek could let us out if I called him. He wasn't here, but he was close, I could feel him. But shifting into a chimera had weakened him. He needed to recharge.

Still, we could walk out of this room if we wanted to, and they knew it. They were relying on us being good little guardians to make us stay put.

But I was done following the orders of a corrupt master. "Break it down."

"With pleasure," Curi growled.

He attacked the door, shoulder slamming it once. Twice.

"Stop!" someone ordered over the intercom, but the splintering of the door as it busted open drowned them out.

We rushed out and were met by a group of guards. Goyles working for the council. Not guardians like us but trained in combat, no doubt.

"Stand down," one of them said. "We just need Halle."

"Over my dead body," Curi snapped.

"That can be arranged." He whipped out a stun stick.

How cute. "You think you can take us down?" I arched a brow. "Bring it!"

We attacked as one, forming a barricade between them and Serath. Curi went for the leader, moving fast to disarm him and then headbutt him in the face, while Shar aimed for the groin of another, busting his nose with her knee when he doubled over. Levi grabbed one in a headlock, and I ducked to avoid a blow, then gut punched the guard attacking me.

"Stand down!" a voice boomed.

Orix stood behind the guards, his eyes bright. "Guards, you're dismissed."

The guards backed away, groaning and clutching their injuries.

Orix's gaze settled on us, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Well, you made your point. Now follow me."

"That was ballsy," Orix said as he led us down a gray corridor.

"It had to be done," Shar said.

"Yeah, it did," Orix replied. "But they're going to push for more tests on Serath, and I think you should let them; we have no idea what was done to him. You said so yourself, Serath, that you can't recall."

Serath's jaw tightened, and I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Orix had no idea of the full truth, and there was no way to tell him until we were out of here and back at the tower.

I drew him to a halt, my hand on his arm. "We can't let them have Serath. We can't trust them, Orix." I kept my gaze on him, intense, and dropped a nod, hoping that he'd understand that there was more to this. "Please…trust me on this."

He frowned. "I trust you, of course I do. I'll do what I can to help."

This time the room we were taken to was painted gray, and once again, there were no windows, but there was a floor-to-ceiling mirror with a row of chairs facing it.

"Take a seat." Orix fell back to stand with his hands clasped behind his back.

I sat with Serath on one side and Levi on the other. Curi and Shar flanked the three of us, and a moment later, the mirror lit up to reveal a room beyond occupied by Ulrickson, Iram, two goyles I didn't recognize, and Lionel.

My back straightened as I met Lionel's gaze. Was the concern in his eyes real? He'd lied to me. Told me he was my father. He'd taken me from my mother. Killed her and given me to someone else to raise but…he'd also given me Romi.

Lionel wasn't my father, but he was family. He was my brother, and once I could be sure it was safe, I'd finally confront him about that fact. But for now, I'd have to play the part of a relieved daughter.

So I fixed a tremulous smile on my lips and aimed it at him.

He leaned forward, giving me a nod of reassurance, but it was Ulrickson that spoke.

"Your accusations, although foul, are valid. We cannot deny that top secret information has been leaked, and we understand your reservations surrounding Serath Halle's welfare. But we cannot ignore that he was taken by graynites. Held by them for weeks. He may not consciously recall what happened to him, but with the help of the alchemist, we may be able to determine the truth."

One of the men we didn't know stood slowly. "My name is Arthur King. I head up the alchemist division, and I can assure you that we will take the utmost care of you, Mr. Halle."

Beside me, Serath had gone deathly still. "No." The word was a primal growl that had the hairs on my arms standing to attention.

The man blinked and stood taller. "This is not a request. If you wish to return to your duties, then we must?—"

"No," Levi said this time.

"No fucking way," Curi added.

"Not happening," Sharniza said.

I stood slowly. "No one is poking around inside my mate's head. He's been through enough. And if you try to take him by force, we will fight you, and you can kiss your elite team goodbye. Are we clear?"

Doubt played across Ulrickson's face, and King must have seen it.

"We had an agreement," he said. "Halle's mind could hold vital information on the graynites who took him."

"And so could the mind of the traitor in your midst!" Levi said.

Orix stepped forward, coming abreast of our row of chairs. "They're right. We're wasting time here. You should be using your resources to find the leak and plug it. You want our help against the graynites, then you need to back off and let us do our job."

The mirror went dark.

"They're deliberating," Curi said. "As if they have a choice."

The lights came back on a minute later, and it was Lionel who stood at the forefront of the group now. "The threat in our midst is real. The only way to protect the elite team and Serath is to ensure the security of information channels. Going forward, you will report only to me until the traitor is caught."

"And what if you're the traitor?" Levi asked.

"If I'm the traitor, then Serath will be taken, and you'll know for sure who to come after. But I assure you now that I have only your welfare at heart. Those bastards killed—" He swallowed hard, pausing to gather himself before continuing. "They stole his body, and I will do whatever it takes to make them pay."

He knew about Romi, which meant he must have been behind the two-way mirror in the interview room, and the devastation on his face right now wasn't something that could be fabricated. I didn't believe he was with the faction, but he was still a murderer and a liar, and he'd have to answer for that soon enough.

"You will return to the academy, but Serath will remain off duty for now," Lionel continued. "An announcement will be made about the attack on the elite team and Serath Halle's retrieval." He looked at me. "As for your mate bond. There is no way to hide it, but its existence will cause an upheaval. Gargoyles have been taught that a sigma cannot take a fated mate because such a bonding drives the sigma insane. This is true. I have seen the evidence. As elite, you should know that the insanity is caused by an ancient curse, one connected directly to sigmas. One which strips them of their souls." This was no news to us, and I couldn't be bothered to feign shock. If they noted the fact, they didn't show it. Lionel continued. "It seems that the graynites can take advantage of the curse and somehow make more graynites. We can only deduce that they have discovered some way of activating the curse in sigma gargoyles."

"What about the sigmas you've taken away?" Levi asked. "What happened to them?"

The blank look on Lionel's face was answer enough even before he replied, "They are exterminated."

"Or not," Shar said. "There are people working for the graynites in your ranks. Who's to say they're not being taken?"

Lionel's chest heaved. "It's a possibility. One we will look into. In the meantime, Cameron and Serath's bond will be a subject of scrutiny. The first of its kind in centuries. We will be educating the goyle community on the fact that this bond was forged in extremely unique circumstances and that the warning to other sigmas still stands."

"A port will be prepared to take you back to the academy," Ulrickson said wearily. "We're done here."

We were going home.