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“I watched all of you. Mikey and mom were basically brainwashed, and you did everything you could to stay away from them. I even went to the funeral.”
Auren’s chuckle was bitter, and I wished I could see his eyes. Were they burning like mine? How many times had he imagined this conversation over the years?
“They wouldn’t have believed me then, so why would I put that on you, too? It was better this way. I was able to keep an eye on you all, and Azazel never knew any different.”
Auren sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me. Aria silently agreed with me, her pity flickering down the bond.
“What do you mean, keep an eye on us? How?” I asked.
At this, Auren actually smirked. “I created a tracking app; it’s marketed towards parents, mostly, but one of our spies put it in his ear that it would be a good way to keep up with all of you. So, he had it secretly installed for me, and until recently, it was a solid way to know where I needed to have my people positioned to ensure you were all okay.”
His people. Not Kiyomasa’s or the Resistance—hispeople.
“When did you take over the Resistance?”
Auren’s head tilted, then turned sharply. Zuzanna turned the corner, smile still in place, and it was only then that I realized we’d been standing out in the open, rehashing our sordid past.
We should go. You guys can talk more later,Aria said, then stepped back enough to look at me with furrowed brows and a slight frown.
She’s right, of course, and my angel was finally starting to show some emotion about all of this. My skin was crawling, too tight, as he began to swell with about as many conflicting emotions as I was having.
I need answers,I said back. Of course, I couldn’t fully articulateexactly what I wanted him to say, but that seemed pretty close.
Aria nodded, her dark hair bouncing with the movement.You’ve got a lot out of him tonight, but I can feel… all that. You need a breather.
Her hand rested over my sternum, and I shuddered. The anger was dominant, but there was so much hurt and chaos circling just beneath her hand that I found myself agreeing with her.
Zuzanna was murmuring to Auren when I finally glanced back up at them, and he might as well have been a brick wall for all the emotion she got out of him. This was nothing like the boy I remembered, who’d been full of light and laughter.
For a moment, I could almost pretend this wasn’t him. This was just the Leader of the Resistance, handling business I wanted no part in.
“What’s the catch to us being here?” I blurted out, and Auren whipped around so fast, I nearly flinched.
His shoulders bunched, muscles flexing, and I realized I had struck a nerve.
“No catch. No games. You’re safe here, Sariel. Just follow the rules and help us keep things running,” he said.
His jaw flexed again when Zuzanna cleared her throat, sharp eyes flickering between her Leader and us curiously. She didn’t voice it, though, instead just eyeing us all as we stared at one another.
“We will, thank you,” Aria spoke for the first time since his identity had been revealed. “You seem like you have some stuff you need to handle, and it’s getting late, so maybe we can all catch up tomorrow instead?”
She turned herself to face my brother—mybrother, fuck—and smiled, even though I could feel the ache in her chest for us both.
“I’d like that,” he relented after another pause. “I’ll find you when I have some time, and we can pick up where we left off.”
With that, he nodded, then followed Zuzanna off to wherever it was she needed him to be instead of here with his family.
“C’mon, Sariel,” urged Aria. Her fingers laced through mine, and I let her lead me away in a daze.
Auren was alive, leading the Resistance, and…
Johnny was waiting in our rooms when we finally made it back, and I zeroed in on him immediately. “Did you know it was him?”
His lips thinned, and he let out a long sigh. “I thought he smelled like Auren, but I didn’t confirm it.”
“Get out.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say when my angel and I both felt the sting of betrayal. He should havewarnedme, at least prepared me for even the possibility that Auren was alive.
