The MORE Trilogy (31 page)

She couldn’t believe she almost went to him, threw herself at him in a flash of recklessness before he’d looked away, obviously embarrassed at her display. She couldn’t blame him. After all, she was pretty much a big bag of trouble. She’d most likely cost him his job, his future, and—if things went wrong—would probably cost him his home and family, as well. He’d help her out of a sense of obligation. As he said, he wanted to do the right thing. But anything more than that was hopeful fancy on her part.

Caleb drew a deep breath, shifting on the chair a little, his head now cushioned by the sofa pillow. His lips parted, a soft snore escaping with every exhale.

And in that moment, Ava knew she was lost.

With a heavy sigh, she turned and went back upstairs, not even bothering with the warm milk.

Surprisingly, Ava dropped off shortly after her head hit the pillow, awaking with a start just after dawn. She could hear Caleb moving about, and after lying quietly for a few minutes, she decided there was no point in staying in bed any longer. She took a quick shower and got dressed, setting off in search of coffee. The hall bathroom door was open, and Caleb stood at the sink, looking into the mirror. His reflection smiled at her as she approached.

“Morning,” Ava said, leaning against the doorjamb. “Did you sleep well?”

“Not bad. How about you? You nervous about today?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. Trying not to think about it too much.”

Caleb opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out a plastic bottle. “Well, we have some time. After breakfast we should talk about contingency plans.”

Ava knew what he was talking about. Plans for what would happen if the Council decided Ava needed to stay in New Elysia. Plans in case they decided she needed to be “detained” or even worse, eliminated.

Plans for escape
. Ava fought a shiver at the thought, forcing herself to focus on the
here and now
instead of on the
what if.

Caleb leaned forward over the sink, holding his eye open with one hand and poking it with a finger.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He blinked a few times. “Putting in my contacts.” He clipped the lens case closed and put the bottle of solution back in the medicine cabinet.

“Contacts?” she repeated. “But, I don’t get it. You said you have perfect vision. Why do you wear contacts?”

He stared at her in the mirror for a moment. “That’s right. I never told you.”

“Told me what?”

“They’re not prescription contacts. It’s just for color.” He reached up, removing the contacts quickly and placing them in the palm of his hand, he turned around, his gaze lifting to meet hers.

Ava gasped.

Instead of the blue gaze she knew so well, she found herself looking into one blue eye . . .

. . . and one green.

Exactly like Tiernan.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out,” Caleb said, flushing slightly as he turned around to put the contacts back in again. “I would have told you, but we’ve had so much going on, it kind of slipped my mind.”

“I . . . I don’t understand,” Ava stammered. “Are you and Tiernan related or something?”

Caleb laughed. “No. No, it’s nothing like that. We all have it.”

“We?”

“The Race. The heterochromia is the only thing not covered by the Veil, although nobody’s exactly sure why.”

“Heterochromia.” Ava swallowed thickly, trying to make sense of what Caleb was saying.

It couldn’t be.

“Heterochromia. We call it HC for short. It means having two different-colored eyes.”

“I know what it means,” she said quietly.

“We all have it, but in order to fit in with humans, we use colored contacts to hide it. Most wear them all the time—even when there aren’t humans around. Maybe it’s a vanity thing.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s one case where the human ideal of beauty and normalcy has influenced our culture.

“Tiernan refuses to wear them, though. He says he doesn’t want to fit in.” Caleb laughed.

“But . . .” Ava’s heart raced as she scrambled to find a logical answer for the question prodding her. “I’ve never seen you without them.”

“Long-term contacts,” he said. “We can leave them in for a month at a time.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” she murmured, half to herself. “But . . . blue and green. The eyes are always blue and green, right?” It was a long shot, but she had to ask.

Caleb turned to face her. “No, the colors vary. Why?” His face filled with concern as Ava blanched. “What’s wrong?”

“And Half-Breeds . . . they have HC, too?”

“No,” Caleb said, stepping toward her. “I’ve never heard of a Half-Breed having it. Only Pure-Bloods. Ava, what’s going on? What’s the matter?”

Ava opened her mouth to answer, but no words would come out. Instead, she reached up to her own eyes with trembling hands, and removed her contacts to reveal their true color. Or rather,
colors
.

One brown. One hazel-gold.

Caleb’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“I’ve worn contacts since I was a little girl,” she said, filling the awkward silence. “The kids used to make fun of me, so my mom got them so I wouldn’t feel so weird. I knew it was rare. I thought I was a freak—”

“You’re not a freak.” His voice was tight, but there was no venom in his words. He just stared into her eyes, breathing softly.

After a moment, she asked timidly, “Then what am I?”

Caleb exhaled heavily, rubbing a hand over his face before replying.

“I’m not exactly sure.”

