Fates Divided: Halven Rising

Elena followed Keen as he led them through Emain, the memory of Derek with Beatrice tearing at her insides. She’d given herself to him, and hours later he was with another girl? The logical part of her brain said there was more to the situation, but her insecure side said he’d used her. Which wasn’t like the Derek she knew. It was all so confusing.

Elena’s throat clenched, and her stomach balled in a tight knot. She clamped her arms around her middle.

Keen glanced over and quickly looked away.

He directed Elena and Derek down several staircases until they emerged in a section with checked vinyl flooring and concrete walls that looked like some sort of underground basement. He stopped at a double door where guards were posted.

Keen addressed the head guard, an especially tall Fae—at least seven and a half feet—with dark chestnut hair and pale green eyes. “Marcus, we are here to see Leo. It is important.”

The guard, armed with half a dozen knives and other menacing weapons, moved gracefully with all that armor and swept the double doors open.

A laboratory the size of an airplane hangar lay beyond. There had to be four hundred Fae working inside the room. More technicians sat at computer stations on a mezzanine overlooking the main floor.

What was this place? And why hadn’t she been working in here the whole time? With so many people focused on the same project, they might have had a chance at finding a cure. It was as if they’d never wanted her to succeed.

In spite of the mass of equipment and numerous bodies, Leo stood out. He was older than the rest, but that wasn’t what drew Elena’s attention. Leo exuded authority.

He looked up as they walked over. A line appeared between his brows as he took in Elena’s modified uniform. “Why are you not resting?” he said, though his own face wore the telltale signs of great fatigue. The shadows beneath his eyes had darkened and his pale skin appeared sallow.

“My roommate is missing. I went to search for her.” Leo’s gaze darted to Keen, but Elena spoke before Leo could. “I was only gone an hour and Keen protected me.”

“A lab explosion nearly killed you today. Was that not enough incentive to remain where you are safe?”

She waved her hand at the room. “Why have you kept me locked away? Why haven’t I been working with everyone in here to find a cure?”

“This lab is different,” he said. “They work on numerous projects—yes, searching for a cure. But honing your magic was more valuable.” Leo sighed. “What will it take for you to understand the severity of the situation?” He gestured to the room the way she had. “This is what matters. Your friend does not. No single life is more important—except perhaps your own.”

“I understand what’s at stake,” she snapped. “But as much as you might prefer it, I can’t forget the people I love.”

Admitting the rest of what had happened tonight would merely prove Leo’s point, but he needed to know. “Someone tried to kidnap me while I was away.”

Leo’s chest rose, a look of indignation crossing his face.

“What?” Derek said.

“It wasn’t Keen’s fault,” she said hurriedly. “If not for him, I wouldn’t be here.”

Derek thrust his fingers through his hair. “Christ, Elena. What were you thinking?”

She shot him an angry glare. “I was thinking of my best friend. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Leo and Keen exchanged an awkward look.

Elena took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “We have to find Reese.”

“It’s true, the girl is missing,” Keen said. “We haven’t heard from her in hours. I am following Elena’s kidnapper, but so far he’s made no move. He failed his mission and fears the one in charge. While questioning him, I confirmed Marlon St. Just commands the group of Halven. He has over ninety disciples and the list grows each day. They wish to take over Tirnan and rule as Halven.”

Leo pressed his thumb and forefinger to his brows and bowed his head, letting out a deep sigh.

“There is more,” Keen said, and glanced at Derek, whose face reddened, hands balling at his sides. “We have reason to believe Beatrice enthralled Derek.”

Leo’s head rose. He studied Keen for a moment, then peered past him to the door. “Marcus, bring Beatrice. Immediately.”

Marcus turned and exited the aircraft hangar laboratory.

“It is odd,” Keen went on, “after the other incident.”

“Yes,” Leo said. “We will withhold judgment until we speak to her. I did not wish to believe the daughter of a dear friend capable of treachery, but I cannot ignore the evidence.”

Within minutes, Marcus returned. “Beatrice is not in Emain. She left the premises seventeen minutes ago.”

“Her movements reflect this,” Keen said. “She blocks me from her thoughts, but her physical movements do not mimic the makeup of Emain. The fact that she blocks me is incriminating.”

“I saw her tonight,” Elena said, her comment catching everyone’s attention. “In front of the fraternity house. At least, I think it was her. The woman had the same hair as Beatrice, the same build and walk. I wasn’t sure at the time, but after the men attacked me… If that was her, she was talking to three men on the lawn of the fraternity house before I was attacked.”

“Marcus,” Leo said, “have security search for Beatrice. Guard all entrances into Emain. When you find her, take her to the holding cell.”

Holding cell? Emain has a prison?

“Let us convene in my office, where it is”—Leo glanced around—“private.”

They followed Leo several flights up in an elevator and entered a room that looked like a Victorian gentleman’s smoking room. Two settees faced one another in front of a huge desk. Ornate built-in bookshelves covered the walls. Tall windows with diamond-paned glass peered onto a copse of trees.

Leo gestured to one of the settees. “Please, have a seat.”

A servant brought in a tray that held tea and small cookies, and Elena stared at it. What was with Fae using British customs?

Leo observed her expression. “It is not true, what the myths say about Fae and food. You may eat without becoming ill or beholden to us, just as you’ve eaten from our kitchen without injury.”

Wow, she wasn’t even thinking about that—didn’t even know she should fear receiving food from Fae. If she had appeared uncomfortable, it was because the atmosphere inside Leo’s office was like stepping into another century.

