Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) (8 page)

Now it’s my turn to be hurt, though I’m
sure that’s probably not fair. “What?” I ask. “No, of course not. I’ve told you
everything that happened between me and Hayden. There’s nothing for me to
hide.”

“Are you sure?”

Hurt morphs into anger. I’m probably being
irrational, but I don’t care. “What exactly are you asking me, Mason?”

“Did something more happen between you and
Hayden that you haven’t told me about?” he asks, his voice harder than it was
before.

“By more, you mean more than the couple of
times he kissed me?” I stare at him, shocked he’s really asking me this. “More
as in, did I sleep with him? Are you really freakin’ asking me that?”

Mason shushes me, glancing over at Hayden
and Sloane both, which only serves to piss me off even more. I am positively
livid as I look up at him. “If you really think I would sleep with Hayden while
I was worried sick about you being away from me, I…I don’t even know what to
say about that!” I hiss. “Even when I was furious at you for pulling that stunt
with
fake dating
Robin, could you really picture me running off to
Hayden, who I barely knew at the time, and jumping in bed with him? Could you
picture Hayden doing that either?”

Mason’s head drops, but he doesn’t give
up. “I don’t get it, okay? Yeah, I understand that having a stranger in your
head would be freaky, but it clearly pisses you off and I have no clue why.”

“Because Hayden is mine, not Sloane’s,” I
snap. “She can’t just waltz in here get all emotionally connected to him when
she hasn’t had to suffer through everything I have. It’s just not right, okay?
I earned those memories. She shouldn’t get to feel what I did after I saw you
with Robin, or how it felt to have Hayden put all my broken pieces back
together when I didn’t think anyone could. She shouldn’t get to know what it
felt like to be kissed by someone she doesn’t even know. Those are
my
memories, Mason, not hers.”

The next few seconds feel like years as
Mason stares straight ahead in silence. I can see his white knuckles on the
steering wheel, and I know everything I just said must be killing him, but I
won’t take it back. I just won’t.

“Are you in love with him like Sloane
said?” Mason asks quietly. The agony hovering around those words finally pricks
my hardened soul and my shoulders fall under the weight of it.

“Not like you think,” I say.

“Then explain it to me, Olivia, because
it’s killing me to watch you fight so hard to hold onto him, especially
after…my parents said we can’t be together, so maybe I should feel differently,
but I can’t just sit back and feel like I’m losing you.”

Sighing, I scoot as far forward in my seat
as I can and lean my head against Mason’s shoulder. “You’re not losing me,” I
say, “but this stuff with Sloane, it’s not easy for me. I love Hayden, and
yeah, part of me is in love with him in a way, but that will never change how I
feel about you. With Hayden, it’s more than just having a best friend. It’s
like he’s part of me. Not in the same way I feel connected to you. It’s
different, but he’s part of me all the same.”

“Why?” Mason begs.

I consider my words carefully, trying to
puzzle out what my relationship with Hayden is to me. Finally, it seems to
click together. “You know how you felt when Robin first showed up, before we
realized she was a psycho? Do you remember how it felt to have someone else
finally see you, to realize you existed outside the bubble of our family?”

Mason nods slowly, though I’m not sure he
understands what I’m getting at.

“That’s part of why I feel so connected to
Hayden. I love you, Mason, and I made you my entire world. When that world
crashed down around me, not only was I heartbroken, I didn’t know who I was
without you. I didn’t think I could survive not being by your side all the
time.” I reach my free hand up and curl it around Mason’s arm. “Then Hayden
showed up. I know part of how he made me feel was the bond of us both being
Escorts, but it wasn’t all of it. He took the time to cheer me up when no one
else outside our family would have. I was the center of his attention, not
because he owed me anything or he needed me, but just because he
wanted
to
make me his whole focus. I’d never had that before, and it’s not something I
can just forget or share with Sloane.”

A whole host of emotions flash across
Mason’s face. I can feel his body tense the longer he sits there thinking. “Do
I not make you feel like you’re as important to me as Hayden does?”

“Of course you do,” I say, “but our
relationship started out so differently. We were just kids when I found you.
You became my best friend, but we became friends because of our circumstances.
Growing up, there were times I wondered if you only thought of me as your
protector. I know you don’t think of me like that now, but we grew to love each
other in such an unusual circumstance. It was just different with Hayden. Not
better or worse. Not something I want more than what I have with you. It was
important, though, and sharing it with her feels like betraying Hayden somehow,
like it’s less special now because she’s shared it.”

