Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) - By Fionn Jameson Page 0,84
his eyes relaxed, almost imperceptibly. “Someone will pay, but not Ran. You have no idea how much she has given us. Accusing her of treason would be like calling me a traitor.” His voice hardened. “Or is that something you want to do? Would you like to beat a confession out of me as well?”
She shook her head mutely and rubbed a wrist over her eyes.
Idiot. That’s why I never got close to anyone. I wasn’t unfriendly to those I came into contact, but I was all too aware of the dangers of our mission. To not expect death was to open yourself to pain and I was no fool. That I had survived this long was always something I marveled at. I walked into every encounter prepared to die and the Gods or Fate had smiled upon me. That Beth let the sorrow control her emotions, her moves made me think less of her. More than her urge to take my life. If she had any other reason for killing me, be it to show her strength or through some long hatred, I would have taken her challenge gladly. But to accuse me of a cravenly crime...that I could not, would not accept. “The pain will pass.”
My words felt woefully short and yet it was nothing but the truth.
She turned on me, one hand clenched into a fist that could knock me senseless in one blow “You know nothing! Don’t you dare to patronize me, you cold bitch.”
Trent put a hand on her shoulder, as if to remind her of his presence. “You don’t know this. It’s the only reason why you aren’t taking her words to heart.”
“Know what?” she asked, eyes flashing.
He looked at me with his silver eyes over her head and in them, I saw memories I thought I had forgotten. But even I’m not that lucky. “Fourteen years old, Ran was part of the Fellowship. She was training here.”
Someone gasped. I hoped it wasn’t me. “You bastard.”
He squared his jaw. “Your doubters need to know. They need to understand. They need to know why you hunt monsters. They need to know you have lost more than they could possibly imagine. A lesser person would have gone insane. But you...somehow, you channeled that rage. They took everything from you and you became stronger.” He closed his eyes for just one moment as if seeing memories playing on the insides of his eyelids. “Before we were raided, you were...passable. Not really anything to write home about. But after...Jesus, Ran. It was like watching someone completely different.”
I remembered. My scars twinged at the remembrance of the pain. “Please. Stop. It’s in the past. It’s over.”
The hate was still there, but it was tempered by something else. Pity? “Who did you lose?”
I felt like the highlight of a circus freak show. Still, if it kept me alive, then I could stand the stares and quiet speculation. “Family.”
That was all I could, would give them. Anything more and I was going to embarrass myself in front of a group of people who wanted more than to see if I bled just the same as them.
She turned away and left the room without so much of a backwards glance, not another word and after a moment of awkward silence, everyone else milled out, leaving me alone with Trent.
“Thank you.”
He let one shoulder lift and then drop carelessly. “Why? All I did was tell them your history. Now, let’s get out of here. This place always rubs me the wrong way.”
Trent had a set of rooms in the Sanctuary, near the edge of the compound, but we chose to sit outside on the upraised platform, feet dangling in the air. I couldn’t remember the last time I sat like this. “It’s cold.”
He nodded and stared up at the dark sky. “Do you think it’ll stop snowing?”
I ignored him. “Is it true then? About...about Adrian?”
He swallowed and tucked his hands into the wide Mandarin sleeves. “She told you about that?”
My throat felt tight and a strange heat rose in my nose. “So it is true. Adrian’s dead.”
Anyone would have avoided my gaze. Trent did not. It was one of the many things I admired about him.
“I’m sorry, Ran.”
“Yeah,” I said, voice hoarse. “Me too.”
“We don’t know who did it.”
Wetness streaked my cheeks and I rubbed my cuffs at the moisture, trying to vain to keep down the roiling emotions that fought to break loose. “I thought so. If you knew, then the murderer