Destiny's Fire - By Trisha Wolfe Page 0,73

the time we made it back to the Academy, I wasn’t hungry anymore. Reese tossed our food into a trashcan, and for the first time ever, we walked hand-in-hand—Shythe and Narco—into the Academy.

A group of Shythe halted mid-conversation as we passed them in the hallway. Reese squeezed my hand. We had discussed that revealing our relationship was the right thing to do, but I still felt sick to my stomach as I imagined Jace running into us. I didn’t know how I’d handle that scenario. I pushed the thought away. No matter what the Councils were up to, we still had to support their decision to end the prejudice against the races. And we also figured by publicly supporting the Councils’ decision, we could get closer to them—and the truth.

As we pushed through the doors to the courtyard, I noticed downcast faces everywhere. It wasn’t our display that was upsetting people, though we did get some angry looks. There was something else going on.

I pointed to a bench. Reese led us over, but before we got there, Lana sprinted up to me with fear deep in her blue eyes. “How come you didn’t answer my data message?” she asked, creasing her forehead.

I shook my head. “What message? I didn’t get any messages.” I took out my communicator and checked. I hadn’t received a message since Lana the day before.

“Crap,” Lana said under her breath. “That means the transmission has been shut down.” She ran her hand through her hair.

“What’s going on?” Reese asked.

Lana studied him a moment, her eyes tracing his face. Then she glanced between us. “You mean you don’t know?”

“No,” I snapped. “What is it? Is it Jace?” Panic flooded my body. I didn’t know if I could handle something happening to him or him doing something stupid at this point.

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s fine for the most part.” She averted her eyes from Reese. “Have you tried to leave Haven? Like, go beyond the border?”

“No, why would I?” I asked, my eyes squinted in confusion.

“Well,” Lana said. “Looks like the humans are the only ones who can.” She plopped down on the bench and looked up at us. “The Councils raised the barrier. Except, it’s not for keeping anyone out.” She paused. “It’s keeping us in.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

REESE AND I TOOK OFF AGAIN on his levibike. We decided to go past the falls, deeper into the woods, to see if we could cross Haven’s border.

Lana had been on her way to the custodian basement when she’d run into us. She’d been trying to contact me so I could join. Knowing Reese would most definitely not be welcomed into our group, I chose to go with him. I also didn’t feel Jace truly wanted me there either, despite how much Lana insisted I come. Jace had told me himself, in his own words, that he wanted nothing to do with me.

Wind whipped my hair as we raced toward the falls. My mind reeled. I couldn’t figure out what the Councils were up to. Why would they put a barrier up that Kythan couldn’t cross but humans could? Unless they were planning something that would make us run. I shivered, trying not to think of what that something could be.

I considered what had recently taken place—the forced bonding between the Narcos and Shythe. Maybe they were being proactive. I was sure that before the year was up, if something hadn’t changed, Lana and Devon would flee. I hated that she had to go through this. And now, she wasn’t even being given the option to run.

But still, why were the humans leaving? And why were the Councils allowing them to? We needed them. We had to serve them in order for our power—our life source—to live on. Mr. Tuner had claimed that after the races were united, we’d mysteriously be set free as guardians. But that couldn’t be for years, possibly a century from now.

I pinched my eyes shut. Thoughts were coming at me too fast to hold onto. My brain couldn’t process anything. I opened my eyes when Reese’s levibike came to a stop in front of the trail.

“Tell me you have some kind of clue as to what’s going on,” I said, climbing the path beside him.

He breathed out heavily. “Dez, I’ve already told you. No. I don’t know what’s going on.” He hopped over a boulder. “Your guess is as good as mine. What do you think?”

“I don’t know. But I’m starting to freak out.”