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“No, Winston is not going to Janton,” Amber shouted, the glow in her hands intensifying. “He’s keeping his happy little ass on this ship.”
“Amber, you have no clue what the detention center is like. It’s a hellhole in there. I need to go,” Winston fired back.
“And what about us, Win? What about the mission? What about me? Are you prepared to walk away, just like that?” Amber shouted. I was either self-centered, or Winston and Amber hid it well. I had no clue that they had a thing. All of the non-mind readers in the room aside from the secret couple were equally confused.
“Little warrior, is he yours?” Cordell asked, gesturing at Winston, a look of surprise on his face.
“Let’s not get into their relationship,” Rose interrupted. “We need to focus on the obvious. We have to wait until Deric receives a communication from the king. Winston can’t hand himself over if he isn’t supposed to know,” Rose argued.
“That’s it,” I realized. “Winston, can’t you and Angelo warn your parents and stash them somewhere?”
“Communications among the civilians are heavily guarded,” Angelo replied. “If I send them a warning, it could either be intercepted, or someone loyal to King Rayon could prevent their escape.”
“And all of it goes back to what I said. We aren’t supposed to have the information. Winston and Angelo can’t turn themselves in just yet.”
“Because you’re worried that the aliens will figure out that I’m an oracle,” I guessed. When Rose nodded, annoyance surged within me. It wasn’t like the king will think, “Yup, an oracle must be abord the ship” if Angelo and Winston turned themselves in.
“They won’t,” Mira said, answering my inner thoughts. “King Rayon might think that a spy is in his court. Then, an innocent person will be punished for his assumption.” Damn. I hated when the woman made such a wonderful point. Shouldn’t she suck at something?
“Excuse me,” a feminine voice said. I stood and turned to see one of the humans that we rescued. She was the one that Chordal was trying to buy. She wore an oversized T-shirt, shorts, and socks. Her raven hair was washed and pulled up in a ponytail. Her dark eyes were wide with horror.
“How much of this conversation did you overhear?” I demanded.
She sighed. “All of it. You promised that you would bring us home.” Angelo got to his feet and shoved his hair out of his face.
“Two at a time. Let’s get this over with,” he grumbled.
“Wait a second,” Rose cut in. “You’re going to drop random humans that we rescued back on Earth without working out a cover story? Earth isn’t ready to know about the existence of aliens or castors.” Ugh, why did we rescue Lady Negativity? Every time someone had an idea, she was there to strike it down.
Winston gestured at Deric. “He could wipe her mind of all she heard and saw.”
“I don’t think so,” the human said, her hands held up in front of her. “I want all of my memories.”
“For what purpose?” I asked, wishing that I could understand her.
“Love, she’s an astronaut. She’s naturally curious, and part of her job is to collect data about space. She wants to tell her superiors,” Deric pointed out.
“Look... Um, what’s your name? "
“Mia Lockhart,” she replied, shooting me a suspicious expression.
“Mia, we can’t let you go with all of your memories intact. The castors aren’t ready to be poked and prodded by scientists,” I calmly said. “Aren’t you grateful to be rescued? Out of gratitude, can you just—”
“What? Shut up and accept what happened? You do know that humans are being plucked from Earth and are being sold to a psycho scientist, right? There used to be more humans in the cages. But three men deemed them healthy enough for the prince’s experiments and bought them,” Mia said, her hard eyes boring into mine. “I talked to one of the humans. I think her name is Brianna Hudson. She was surfing on the beach when some psycho knocked her out and took her into space. If you don’t believe me, you can look her up. She is a missing person. I remembered seeing her case being covered on the news before I went into space.” I know I was being selfish, but I groaned.
“Damn. Amber, you aren’t going to ignore this, are you?” I asked, shooting a hopeful expression in Amber’s direction. The disappointment on Amber’s face made me realize that I misspoke.
“Look around you, Sheena. Most of these people don’t even know Jade. But they were willing to help you rescue her. Let me guess, because Brianna Hudson isn’t our friend, you don’t see fit to rescue her? Is that it?” Amber calmly inquired. “Castors never leave an innocent behind. That’s the creed we live by. Stop being self-centered and accept the fact that you have a higher purpose.” Amber left the table, and moments later, I heard a door slam.
“I’m not self-centered. I just don’t want to be the hero. Did anyone ask me before I got these powers?” I shouted.
Mia shot me a look of understanding. “You’re young. I get that. But your friend is right,” she gently told me. “Now, who’s bringing me home?”
I eyed Deric, who rubbed his face.
“Mia, you can’t talk. The king would only have you captured and force you to live out your days in one of the Najorian villages. And trust me, you won’t be lucky enough to end up on Earth,” Deric pleaded.
“Humans are being kidnapped. You don’t understand. During my captivity, I saw two dozen humans being sold off. You need to do something,” she pleaded.
Deric stood and walked over to Mia. “We’ll find Brianna Hudson, I promise,” he said before his hands cradled Mia’s head. She couldn’t even fight what he was doing. Her body went rigid, and moments later, she stumbled back from him, an empty expression on her face.
“Angelo, bring in the next person,” Deric said. One by one, Angelo teleported the humans into the room and Deric brainwashed them. It took three trips, but the humans were finally back on Earth. After Angelo returned for the last time, he let out a breath.
“Why do I feel like a tool?” he asked us.
“We all do,” Mira chimed in. “But it had to be done. And like Deric said, we’ll try to find Brianna Hudson, if she’s still alive.” I wanted to be hard and unyielding about the decision that was made. But part of me couldn’t help but call myself a hypocrite. I bristled at choices, destiny, fate, or anything else that controlled my options. And yet, I allowed Deric to strip these people of their memories.
“Why don’t we get some rest,” Rose said. “I think that this has been a long, emotional day for everyone.” Since when did the reason for Max’s death become our leader? And how in the hell was I going to face Amber? She was rightly pissed off and thought that I was selfish.
“Sheena, follow me,” Deric said. I took the bait, following Deric to his bedroom, not even complaining when he pulled the door closed behind me. He gestured to the bed.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Lie down. Let me hold you,” he said, his green eyes boring into mine. I wanted to fight Deric, but I was emotionally exhausted, and was starting to have a massive headache. I sighed and got into bed, Deric joining me then pulling the comforter over us. His closeness caused peace to slip into me. I relaxed, allowing myself to enjoy it when he shifted onto his side and pulled me into his arms. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
“You think I’m selfish?” I asked as his fingers began stroking my hair.
“No. I just think you’re confused. It isn’t easy giving up your dreams to walk a dangerous path,” Deric acknowledged.
“Amber doesn’t get it. She was born into this castor thing, and was raised with her coven. All I ever had was Jade and the knowledge that I’d be on Broadway someday. And now, I have neither,” I said.
Deric’s hands began stroking my back. “You could have everything, if you allowed yourself to,” he softly told me. Ugh, my brain hurt, and I wasn’t about to think any harder. Instead, I snuggled into the soulmate I wasn’t sure I wanted, and allowed my eyes to drift closed. I fell into a peaceful sleep, my dreams filled with joy and passion.
