 
Dissever (Unbinding Fate Book One)

Colee Firman

Other books in the Unbinding Fate Series:

Sanctify (Unbinding Fate Book Two)

Chasing Darkness (Unbinding Fate Book Three)

Twisted Memories (Unbinding Fate Book Four)

Hellfire (Unbinding Fate Book Five) Available Fall 2014

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Unbinding Fate

Book One

Dissever

http://www.unbindingfate.com

Copyright © 2012 Nicole Firman

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction

in whole or in part in any form.

Cover design by James

www.GoOnWrite.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Prologue

The snow was piling up in the driveway as Addy stared out the window of the music room. She pressed her hands flat against the cold glass, watching as the condensation outlined her fingers. Movement outside caught her eye and she shifted her focus to the boys as they loaded their snowboards into the back of the truck.

It was her eleventh birthday and she couldn't believe they were going to miss her party to go on a ski trip. Gage had been there for every single birthday she'd ever had, and Matt had been at every one since he'd moved to the estate six years earlier.

The sound of footsteps made her whip around and she slid back into the bench in front of the piano. She started flipping through the sheet music in front of her, trying to look interested.

"I don't hear any music," Doris said, walking in and taking a seat on the davenport. "Your grandfather will be back from meeting with the West family soon and he'll want to hear you play."

Addy dropped her hands into her lap. "It's not fair that I have to practice on my birthday."

"You didn't mind doing your combat practice this morning," she said, raising her eyebrows at Addy.

"That's different—it's fun. This is—" Addy paused and looked out the window as Matt passed by on his way into the house. "Not as fun."

Doris sighed. "Alright fine—since it's your birthday, you can—"

Addy was on her feet running for the door before Doris was finished speaking. She turned around and popped her head back through the door. "Thanks!"

Doris smiled at her and nodded.

She hurried down the hallway toward the coat room. She figured that's where Matt would be heading to get his gear. She rounded the corner, still running, and smacked right into him. They both fell down, hitting the marble floor hard.

"Geez, Addy!" he shouted, getting to his feet.

She stared up at him from the floor, rubbing her throbbing palms together. He was almost fourteen, but Addy thought he still sounded like a little kid when he yelled.

"I'm looking for my blue goggles," he said, turning into the coat room. "Seen them?"

Addy pushed her long dark hair out of her eyes and stood up, following behind him. "Why do you have to go today? Can't you go tomorrow—or later tonight, after my party?"

"It's not up to me. Gage wants to go early and he's driving," Matt said, tossing the items from the shelves onto the floor as he searched.

She glanced up, spotting the blue goggles he was looking for peeking out from under a pink hat. "How come Gage doesn't like me anymore?"

"I don't know," he said, tossing his hands in the air. "Could you help me look since you're just standing there?"

Addy kept her eyes on the goggles, but didn't point them out. "He doesn't even talk to me. We used to be friends."

Matt dropped his shoulders and turned to face her. "I guess I'll have to buy some new ones when we get to the lodge. Got any birthday money you wanna loan me?"

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "Are you gonna stop liking me when you turn sixteen too, Mattie?"

"Who says I like you now," he said, making a face at her.

Addy stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not saving you any cake and you don't get to play with any of the cool stuff I'm gonna get since you don't—"

"Dude, what the hell's taking so long to grab goggles?"

Addy turned around and looked up at Gage, who'd walked up behind them. He'd gotten so tall over the last couple of years that she was barely above his elbows when she stood up straight. His blond hair was wet and had melting snowflakes sticking to it.

Matt kicked at the items he'd strewn all over the floor. "I can't find them."

"They're right there," Gage said, pointing at the shelf. "Grab them and let's go. The roads are getting bad."

"Sweet." Matt reached over and snatched the goggles from the shelf. "All of my gear went flying last time I wiped out—I thought maybe I'd lost them."

Gage turned around and walked out of the coat room without even acknowledging she'd been standing there.

"Happy birthday, Addy," Matt said over his shoulder as he followed Gage. "Save us cake!"

She plopped down on the floor and kicked the door shut with her foot. On their birthdays, Gage's mom always made chocolate cake with coconut frosting for her and Gage because it was their favorite.

Since the boys thought snowboarding was more important than her party, she was going to make sure neither of them got any cake—even if she had to eat it all herself.

The door was suddenly whipped open and she looked up. Gage walked in and stepped over her. He started looking through the shelves like she wasn't even there.

There was a time when Gage would've sat down on the floor next to her and asked why she was sitting in there all alone on her birthday. Over the last few months he'd changed though. He never spoke to her and hardly even looked in her general direction.

Gage moved to the estate with his mom the same week Addy was born. She'd known him her entire life. Every memory she had included him in some way. Having him treat her like a stranger was devastating.

Addy had tried talking to her grandfather about it, but he just said Gage was older now and probably didn't want a little girl following him around anymore. It seemed like more than that to her though—one day he was her friend and the next it was like she didn't exist.

After not finding what he was looking for on the shelves, Gage glanced at the items Matt had tossed on the floor. Addy noticed he was holding a black and green glove in his hand, so she started looking around in the pile for its mate.

Gage crouched down, spotting it under Addy's foot. She looked at the faint blue symbols covering the top of his hand as he wrapped his fingers around the glove and pulled it free. He was an Akori like Matt, but Addy was just a human. She wondered if that was the real reason he didn't want to be her friend anymore.

Gage glanced into the hallway, and then back at her with his bright blue eyes . "Happy birthday," he whispered.

Addy felt her lip quivering and she bit it, trying to hold in the sob she felt coming on. It was the first time he'd spoken to her in weeks. She blinked and the tears she was trying to fight off trickled down her cheeks.

He reached over and wiped her face with his thumbs. She thought he was going to say something, but he just looked down at the floor as he dried his hands on his jeans.

"Gage, please don't go," she said, sniffling. "You always come to my parties. It won't be fun without you and Mattie."

Addy watched his shoulders drop. Gage took a deep breath and stood up. He jammed the gloves into his back pocket and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

As soon as the door closed, she got to her feet and wiped her hands across her face. If he didn't want to be her friend, then she wasn't going to try to be his anymore either. And if he ever tried—she was going to turn her back on him, just like he'd done to her.

Chapter 1

"It's not coming—there's no way he'd move it back here after what happened last time," he said, kicking at the sand. "Let's go."

Her hair was whipping around from the strong breeze coming off the ocean and she gathered it, pulling it into a bun at her neck. "He's dying and he has no heir to take his position as the Overseer—he has no choice."

He cut his eyes at her. "In nearly 250 years the Sanders family has never moved it to the same place twice. We're wasting our time."

"Remember, before they were trying to keep it hidden by moving it to a different place every year," she said, "but Fate can't afford to do that this time. He needs to make sure every Akori knows right where to find it."

"Even if it does show up here, that still doesn't get us any closer to getting the Overseer's Stone, or figuring out how to get the power from it."

She put her hand up at him. "One thing at a time—first we need Tremain. They said it'll be here tonight. "

"Yeah, based on information from someone who may or may not still be on our side."

"Don't let them hear you say that. A lot of planning and time went into getting to this point." She raised her arm, pointing across the beach. "That guy over there's been watching the same place we have all night. He was there when we got here earlier."

"I noticed." It was difficult to see through the moon light and he squinted his eyes as he looked in the man's direction. "He doesn't really look like he's trying to hide it either."

"Think he's one of their people? Maybe they sent him ahead to make sure it was safe."

"Not sure. Stay here, I'll go check him—" He gasped and took a few steps forward. "Look!"

A faint blue glowing began swelling up from the ground in the empty beachfront lot ahead of them. They watched from behind the tall grass growing along the edge of the sand as an ancient looking estate took shape.

She walked up behind him and slipped her hands up his shoulders. "Let's get out of here before one of their scouts spot us."

As if she hadn't even spoken, the man began walking quickly toward the twenty-foot tall stone walls surrounding the grounds of the estate. The woman reluctantly trailed behind him. She glanced toward the spot where the other man had been standing.

"C'mon, we need to report it's here," she said in a hushed voice. "And the guy who was watching is gone—he probably saw us."

The man glanced at her quickly as he reached the corner of the wall. He pressed his hand flat against the stone. "It's freezing."

She reached up and placed her hand next to his. "It just came from somewhere cold—really cold."

He tipped his head back, looking up. She followed his eyes and they both stared up at a fifty-foot tall obelisk covered with glowing blue symbols. There was one standing at each corner of the wall. The top of the wall was covered with several inches of snow that glowed against the dark sky above them.

He grinned at her. "Let's just take a quick look around."

She looked back at him with uncertainty, but followed behind him as he began moving. They skirted the edge of the wall until they came to an archway. There was a gate, but it was wide open.

She grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Just a quick peek?"

He nodded and continued through the opening to the estate. The ground under their feet was covered in a thin layer of slushy snow. It was melting fast in the heat and soaked through their shoes. The smell of soggy wet earth was already beginning to fill the air.

They looked around to find themselves standing at the far end of the grounds—it looked similar to a garden with benches, hedges, statues, and leafless trees. There was even an empty swimming pool surrounded by tables and chairs layered with snow.

Every building in sight was made of grey stone and carved with symbols. Stone paths branched off of a main walkway in different directions, each ending at one of the small stone houses that lined the edge of the garden. At the end of it, straight ahead of them, was the enormous main house. It was on the opposite end from where they'd entered and took up the entire space.

The woman leaned over. "It looks just like the drawings we saw in the—"

"Shhh! Get down." He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the snow topped hedges.

They held their breath and watched as two men passed by, heading for the front gate. Once the men were out of view the woman closed her eyes and shook her head.

"We gotta get out of here," she whispered, backing toward the way they came. "If we get caught they'll—"

Suddenly the man was thrown to the ground, sinking in the sloppy melting snow. The woman started to flee but couldn't get any traction and slipped. She was quickly grabbed from behind and a hand was firmly placed over her lips. The glowing blue symbols on the hands indicated they belonged to an Akori.

An angry voice filled her ear. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

The man on the ground let out a huge sigh of relief as he recognized the voice. He got to his feet and shook the icy water from his hands. "Damn, I'm glad it's only you—I thought we were done for."

The woman was immediately released and shoved into the man. She whipped around to face the one who'd had a hold on her.

"Well, don't you look—different," she said, sizing up their aggressor. "I haven't seen you in at least—"

"Get out, before you screw up the entire plan. Let them know we've got the girl under control and she won't be an issue—no matter what happens. I'll visit as soon as it's safe."

"Will do," the man said. He took her hand, pulling her toward the beach. "We've seen enough anyway."

Standing in the garden, Addison Sanders stared out at the ocean in the distance. It was hard to believe just yesterday she'd been looking at snow capped mountains from that exact spot. It was by far the most wonderful place they'd ever been. Usually, the landscape looked pretty much the same the morning after the estate moved to a new location. Addy was shocked when she woke up and found they were in the middle of a busy tourist town, right on the beach.

The tradition after a move was for everyone who lived at Tremain to gather together as Addy's grandfather, Fate Sanders, said a few words. She looked on as Akori slowly migrated to the garden to listen to him speak.

The tropical sun was hot and Addy twisted her long dark hair into a messy ponytail as she waited. The garden was getting crowded, but her grandfather still wasn't anywhere in sight. Glancing at the time on her phone, she also started wondering what was taking her friend Kim so long to get there. Addy decided to head down the sidewalk toward her villa to get her.

The entire south wing of the main house was where her grandfather lived. From where she was walking, Addy could see the terrace that wrapped around his side of the building. She thought maybe he'd be out there since he wasn't in the garden, but she didn't see him.

The large gate across the driveway was rarely closed, but as she made her way around to Kim's villa, Addy saw it was shut securely with two of the Akori guards posted in front of it. They always locked the estate down after a move while scouts were sent out to confirm they were safe.

As she made the turn up Kim's sidewalk, Addy noticed palm trees peeking up outside the walls of the estate. That was something she never thought she'd see. Being at the estate without any snow was like seeing an entirely different place. The grass was soggy, but there wasn't one single patch of the white stuff left in sight.

The structures that made up Tremain looked ancient, but on the inside they were completely modern. All except for the library—that was the only place that looked exactly as it did when Oren Sanders, the first Overseer of the Sanders family, laid eyes on it. Her grandfather wouldn't allow any changes to it at all—not even electricity.

Addy reached up to grab the door handle to Kim's villa just as it was whipped open. She and Kim both jumped back and shrieked.

Kim put her hand on her chest and smiled after getting over the shock. "Did you see where we are?"

"Kind of hard to miss," Addy said, grinning. "I've been waiting for you in the garden."

Kim smiled back at her. "I couldn't find anything to wear that wasn't lined with fleece."

Clothes were going to be an issue for everyone until they could get to the store. Almost everything Addy owned was for cold and snowy weather, since that's where they'd always lived. She'd just thrown on cut off jeans and a tank top when she was hurrying to get dressed after discovering where they were. Kim had clearly put a little more effort into getting ready, and managed to pull together a semi-stylish outfit.

"The weather's perfect," Kim said, looking up at the sky as they walked back to join the others in the garden. "Living here is gonna be like being on vacation for an entire year. It's so much better than back home."

Addy smiled and nodded, remembering what the rough winter weather was like where Kim grew up. That may have been the worst place Addy's grandfather had ever moved the estate. The only good thing about it was meeting Kim.

Tremain had relocated just outside of Kim's hometown three years earlier. Her parents owned the bookstore where Addy had made frequent trips for her grandfather. Kim and Addy became instant friends, and it wasn't long before Addy was confessing everything about her strange home situation to her.

Explaining how she and her Grandfather lived at an ancient estate belonging to a group of immortals called Akori seemed much easier in Addy's head than it had turned out to be. Adding the part about Fate being the human Overseer of the Akori and his ability to move the estate around with powers stored in a slab of stone may have made her story seem even more unlikely.

Addy's grandfather, and all of her grandfathers before him, acted as a bridge between the Akori and the humans—only the humans didn't know about the Akori. Her family took care of Tremain, which was kind of like the Akori's home base, while most of them lived amongst the humans. That's what being the head of the Sanders family was all about—your life was dedicated to the Akori—to being what they called the Overseer.

Kim had a million questions that Addy had no good answers for—she'd never really thought about most of them. She'd been around the Akori her entire life—asking where they came from and how it was possible to shift time or move the estate was like asking how humans came to be—there was no real answer. The Akori were just there—living like the human. It was Addy's normal—all she'd ever known.

Aside from the blue symbols marking the tops of their hands, Akori looked exactly like humans. Their immortality coupled with their ability to slightly shift time back definitely set them apart though.

It took a lot, but the girls persuaded Addy's grandfather and Kim's parents to let her stay with them. Kim's parents didn't really want her moving away, but she was already eighteen and out of school. They knew she'd go regardless of what they said.

Fate stressed to Addy that it was a very big deal letting a human live among the Akori, and Addy always had to be sure Kim stayed out of trouble or her grandfather would send her back home.

Everyone was gathered in the open area of the garden when they walked up, but Fate still wasn't there. Addy spotted her grandfather's childhood friend Bernard and his wife Doris entering from her left. Only five humans, including her and her grandfather, lived at Tremain. They were two of them. The other human was Kim.

"It's strange Fate's not out here yet," Addy said, leaning over toward Kim. "I'm gonna go see what's going on."

Addy pushed through the crowded lawn to the front where Bernard stood talking with Gage and Malcolm. They were the Akori guards who'd been at the front gate. Seeing them there, instead of being posted at the front of the estate had her worried.

"Good morning," Bernard said, turning his attention at Addy as she approached. "This place was quite a nice surprise."

"Surprise doesn't cover it." Addy put her hands up, motioning around. "Not that I'm complaining, but why'd he move us somewhere good for a change?"

"I'm as baffled as you are," he said, following her eyes. "I had no idea we were coming here of all places."

"So," she said, moving a little closer to him and lowering her voice. "We're all waiting—where's Fate?"

Bernard stepped forward, taking her hand. "I just spoke to him. He's weak, but he's ok. The move took a lot out of him."

Addy diverted her eyes. "Oh."

At eighty-three years old, Fate had lived the longest of any Overseer ever. He warned Addy that moving the estate would take a toll since his health was bad, but she didn't expect him to miss speaking to everyone. In her entire nineteen years being alive, he'd never missed addressing everyone after a move.

"Your grandfather will be fine," Bernard said, nodding at Addy. "He'd like to meet with us this evening, but for now he wants you to go enjoy the beach while he rests."

Addy glanced over her shoulder at the group of Akori standing behind her. "What should we do about them?"

Bernard looked in Addy's direction and raised his eyebrows. "What would you like to do about them?"

Fate always said she was to take charge when he wasn't around and not rely on the others to tell her what to do—that one day when he was gone it would be her job. It was just easier said than done. She's grown up with the Akori at the estate—she respected them and they were her friends. Telling them what to do was awkward.

"We should probably just send everyone away unless you want to speak to them," Addy said with a slight amount of uncertainty.

Bernard was clearly trying to force back amusement as he spoke. "Do you want me to speak to them?"

Addy rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "Fine," she said, tipping her head to the side. "Please let the group know what's happening."

Bernard motioned to Gage and Malcolm, the Akori guards who were still standing there waiting for her to say something to them.

She shrugged her shoulders. "You guys can just break up the group or something after Bernard is done talking, I guess."

Malcolm and Gage exchanged looks and headed off.

"We'll have to work on that part, I guess." Bernard grinned, patting her on the shoulder as he made his way to the front of the impatient looking crowd.

Chapter 2

Addy and Kim fully intended to spend every minute they could by the water. It'd been so long since they'd been swimming that they had to hit one of the souvenir shops along the little downtown area for bathing suits before going to the beach. Addy couldn't even remember the last time the pool was open on the estate—there was a good chance she may have even forgotten how to swim.

Addy turned her head sideways, assessing what was going on in front of her. "They know the poles go in the sand, right?"

Kim laughed, snapping pictures of them. "Well, at one point they did, but I can't be sure now."

The girls had been watching their friends trying to set up a net to play volleyball for the last twenty minutes.

"You know, this is the first time we've been to the beach together. I never thought we'd see a warm place," Kim said, putting her camera away. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, maybe Fate's fingers slipped. He probably meant to move us to the coast of the Arctic Ocean, not the Atlantic." Addy laughed, but deep down thought she could be right.

The estate never went to the same place twice, so Addy hoped her grandfather simply ran out of cold places to stick them. The last place they lived was completely dreary, and basically sunless. Fate always moved to cold places in the middle of Nowheresville, and if Nowheresville had snow, well that was even better.

Addy slipped on her sunglasses and adjusted her chair. "You want another bottle of water?" She held out a dripping bottle from the cooler.

Kim reached over and took it by the lid.

"I expect an apology for your constant questioning of my choice in car," Addy said, reaching over and nudging Kim's arm.

Kim made a face at her back. "Never gonna happen."

Addy couldn't wait to get her new drivers license and plates on her car so she could drive it with the top down. When she turned 18, her grandfather let her pick any car she wanted as her gift. She picked a black convertible sports car, which completely sucked in the snow, and she'd taken a lot of teasing about since they always lived in places with ice covered roads.

Addy pointed to their friends. "Wow, they actually got the net up."

Once he noticed her pointing at them, her friend Matt pointed back and shouted for them to come play. Reluctantly, they got up and joined the group. There were twelve of them ranging in age from 15-25, all Akori except Kim and Addy.

"You guys are captains." Matt's sister Renee told him and Gage. "Pick your teams." Matt was only about two years older than Renee, who'd just turned twenty, but he still treated her like a kid. She was one of the few Akori born without any time shifting powers.

They went back and forth picking players. Matt pointed at Addy. She was his second choice because he'd picked Kim first. Matt was three years older than her, but he turned out to be one of Addy's best friends.

Once the teams were picked, six of them stood on each side of the net.

"Do you even know how to play?" Gage asked, shaking his head at Matt, who was busy shouting out orders to his team.

Matt acted offended and peered over the top of his sunglasses. "Dude, I watch bikini volleyball all the time."

Gage tipped his head back and served the ball. He'd been Matt's best friend since they met fifteen years earlier and he'd learned to just put up with Matt's ridiculous comments just as Addy had. Gage worked for her grandfather, and despite only being five years older than her, Fate relied on him for tasks he'd usually assign to the older Akori. He came to live at Tremain with his mother Molly when he was five. It was the same week Addy was born.

"Don't run from the ball!" Renee shouted at one of the younger girls. "It's not gonna bite you."

Addy ran to the net, jumped up, and spiked the ball to tie the game.

"Nice," someone shouted at her from the other side of the net.

"No fraternizing with the enemy up there," Malcolm said from behind her. He was another Akori who worked for her grandfather. He and Gage were usually teamed up on their assignments.

The game seemed to take forever and Addy's team ended up losing when the youngest member tripped and did a face plant in the sand. The comic value was well worth taking the loss though.

Addy and Kim headed back to their chairs, collapsing as some of the others packed up and went to the estate.

The sun was getting lower in the sky and Kim frowned as she put the cap back on her water bottle. "I gotta get ready to go, I'm on kitchen duty."

"I'd rather be in the chore rotation than spending every day in the library." Addy grabbed her phone from her bag to check the time. It was nearly seven pm. "How does shelving books teach me to run this place anyhow?"

"Maybe it's a wax on, wax off kind of thing." Kim tipped her head at Addy and smiled. "Besides, you'd wash one baked on pan and be begging to shelve a book."

"Anyway," Addy said, waving her hand in Kim's direction, "Fate wants to see me in the library, but after that I'll be back down. Matt said we're having a bonfire tonight." Addy brushed sand off her towel and looked at Kim, who was shading her eyes with her hand, staring off into the distance. "Hello? Are you even listening to me?"

"See that guy over there?" Kim pointed to a man, maybe in his early twenties, standing with his back to them. "He's been hanging out over there all day. Sometimes he just looks over at us and at one point, I saw him staring at the estate. I think he was just taking pictures of it with his phone."

"Go talk to him," Addy said, encouraging her with a smile.

Kim tossed her empty water bottle at Addy and smiled. "Not my type."

"Right, your only type is Matt."

"Wrong. Remember your Grandfather's rule against Akori and humans dating?"

Addy rolled her eyes. "It's kind of hard to forget it when you remind me constantly."

Pounding sounds caused them to turn back to their group of friends. Josh, Matt and Renee's uncle, had made his way down to the beach and was securing the poles for the volleyball net the others haphazardly assembled.

When an Akori completely depleted his or her powers they disappeared, or Scattered as they called it. That's what happened to Matt and Renee's parents. Once their power built back up they'd rematerialize. The problem was that it took around twenty years to happen.

Josh stopped using his powers so he could be around to raise Renee and Matt, his sister's children, after their parents Scattered. The down side for Josh was that Akori who didn't use their powers aged like humans. He looked about forty in human years after not using his powers for the past fifteen years.

"Seriously, Addy—that guy's creeping me out." Kim pointed at the man again. "He's not dressed for the beach. He's looks totally out of place."

Kim was right about him not looking like he belonged at the beach. It was a pretty safe assumption he wasn't out there to enjoy the sun and surf wearing torn jeans, black boots, and a black concert t-shirt. Long messy brown hair hung out of a well-worn baseball cap.

"No worries. I'll mention him to Fate when I meet with him." Addy slung her bag over her shoulder and they headed back to the estate.

Candles were always lit in the library because it had no electricity. It looked particularly dim after spending the day in the sunlight. The brightest light in the room was coming from the Overseer's Stone that was sitting on the table in front of her grandfather.

The library was typically the center of all the activity that took place at the estate. Her grandfather spent most of his time holed up there. The ceiling was three stories high and only the outer wall was lined with windows. The wall directly across from the windows had a fireplace large enough for Addy to stand in. A long _red chaise_ lounge was placed in front of it on an oval rug with a circular pattern. The rest of the rectangular shaped room was rows of books. The open area between the windows and the fireplace had the long solid stone table they always sat around.

Addy strolled into the library eating a chicken sandwich she'd snagged from the kitchen on her way in. She gave her grandfather a kiss on the cheek and told him she was glad he was feeling better. He gave her a smile, and her sandwich a disapproving look.

"I know, no food in here, I'm almost done." Addy smiled sweetly. "I thought Bernard was joining us?"

"He'll be in soon." Fate placed his fingers on the symbols etched into the stone; blue symbols glowed on the tops of his hands. After several seconds he pulled his hands away and the glowing stopped. "Stubbs is joining us too."

Stubbs was another one of her Grandfather's close friends, but unlike Bernard, Addy, and Fate, Stubbs was an Akori.

"So what were you doing?" Addy asked, popping the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth and settling her eyes on the Overseer's Stone.

Fate stood up very slowly and she could tell just how weak he really was. He shifted his eyes to meet hers and smiled. "Making sure the cloaking symbols on the estate are working properly. We wouldn't want anyone to realize we don't actually belong here."

He walked carefully over to the case above the fireplace where the Overseer's Stone was kept and placed it inside. He latched it and pressed one of his fingers on the lid. There was a small flash of a blue light indicating the case was sealed.

She'd never held the Overseer's Stone, but it looked heavy. It was about the size of a piece of notebook paper, except it was nearly two inches thick with symbols etched into both sides and the edges.

Eva and Andrew, the oldest Akori, gave the Overseer's Stone to Oren Sanders when they made him the first Overseer in Addy's family. It had been used by the oldest male Sanders ever since. Fate taught her that touching different symbols did different things. Someday, when Fate was gone, Addy knew she'd have to try to claim the stone herself. He'd shown her what symbol to touch to start the process during the training he'd been giving her.

Once she claimed it, providing she was even able to, the stone would gradually give her the knowledge and power it contained. The entire process would take several days and she would be unconscious while it happened. It didn't sound very appealing, but she wasn't worried about it because she didn't think she'd be able to successfully claim it anyway.

Addy stood up and walked over to help her grandfather uncork a bottle of wine. The Akori who traveled often sent Fate bottles of his favorite kind. There was one particular type he enjoyed the most and every Akori knew when they came across it to send some to the estate.

They walked back to the table together and she placed his glass down in front of him. As she watched him take a sip, she couldn't imagine being there without him. He did so much and she didn't know how she or anyone else could possibly fill his shoes.

"We have a few things we need to talk about," Fate said, setting his wine glass down on the table.

Addy felt a serious discussion coming on and tensed. "Ok. Well," she said before he could speak, "I finished sorting and shelving the first four boxes of books that arrived this week. I'll finish the last two when our meeting is over."

Book sorting was a task Addy absolutely despised. Along with the wine, many Akori sent books they collected along their travels to the estate. Fate recently delegated the responsibility of sorting and shelving them to her. Some were written in the ancient Akori language which Addy always had a hard time with. It made shelving them a nightmare because she'd have to find other books just to translate the names.

"That's wonderful. We need to—"

"Oh wait," she said, sitting up straight in her chair. "There was some creepy guy hanging around at the beach today when Kim and I were out there."

Her grandfather took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking over what she said. Really, she didn't think the beach guy was an issue, but used it as her attempt to derail Fate's discussion until Stubbs and Bernard got there.

"He kept looking at us and staring at the estate. Kim even thinks she saw him taking pictures." Addy dragged her nails along the rough surface of the stone tabletop. "Do you think he noticed the estate popped up overnight and doesn't really belong here?"

"No, the symbols are working perfectly." Fate put his hands up and waved her off. "I'm sure he was just some local man spending the day at the beach, but I'll send Gage out to have a look." He opened his mouth to say something else but the door opened at the same time.

Bernard and Stubbs came in, her grandfather's oldest and closest friends. She was relieved to see them. Serious talks with her Grandfather usually included discussion about his death and what would happen once he was gone—she was always left feeling terrible afterward.

"Good evening," Bernard said, greeting them with a smile.

She waved at the men, thankful they were finally there.

Fate nodded to them. "Any issues with the relocation so far?"

"No complications yet," Bernard said. "I made a few calls to get new identification and plates for the cars. I also spoke with the West family today as you requested, and they'll be expecting your visit this week."

Addy sat back and watched the men talk. She knew that like her and Kim, Bernard and Fate became friends when the estate moved near Bernard's home when they were boys. They remained friends after Tremain moved on.

Bernard joined the Marines and ended up with a high-ranking position at the Department of Defense. When Bernard retired, he and his wife Doris became permanent residents at Tremain. They were the first humans who weren't part of the Sanders family ever permitted to live there.

For centuries the Sanders family helped the Akori blend in smoothly with the humans. As advancements in technology led to better tracking and documentation, it became difficult for the Akori to pass as humans. That's where Bernard came in. His connections in the government made it easy to bypass the normal channels necessary to get identification and passports. After living at the estate for 30 years and at seventy-nine years old, he handled all of their business with the human world.

Bernard's voice snapped her back to attention. "Did you enjoy the beach, Addy?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Absolutely, I could stay here forever." Her words caused their faces to tense and as soon as Addy said it she wished she could take it back. "I mean—well, you know what I mean."

There was a good chance they really might be staying there forever. Only the oldest male in the Sanders family had ever been the Overseer. That's the way it'd been since Oren Sanders agreed to become the Overseer. Unfortunately, Fate's son was killed and his only child was Addy, a girl.

"We know what you mean, sugar," Stubbs said, winking at her. "In these uncertain times we just have to watch how we say things."

He'd been unusually quiet up until that point.

Addy wasn't as close to Stubbs as she was Bernard. He was an Akori who chose not to use his powers, and instead lived at the estate for almost forty years helping Fate. The kids who lived at the estate were home schooled. Doris, Bernard's wife, taught things like English and Math while Stubbs taught Akori related subjects to them.

In addition to being a teacher, Stubbs was also a barber which was how he got his nickname. His snow-white hair, beard, and mustache were always well groomed. He looked to be about seventy-five in human years, but Addy knew he'd been around a lot longer than that.

His two dachshunds, Winkie and Brutis, followed him everywhere except into the library. When Stubbs was in the library, the dogs were waiting for him in the dog bed placed outside the door in the hall.

"How are you feeling tonight, my friend?" Bernard reached over and patted Fate on the back as he sat down next to him.

Addy remembered the three men being loud and talking fast when she was younger. They just cut right to the chase, saying whatever was on their minds. Using the power of the Overseer's stone over the years made Fate weak and damaged his heart. Bernard and Stubbs were taking things a little slower with Fate, which seemed to irritate him intensely.

"Let's get on with it," Fate said, ignoring Bernard's question. "Addy finished sorting and shelving the first four boxes of books that arrived and she assured me she'll complete the last two tonight."

"She should be fluent in the Akori language in no time," Stubbs said, breaking into a grin.

