Page 25 of The Stone Survival
“He might be out of range,” Orix suggested.
“Our connection doesn’t work that way, but heiscoming 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.”
Withher.
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? Nother.” 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…usagain.”
“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 putusback 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 expectingus 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.”