Reaching up, Mason presses my head into
his shoulder more tightly. “I still don’t know that I totally understand this,
but I’m sorry I accused you of lying to me about Hayden.”

“It’s okay,” I say. In all honestly, I
probably deserved it after the way I’ve been acting.

“This whole thing has been freaking me
out,” Mason admits, “but I meant what I said earlier, that maybe it’s not a bad
thing.”

My head starts shaking immediately.
“Mason, forget what your parents said about us. Maybe having a physical
relationship will cancel out your powers or whatever, and maybe it won’t.
Honestly, I don’t think we should trust them that much. It sounds like they
lied about a few things.”

“Sloane confirmed what they said,” Mason
argues.

“Fine, then we’ll make it work.” I shrug.
That should be the end of it.

Mason is shaking his head. “You can’t give
up that much for me.”

“What am I giving up? I get you. That’s my
prize for surviving all this insanity. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.”

“You deserve better, Ollie,” Mason says
quietly. “You deserve the chance to get married, to have kids, to finally have
a normal life. I can’t give you any of that.”

“What, but Hayden can? Is that what you’re
saying? Five minutes ago you were flipping out at the very idea of me and him
being, uh, together like that. Now you’ve changed your mind?” I snap.

“I’m being realistic,” Mason argues.

“No, you’re being stupid.” I pull away
from him and slump back against the seat. He doesn’t continue the argument, but
it’s still raging inside my head. So his parents and
Sloane
say we can’t
be together. Well, who says either of them are reliable sources? We’ve been
lied to and kept in the dark since the day Robin showed up. Why would it be any
different now?

 
Chapter 10

In The Balance

(Hayden)

My eyes roll open only to be faced with
darkness. It takes me a few seconds to realize I’m not lying on a cot in my
cell, but on an actual bed. That one realization makes me pretty dang happy.
Reaching up to adjust my pillow, I realize I’m not alone. I honestly can’t
figure out why Olivia is in bed with me, but I figure I might as well take
advantage of it. Once I’ve gotten my pillow back under my head, I pull her in a
little closer and close my eyes.

Somewhere in the back of my mind memories
of last night hover, but I purposely keep them at bay for a little while
longer. Rustling somewhere in the room alerts me to the fact that we’re not alone.
I almost get worried, but I know Olivia wouldn’t be here without Mason.
Thinking of Mason sets me to wondering why Olivia is next to me instead of him.
My thoughts are still a bit muddled. It’s the lack of pain I’m feeling that
finally clues me in.

The dim pre-dawn light makes everything
look gray, so checking for injuries doesn’t work out so well, but I feel a
million times better. My arm tightens around Olivia as I realize it was her
doing. She doesn’t respond. When I look over at her, I can see well enough by
now to spot the dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t look like this last
night.

Given that I never had the chance to really
use my powers as an Escort, the only experience I have with using it is when I
helped Olivia a few times. She taught me enough that I can recognize the feel
of her power. The slow but strong hum of her power is familiar, but its usual
hearty thrumming seems lethargic against mine, like she’s bone tired.

I remember the night we rescued Mason all
too well. He was so close to dying, neither of us were sure he’d make it.
Olivia saved him, but she walked away from healing him just as strong as ever.
Clearly, healing another Escort doesn’t work that way. Part of me wants to push
her away out of fear of taking anything else from her, but after taking a quick
stock of my injuries and realizing there’s nothing left for her to heal I relax
and just hold her.

I must fall back asleep at some point,
because the next time I open my eyes the room is filled with soft light
filtering in through the partially opened curtains. Turning to Olivia, I find
her still happily unconscious. Hushed voices draw my attention to the other
side of the room where two figures sit at a little table. I have to blink a few
times to clear my vision enough to recognize Mason and the girl from last
night.

Either I made enough noise trying to look
around to spot them, or they’ve been watching for me to wake up. Regardless,
they both turn to look at me with expectant expressions. “How are you feeling?”
Mason asks.

“Uh, fine, actually. Olivia must have
taken care of everything during the night.”

Mason stands and walks over to the bed. I
half expect him to say something about the way I’ve still got my arm around
her, but he only sits down on the edge of the bed and draws her hair back from
her face. “Actually, it’s been a full twenty-four hours since we rescued you. How
is she doing?”

“Exhausted. I don’t think she’ll be
getting up for a while.”

