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It was becoming clearer each day that the attacks were orchestrated with the help of someone within, and we had not a damn clue of where to start looking. The least I could do is start with the most obvious culprit, watch him, see who he chose to interact with, where he spends his time. The answers would follow.
The worry for her brother but also the endless possibilities of the scientific explanations that had been troubling her since one of Seth’s guys had ridden in with Michael strapped to the back of his horse. He’d been rushed to the Infirmary where Reina treated his wounds and tended to him in the aftermath. It’d been days before he’d realized he now possessed an additional element. In the midst of a PTSD induced nightmare, his roommate had woken him up, their apartment flooded with water, the energy behind it creating a small current underneath his bed.
three things had become definitive: of all attacks in the last six months, every single soldier that’d been bitten on duty or in the field, had been healed within minutes of their bite thanks to Amaia’s careful resourcing in each company.
My visions only confirmed what we already knew; a new kind of Pansie had been released into the world that had the power to change our DNA once more if bitten and not treated within a few hours.
These attacks were intentional, and Amaia had been right—they could now communicate. Seth sent a glare Alexiares’ way when he corroborated her claim with his own experience on the road to Reno and detailed the attack. I also didn’t miss the shy admiration he and Amaia exchanged as he told it, the flushing in both their cheeks.
Oh they hate each other bad 😂 its lowkey funny
“I’m looking at him like that because I don’t want to look away,” I offered, hoping that if I offer this piece of vulnerability, he can see what I’m fighting for. What we’re fighting for. “If I look away, then the moment is over, the night will end. And in the morning, I’ll have to leave my brother behind.” My eyes remained stuck on Riley
She was different from the girl I’d met the day I arrived. Even within the last few weeks, she seemed better. Focused, less reckless. Her mind was sharp and always moving. My original diagnosis of a lackadaisical and irresponsible leader replaced with an overworked and exhausted one.
“I came here to kill you, Amaia.”
A compound to take down. That was my plan, you know? Take down The Compound, make it crumble around you, take everything from you that you took from me, then kill you.” A stark laugh escaped his lips. “Funny thing is, I’m actually the villain I accused you of being.”
His rings had been given to him on the condition that he continue to work for them, but in a more specialized capacity. They’d used him to spy, dispatching him to other settlements within their territory, using him to gather intelligence and find information they could use against others. Encouraging him to take out anyone they deemed a problem,
His father, Alexander Drakos, had been known as a ruthless businessman. His name constantly swarmed the media for alleged drug and gang ties. A different, new accusation every day. Dozens of people had gone missing in connection to him, but the police had never been able to find solid evidence to put him away. He had two sons, Alexiares and Evander.
Elliot here has been talking to Seth for months. Mind to mind obviously, feeding us drops of information here or there. Letting us know the best places and times to strike, keep our names out of it, keeping you vulnerable. Open to receiving outside help. Didn’t take too much convincing on my end, just had to let him know Unc was alive and kicking. But only as long as he gave us what we needed.”
The Covert Province had formed under the belief that people needed to be segregated by their innate powers, that some were by natural law, better than others. More valuable. Useful. They’d been known to arrange marriages, ensuring that if magic was in fact passed down genetically, each line would be stronger than the next. Their society was highly patriarchal, men holding all positions of power, and women falling into more subservient roles. If their gifts were extraordinary, they’d use information provided, sure, but similar to The Before, what they had to bring to the table didn’t matter.
They’ve been experimenting with DNA. Seeing if he could influence how children are born, using genetic testing and using people who he deems having ‘undesirable magic’ to run experiments. See if he can change their genes. It’s easy, running a controlled experiment in a lab, changing willing volunteers one by one. But it’s faster to change everyone through contamination or a bite. His first step is to take one settlement at a time, but he wants them fully functioning so the fallout won’t be too bad. Thinks if he takes out leadership, leaves the future of the settlement at risk—” A chill went
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“Riley’s my true second and has been from the moment I walked up those steps and entered The Arena. He knows it. He’s been my eyes and ears for months. Nothing classified ever crossed Seth’s desk, only tests or menial tasks. And even then, nothing made it to his desk before it crossed Riley’s.”
