Betrayals in Spring (9 page)

“I’m going outside. Not far. Don’t leave. I just need a minute alone.”

Blustery air stings my cheeks and I gulp it down, using the pain in my lungs to distract me. The thought of letting Lucas go again feels like Zakej punching me in the gut.

I sit on the porch even though the cold bites through the butt of my jeans. The woods are silent from here, even the sounds of the birds too far away to brighten the evening. It should start to steadily warm up soon, depending on how far north we are.

If we can find Deshi, it will all be different. We’ll have a real chance.

I hug the idea tight to my chest until my body aches. It has to be true. Cadi said we could win him back, and that he will change everything. But now we’re going to lose Lucas. Pax and I will be back to two instead of finding a way to become four.

At the edge of the lake where we arrived here, a giant fir tree stands sentry against the world. It smells like Lucas, and its trunk bulges so wide it must be older than the Others, which are two reasons I love it. Sometimes I imagine the history it has seen, the stories it might tell if it had a mouth. The first days here, when the distance between Lucas and I made me want to cry every time I looked at him, I spent hours with my cheek pressed against its rough bark, letting the cool scent and imagined sympathy of its ancient heart soothe my sorrow.

I’m staring at it now, thinking about going to it for comfort, when a door opens in its trunk and a figure that looks very much like Greer steps out into the afternoon.

CHAPTER 7.

She runs a hand through her golden hair, making it glint like she swallowed the sun, and surveys her surroundings. When she sees me, a bright smile lights her face and she makes her way to the porch, plopping down beside me.

Honestly, it’s going to take some time to get used to the way the Sidhe come and go; there don’t appear to be any rules. But my black mood dampens both my surprise and my pleasure at her appearance, and I don’t move except to offer a weak smile of welcome.

“Wow. As greetings go, that one pretty much sucked.” She shakes out her hair, blowing in her hands and rubbing them together. “Why are you sitting out here in the freezing cold? Isn’t that, like, the opposite of what you do?”

I shrug. “I needed to be alone.”

Greer laughs, moving closer to me until our sides press together. The warmth of the gesture threads comfort through my blood, even though she can’t help us. “I’ve been wondering how you’re getting along, cooped up in a tiny cabin with two boys who’re both gaga over you.”

“What’s gaga?”

“Nuts. Panting. In looooooove.” She swoons obnoxiously, but despite my best efforts, her over-the-top eye batting lifts the corners of my mouth.

The strange, easy feeling of friendship I felt in the dungeons of that Observatory Pod outside Portland returns, and relief at having someone to talk to who isn’t Lucas or Pax makes me want to chain her to the porch and never let her go. “I don’t know if that’s the case, but yeah. It’s been interesting.”

Greer’s violet eyes catch mine and a conspiratorial smile slips from her ruby lips. “I assume Lucas is going to help them? The Others, I mean.”

It should shock me that she knows about Apa and that she’s guessed what Lucas plans to do, but it doesn’t. Maybe I’m more used to her than I thought.

I nod, not trusting my voice at first. After a moment, I decide it doesn’t matter if she knows I’m upset. “Yes. We don’t have a choice, but…I know they’re not going to let him leave.”

The last part of the sentence slides out in a whisper, barely there as though if no one hears somehow it won’t be true. Greer merely nods, and we sit together as the sun sinks below the horizon and night pushes a darkening blanket across the world.

“The Others have been in an uproar the last couple of days. They’re preparing to depart. Lucas should go to them soon.”

“How can he tell them he wants to help?” We haven’t discussed that yet, and if I’m being honest, I haven’t been pushing to.

“Tell him to use the hive. All he has to do is let a Warden see him in there, and they’ll figure out the rest.” She pauses, leaning forward and rubbing a bit of mud off her foot. Her toenails are bright purple. “When Nat told me that he’d helped you, and that you all knew about Apa, I figured you guys would come to this conclusion.”

“How did you know?”