"I wouldn't get carried away." Bernard laughed loudly in Addy's direction. "If she hasn't learned yet, I don't—"

"Hey, I'm still in the room." She pointed out, smiling.

For the most part the men discussed topics Addy didn't really know much about and it was hard not to zone out. Some Akori were very politically motivated, and Fate had Stubbs keep a close eye on them, reporting what they were involved in.

She was kicking herself for saying she'd finish the books after the meeting. She'd planned to hit the beach for the bonfire, but it looked like she had no choice but to stay late and finish up. As positive as she was that she'd never be the Overseer, being prepared was important to Fate. She didn't want him to worry about whether she'd be able to handle the job if by some miracle she got it.

When she tuned back into their conversation, they were talking about the Akori who called themselves Mesen—they were Akori that never came to the estate. They basically did their own thing and didn't have contact with the Overseer or Tremain.

It was all extremely boring and she was tapping her fingers on the table, which earned her a sharp look from Fate. The most exciting news to her was that they planned to have her friend Matt's Uncle Josh open the pool in the garden.

"Where's Gage tonight?" Fate asked, slowly looking up at Bernard. "The girls saw a suspicious looking man hanging around today and I'd like him to look into it."

Bernard and Stubbs had strange looks on their faces and Fate shot the two men what appeared to be a warning look.

"Elsegood is posted out front at the gate," Bernard said, flipping through the schedule in the stack of papers he always carried with him. "Should I have him join us?"

It drove Addy crazy that Bernard would just randomly call people by their last names. It was like he had intermittent military flashbacks.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. Just ask him to speak to Kim about what she saw and check around. He can give us a report tomorrow," Fate said.

Bernard nodded to Fate. "His father should be back soon."

Addy perked up. "Gage's father?"

Fate finished the last of his wine. "Yes, it's been nearly twenty years. Will could return anytime."

Gage's father, William Elsegood, Scattered when his power drained just before Gage came to live at Tremain with his mother Molly. Addy knew Gage looked just like him with his golden hair, light blue eyes, and lean, tall build from the pictures she'd seen in Molly's room.

Stubbs walked over and poured himself a glass of wine and then refilled Fate's glass. "Molly told me she plans to stay on at Tremain as long as she's needed."

Molly never developed any powers, just like Matt's sister Renee. Before she came to Tremain, she was a doctor at a human hospital and over time started caring for Fate when he became sick.

Bernard straightened up the messy stack of papers in front of him. "It's going to be tough once she's gone to get the kind of medical care she provided us with over the years."

Addy scooted up to the edge of her chair, dropping her hands on the table. "You guys think after Will comes back Molly and Gage will leave Tremain?"

"Molly will for sure, but Gage will probably stay on," Bernard said, smiling. "He enjoys my rigid combat practices too much."

Molly took care of Addy for Fate when she was little, so she and Gage were together a lot. The thought of them leaving was shocking.

Bernard stood up and pushed his chair back in. "I'll see you for combat practice in the morning, Addy." He headed out the door to see Gage.

Because of his military background, Bernard was very big into self-defense and combat. He started teaching Addy how to fight as soon as she could stand on her own. He'd trained her to defend herself, as well as take someone down.

Her grandfather agreed to let Bernard train her as long as Addy also learned how to play the piano. Luckily Bernard's wife Doris was her piano teacher. That made it fairly easy to get out of boring piano lessons to practice combat.

Bernard was close with Gage and trained him to fight just like he did Addy. Her and Gage practiced combat together when they were young, but once they were older they each got individual lessons.

Addy got to her feet and took a few steps toward the door. "If we're done here, I'm gonna finish sorting the books and head out."

Stubbs waved her back to the table. "Come have a seat for just another minute."

She tried not to show how irritated she was, but guessed by the look on her grandfather's face she'd failed miserably.

"Addison, don't act that way." Fate raised his voice and his face started turning red. "I taught you better than that. Sit down and—"

"Sorry," Addy said, stopping him before he got any more upset. "What else do you need from me?"

She was staring at the painting on the wall above the fireplace of a man and a woman—Andrew and Eva, the oldest Akori, standing in what looked like a cemetery. They were both still around somewhere, but neither of them had been at Tremain since before Addy was born.

"We just need to tell you a couple of things and then you can go. I know it's boring." Stubbs always tried to smooth things over when her Grandfather got upset with her. "You remember we never move the estate to the same place twice, right?"

"Yes," she said, glancing between Fate and Stubbs.

Fate cleared his throat. "We've been here before."

Never ever, had an Overseer broken the rules and selected the same location twice. That was a big bomb to drop.

Fate took a sip from his glass. "This is where you were born."

"Oh."

Addy didn't say it out loud, but she knew it also meant that it was the place her parents were killed. It happened on the day she was born. She wasn't sure how to feel about being back there. Deep down she knew she was supposed to miss her parents or be sad, but it was hard to feel that way about people she didn't know.

"Akori can sense your grandfather because he's the Overseer. No matter where we move the estate, they can always find it as long as he's here." Stubbs put his index finger up as he spoke. "That's important because Scattered Akori take so long to come back and Tremain is never where it was when they Scattered."

Addy already knew all that and she was getting antsy. "Ok, but why are we back here?"

"The Akori who Scattered about twenty years ago will begin rematerializing soon." Fate leaned back in his chair, looking toward the window even though it was too dark outside to see anything. "This beach is the last location of Tremain they'll remember."

Stubbs stood up and walked over to the fireplace, then turned to face her. "We hope the Akori will start looking here if they don't sense an Overseer. If you don't get the Overseer's power, there'll be no other way for them to find Tremain."

Chapter 3

When Addy was finally set free, she headed out walking across the garden to her villa. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about the reason Fate brought them back to the place she was born. It was a smart move—practical. That's why he was such a great Overseer. Even if by some miracle she was able to claim his position as Overseer, there was no way she'd ever be as good at it was he was.

Addy was still wearing her bathing suit under her tank top and shorts. Her sunglasses were perched on top of her head, holding her long dark hair out of her face. She hadn't had time to change before meeting with them, not that they cared. She'd known all of them her entire life and the last thing they were worried about was what she looked like.

Approaching the sidewalk that lead to her door, she thought she saw someone walk between her villa and the unoccupied one next door. She crouched down and slowly moved into the shadows.

Once she got up against the wall, she slowly peeked around the corner. No one was there. Occasionally humans would find their way into Tremain and get confused because of the Akori symbols placed around that were used to hide it. She decided to walk around the perimeter of her villa to be sure it was all clear. She turned the corner to check around back and felt like she ran right into a brick wall.

Addy quickly discovered it wasn't really a brick wall—it was more like a guy who didn't even budge when she plowed into him. She hopped to her feet and swung around. Using the wall to push off, she tried to land a hard kick to the side of his body. He was fast and blocked her foot, sending her to the ground. She started to get up, but he pushed her back down.

"Addy, wait!" Gage stood over her with an amused expression.

"What the hell are you doing stalking around my place in the dark?" Her voice came out in a strange half-scream, as she scraped herself off the ground.

He offered her his hand but she was too startled to take it. "You alright?" His tone was just short of laughing.

Without answering or waiting for him to explain why he was creeping around, she turned and walked back to her front door.

"I didn't mean to freak you out," he said, standing behind her on the porch as she opened the door. "Bernard said there was a strange man at the beach earlier when you and Kim were down there. I was checking out the area around both of your places."

After the news about why they were there, she'd completely forgotten about the beach guy. "Right, the man... I've just got information overload after meeting with Fate. I wasn't thinking about that. I'm fine, so just go do your thing or whatever." She'd always hated embarrassing herself in front of Gage. "I'm heading down to the beach anyway."

Her cat Moose was looping himself around her legs and meowing, clearly upset she ran out so fast earlier, forgetting to feed him.

"I'll wait and walk with you since I'm heading back down there anyway." He was still standing on her porch holding the screen door open. "If you come across any strangers I might have to protect them from you."

She shot him an innocent look and tried not to smile. "I thought you were a burglar or something."

"If that had been anyone but me they'd be hurting. You've gotten pretty good."

"Thanks—I guess." She dropped her purse on the table, making her way to the kitchen to get the cat food.

Noticing Gage was still standing with the door open, she motioned for him to come in. As he pulled the door shut, she realized it was the first time she and Gage had been alone together in at least five years.

The kids who lived at Tremain went to school on the estate and typically hung out together. Gage did his own thing for a few years and didn't hang around anyone but Matt. Addy had still tried to be his friend for a while, but he pretty much ignored her. She eventually gave up on him. They were around the same group of friends all the time now that they were older, but only occasionally spoke to each other.

Addy fed Moose, who was acting as if he was about to faint from hunger, even though his bowl was still half-full. She was really glad she'd cleaned her place the day before. Kim and Matt were usually the only people she had over, so cleaning wasn't ever a real priority and the mess had gotten pretty out of control.

Gage stepped a little further inside and looked around. "Nice place."

All of the villas had exactly the same layout. The only thing different about hers was that she had a couple of extra windows because it was located on the end. The inside of each was painted the same antique white color with light hardwood floors. They were even furnished with the same beige living room couches, chairs, and wood dining room tables. Addy brought all of her own furniture from her room in the main house so at least her bedroom was decorated exactly how she wanted.

"Yeah, real unique. So are you planning on moving out of the main house?" She put the cat's food away and gave him fresh water.

Gage sat down on her sofa, picking up her box of video games and flipping through them. "I'm not sure, I mean I'd like to, but your grandfather likes to keep me around."

Being close to the Overseer came with a ton of responsibilities and Fate always had something he needed Gage to do. Addy typically heard his name mentioned in their meetings and wondered if he'd work for her if she became the Overseer.

Gage pointed at Moose. "You finally got a cat, huh?"

"Yep, I got him last year when Fate finally let me move out of the main house. I adopted from the animal shelter."

"How's this one?" He held up a first person shooter game that came out a few weeks earlier.

"Amazing, I finished the campaign in like the first two days. Matt and I were playing online, but Kim was getting pissed about it."

Gage raised his eyebrows. "Huh, I might have to snag it for a few days."

"Take it. I picked up two new games before we moved and I haven't opened either yet."

Moose made his way over to Gage and began sniffing at his shoes.

"I'll be right back," she said and headed to her room.

Addy stripped off her suntan lotion covered clothes and searched for something to put on. The selection was terrible and she had to settle for a dark gray tank top and more cut off jean shorts. She decided to skip the sandals—she discovered earlier that she hated wearing shoes in the sand.

Tossing her sunglasses on her dresser, she grabbed a brush and painfully pulled it through the knots in her thick hair. It had grown down to her elbows, which was longer than she liked it. She hoped since they were living somewhere nice she'd be able to go to a real salon and get it cut, rather than just having Stubbs trim it.

After grabbing a few hairpins from her drawer, she pulled her hair up into a half twist and smoothed the loose pieces behind her ears. She looked in the mirror while she put on some lip gloss and noticed a slight tan already. She was glad she hadn't burned after being in the sun most of the day.

Gage was down on the floor rubbing Moose's belly when she walked out of her bedroom. The cat was pretending he was starved for attention, as well as food. She leaned against her door frame watching.

"He's got you caught in his trap," she said. "He's acting really sweet and loveable, but when you try to stop petting him he's gonna bite you."

"No you won't, will you buddy?" Gage spoke to the cat in a goofy voice. The cat responded by arching his back so he could rub his head on his hand.

"It's suddenly getting weird in here—we should go." Addy blew the cat a kiss and headed for the door. "Bye Moose, I'll be back to cuddle with you later."

He glanced up at her and smiled. "And that wasn't weird?"

Gage started to follow her and Moose tried to bite his hand. He was too fast for the cat, who stalked off acting offended.

"He's mad," Addy said, closing the door.

"Maybe I'll let him win next time."

"You never let anyone win, Gage."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

"Who's down by the fire?" Addy asked as they walked to the path leading to the beach.

"It's just the usual crowd," he said, walking in front of her, "plus Kim, Matt, and Renee."

It felt warmer outside than it did earlier in the sun. Gage looked hot in his white button down shirt and jeans. Like temperature hot, she could see beads of sweat on the back of his neck. Clearly, she wasn't the only one lacking summer clothes.

"So, what was your take on the guy at the beach today?" he asked, pulling at a piece of the tall grass when they walked past it.

"I don't have one really. He seemed out of place—but honestly, I wouldn't have even noticed him if Kim hadn't pointed him out."

Addy only mentioned it to Fate earlier to hijack the conversation until Bernard and Stubbs joined them.

Gage shook his head. "You've gotta watch what's going on around you now that we're here."

She stopped walking and gave him a bewildered look.

He turned to face her. "What?"

Even at five foot seven, she was at least eight inches shorter than Gage, and had to look way up to see his blue eyes. "What do you mean now that we're here—they told you?"

"They didn't have to tell me, I remember being here. I was five last time. It's where your parents were..." Gage shifted his eyes away from hers.

"My parents died here. You can say it." People always acted as if they had to be so careful talking about her parents and it completely irritated her.

Gage put his hands in his pockets. "We just gotta watch out here after what happened last time."

It all came together and Addy eyed him closely. "Is that what they think—they're thinking the humans who attacked my family will try again?"

A group of humans who'd discovered the Akori and their powers killed her parents the day she was born. They wanted control over the Akori and thought they could get it by ending the Overseer's bloodline. They'd already killed her dad, Fate's male heir. Coming after her was pointless since she was a girl—there'd never been a female Overseer and she doubted she'd be the first. Addy suddenly realized that Fate doubted it too, or he wouldn't have moved the estate back there.

"They're probably wrong, but Bernard just asked a couple of us to keep an eye on you. There's nothing to worry about," he said, moving to put his hand on her shoulder.

She dodged him and stepped back, laughing. "You're babysitting me? Oh my god—that's hilarious."

She was actually pretty irritated he was only hanging out with her because he was told to. It totally made sense though—more sense than he suddenly wanted to be friends. Even when she and Gage were just with Matt and Kim he didn't talk to her.

"I'm just keeping an eye on what's going on."

Addy smiled and shook her head at him. "Let's get down to the beach." She put her hand up like she was making a pledge and tried to paste a serious expression on her face. "I promise to be more observant of my surroundings."

Not about to let him see her disappointment, she turned and padded down the path. The fire was in sight and she couldn't wait to talk to Kim.

"You're an interesting girl, Addison Sanders," Gage said, catching up to her.

She avoided looking at him. "Why's that, Gage Elsegood?"

"The way you are—or maybe it's more the way you deal with things," he said. "It's like nothing fazes you. We're in the place your parents were killed and your grandfather's sick. You shrug it off like it's nothing."

Addy couldn't believe he'd just said that to her and didn't have a chance to hide the shock that ran across her face. After years of barely speaking to her, the fact he'd decide that was an ok thing to say was outrageous.

"So what should I be doing?" She demanded. "Splitting my time up between mourning for parents I don't even know and contemplating how I'm going to feel when Fate dies?"

Gage put his hand up and tried to interrupt her, but she just kept going.

"I didn't know my parents and Fate's been prepping me for life without him as long as I can remember." Addy stopped walking and stared at him. "Apparently you've forgotten that I'm the one who's spent a large part of her life learning how to be the Overseer, even though I never will be. You used to be there; you should remember." She turned away and started toward the fire again. "Once Fate dies our way of life is over."

She thought that last part sounded a little overdramatic, but it was true. They didn't live anything like humans their age. They had responsibilities, but everyone who lived at Tremain spent a lot more time hanging out and partying than most humans ever did.

Gage started to say something but she waved him off and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

Just before they reached the fire, Gage leaned over and whispered in her ear. "You don't have to remind me who you are, Addy." He walked away without looking at her to join Matt and a couple of girls she didn't recognize.
Chapter 4

"What the heck took you so long?" Kim asked, waving Addy over to join her by the fire.

She was sitting with Matt's younger sister Renee and a few other people who lived on the estate, watching Matt and Gage talk to the human girls.

"They don't waste any time," Renee said, laughing. She knew exactly what her brother's priorities were once they moved to a new location, and she wasn't shy about teasing him over it.

The sour expression on Kim's face said she didn't think it was as funny.

"It's a new town," Addy said with a smirk, "and they have priorities."

She sat with the group and chatted for a bit, mostly about how awesome the new location was. They were all great snowboarders and skiers because they spent so much time in the snow, so they were pumped to try some warm weather activities.

"I'm gonna grab a drink," Addy said, standing up, motioning for Kim to follow her.

Kim jumped to her feet and trailed behind Addy to the coolers.

"I expected to see you like two hours ago. How'd you end up with Gage—you guys are never together?"

"He was checking around the outside of my villa because of the man you spotted earlier—I literally ran into him." Addy glanced at Gage and rolled her eyes at the little smile on his face as he talked to one of the girls. "Fate and the others are just on edge because Tremain was here before—it's where my parents died."

Kim leaned toward Addy. "Are you ok about being here?"

She handed Kim a beer and grabbed one for herself.

"I'm more bugged about Gage creeping around my place than about being here," she said, shaking her head. "They're worried about the humans who attacked my family coming back. Gage told me Bernard's having him keep an eye on me."

"Honestly, you should be glad Gage is looking out for you," Kim said, glancing over toward where Matt and Gage were standing. "What if they're right to be worried and the people who killed your parents decide not to wait and see what happens after Fate's gone?"

"They won't." Addy shook her head at Matt's extra loud laugh at something one of the girls said. "We're just here so the Scattered Akori who will be rematerializing can find the estate if Fate—" Addy paused and cleared her throat. "Fate's always told me they backed off when they found out I was a girl—that they figured he'd be the last Overseer since he didn't have a male heir. There's nothing to worry about."

Kim tapped on the top of her can before opening it. "Maybe he was wrong."

"There's no chance I'll be the Overseer and everyone, including the people who killed my parents, knows it." Addy took a sip of her drink and watched as Gage started walking toward where she and Kim stood. Matt and their new friends were trailing behind him. "Oh great."

Kim looked over and scowled. "Why are they even talking to those locals? It's not like they can date them."

She leaned toward Kim and put her hand in front of her mouth. "I don't think dating them is what they have in mind."

Addy was pretty much indifferent to seeing Gage and Matt with girls. She's been seeing it since they were old enough to date, and she knew they played the same game every time the estate moved. They were both good looking, and locals always found two new guys interesting.

Kim and Addy had both dated a few local guys when the estate moved over the last couple of years. A few months earlier they went snowboarding with the guys they were seeing. They ended up running into Matt and Gage. By the end of the night, Matt had all he could take of seeing Kim with someone else. He started running his mouth and picked a fight with the guy in the lodge. It was a mess and they all went to a lot of trouble to hide it from Addy's grandfather. He wouldn't hesitate to send Kim home if he thought they were causing trouble.

"Addy! You're late." Matt spoke obnoxiously loud as he walked between her and Kim, placing an arm around each girl.

"I told you I had to meet—" Addy stopped. She thought she saw someone off in the tall grass along the edge of the sand. She strained to see, but it was too dark.

Gage picked up on it and looked in the same direction as Addy. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I—it's nothing, only shadows from the fire," she said, shrugging it off.

Gage tossed Matt a beer and then looked at Addy and Kim. "Ready?"

Kim shook her head no, but Addy finished hers off and grabbed another from Gage.

"That's my girl," Matt said, raising his arm for a fist bump.

Eventually, the entire group ended up gathered around the coolers instead of the fire, talking and drinking. Kim and Matt were laughing and joking the way they always did, and the poor girl Matt walked up with looked confused. They were way more than friends and did a terrible job of hiding it when they were drinking.

Addy moved over and took another beer out of the cooler, which was almost empty. The moon was bright in the sky and she could see the grassy area on the hill clearly. It didn't look like anyone was there, but for some reason she still wanted to go check it out.

Addy looked for Kim, who was usually her co-conspirator, but she and Matt were on their way down to the water. Gage was face to face with some girl and Renee was walking around picking up the beer cans people had abandoned. She'd probably be getting ready to call it a night soon anyway. Renee was nothing like her brother when it came to partying.

It looked like she'd be flying solo, so Addy dropped her unopened beer back in the ice and started across the sand.

When she got to the grass and stepped down, she immediately wished she'd worn her shoes. The layer of dried up, crunchy grass under her feet was brittle. She was walking slowly because it hurt, not because she was trying to be stealthy. If she really had seen someone up there, he or she would have seen her coming anyway.

Further ahead was an area with bushes and a couple of palm trees. It belonged to the sprawling resort that was situated next door to the estate. She scanned the entire area, but didn't see anything. Giving up, she turned to walk back to the fire.

"Who are you people?"

Addy caught her breath and spun around. The beach stalker stood up from behind the bushes. The shadows from the fire played on his face, making him look pretty frightening.

"Who are we?" She pushed her fear away and challenged him. "How about you explain why you're spying on us."

"Sure," he said, challenging her right back, "after you explain why no one else seems to find it wacky that your house wasn't here yesterday."

Addy was shocked. Normally, local people just acted as if the estate had always been there when it relocated. She'd never heard of any humans who weren't affected by the symbol's power. Bernard, Doris, Fate, and Addy had been at the estate long enough to be immune to the symbols, but even after living at the estate for a couple of years, Kim still experienced some weird sensations occasionally.

Looking back at the fire, she thought momentarily about calling for Matt and Gage. She turned back and looked at the guy—he really wasn't that scary. Addy figured since he was right in front of her, she might as well take a shot at making him back off herself.

"For your own good, you need to stop hanging around here," she said, raising her brow at him. "And seriously, the next time you go on a secret spy mission—dress the part. A black concert tee and boots at the beach was a giant red flag you didn't belong there earlier."

His expression softened and he gave her a slightly lopsided smile. "I'll remember that." He nodded his head at her in the guy greeting way. "I'm Tanner Sutherland, and you're Addy."

She tensed and took a step back. "How'd you know my name?"

"I heard the drunk guy shouting to you earlier."

"Oh." Addy relaxed her shoulders and took a few steps closer so she could get a better look at his face. "So what's your deal—you just walked by our house today and decided it wasn't there yesterday?"

"Yeah, sure. When I was taking my daily stroll down the coast checking out the real estate I noticed it seemed out of place."

Addy raised her eyebrows at him. "Good thing you're around to keep the shoreline safe from rogue real estate."

"It's too late to be nice now," he said, pointing to his t-shirt and boots. "You've already insulted my beach attire."

"You didn't strike me as the overly sensitive type—I thought you could take my constructive criticism." Addy tipped her head to the side. "My mistake."

Tanner stepped a little closer to her and put his hands in his back pockets. "The day before yesterday I started feeling strange—almost sick, but like I was being pulled. The next thing I knew I was driving here."

"So you've been hanging out here for the last two days?" Addy glanced at their tropical surroundings and then back at Tanner's anywhere but the beach outfit. "Doing what—just creeping around?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Wow, it sounds so much worse when you say it like that."

"Sorry," she said, trying not to smile at his goofy expression.

"I didn't stay because I wanted to. Leaving hurts—like my guts are being pulled out."

"Oh." She looked studied his dark eyes. "Do you live around here?"

"About ten minutes away. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not really a sand and surf kinda guy." He looked around and shook his head. "I never come here—the beach sucks."

Addy tapped her index finger on her bottom lip, choosing her words carefully before she spoke. "If you don't come to the beach, then what makes you think our house wasn't here before?"

"Because last night a crazy blue glowing started and I watched it take shape in that spot." He told her as he nodded toward the estate. "I tried to leave after that, but the farther away I got, the worse the pain was."

When Akori rematerialized they got a pulling feeling that led them to Fate. Tanner's hands were in his pockets, but Addy wanted to see if he had blue symbols on them—she was beginning to think he was an Akori and didn't know it.

Addy crossed her arms, staring into his dark eyes. "What you're saying is you're being pulled here by some weird feeling that gets worse if you try to leave?"

"Yeah, basically," Tanner said, tipping his head to the side, "and don't judge me, girl from the magic house."

After that, Addy just started asking him random questions to make conversation. He told her he was twenty-two, and in a rock band—which didn't exactly come as a total shocker.

They moved over and sat on some large rocks near the bushes, partially hidden from her group of friends who'd migrated back to the fire. Sitting only a few feet away from him, she could clearly see Tanner didn't have any blue symbols on his hands. That meant her theory was out, but him being there definitely had something to do with the Akori—she just had no idea what it could be.

Addy and Tanner ended up talking about all kinds of things from music to movies and video games. She actually had to remind herself she was supposed to be trying to figure out what was up with him—not finding out what his favorite movie quote was.

Talking to Tanner was easy, like when she met Kim. He was funny and smart and up close he wasn't scary at all. He still wore ripped jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt. He wasn't much taller than her, four inches at the most. Tattoos peeked out from his sleeves, but she couldn't tell what they were. If you overlooked the fact he really needed a shave and something done with his long and scraggly dark hair, he was pretty good looking.

"So after talking to you for awhile my working theory is that you're from some kind of supernatural cult," he said, with a hint of a smile. "Am I getting close?"

"Maybe—I've got some grape flavored drinks back at my place." She cut her eyes at him. "Thirsty?"

"I'm good, but thanks." Tanner put his hands on his stomach. "My insides already feel like I drank the poisoned punch."

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourself."

Tanner ran his hand across his forehead and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Seriously though, what's the deal—who the hell are you guys?"

In the distance, two figures approaching them caught her eye. Gage and Matt started calling up to her.

Feeling panicked, but grateful they'd saved her from answering Tanner's questions, she instantly decided she didn't want them to see him.

"You gotta go," she whispered.

Tanner looked between her and the approaching guys. "Only if you come back tomorrow night," he said, making no effort to get up. "You gotta tell me what's going on, girlie."

Addy didn't know what was going on—that was the problem. She really wanted to find out though and quickly nodded her head at him. "Fine, but go before Gage and Matt see you. And please don't be stalking around making yourself obvious—they're looking for you."

The guys covered the ground between them quickly and within seconds Matt was standing over Addy.

"Were you just talking to yourself?" he asked, eyeing the area around her.

She glanced where Tanner had been sitting; completely relieved he'd made a fast get away. "I think you're drunk, Mattie."

"I'm not yet, but Malcolm just refilled the cooler, so I plan to be soon."

Gage stood a few feet behind Matt with his arms crossed. He seemed tense, which made her wonder if he'd seen Tanner.

"We've been looking all over for you," Gage said not even trying to hide the hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I was just up here working on my observation skills." She snickered at him and he rolled his eyes.

Addy stood up and started to make her way back through the grass. The fire was starting to burn itself out and wasn't as bright. She started swearing under her breath at the dry grass under her feet. It hurt a lot more going down than it had on her way up.

Without warning, Matt snatched her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

Addy squealed and gripped his shirt to keep from falling. "C'mon, put me down Mattie!"

He ignored her and a minute later dumped her off by the fire next to Kim, who was snapping pictures of everyone. Gage sat down beside her, which was really unusual. They'd already spoken more in the last couple of hours than they had in the last few years.

Kim stuck the camera in their faces, telling them to smile.

Gage bumped her shoulder with his. "So do you know what else happened when we lived here before?"

Knowing he was just acknowledging her existence because Bernard told him to watch her made it just plain annoying and she wished he'd just go back to ignoring her. Addy pasted a smile on her face for the camera and shrugged her shoulders. "Hmm... What?"

Gage tipped his head sideways toward her for Kim's picture. "It's where we met."
Chapter 5

Even though Addy had a killer headache, she knew there was no cancelling her practice with Bernard, especially since it was her own fault for drinking. Headache or not, Bernard's combat lessons would be a good distraction—her mind had been racing since meeting Tanner.

"Bye Moose," she said to the cat as she scratched his head.

Addy grabbed her gym bag and started to head out. When she opened her door she found a note stuck to her screen. She unfolded the paper and felt a rush of excitement as she read it.

Don't forget. Tonight, same place.

-T

Tanner left her a note, which meant he knew where she lived—that had her a little freaked out. He was becoming more and more mysterious. She'd been thinking about him almost non-stop since they parted ways the night before, trying to make sense of his condition. A human who was being pulled to the estate—it didn't get much more intriguing than that.

When she told Kim about him on the way home from the beach the night before, she made Addy promise not to meet him. Addy didn't tell her about his strange pulling feeling. She figured that would set Kim off and she'd end up telling Matt about him.

After getting the note, Addy didn't think it was possible to pass up meeting with him. She was curious to know how he knew where she lived. He seemed harmless and just wanted answers, which she wanted too. If she stayed away from him neither one of them would get what they wanted.

As much as she hated being the girl who hid things from her friends and family, like the ones in the books and movies she wanted to kick for never sharing important information, it couldn't be helped. She dropped his note on the table by her door and headed out.

Bernard trained them in the ballroom of the main house that had been converted into a makeshift gymnasium. It's not as if they had use for a ballroom anyway, but Addy always thought it was strange learning hand-to-hand combat moves surrounded by beautiful paintings, with sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from the thirty-foot ceilings.

In school, Stubbs told the kids that the ballroom was built to hold the Reunion Ball. It was a spectacular event held whenever Eva and Andrew came home to Tremain. The Akori would converge on the estate from around the world to attend. Stubbs talked about it as if he'd actually attended once or twice.

The celebrations stopped when a group of humans who were obsessed with controlling the Akori's powers attacked the ball. From what Stubbs described, it was a slaughter. The Akori, two Akori actually, Andrew and Eva, killed all the human attackers. He couldn't—or wouldn't tell them how they did it.

Since she had time, Addy stopped in the dining room and grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee and then made her way to practice. When she opened the doors to the ballroom, Gage was the only one there.

"Hey." Addy greeted him and looked around. She dropped her bag and sat on the mat farthest from him to begin her stretching routine. "Where's Bernard?"

"Fate called for him when he and I finished our practice. He told me to stay and work with you," Gage said as he finished lining up the remaining mats.

"That's strange," she said, trying not to smile, "are you sure he didn't want me to train you?"

He came over and began stretching alongside her. "You're really funny this morning for a girl running on four hours of sleep with a hangover."

"Right," she said, pressing her hand to her temple. "I should've known better than to try to keep up with Matt where drinking's concerned."

For the second day in a row, she found herself alone with Gage. She'd tried to stay mad about what he'd said to her on their way down to the beach, but it really wasn't worth all the effort it was taking. If Bernard was going to keep forcing her to be around him, she decided she may as well make the best of it. It wasn't as if being around him was all that bad anyway.

At first they just practiced taking easy shots at each other and blocking. It was pretty basic stuff they could both do in their sleep.

"So what were you doing up in the bushes last night when Matt and I found you?" Gage asked between jabs at her.

She quickly countered with a kick at his ribs that he easily blocked. "Just getting away, thinking."