Mason doesn’t seem surprised by this, but
then again, the big black circles under Olivia’s eyes are hard to miss. I start
to get up, feeling just a bit uncomfortable, but Mason shakes his head. “No,
stay with her for now. It seems to help.” He says it calmly, but I can tell it
hurts him to say it. Mason shakes it off quickly, though, and says, “Sloane and
I will come over here so we can start filling you in on everything that’s
happened.”

When he motions for Sloane to join us, she
gets up and glares at the floor for some reason. I don’t understand why until I
hear muffled grumbling from behind the bed and remember Robin. Yeah, it’s
definitely time for some answers. A few seconds later, Sloane and Mason are
parked next to the bed. I struggle up to sitting, but keep my left hand on
Olivia’s shoulder. When I face my friend, he sighs and runs a hand through his
hair.

“Well, let me just start from when we last
saw each other.”

So he does. I listen as Mason explains how
Robin was able to hitch a ride with them back to the Aerling world by grabbing
Olivia’s hair and the damage that simple act caused. That all seems basic
enough, but things really get weird after that. I’m not sure I’m understanding
everything as he tells me about meeting Tāwhiri, or about his and Olivia’s
connection to him and being named as his heirs. It doesn’t make a lot of sense
to my muddled brain, but I listen closely and file it all away for later.

When Mason finally finishes explaining
everything that happened in the Aerling world and at the Sentinel compound, he
looks worn out. I have about a billion questions, but I figure he deserves a
break and turn to Sloane instead. “So, how’d you get sucked into all of this?”

“I volunteered,” she says.

“Really? Why?”

Sloane’s head cocks to one side. “Because
you’re Levi’s Escort.”

“Was,” I say tightly. “I was his Escort,
and I failed to protect him. Why would you want to come here and help me?”

“There was nothing you could have done to
protect him,” Sloane argues. “Olivia showed me what happened.”

Showed her?

“Levi’s death wasn’t your fault,” she
continues.

“You don’t know anything about it,” I
snap. Mason eyes me curiously, but I keep a tight hold on my thoughts and
memories alike. The Sentinel’s words swim through my mind, taunting me, blaming
me. Pushing his voice aside only fires up my anger even more.

“Regardless,” Sloane says, “you’re a part
of my brother. The only piece left. I knew I needed to come here and help you.”

Feeling oddly angry at this girl’s desire
to help me, I turn back to Mason. “So, do we have a plan for finding the
Mother?”

“The plan depends on Olivia.” Mason
glances over at her worriedly. “Tāwhiri said she could find her. Right
now, all we can do is wait for her to wake up. Once she’s ready, she’ll do the
same thing she did to find you and we’ll go wherever she tells us to go.”

Rubbing my hand across my face, I shake my
head. “Not much of a plan.”

“No,” Mason says, “but it’s all we’ve
got.”

I shrug. “Us and plans don’t seem to be a
great mix anyway.”

“No they don’t, unless we’re talking about
breakfast,” Mason says with a laugh. “Sloane went down and got muffins and
bagels from the lobby breakfast bar if you’re hungry.”

“I’m not hungry quite yet,” I admit. My
stomach still feels a bit unsteady after all that healing. Mason leans back in
his chair looking beat. I don’t imagine he got much sleep since my rescue,
considering I looked like I’d been run over by a truck and Olivia was consumed
with healing me. Even with him and Sloane keeping watch, that’s not much time
left for catching any shuteye.

Mason seems about to doze off when a thought
occurs to me. I feel bad disturbing him, but I have to ask. “Mason, how is
Olivia planning on finding the Mother when she’s never met her?”

Shaking off his mounting weariness, Mason
shrugs. “I’m not sure what you mean. Won’t she be able to just do what she did
to find me and you?”

I know I’m not anywhere near as
experienced at being an Escort as Olivia is, but I shake my head. “She has to
know who she’s looking for.”

“How do you know that?” Sloane asks.

“Because I was with her when she tracked down
Mason, and because I could feel her searching for me.” When they both just
stare at me in confusion, I try to explain a little better. “When she went
after Mason, she had to focus her power on him, on how much she missed him and
needed to be with him and protect him. Once she got the hang of it, finding him
felt natural. I know it was a little different with me, but the same basic
principles apply. She had to be focusing on me in order to find me, using her
memories and our connection as Escorts to strengthen her power.”

Sloane and Mason glance at each other,
sharing a look I don’t really understand. Sloane drops her eyes while Mason
turns back to face me. “I get how you know about finding me. You were with her,
and she explained it in more depth later, though clearly you understood it
better than I did. But, how do you know what she was doing when she tried to
find you?”