Greer meets my gaze, her violet eyes certain. “Because you’re smart enough to realize you’re not capable of saving Earth if they leave. Not yet.”

That’s why Lucas made this decision, or at least one reason, but to hear her say it makes me feel a little bit better somehow. We aren’t ready. Cadi and Ko saved our lives because they believed we can save Earth. That means we have to do whatever it takes to keep the planet safe until we’re ready to do just that.

“So, why are you here?”

“I want to help.”

“Why?” It’s not that I’m not grateful, but helping us could be the end of Griffin and Greer. The thought makes me sad, and not only because their particular brand of assistance is invaluable.

A wry smile twists her lips. “Would you believe me if I said because of love?”

A flitting memory of the regret that twisted Natej’s face scoots through my mind.

“I would, actually.” She’s staying imprisoned because she loves a Warden. I guess there’s not much Greer wouldn’t do for love. “What can you do, though?”

“No matter what they tell Lucas when they accept his help, they won’t ever let him go, you’re right about that. If Apa doesn’t recover, they’ll need him permanently, and if he does recover, having a backup plan suddenly doesn’t seem like a terrible idea. I’m going to give you a way to bring him back.” Her eyes probe mine. “If he wants to come back, that is.”

“How’s that?” Lucas steps out on the porch, moving protectively to my side in the presence of this intruder.

It bothers me that he doesn’t say that
of course
he’ll want to come back.

Pax follows him onto the porch, limping down the steps and landing on the grass with a grimace. I’m sorry to have lost my alone time with Greer, but after today, it’s best for the three of us not to keep secrets.

If it can be helped.

“Um, Greer, this is Pax and Lucas. Guys, this is Griffin’s sister,” I introduce them reluctantly.

Greer nods, her eyes merry as she takes them both in. I see them the way she must, how handsome they both are in different ways, and wonder what she’s thinking.

“I think I’ll just call you two Rock and Hard Place.”

Greer laughs at her own joke as heat flames my face, even though both Lucas and Pax look more perplexed by her statement than anything else.

I clear my throat in an attempt to divert their attention before the joke sinks in. “So, how Lucas can return.”

She holds out her hand; it’s cupped around what looks suspiciously like a piece of tree bark. It’s about two inches long and jagged on one end. When none of us move, she pushes it toward Lucas. “Take it.”

He reaches out and the shard from her hand, turning it over between his fingers. “A piece of tree bark is the answer?”

“I can see why Althea likes you. The two of you share that smart mouth.”

“Just answer him, Greer.” My curiosity piques at her gift.

“The piece of bark is from the tree by the lake, the one I used to come here tonight. Griffin and I turned it into a portal years ago, as children. When your assistance is no longer required, all you have to do is press it against another tree’s bark and it will create a portal that opens on this end, here.”

“Who says they’re going to let me wander around alone in the woods?” Lucas, ever suspicious, crosses his arms and pins Greer with a skeptical look.

“I can’t control that, Rock. This is what I can do. The rest is up to you.”

He nods, more unsure than I’m used to seeing him, and rubs a hand over his face.

Greer watches him closely, her shoulders tense. “He’s not going to die.”

“What?” Lucas looks up, his hands dropping to his sides, where they curl into fists.

“Apa. If that’s what you’re so worried about. He’s going to be fine. Just not in time to set the planet back on an even keel.”

“How long will that be?” Pax asks. He stares at Greer with a kind of reverent expression, as though he would do whatever she asked in the blink of an eye if she promised to talk to him once a week for the rest of his life.

She’s beautiful in an inhuman, ethereal way. But her heart belongs to another. An Other. Strange, but true.

“Not long, I don’t think. They’ll probably have him back on his feet and working within the week. As long as he cooperates.”

Lucas slides the piece of bark into his pocket, and through the material of his pants I see his fingers still wrapped around it. The gesture fills me with hope, lightens my leaden heart.