He smirked at her. "You run off and think in the bushes often?"

"Every chance I get," she said, swinging her foot around from the other side so fast he couldn't get his forearm up to block its contact with his ribs.

He retreated only long enough to get his balance, and then shot back with a blow to her midsection that she tried to block too late. She responded with a fast kick, but he knocked it aside.

"Your kicks are becoming predictable," he said, dodging her foot.

She knew he was just trying to get her mad so she ignored him.

Gage put his hands up. "You don't have to hide anything." Moving closer to her, he leaned down. "Besides, I know you were up to something." He suddenly hooked his arm securely under hers and rolled her face first on the mat.

Addy couldn't believe she let him distract her like that. She also couldn't believe she was laying on her stomach underneath Gage. He smelled incredibly good for a guy who'd been doing combat practice for hours.

"Pay attention," he said, giving her ponytail a little tug. "Back to the bushes—what were you doing?"

His plan to get her mad was working and suddenly his way too good scent wasn't enough to stave off her irritation at his questioning. What she was doing was none of his business and she was getting pissed that he kept pushing the issue.

"I was meeting a guy—don't tell Fate." She reared back, catching him in the face with her head. It stunned him enough for her to slip out from under him and jump to her feet.

"We just got here yesterday." He swept her legs out from under her, but she was able to catch him with a hard hit to the side of his head on her way down to the mat. "You work pretty fast."

In a hurry to get up, she didn't realize how close she was to the edge of the mat and slipped, knocking her already hurting head on the marble floor. She quickly shook it off and got to her feet.

"You and Matt aren't the only ones who shop the locals." She tried to kick him, but wasn't fast enough, and he skillfully blocked her.

He grabbed her from behind, holding her arms at her chest. "We all learned that a few months back at the ski lodge—remember?"

The night Matt and Kim's date got in the fight, Gage was the one who called Addy out of her date's room at the lodge to deal with Kim, while he dragged Matt out of there. She wasn't actually doing anything with the guy, other than listening to how awesome he thought he was on a snowboard. The call to get Kim under control was more like a rescue than an interruption.

Twisting in his arms, she dug the heel of her foot into his knee and he released her. Gage quickly recovered and tried to flip her to the mat again, but Addy was ready for him. She used his weight against him and flipped him over her body. He landed on his back with a thud.

She smiled at him, sticking her tongue out.

He pointed at her and grinned. "That was a nice move," he said, laughing as he jumped to his feet.

There was no more talking. Back and forth, they knocked each other down, blocked, and counter attacked.

Sweeping her feet out from under her again, Gage pinned Addy down on her back. He sat on top of her, easily holding her hands down above her head. He was out of breath and soaked with sweat.

"You give up yet?" he asked, smiling down at her.

Addy shifted under his weight. "No way."

Gage smiled, tipping his head back. "Of course you don't—what was I thinking?"

She could barely breathe and was completely dizzy. It was hard to think straight and having him on top of her wasn't helping things.

"Hey, you're bleeding." He frowned and leaned down close to see where the blood was coming from. His breath on her neck made her shiver even though she wasn't even close to cold.

Addy cut her eyes toward him and saw blood was smeared across his cheek. "I'm fine."

He moved his head and they were nose to nose, looking to each other's eyes.

If it had been anyone but Gage, it probably would've been a kind of romantic moment and some kissing may have followed. Since it was Gage—the guy who went from being her friend one day to completely forgetting she had a pulse the next—nothing like that was likely.

"Pay attention," she said, thrusting her body up suddenly.

He was caught off guard and thrown to the side. She worked to get to her feet, as he sprang at her, knocking them both back down.

"On your feet—both of you!"

They froze at the angry sound of Bernard's voice.

Gage stood up first, looking embarrassed. He reached down and pulled Addy up. She was pretty unsteady on her feet, and she grabbed his shoulder to brace herself. They were soaked with sweat and blood. His nose was bleeding and blood was dripping from the back of her head. Each had red welts that would probably be deep bruises before long, and both of them were trying to hold back smiles.

"That wasn't what I had in mind when I asked you to work with her," Bernard said, scowling at Gage.

Addy locked her eyes on the grey marble floor. She was afraid if she looked at Gage she wouldn't be able to hold back her laughter.

"And you..." Bernard sighed as he put his index finger under Addy's chin, tipping back her blood smeared face to examine it. "Do either of you require medical attention?"

"No." They both said at the same time. It felt like the time he caught them throwing snowballs at cars as they drove by the estate when they were kids.

"Alright then, put the mats away and then head back to your rooms to get cleaned up. Fate wants to see both of you in an hour."

With that, Bernard turned and headed for the door, but she saw him smiling as he walked away. When she was sure he was gone, Addy busted out laughing.

"I totally had you," she said, grinning.

"Really?" Gage gave up trying not to laugh. "It looked to me like you were about to give up when Bernard came in." He glanced over at her smiling, but his face quickly changed to a look of concern. "Are you sure your head's ok? That seems like a lot of blood," he said, reaching for her, "let me take a look."

"It'll be alright." Addy ducked from his grasp and felt the trickle of blood down her neck as she pulled her ponytail out. She was feeling a little lightheaded, but really didn't want him picking through her bloody hair.

"Seriously, let me see." He already had a hold of her shoulder, turning her around. Gage took a deep breath. "Oh hell, it looks pretty bad. Let's go see—"
Chapter 6

"I think she's waking up."

Addy tried to open her eyes when she heard a door close, but the light was blinding.

"Addy? Can you hear me?" The voice belonged to Molly, Gage's mother.

"What's going on?" Addy opened her eyes slowly and saw that she was in her own bed. Her cat Moose was laying at her feet and Molly was standing over her. Addy tried to sit up, but she was met with heavy resistance from her body.

"You passed out after practice. Do you remember?" Molly reached down and brushed Addy's hair from her eyes. "We were all very worried."

It all began coming back to her. She'd been at practice with Gage. He was checking out her head after Bernard left.

"I remember." She glanced at the window and noticed it was dark out. "What time is it?"

Molly looked at the clock. "Just before midnight; you were out almost twelve hours."

Addy put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. She spent the entire day like a corpse and missed meeting Tanner. She was hoping he wouldn't come snooping around the estate and get caught because she didn't show up.

"I need to get up and use the bathroom," she said, slowly sitting up with Molly's help. "Who else is here?"

"Kim and Matt are in the living room. Gage went up to check on things at the main house, but he should be back soon. He's been pretty worried." Molly looked pretty worried herself. "He said you practiced a little too hard."

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm probably dehydrated." She stood up and waited until the dizziness from lying down so long subsided before trying to walk.

Looking down, she saw that she was wearing a nightgown, not the white and blue yoga pants and top she remembered.

"I'm gonna go wash up and get dressed," Addy said, heading for the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom. In the laundry basket by the door she spotted her clothes from earlier, covered in blood.

Surprisingly, her head didn't hurt at all. There was no cut, just some dried blood in her hair and a few places on her skin. She checked the rest of her body and couldn't find any bruises. The hot shower water melted the crusted blood from her hair and body. While scrubbing her scalp, she searched for any sign that she had an injury, but found nothing.

After she showered, she put on navy track pants and a gray t-shirt. She just brushed her hair and left it wet. She was in way too much of a hurry to dry it.

Addy walked out into the living room and Kim practically tackled her.

"You scared the hell out of us," she said, hugging her.

She hugged Kim back lightly and then pulled away. "Sorry." Addy glanced at Matt and Molly, who stood by watching her. "I need to know exactly what happened while I was unconscious."

Matt started answering before Kim could, making her huff at him. "Gage said you guys finished practice and were putting the mats away when you fainted. He carried you to Molly and when—"

"When she decided you were ok, we brought you here and waited for you to wake up." Kim finished and gave Matt a little smile.

"I had a big cut on my head from banging it on the floor—a really big cut. It's gone. I should have bruises too, but..." Addy began shaking her head.

Molly took a step forward, giving her a reassuring smile. "You didn't have any cuts or bruises when Gage brought you to me, honey."

"But there was blood on my clothes," Addy said, still trying to keep her voice even.

"Gage's blood," Matt said. "His nose was bleeding like crazy where you popped him. Nice one by the way." He gave her the thumbs up.

"Matt!" Kim scolded him, doing a terrible job of trying to suppress a grin.

They were all staring at her like she was delusional. She decided she wasn't going to argue with them and would just take it up with Gage in the morning. She ended by saying she must've been mistaken, and let it go.

Molly excused herself and headed back to the main house to check on Fate and let him know Addy was awake. They told Addy her grandfather sat with her for a long time waiting for her to wake up, but he was tired and not well himself and had to go rest in his room.

"You guys should go too," Addy said, turning to Matt and Kim. Kim started to resist but she could tell they were tired and ready to leave. "Just go, I'm perfectly fine."

"I'll be back first thing in the morning." Kim promised and hugged her. "Call me if you need me."

"Don't call me—I'll be sleeping," Matt said as he gave Addy a quick hug.

In his typical style, Matt made a few comments about taking pictures of her in compromising positions while she was unconscious as Kim dragged him out the door.

Addy checked the clock as she sat down on her bed. It wasn't really much later than when she'd met Tanner the night before and she really wanted to talk to him again. She stood up and went back into the living room with Moose trailing behind her. Catching a glimpse of her hair as she passed by the mirror made her glad it was dark out. She slipped her shoes on and headed out the door to see if she could still catch Tanner.

Addy stepped out on her porch and froze. Gage was coming up her sidewalk. She figured Molly would've told him she was fine and he wouldn't be back.

After taking a deep breath, she spoke quickly. "You didn't have to come back tonight."

He stopped when he saw her and looked around. "It's late to be going out."

Addy tipped her head at him. "You're out."

Gage shrugged and started walking again.

Addy wasn't planning on inviting him in and was completely shocked when he stepped up on her porch and put his arms around her. She stood there stiffly, not knowing what to do. It was beyond awkward standing on her porch smashed against Gage. Matt was always throwing his arms around her or grabbing her by the hand, but she and Matt were friends. Until yesterday, her and Gage barely appeared on each other's radars.

"I'm fine." She wiggled her arms in-between them and pushed him away. "How am I fine, Gage?"

Even through the dark, Addy could see that he looked tired. He turned away and ran his hands through his blond hair.

"I should still have bruises and a pretty deep cut on my head, but I don't." She moved to look at his face. "I remember everything about practice."

If he'd used his Akori powers to shift the time back, she shouldn't even remember having the injuries. Plus he was involved, which would've made it impossible to change. If an Akori was involved in the time that was being shifted in any way, it wouldn't work.

"I think..." He tried to look away, but she moved over again, forcing him to look at her. He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I think I healed you." He leaned over, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

Addy was speechless and just stood there. Between what he said and his sudden touchy-feely spree—she didn't know what to think. She'd never heard of such a thing—as far as she knew Akori couldn't heal. Gage was clearly shaken up and she mindlessly reached her arms up and looped them around his neck.

"You just collapsed—I started to pick you up to take you to my mom, but I noticed you weren't breathing."

His words sent a shock through her from head to toe.

"You were lifeless, Addy." He picked his head up, looking down at her. "I thought you were going to die."

Taking his hand, she led him inside her villa to the sofa. She decided they both needed to sit down before one of them fell out again.

Gage explained that he'd placed his hands on her to start CPR, but instead, the Akori symbols on the tops of his hands flashed a bright blue wave of light and she gasped for air. The bruises and cuts were gone, but she wouldn't wake up.

Addy couldn't think of anything to say, so she reached over and laced her fingers through his. She wasn't sure why she did it—it just seemed appropriate at the moment. Gage's hands were bigger and so much more grown up looking than when he used to hold her hand to cross the street. She noticed he was wearing his family's silver ring, with the letter E engraved over an Akori symbol. Molly gave it to him when he turned twelve, but she'd never seen him wear it before.

After a couple of minutes, the silence was becoming too much to take and Addy felt like she had to say something. "Do you remember when we tricked your mom and Fate into both giving us money for the candy store?" She had no idea what made her ask him that of all things, but it just came out.

Gage leaned his head back and a smile spread across his face. "Yes, you were six and you puked on my shoes."

"Yep. You needed new shoes anyway." She'd been so afraid of being caught with the extra candy that she'd eaten all of hers at once and gotten sick. Gage took care of her until she felt better so they wouldn't have to tell Molly and Fate.

Addy was his partner in crime on more than one occasion. Gage always convinced her to do the things he'd get in trouble for. He figured out at an early age she could get away with more than him because she was too young to know better. He took advantage of it as often as possible.

Their conversation stalled out again and neither one of them spoke. Moose jumped on the sofa and cuddled up next to her, forcing her to shift closer to Gage.

Gage put his arm around her and pulled her over so her head was on his shoulder. He rested his head on the top of hers and twisted her damp hair around his fingers. After meeting Tanner the night before, sitting—cuddling, on her couch next to Gage ranked way up there on her Oddest Moments list.

"I'm glad you're alright." Gage murmured, sounding almost like he was talking in his sleep.

Addy started thinking she should get up or something before he went to sleep, but by the time she decided to make her move she could tell by his even breathing it was too late. After being knocked out all day, she wasn't tired at all. She didn't want to disturb Gage or the cat though, so she just closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

The next time Addy opened her eyes it was to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Daylight was pouring in through her windows and she could hear the ocean. She was still on her sofa next to Gage who'd managed to somehow get both of his arms wrapped around her. She tried to move, but her long hair was caught under his elbow.

Until two days ago, they hadn't been alone together for years. It was unreal to wake up face to face with him sleeping on her hair after he'd basically saved her life. She'd never heard of Akori having healing powers, and judging by how shook up he seemed, neither had Gage.

There was another knock at her door, which prompted Moose to jump up on the window sill to look out.

"Gage, wake up," she whispered, shaking him lightly.

He opened his eyes and looked around, stopping on her.

"Someone's at the door."

He smiled and motioned to the door with his head. "Answer it."

"But—ok..." Addy peeled herself off him, pulling on his arm to free her hair. Outside of the teasing she was going to get, it didn't matter if Kim saw him there or not.

After reaching up and smoothing her hair down, she opened the door. When her eyes caught sight of the person on the other side of it her heart dropped to the floor and she bit her lip—hard.

"Good morning. You look much better than the last time I saw you," Bernard said. "Your grandfather wanted me to check on you, and ask that you join us for breakfast if you're feeling up to it."

Bernard walked in past her, not waiting for an invitation.

Addy prepared herself to explain why Gage was at her place, but she didn't have to. He was gone.
Chapter 7

Fate, Bernard, Stubbs, and Addy ate breakfast on the terrace overlooking the garden. Stubbs' dogs, Winkie and Brutis, were taking turns looking at her like they hadn't eaten in a week. They knew the only one at the table they had a chance of getting a bite from was her. She broke a piece of bacon in half and tossed it to them, causing Stubbs to shake his head at her.

"What?" Addy gave him an innocent look and motioned to the dogs. "They're hungry."

Oddly, as they ate and chatted, none of them pressed her to talk about what happened the day before. She was positive that they'd be all over her about it, but she wasn't about to complain that they weren't.

Addy was still more than anxious to talk to Tanner again. As awkward as it had been, she appreciated Gage coming back to check on her. She just couldn't help feeling disappointed that he'd stopped her from meeting up with Tanner though.

"Has anyone seen the guy Kim spotted at the beach around anymore?" Addy tried sounding casual between bites of her cheese danish.

Stubbs shook his head and looked out at the ocean. "It appears he was just a local young man looking at two pretty girls." He gave her a reassuring smile as he poured himself and Fate more coffee.

"We're not concerned about him," Bernard said, holding his cup out for Stubbs to fill it. "Elsegood checked the estate and surrounding area and didn't find anything suspicious."

Addy was relieved Tanner hadn't been caught poking around after she didn't show up the night before. A part of her hoped he felt better and headed back home, but she was a little bummed she might not get to talk to him again. He was funny and different from the rest of the people she was always with—it was nice talking to someone other than the Akori and humans who lived at the estate.

Addy caught up with Kim after breakfast. They sat on a bench in the garden and watched Matt's uncle Josh preparing the pool to be opened. She still couldn't get over seeing the place she'd lived her entire life looking so alive—all she'd ever known was ice and snow. Once the garden started growing, the place was going to look amazing.

"After you and Mattie left last night, Gage came back," she said, keeping her voice low. "He ended up staying the night at my place."

"Ok—that's a big wow!" Kim didn't even attempt to hold back her excitement over the news and stared at Addy impatiently. "Well, what happened?"

"He was all clingy—it was like he forgot we're not friends."

"Of course you're friends—you see him every day."

Addy didn't agree with Kim's logic one bit on that one and glanced up at Matt and Renee's uncle. "I see Josh every day too and I'm not about to snuggle with him."

"Don't be icky," Kim said, scrunching up her face. "You and Gage have known each other your entire lives—it's different."

"Yeah, and we don't talk at all—at least we didn't until we moved here."

Kim shrugged. "Not talking much doesn't make you not friends."

Addy leaned back and gave Kim a condensed version of what happened, being careful to exclude the part about Gage healing her. She wasn't exactly sure what to think about that yet.

When she was done Kim appeared slightly disappointed. "I thought when you said he stayed the night—you meant that he stayed the night."

Addy tried not to smile as her face got red. "Like I said, we just slept on my couch."

"So he slept all cozied up next to you all night, didn't try anything good, and then just left?"

"Shhh!" Addy spoke quietly, looking around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. "Yes, he left when Bernard got there and I haven't seen him since."

"You will." Kim smiled and poked Addy in the arm. "He's seen how hot you look with bed head. How can he stay away?"

"Right, hot like an unsheared sheep." The humidity was hell on her hair—she was walking around in a constant state of frizz that could only be tamed by pulling her hair into a ponytail.

Addy thought it was funny how Kim automatically assumed that she wanted Gage to come around. She wasn't sure what to think about him actually. Practicing with him had been fun, but that was totally different than just being alone together. They didn't even have anything to talk about and last night was painfully quiet.

Addy decided to get off the subject of Gage and told Kim that Bernard had given her a new driver's license and would be putting new license plates on all of the cars. Addy noticed the time and had to run to meet Fate, but they made plans to meet up for dinner.

Addy stood trailing her index finger along the silver globe that was placed next to the fireplace in the library. When she was shelving the newest shipment of books the Akori sent to the estate, she'd spotted a drawing of it in one of the older ones. It said the symbols covering its surface enabled the Akori to travel to any place on earth just by touching a finger to it.

She was pretty excited to find an object they had right in their library in one of books. That only lasted until she'd shown the passage to Fate. He simply smiled and told her it didn't really work—that it was just more lore the Akori made up over the centuries.

It was no surprise that Fate discounted what the book said. If anyone would know what was real and what wasn't, it was him. The Akori had countless stories and myths about objects and places. Addy and her friends—the younger Akori, always joked that it was probably to make the older Akori, who'd been around for countless centuries, seem more interesting and powerful.

The library was huge, with seemingly endless rows of books and several alcoves with tables and benches. Addy watched as her grandfather stood up from his seat at the head of the table. He motioned for her to follow him as he walked slowly down the main aisle, leading her over to a part of the library she never really spent much time in.

The section he was headed for was located next to an extremely creepy marble statue of a man holding a severed arm. His eyes were wide open and glassy. It was Akori art according to Fate, and he told her not to stare at it too long with a little smile on his face. She wasn't sure if he was serious, or just playing around because she looked so freaked out by it. Either way, she was happy to comply.

Fate slowed his pace and stopped.

"Am I looking for something in particular?" she asked.

"Nothing in particular, you need to become familiar with the entire library. I'd like you to look through these rows and get acquainted with this section," Fate said, taking a long look around. "I've read each and every book in here at one point or another."

"I doubt I'll ever be able to say that." Addy smiled and scanned row after row of books. "Maybe we can have the ones written in Akori turned into audio books or something."

Fate peered at her strangely and abruptly told her he was going to his room to take care of some things. It was odd for him to leave the library in the middle of the day, but she knew as much as he'd never admit it, he wasn't up to par after the move. As he kissed her cheek and walked away, she realized she was now going to be alone with the creepy statue.

The next few hours were spent flipping through books so old she was afraid they'd turn to dust in her hands. There were some interesting stories about events the Akori were involved in, most of which she had never heard about. After the whole globe thing, she wondered if they were even real though.

Addy was trying not to think about Gage, but her thoughts kept going back to him. Even though they were both technically adults, it would've been awkward explaining why he was at her place first thing in the morning to Bernard. Even nothing was going on between them; it would've looked like she was breaking the rule about humans and Akori being involved. Obviously, Gage felt the same way and left through the patio door.

The fact that he'd healed her was unbelievable. He seemed genuinely shocked at what he'd done, which probably explained why he'd completely violated her personal space. He didn't really know her well enough anymore to even be considered her friend. Still, after all the years they spent together as kids, it was nice having him around.

Running her fingers along the spines of the books, she walked up and down the rows of shelves. Most of them had names like Battle of this, and Plaque of that, with random dates. She realized the books in that section were all written before Oren Sanders became the Overseer. Unfortunately, most of them were written in Ancient Akori. As curious as she was about the stories they contained, struggling through the translations was something she didn't feel like dealing with right then.

It occurred to Addy that maybe she could find something about Akori possessing healing powers there. She'd never heard of any ability other than shifting the time back slightly, but that didn't mean it wasn't possible.

After looking for hours and being forced to turn her brain on full power to struggle through the books written in the ancient Akori language, she came up empty. Addy was completely burned out from all of the tedious translating and couldn't bear looking at another page.

As she carefully placed the books back onto their shelves, she decided maybe she should just ask Fate about the healing ability. He said he'd read every book in there, which looking around, she highly doubted. She'd have to make sure Gage was ok with it first though. She wasn't clear if she was supposed to tell anyone that he'd healed her or not, so she decided to keep it to herself.

Addy walked past the creepy statue without glancing at it on her way out. She decided right then that if she became the Overseer she was putting a bag over that guy's head.

As everyone else settled into their new location on the beach and had fun, Addy was forced to concentrate on learning the ins and outs of being the Overseer. Each day was basically the same. She had breakfast with her grandfather after combat practice, and then it was off to the library to shelve and read whatever books Fate picked out for her. In her spare time—which wasn't much, Addy continued searching for references to Akori healers. Lunch was usually on the terrace with Fate, Bernard, and Stubbs. She'd silently eat while the men talked.

After lunch each day, it was back to the library with her grandfather. Bernard would usually join them and having him there made the time go by much faster. Working with her on combat over the years gave Bernard insight about Addy that her Grandfather didn't have. She could only take so much and Bernard recognized that.

There was simply a point when her brain shut down and her thoughts drifted to other things—normal teenage things. Bernard always knew when it was time to give her a break. When he could tell she'd had enough, he usually urged Fate to let her go. Sometimes he'd just shoo her toward the door when Fate wasn't looking. Those were the things that made him Addy's favorite person at the estate.

Thanks to Bernard's understanding that she was still just a teenage girl, regardless of what her grandfather thought, Addy and Kim were able to hit the beach a couple of times. They also had a chance to finally take the car for a drive with the top down. They even managed to stop at a few stores and grabbed some new clothes one afternoon.

Addy hadn't seen or heard from Tanner since the note the morning after she met him. She figured he must have started feeling better and moved on. That had her bummed out. She'd enjoyed talking to him a lot more than she'd realized at first. He obviously knew where to find her, so if he'd wanted to, he could've always come back to see her. She just figured she hadn't made as stellar of a first impression on him as he had on her. She'd promised to meet him and then didn't go—nothing says I don't wanna be your friend like a no show on plans.

Kim had dragged Addy out to play pool one night with some of the others. Gage was there, but he and Addy didn't talk. Things between them were back to the way it had been for the last few years. She figured it didn't really matter, but at the same time she was disappointed. She never got a chance to ask him if she could tell Fate about the healing power. Just going off the fact he never talked to her about it again, she figured he'd say no anyway.

Like most evenings, Addy ate dinner with Kim and then went over to her place to hang out. On their way back to Kim's villa after eating, they spotted a group of the guys at a table by the pool.

Matt, his Uncle Josh, and the Akori guard Malcolm were gathered with a few others playing poker and drinking. Gage was there too.

Addy caught his eye for split second, but he quickly looked back at the table. Whatever he felt the night he healed her was apparently gone and his urge be so overly-friendly had clearly passed. She was back to being invisible to him.

"No one invited us to play," Kim said as they approached the guys.

Matt laughed and tipped his head back to look at her. "You can play—if you bring lots of money."

Kim was terrible at any game requiring cards and Addy always kept her away from poker with the guys.

Addy walked up behind Matt and leaned over his shoulder. "You should fold."

"Thanks, high roller." Matt smiled. "What am I gonna do in a hundred years when you're not around to give me poker tips?"

"Lose," Addy said, grabbing a beer from the cooler by the table.

Malcolm smirked at Matt. "Yeah, and every time we take your money we'll ask if you wish Addy was there to bail you out."

Matt reached up and poked her in the ribs. "And I'll just be like, Addy who?"

"You don't have to pretend, Mattie," she said, putting her arms around his shoulders. "I know you'll miss me when I'm gone."

Kim let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms. "You guys shouldn't talk like that."

"She's right, it's messed up," Gage said without looking up from his cards.

"Oh relax, Captain Way Too Serious," Matt said, looking in Gage's direction as he tossed his cards down on the table. He made a shooing motion to the girls. "And you two move along—you're distracting me."

The differences in their life-cycles was her Grandfather's justification for his strict rules about Akori and human relationships. It was painfully obvious that he'd put up the roadblocks just because of Addy. She was the first girl born into the Sanders bloodline in over two centuries. Being a little over-protective was probably justified, but it didn't stave off the guilt Addy felt every time Kim cried over Matt.

Kim hadn't come to understand how the Akori and human relationships worked like Addy had. Being raised around Akori, Addy knew her lifetime was like the blink of an eye to them. They were immortal—they'd probably had countless human friends they'd lost to death from old age.

Fate said it was usually harder for the younger Akori to understand than the ones who'd been through it many times over the course of their lives. Addy knew eventually she'd just be a memory to the Akori friends she'd grown up with, but she didn't dwell on it or pretend like it wasn't going to happen.

An hour later, Matt showed up at Kim's place after losing his money. Addy decided to head home rather than sit there and listen to him whine about it. The guys were still playing cards by the pool when she passed them on her way back to her villa, but she noticed Gage was already gone.

According to Kim, Gage not speaking to her was making her melancholy. How she came to that conclusion was a mystery to Addy because she hadn't mentioned Gage to Kim in days. Addy had sat at the same table as Gage in the dining room a couple of times, but just like at the poker game, he didn't even look at her. Realistically, that's how he always was. He wasn't acting any different than he had in the past. It's just after he healed her, she thought he would act different, or at least want to talk about it.

A note fell at her feet as she pulled her screen door open. She picked it up and began unfolding it with a pretty good idea who it was from.

I'll be around the bar next-door tonight—swing by.

-T

That answered her question—Tanner was still lurking around. She was surprisingly apprehensive about meeting him now that she knew he was still around, and she wasn't really sure whether to go or not. After making her way into her villa and feeling bummed about spending another night sitting around with her video game, she began to get ready. Addy decided to wear a light yellow skirt with a thin white button down top—she also made sure to slip on her sandals. After a quick check in the mirror, she headed out the door to find Tanner.

Addy took the path down to the beach and then went over to the walkway that opened up to the resort next door. When she passed through the place she'd originally met Tanner, the resort was in full view. Every inch of it was absolutely beautiful. The palm trees were wrapped in white lights from top to bottom. There were cozy little spots with benches and café tables tucked back behind perfectly sculpted shrubs. It all surrounded a large patio and pool area.

Walking through a maze of trees, Addy came to a bench on the far side of the outdoor bar. She decided it was a good place to wait for Tanner.

A few minutes passed and a guy sat down beside her.

"I'm waiting for someone," she said, not wanting to deal with being hit on.

"So am I."

She recognized the voice and whipped her head around.

"Tanner?" She was stunned. "Oh my god, did you get run over by an extreme makeover show?"

"Yeah, total hit and run." He looked at her seriously, but she could see a hint of a smile in his eyes. "I'm blending in—per your request."

Tanner was dressed like he belonged at the beach, wearing shorts, a light button down shirt and sandals. His facial hair was trimmed into a five o'clock shadow look, and his hair was cut short into what she'd describe as a faux hawk. It was also very dark brown, much darker than she first thought. It was a completely different look and he could have been a totally different guy.

"At least you didn't get your hair highlighted," she said, trying not to laugh.

Tanner ran his fingers through his hair with a lopsided smile. "I thought about it, but wasn't sure if I was ready to commit to the upkeep."

"Good call."

"The guys in my band are gonna be pissed—rocking the long hair was kind of our thing." He smiled and took a drink of the beer he was holding. "You never came back to meet me."

"I'm sorry, I was busy," she said, which was partly true. "How do you know where I live by the way?"

He said he was checking out the estate the night they met and he saw her go into her place. He also told her he checked into a suite at the resort since he needed a place to stay while he waited for his condition to clear up.

Addy looked around at their incredibly luxurious surroundings. "Isn't that pretty expensive?"

He just looked around and shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"Oh." She wanted to ask him some questions, especially about his family, but thought she might be overstepping since it was only their second time meeting and all. "Wanna go walk on the beach? Now that you look like a boy band reject it won't matter who sees us."

Tanner laughed and stood up. "Keep piling it on, girlie. I can take it."

They headed over to the bar where everyone knew him by name and Tanner ordered a couple of drinks. Then they made their way over to the walkway leading down to the water.

The beach was empty, except for a few couples walking hand in hand. In the distance, she could see lightning flashes over the ocean, but the sky above them was clear and full of stars.

They chatted while they walked down the shoreline, and again, he was so great to talk to about anything. It was a nice escape from all the weirdness of the estate, even though Tanner brought his own kind of weirdness. She thought about the easy way she could talk to Tanner and how tough, almost painful, it was to think of something to say to Gage. It was such a huge difference.

It was apparent Tanner was becoming more and more uncomfortable as they traveled farther away from Tremain. She didn't even think he realized the pained expression he was wearing on his face—Addy felt terrible for him. Once they got about a mile away and he still hadn't said anything about how bad he was feeling, she suggested they turn around.

When they got back to the beachfront at the resort, she realized they hadn't discussed the issue of why he was there in the first place. She honestly didn't even want to bring it up. She was happy to be with someone outside of the estate and didn't want to ruin things, but she knew discussing it was inevitable. She cleared her throat and forged ahead.

"Are you feeling any better at all?" Addy already knew the answer.

