"NOT ME, NO," SAID Maverick. "But our people here. They're just doing what Ira wanted us to do.""Polaris spies are following me?" My voice rose higher with each word. I didn't want anyone spying on me."Tru," he said gently. "You've always had Polaris watching you to some degree. Ira knew how important you were, how important you still are. Let's just say some of the people in your life are there to keep an eye on you, to protect you, and we've increased security.""Who?" I demanded, wanting to know which one of our friends was a spy. Who wanted a fake friend?"Don't worry," he said, a little contrition tinting his voice. "It's not like your whole life is a lie."He was so wrong. My entire life was a lie. My mom and dad had never told me I was adopted, or whatever it was called when you took over someone else's kid. From what I'd gathered in my vision, I wasn't sure it had been done legally. "Tru, your mom and dad love you as much ... I mean, you're related to them ... gah! You
I PUT THE FINISHING touches on my makeup, checked myself out in the mirror one last time, and smiled at my reflection. My hair was behaving, my skin-tight pants hugged my hips and thighs in all the right places, and my pink shirt made my skin brighten with color. As I grabbed my jacket and wallet, a pile of letters fell to the floor. I paused, contemplating what those letters might say for the umpteenth time. I checked my phone. No text from Ruthie saying she was on her way, which meant I had time to read them.Maverick had said that Mom and Dad were unaware of the supernatural world, but I knew my mom had been gifted. It could be laughed off as extreme intuition, but now that I knew she'd come from idimmu parents, I wondered how much she had known. Ruthie had been full of suspense when she'd given the letters back to me. She'd read most of them, the little sneak! But true to her word, she hadn't breathed a word of their contents. She'd only suggested in a gentle voice that I should r
MY FRUSTRATION REACHED A boiling point. Zander had conspired with Ruthie to force me into confronting Caroline despite knowing how much I didn't want to talk to her. I felt so betrayed. Wrenching around to glare at him I found him squinting back at me, his eyes slightly unfocused. Was he trying to read my mind? We'd been practicing it a little, but now was definitely not the time to go poking around in my head. Pressing my lips together, I pictured the wall that I'd been trying to break down all week, but this time, instead of trying to disintegrate it, I imagined adding bricks. I piled them up, layer by layer and felt them slamming into place. Zander twitched, his eyes widening before turning down with disappointment. It worked! I'd blocked him out. A wave of guilt batted at me, but I brushed it away. It served him right for tricking me like this. He definitely hadn't thought it through."And what do you think is going to happen when you show up at the Efoti's cabin, huh?" I said. "Y
SCOWLING, ZANDER SLOWLY PULLED onto the road. He wasn't the only one as tense as a wind-up toy. I looked over my shoulder at my friend in the back seat. "Are you all right?" I asked. Her face was still a little pale, but otherwise, she seemed unhurt. "When I get my mojo back, I'm going to drop-kick Isaac in the nards," she vowed.I darted a glance at Zander to see the corner of his mouth inch up. "Just make sure I'm there to see it," he said, some of his stiffness melting away. I smiled at Ruthie. That had been unpleasant, but the biggest hurdle was still to come. I hoped that the Efotis would see the Zander that I knew and loved.A few minutes later, we pulled into their gravel driveway and parked next to the Range Rover again. The familiar wood house stood before us, framed by towering trees and a darkening sky. It looked the same as before, but this time I knew exactly what I was walking into.Isaac was already waiting for us on the front porch, dressed in jeans and a t-shi
"ZANDER!" I YELLED TO him through our mental connection. I renewed my struggle against Caroline, but she held tightly, her grip like super glue. All I could do was stare at Zander and watch events unfold. He stood straight and tall, regret and resignation filling his face. My mind called to him again, but he didn't answer. Then I remembered the bricked-up wall that I'd raised on our drive here. I imagined a bulldozer swinging at it, and a second later it tumbled to the ground. "Zander!" I tried again."It's going to be okay," he answered, keeping his eyes on Iosefa. "Stay where you are.""What do you think you are going to do? He's trying to kill you. And if he doesn't, Isaac's parents will. And then there's crazy Caroline."Zander smiled and although I knew he'd been smiling at what I'd said, it seemed to inflame Iosefa. He responded with a menacing snarl that almost made me pee my pants. It was a predatory kind of growl that reminded me of the sound the dinosaurs on Jurassic P
SITTING ON THE EFOTIS' couch in an uncomfortable silence as everyone looked at one another awkwardly reminded me too much of the last time I was here. Sure, we'd discovered Isaac was a siren. But so what? This house was full of supernatural oddities. Why was everyone acting like he was a freak now? At least Iosefa had put on some clothes. He sat across the room near the hearth of the fireplace with Caroline tucked under his arm. She hadn't protested when Zander pulled me down next to him on the couch, tucking my hand in his, but she still stared at him warily, like he was going to pull out a gun and start shooting.Phoebe sat near Isaac, leaning against his arm, somehow bolstering him. It was as if she was recharging him, like a battery. I thought about my comparison and realized that's exactly what was happening. Somehow, she was giving him strength. The dark circles under Isaac's eyes were starting to fade, his skin gaining more color. In contrast, Phoebe had grown pale and limp.
I LET HER PULL me all the way over to her car before I finally came to my senses. "Ruthie," I said, yanking my arm out of her tight grip. "I can't leave Zander in there alone with them!" I tried to turn back, but she grabbed my wrist. "Ow! You're hurting me.""Good!" she yelled. "You seriously have some explaining to do because I think I just saw you doing that brain talking thing with Zander." My jaw dropped to the ground. "Yes!" she yelled. "I knew it. You and Z can speak in your heads like the twins." She let go of me and leaned on her car. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that. I thought we were best friends." She stuck out her lip, pouting.I frowned, rubbing my arm. "You are my best friend." But was she still? Had Zander taken her place? No. That was stupid talk. Zander may have become as important to me as air, but that didn't mean Ruthie wasn't important, too. "Ruthie," I said, reaching out to her with one hand. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. But you're right
I'D NEVER BEEN SO uncomfortable in my life. Caroline grilled us for at least thirty minutes and she gave Ruthie a run for her money when it came to squeezing out information. My hands had begun to sweat within minutes and I soon pulled them from Zander's grasp to fold them into my stomach, wishing I were anywhere but here. He tried to tell me in my mind that it was going to be okay, but Caroline somehow guessed that we were talking and demanded we desist our mental communication. What the heck?! How did she know? Then she laid out a new set of dating rules for us that had me grinding my teeth. My only comforting thought was that she had no way to enforce any of them. I just sat there silently, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. Suffice it to say, she was no longer worried about Zander dragging me off to Eden and the Nasaru. Now she was worried we'd sneak off and have sex every chance we got. She said that although the aramusatu attraction was difficult to resist, we had to