Chapter 16

Caleb poked his eggs, stealing glances every now and then across the table where Ava was doing the same. “Not hungry?” he asked.

“Not really.”

Poke. His eggs had turned a bit rubbery, fighting back against the fork.

Poke
.

“It could mean nothing, you know,” he said finally. “It happens to humans, too . . . sometimes.”

“I know.”

But Caleb didn’t really believe what he was saying. He was just unsure if he could wrap his head around the possible implications. Sure, it was possible that Ava’s heterochromia was a coincidence, but in his opinion, it was
too much
of a coincidence.

Which left him with only one conclusion: Ava wasn’t a Half-Breed at all, but a full-blooded member of the Race.

But how?

How could she live among humans all this time with no idea who—or what—she was? How had the Council been unaware of her existence? What happened to her abilities, abilities that should have come as naturally to her as breathing?

What had happened to cut her off from her people? Where were her biological parents?

The questions swirled around in his mind and, as he snuck another peek at Ava, he could imagine them doing the same in hers. Her fork clattered as she dropped it onto her plate, shoving it away.

“Okay, out with it,” she said. “You keep looking at me like you know something you’re not saying.”

“I don’t know anything,” he muttered.

“But you suspect something.”

He shrugged.

Poke
.

“Caleb, I go before the Council in less than an hour. I need to know what’s going on. We’re talking about my life, here.”

He pushed his uneaten breakfast away in frustration, sitting back and running a hand through his hair. “You think I don’t know that? I’m just trying to make sense of all of this.”

“Well, then talk to me,” she urged him. “Maybe we can figure it out together.”

Caleb hesitated, unsure if what he was going to say would reassure or worry her. But Ava simply picked up the plates and moved them to the kitchen counter before sitting back down and looking at him expectantly. “I don’t know anything for sure,” he said again. “I’ve never seen or heard of a Half-Breed with HC, although it’s not impossible, I suppose. Did the doctor say anything during your examination?”

She shook her head. “He noticed the contacts, of course, when he looked into my eyes, but didn’t make me remove them. He said it wasn’t necessary.”

“He must have assumed they were prescription,” Caleb murmured. “I suppose he had no reason to think otherwise.”

“But wouldn’t that be weird? A Half-Breed with bad eyesight?”

“Not really. The blending of DNA can have unpredictable results. That’s part of the reason the Council is so worried about it,” he said. “Usually the Race blood is stronger, but sometimes the human DNA prevails and Half-Breeds can emerge with human frailties as a result.”

Ava nodded. “So, it could be a genetic fluke.”

“Could be.”

“Or . . . ?”

“Or . . .” Caleb sighed. “It could be that you’re pure-blooded Race.”

She blinked at him for a moment, absorbing that. “You mean . . . like you?”

“Yes. Like me. Like all of us.” He watched her carefully, but her face remained impassive.

“But . . . but how?”

“I’ve been asking myself that same question. It doesn’t make any sense.” Caleb stood and began pacing back and forth to the kitchen, lost in thought.

“Well,” Ava began, “isn’t it a good thing? I mean, if it’s true that means there wasn’t any violation, at least as far as my biological parents are concerned.”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But something like this has never happened before. The Council is not going to be happy that you were hidden from them. Not to mention they’ll want to know who did it and why.

“You won’t be allowed to leave New Elysia. You’ll most likely be taken into custody, anyway,” he said, stopping to lean on the table, his eyes dark and intent. “There’s no way they’ll let you go until they get the answers they’re looking for.”

Ava swallowed thickly, pasting on a weak smile. “Well, at least they won’t kill me, right?”

Caleb’s first instinct was to reassure her, but she read his hesitation as a denial.

“You think they might?” she asked. “Even if I’m one of you?”

He sighed. “I don’t know, Ava,” he said. “I just don’t know.” She turned from him, blinking away tears, and Caleb instantly regretted his honesty. “Ava—”

“Well, there’s no use worrying until we know for sure, right?” She squared her shoulders, ready to face her fate, and Caleb felt a strange warmth at the thought.

“Right,” he said.

“And you have a plan. In case things go wrong, right?” she asked.

In that moment, Caleb knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, even if it meant fighting their way out of New Elysia. Even if it meant cutting all ties with the city, his people, even his mother. There was no question about it. As for how, he was still working on that. He knew Rafe would help. And there were others on the outside waiting for word from him.

Yes, he had a plan, he just wasn’t sure if it would work.

But at the expectant trust in Ava’s eyes he could only say one thing.

“Right.”

The weather mimicked Ava’s mood as they walked toward the Central Hall; dark clouds hid the sun, and a brisk wind gusted at unexpected moments. She and Caleb shared an umbrella, icy drizzle melting into shallow puddles on the heated sidewalk along the way. Ava huddled inside her coat, the chill in her bones not due solely to the miserable weather.