"Nope, if I was I'd have jetted—my band is playing without me tonight." He took off his shoes and stepped into the edge of the water. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on with me and how you moved that house there overnight?"

Addy slid her sandals off and dipped her toes in the water next to him. She was surprised the sand still felt slightly warm under her feet. "I don't know why you feel like you need to be near us." She picked up a shell and fiddled with it nervously. "I can't tell you about our estate."

"I'm gonna roll with my own theory then," he said, raising his eyebrows at her. "You're aliens and that giant house is your mother ship, which forces me to assume that I'm some type of alien hunter. Eventually I'm afraid I'll have to turn on you."

"That's ridiculous." Addy rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "You're an alien like us. We're just here to claim you because you were left here as a baby—kinda like a Changeling."

"Finally, the truth."

"You forced it out of me."

Tanner lightly splashed her with his foot and she watched him shake his head as he smiled.

She tossed the shell into the water feeling bad about his situation. "I'm sorry you're stuck here and I can't give you answers, Tanner."

His smile faded into a serious expression. "Who can then?" He turned his palms up in frustration and moved closer to her. "Should I just go up to your house and knock on the door? Hell, I doubt I even could, between the guy who watches your place and—"

"Wait, what guy?" She was alarmed at the thought of being watched and immediately thought of the humans who'd killed her parents. "You actually saw someone watching my villa?"

Tanner nodded, looking surprised at her reaction. "The same guy is out there every night."

Addy's heart pounded in her chest and she glanced around—maybe she was in danger after all. "What does he look like?"

"I saw him by the fire the first night we met— tall, blond." Tanner pointed at the estate, looking confused. "You know him..."

"You saw him outside my villa?" Her fear immediately turned into irritation. "He's there every night?"

Tanner nodded. "I've been trying to catch you or just knock on your door for the last couple of nights, but I couldn't because the guy is always around."

"I gotta go," she said, backing away from him. "I promise I'll try harder to find out what's wrong with you and if you feel better, please don't leave without saying goodbye."

Without giving him a chance to respond, Addy took off for the path leading back to Tremain. Oddly, a little of her irritation at Gage for lurking around her villa at night was replaced by relief that Tanner really had wanted to see her again. He just hadn't been able to get to her.

When she got to the top of the path, just down from her villa, she stopped. "I know you're out here—you may as well come out." There was no response at first, but then she heard someone behind her. She turned her head and saw Gage standing there. "What are you doing?"

"You said come out," he said as he jammed his phone in his back pocket.

Addy's jaw tensed. "You know what I mean."

"Like I said last week, Bernard told me to keep an eye on you. I'm not thrilled about sitting out here in the dark, but it's what they want. Malcolm's stuck out here during the day." Gage looked around and then focused on her, running his eyes up and down her outfit. "I thought you were home already—what're you doing out so late?"

She really wanted to call him out on not even knowing she was gone, but since she didn't want to have to explain where she'd been, she opted to just let it go.

"I was told at breakfast a few days ago that they weren't concerned about the guy from the beach anymore." Addy was beginning to boil over with anger. "Regardless of what Bernard says, I don't wanna be watched. I'll talk to Fate tomorrow and have you relieved of stalker duty."

Gage smiled, tilting his head. He looked like he wanted to say something, but knew he shouldn't.

Addy was annoyed and started walking away before she said something she might regret.

"When did you become like this?"

"Like what?" she asked over her shoulder, continuing to walk.

She heard his footsteps behind her and he caught her by the shoulders, stopping her. "Damn, Addy—just wait a minute."

"What?" She didn't turn around—she was still way too angry.

Gage didn't say anything, but she heard him take a deep breath over the sound of the ocean. His hands were still on her shoulders and he slowly began running them down her arms. His palms covered the tops of her hands and he carefully laced his fingers through hers. Pulling her arms with his, he wrapped them around her.

Her first thought was that she must have mistakenly put on a shirt that said Free Hugs because just like last time, she found herself wrapped up in his arms through no fault of her own. Without thinking, she leaned her head back against him as she contemplated breaking free of his arms. Gage pulled her closer, making her feel dizzy. He leaned down to rest his chin on her shoulder. He smelled incredible and his soft breath near her neck sent chills through her.

Standing with Gage's arms around her wasn't exactly the worst thing that could've happened, but it was still awkward. He wasn't saying anything and she was just about to tear herself away when he finally spoke.

"When did you become like this?" he asked again. He was speaking barely above a whisper. "You're different than I remember—you're not like I thought you'd be."

Forcing her head to clear, she thought about his question. "I grew up, Gage. You'd know that if you hadn't stopped being my friend. I tried to stay your friend, but you forgot about me."

He dropped his arms, turning her around to face him.

"That's what you think happened? I'm five years older than you Addy—you were still a kid when I could drive. I never—" He broke off, sounding hurt.

She turned her head away from him, unable to stand the expression on his face.

He slid his hands up her neck, and turned her face back to look at him. "I never forgot about you, I just grew up first."

Addy was overwhelmed with emotions when she realized how hurt she actually felt about how he'd turned his back on her when they were younger. She knew she had to get away from Gage before the tears welling in her eyes fell in front of him.

Reaching up, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists and tugged his hands from her cheeks. "I gotta go." She made a break for her door just as her eyes began stinging from burning tears.
Chapter 8

On her way into the library the next morning, Addy heard voices coming from the door that was cracked. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but once she realized who it was, she couldn't walk away.

"Gage, listen to me. I know it seems harsh, but it's the best way," Fate said. It sounded as though he was struggling to keep his tone neutral.

"You don't understand. It's not that I'm refusing to do it. I can't do it—not anymore."

She heard footsteps, so she took a few steps back and then slowly walked up again. Gage opened the door all the way and walked directly into her.

"Sorry," he said, grabbing her shoulders to steady her.

She felt a flash of heat that made her face flush. He glanced down at her for a split second, then let go and walked away.

Addy entered the library and studied Fate. He looked bothered, but seemed to snap out of it at the sound of her voice.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, gesturing to the door Gage had just exited through.

"Difference of opinion," Fate said, slowly opening a book on the table front of him. "He'll be fine."

He put her right to work retrieving books for him from different shelves. As she tugged one of the books free from the shelf, she noticed the one next to it had a much newer looking binding than most of the books found in the library. Typically the ones Fate had her get for him were old and worn out.

Addy pulled it out also and carried it over to the table with the others. She placed it down in front of her grandfather and tapped her finger on the spine. "Why does this one look so much different from the others?"

"Sit down," he said, sliding the book over to her.

Addy dropped into a chair and studied the cover. Oddly, there wasn't even a title.

"Open it up—read it," he said, giving her a little nudge. "Out loud..."

"Alright..." It was becoming more common for Fate to have her read to him. She wasn't sure if it was because his eyesight was deteriorating, or if it was to make sure she was actually reading the books he told her to.

The church in the center of the village was always his final stop yet Oren still felt uneasy. The smell of the charring human remains did not register to him anymore, but stepping onto the holy ground after what he had done moments earlier made his stomach churn.

The methodical way he had learned to pile them in the hastily dug holes, and stoke the flames just right until the flesh was melted from their bodies, was not the way he had been raised to tend to the dead. These dead received no funeral, no prayers, and no flowers. Only a mass grave and some quickly scribbled notes about who was where.

In the beginning, he had arranged them by family, but that was not possible anymore. Too many bodies to deal with had resulted in mass graves. First burning them, and then covering the smoldering pile of bone and ash with dirt. Finally, a wooden marker was placed at each site with the date that corresponded to the list he made for the day. When it was over, he hoped that someone would prepare proper grave markers for the people he was disposing of so crudely.

Most of the remaining villagers locked themselves away—Oren did not blame them. He had wanted to do the same, but his wife Anna insisted that they go on with life as normally as possible, helping when they could.

Oren and a few others were all that remained to remove the dead before the rats could get to them. They burned down entire homes after the last family member died, in a failing last effort to stop the sickness from spreading. The village was a blackened smoldering shell of what it was before the plague. He struggled to remember what it had been like.

The quarantine had not stopped the sickness from spreading, and nearby villages reported similar devastation. Unimaginable sickness was ending the lives of his neighbors, and had taken his family. His parents and brother were the first to go, then in the spring his brother's widow and niece died. Last month he lost his wife Anna and their son Jon. He had no more family living.

Oren volunteered to tend to the gravely ill and dispose of the dead. It was a gruesome task, but he had no hope or desire to make it through the nightmare he found himself living in. He tried to take solace in the fact that each body he disposed of saved another person from living with the memory of watching their loved one burn.

He did not understand why he had not become sick himself. Before she died, Anna said it was a blessing to be spared, and he should be grateful. She believed there was a plan for him. Perhaps she was right, but it seemed to Oren that he was suffering more than the ones who had become sick. They were at least given a speedy death. Once they became feverish, they seemed to be pulled into a daze, unaware of what was happening to them. By the time the blood oozed from their orifices, they were unconscious and quietly slipped away. Oren, on the other hand, was left to suffer through their sickness and loss acutely aware of what was going on around him.

As much as he desperately wanted to, he knew that ending his own life wasn't an option. Many others he knew chose that path and he held no ill feelings toward them. He had promised Anna he would continue even after she was gone. If he had known what that promise would mean, he doubted he would have made it. Instead, he prayed for an end.

In the front of the church stood a beautifully carved statue of an Angel holding a golden book. It had always been his favorite part of going to church. Its eyes were expressive and its lips were curved slightly.

Kneeling before the Angel as it looked down on the rows of empty pews, he once again begged to be taken away. When he was finished, he made his way to the pallet on the floor in the back of the church that had become his bed. He could not go to his home—it was stained with blood and death. Oren knew it should have already been burned to the ground like the rest, but it had proven easier to burn down his neighbor's homes than his own. Closing his tired eyes, he drifted off to dream of better times.

A woman's voice speaking his name startled him from his sleep. Once he cleared his mind, he assumed it would be one of the few remaining villagers there to ask that he remove one of their newly dead loved ones. It happened frequently. But looking up, he was met with the piercing gaze of bright green eyes. Her long blond hair was pulled back tightly, making her face look harsh. She was like nothing he had ever seen—definitely not one of his neighbors. Her skin had an unnatural glow that outshined the candles lighting the small stone church where she looked down on him.

The man beside her wore a slightly more pleasant expression, almost amused. He was tall and slender. The same strange glow shined from him, but his golden eyes and unruly dark hair made him less intimidating than her.

They were both dressed in gold colored robes tied neatly at the waist, and carried strange marks on the top of their hands that glowed with blue light. They looked like layers of wounds that healed into blue scars in a curvy lined pattern. He tried not to stare, however it was almost impossible not to. He reasoned that it must have been a vivid dream, therefore it was inconsequential if his long looks came across as insulting.

When he did not speak, she spoke his name again in a softer voice, perhaps sensing she had startled him.

"Oren Sanders." She tipped her head down, making eye contact with him. "My name is Eva and my companion is Andrew—we are Akori. You will come with us, we need your help."

As if he was being willed to do it, and thinking perhaps he would wake up any moment anyway, Oren got to his feet. Normally he would have questioned her odd request, but he did not—he had no desire to.

Leaving with them felt like the most normal, reasonable thing he had been asked to do recently. No part of him felt any danger as he obediently followed them from the church past the cries in the night of the sick and suffering.

Oren watched as Andrew reached over and took Eva's hand, whispering in her ear. Eva simply responded with a nod.

Addy turned to the next page, but it was blank. "Where's the rest?"

"You already know the rest," Fate said, nodding his head to her. "That's the story of the Sanders Family's first encounter with the Akori."

"Oren Sanders didn't write that," she said, dragging her fingers along the cover. "This book can't be any more than a hundred years old."

Fate placed his hand on the book and pulled it over to him. "It was written by my great grandfather."

"Oh." Addy pushed her chair out and slowly got to her feet. "So basically it's just a story that was retold in our family through the years?"

"Yes, but that's exactly as it happened," he said, handing her another list of books to pull. "Every detail is historically accurate."

"Really..." Addy looked down at the paper in her hand and sighed. She was about to question him on how a story like that could be shared through the generations and still be accurate, but she knew better. Debating with her grandfather was never something she came out on the winning end of.

She worked with Fate until lunch, when he told her he was going to be leaving the estate to meet with some old friends and she could have the rest of the day off. Addy was super excited to have a free afternoon and headed to the dining room to meet Kim.

"So what do you think they were talking about?" Kim asked.

Addy shrugged as she finished chewing. "Probably about Gage not wanting to babysit me anymore."

Addy was telling Kim about her encounter with Gage and the conversation she'd overheard between him and Fate in the library. The girls were seated on the terrace eating lunch in the hot sunshine.

"After last night, I can't blame him," Addy said, picking up her water and taking a sip.

She was seriously embarrassed about what she'd said to him, but if the end result was not having him outside her door at night, then she could live with it.

"It couldn't have been that bad." Kim suddenly smiled at her mischievously. "Here he comes with Mattie. Should we ask him what he thought about it?"

Addy looked up, catching Gage's eye. She quickly looked back at her sandwich and her appetite instantly vanished.

"Don't you dare," she whispered to Kim, who just kept smiling.

Matt pointed to Kim's plate and scrunched up his face when he got close enough to see it. "What's that?"

Kim didn't eat meat, so her plates were always full of some strange mixture of odd colored veggies and non-meat, meat flavored items. Addy and Matt were always grossed out by her food concoctions.

Kim smiled at Matt. "Taste it and find out." She scooped up a fork full and aimed it at him.

"That sounds awesome, but I'm gonna pass." Matt pretended to gag as he took a seat next to Kim.

Gage pulled up a chair and gave Addy a nod. That's how he usually greeted her when they were in a group, which made her relax a little. She hoped what happened between them wasn't such a big deal after all.

Addy pushed her plate over to Matt, who picked up her sandwich and took a bite of it without even acknowledging the fact she'd put it there. He'd been eating her leftovers since right after the day she met him when she was about four years old. It was just their thing after so long.

"I wanna go down to the beach after lunch," Kim said. "Are you guys free this afternoon?" She caught Addy's eye and smiled.

Matt glanced at Gage and answered for both of them. "Yeah, we were talking about heading down."

Kim smiled at her innocently. "What about you?" she asked, taking a bite of her mystery meal.

Addy thought about saying she had to get back to the library, but remembered she'd already told Kim she was free. "I guess I'm in too." She decided some sunshine would be nice, and that she was going to kill Kim for putting her in a potentially awkward situation.
Chapter 9

Addy and Kim spread out a large blanket in the sand and used their shoes to hold the corners down. Matt snagged a big umbrella from the resort next door and stuck it in the sand to cover part of the blanket.

Addy was lying on her stomach getting sun, and she could hear Kim and Matt in the water splashing around and laughing. They'd been at the beach about an hour and Gage still hadn't shown up.

Gage's behavior toward her had been odd since the estate relocated, but last night was the cherry on top of his Sundae of Strangeness. She'd written off his behavior the night after healing her as just being overly emotional about using his newfound power. Last night was different though, and she'd been up late thinking about him and what he'd said.

Most Akori were pretty quick to invade each other's personal space with hand holding and touching, but she'd never seen Gage act that way. He'd always been much more reserved than Matt, who was typically the one all over her.

"I hope you're wearing sunscreen, girlie." A familiar voice startled her from her deep thoughts.

Addy looked up and Tanner was inches from her blanket. He didn't look like the same guy she and Kim spotted on the beach their first day there. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only shorts and sunglasses. He skin was tan and tattoos covered the tops of his arms and shoulders.

"I'm sorry about bailing on you last night like that," she said, looking around for her friends. "I just had to deal with—things at home."

"No big deal. You forgot your sandals though. I grabbed them—they're back at my place." He motioned toward the water. "You don't swim?"

"I do, I just felt like getting some sun." Addy sat up and put her sunglasses on. She grabbed the sunscreen realizing she was feeling a little crispy and started applying it to her shoulders, stretching to get her back.

"Here," Tanner said, squatting down and taking the bottle from her. He began rubbing sunscreen on her back.

"Oh," Addy said, turning a little further toward him. "Thanks."

"My band has a show tonight over at the resort. Since I can't leave, I got them to let us play. It'll be a lot mellower than what we usually do, but it'll be good. You should come by."

Addy smiled as she watched a couple of girls walking by checking him out. "You've made some friends over there, I take it?"

"Spending a lot of time and money at the bar has its advantages."

She spotted Gage walking toward them, closing in fast. He was wearing sunglasses, but she could tell his gaze was fixed in their direction.

"Thanks," she said, taking the bottle of sunscreen. Her stress level spiked as she tried to figure out the best way to explain who Tanner was to Gage.

"There's my cue to exit," he said, glancing back in the direction she was looking.

"Tanner..." She felt terrible that he felt like he had to leave. "You can stay. I'll explain—"

"I gotta roll anyway." He smiled and stood up, rubbing the excess sunscreen on his arms. "Don't forget about tonight," he said, pointing at her as he backed away. He passed Gage, giving him a nod as he turned around.

"What's tonight?" Gage asked, sitting down on the blanket and glancing back at Tanner.

She didn't respond to his question and continued watching as Tanner walked away—he had a ton more tattoos on his back.

"Addy?"

"Huh?" She turned her attention from Tanner to Gage.

He glanced up and down the beach. "Where'd Kim and Matt go?"

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "They were in the water last time I checked, but you know them—he leads, she follows."

Neither one of them spoke. Instead, they sat quietly and watched a group of little birds run back and forth in the sand avoiding the waves. They were pecking at the small pieces of seaweed that washed up each time the water receded. She was thankful to have them as a distraction because the awkward silence was killing her. She was wishing she'd just lied and said she had other plans. Addy began plotting in her head how she was going to pay Kim back for putting her in a painful situation when Gage interrupted her.

"Come swim with me." He stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet.

Addy started to refuse, but he kept ahold of her hands and pulled her toward the ocean. His hot and cold behavior seemed to have switched to the hot setting again and confusion was setting in quickly. She had no clue what he wanted from her.

The water was cold, and by the time it was up to her midsection, she was covered in goose bumps. He just kept leading her deeper, laughing at how cold she looked.

They stopped when the water was almost at her shoulders. The waves were rough, making it hard to stand and Gage pulled her toward him to stop her from being knocked around by the water.

"Ok, when I say go, jump into the wave," Gage said, standing beside her.

She smiled at him suspiciously. "Is this one of those things where you say to go, but only I go, and you stand there laughing at me?"

"Get ready," he said with a smile. "Go!"

They both jumped forward and were thrown backward from the force of the water as it rolled by them. Gage had obviously done it before, but Addy on the other hand wasn't prepared. She ended up with water up her nose, and sand in her bathing suit bottoms from scraping along the bottom. She tried a few more times and the result was basically the same. They both popped up from the water laughing each time.

Addy was completely winded from laughing and being pulled underwater. Gage pulled her up so her arms were around his shoulders and she was on his back to catch her breath. Gripping him tightly as a wave crashed against them, she retraced how she actually ended up in the ocean clinging to Gage. Her murderous thoughts aimed at Kim began fading.

Gage looked back at her. "You're pretty terrible at this."

"Whatever. You only pick games you're good at." She tried not to laugh, but couldn't stop herself.

He continued smiling at her over his shoulder. "Still using that excuse, huh?"

Addy wrapped her legs around his waist and let go of his shoulders to pull her knotted hair out of a ponytail. Gage took it as an invitation to lean back and dunk her under the water. He pulled her back up so she was in front of him and held her against him while she wiped the water from her face.

"Ok, that was just mean," she said, trying to look serious.

Gage just smiled at her innocently and adjusted his arms so she was somehow closer to him than she'd already been. Addy had never experienced anything like the way his hot skin felt pressed against hers as the cold water swirled around them. A boatload of feelings she'd never had before were surfacing that scared the hell out of her. She was still breathing hard and if she didn't get away from him soon, she was never going to catch her breath.

On the shore, she saw a few kids sitting in the shallow water. They were getting knocked back with their legs flailing in the air each time a wave crashed.

"I wanna do that," she said, pointing at the kids and breaking free from him.

She made her way to the shallow water with Gage following her. They sat side by side like the kids and waited for the next waves.

"You're doing it wrong!" One of the little boys shouted at Addy. "Like this." He pointed for her to move her legs like he had his.

Addy smiled at the boy, then turned and stuck her tongue out at Gage. "At least he helps me."

"You definitely need help," he said, raking his fingers through his wet hair.

The waves continuously crashed. They were thrown back several feet each time and then dragged out to where they started by the receding water.

Eventually, the kids moved near them and tried sitting in all kinds of positions to see which pushed them farthest. Addy's stomach hurt from laughing at the silly things they were doing.

"You finally found something you're better at than me," Gage said, getting back into position.

Just as the next wave hit, he gave Addy a small push that put her off balance and caused her to be almost washed ashore on her back. He pulled himself through the water with his hands so he was lying on his stomach next to her, smiling triumphantly.

"Maybe I was wrong." He stuck his tongue out at her.

The second she looked at him they both cracked up laughing.

"You are so immature." She rolled her eyes at him, smiling.

His blue eyes met hers and his smile slowly faded. "Last night outside of your place," he said, resting his head on his palm, "I didn't mean to—"

"And this is what I've been dealing with since I was seven," Matt said from behind them.

Addy was leaning back on her elbows, so when she tipped her head back, she was looking at Matt upside down. He was pointing at her and Gage. Kim was next to him smiling, but when they made eye contact, Addy could tell she was anything but happy.

Beside Matt stood two girls, the humans who were at the fire on the night she met Tanner.

Gage was already on his feet when the blond one asked if Addy was his sister.

"Right, because they look so much alike," Kim said, grabbing Addy's hands and helping her up from the water.

They walked back to the blanket and sat down while Gage and Matt talked to their friends.

Addy put her sunglasses on and looked over at the guys. "Where'd you pick up the third and fourth wheels?"

"They spotted us walking and latched on." Kim shook her head, clearly annoyed. "The blond one, who I've decided to call Tweedledum, asked Matt where Gage was. Being the pal that he is, Matt offered to show her."

"Matt really is a great guy," Addy said. "I think I'm done here anyway—wanna head back?"

Kim just nodded and Addy could tell she was pretty upset. They packed their things and folded up the blanket.

"Don't let him see you're bothered about it," Addy said. "Smile like it doesn't matter to you what he does."

"But it does matter," Kim said. "Maybe that's what you do to Gage, but I'm not like that."

Addy was surprised she'd say that to her. "Gage is barely even my friend. He's totally free to do whatever he wants."

Kim shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok."

Glancing over, she knew she had to go say bye to him or it would look like she was mad. She took a few deep breaths and put on a happy face.

Addy realized the idea it didn't bother her to see Gage talk to girls was over. He'd shaken up everything she knew about her feelings for him and she was really paying for it with the twinge of jealousy she felt watching him smiling at someone else. She mentally kicked herself repeatedly for letting him do it as she made her way over to the group.

Addy stopped in front of them, still smiling. "We're heading back to the estate."

Gage turned to her looking a little disappointed. "Already?"

The idea of staying ran across her mind, but she shook it off and answered. "Yeah, I've got some plans."

Addy wasn't sure if she was going to see Tanner play or not, but leaving because she had plans sounded way better than saying she was leaving so she didn't have to watch him talk to Tweedledum.

Matt put his arm around Kim's shoulders. "I guess there's a band playing at the resort next door tonight. We're all gonna go check them out later."

Kim wasn't as good as Addy at hiding her emotions and couldn't keep her irritation to herself.

"Have fun," Kim said, pushing Matt away and heading through the sand toward the estate.

"Damn," Matt said, watching Kim walking off, "what the hell's her problem?"

Addy ignored him and painfully turned to Tweedledee and Tweedledum—still smiling sweetly. "It was nice to see both of you again."

After waving to Matt and Gage, Addy walked back to the estate. Her cheeks hurt from flashing so many fake smiles.

Kim must have walked fast, because she wasn't visible in the distance. She was probably more upset about Matt than Addy realized. He always acted so careless with Kim's feelings, but they both knew they shouldn't be so close.

The situation with Gage was getting out of hand too. Addy needed to stay away from him as much as Kim needed a break from Matt. He'd switched gears so quickly when Matt showed up with Tweedledee and Tweedledum that Addy's head was still spinning. It was all too much and she had no clue what he wanted from her.

The idea of going to see Tanner play at the resort was scratched since Matt and Gage would be there with their new friends. After showering and changing, she decided just to go up to the main house and get some dinner.

Fate was on the terrace when Addy walked up the stairs. He didn't usually eat dinner outside, but it was a nice evening. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat down at the table with him. Moving the estate there had taken a lot out of him and he was using a wheelchair because he'd become too weak to walk. She figured Molly must have brought him out.

Addy looked down at the garden. Matt and Gage were just walking up from the beach.

"Everyone seems happy here." Fate watched the boys walking toward the main house. "How do you like it?"

Addy shrugged. "It's nice. The ocean is beautiful." She was still watching Gage as she spoke.

"Yes, it truly is," Fate said with a smile.

She sat with her grandfather for a long time talking about when she was a child. They laughed as they tried to list all the different places they'd lived and he finally explained why he'd always kept them living in such cold spots.

Apparently Akori didn't generally like the cold weather, so he kept the estate in cold locations to discourage them from coming to live there. He said he wanted her to live in a family atmosphere, without a bunch of strangers coming and going.

"I always wondered about the snow. Gage and I used to think it was to punish us." She smiled just thinking about it. "We'd be extra good when we knew it was time to move."

"Our little troublemakers tried to be good, huh?" Fate smiled, patting her hand. "You used to be like his shadow. If I could find him, I could always find you too."

"Yeah, then we grew up—things changed," she said, looking down at her hands. "Plus, five years is a big age difference."

Fate reached for the teapot, but Addy shooed him and picked it up to refill his cup. He sipped it for a few minutes without speaking. She almost didn't know what he was talking about when he finally looked at her and spoke.

"Perhaps five years was a large difference at one point, but maybe it's not as much anymore. Friends, especially ones you've known your whole life, are very important. You'll learn that as you get older."
Chapter 10

After waking up enough to realize she wasn't dreaming, Addy reached over for her cell phone that was buzzing like crazy. It was 2am and she'd been asleep for a couple of hours. Since Tanner's show was out of the question, she'd opted to just go back to her villa after dinner and play one of her new video games.

There were four missed calls in the last two minutes from Matt's sister Renee. She hit the button to call her back and tried to remember the last time Renee called her—especially in the middle of the night.

"You need to come down to the beach," Renee said instead of hello when she answered the phone. "I'm not sure where my brother is—he's not answering his phone. Kim's down here arguing with some girls about him."

"I'm on my way." Addy ended the call and ran out the door, dialing Gage as she walked.

"Hey," Gage said. "It's late. Is everything—"

"Where's Matt?"

"He's right here, why?"

"Tell him to get his ass down to the beach." She ended the call without waiting for a response.

Addy could hear the girls yelling as soon as she got to the end of the path connecting the beach to the estate. A few of the Akori from the estate were there, along with Tweedledee and Tweedledum, standing near a roaring bonfire.

It was obvious Kim was pretty drunk by the way she was swearing like a sailor. Addy was jogging, but broke into a sprint when she saw Tweedledee reach back and smack her across the face. Kim lunged at the girl just as she reached them. Addy shoved the girl aside and grabbed Kim, pulling her back.

Tweedledum—the friend of the girl Kim was fighting with, grabbed a fistful of Addy's hair. The sudden pain caused her to lose the hold she had on Kim, who landed in the sand on top of Tweedledee.

"Let go!" Addy screamed at her.

Tweedledum released Addy's hair and began yelling at her about pushing her friend. She was either oblivious to the fact that Addy only shove the girl to try to get her out of Kim's way, or she really just wanted to pick a fight. Either way, the girl suddenly decided it was a good idea to take a swing at Addy.

Renee knocked Tweedledum to the ground before her hand made contact with Addy's face and pointed to the other girls. "Just get Kim!"

Addy's head was throbbing where her hair had been pulled and she really wanted to punch the chick right in the face. Instead, she glared at her and once again grabbed Kim, pulling her away from Tweedledee.

"Get off me, Addy!" Kim fought, trying to get away from her grasp.

"Stop then!" Addy was shaking her to get her attention. "He's not worth it. Matt is definitely not worth this."

Kim quit fighting Addy. She began crying and sat in the sand burying her face in her hands. Renee was yelling at Tweedledee to stay away from Kim as Matt came running up. Gage was right behind him.

Matt looked at the five girls and held his hands out at his sides. "What the hell's going on?"

Renee whipped around to face her brother. "That's a stupid question!"

"See what you do!" Addy got on her feet and began shouting at him. "You rub girl after girl right in her face until she can't take it anymore." She turned to Kim and tried to speak in a softer voice. "And you—you just keep going back for more. It's like both of you enjoy hurting each other."

Matt tried to speak, but Gage gave him a look that said he should probably keep his mouth shut, which unfortunately for Gage, drew Addy's attention to him.

Addy shifted her gaze to Gage, who immediately looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "You just stand by and let him do it right in front of her." She took a step toward him—the vision of how he completely ditched her when the other girls walked up with Matt popped into her head, making her even angrier. "You may be free to do whatever or whoever you want, but he's not!"

Gage took his own advice and didn't respond, but she could tell he was stunned at her outburst.

Addy turned around and ran her eyes across the group as lightning began streaking the sky. "Meanwhile, I'm out here in my pajamas getting my hair pulled out by these—bitches!" She again rubbed the sore spot on her head where her hair was pulled. As the rage was building up, she looked directly at Tweedledum, taking a quick step toward her. "I should wreck you!"

The two girls looked around Addy, toward Matt and Gage as if they expected help.

Gage walked past Addy, brushing his fingers lightly along her arm. His touch mixed with the adrenaline pumping through her body felt like needles piercing her skin and she pulled her arm away.

"Leaving now would be a good idea," he said to Tweedledee and Tweedledum when he was between them and Addy.

They protested and Gage said a few more quiet words. Addy could hear one, or maybe both of them crying as they started walking away.

Renee broke up the rest of the group that was standing around gawking, warning them to keep what they saw to themselves. If Fate found out, he'd send Kim home. They were never supposed to draw unnecessary attention to the estate or the people who lived there.

Only Matt, Addy, Gage, Kim, and Renee were left.

"This is ridiculous," Addy said when the girls were out of earshot. "First Matt's beating up some poor guy just for dating Kim, and now she's fighting over him." She threw her hands up and then swept them through the air, just as a huge crackle of thunder crashed around them. She moved closer to Gage at the sound, but quickly backed away after getting her bearings. "We're not dealing with it anymore."