Derek grabbed a handful of cookies and ate them two at a time.

Elena poured a cup of tea and tried not to look at Derek at her side. As upset as she was about seeing him with Beatrice, she couldn’t shake the instinctual comfort of having him near. Which only meant she couldn’t trust her instincts. Not until she figured out what really happened between him and the girl. Enthralled, Keen had called it.

“St. Just’s laboratory was destroyed in the explosion,” Leo began. “We searched for the ingredient you mentioned, Derek. Nothing of consequence remained of the room. You are fortunate you left when you did. Had you stood within ten feet of the walls, there would be little left of you as well. Are you certain this F-18 ingredient is needed for Elena to create the cure?”

Derek nodded. “According to Marlon’s notes, it’s the key.”

“Then we must find it.”

Elena caught Leo’s eye. “That’s not our only problem. I need knowledge of what I’m creating in order to make something. I could develop the virus using F-18, but I’d still need an antidote for it in order to save Fae, something the notes Derek retrieved don’t contain. But I’ve thought about the Tertullian Codex—”

“No, Elena,” Derek said.

Elena had thought that by controlling her environment she would never lose anyone she loved again. But sometimes life had a way of pushing you in a new direction despite your best efforts, just as Leo had said days ago.

What if, in order to make something of herself—to make her family proud and to protect them—she needed to be what she was born to be? To embrace her Halven side with all the powers and complications that entailed?

She turned to Derek. “You have no right to tell me what to do. If I’m the only one who can help, then I will. It’s my decision.” She let out a sigh and turned to Leo. “I think—I think I need to go to Tirnan.”

The Emain Fae could be stuffy, unpredictable, and some of them—Beatrice—seemed to be working against their own, but they’d also kept her safe and had fought for her. She said her next words not simply to ensure her family’s safety, but because it was the brave thing to do—the right thing.

“According to the book, I need contact with the land, and possibly Fae of noble origins. I believe if I go to Tirnan, I’ll figure out how to transmute and create a cure.”

Leo shook his head. “Fae from Emain cannot escort you to Tirnan to ensure your safety. The risk to our soldiers of exposure would be too great. We will not chance losing more Fae lives. And if our soldiers cannot go with you, you will be unprotected.”

She didn’t like it, but what other option did they have? “I understand.”

“Do you?” Leo said gravely. “Portia left for Tirnan against my wishes yesterday to retrieve healing potions for testing. We’ve lost contact with her and fear the worst. Under normal circumstances my people would not tolerate you, but with the threat of mass death… I cannot express how extraordinary our agreement is with you as a Halven here in Emain. Even so, your presence is barely tolerated among those said to be liberal. It will not be tolerated at all in Tirnan.”

Leo let out a deep sigh. “Unfortunately, our brethren have made little progress on an antivirus. I convinced the others to take a chance with you in the beginning, believing that with your lineage lay potential. You have proven adept, you learn fast, and you are exceedingly powerful for a Halven, yet we still do not have a cure. The fact that I am willing to let you go to Tirnan, knowing you may not survive long enough to develop a solution, shows how dire our circumstances have become.”

Elena’s hands turned cold, as if all the blood had drained from her extremities. “If I go there, will I be susceptible?” Bad enough she’d have Fae after her. If she caught the disease too… “I’m a Halven with Fae blood. Can I contract the virus?”

“Humans and Halven are immune.”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that for sure unless you’ve exposed people and tested the theory.”

He stared at her.

“You tested it… on Halven? Like guinea pigs?”

“We had no choice. We’ve assessed every possible strategy to save our people.”

Elena rose from her seat, her knees wobbly. “I need rest. I’m going to my room… going to try and call Reese again.”

“Rest,” Leo said. “We will plan how to get you in and out of Tirnan unharmed if at all possible. I will notify you if we discover your friend’s whereabouts. Understand, however, that she is not our first priority.”

“Oh, I’m crystal clear on that point.” She reached for the back of the settee for balance. Exhaustion, Derek’s betrayal, shock at the Fae’s use of human lives to test the virus—all of it made her stomach lurch and her head spin.

Derek grabbed Elena’s elbow, but she jerked her arm away. She couldn’t stand him touching her. Not after…

She made her way unsteadily out of Leo’s office toward her room while Keen and Derek walked a few paces behind.

“Give us a minute,” Derek said to Keen when they reached her door. He followed her inside and closed it behind him.

She rubbed her eyes and sat in the chair next to the desk. Derek sat on the edge of the bed.

Seeing him on the mattress brought back images of them together. It seemed like days or weeks ago—but only hours had passed. And then he’d been with Beatrice.

“I don’t want you here, Derek.” She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “Please go.”

He leaned forward. “Elena, I don’t know what happened earlier, but it wasn’t within my power to control it. I have never wanted Beatrice. I’m sorry if what you saw hurt you. You’re the only person I think about. I want you.”

They were the words she yearned to hear. Beatrice might have done something to influence Derek—enthralled him. Leo and Keen seemed to think so. It didn’t erase the images of Derek with another woman.

The knot in her stomach tightened and she bent forward. “I need to be alone.”

Derek stayed a moment longer. He shifted his feet. When she didn’t move or say another word, he stood and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Elena spent the next hour calling and texting Reese, without success.

Unable to push aside her exhaustion any longer, she pulled her father’s leather jacket over her shoulders like a blanket and crawled across the bed. With dried tears on her cheeks, she fell into a fitful sleep.