“I already told you, I felt it.”

Mason looks at me skeptically. Sighing, I
shake my head. It’s too early in the morning to be this serious. “She sent me
the message first, right? Telling me you guys were coming to get me.” I wait
for Mason to nod before continuing. “Then she had to stop and search again
three times before you guys made your rescue attempt, right?” Mason and Sloane
nod this time.

“Look, I don’t totally understand it, but
Escorts are able to connect, emotionally. It’s mainly been a comfort thing so
far, but when she was searching, it almost felt like she was drawing on me,
strengthening our connection or something so she could find her way to me.
Every time I felt her make contact, I’d start thinking about the time we’ve
spent together and I figured it was because she was doing the same thing.”

Sloane’s voice is small as she says,
“That’s exactly what Olivia was doing.” Her words seem to carry more weight
than what I can understand right now.

Mason sighs heavily and scrubs a hand
through his already messed up hair. “What does this all mean for finding the
Mother?”

I feel like the answer should be obvious
by now, but I just got over a concussion and various other head injuries. “It
means Olivia has to have something to connect her to the Mother in order to
find her. Without that, we’ll just be wandering around blind.”

Usually I’m the last person to be accused
of being a killjoy, but Sloane and Mason both seem to deflate at that news. Mason
eventually stands and says, “I’m going to step out for a few minute to get some
air and clear my head.”

He’d probably be better off going back to
bed, but I don’t say anything. Mason doesn’t leave right away, though. He
reaches across the bed, but hesitates before squeezing Olivia’s hand. His
expression is pained as he turns away and escapes the heavy atmosphere of the
room. I know I’ve missed a lot over the last couple days, but that seemed a
little weird.

“Two questions,” I say to Sloane once
Mason is gone. “Question one. Any idea why I can see you?”

“Not a single one.”

That’s what I figured. Add that to the
list, I guess. “Second question. Is something going on between Mason and Olivia
that nobody’s bothered to mention?”

Sloane’s face twists uncertainly, which is
a clear yes, but not enough to actually explain anything. My insistent glare
eventually gets her talking. “Before we left the Aerling world, Mason’s
parents, they, uh, told Mason that he can’t be with Olivia unless he’s willing
to forfeit being an Aerling.”

“What?”

“Aerlings and humans aren’t supposed to
have physical relationships,” Sloane says quietly. “If an Aerling does, it will
strip them of their power and leave them stranded here on Earth, lost from
their Aerling families, completely devoid of purpose.” Sloane looks away. “For
Mason, it would mean losing Molly when she goes home. For the Aerlings, it
would be even worse. Mason and Olivia are Tāwhiri’s heirs. If they abandon
us, all of Tāwhiri’s power will be lost to us. He’s protected our world
from the Sentinels for centuries. Without that protection, fixing the barrier
might not be enough.”

For a moment, all I can do is stare at Sloane.
“You’ve got to be joking, right? After everything they’ve been through, after
everything they’ve survived, some Aerling god tells them they can’t be together
and that’s it? That doesn’t make any sense! Why would having sex with a human
girl take away Mason’s powers?”

Sloane shrugs, looking uncomfortable. I
don’t particularly care about that right now. I want answers and I refuse to
back down until she starts talking. “I don’t know how it works,” Sloane says, “but
it’s happened before. I just know that we’re expected to put our brothers and
sisters above our own needs. Choosing the human world over our own is
treasonous. Protecting ourselves from the Sentinels is our top priority.”

“Why?” I demand. “Why are the Aerlings so
important?”

Cocking her head to one side, Sloane
considers me thoughtfully. “Because without us, you would all die.”

Honestly it takes a few seconds for that
to sink in. “What?”

“Hayden, what makes your planet different
from the others in this solar system?”

“Water,” I say with a shrug. That’s what
NASA is always looking for on other planets, right?

“And?” Sloane hints.

At first, I don’t know what she’s
expecting me to say. Then it hits me. “An atmosphere. Air.” She nods slowly,
but I’m still not sure I get it. “So, what? Are you claiming that the Aerlings
created Earth?”

“No,” Sloane says, “but we were charged
with protecting the life on this planet since before its creation. If we’re
destroyed, life on Earth will fail because there will be no one left to protect
its life-sustaining structure. The Aerlings keep your world in balance, though
with our dwindling numbers, it’s been more difficult over the last century.”