"I'm sorry," Kim said, without lifting her head up.

Addy sighed and dropped her shoulders. "It's not just you, Kimmy."

"Matt, are you listening?" Gage asked him.

He didn't answer. Matt was staring at Kim with so much intensity it creeped Addy out. Kim suddenly picked her head up, looking curiously at him.

"Matt!" Renee shook his arm, snapping him out of it.

He glared at Renee. "I know," he said through clenched teeth.

Kim, Matt, and Renee were glancing between each other without saying anything for several seconds. Addy peeked at Gage who appeared as confused as she was. Apparently he felt left out of whatever was going on too.

Renee nodded her head suddenly and focused on her brother. "If you can't get a handle this, then you need to stay away from her."

Matt gave her a pointed look and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey," Gage said, reaching over and nudging Matt's shoulder. "Renee's right, if Fate finds out what's been going on he'll send Kim home."

Matt nodded at Gage and let his arms fall to his sides. Addy could tell by his face he didn't like the thought of Kim leaving. He kneeled down in the sand and began whispering something to her. She nodded her head a few times and tears trickled down her cheeks. Matt finally just sat down and wrapped his arms around her.

Addy rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable."

Gage looked over at her and shook his head.

She turned and began heading for the estate. "I'm going back to bed." She was extremely frustrated and irritated at the entire scene. The worst part was that she knew nothing would change.

"Addy," Gage said, walking up next to her. "Is your head alright?"

"Its fine," she said, keeping her eyes fixed on the path ahead of her. She was super pissed at him over his mixed signals and the girls.

He slipped his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. "I'll walk you—"

"No!" Addy pulled her hand away and stopped. There was absolutely no way he was going to play with her emotions the way Matt did to Kim. "Didn't you even hear anything I said back there?"

Gage seemed startled by her response as he looked down at her. "Of course I did, but—"

"Don't follow me." She began walking again, but looked back over her shoulder. "Actually, until you decide what you really want, just stay away."

The next day, Addy made a conscious effort to avoid all of her friends. She was still so angry about the entire situation that she didn't even go to dinner. After she finished up her day in the library with Fate, she went straight down to the beach and found a spot up near the tall grass. She spread out a small blanket and laid down on her stomach with a graphic novel she'd been dying to read.

It was almost funny that after all the reading she was forced to do every day, she'd still choose to spend her free time with her nose between the pages. It was relaxing, and escaping into someone else's problems was so much better than dealing with her issues.

"What are you reading, girlie?"

Addy looked up as Tanner dropped down onto her blanket beside her. She was a little surprised by how glad she was to see him. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a cartoon logo on the front from a show she watched all the time and a backwards baseball cap.

She held the cover up for him to see and smiled. "For a guy who doesn't like the beach, you sure turn up here a lot."

"Yeah, it's strange how that's working out," he said, flicking the cover of her book with his index finger. "I read that book. I didn't know there was a graphic novel."

"It came out a few weeks ago," she said, scooting up to a sitting position. "How'd it go last night?"

"You mean the show? It rocked," he said, leaning back on his hands. "You didn't come..."

Addy instantly felt bad, but there was no way his show was an option after discovering Matt and Gage were going. "I couldn't make it."

He nodded and looked out at the water as several large waves crashed against the shore. "The ocean's crazy loud. I think that's why I can't sleep here."

"I'm the opposite," she said, dropping her book on the blanket and wrapping her arms around her knees. "The white noise drowns out everything else—I sleep way better since we came here."

"Where'd you live before?"

"Somewhere cold and quiet," she said, shivering slightly at the memory, "just outside of Barrow, Alaska."

"Seriously?" He glanced back at the wall surrounding the estate. "I should've known by the snow on the roof of your house when it sprang up the other night."

"Yeah, it's so strange seeing it without the white stuff everywhere."

"Is that where you're from—Alaska?"

"We're not from there, that's just where we were before coming here." Addy took a deep breath, trying to figure out how much to tell him. "We move every year."

"I'm glad your house came to me—getting pulled to the Arctic Circle would've sucked."

The estate came to him. Addy studied Tanner and then glanced back at Tremain. It couldn't have been a coincidence that he just happened to feel like he needed to be close to them at the exact time they came back to the place she'd been born. Something was definitely off about the situation—she just didn't have any idea what it was

"So in a year you'll be gone, huh?" Tanner picked up her book and started flipping through the pages.

"I'm not sure," she said, lowering her head and closing her eyes. "Things are changing." If her grandfather died and she didn't get his position as Overseer, the estate would stay right where it was. "There's just a lot going on—a lot to my life. I can't explain it."

Tanner bumped her shoulder, making her open her eyes and look at him. "Here's what I think," he said, smiling at her. "I think your mothership is stranded here and you can't get to the next planet you planned on conquering."

Addy laughed and leaned back on her elbows next to him. "I can't get anything past you."

The time ticked away as they sat together chatting. They watched as the beach slowly cleared out and the silvery moon replaced the fading sun.

It was unbelievably nice having someone outside of the estate as a friend. She remembered when Kim was that person. Now that she was a part of everything that went on at the estate, Addy missed having just one person—another human, who had nothing to do with the Akori. She knew Tanner was somehow connected to it all, but until he had to be told about it all, she liked having him just the way he was.

Addy glanced up just in time to spot Kim, Matt, Renee, and Gage walking down the beach in her direction. It didn't look like they'd noticed her yet so she quickly dropped onto her back and turned on her side toward Tanner. She wiggled over closer to him so he was blocking her from their view.

"I have a ton of burning questions about what you're doing," he said, craning his neck so he could see her face.

"My friends are here," she whispered. "I'm not really into seeing them right now."

Tanner laughed and leaned over her as they passed. "So I'm a human shield?"

"Pretty much," she said, looking up at him. His eyelashes were the thickest she'd ever seen on a guy and she was totally jealous. She caught a glimpse of Kim and grabbed Tanner's shirt, pulling him farther over her.

"I've gotta be honest," he whispered, looking back to see if they were gone. "Hiding out in the most likely place they'd look for you was an absolutely terrible plan."

"There was no actual plan—it was more like panic when I saw them."

Tanner glanced back again and then sat up. "It's all clear." He offered Addy his hand to pull her up and started laughing. "Even if—damn..." His phone was ringing and he got to his feet as he answered it, walking a little ways away from her.

It was dark outside, so reading anymore was pretty much out of the question. Sitting and talking with Tanner was definitely something she could do though. She'd be perfectly fine spending a lot of time doing it actually.

Tanner came back over to where Addy was sitting. "I've gotta take off." He crouched down in front of her with an apologetic expression. "Apparently when I was drinking last night, I invited a friend over to hang out tonight. That was the front desk of the resort saying she's waiting in the lobby for me."

"Oh." Her grand plan to make Tanner her one and only non-Akori related human friend failed to take into account that he had a life. "I'm going back up to my place anyway—it's way too dark to read out here."

"So seeing in the dark isn't one of your alien powers," he said, looking at her closely.

"I got gypped out of that one." Addy couldn't help smiling. "Remember," she said, pointing at him, "If you get better and decide to leave, make sure you say good-bye first."

"You got it, girlie." He stood up and took a few steps away before turning back to her. "Tomorrow night—about this time, will you be here?"

Addy nodded before even thinking about her answer.

"Then I will be too," Tanner said, turning his back and walking quickly toward the path leading to the resort.

Chapter 11

Fate had taken a turn for the worse—it wasn't a small turn, it was a sharp turn straight into Addy's worst fear. He was dying. Even if Molly hadn't told her, she would have known. Each day the life seemed to fade from him more and more. It was horrible to watch, and for the last week Addy was spending all of her time during the day by his bedside reading to him or in the library going over the things he told her to do.

In the little down time she had, Addy began researching anything that had to do with humans involved in Akori practices. She was trying to keep her promise to figure out what was wrong with Tanner. If nothing else, it was at least a good distraction from her life that was seemingly falling apart around her.

There was nothing obvious that seemed to connect Tanner's problem to the Akori, but she did read some disturbing tales about humans who'd been marked with Akori symbols. In the stories, the symbols caused them to become ill, and in most cases die. She took the books to Fate's room and read the stories to him. He was amused by her horror at the tales and he told her that just like most things written by the Akori, it wasn't true.

The only escape Addy had from the building pressure at Tremain was Tanner. She'd been meeting up with him at the beach every night. They just sat in the sand and talked about anything that came to mind. They didn't discuss their personal lives, but she mentioned that her grandfather was sick just in case she didn't show up one night. The subject of why Tanner was there in the first place was carefully avoided for the most part. Her time talking with him at night gave her something to look forward to all day as she muddled through.

At the same time all of that was going on, Addy was trying to push Gage out of her head. Actually she really wished she'd never let him in. She expected him to be pissed at her for yelling at him on the beach, but he didn't seem to be fazed by it. If anything, he was nicer since it happened. Any time she saw him he was really friendly, not distant like he'd been before.

Between her grandfather's failing health and researching Tanner's issue, she didn't really have the time to figure out what Gage's intentions were anyhow. She was sure he wanted to be her friend and she figured that was enough. That's realistically all he could be anyway, at least as long as her Grandfather's rules were still in play.

It took a few days, but Addy finally got over the beach incident. The entire thing ended up making Kim and Matt closer than ever. They said they weren't together as a couple—which would have been against her grandfather's rules, but Kim told Addy that Matt promised not to see anyone else anymore.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum hadn't been back as far as she knew, which was fine with her. It took all of the willpower Addy had not to tear into Tweedledum the night by the fire. The only thing that stopped her was remembering what Bernard taught her about choosing her fights carefully and not hurting people just because she could. Gage stepping in between them was probably a big factor too.

Despite what Kim said, Addy wasn't necessarily avoiding Gage in general. She was just going out of her way to avoid being alone with him. Way too much random embracing occurred when they were alone and Kim couldn't seem to grasp the concept that it was a bad thing.

Addy sat tapping a pen on the table in the library as she read through another useless book. Her frustration won out and she slammed it closed. There was simply nothing anywhere about humans having the same pulling feeling as the Akori got when they rematerialized after Scattering. She checked the time and decided she needed a break. It was the middle of the day so she let Molly know she'd be back shortly and walked next door.

When they parted ways the night before, Tanner told Addy he had friends coming to stay with him at the resort for the next two nights, so he wouldn't be able to meet up. She was bummed, but figured she could use the extra sleep. Between being up early to be by Fate's side, and staying up late to hang out with Tanner, she was running on about 3 hours of sleep a night—if that.

At the front desk of the resort, Addy asked for Tanner and waited while the extremely courteous woman working at the counter called his suite.

"Mr. Sutherland said he'll be down shortly. You can wait over there if you'd like," she said, pointing to a sitting area.

Mr. Sutherland? Addy laughed to herself as she walked over to have a seat. The place was even more incredible inside than it was outside. A waterfall started about 20 stories up and cascaded down into a sparkling pool with a fountain in the middle.

Along the edge of the pond, she spotted the most beautiful violet flowers she'd ever seen, and had to fight the urge to go pick one. She stepped carefully when she noticed that parts of the floor were glass blocks. She could see water flowing and fish swimming under her feet as she walked across them. The entire place was packed with tropical plants and trees of every size and type. Birds of all colors even flew overhead freely.

It was only a few minutes before she spotted Tanner. She was used to seeing him in the dark under the moon, but in the daylight, he looked great. The beach definitely suited him, whether he liked it or not. She stood up as he got close and waved.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of her. "I'm surprised to see you, girlie."

"I'm sorry for just showing up. My grandfather's sleeping and I needed a break."

"It's alright." Tanner smiled and raised his brow. "Just remember to schedule an appointment next time."

"Will do," she said, rolling her eyes.

Tanner tipped his head toward the door. "Wanna take a walk?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"I've decided that the beach isn't as bad as I thought," he said as they headed for the door.

"So it doesn't suck?"

"Not entirely." Tanner reached down and plucked one of the pretty purple flowers she'd spotted by the pond and handed it to her.

The extremely courteous women at the front desk gave them a disapproving look, making Addy giggle and walk faster for the door.

"So the friends I have over are the guys from my band," he said once they were outside. "We're going over a recording contract that was offered to us."

Addy nudged him with her shoulder. "Congratulations—that's awesome. I've never even heard you guys play. I wish I had more time to hang out."

"Yeah, me too." Tanner nodded and peeked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Don't you find it a little odd that you and I—"

Addy put her finger up to stop him as she turned her head to listen.

They were almost at the edge of the property and she heard someone calling her name. She moved forward a few steps and saw Gage walking quickly toward them. There was only one reason he'd be coming to find her and despair poured over her.

"Addy, it's—" He paused for a split second when he saw Tanner, then started again. "We need you at the main house."

She looked at Tanner and tried not to cry. "I have to go. My grand—"

"Go on, girlie," Tanner said, making a shooing motion.

Without hesitation, Gage grabbed her hand and they started to run. Addy choked back a sob as they reached the front door of the estate. "Is he..."

Gage wiped a tear that was trickling down her cheek. "I haven't seen him. My mom just said to find you." They went up the stairs together, but he stopped as she started to go inside Fate's wing of the estate.

Addy turned to him. "Come with me—please."

He nodded, following her inside. He really didn't have much of a choice since she was still clutching his hand.

Her grandfather's friends Bernard and Stubbs were standing outside his bedroom door. They both looked up when she entered. Bernard gently tapped on the bedroom door and Gage's mother Molly came out.

"Addy..." She immediately began crying.

Seeing Molly cry caused Addy to hold her breath as she struggled to keep her composure. She was feeling lightheaded when Gage suddenly started shaking her. She gasped for air and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Alright, honey, you need to pull it together and get in there," Stubbs said, holding a tissue out to her.

Bernard stepped closer to her and took the tissue from Stubbs, wiping her face. "You'll be ok. We'll be right here if you need us."

Addy nodded and took a few deep breaths. She let go of Gage's hand and went inside.

They were alone and Fate was lying propped up on his bed. He looked like he was asleep, but when she touched his hand he opened his eyes slightly and smiled.

"My favorite girl," he said. His voice was almost too low to hear.

Addy couldn't speak. She had a lot she wanted to say, but nothing would come out. She knew this moment was coming—he'd been preparing her for years. Now that it was time, it was nothing like what she thought it'd be.

"You've done a good job—been a good girl." He was still speaking so softly she could hardly hear him. "I hope you had a good life here with us."

She stood speechless. She wanted to tell him that she had a wonderful life because of him. No words would come out of her mouth.

"I should have—" He struggled to catch his breath as tears streamed from his eyes.

He was having a difficult time speaking so Addy just kissed his forehead. She carefully sat on the edge of his bed and held his hand. It reminded her of how he used to sit on her bed at night when she was scared of all the noises in the old estate. He'd stay with her until she fell asleep. The realization that it was now her turn to wait for him to drift off settled in as she sat looking down at the only family she had.

Addy wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she could tell by the dimming light outside that it was early evening. The door opened and Molly silently slipped in to check on Fate. She'd been in several times over the last few hours, but this time she motioned for Addy to move.

She took a step back to give Molly room to examine him and watched as she took his pulse. His breathing was extremely shallow and he hadn't opened his eyes to see if she was still there in a long time.

"Oh Fate," Molly said, placing his hand back down on his chest, "you can let go, it's ok."

Addy wanted to scream at her not to say those things, because it was not ok. She could only stand there, frozen and unable to speak. All the thoughts swirled through her head. Fate was dying right in front of her. She wanted to move, but her feet were glued to the floor. The words just repeated in her mind and she could taste blood in her mouth from where she was biting down on her cheek to avoid crying.

Molly went to the door and Addy heard her tell the group that was gathering in the hall they needed to come say their goodbyes. Bernard and his wife Doris came in, followed by Stubbs. A few other Akori who spent a lot of time at Tremain took turns coming in and out. They each whispered things to Fate. He nodded a couple of times in response, but didn't speak.

Gage came in next. He walked to the edge of the bed, leaned down, and whispered something. Fate smiled and nodded his head. Gage turned to leave, but Fate reached for his hand.

"You were right," Fate whispered in a weak voice. Gage leaned back down and whispered something back that made Fate smile while tears pooled in his eyes.

When he turned to move away, Addy couldn't look at Gage. She could feel his eyes on her though. Instead of walking over to the door, Gage took a couple of steps back and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and all the tears she'd been holding back came rushing out.

Chapter 12

The next three days were a blur. Addy hardly spoke to anyone. Kim helped her get ready for the funeral, and like a robot, she just complied with whatever was asked of her. A service was held at a small old church. From there, her grandfather was being sent to the Sanders family crypt that also contained her parents and grandmother.

It was almost noon and she was expected in the library shortly to see if she could claim the Overseer's Stone. Realistically she knew it wasn't possible, but she still hoped she could.

There was a box with a note pinned to it on her porch when she got to her villa to change. She pulled the lid off and found the sandals she'd left on the beach the first night she'd walked with Tanner.

The crazy pulling is gone, so I'm rolling out.

-T

Her heart sank as she read his note. Tanner was gone. She was glad whatever was keeping him anchored had cleared up, but Addy wished she could've at least said good-bye to him. With a sigh, she dropped his note on the table by her door with the others and went in her room to change.

Moose was stretched out on her bed. He'd been the only one she could talk to over the last couple of days. She gave him a quick scratch behind the ears, and then looked for something to wear.

Addy tossed the black pantsuit she wore to the funeral into the heap of clothes on her floor and went into her closet. She didn't care for her clothing options and really needed to go shopping, or at least find time to do some laundry.

The only summer item she found was a white strapless sundress that fell a few inches above her knees. She changed into it and grabbed her pink strappy sandals. She pulled her hair down from the tight twist she wore for the service and ran her fingers through it. She touched up her make-up and swapped her diamond stud earrings for silver hoops.

Grabbing her purse, she closed her door and headed for the main house. The garden was set up with chairs and tables to host the luncheon after she claimed the stone. The flowers and decorations looked lovely—you would've never guessed someone had just died.

Up ahead, she spotted Gage sitting on a bench not far from the front doors of the main house. He stood when he saw her. He was still wearing his suit from the funeral, but his jacket was off and the sleeves of his light blue shirt were rolled up. She shook her head, thinking it was so unfair that even when he put no effort into what he wore, he still looked fantastic.

They hadn't talked since Fate died. She had no time or energy to be worrying about Gage anyway, and he'd been busy with all of the Akori who'd come to the estate for the funeral.

Once she was close, Addy spoke first in an effort to avoid awkwardness. "What are you doing sitting out here?"

Gage shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Taking a break from all the commotion I guess. I'm not used to having so many people around here. The ones who came in for the funeral are a lot different than the Akori I know."

"I noticed that too," she said. "They're probably just nervous about what'll happen after I claim the stone."

She was worried about it too, and she was so glad Gage was out there. She'd been dreading going into the library and having him there took the edge off her anxiety.

Addy reached up and straightened a few pieces of Gage's hair that were blown out of place by the wind. He looked at her as if he wanted to say something but she stopped him.

"Oh god Gage, please don't say any kind words about my loss. That's all I've heard for three days."

His bright blue eyes met hers. "That's not what I was gonna say, Addy."

Her cheeks blushed. "Oh."

"Can I walk you in?" he asked, holding his arm out.

She nodded, feeling bad for semi-snapping at him as she slipped her arm through his. They started walking toward the main house.

"Are you coming into the library to watch me try to claim the Overseer's Stone?"

"Do you want me to?"

It didn't take long for her to come up with an answer. "If you don't mind..." She glanced up at him and bit her lip.

"I don't mind," he said, tugging the arm she had looped through his so she was forced to walk closer to him. "All of the Akori were invited to watch you claim the stone," he said, opening the door to the estate, "but since Bernard and Kim are humans, they won't be allowed in the library with us."

She dropped her shoulders. "Wonderful."

Addy and Gage arrived outside the doors to the library and she could hear a lot of loud discussion inside. Kim was standing off to the side with Bernard and Doris. Winkie and Brutis were sitting on their bed, looking around curiously at all the people.

"Don't look so worried, you'll do great." Kim told her confidently.

Addy forced a smile. "Thanks. Will you wait for me?"

Kim nodded. "I'll be right here."

Bernard motioned the group to come closer together, and then focused on Addy. "No matter what happens, don't let them think you're weak. You must be strong in front of them, just as Fate taught you to be. Overseer's power or not—you are the head of Tremain."

Addy felt sick—like she was in way over her head.

Bernard reached out and patted her shoulder to get her full attention. "I heard rumors over the past few days about some of the Akori banking on you not getting Fate's power. They'll be ready to start a revolution of sorts should you be unsuccessful. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes." Actually, she didn't really understand any of it, but there was no time for explanations.

Bernard turned to Gage. "Keep watch for anything strange and pull her out of there if you feel like something isn't right."

Gage nodded, shifting his gaze from Bernard to Addy. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Addy didn't even realize she was still clinging to Gage's arm until then. She quickly let go, feeling her face flush.

Bernard gave them a nod and pointed toward the library. "Let's get on with it then. We'll be right here waiting."

That wasn't the pep talk she'd been expecting. She took a deep breath as Gage opened the door and she walked in.

All eyes turned to her. Stubbs was standing at the head of the table where Fate usually sat, motioning for her to walk to him. When she pictured claiming the Overseer's Stone, the audience only included Bernard and Stubbs, not all the gawking strangers. A few more minutes of conversation continued as Stubbs introduced her to the Akori people she didn't know.

Addy recognized his last name when she was introduced to Mitchell West. She'd heard Fate talk about the West family several times over the years, but she'd never met any of them. She also knew Fate went to visit them recently—the day he let her out of library duty early.

Mitchell looked like he was maybe in his late fifties, but being an Akori, there was no real way to tell his actual age. The only word Addy could think of to describe him was distinguished. When she thought of what the head of a family should look like, Mitchell fit the bill perfectly. The dark suit he wore complimented his mix of silver and black hair and dark green eyes. She noticed his tie was held in place by a silver tie clip with MJW engraved on it next to an Akori symbol.

"Well, let's begin," Stubbs said, getting everyone's attention.

There weren't nearly enough seats for everyone and most of the Akori were standing. The Overseer's Stone was lying on the table. It was usually kept locked in the case above the fireplace. Next to her hands, it looked bigger than when it was used by Fate's thick fingers.

Addy stepped closer, scanning it for the symbol Fate showed her to touch. She glanced up at Stubbs, who gave her a reassuring smile. Slowly, she placed her fingers on the symbols, one after another, just as Fate instructed. A blue flash sparked from under her fingers, causing everyone to gasp.

"Damn," she said under her breath.

Addy immediately felt a burning sensation on the back of her neck and thought maybe it had electrocuted her. She was feeling sick, but not a normal stomachache kind of sick. It felt like her insides were being pulled out and it was a real struggle not to double over.

After purposely catching Gage's eye, it was obvious he could tell something was wrong. She glanced around, hoping no one else noticed. He started moving to walk over to her, but she slightly shook her head to halt him.

The packed room of Akori whispered things to each other about how they couldn't believe there was a female Overseer, that she was too young, and how ridiculous they thought the entire situation was.

It dawned on her that they really did want her to fail. The group surrounding her was nothing like the Akori she'd grown up with. They stared at her and she caught the tail end of one of them saying something about being relieved that Fate was gone. Addy was instantly furious. She wanted to scream at them about the sacrifices her family had been making for generations.

Glancing around the room, she was hardly able to believe what was going on. Her eyes stopped moving when they got to Gage. He was standing next to Matt and Renee. Their Uncle Josh and Gage's mother Molly were next to them. Addy forced herself to stay focused on them—they were her friends and the other Akori didn't matter.

Bernard's words repeated in her head and she understood what he was talking about in the hall. If she didn't do something they'd decide she was weak. Addy took a deep breath and resisted the urge to run to her car and escape. She needed to hold herself together—she just had to get through the next few minutes.

Addy opened her mouth, but before she could begin speaking, a male voice spoke over her.

"Well, it appears we have a new female Overseer after all." A man stood up from his seat to her left. His tone came across as condescending and she instantly decided she didn't like him. "Addison Sanders—the new Overseer of the Akori. How wonderful."

He had well groomed, jet-black hair which was slicked back from his face and eyes that were even blacker than his hair. He was dressed in a well-tailored gray suit that gave his tall, thin body shape.

The teenage girl in Addy took over and she started speaking in an equally as condescending voice—basically skirting the line of mocking him. "Thank you sir, but you must forgive me—I don't believe I know who you are."

His face flushed. "We met once when you were just a small child. I'm Preston Worthington." He spoke his name as if she should know him. "As head of the Worthi—"

"Let's give the young lady some time to familiarize herself with the tasks at hand before we involve her in the politics, shall we Preston?" The man who had been introduced to her as Mitchell West stepped up to the table.

Preston looked irritated, but quickly recovered. He nodded his head to Mitchell and sat down.

"My grandfather will be—" She was forced to stop because the room filled with whispers again. She knew she had to do something to take control of the situation. The sooner she did, the sooner she could get out of there. Addy picked up the Overseer's Stone and dropped it on the table, making a thunderous crashing sound. That may not have been something her grandfather would approve of, but it got their attention and she spoke before things could get out of hand again. "Let me start by saying that my Grandfather will be missed terribly. He was a good man and a strong leader. He taught me well and I fully intend on running Tremain exactly as he did."

A few whispers broke out and she took a deep breath, feeling frustrated. She wished Stubbs would step in and help, but he just stood silently looking on. Mitchell West finally caught her attention and motioned with his eyes to her left.

Addy turned to the group doing the most talking. She pictured the way Fate would handle the situation and began addressing the offenders. "I'll be glad to discuss any concerns you may have when we're done here, but I expect your silence until I'm finished speaking."

The men's faces turned red as she turned back to the group. She spotted Matt doing his best to hold back his laughter at the way she was talking.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and it felt like she couldn't get enough air as she began again. "It's a privilege for my family to be a part of the Akori people's lives and I look forward to getting to know all of you," she nodded toward Preston Worthington, who seemed pleased at the acknowledgment. "I'd like to ask that you move to the garden for lunch. I'd like a few minutes to meet with my council." Someone began to protest, but Addy put up her hand to silence them. "Thank you for your cooperation," she said, gesturing toward the door.

Her speech after claiming the Overseer's Stone was much briefer than she'd planned—she simply couldn't focus on putting words together with her neck burning and her stomach in knots.

"You did well," Stubbs whispered, and started to usher the Akori from the room.

Gage approached her quickly with Matt trailing behind him. "Is everything ok?"

Matt stepped up and leaned over close. "When did you get a council?"

Addy poked him in the arm and he backed up, grinning at her. Her neck was burning hot, and she was dying to leave. "I'm just excited my family's duties have been passed to me and I'm anxious to get started." She spoke loudly so everyone within earshot would hear.

They gave her strange looks, and then congratulated her with the same enthusiasm. Gage told her he and Matt had to drive several of the Akori to the airport for flights. They started to leave, but Gage turned back, motioning for Matt to go ahead.

He leaned down and spoke quietly so no one else would hear. "So, I know it isn't the best time—it's probably the worst time, but I'd really like to see you when I get back tonight." He tipped his head closer and lowered his voice even more. "Maybe we could get out of here for awhile."

Addy was blindsided by his words, she didn't know how to answer. Feeling pressured that he was waiting for a response—she lied. "Sure, when you get back."

Gage brushed his fingers along the top of her hand and headed off with Matt.

Addy's chest ached watching him walk away, but she had no choice other than to push Gage out of her mind. She reminded herself about the bigger issue at hand, and impatiently waited for the last of the Akori to leave the library.

When the room was finally clear, Addy bolted for the door. Kim and Bernard were waiting outside for her.

"I need to see both of you privately." She told them in a hushed voice with a smile plastered on her face. "Let's go to your office, Bernard."

Walking fast, she waved and smiled to the Akori they passed on their way down the hall. After what seemed like the longest walk ever, they entered his office and Bernard closed the door behind them.

"What the hell is wrong with the back of my neck?" Addy lifted her hair to show them.

"It's a small symbol like the ones on the Akori's hands, about the size of a half-dollar," Kim said. "But—it's glowing."

"Where'd that come from, Addy?" Bernard stepped closer to examine it. "I've never seen one like it before."

Bernard wasn't an Akori, but he studied alongside Fate and had a lot of knowledge about the Akori and could read their language.

"As soon as I touched the Overseer's Stone, there was a blue flash and some kind of current shot through me. I feel sick and my neck hurts like I got burned."

"Fate didn't have that mark, did he?" Kim asked.

Addy dropped her hair and turned to look at them. "No, but Fate was the Overseer, I'm not."

Kim looked confused. "But they said—"

"I'm not—it didn't work. They assumed because the stone reacted to me that I got the power, but I didn't. I just let them think it worked because of what you said, Bernard."

"How do you know it didn't work?" he asked her calmly.

"I just know—I feel something different. I can't explain it. The stone did something to me." She reached up and touched the symbol. "Fate told me after I claimed the stone, if it worked, I'd go into some kind of trance that would last for days.

Bernard thought for a moment. "That must not be common knowledge, or the Akori who realized you were unsuccessful kept quiet."

They decided they would just keep what happened between them, and that it was best not to let any of the Akori, even their friends, know that there was no Overseer. They would all find out soon enough.

"We'd better get back before we're missed." Bernard started for the door. "We'll begin researching the symbol and its meaning as soon as the estate settles down."

"Bernard, hang on a minute," Addy said, trying to sound casual. "I need to get out for a little while, and—I need some money. I think I'm gonna do some shopping."

He looked shocked by the sudden direction change. "Addison, it isn't really the time to..." He stopped when he caught her eye and his expression softened. "There's cash in the top drawer." He pointed to the cabinet behind his desk. "Take what you need."

"Thanks," she said, softly.

Bernard patted her on the arm and made his way out of the office. As soon as he was gone, Addy opened the drawer and grabbed the entire stack of cash.

"What are you doing?" Kim stared wide eyed at the wad of money in her hand.

Addy turned to her. "Go pack a bag and meet me at the garage. We're getting out of here."
Chapter 13

Kim was reluctant to leave Tremain, especially since all Addy could tell her was that a feeling was urging her to go. Addy's fear was that she had the same condition as Tanner and she'd be stuck lurking around somewhere waiting for it to pass like he was. Kim didn't know she'd been talking to him, so Addy couldn't even discuss that part with her.

If her feeling really was like what Tanner had, she felt terrible for not being able to help him over the past couple of weeks—it truly felt as if her guts were being pulled out.

On the way to her villa to grab a few things, Addy had stopped in the library and picked up a couple of books on Akori symbols. Kim was going through them, page by page, trying to find the one on Addy's neck.

