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Charles shook his head. “I would never do that. Every shade in our programs is properly documented and none above a level 2.”
Lie.
Kit didn’t even look over to check—he probably know damn well Charles was lying. “We keep better track than you think, and we know more than you expect. You bribed another academy to classify level 1 shades as level two or lower, so you could take them rather than having them sent to proper facilities. Let usnot forget that, due to your inexperience in dealing with such shades, there have been no less than six deaths directly caused by shades you have no business housing.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. Besides, even if a few shades were classified wrong, that fault lies with the academy who classified them, not me or my company. Whatever you think you have, you don’t.” Charles turned his gaze toward me, as if looking for an ally. “I don’t know who this guy thinks he is but messing with me is going to bite you in the ass. You need to…”
His words trailed off, and he narrowed his eyes. His expression held confusion, as if he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. After a few slow blinks, Charles asked in a small voice, “Hera?”
My stomach sank. I hadn’t expected him to recognize me at all. For one, it had been years since we’d last seen each other, and even then we hadn’t been close. On top of that, the perfectly dressed and primped girl I’d been was a far cry from me now, where I sat there with my natural hair in a ponytail, no makeup, and wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.
It was the first time coming face-to-face with my past in such a way. I’d had the calls with my parents, with Aaron and Moa, but those hadn’t been in person. This was the first time someone from my old life had actually laid eyes on me, and his reaction was the thing I’d been worried about.
I didn’t confirm or deny his guess as he stared at me.
“It is you, isn’t it? What are you doing here? I heard you were overseas, taking a year off.”
So, that was the story my parents told everyone? Of course, that wasn’t a shock. They didn’t want the knowledge of what I’d become out in the world. Itmight harm their precious reputation, so they’d probably kept it to those who needed to know and crushed any rumors that went against their lie. Hell, I wondered if they wouldn’t fake my death to make it all go away.
He dropped his gaze to the band on my wrist and his expression hardened. He showed no pity, as if everything suddenly made sense, as if he realized I wasn’t the person he’d known before, that I wasn’t worthy of his time anymore. “I see,” he said. “I guess that explains it, doesn’t it?”
I couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore, couldn’t see the revulsion there. Being seen as who I used to be was hard enough, but that instant disappointment when he realized what I’d become?
It hurt too much.
I had no idea if Kit moved on because he needed to focus or out of concern from me. Either way, he drew Charles’ attention back to him. “You see my eyes, don’t you? You shouldn’t concern herself with her, because I am the problem here for you.”
“What are you, a telepath? Because nothing you discover would be usable anyway.”
Kat glanced around the room as if confused. “Do you truly not understand where you are? The rules outside of these walls don’t apply here. You were brought here without anyone knowing where or why. If you never show up again, it will be treated as a missing person. Or perhaps we will simply make your death look like anything we want.”
Charles narrowed his eyes, not appearing properly frightened. Then again, until I’d gotten locked up in Larkwood, I’d had no idea what a place like this was actually capable of. I’d felt so secure in my ownposition, in my safety, that I’d thought nothing could touch me. I’d thought everyone had to play by the rules as I understood them.
That wasn’t this world, though, and I had a feeling Charles would figure that out the hard way…
“You think your life is bad here? Justwaituntil I get out of here. You have so few rights already, so just imagine how much worse I can make your life.Bothof you.” Charles looked toward me. “I’m going to guess your daddy kept your name under wraps. I can’t blame him. I doubt he wanted everyone knowing he had a shade in the family.” Charles let out a cruel chuckle. “In fact, knowing this, I’d bet I could gain quite a few favors from him and your mother to keep the secret.”
I shouldn’t give a damn about my parents. They’d both tossed me away and hadn’t bothered to contact me since our first disastrous video call. Maybe it was my upbringing, the way they’d raised me to believe that the wellbeing of the family was more important than any one family member that made guilt tug at me. I didn’t want to be used as a weapon against them even if they had wronged me.
It seemed I was still a Weston no matter what they did.
Or maybe I just held out some hope that I’d get the chance to return to my old life after my escape, and if everyone knew about me, that wouldn’t be possible.
“Actually…” Charles’ smile spread in a way that turned my stomach. “I bet Larkwood will be quick to want to smooth this over. What if I ask them for you to make amends? How would you like to become my pet? You were always so untouchable before, but now? I doubt you’d be so high and mighty if you were mine to play with.”
Kit held his hand out, a flower in his palm he’d pulled out from his jacket pocket. “I find it funny how often humans fail to realize how fragile life really is. They move around in their daily routines thinking today won’t be the day, never noticing just how easy it is to pluck their lives away.” He took a petal between his fingers and pulled it free.
Charles didn’t budge. “I’ve faced people a lot tougher than you. You can’t intimidate me.”
Kit’s smile lacked any warmth. “You speak like an adult, but you’re a child to me, just someone so sure the world is what you think it is, but lacking the ability to open your eyes and truly see what surrounds you. You asked if I was a telepath, and no. I’m an Elder, something beyond anything you’ve tried to house in your little lab. What I need is the location of your housing unit where you keep the shades you have illegal possession of.”
“Such a place doesn’t exist, and even if it did, I wouldn’t tell you a word.”
Kit held his hand out flat over the center of the table so Charles could easily see it. Kit’s hand shifted, changing into his wendigo form. The flower in his palm wilted, just as the apple had done before, as if time shifted around it and it rotted before our eyes. It crumbled, then turned to dust. Kit blew the dust toward Charles, as if making the point of what he was capable of.
Charles finally looked nervous. He swallowed hard, as if he’d never realized something like Kit could exist. It was the difference between looking at a tiger through a fence and suddenly being in the same room as one. Still, he didn’t seem ready to quite give in. “You wouldn’t dare. We donate a lot of money to this place,and my father is too important. The Warden wouldn’t be happy if she knew what you were doing here.”
The door of the interrogation room opened, drawing my attention over. A woman walked in who I didn’t recognize. She was well dressed in a pantsuit, appearing to be in her late fifties, her expression serious as if she was used to taking charge. “Never make the mistake of thinking I’m unaware of anything that happens in my academy.”That voice…