Over the next several minutes, Greer explains how Lucas can use the tunnels to offer his help to the Others, and I hold my breath while he leaves his body on the porch and slips into his mind, into the hive. When his eyes open again five minutes later, a mixture of relief and desolation over what’s coming next fills my lungs like tepid water and I can’t breathe. Not caring what anyone thinks, my arms go around Lucas’s neck so tight he might not be able to breathe, either.

When I pull away, the distracted distance in his blue gaze chills me more than the touch of his skin. It’s as though he’s already gone.

“The Prime said they’ll send someone to get me soon. Do you know where they’re taking me?” Lucas asks Greer. He’s a stone carving now, expressionless, hard, devoid of emotion. Ready to face whatever waits on the opposite end of this necessary but foolish mission.

I jump in, a thought occurring to me. “If someone will come get Lucas, won’t they know where we are?”

Greer shakes her head, her hair sliding onto my shoulder. “No. They’ll send a hologram. They’re kind of projecting through your hive connection, but they can’t get a read on your physical position. Only beings like Cadi, who can get through your barriers, can manage that. Those things are pretty cool, by the way. The walls you’ve been building.”

The wistfulness flowing under her words tugs at my heart. “Do you and Griffin have alcoves, too?”

“Of course. But we can’t hide the way you can.” She clears her throat, blinking rapidly as her eyes darken to the color of grapes. “At any rate, whoever they send will be able to help Lucas travel, I’m sure.”

He’s really going to leave. Pax and I are going to be alone.

I know it’s selfish to want to keep him here. Our lives aren’t more important than anyone else’s, no matter what Cadi and Ko believe. No one’s life should be more important than anyone else’s. If we believe that, what makes us different from the Others?

Even though my brain says Lucas’s life doesn’t matter more than a stranger’s, my heart insists that it means more to
me
.

When Greer looks up, her eyes have returned to normal, the shade of spring lilacs. They study Lucas, who doesn’t look away. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re their guest, Rock. You’re a prisoner. Like your father.” She doesn’t soften her words, dumping them out in a blunt heap on the porch. “I don’t know where you’re going. Whatever their sustaining resource it, they have a main Harvest Site and Apa spends a good amount of time there. I assume that’s where they’ll take you.”

Lucas looks down, nodding slowly. “Thanks. I’m going to go pack a bag, I guess.”

He goes inside, leaving Pax, Greer, and I starting at each other in silence.

“Is your brother okay?” Pax asks, toeing the mud and grass almost shyly.

“Griffin?” She shrugs. “He’s fine. Not happy the Others are watching us all more closely, but he’s fine. They’re suspicious of all the half-breeds now, after you guys and what Cadi and Ko did under their noses. Captivity is harder on him.”

“Oh.” Pax looks a little bit like a little kid who can’t go outside to play because it’s raining.

Greer laughs, a sound I wish we could hear more often. “Why does that make you sad?”

“I don’t know. I kind of thought it would be fun to hang out with him.”

The comment narrows my eyes, suspicion rising inside me like a tide. After everything that happened last winter, Pax still wants to spend time with Griffin? He must have some kind of ulterior motive, but even so, it makes me uncomfortable.

Greer laughs again, shrugging her slim shoulders. “I’ll pass along the message, but don’t hold your breath, pretty boy. Griffin’s not much for bonding with lesser species.”

Wolf barks behind the door, asking to be let outside, and Pax obliges, apparently not willing to argue the “lesser species” point. With a look back at Greer, he trades places with the dog, crossing the threshold into the cabin while Wolf trots out and rubs against my side.

A delighted grin lights up Greer’s peaches-and-cream complexion as she reaches over and gives him a good scratch behind the ears. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”

She and Griffin, in spite of the time they’ve spent with us, remain as mysterious now as the first day I laid eyes on them. The knowledge they seem to consider commonplace—like not being afraid of Wolf at all, and aware that dogs make good companions—makes me wonder how they came to possess it. There’s not enough time to discuss it, clearly, since she gets to her feet with a regretful look and stretches her long limbs.