The searing pain from her new symbol went away, but the glowing continued. She wished the pulling sensation driving her to move in the opposite direction of Tremain would subside. Addy didn't use her navigation system; she just drove blindly in the direction she felt like the pulling was the strongest.

The girls had been driving for nearly an hour when Addy had to stop for gas. The car didn't have much when they left, and it was on fumes as she pulled into the station. They both stood outside of the car as Addy pumped gas.

"You know what Matt said?" Kim asked her as she leaned up against the side of Addy's car.

Addy smiled sweetly and motioned for Kim to stop leaning on her car. Kim took a step away and made a face at her.

"I can only imagine what Matt—"

"I'm being serious. He told me Gage has been miserable not talking to you."

The mention of his name made her stomach flip, and she suddenly felt bad again about making plans with him she had no intention of keeping. "We didn't really talk for years. There's no way he's become that attached in a couple of weeks."

Kim shot her a disapproving glare. "Really, Addy? The guy's known you your entire life. Why's it a stretch that he'd fall for you? I can't believe you're not interested."

The pump stopped and she placed the hose back on its hook. "I never said I wasn't interested, I just don't think it's that easy, is all."

"It is that easy." Kim pointed at Addy as she turned to get back in the car. "The only one making it hard is you."

Addy sat back in the driver's seat. "He asked if I'd see him tonight. He'll probably be looking for me soon." It was hard not to think about Gage, especially with Kim randomly bringing him up. She reached in her bag and turned her phone off, not wanting to deal with any calls.

Addy's car was black outside with black leather interior, which made the burning heat feel even more intense. They drove with the top down for a long time on northbound A1A. The ocean was in view a lot of the time and the perfect day had turned into a beautiful evening.

Addy glanced over at Kim, who was beginning to look tired. "Do you want to get a hotel room somewhere?"

She closed the book she was looking at. "That depends. How close are we to wherever it is we're going?"

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. The feeling isn't getting any stronger or weaker, it's just pulling me. I'm not really tired yet."

"Let's just keep going then." Kim closed her eyes and tipped her head back. "I'll just rest here."

At about 3 in the morning, Kim's phone rang. Startled from her sleep, she searched her purse for it.

"It's Matt," she said, holding it up. "What should I do?"

That was exactly why Addy had turned her phone off. "You can answer it and lie to him about where we are, or you can just let it go to voicemail—your choice." She hoped she would choose not to answer it.

"Nice choices." With a sigh, Kim hit the reject call button. "Sorry Matt."

A minute later her phone chirped indicating she had a voicemail. She put it on speakerphone and played the message.

"Hey Kimmy. Just wondering where you guys are. Everyone's freaking out. Bernard said you were going shopping, but it's after 3am. Gage took some of the others out to search for you. Give me a call back."

Knowing Gage and the others were out looking for them made Addy feel terrible. Kim closed her eyes and Addy just kept driving.

The sun was coming up, so Addy stopped to pick up some coffee and bagels. She should've been tired, but she was wide-awake which had her worried.

Kim was up and fixing her hair in the mirror when Addy got back in the car.

"We're going to have to go shopping," Addy said, handing her a cup of coffee and a bagel. "The only clothes I brought are what I'm wearing. Everything else was dirty."

"Shopping sounds good," Kim said through a yawn.

"I also think we're getting close to wherever it is we're going." Addy could almost see in her mind where she was headed. "Let's go a little bit further and maybe I can find exactly where it is."

"Crazy question, but what do we do when we find the place?" Kim tore a piece of her bagel off and popped it in her mouth.

Addy had no idea what she was going do when she reached her destination. If it was anything like Tanner's situation, she'd just be stuck hanging out until her feeling subsided, as Tanner's did.

"I guess we'll see when we get there," she said, pulling back onto the road.

She checked the map on her navigation system and discovered that they'd traveled less than 350 miles, but they'd been driving for 12 hours. The road they traveled on skirted along the small islands off the coast and she couldn't drive very fast. They were directly east of Jacksonville, still along the coast.

After turning down a private street with large, exquisitely landscaped homes, they drove around in circles for a while. Addy was having a tough time getting a fix on where exactly she was being pulled. It was difficult to tell, but when she made one final turn into a cul-de-sac, she knew she'd found the right place.

She pointed at the huge house straight in front of them. "There."

"There?" Kim motioned toward the house with both hands. "That's where we're going?"

"That's it." Addy thought the feeling would get better being so close to where her body was telling her to go, but it didn't, and the symbol on her neck was beginning to burn again.

"That's a pretty big gate," Kim said, wrinkling her brow. "Are we just gonna walk up and ask to come in?"

Addy studied the house for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do. "Find something to write the address on," she said. "I think we should try looking the address up online to see who lives there."

Kim dug through her purse, pulling out a pen and a gum wrapper and quickly scribbled down the house number.

"We need a better plan than just walking up to the door." Addy slowly started driving away. "Let's get out of here for now."

Addy pulled around the circular drive as a motorcycle was pulling in. She checked her rear view mirror and saw it pulling up to the same gate they were just looking at.

Kim's phone rang, startling them both. She turned it over and held it up to Addy. "It's Matt again."

Addy looked at her quickly, and then back at the road. "I'm not gonna tell you not to answer it."

Kim sat there for a minute watching the phone ring, a picture of Matt wearing a jester's hat flashed on its screen. She sent it to voicemail and waited for the message notification.

"Molly found a note Addy left for her about feeding her cat. I guess that means you two knew you weren't coming back. Gage was out all night searching, but Bernard called him back to the estate. He's pretty pissed. Call me, dammit!"

When they got back to the estate, she'd have a lot of explaining to do. Addy really felt bad and couldn't blame Gage for being angry. She probably wouldn't have to worry about any random acts of affection from him any time soon.

"How about we get a little sun," Addy said, trying to avoid discussing Matt's call.

They found a spot on the beach and sat in the sand. There was still a while until the mall opened, so they discussed how to handle getting into the house. Neither one of them were particularly good at being sneaky. Addy was usually the reason she and Gage got busted trying to pull off capers as kids. He should've known better than to send a five year old to do a ten year old's job though.

Grabbing Kim's phone, Addy opened the browser and searched for the address Kim wrote down, trying to see who lived at the mystery house. No matter what she did, she couldn't find anything.

"It seems like that address doesn't even exist," she said. "There's just nothing coming up at all."

"But we saw it!" Kim leaned over and looked at the phone screen. "I guess maybe I could've written it down wrong..."

"No. I'm sure you got it right," Addy said, handing the phone back to her. "We'll figure something else out."

Addy knew she'd written it down correctly because Tanner was drawn to the estate, which didn't have a real address either. She just couldn't say that to Kim. It was looking more and more like she was infected with whatever Tanner had and she didn't like it one bit.

The shopping mall they went to turned out to be pretty upscale. Addy still wasn't tired at all, which made her go from worried about it, to completely freaked out. They spent hours going through the stores and when they were done, the trunk was stuffed with bags.

Kim had pointed out a salon when they first arrived at the mall and they'd made appointments. By the time they were through, they were both dressed in new clothes and accessories from head to toe, had new haircuts, manicures, and pedicures.

It was all actually pretty ridiculous, but being able to get away from the estate and do something other than worry was nice for a change. The entire time they were shopping and getting their hair done, Addy felt like it was her last chance to be a normal teenage girl—she wanted to make the most of it.

They spotted a Chinese restaurant on the way back to the mystery house so they stopped and ate dinner. Addy's fortune cookie read, 'Help! I'm being held prisoner in a Chinese bakery!' It made her feel much better about her own situation.
Chapter 14

"Dang, those are some nice cars in the driveway," Kim said as they sat parked down the block from the mystery house.

Addy knew immediately that Akori lived there. She'd discovered living with them her entire life that Akori had a big addiction to fast and flashy cars and motorcycles.

The garage doors were open and a black Alfa Romeo Spyder and a red Lamborghini Gallardo were parked in the driveway. Between them was a yellow Can-Am Roadster. Gage was big into cars and motorcycles when they were kids and to pass the time in the car, he'd quiz her about what vehicles they were passing on the road. Thanks to that, Addy always had an eye for cars and bikes.

Addy checked the mirror and fixed a smudge in her eyeliner. "Ready?"

As she stepped out of the car, she heard a motorcycle. Looking back, she saw the guy from earlier pulling up behind her. It was around dusk and the light was dingy. She strained to get a good look at him as he stepped off his bike.

When he got closer her hand went over her mouth. He walked up quickly and pulled her over to the side so she was out of view of the mystery house.

"I thought that was you this morning," Tanner said, letting go of her arm. "And you tell me I'm a terrible spy?"

Shaking off her shocked expression, she tried to keep her voice down. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" He shot back.

"Who are you?" Kim asked, walking briskly toward them.

Addy almost forgot she was there. "Kim, this is Tanner, we met a couple of weeks ago. Tanner, this is my friend Kim."

He nodded at her. "I remember you from the beach, nice to meet you."

Kim ignored Tanner completely and focused on Addy. "From the beach—the one you talked to that night by the fire?"

"Yes, he was the one you thought was looking at us on the first day with the boots and long hair on the beach." Addy had no choice but to explain every painful detail to her quickly as they stood outside of the mystery house. Kim didn't look happy that Addy went ahead and met with him behind her back.

Kim crossed her arms and frowned. "Well, so much for not keeping secrets from each other."

Something strange caught Addy's eye and she moved to look at the back of Tanner's neck. She just about fell over at what she saw. "Where did you get that symbol?"

Tanner glanced from Addy to the mystery house. "We've gotta go somewhere else to talk," he said. "Where're you staying?"

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "Nowhere yet, we haven't had a chance to find a place."

Tanner started walking back to his motorcycle. "Follow me to my hotel—we can talk there," he said over his shoulder.

Kim wasn't happy about it, but Addy trailed behind him and they got back in the car to follow him to his place.

"Ok, that doesn't look like the same guy," Kim said with a smirk the minute they were alone in the car. "I guess that explains why you've been blowing off Gage."

"Oh my god, it does not," Addy said, glaring at her. "Tanner has nothing to do with Gage."

Kim laughed a little bit too much at her reaction. "I was joking, but now I'm not so sure."

Addy was really stressed about seeing him there sporting his new glowing symbol. She couldn't wait to get to his hotel to talk—thankfully it was only about a mile away. He was staying at another incredibly gorgeous resort with a terrace overlooking the ocean.

Tanner told them his suite had three bedrooms and they could stay there while they were in town if they wanted to. They quickly agreed and he had the hotel staff retrieve their things from her car.

Addy plopped down on his huge leather sofa when they were alone. "So what gives?"

"A few days ago—right after I saw you last, whatever was tying me to your house just went away suddenly," he said, collapsing on the sofa next to her. "I stayed a couple of extra days to be sure I was ok and yesterday morning I decided to head out."

"When did you get the symbol?" Addy asked, biting her lip.

"Yesterday afternoon it felt like someone was burning my neck with a hot iron. When I looked at the back of my neck I had this thing." He turned to show her the symbol. "I've got the gut pulling feeling that brought me to your house again—it's not nearly as bad though."

Addy felt sick. The feeling Tanner had disappeared when Fate died—she was sure of it. Then when she touched the Overseer's Stone, he got the same pulling and burning symbol as she did.

"I got this yesterday, too." She lifted her hair and turned around to show him the back of her neck. "I've got the same pulling you do—that's how I found the mystery house."

His face paled as he reached up and touched it. "Maybe I was too quick to blow off the alien thing."

"Ok, I'm about to tell you some things you might not believe, but trust me, they're all true." Addy dropped her hands in her lap and turned to face him. "This is gonna take awhile—keep an open mind."

It took a really long time. In fact, it took so long that they ordered room service. Addy told him everything, except about Gage healing her, even Kim didn't know about that. She tried not to leave out a single detail about the Akori, the estate, the Overseer, and the Overseer's Stone.

Tanner asked her a lot of questions, but oddly, he didn't seem shocked by what she was saying.

"So do you think that Overseer's Stone has something to do with why we're here?" he asked.

"Yeah I think—" Addy stopped and followed Tanner's eyes as he motioned for her to look at Kim.

"Hey," Addy said to her. "You okay?"

Kim appeared to be zoning out, but she snapped out of it at the sound of Addy's voice. "Can both of you stand up and let me see the marks next to each other?"

Addy and Tanner exchanged looks as they stood up side-by-side. Kim moved behind them and studied the symbols.

"They're not exactly the same," she said. "Let me see your phone so I can take a picture, Addy. My battery's dead."

Addy fished her phone out of her purse. She'd kept it off to avoid talking to anyone, but once she turned it on the notification for new texts popped up.

"Just ignore the messages." She told Kim and handed her the phone.

Kim took a picture of the symbols. "Now turn around and smile." She snapped a few pictures of Tanner and Addy, who just made strange faces at her.

Kim made Tanner take a few pictures of her and Addy. She then excused herself to her room with the pictures, saying she wanted to look through the books of Akori symbols again.

When Kim was gone Addy turned to Tanner. "Ok, so why aren't you totally freaked out by what I told you?"

Tanner shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. It just seems right—maybe like I finally have the answers I've needed."

"So you buy this, but not the alien story?"

"Oh, I bought the alien story. You just confessed way too easily so I knew it was only a cover."

"You saw right through me."

Tanner pointed at her. "Exactly."

Addy glanced over at him. "You didn't say good-bye."

"I tried, girlie." Tanner tipped his head toward her. "Your house was like a zoo—it was all I could do just to leave your shoes."

"Yeah it was pretty hectic." She could easily see how getting to her could have been an issue. As soon as word spread that Fate had passed away Akori showed up at the estate in droves.

"It doesn't matter now anyway—fate brought us back together," he said slightly smiling at her, "if you believe in that sort of thing."

Addy and Tanner continued talking—trying to sort out what was happening to them. He told her when she saw him earlier he'd just arrived in town too. He said he watched the mystery house for most of the day and saw two people dressed in gold robes leaving. One was wearing a crimson red hooded cloak over the robes.

"Gold robes? Are you sure?"

"Positive. They were two older looking dudes." Tanner grabbed a can of soda out of the refrigerator and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Addy said, taking it from him. "The traditional Akori clothing for special events is gold colored robes—I mean, they don't wear them anymore, but they did."

She opened the can and took a sip. She was thirsty, but she didn't remember saying she wanted a drink.

"Well, these two guys were rocking them today." Tanner walked toward the terrace and motioned her to follow him. "You look really great. Did you get run over by an extreme makeover show?"

"You're a funny guy," Addy said, poking him in the arm.

The view of the ocean and passing ships was spectacular from the terrace.

"It's cool you're here," he said, leaning on the railing. "I mean, we can get this sorted out faster together."

She rolled her eyes at him and grinned. "You're just glad you're not the only one who's broken anymore."

"Misery loves company," he said, bumping her in the shoulder.

Addy lowered her chin so it was resting on her hands along the railing. "Have you slept recently?"

"From the time I came to your beach I never slept once until the afternoon you said your grandfather passed away. And I haven't slept since the mark appeared yesterday."

She frowned and let her shoulders sag. They really were broken.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I take it you haven't either then."

She shook her head. "Misery loves company."

"It sure does, girlie."

She watched as the lights of a ship passing by get dimmer. "Who else did you see at the house—besides the people in the gold robes?"

"There was a guy about our age and two young women—maybe a few years older than him."

Addy thought for a minute and then turned to face him. "Let's go talk to them tomorrow."

"Sure—I'm down," Tanner said, taking a step back from the rail. "What's your cell number?"

She quickly rattled it off. He didn't even bother to write it down or save it in his phone.

"Did you actually want it, or were you just seeing if I knew it?"

"I want it," he said with a smile. "I've gotta go out for awhile—I'll see you in the morning."

Not being able to sleep made the night seem painfully long. At least if she was at home she could play a video game or read a book. She flipped through every channel and came to the conclusion that everything on TV sucked. Finally, desperate from extreme boredom, Addy decided to grab her phone from Kim and see who sent the text messages. After flopping back down on her bed, she read three—all from Gage.

I'm back from the airport. Find me when you get home.

Addy please call us.

My mom found your note. Call me.

She looked at the clock and discovered it was 2 in the morning—Gage was probably sleeping. If she called she might be able to just leave a voicemail, but she decided a text message would be safer. She thought about what to say and decided to just keep it simple.

We're fine.

She hit send, and within seconds, her phone was ringing. Gage was calling back—so much for texting being safer, she thought. She looked at the phone screen for a few seconds, debating on whether or not to talk to him. She didn't make up her mind quickly enough, and it went to voicemail. It was only a few seconds before she got a text from him.

What's going on?

She thought about it for a few minutes and decided she'd better reply. He was well aware that she was looking at her phone.

I'll be back soon. I need some space.

Gage didn't respond.
Chapter 15

By 10am, Addy was dressed and ready to go, wearing a new pair of skinny jeans, a black and white striped top, and sneakers. She and Tanner opted to have Kim wait at the suite since they didn't know what they'd be walking into.

"So I sent a text to Gage last night." Addy showed Kim the messages.

She looked disappointed. "That was kind of a bummer thing to tell him."

"When we get home I'll tell him everything." Addy tucked her phone back in her pocket. "I'd rather have him mad at me than worried."

Kim tipped her head toward Addy and smiled. "Do you care if I call Matt?"

"I've never said you couldn't talk to Matt—just don't tell him what's going on. Say I needed some space and wanted you to come away with me for a couple of days," Addy said with a sigh. She didn't like telling Kim to lie for her, but she didn't know what else to do.

Kim unplugged her phone from the charger and headed for her room.

Tanner walked in from a small room that was set up as an office just off the living room. He was wearing jeans, a black fitted t-shirt, and black boots. A man followed behind him and Tanner introduced him to Addy as Oliver, his assistant. She smiled politely and shook his hand, thinking how Tanner wasn't turning out to be what she thought at all.

Oliver was a good looking, clean cut man who was maybe in his mid-sixties. He was dressed in a blue blazer, light blue button down shirt, and khakis. He gave Addy a long look when Tanner introduced her. Not a look that said he didn't like her or anything—it was more like he was curious about her.

Tanner told Oliver to keep an eye on Kim and give her anything she needed. Then he motioned Addy to the door. They walked down to the parking garage and climbed on Tanner's motorcycle. Addy decided to leave the car for Kim in case she needed it.

The gate was open at the mystery house so Tanner just pulled up in the driveway. The black Spyder and the Can-Am were parked outside the garage.

Addy reached up and touched the symbol on his neck. "My neck's burning again, is yours?"

"Yep," he said, moving his head side to side.

"Should we just walk up?" she asked.

"That, or just sit here until they call the cops."

"Right, we'd better go to the door."

They walked up to the front porch side by side and Tanner pressed the doorbell. A guy about Addy's age opened the door of the mystery house. She had to actively try not to stare at him because he looked like he just fell out of a calendar of hot guys.

Mr. July was at least six foot tall, with dark brown hair that hung loosely below his ears, tanned skin, and dark green eyes. It was all conveniently packaged in an amazing body.

He wore no shirt, had bare feet, and a loose pair of jeans that hung low on his waist. She decided that they must have just interrupted a photo shoot, because no guy just hung out at home looking like that.

He looked directly at Tanner. "What took you so long?"

Tanner's face immediately contorted. "You know me?"

The guy ran his fingers through his hair and smirked. "Seriously?"

Addy took a step forward. "Who are you?"

"Come in," he said, looking her up and down and motioning with his head toward the house.

"Thanks," Tanner said.

Addy rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks?"

"What?" He pointed for her to follow the guy inside. "Manners."

They followed him in, and the mystery house guy led them into a huge sitting room with books lining the shelves. She fully expected to see a camera crew come crashing in at any moment.

"Turn around and let me see the symbol on your neck," he said to Tanner.

Tanner pointed at Addy. "She has one too."

Addy's jaw dropped—he sounded like he was tattling.

"Interesting." Mystery house guy raised his eyebrows and motioned for them to show him.

"Why?" Addy put her hands on her hips. "What do you know about them?"

"Don't then," he said and shrugged. "The burning has to be killing you by now—but it's your choice."

He was right. The pain was making her feel sick and she could tell by the way Tanner looked he couldn't take much more either.

Tanner turned around and showed him. Mystery house guy reached up, and with a flash of blue light, the symbol stopped glowing.

Addy stared at him wide-eyed. "How did you do that?"

"I can do a lot of things," he said, moving closer to her. He was standing only inches in front of her and held his hand up. "May I?"

Addy reluctantly nodded, lifting her hair.

His hand slipped around the back of her neck. Just like when he touched Tanner—there was a flash and the burning on her neck and sick feeling in her gut went away. When he pulled his hand away, she noticed he was wearing a silver bracelet; each link had an Akori symbol engraved on it. She also noticed that he didn't have any symbols on the top his hands, which meant he was a human.

"Thanks," she said, waiting for him to move.

He took a few steps back and looked at Tanner. "I expected you." He shifted his eyes to Addy. "However, you," he said, pointing at her, "I did not expect."

Addy and Tanner glanced at each other and then gave mystery guy a puzzled look.

"Please don't tell me neither of you know anything."

"I'd like to know who you are," she said.

He sprawled out casually on the sofa and leaned his head back. "I hear that from a lot of girls."

Addy made no attempt to hide her irritation. "Tanner, this is a waste of time—let's go," she said, turning to look at mystery guy. "Thank you for doing whatever it is you did." She grabbed Tanner's arm and tried to pull him toward the direction they'd entered from.

"Hold on, girlie." Tanner moved from her grasp and turned to the guy. "I'm supposed to find you and bring you back to Addy's house."

"Exactly," mystery guy said, pointing to Tanner but looking at Addy. "He's obviously the brains, huh?" He stood up and walked over to where she was standing. "I'm Jackson." He put his hand out to her.

Before Addy could respond, a young woman with shoulder length red hair came barreling into the room. She had the blue Akori symbols on her hands.

"Jax, we gotta roll. The Mesen found us."

His posture changed and suddenly he looked serious. "How many?"

The woman turned her palms up. "At least a dozen—maybe more. Angelica says they're only about five miles out."

"Who's coming?" Tanner asked, looking between them.

It looked like they'd forgotten Tanner and Addy were in the room.

"People who'd love to take out the new Overseer," the woman said.

Addy took a step forward and looked between them. "Oh, well I'm not the Overseer—so there's actually nothing to worry about."

She tilted her head and grinned at Addy. "Of course you're not."

"Addison Sanders, this is Juliette," Jax said, introducing them with a smirk on his face.

"This is her?" Juliette took a long look at Addy.

Addy glared at Jax, completely disregarding Juliette. "How'd you know my name?"

He gave her a smile and turned his back to her. "Let's move."

Jax and Juliette led them outside to the driveway and they tossed a couple of bags onto the passenger's seat of the Spyder. He pulled on a white t-shirt and shoes while Juliette got into the driver's seat.

"I don't understand what's going on with the Mesen." Addy stopped and looked between them. "I thought they were just Akori who didn't come to the estate."

Juliette turned to Jax, appearing completely flabbergasted. "He didn't tell her anything? Unbelievable..."

Jax's face tensed and he leaned over, whispering something to Juliette. She threw her hands in the air and started the car.

"We need to get to Tremain," Jax said to Tanner. "We'll follow you guys."

Addy leaned close to Tanner, feeling panicked. "I don't know these people," she whispered. "We can't lead them straight to my home."

"Listen," he said, lowering his voice. "For whatever reason, when you touched that stone it led us here—right to them. I think we just need to go with it and see what happens."

That was easy for him to say—the only people he had in the entire world weren't sitting in the very place some strangers were demanding to go. "What about Kim?" Addy shook her head, still trying to decide what to do. "I can't just leave her..."

Tanner pulled his phone out and Addy listened as he gave instructions to someone on the phone. About a minute later, he slipped his phone back in his pocket. "Oliver's making sure she gets home."

That was pretty much that—reluctantly Addy agreed to take them to Tremain. Within minutes they pulled out of the driveway with Juliette behind them and Jax following on the CanAm. Addy held onto Tanner as they led the strangers, who she wasn't even sure if she could trust, to her home. Everything was spiraling out of control and she hoped she wasn't making a huge mistake.
Chapter 16

Tanner made the drive back much more quickly than Addy and Kim's drive up. Without the symbol pulling her, she was finally starting to feel tired. They stopped for gas and Juliette told Jax she was going to wait for someone named Angelica and would call him later.

They'd been on the road for hours and were getting close to Tremain. The anxiety about seeing Gage was building, not to mention facing Bernard and Stubbs.

As Tanner turned into the driveway, she could see her car parked outside of the garage. She breathed a huge sigh of relief that Kim, and her car, had made it back safely.

The current problem was the gate. It was hardly ever closed, but it was currently shut and she didn't have her remote to open it. She reluctantly reached over and hit the buzzer.

Gage walked out of the garage and peered over at them. He doubled back and a second later the gate slid out of their way.

Tanner pulled up near her car and Jax parked next to him. Gage stood watching as her and her new friends walked toward him. She was happy to see him even though she could see he was irate. Addy hadn't seen him look that mad since she took out one of his snowboards without asking and cracked and chipped up the nose.

Addy took a deep breath and gestured to the guys. "Gage, this is Tanner and Jax."

"Hey." He gave them his standard head nod guy greeting.

"I saw you at the beach, but we weren't introduced," Tanner said, nodding back.

"Yeah, I remember." Gage turned toward Addy, but didn't look at her. "I've gotta go see Josh," he said, walking away before she could respond.

She quickly walked after him, pointing for Tanner and Jax to stay put. "Gage, wait."

"Not now, Addy," he said loudly over his shoulder.

She stopped walking, feeling like she got kicked in the chest. After taking a deep breath to compose herself, she turned back to Tanner and Jax.

"That was awkward," Jax said, looking around her in the direction Gage stalked off in.

Addy stepped over so Jax had to look at her. "You wanted to come here—now tell us what's going on."

Jax's demeanor became serious and he turned toward her and Tanner. "Neither one of you is to mention that Mesen were attacking us—got it?"

She exchanged looks with Tanner and they both nodded. She started to question Jax, but decided against it after seeing the look on his face. She still wasn't sure what to think of him and his need to get to Tremain.

Addy led them through the house the long way, trying to avoid taking any hallways that could cause them to run into anyone. The dogs were lying in their bed outside of the door when they walked up and Stubbs and Bernard were inside.

Bernard jumped to his feet when they saw her. "Addison!" He hurried over and scooped her up. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry for worrying you." She backed up and pointed to the guys. "This is Tanner Sutherland and Jackson..." She looked at Jax. "I don't know your last name."

Jax stepped forward. "Sanders." He spoke as if he had been waiting all of his life to drop that bomb.

Stubbs was on his feet and Addy was about to hit the floor. Bernard gasped, and Tanner stood there wondering what the big deal was.

Addy held her hands out to her sides. "Sanders? Does that mean we're related or something?" She knew the question came out sounding dumb as soon as it left her mouth.

Jax raised his eyebrow and nodded his head. "You could say that."

Somehow, she knew what was coming next.

He took her hand and moved to look her in the eye. "You're my twin—fraternal twin, that is."

Addy staggered, letting go of Jax's hand and Bernard helped her to a seat. "That's not possible," she said, feeling sick as she dropped down into the chair. She shifted her eyes to Jax. "Not possible."

Tanner moved over, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Take a few breaths," he said, leaning down near her shoulder. "Air is your friend..."

His voice snapped her out of the daze she was in, but her heart was still pounding in her chest as she struggled with Tanner's request for her to breathe.

"There were not two children!" Stubbs began waving his hands in front of him. "We would've known."

Stubbs looked about as sick as Addy felt.

"No one knew," Jax said, turning his hands up. "Well, at least no one here. I lived with the West family—Juliette and Mitchell. Grandfather separated Addison and me to keep us safe after what happened to our parents."

"I didn't know either." Bernard shook his head in disbelief, looking at Stubbs. "I just thought Fate was particularly close with Mitchell West."

Jax, Addy, and Tanner took turns filling Bernard and Stubbs in on what had happened over the last two days. Jax lied when he was telling Stubbs and Bernard about the attackers. He said they were humans, not the Akori who called themselves Mesen.

"Where's the Overseer's Stone?" Jax asked when they were done. He spotted it sitting at the end of the table and walked over to it before anyone could answer. "Grandfather had the oldest and most intelligent Akori scholars educate me on every aspect of the Overseer's duties and Akori life. I'm extremely knowledgeable, but you probably already—"

"Jax," Tanner said, "when you're done admiring yourself—could you educate me with your vast knowledge on what the hell I have to do with all of this?"

Jax pointed at him. "You're an Akori Shepherd." He looked at the others and only Stubbs seemed to understand. "Are you kidding—none of you knew what he was?"

Stubbs cleared his throat. "Akori Shepherds are used when the Overseer needs someone retrieved."

Stubbs explained that Akori Shepherds were called using the Overseer's Stone when the Overseer needed someone found or brought to him that he couldn't summon with the stone.

"Well, Fate must have called for you to retrieve Jax," Bernard said to Tanner when Stubbs finished.

Tanner and Addy exchanged looks, both realizing that when she stopped Tanner from getting to Tremain she must have wrecked Fate's plan.

Jax focused on Tanner. "I'd never met one until you, but male Shepherds are supposed to have scary good memories."

Tanner nodded. "I've been freaking people out with my total recall my whole life."

Stubbs looked at Tanner closely, almost appearing a little worried. "You're the only Shepherd we've seen around here in—well, a long time. I wasn't sure if there were anymore."

Tanner didn't respond, but Bernard spoke before his lack of response became awkward. "You said your last name is Sutherland? What are your parents' names?"

Tanner's hands tensed on her shoulders. "Jasper and Kathleen."

"I grew up with Jasper." Bernard looked dumbfounded. "He was a friend of Fate's and mine. They're a bit old to have a son your age."

Addy tipped her head back so she could see Tanner. His face was stone and he looked extremely uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Yeah, they adopted me," he said without looking at Bernard.

Bernard wrinkled his brow. "I see."

Stubbs took a step closer to Bernard. "Are you thinking Fate placed Tanner with them?"

"He trusted Jasper—it's possible." Bernard still looked unsure. "I just don't know though—it seems like he would've disclosed something like that to you and I," he said, leaning closer to Stubbs. "Even the situation with Jackson doesn't make sense."

"So does that mean Tanner's an Akori then?" Addy shifted her eyes toward his hands on her shoulders. "He doesn't have marks."

"Not sure about the marks, but he's definitely an Akori." Jax said, carefully studying Tanner. "Your parents never told you?"

