Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,99

but I heard the questions that kept ringing in their minds. Amber was still trying to process everything.

“Amber,” I began softly, “I think we need to talk a little about what happened tonight.”

She looked at me dully. “You saved my life tonight, you and Michael. I still don’t get how you knew what was going to happen. Did the other girls tell you?”

“No,” Michael said. “I think Nell’s friends were out of the loop on this one.” He glanced at me. “Or they made a good show of it, anyway.”

“They didn’t know,” I answered with certainty. “They suspected, maybe, that Nell was up to something she hadn’t shared with them, but I don’t think any of them knew what it was. Or even guessed at what she really had in mind.”

Marly looked from Michael to me. “Which was…?”

Michael shot me a questioning glance before I answered his mother. “Nell was planning to kill Amber tonight.”

The room became completely still. Luke was the first one to speak.

“That’s a very serious accusation, Tasmyn. I know you wouldn’t make it lightly. What exactly happened?”

This was the trickiest part. “I can tell you our part, but Amber knows more than we do,” I replied. “Michael and I suspected that Nell intended to do something to Amber, but we didn’t know it was going to be tonight. Then they both disappeared from the dance, and we got anxious. We convinced Liza to tell us where they usually met, and somehow we got there in time. Nell had attacked Amber. She had a knife with her—” this news elicited a gasp from Marly, “—but we don’t know where it went in the confusion of getting her under control.”

“Michael, why didn’t you call for help? You could have both—all—been badly hurt, if Nell was as out of control as you say.” Luke’s voice was rough with anxious concern.

“There wasn’t time, Dad. And in the beginning we didn’t have any proof. Turns out we still don’t. We had to just let Nell leave and get Amber out of there.”

“You did the right thing,” Marly interjected. “We can always call the police now.”

“And tell them what?” Michael asked. “Nell threatened to turn it all on us, and she’s right. We know her friends will back her up on anything she says. Unless we find that knife, there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’m a little confused about one thing,” Marly said slowly, and my heartbeat quickened. I knew what she was going to say, because it had been rolling around her head all during this conversation. I had a decision to make.

“How did you two know what Nell was going to do? If someone told you, that person could be a witness. Or if you overheard Nell telling someone else…”

Michael didn’t answer; he simply looked toward me. And I knew what I had to say. It was awkward with Amber here too, but I decided that after all we had been through, she deserved to know as well.

“Nell’s been planning this for a long time. She’s been thinking about it. And—” I took a deep breath. “I could hear her. I could hear her planning to do something horrible to Amber.”

Again the room was quiet. “What do you mean, you could hear her?” Marly queried.

“I mean, I could hear her thoughts. I can do that. I can hear what people are thinking. I try not to, most of the time, but sometimes I can’t help it.” I looked at both Luke and Marly, pleadingly. They were staring at me, blankly. In her chair in the corner, Amber looked bewildered.

“Mom, Dad, this doesn’t change who Tasmyn is. She just has a talent you didn’t know about. She’s still the same person you know and—”

“Michael, don’t be stupid.” Marly’s voice was impatient. “We know that. Just because we’re a little surprised doesn’t mean it changes how we love Tasmyn, not one iota.”

Relief flooded my heart. I hadn’t realized how much it mattered to me, what Luke and Marly thought.

“So…” Luke spoke. “You… heard… what Nell was planning, and you decided to try to stop her yourselves?”

Apparently we weren’t going to deal with my rather unusual gift just at this moment. Actually, I was kind of grateful that they seemed to be taking it so matter-of-factly.

“We didn’t know what else to do,” Michael answered his father. “We handled it the best way we could.”

“Tasmyn, do your parents know about this?” Marly wanted to know.

I hesitated, not sure of what she meant at first. Luckily