Part 27 (1/2)

He gave me another look that said he still didn't believe I'd lost my memories. ”The most powerful energy b.a.l.l.s. They are usually unstoppable, but you, a sixteen-year-old, stopped them like they were Ping-Pong b.a.l.l.s. That was when I knew you were different.”

Floating red fireb.a.l.l.s and water rising from a swimming pool flashed through my head. I tried to hold on to the memory, but it disappeared. ”What would anyone want with someone else's energy?”

He shrugged indifferently. ”To enhance theirs. Yours is pure and regenerates fast. You can enhance and replenish the energies of hundreds and still survive, and that's without the Kris Dagger. At the same time, you can bend anyone to your will, render them powerless, freeze and destroy thousands like that.” He snapped his fingers.

I frowned, remembering my premonition on the training field. ”There's no way I'd knowingly hurt anyone.”

Lord Gavyn drained his drink and pushed his gla.s.s aside. ”That's where you are wrong, Princess.” He smirked. ”You have hurt people. Surely even you can't have forgotten that victorious raid on Coronis Isle.”

I stood. ”If you're done telling me about Bran-”

”Scared of the truth? You? Now that's a side of you I've never seen before.”

I wanted to slap his smug face. ”I'm not scared. But I will not sit here and listen to your lies.” The problem was that I had a feeling he wasn't lying.

”Lies? How do you think the Guardians destroyed Coronis Isle and killed so many of our people? You used the Kris Dagger to freeze every Hermonite on the ground and in the air, and the rest of your Guardian pals finished them off. Why do you think Zhane's friends weren't too happy to see you tonight? They didn't fight the Archangels, so they remember that raid. You killed their parents, Princess. Their uncles and aunts, their older brothers and sisters. You even killed my mother, mine and Bran's.”

My stomach roiled as the conversations I'd had with my friends zipped through my head-the Guardians attacking Coronis Isle and killing so many of their parents, taking Katia's sister and the Specials, raiding their businesses.

I shook my head. ”No. I went to the island with my father to retrieve the dagger. I could not have hurt my people.” I fought queasiness. ”If I did anything, it was by accident or the Guardians made me do it. I'd never knowingly hurt anyone. I would never do something that...”

”Whoa. Okay.” He raised his hands. He studied me, eyes narrowing as though he was strategizing. ”Forget the part about the raid. I was only playing with you.”

His words slowly sank in. ”You mean what you just said-”

”Was a lie,” he finished, and grinned.

I slapped him hard. ”You are the most despicable, arrogant, self-centered... Why would you say something like that to me?”

He rubbed the cheek I'd slapped. ”Because I'm a jacka.s.s. You were on the island to retrieve the dagger and you helped Bran rescue our sister Celeste. It just so happened that the Guardians were attacking at the same time. You were not involved.”

I wanted to hurt him, really hurt him, until he begged for mercy, but it wouldn't make a difference. I was an empath. I could tell when someone was feeling sorry for me and he was. Why would he pity me unless everything he'd said was the truth? Could I have really killed my own people with the Guardians? I was only sixteen when Coronis Isle was destroyed.

”You're not going to start crying, are you?” he asked.

My tears were threatening to fall, but to cry in front of him would be beyond humiliating. ”Of course not.”

”Good. One, you are not the crying type. And two, I'm not the consoling-females type.” He reached for the decanter with whatever alcoholic mixture he'd made, poured it into his gla.s.s, and took a sip. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. ”Want some?”

”I don't drink alcohol, you jerk.”

He grinned. ”Who said I was offering alcohol?” He reached for a bottle under the counter, splashed some of the contents into a gla.s.s, and shoved it at me. ”Don't sip it. Throw it in the back of your throat. It's the best remedy for weeping females.”

”I'm not crying,” I snapped.” I studied the clear liquid. ”Are you sure this isn't alcohol?”

”Coward.”

I tilted my head and threw the drink into my mouth. I sputtered and coughed as the liquid burned its way down my throat. My eyes watered. ”What in Tartarus was that?”

”It doesn't matter. Still feel like crying?”

No. In fact, I felt warm. I glared.

He laughed.

Hating him was a waste of energy. ”What kind of a person was I before the Great Battle?” Other than the kind who could kill her own people.

”Annoying. Arrogant.” He gave me a look that said he was remembering our past encounters. ”You had and have a right to be, I guess. You are powerful and can manipulate most elements. You are the Chosen One, after all, the one destined to wield the most powerful Nephilimic weapon.”

The weapon was useless now, but I decided not to tell him that bit of information. I didn't trust him. He liked to play games, and I refused to give him more ammunition.

”You care about the people here?” he asked.

”Of course I do. Why do you think I've taken up the Subsixers' cause? They are just as important as everyone else.”

His expression grew thoughtful. ”And you'd never hurt them?”

I shot him a glare. ”What do you think?”

”I think your heart is in the right place, so I'm going to be honest with you.”

”Why? You've been lying all this time.”

Annoyance crossed his face. ”Just shut up and listen. You cannot afford to be ignorant like most knuckleheads around here. Information is power, and as your future brother-in-law, it's only right I watch out for you while you're here.”

Somehow, I doubted he cared one way or another if anything happened to me. ”What information?”

”Do you know why your hand glows green before you heal someone?”

”That's my body protecting itself.”

”No, that's the power of the Kris Dagger protecting you. For whatever reason, the powers s.h.i.+fted from the dagger to you. Celeste let that detail slip by accident. You are now the most powerful weapon, not the dagger. No need to look horrified. Your secret is safe with me. But if you continue to heal people around the island, everyone will know and that will tilt the power struggle in their favor, so no more healing minions.”

”In whose favor?”

”Your enemies'. Those who hate what you plan to do, and I'm not talking about taking up the minions' cause. You are the Chosen One and they have no interest in uniting with the Guardians. Oh, and don't forget those whose brains you fried while you were in a coma. Some are still not fully recovered and they're p.i.s.sed.” He drained the rest of his second drink. ”Back to why we're having this meeting. I want Bran off the island.”

Those I'd hurt... How could I have forgotten about them? As for Bran, I wasn't his keeper. Besides, I liked having him around. But I decided to play along. ”Okay. Can you describe him?”

Gavyn frowned. ”I gave you his description in my first message when I thought you'd lost your memories.”

I made a face. ”I didn't watch it.”

”Why not?”

”I hid it and went to watch the fireworks, but when I went back for it, it was gone. When we finally found it, someone had erased it.”