Tanner rolled his eyes. "Clearly they didn't."

His hands were still on her shoulders and he felt extremely tense. Feeling him so on edge made her feel even more stressed. She reached up and began smoothing the palms of her hands along his forearms. After a few seconds, she felt him begin to relax. She tugged on his arm to make him lean down so she could whisper to him.

"Sit down."

"I'm fine."

"Tanner."

"Girlie."

She pointed at the chair next to her and tugged his arm. "Please sit by me."

Tanner pulled the chair out and sat next to her with a sigh.

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

Addy noticed Stubbs staring at them intently, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I don't understand how he and I have the same symbol on our necks, and why I was pulled to Jax with him," she said, trying to turn Stubbs' attention elsewhere. "I'm definitely just a human."

Jax shrugged. "The pattern our grandfather told you to use must have given Shepherd powers to you—probably because Tanner didn't show up. Maybe it was his way of bringing us together."

Addy frowned. "But I'm a human."

"You're from Sanders blood. That makes you different from other humans," Stubbs said. "That's the only possible reason you could carry her symbol."

"Her symbol?" Tanner leaned forward and looked at Stubbs. "Her who?"

Stubbs shook his head quickly. "The only logical way she can safely have that symbol is because she's a Sanders."

Addy remembered the stories she'd read about humans being marked with Akori symbols. None of them ended well for the humans.

Bernard glanced between Addy and Tanner, and then turned his attention to Jax. "The humans that tried to attack you today—how'd they find you? Even if the humans got an Akori to guide them, you haven't claimed the stone yet, they can't sense you."

Jax shook his head. "We don't know, but you can count on one thing—they'll be back."

"True, they probably already know where Tremain is," Stubbs said.

"You should probably claim the Overseer's Stone, my boy." Bernard walked up and patted Jax on the back. "Just look at you, you're the image of your father."

Jax nodded. "He must've been an exceptionally handsome man."

"That's your brother?" Tanner leaned over to Addy. "I think you should request a DNA test."

She put her hand over her mouth as she smiled at him.

"Jackson, considering you just arrived, I think you should get a few things in order before claiming the stone," Stubbs said, "such as introducing yourself to the Akori people."

Jax walked over to Addy and stood in front of her. "Let's take a break—I know it's a lot to deal with." He turned and faced Bernard. "I'd like to meet with you alone if you have a few minutes."

Addy watched Jackson as he spoke to the others. She couldn't believe she actually had a brother—a twin brother. She'd never felt like she had a sibling—much less a twin. The thought never ever crossed her mind.

They decided they'd gather everyone in the garden in an hour to tell them what was going on and then return to the library so Jax could claim the Overseer's Stone.

Addy grabbed Tanner's arm, stopping him at the door. "Are you ok?"

He nodded as he leaned toward her slightly. "Are you?"

"It's a lot, you know."

"It sure is, girlie."

Tanner headed back to the resort next door, but said he'd be back shortly. Stubbs went off to arrange to get everyone together in the garden.

She wanted to talk to Kim, but when she asked Bernard about her he said she had only gotten back a few minutes before Addy arrived. She went straight to Matt and refused to answer any of their questions.

Addy decided to just go back to her villa. She made her way through the garden, carefully avoiding everyone. Her door was open when she walked up the sidewalk. She opened the screen and stepped inside. "Hello?"

Moose came running from the kitchen, followed by Gage. The sight of him made her heart jump.

"I was bringing the cat back for my mom." He kept his eyes glued to the floor as he spoke.

She picked Moose up, who was purring loudly. "Thanks. I really missed him."

"No problem." He started for the door, but stopped when he realized she was still standing in front of it.

Addy put the cat down and took a step away from the door. She couldn't believe Gage wouldn't even look at her. She wanted to explain to him what happened so he didn't have to hear it in front of everyone else.

"You don't have to go. I'd like to talk to you." She reached for his hand, but he pulled it away, making her chest tighten. "Don't be like that, Gage."

He shook his head looking just as angry as earlier—maybe more. "You took off to chase after some guy—what am I supposed to be like?" He still didn't look at her. "Then you just roll up with him and his buddy today like it's no big deal."

She hadn't seen that one coming and her jaw just about hit the floor. "Why do you think that?"

Gage gestured toward the table by the door. "We saw the notes when we came to get your cat. The one that said he was leaving."

That was exactly what she didn't need to deal with, and she could feel anger building at him.

"Wow, you're absolutely right," Addy said, tossing her hands up. "Since you've got it all figured out, I guess there's nothing to talk about."

He finally circled his light blue eyes to meet hers. "Am I wrong?"

Taking a deep breath and trying to force her frustration back, she stepped toward Gage. Her finger tips barely brushed against his hands when a noise from the door made her spin around.

"Hey, girlie." Tanner was standing on her porch with both hands full of shopping bags. "Open the door."

She glanced back at Gage and then quickly went over to let Tanner in.

"These are the clothes you left in my suite." He dropped the bags on her sofa and rolled his eyes. "Someone needs a shopping intervention."

Gage shook his head at her and pushed past Tanner, out the door.
Chapter 17

Chairs were hastily set up in the garden and everyone was gathered. Addy stood at the front of the group next to her brother.

There were still quite a few more Akori there than usual. Tanner was seated with Bernard and Stubbs behind her with Winkie and Brutis at Stubbs' feet. Kim and Matt were sitting on a bench together looking happy to be reunited.

Standing at the back of the group was Gage with his mother Molly. They both looked confused at what was happening. She figured they'd already heard rumors about what she was going to say.

"Thanks for coming together so quickly everyone," Addy said. "In the last few days a lot's changed. I hope you'll understand after my brother and I are done explaining." There was a roar from the group.

Jax took her hand in his, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Addy still didn't know what to think about the revelation that he was her sibling.

"My name is Jackson Sanders. Some of you may already know me as Jackson West." He went on to explain a condensed version of what happened. When he was done, no one said anything out loud, but a lot of whispering was going on.

Addy glanced at Gage, who didn't appear angry for the first time since she'd been back. He met her eyes briefly and then turned to talk to Molly.

"Well then, let's move to the library and get the Overseer's Stone claimed," Bernard said as he stood up.

Kim ran up and gave Addy a hug. "When you left this morning the last thing I expected you to bring home was a brother, especially that one."

"You're not the only one," Addy said. "I'm glad you made it back safely—sorry I abandoned you."

Kim shrugged and looked at Matt out of the corner of her eye. "It was no big deal."

"Sure, she only made me stay on the phone with her the entire drive back," Matt said, clearly pretending to be annoyed.

Matt called Gage over to walk with them. He didn't say anything to her and she kept Matt and Kim in between them. Jax left out a lot of details about what happened. On the way to the library, Addy quietly filled them in on what he'd excluded.

"Your brother seems alright," Matt said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just can't believe you have a brother."

"Tanner says I should request a DNA test," she said, smiling.

Matt glanced at Tanner and lowered his voice. "What's with that guy?" Kim immediately elbowed him and he held his hands up. "Hey, it's a fair question."

"He's my friend." Addy looked over at Tanner, who was talking to Bernard as they walked. "I can't wait for you guys to get to know him."

Approaching the library, they heard a commotion. Addy rushed in to see what was going on. She hurried to Jax and realized what they all saw.

The Overseer's Stone was gone.

"Close up the gates!" Bernard shouted. Several Akori ran from the room.

"Jax!" A female voice shouted. "You just got here and you've already sent the place into chaos?"

It was Juliette West, the redhead from Jax's house.

"I'm innocent this time," he said, holding his hands up.

Juliette looked around at the crowded library. "Got any ideas about who'd take it?"

"A few. We need to clear the place out a bit and talk." Jax directed his attention to Addy, as Juliette started herding the people out. "Who do you trust?"

There was no hesitation in her response. "I trust Bernard, Kim, Matt, Gage, Renee, Josh, and Molly."

He cut his eyes to look at Stubbs. "Interesting you didn't mention the barber."

"Oh I didn't—I guess I just forgot him."

"Listen," Jax said, "someone here may have sold us out. Grandfather thought so, that's why he sent me away and never told you or anyone else here about me." Jax looked around as the room cleared. "Now that everyone knows about me, it's all gonna come unglued."

He grabbed her hand and led her down a row of books to an alcove at the end.

"There's a lot you don't know," Jax said when they were alone. "Have a seat."

Addy sat on a stone bench, pulling her feet up so she was sitting cross-legged. "Great, more I don't know."

"Akori politics are very—complicated. They all have varying allegiances—whether they admit it or not. Some of them even believe that the Akori can gain additional power by eliminating the Overseer." He sat down next to her and tipped his head to the side. "The humans aren't the ones we have to watch out for. It's the other Akori—the ones that call themselves Mesen."

Jax told her that the day their parents were killed, they left the estate and headed to a hospital for a carefully planned secret cesarean section. When they didn't show up for the appointment, their grandfather was contacted.

When Fate was unable to locate them, he had no choice but to summon an Akori Shepherd who led him to their bodies. Their mother was dead and the babies were still inside her womb. Their father was next to their mother on the verge of death. Fate summoned an Akori to shift the time back, but she was unable to change it. That meant Akori were involved in the attack.

Addy's head was spinning. "You're telling me it was Akori that killed our parents—not humans?"

"Talk quietly." He looked around and lowered his voice. "Our parents were murdered by Akori, but not the Akori you know—the Mesen did it."

Addy shook her head. "Fate told me that Mesen was what Akori who didn't come to the estate were called."

"It's partially true, they don't come here." Jax continued on, telling her that Fate had the babies cut from his daughter-in-law's dead body as their father died. They were alive, but needed medical attention. Fate knew an Akori who had healing powers and he was able to save them.

Addy sat silently, tapping her fingers on the stone bench—it was all just too much too process.

Jax reached over and put his hand over hers, stopping her nervous drumming. "Are you alright?"

She looked over at him. "Do a lot of Akori have healing powers?"

"No, the one who healed us is the only one we've ever known about." Jax gave her an odd look and crossed his arms. "It's funny how that's the only question you have after what I've just dumped on you."

She ignored his comment. "So Fate brought me here and the Mesen thought only a girl was born? Is that why they've stayed away—they were just waiting for him to die?"

Jax nodded.

"How'd he hide you so well? None of us here had any idea you existed." She still couldn't believe it herself—part of her wasn't sure if she believed it at all.

"Our grandfather handed me over to the West family because he knew he could trust them. They prepared me for taking over Tremain—and dealing with the backlash once the Mesen found out I existed."

Addy thought for a minute. She'd never heard exactly how her parents had been murdered, just that it was on the day she was born and the ones who did it were human, not Akori.

"You know so much more than I do about everything," she said, leaning forward on her elbows.

"I had to know everything because I was going to be the Overseer one day. Grandfather didn't want you to live in suspicion of everyone. He also needed you, and anyone around you, to really believe that you were his only heir." Jax put his arm around her shoulders. "It's easier for me because I've always known about all of it—you didn't."

She shifted uncomfortably under the pressure of his arm. "Maybe."

Jax tightened his arm around her. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

Addy smiled at him slightly and immediately started feeling creepy for checking out her own brother earlier.

"It just feels like everything I knew about my life was wrong." She stood up and looked around at the library where she'd spent countless hours with her Grandfather. "Fate once told me he'd read every book in here."

Jax ran his slender fingers along a book spine the same way she always did. "If he said it, then it was true."

"Do you know how the Mesen found your house earlier?"

"They shouldn't have known about me yet. We think maybe they followed you, but we're not sure. We'd been watching for Tanner for a few days. That's why I had Angelica and a few others posted around the area. We'd have been screwed if she hadn't spotted the Mesen coming."

Addy crossed her arms and leaned against the book shelf. "What do you know about Tanner? He's never talked about his family until today. Judging by the places he stays and the bike he drives, I think he's got a ton of money."

Jax turned his palms up. "I only knew Grandfather was sending him. I was a little surprised his parents never told him what he was, but maybe even they didn't know. I'm thinking we shouldn't press him to talk about it—at least not yet."

He must have noticed the same vibe she did when Tanner mentioned his family; it was like he didn't want to talk about them.

Jax stood up next to her. "Think Bernard's right about grandfather having his friend adopt Tanner?"

"After finding you—I think anything's possible. We should ask Bernard to talk to him."

Jax raised his eyebrows. "He actually offered to talk to Tanner. After we met earlier, I talked to Bernard about a few things, including Tanner."

"Oh," she said, tugging at a loose string on the seam of her shirt. Addy turned to face Jax. "Why didn't you just come to Tremain as soon as Fate died? He could've just told you where it was, instead of summoning Tanner to bring you."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to come before he passed so you and I could meet for the first time with him here, but he said I had to wait for the Akori Shepherd. He told me he had a plan and I was not to deviate from it."

"I guess Fate knew what he was doing." She just wished she knew what it was.

"You don't call him Grandfather?"

She shook her head. "I never have. Everyone else called him Fate when I was little, so I just started calling him by his name too."

Addy never thought calling her grandfather by his first name was odd. Jax calling him grandfather seemed strange to her.

"We'd better get back. I'm sure the library's cleared out by now." Addy smiled at him thinly. Her head was spinning and it was everything she could do to keep it together.

The library was empty when they walked back to the main area, except for Juliette, who was perched on the long stone table they used for meetings.

"Why is there still no electricity in this room after all of these years?" she asked.

Jax looked around and smirked. "Jules, where is everyone?"

"Didn't you say you wanted the room cleared?" She hopped off the table and walked toward Jax.

"Haven't we talked about you taking things too literally?" Jax snickered, opening the library doors. He looked at the group outside. "She means well."

"The Overseer must be surrounded by loyal people who will do what he asks without question every time." Bernard gave Juliette a pat on the shoulder. "You did fine."

"What kind of weapons do you have around this place?" Juliette asked him.

"We have a very well stocked weapons vault." Bernard loved anything having to do with fighting and her question made him smile from ear to ear. "I'll show you when time permits."

Jax asked the group of people Addy said she could trust and Tanner to come in. Then he closed and locked the library doors. Stubbs wasn't included and she really felt bad. Kim and Matt sat together on the chaise lounge by the fire. Kim had never been included on any Akori related discussions and she looked nervous.

"Any ideas about who took the stone?" Josh asked, in his gruff voice. He didn't talk much, but he was always loyal to Fate and took good care of Matt and Renee.

Jax hoisted himself up on the stone table to sit. "Nope."

Gage was leaning against the wall near the fireplace. "What are you doing to find it?" He glanced at Addy, catching her eye.

"Nothing currently," Jax said while he examined his own perfect fingernails.

Addy stepped forward and put her hands up. "I think Jax means we haven't started yet but—"

"Why don't you care that the Overseer's Stone is missing?" Bernard asked, walking up to Jax. "What do you know about it that we don't?"

Jax leaned toward Juliette, who was seated on the table next to him. "There's a reason my grandfather liked him."

Addy was starting to get irritated at Jax's ridiculous comments. She was just about to lose it when Tanner walked up and hung his arm around her shoulders. Gage shifted uncomfortably against the wall and diverted his eyes.

"Alright partner, tell us what you know so we can all bail," Tanner said. "I have a gig tonight."

Jax sat up straight. "Really, where at? I'm free later."

Addy couldn't take another second of his unconcerned attitude. "Jax! Either put on your big boy pants and contribute, or get out so the grown-ups can talk."

He looked shocked. His posture and facial expression completely changed.

Juliette bumped his shoulder with hers. "She sure told you."

"I apologize," he said to Addy, then looked around at everyone as he sighed. "There's nothing anyone but me can do with the stone. I'm not sure why someone took it, but I can easily locate it." Jax turned to Juliette. "I'll need a couple of books from our house to do it. You can head back there tonight and grab them for me."

"Will do," she said, sliding down from the tabletop.

Kim cleared her throat and leaned forward. "If you're the only one who can use the stone—then how'd Addy use it to get the symbol like Tanner has?"

Matt put his arm around Kim as Jax shifted his eyes up at her.

Jax gestured toward Addy with his head. "She's still a Sanders, even if she isn't the Overseer."

"We think Fate had me use the pattern that marked me so I'd find Jax," Addy said, glancing at her brother. "Like a replacement Shepherd because Tanner didn't show up..."

"But we can't be sure of anything at this point," Bernard said. "She touched the stone but it marked her and Tanner—that may indicate something else entirely."

Jax cut his eyes at Bernard and then looked around at the group. "There's nothing else we can do tonight. Don't tell anyone outside of this room what's happening and I'll let you know if anything changes tomorrow."

He headed for the door but stopped in front of Addy, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. "Get some sleep—you look terrible." He walked out the door with Juliette before Addy could respond.

Addy walked home alone through the garden, wondering how things had gotten so messed up so fast. How she could possibly have ended up with a brother like Jax was a total mystery. On top of her totally mismatched twin, there was the missing Overseer's Stone. The thought of Fate knowing how screwed up everything was made her cringe.

Then there was Tanner. Addy felt terrible about getting between him and Fate. She'd only wanted to protect him, but she really should've just brought him to the estate. At least she'd been right about him being an Akori and not knowing it. She really wanted answers to Bernard's theory that her grandfather gave Tanner to his adopted parents. She just didn't want to be pushy about it and scare him off. She really liked having him around.

Just over halfway back to her villa, she was startled out of her thoughts by someone calling her name. She turned and looked to see Gage coming up behind her.

"Wait up, Addy."

A rush of excitement that quickly turned into irritation swept over her. "Gage, I'm really tired. I literally haven't slept since I left here a couple of days ago."

After he saw Tanner dropping her clothes off, that was probably the wrong thing to say. The way he acted earlier was absolutely ridiculous, and she was actually feeling pretty pissed at him.

"I'll just walk you to your place." He caught up fast and slowed to match her pace. "I'm an ass for jumping to conclusions and I'm sorry. I'm here to help you any way I can—not make things harder."

Addy didn't say anything back. He'd always been the one of the most reasonable people she knew and his irrational behavior when everything else was falling apart was too much to deal with.

She gazed out at the ocean once they were out in front of her villa, thinking about what to say carefully before she spoke. "I used to wonder about that—if you'd stay here to help me after Fate was gone."

Gage moved closer, speaking over the sound of the crashing waves. "I'm not going anywhere. Your brother may be the Overseer, but I'm here for you."

It seemed like a lifetime ago since the day she woke up and spotted the beach at their door. So much had changed so quickly. She didn't even know where to begin with Gage. Before the estate moved, she'd just thought of him as an acquaintance—someone she used to know. Since being there, he'd somehow become a big part of her life again. Over the past few days she's realized that even though they didn't talk, they'd really never stopped being friends.

Addy got up on the step to the porch and turned so they were looking face to face. "I kept telling myself you didn't know me anymore, but it turns out you're probably the person who knows me the best—you're my oldest friend." She took in a deep breath of the floral scented air and looked closely at him. "It's so damn disappointing you didn't know me better than to think I'd run off after a guy, Gage."

It looked like what she said really hit him and he lowered his head. Gage just stood there looking frustrated, like he didn't know where to start. He took her hand for a few seconds and then let it go. Addy had never seen him look so uncertain.

Standing only inches in front of Gage—seeing him looking so distraught, it was hard not to reach out and touch him. She crossed her arms to stop herself from being tempted.

"Just try to understand," he said, taking a small step closer to her. "Every day of your life I've known where to find you. For the first time I didn't—I couldn't. You don't know how—" He closed his eyes while he took a deep breath, and then started again. "After we read the notes, I remembered seeing you with that guy—Tanner, a couple of times, it just made sense. Your text message said you needed space so—"

"I needed time to sort out what was happening without you guys worrying." She put her hand on her forehead in frustration. "So much has happened. I can't even think straight anymore, I'm so tired."

He dropped his shoulders. "Why don't I just let you get some sleep then? We can talk when things settle down."

She nodded her head, crossing her arms again.

"Goodnight." He brushed the back of his hand lightly against her cheek and walked back to the main house.

Addy began tossing the idea of stopping him around in her head the second he turned his back. Too much had happened and she was too exhausted to argue anymore—she just let him go.

Moose was super happy to see Addy, and he weaved in and out of her feet as she walked around getting ready for bed. It was breezy and mild outside so she opened a window to let fresh air fill the room. After turning the lights out, she climbed under the covers and Moose happily jumped up to lay next to her.

As tired as she was, the day kept replaying in her mind. Jackson was her brother, which was completely unbelievable. He seemed fine with it, but he'd known about her his whole life. She'd slipped into the role of his sister earlier and tried to take things as they came without overthinking it.

Actually, it was reassuring to know he was around and had a handle on the things she didn't understand. The brother part was going to take some time to digest though. She figured Fate really went to a lot of trouble to keep Jax a secret, and it must've been so difficult to hide him—especially with that mouth of his.

Knowing the details of her parents' murder was unreal to her. Thinking that misguided humans killed them was one thing, but Akori doing it was completely different. Addy was beginning to think she really didn't know as much about the people she grew up around as she thought.

Thinking back to earlier on the front porch, she wished she'd stopped Gage from leaving. She didn't want to fight with him and she was a little scared things would go back to the way they were before when he didn't talk to her. She could've just dropped the subject of how he acted when she got back and told him about the Akori Fate knew who could heal. Losing him as a friend after just losing Fate was something she couldn't handle.

Gage was a whole other big issue though. With all that was going on, it was ridiculous that she kept thinking about him. She couldn't help herself though. The message from Matt saying Gage had been out looking for her all night, on top of what he said outside made her feel bad. He probably always had known where she was—he'd been around her entire life. There was no way she could've told him what she was going to do when she left the estate though—she didn't even know herself.

Addy reached over and picked up her cell phone. It was almost 1am. She should've been asleep, but she was too busy fighting with herself about whether to put the phone down or send Gage a text. She really wanted to see if he was still up, but she wasn't even sure where their friendship stood. Eventually her better judgment lost out and she sent him a message.

Awake?

He responded a minute later.

I am now.

She put her hand over her eyes. "What am I doing?" She spoke out loud, startling Moose. A few minutes passed while she was trying to decide what to do and her phone chirped again.

Need something or just wanna wake me up?

Clearing her mind as best as she could, she decided what she wanted and quickly typed the message. She hit send before she had time to change her mind. There was no response after ten minutes. It dawned on her that maybe it was too late to salvage what was starting between them before it all got so messed up. She tossed her phone on her nightstand and turned over, closing her eyes.

Knocking at the patio door to her bedroom startled her out of a light sleep. Addy took a few seconds to process the sound and then went over and slid the door open. Gage was standing there looking back at her.

Dread swept over her as she realized that she'd managed to call him over in the middle of the night and had no idea why.

"Hey," she said. She couldn't see him very well in the dark, but it looked like he was smiling.

"Did you really wake me up, ask me to come over, and then go to sleep?"

"Sadly, yes." She stepped out of the way so he could come in. "But in my defense, you didn't say you were coming and I've been awake for days."

Gage took a step closer to her and leaned down, brushing his fingertips along her cheek. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know why I asked you to come over." Addy looked up at him through the dim light from the windows. "I was just thinking too much about what's been going on around here."

He moved a little closer. "Try not to worry, we'll figure it all out."

It was more than just that though. Maybe because she was delirious with exhaustion, she decided she might as well just say how she felt.

"Gage, I don't wanna argue with you, and I really don't—" Addy dropped her head and sighed. "I'm afraid things will go back to the way they were when you didn't talk to me."

"We're not arguing and things between us will never be that way again." He tipped her head back to make her look up at him. "It never should've been like that."

Feeling tired and overwhelmed, she walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed with her hands over her face.

He followed and stood in front of her, smoothing her hair. "This doesn't seem like our home anymore."

Addy put her arms around his waist and pulled him toward her until the side of her head was resting against his stomach. "No, it doesn't."

She doubted the estate would ever feel like home again. Almost every detail of her life there had been in some way or another untrue. She was tempted to feel angry at Fate for keeping her and Jax apart, but she kept reminding herself that he did what he had to do to keep them both safe.

Gage's fingers running through her hair made her already tired body relax to the point where she was about to fall asleep sitting there.

He started to pull away. "C'mon, you need to get to sleep."

Addy tightened her arms around him and pulled Gage closer. "I'm sorry you were out looking for me."

"You don't have to apologize." He kneeled down so they were face to face. "Just don't take off without telling anyone again."

Gage stood her up and helped her into her bed. He pulled the blanket up over her, disturbing Moose who gave him an irritated meow before hopping off the bed.

"Get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

He started to leave but she reached up and hooked one of his belt loops with her index finger. He was the only thing that felt familiar with her life completely turned upside down—she didn't want him to go.

"Addy, I can't—" He hesitated, but she didn't let go and tugged him toward her.

Giving up, Gage pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his shoes. He moved in next to her and she scooted close as he slipped his arms around her. Addy placed her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

Chapter 18

The thin curtains waved wildly from the warm breeze that filled the room with sea-scented air. It was mid-morning and the sun was shining brightly outside.

After opening her eyes, Addy froze when she remembered she wasn't alone. Assessing the situation, she noted she was lying on her side up against Gage, who was on his back. Her head was on his shoulder and her arm was across his chest, tucked under his shoulder. One of her legs was even looped around his. He moved slightly and she could tell he was already awake.

Addy braced herself and peeked up at Gage. "You're still here."

He smiled down at her. "It was kind of hard to get out of your iron grip."

Addy bit her lip, realizing he was her hostage. She started to move but he pulled her back, making her feel a little less like she'd been holding him against his will.

Addy scooted up so her chin was resting on his shoulder and he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I expected you to have princess or pony sheets on your bed still."

Addy buried her face in his shoulder and lifted the blanket to show him the other side of it.

"You have a reversible kitten comforter on your bed?" He moved so he was on his side with his head on his elbow and smiled at her. "The truth is out—you're not a grown-up at all."

"Shhh... don't tell," she said, giggling.

He set his head down on the pillow next to hers so they were lying on their sides, face to face and his fingers traced the outline of her neck. The light touch of his fingertips made her skin tingle and she closed her eyes. He slid his arms around her and pulled her closer.

Addy's mind was racing. There was no possible way all the events of the past few weeks really added up to Gage in her bed. Twenty-four hours earlier she'd been plotting how to get into Jax's house with Tanner. The day was starting out way too smoothly, and she opened her eyes just to make sure Gage was really there.

Feeling somewhat guilty about her perfect morning, she figured she may as well get one thing checked off her to do list.

She shifted her body and spoke quietly. "Gage?"

"Hmm?" His hand ran down her back, giving her chills.

She almost forgot what she wanted to say. "The day I passed out after practice—we never really talked about it."

He pulled her closer to him. "There's not much to talk about, it just happened," he said, shifting his body to look at her. "I'm glad it did."

Addy laced her fingers through his and scooted against him. "There's something I need to tell you."

He wrapped his arms around her tighter and began tickling her ribs.

Addy twisted and turned as she squealed, trying to squirm out of his grasp. All the effort she was putting into getting away only seemed to make Gage more determined to hold her there.

"Seriously?" She could barely stop laughing after finally fighting him off.

She'd ended up straddling him with his hands pinned at his sides. He looked a little too pleased with himself, which she found annoying.

"Pay attention," she said, trying to be serious. "I won, so now you have to listen to me."

His blue eyes stared up at her. "I let you win."

"You never let anyone win," she said,

"Huh." He lifted his eyebrows and looked her up and down. "I guess I was the winner."

Addy fought off a smile and climbed off him, flopping herself down on the bed so her feet were resting on the headboard. She struggled to get her mind back on track—Gage was a huge distraction.

"Jax told me Fate knew another Akori who could heal," she said, before he could derail her again.

He sat up and looked at her. "You told Jax I healed you?"

She scooted over so her head was on his knee and peered up at him. "Of course I didn't tell him." It stung a little that he'd automatically think that.

Starting at the beginning, she repeated what Jax told her about the day her parents died, leaving out a few details like the part about the group of Akori who called themselves Mesen being responsible for it. He looked almost relieved when she was finished.

"So I'm not the only one who can heal then."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Guess not."

Addy climbed off the bed and caught her reflection in the mirror. She suddenly felt naked, wearing only a light pink lacy cami and white boy shorts. She grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and slipped it on while walking over to the patio door. Little birds were hopping around, pecking at the grass and Moose was at her feet going crazy over all the activity.

Gage stood up and stretched. "I probably should've told Fate about the healing, but with his health, I didn't want to put that on him too." He walked over and looked at the pictures stuck to her mirror. "Nice canoe trip from hell pictures—remember how cold that water was?"

"It's kind of hard to forget," she said over her shoulder. "If you and Mattie hadn't kept tipping the boat, it wouldn't have been so bad."

Fate and Josh took them on a canoe trip once when they had a small stretch of mild weather where they were living. The boys kept knocking them all into the water the entire day. That was the last time she set foot on a boat with Gage or Matt.

"It was still fun," Gage said as he studied the pictures closely. "We all look so little."

Addy leaned over and checked the clock. It was already 11am. "It's pretty late. We should probably get to the house and see what's going on with the search." She was also thinking people might be looking for them as she peeked at him. He was shirtless and headed in her direction.

Gage walked up behind her and put his fingers on her hips. She tipped her head back and smiled up at him.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and shower," he said, sliding the screen open. He ran his hand down her arm and then stepped out onto the patio.

The garden was beginning to grow and small pink flowers dotted some of the bushes. After catching her reflection in one of the windows, she admired what a difference new clothes and a haircut could make. She didn't even look like the same person, which she figured went well with the changes to her life.

Jax was outside of the library talking to two Akori she didn't recognize along with Mitchell West.

He gestured toward her the second he saw her coming. "My gorgeous sister arrives, looking beautiful as usual."

Addy didn't get why he had to be so dramatic—he'd known her for like one day.

"Good morning," Addy said to the group. She turned her attention to the man and woman she didn't know and smiled. "I'm Addison Sanders." She figured she'd better keep up the formalities.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Sade LaCroft, and this is my son Patrick." She spoke in an extremely well mannered voice.

Addy noticed they were both wearing silver necklaces and each had a charm in the shape of an Akori symbol with a gold L over it. The design was similar to the ring Gage wore.

Jax smiled at Addy. "Sade and Pat will be joining us here at Tremain."

"Wonderful," Addy said with a little too much enthusiasm. "I look forward to getting to know both of you."

Mitchell West took her hand and kissed it. "It's very nice to see you again, Miss Sanders."

That was something she'd never experienced before. She had no clue what the appropriate response was, so she just kept smiling. He was the man who'd spoken up when Preston Worthington attempted to rattle her the day she had tried to claim the stone. She never would've guessed he was also hiding her twin brother.

Addy looked up to meet Mitchell's green eyes. "Will you be staying with us as well?"

