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My heart swelled at hearing his words. I offered him a brilliant smile, and he immediately met it with one of his own. Calax, however, wasnotsmiling. His scowl was firmly directed at the wall above Fallon’s head.
Well shit. I sucked at this girlfriend thing.
Food. I needed to offer him food.
Reaching into my pocket, I shoved a granola bar into his large, calloused hand. Tamson had given it to me earlier that day to eat after training. I was happy that I had saved it though. Calax glanced from the bar, to me, and then back to the bar again. Tentatively, he peeled back the paper and nibbled on the edge of the bar.
Finally,finally, he offered me a small smile. A breath of relief instantly escaped me.
Best. Girlfriend. Ever.
I turned back to the conversation, aware that I had missed the ending of Fallon’s spiel. From the amused glint in his eyes, I figured he was aware of that as well.
Another thought swirled through my head, gaining traction the more I thought about it. I bit my lip, staring at each of their beautiful faces. The question continued to niggle at me, and I finally dared to ask.
“Do you know?” I whispered.
“Know what?” Ryder asked.
“What started the end of the world. Do you know?” My voice was soft. It might’ve given the impression that I was calm, but I was anything but. My thoughts were running rampant and unsupervised through my mind. I felt betrayed, angry, upset.
I felt it all, and it almost consumed me.
I didn’t expect them to answer. If anything, I expected them to deflect.
“Global warming,” Fallon said at last. His fingers drummed a pattern against his jean-clad legs. I watched the rhythmic pattern of his fingers, utterly entranced. The golden bands of his rings glistened in the candlelight.
“Global warming?” I repeated stupidly. Wasn’t that the answer to everything? Was he joking? Was he trying to be funny?
I couldn’t help but snort. Fallon? Funny? Good grief. Hell would freeze over before that day would come.
“That’s a theory,” Tam continued. His face lit up, as it always did when he discussed something that interested him. I yearned to see that brilliant smile on his face everyday. Hell, I yearned to be on the receiving end of such a smile. I mentally scolded myself, breaking out of the wistful fantasies that held me hostage and focusing on his words. “When the ice caps melted, it released a parasite that had been stuck in there...well...forever. It can survive both in water and on land.”
I turned over the information Tam had given me. While I had studied biology, I was never an expert in it. My parents much preferred my curriculum to be math and business based. So this? I had no idea how plausible of an explanation it was. It could’ve been bullcrap for all I knew.
Ronan continued, “It enters a host - us - and takes over a section of the brain.”
“The limbic system,” Tam filled in. “The part that makes you want to fight or flight. It helps you understand stimuli and act accordingly. This parasite? It messes with that. The only option you have is to fight. It makes you behave with an uncontrollable rage. A rage that is almost primitive in nature…” Tam trailed off, face contemplative.
“You were told all of this?” I asked, turning from face to face. Asher appeared almost sheepish at my accusation, and Calax’s scowl deepened when I turned towards him.
“By some of the top scientists,” Fallon said, nodding. “I’m friends with some people high up.”
This was almost too surreal. I wasn’t supposed to receive the answers like this. I had thought there would be trial and error before I would be able to come to a conclusion. It felt almost cheesy, in a sense, like a badly scripted scene in a B-rated movie. Everything was a coincidence, I realized. It was one of the numerous facets that pieced together fate. Maybe we were fated to come together. I was the mission, and they were the team. I had the questions, and they had the answers. Fate had a mind of its own; it made you its bitch more often than not and squished you like a bug beneath stiletto heels. Still, my stomach churned almost violently as I leafed through all of the information given.
I felt betrayed. I was running down this race blind, and I had dumbly assumed they were doing the same. It struck me deep to realize I had been alone this entire time. They hadn’t trusted me with their secrets, yet they had expected me to offer up my own. And I had, like the desperate, scared girl I was.
I knew I should be grateful that they were finally telling me the truth, yet the sly voice in my mind wondered if they still would’ve told me if I hadn’t asked. The voice said no.
Not Calax. Not Ryder.
Not Ducky.
“I need a second,” I muttered, standing and walking towards my designated bedroom.
“Addie,” Ryder called after me, and I flinched at the use of my real name coming from his mouth. I wasn’t Kitten at that moment. Just Addie.
And I hated her.