He glanced at the other three. "Unfortunately I cannot. My business requires that I travel."

"Speaking of business, if you'll excuse us, my sister and I have family business to discuss."

Mitchell lightly hugged Jax and said he'd see him soon.

Jax ushered her into the library and closed the doors.

"Is Preston Worthington part of the Mesen?" Addy asked as soon as the doors were closed.

Jax turned around, looking surprised. "What made you ask that?"

"I met him and Mitchell the day I got the mark from touching the Overseer's Stone. He and Mitchell didn't seem to get along so I just figured if Mitchell is on our side, then Preston must be on theirs."

"No, Preston's not with the Mesen—he's not really with the Akori either. He says he is, but he's completely self-serving, probably worse than the Mesen."

Addy leaned up against the table. "What about Mitchell, how's he related to Juliette?"

"Mitchell's her father—he's like a father to me too," he said. "Their family's been close with ours for generations. That's why Fate placed me with them."

Addy frowned. "That's just another thing you know more about than I do."

"They kept their distance once I went to live with them for obvious reasons." Jax walked over and spun the globe near the fireplace. "You look lovely in pink by the way."

"Thanks," she said, running her hands down her hot pink sundress. "Jax, I'm sorry I talked to you like that in front of everyone last night." She wasn't exactly that sorry about it—he was acting like a total ass. She just didn't want any animosity between them.

Jax just smiled and pointed to the end of the table. The Overseer's Stone was back.

She shifted her eyes from the stone to her brother. "You found it?"

"Whoever took it decided to return it last night. Right after several Mesen tried to stop Juliette from getting to my house." He explained that he never needed any books to track down the stone—he was just testing the people in the library's loyalty and trustworthiness by making them think he could locate it. "Once they thought I could track down the stone, whoever took it panicked and brought it back."

Addy was silent once she realized what he was getting at and she didn't like it one bit.

"One of the people we met with last night is either responsible for stealing the stone or knows who is," he said, crossing his arms. "Someone here is working with the Mesen."

She couldn't believe he thought one of them would do such a thing. "Those people are my friends. They would never—"

"Addison, yes, one of them did. We have spies within the Mesen, it's only logical that they'd do the same." He placed a hand on each of her shoulders forcing her to sit. She noticed he was still wearing the bracelet he had on the day before. "We need to discuss each of them so we can figure out who it is."

"But you asked for the people I trusted the most."

Jax told her whoever was working with the Mesen had to be someone who had access to private information. That's why he asked for the people she trusted. They began going through each person she said she trusted and explained who they were and what her relationship was.

"Tell me about the human—Kim?"

Addy told him the story of how they met and became friends. "She doesn't have much interest in any of this."

"What about her boyfriend, Matt?"

She explained how Josh, Renee, and Matt ended up living at Tremain after their parents Scattered. "And Matt's not Kim's boyfriend, by the way. They just spend a lot of time together."

Jax gave her a knowing smile and nodded. "We already covered Molly, but what about that brooding son of hers?"

Addy was quickly getting tired of defending all of her friends and answered in a resentful tone. "His name is Gage and he's completely trustworthy. He was very close with Fate." She explained Gage's duties, and the training Bernard had given him.

Jax was quiet for a few moments when she finished. "It sounds like he's actually better qualified to be the one of the people behind this than anyone else."

"He didn't do it—I know for sure he didn't."

"And how do you know that?"

"He was at my place all night." She grimaced as she said the words.

"Disregarding grandfather's rules about dating the Akori guys already, huh?"

Her face got red as she looked at him. "It's not—"

Jax raised his hand to stop her and moved on. "Bernard is the only person I think we can truly trust. What do you think about him?"

That caught her off guard considering Jax didn't even really know Bernard. "Of course I trust him, but why do you?"

"Because he's the only one Grandfather told me I could always trust," he said, turning his green eyes toward hers, "besides you."

"Oh."

"I forgot about Tanner, I think he's legit too."

Addy thought about Tanner; her feelings about him had really changed over the last couple of days. She felt as close to him as she did the rest of her friends. It was actually unsettling how close she felt. "Tanner is good in my book, but obviously I'm not the best judge."

"It's tough to be objective—they're your friends." Jax got to his feet and paced around. "Things are heating up and I want you and everyone else prepared. A lot of the new Akori around here are friends. They've been training and preparing for when I came here to claim the stone. They'll fight with us if needed."

Addy stared at him, still processing his words. "Is that really necessary?"

"The rumors from our contacts say the Mesen are trying to organize and forcibly take over Tremain before I can claim the stone—even if it means killing you and me."

Addy's jaw dropped. "Do you believe that?"

Jax turned his palms up. "I honestly don't know. We need to be ready for anything at this point."

"What happens next?" She walked over to the stone and reached up, touching the back of her neck. "When do you plan on claiming it?"

He leaned up against the table next to her. "When Jules gets back. I want to talk to her before I'm unavailable for a few days."

She'd forgotten that part—when Jax claimed the stone, he'd be out of it for several days. "What should I do while you're... busy?"

"Make sure none of your friends try to kill me, for one." He gave her a half-serious smile. "Grandfather said you had some combat training. Work with Juliette, she'll teach you to use weapons."

She turned her head away from him and rolled her eyes. "That'll be great."

Bernard tried teaching her to use a variety of weapons, but she was the best with one she found on the bottom of a shelf in the weapons vault. She showed it to Fate and he told her it was the Akorian Sickle Sword.

At about 22 inches long, the sword had a slight curve, and wasn't as large and clunky as the other swords and maces. Plus, it was extremely light and thin. The blade and hilt were etched with symbols like the ones on the Overseer's Stone.

"So what's up with Juliette?" Addy asked Jax. "Are you together?"

"We've been together my entire life—I grew up with her," Jax said, smiling at her. "But no, we're not together. She's a good friend to have. One day you'll be glad she's around."

Addy wasn't so sure about that. Juliette didn't come across as her kind of friend. "She wasn't hurt when they attacked her last night?"

"Nope. She can hold her own in a fight." He shifted to look at her and nodded his head. "She'll teach you a lot."

Jax's phone rang and he said he had to head out to meet up with Juliette. He told Addy to be back at the library by 6pm.
Chapter 19

The estate was overrun with Akori that Addy didn't know. It was worse than when she tried to claim the Overseer's Stone after Fate died. They were everywhere, talking and laughing as if they'd always been there. Her home had definitely changed. Through the window, she could see Matt, Kim, Gage, and Renee sitting together on the terrace. Matt was waving his arms around telling a story and the others were laughing. He playfully nudged Renee, who pushed him back. Addy wondered if she and Jax would ever be able to have a normal sibling relationship like them.

Grabbing a sandwich, she sat at a table eating and occasionally looking out through the glass at her friends. Going outside to sit with them had crossed her mind, but she decided she could use some time alone.

The sight of Gage made her feel like she was 12 years old again. She remembered watching him work on his motorcycle in the driveway through her bedroom window. She'd always thought he was so perfect, from his hair to the way he threw a punch.

Before the last couple of weeks, Addy hadn't given being with Gage so much as a second thought. The fact she woke up earlier in her room next to him was beyond belief.

All of her memories up until a few years ago included him. Every birthday party, every time she was sick, even when she learned to ride a bike, Gage was there. He was even the one who taught her how to tie her shoelaces.

Addy remembered running up the sidewalk in the garden when she was four. Her shoes were untied. She stumbled a few times and finally tripped, falling down and skinning up her hands. Gage must have been around nine then. He picked her up, telling her to tie her laces tighter. When he figured out she didn't know how, he sat down and taught her.

The sound of a plate clanging on the counter startled her back to attention. She glanced out the window at her friends and decided she really should go see them. She cleared her table and headed for the door.

"Wait up, girlie."

Addy turned and smiled as Tanner walked up to her. "You know, there's still time to become a roadie and get the heck out of here."

"I'll keep that in mind." He tipped his head and looked at her closely. "You seem like you're feeling a lot better today." He looked toward the window. "Gage doesn't look like he's brooding anymore."

She smiled and shook her head at him. "He wasn't brooding."

A big grin spread across his face. "Let's get you a dictionary later so you can check out Gage's picture right next to the word brooding, ok?"

Addy couldn't help but laugh. "You're terrible!"

"You like it," Tanner said, smiling. "By the way, Jax came to my show last night. He's actually a really cool guy to party with."

She rolled her eyes. "It's good to know the Overseer knows how to party."

"He wants me to start working with Bernard on hand to hand combat." Tanner told her he was excellent with a bow, and was captain of his archery team in school. "I can hit a target without even looking at it if I focus hard enough. Jax says it's because of the Akori Shepherd memory thing."

"Jax would know." Addy sighed, knowing she shouldn't be so negative—Jackson was her brother after all. "He wants his friend Juliette to train me to use weapons."

"Wow, don't sound so pumped about it."

"Between us," Addy leaned close to Tanner and whispered, "I don't even know most of the Akori here—they're all people Jax brought in."

Tanner glanced around at the room full of Akori, and then settled his eyes on Addy. "Brought in for what?"

"Protection from the Mesen that tried to attack his house—the ones he wants us to keep quiet about." Addy crossed her arms and looked around. "He thinks the Mesen would kill me and him to stop him from claiming the Overseer's Stone."

"Jax is just being overdramatic, girlie." He tossed his arm around her shoulders. "There's probably nothing to be worried about."

"They attacked Juliette last night after someone from here told them she was heading back to his house." Addy lowered her eyes to the floor. "The Mesen killed my parents—not humans. I don't think he's exaggerating about them."

"Girlie." Tanner tipped his head near hers and whispered. "Look at me."

She took a deep breath and turned her eyes toward him.

"I may have been wrong," he said, tightening his arm around her. "There probably is something to be worried about."

"You're not exactly helping to ease my anxiety," Addy said, poking him in the ribs. "I thought you were going for the reassuring, everything's gonna be alright, kind of talk."

"I thought you'd appreciate my honesty." Tanner dropped his arm from her shoulders and smiled at her. "We'll train and watch our backs—that's all we can do."

Addy walked with him out to the terrace where her friends were sitting.

"Hey," Gage said, smiling while he pulled up a chair for her next to him.

"Hi." She sat down, waving to the others.

Gage casually reached over and took her hand, catching her completely by surprise. Addy scooted over and motioned for Tanner to share half the chair with her. Even though her friends didn't really know him yet, she felt close to him and wanted them to accept him as part of their group.

Kim looked at Gage's hand wrapped around Addy's and raised her brow. "Decided to get out of your own way?"

Addy ignored her and focused on Renee, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Well? Any updates from your brother?" Renee asked.

"The stone is back," Addy said, looking for any peculiar reactions from her friends. She wanted to choke Jax for making her feel suspicious of everyone. "Jax said whoever took it freaked out when they thought he'd be able to track it down and returned it."

"I don't even get why someone took it in the first place," Gage said.

Tanner shrugged and leaned forward to look at Gage. "Maybe it was to stop Jax from claiming it."

"They didn't stop him for long if that was the plan," Addy said. "Jax is gonna claim the Overseer's Stone tonight."

"Who are all these new people?" Renee asked, looking around them. "Almost every room in the house is full."

"I couldn't tell you." Addy glanced at Tanner out of the corner of her eye. She was pretty sure Jax didn't want her repeating what he told her about the new Akori being his friends.

"They could just be here because they're curious about Addy's brother," Tanner said.

"You okay, man?" Gage stared at Matt, who looked like he was zoning out.

Matt perked up and shook off whatever he was daydreaming about. "Yeah, I'm cool," he said tossing his arm around Kim's shoulders. "Up late, that's all."

Renee looked around and Addy knew she was about to begin whispering. Her gossiping was one reason she and Addy never hit it off.

"I heard Addy's brother is extremely well connected. Everyone thought he was part of the West family, which is like the Akori equivalent of the Kennedy family."

"I'm sure a lot of rumors are going around about him," Addy said. "Unfortunately, most are probably true."

"Well, he's pretty good looking." Renee raised her eyebrows and smiled. "He's very popular with the Akori girls."

"I bet he is. He's not exactly shy." Addy told them, still feeling gross about checking him out. "He answered the door at his house looking like he fell off the cover of a trashy romance novel—bare chest and all."

"Think you could get him to do it again?" Kim asked, smiling at Renee. "It'd be so much easier to understand how you guys felt meeting him for the first time if we could see it for ourselves."

"That could be hazardous," Tanner said, motioning to Addy. "I almost slipped and fell in the puddle of drool she left on his porch."

Addy tried not to laugh and bumped her shoulder into Tanner, almost knocking him off the chair they were sharing. "That's only funny in a world where he's not my brother."

Tanner's phone rang and he frowned as he checked to see who it was. "I gotta take this, I'll find you later," he said to Addy and walked inside quickly.

Gage squeezed her hand before he let go and stood up. "I gotta roll too. I'm supposed hit the weights in the ballroom with Malcolm."

"Hold on, I have practice in a few." Addy got to her feet. "I'll walk out with you."

They started down the stairs that went to the garden. Once they were alone, he put his arms around her shoulders and walked behind her.

"You owe me a night out."

She leaned over to look at him. "How do you figure?"

"Remember? You blew me off a couple of nights ago."

She smiled. "Oh."

The path split, one way went to the villas, and the other went to the main level entrance to the ballroom where Gage was going.

"I don't have my bag," she said. "I've gotta go to my place to change."

He steered them down the path to the villas. "Malcolm can wait."

Back at her villa, Addy changed into the new black and gray Lycra pants and top she bought at the mall with Kim. She pushed a headband on and gathered the length of her hair into a messy ponytail. She grabbed her shoes and socks and headed for the living room.

Addy leaned against the frame of her bedroom door, watching Gage play with Moose on the floor. Between the handholding in front of their friends and waking up next to him, things were getting complicated fast.

"Uh oh," he said, smiling up at her. "What is it?"

She shrugged. "I'm confused, I guess."

He tipped his head. "About?"

She turned her palms up. "Everything."

"Narrow it down."

"You and me," she said, biting her lip.

"Me and you?"

She nodded.

"I'm not being obvious enough for you?"

She smiled innocently. "Guess not."

Gage stood up, taking her shoes from her and tossing them on the sofa. "You told me to stay away from you until I knew what I wanted." He grabbed both of her hands and pressed her between him and the wall, lowering his head near her shoulder. "I know what I want." His breathing tickled her neck, making her pulse pound.

Addy relaxed against the wall, letting his body completely cover hers. "What are we doing here?" Her voice came out so softly that she thought he might not have heard her.

"You needed to change your clothes for practice," he said, running his lips lightly along her neck. His hand slipped down and pressed into her back, driving her hips into him.

She turned her head just as she was about to give in to what he was doing and squeezed her eyes shut. "I need to put my shoes on." She immediately wanted to kick herself for saying it, but it just didn't feel like the right time for that.

With a little defeated sigh, his lips brushed against her collarbone and he backed away.

Addy was completely disoriented as she dropped on the sofa and put her shoes on. It was a chore to get her mind back on track, but she had to stay focused on what was happening with her brother and the Mesen. Being near Gage was a huge distraction.

She caught his eye when she glanced up. He looked as completely dazed standing there as she felt. She gave him a little smile and felt her face getting hot. "When this is over..."

He flopped down into her recliner and exhaled. "I know—bad timing."

"Just a little," she said, standing up. "Jax is claiming the stone tonight, maybe afterwards we can—"A loud noise stopped her and she looked around. "What in the world..."

Moose jumped off the couch and hurried to look out the window as she and Gage ran for the door. There were Akori everywhere, running and yelling.
Chapter 20

"Jax was right," Addy said, shaking her head in disbelief. "We're being attacked!"

"They aren't humans—they're Akori." Gage pointed across the garden. "We're being attacked by Akori!"

They took off sprinting for the main house. Akori dressed in dark blue combat uniforms were trying to fight their way in. The Mesen were beating down their door—Jax was right about them coming before he could claim the stone.

Bernard was brawling on the terrace and Tanner was standing on a table picking off Akori with arrows, one after another. Some of the attackers Scattered when he hit them and others hit the ground in pain. Gage ran up the stairs two at a time and began helping Bernard.

Addy reached Tanner as his arrows were running out. Dozens were spread around on the ground from Akori he'd Scattered. She quickly began scooping them up with Tanner covering her. She dodged Mesen who took swings at her and dropped the arrows on the table at Tanner's feet.

The doors opened and Juliette yelled for them to come in. They fought their way to the doors as Tanner continued to take the Mesen out from the tabletop. Once they were inside, Addy started screaming for him. He hopped off the table and made a break for the door. Juliette slid a long bar between the handles once it was pulled closed.

Addy pointed at Tanner. "Where'd that bow come from?"

"Really? That's your first question?" Tanner slung the bow over his shoulder. "We were outside practicing when the attack started."

"They dropped in sooner than we expected—they must have found out Jax plans on claiming the stone tonight." Juliette turned to Bernard, looking completely unfazed by what was unfolding around them. "Weapons and arrows?"

Bernard nodded. "Follow me."

They all took off running for the weapons vault, which was located in the lower level of the building.

Addy scanned the group as they went down the stairs. "Where's Jax?"

"He'll be here," Juliette said.

Bernard stopped and tried to open the door to the weapons vault. "It's locked."

Juliette pulled on the handle. "Keys?"

"My office," Bernard said, swallowing hard.

Jax came sprinting up and held his hands out at his sides. "Problem?"

"It's locked," Juliette said, giving Bernard an annoyed look.

"We never lock this door." Addy snapped at her, feeling defensive. "Someone locked it to keep us out."

Jax glanced at Gage and motioned to the door. "Help me."

They began attempting to kick the door down, but it barely budged. The banging and shouting from upstairs was getting louder as the guys continued hammering on the vault.

"They're in the building," Stubbs said as he trotted up. "Move out of the way." He pushed Jax and Gage aside. Stubbs raised his arms and the symbols on his hands began to glow. Two seconds later the door flew off its hinges.

They all looked shocked, except Juliette. She just grinned and pushed forward.

"Stock up," she said, running in. She began jamming knives in every pocket and grabbed a long sword.

"How did you do that?" Addy asked, still frozen in place from seeing what he'd done.

"Just an old trick, my dear." Stubbs motioned for her to arm herself.

Addy grabbed the Akorian Sickle Sword and a dagger, and then tossed Tanner another quiver full of arrows. She looked between Jax and Juliette, noting that they were wearing matching black combat gear. That alone said they knew this was coming.

"The attackers appear to be Akori. Why are they attacking us?" Bernard asked Jax, as he grabbed a mace. He handed Gage throwing knives, which Addy knew was his preferred weapon. "What do they want?"

Jax grabbed two flame-bladed swords, and held them up in front of him. "Me—only deader."

"That's a good way to get your wrist cut off," Bernard said, looking at the two swords Jax was apparently planning to use simultaneously.

Juliette rolled her eyes. "Save your breath, he doesn't listen."

Addy moved closer to Jax and looked up into his green eyes. "Maybe you should stay here and let us go back up. If anything happens to you—"

Jax gave her a sinister smile. "It's sweet that you care—but no."

Gage moved closer to her and leaned down. "Maybe you should stay here."

"No, she's safer with us." Jax nodded toward the door. "Let's go."

"I hope our people are holding them off," Juliette said, following behind Jax. "We didn't expect so many so soon—we didn't have time to prepare."

They all ran for the stairs, carefully watching for any attackers who may have found their way downstairs.

"Where's Kim?" Addy started to slow down, but Gage pushed her forward.

"She's locked in the ballroom with the others who can't defend themselves," Bernard said from in front of her. "Doris and Molly are with her."

At the top of the stairs, through the windows, they could see battles going on outside in the garden. The sounds of fighting down the hall echoed around them.

Jax walked briskly, directing traffic in the halls like he'd been preparing for the fight his entire life. He wasn't kidding when he said most of the new Akori staying at Tremain were his friends. They were sporting the same black combat gear he and Juliette wore and he was shouting orders at them. He yelled and pointed, as groups of the attackers attempted to break a door down from the outside.

"Make your hits count, go for the fatal strike," Stubbs said. "They cannot be killed, but they'll Scatter, just like when they drain their powers."

As they rounded the corner, Patrick LaCroft was waiting for them with a group of about ten Akori.

"How many got in?" Jax asked him.

"Maybe fifty, but we've contained them to this end of the estate and the doors have been secured," Patrick said. "No one else is getting in."

Jax told Patrick to take his group and keep the library secured. Juliette was told to take Tanner outside where he would be more useful with his bow.

Addy felt panicked as Tanner was being led away. It was all happening so fast and he wasn't trained for what was happening like the rest of them were. She shouted at him to be careful and he yelled something back over his shoulder, but she couldn't hear him.

The fighting was getting louder as they approached the dining room. Once it was in sight, Addy couldn't believe her eyes. She had no time to digest what she saw before a man twice her size knocked her to the floor.

He was only on her seconds before he winced and Scattered, as two knives fell to the floor.

"Pay attention!" Gage scolded her as he pulled her up to her feet. "This isn't practice—now focus!"

Addy pulled herself together and drew her sword. A woman with bright red hair took a swing at her. She blocked the attack with her forearm, and struck back with her sword across the redhead's throat, causing her to Scatter.

Red's friends apparently took exception to her quick takedown and three men converged on Addy. She dodged their attempts to strike her and she swept one of them off his feet. He hit the floor hard and Bernard struck him with his mace. She took a hard hit to her ribs from his buddy, but she jammed her sword into his chest before he could take her down.

Turning to look for the third guy, she spotted Jax dealing with him. He was one-step ahead of his attacker, no matter what the guy did. Jax was dual wielding swords and as fast as his attacker was, Jax was faster. Addy watched him cross his swords and take the Akori's head right off, which conveniently Scattered with its body.

Gage was fighting exactly as Bernard taught them. He took out two guys at once, throwing a knife at one while snapping the other's neck, causing them to Scatter at the same moment. Addy didn't intentionally attack any Mesen, but when they came after her, she struck back—aggressively defending herself.

Matt was approaching them from the hallway, and she was about to call out to him but he saw her first. He said something over his shoulder to Renee who trailed behind him and smiled.

Matt made a move behind his back and Addy saw the flash of a long dagger. He was already in mid-swing for Gage when she realized what was happening and screamed.

That was all she managed to get out before she felt a crushing pain to her throat. Renee had her around the neck. Addy dropped her sword and began trying to fight her way free.

"You know how long I've wanted to squeeze the air out of your lungs?" Renee's grip tightened. "You've been a curse since the day you were mistakenly born."

Renee had her air supply cut off and Addy's vision blurred as she watched Gage fighting off Matt. With her last bit of energy, Addy dug her nails into Renee's face. She shrieked in pain and loosened her grip long enough for Addy to break free.

Still gasping for air, she kicked Renee hard in the chest causing her to fall back. She looked around in a panic for Gage. Blood was soaking through his shirt from his shoulder as he continued dealing with Matt.

Renee recovered and slammed into Addy from behind. Addy sprang to her feet—this time she was the aggressor. She grabbed Renee by the hair and used all of her weight to drag her to the floor, smacking her head against it several times before Jax pried her clenched fingers from Renee's hair.

"Relax, she's out," he said, pulling Addy back. "I promise you, her interrogation will be much worse than just being Scattered for the next couple of decades."

As Addy watched one of her brother's people throw Renee over his shoulder, she realized there was one other person they needed to look out for. "We have to find their Uncle Josh," she said as she whipped around, looking for Gage and Matt. "If she and Matt screwed us over, odds are he has too."

Without another word, Jax sprinted off shouting directions.

Matt was good and Gage was having a hard time taking him down with his injured shoulder. Addy grabbed for her sword off the floor and ran toward them. It was like being dragged through a nightmare. She couldn't believe she was watching the boys who'd been best friends as long as she could remember trying to Scatter each other.

Gage was pinned to the wall with a knife to his throat. Addy knew she couldn't hurt Matt too badly, or he'd Scatter and she wanted to make sure they were able to get him to talk—she needed to know why he'd betrayed them.

When she reached them, she hit her knees sliding and swung her sword. Her blade opened up a deep gash across the back of Matt's lower legs. Blood splattered on the floor and across her face.

Matt screamed in pain and collapsed beside her, still gripping the knife. He tried to take a swing at Addy, but Gage met Matt's face with the bottom of his shoe. His head slammed against the floor and he stopped moving.

Gage hurried to Addy and turned her away from Matt. He grabbed a towel off of a nearby counter and began wiping their friend's blood from her face. Matt's unconscious body lay next to where they sat on the floor.

"I don't understand." Gage stopped and looked at Matt. "Akori attack us and Matt's a part of it?"

"Renee was too." Tears mixed with blood streaked her cheeks. "Jax went off to find Josh," Addy said as she choked back a sob and trembled. "Our friends..."

He leaned forward and lifted her chin to look at him. "Take a few breaths," he said, scooting closer and going back to cleaning her face.

"It seems like we should've known." She pulled his hands from her face and turned to look at Matt.

"Don't start that—there's nothing you could've done," Bernard said, directing some of Jax's people to take Matt away. "Elsegood, you need medical attention. You're bleeding all over." He reached down and helped Gage get to his feet.

Tanner wasn't with Juliette when she entered and her face looked tense. Addy felt her heart sink and she held her breath, waiting for the worst.

"He's fine," Juliette said, as if she was reading her mind. "He's in the library. Jax wants you in there too. He's ready to claim the stone."

Addy let out a huge sigh of relief that Tanner was alright. She looked at Gage, not wanting to leave him when he was hurt.

"Go, I'll be alright," he said.

A sharp pain shot through her left side as she stood up and stepped closer to Gage. She carefully slipped her arms around him. "I'll come find you as soon as I can."

Gage headed to the ballroom, where Molly was patching up the injured with Doris and Kim's help. Addy and Bernard followed Juliette to the library. There was a crowd of Akori dressed in black gear outside the door.

Until then, Addy hadn't realized how many Akori Jax had brought in. It was overwhelming. They parted to make a path for them to enter the library; some of them even nodded their head at her. Sade LaCroft reached over and patted her on the shoulder as she passed by. It was really odd.

Jax was standing at the head of the table talking to Stubbs when they entered. "We found Josh, but unfortunately it was just in time to see Tanner pop him with an arrow between the eyes."

Tanner put his hands up. "He was swinging an ax at one of the guys on Team Jax—I thought taking him down was a good thing."

Beyond relieved to see he was alright, Addy hurried in and threw her arms around Tanner. He hugged her back tightly, clearly relieved to see her too. The pain in her side was sharp and she winced.

He loosened his arms. "You're hurt."

Addy shook her head, not wanting anyone to freak out and make her go see Molly.

"That wasn't a question," he said, tipping her chin to look at him. "You need to get checked out. I can take you to the—"

"It's just a few bruises." Addy let go of him and took a step back. "I promise I'm fine."

"I just—ok..." He shook his head and didn't look like he believed her for a second, but he didn't press the issue.

Addy looked away as tears began building again. "I think it's too late for you to become a roadie."

"I'm more of a front guy anyway." Tanner scrunched up his face as he looked down at the blood she'd smeared on his light blue shirt from her clothes. "Oh wow, thanks for sharing, girlie."

"It makes you look tougher," she said, turning to the conversation that was going on without them.

"We have Matt, Renee, and about a dozen others," Bernard said. "We should be able to get some answers out of them."

Jax looked up from his conversation with Stubbs. "Addison, I just learned we have a dungeon."

"What?" Addy lived here her whole life and she'd never heard such a thing.

"Dungeon is a bit of a strong word for it. It's a jail where we used to house Akori prisoners when necessary, located in the sub-basement," Stubbs said.

The library door opened and Gage quietly slipped in. Addy studied him with concern as he took a seat on the chaise by the fireplace across the room from her.

"You good?" Bernard asked, raising his eyebrows at Gage.

He nodded. "Just a flesh wound."

Addy was dying to ask Stubbs about the way he'd blown the doors off the vault, but Bernard started talking before she could get a word out.

"Where'd all the Akori come from who were fighting with us?" Bernard asked Jax.

"Good friends of the West Family." He nodded his head toward Juliette. "They'll help us protect Tremain and the stone."

"Stubbs," Gage said, "That story you told us in school about the ball where Andrew and Eva were attacked, were those Akori who attacked them, not humans like you told us?"

"No, they were indeed humans, but they were marked with Akori symbols." He cut his eyes to Juliette.

Like the ones she read about in the books, Addy realized. It wasn't just a story like Fate told her. The details coming at her were all too much to take in at once. Between the pain in her side and the agony she felt over being betrayed by her friends, she was ready to lose it.

"It was the same group who attacked us today, they call themselves Mesen," Juliette said. "They marked humans with our symbols to control them, basically building an army."

Tanner pulled out a chair motioning for Addy to sit. "An army for what?"

"Overthrowing Eva and Andrew," Jax said. "Mesen killed my and Addison's parents, not humans."

Addy carefully sat in the chair Tanner pulled out. "Did the Mesen kill the family of Overseers that lived here before mine?"

Stubbs looked up at the painting of Andrew and Eva on the wall. "There was no Overseer before Oren Sanders."

Addy was shocked—she'd always assumed her family just took over for another family who had the job before the Sanders did. The Akori had been around way longer that just the 250 years her family had been living at Tremain. She figured it was possible Andrew and Eva just ran Tremain themselves before Oren Sanders—centuries ago they probably didn't need a human's help to fit in unnoticed.

"It seems like there's more to this," Tanner said, shaking his head.

Stubbs got to his feet, acting as Tanner hadn't even spoke. "We best get on with this."

Tanner sighed. "Sure, ignore the new guy,"

Jax motioned to Addy to join him at the head of the table in front of the Overseer's Stone. She painfully stood up and walked over to stand next to him. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do and she glanced back at Gage, who smiled sympathetically. She didn't really know Jax and she was in way too much pain to pretend she did.

Jax leaned down. "Behave while I'm gone."

Addy simply nodded her head—again not sure how to respond to him. Her new found brother scooped her up in his arms and she sort of hugged him back awkwardly. Her side was killing her and his extra tight hug didn't help matters.

A few minutes later Jax was laying his hands on the Overseer's Stone. There was a bright flash of blue light. When it cleared, Jax was on the floor unconscious. For a split second Addy thought it had killed him, but it was just the Overseer's Stone's powers taking root. He was carried to his room where he'd remain heavily guarded until he regained consciousness as the new Overseer.

Chapter 21

Addy and Gage walked to his room after Jackson was taken away. The damage to the inside of the estate was extensive, but Bernard said the cleanup wouldn't be started until the morning—everyone needed rest. She was sitting on Gage's couch waiting for him to finish showering and changing his clothes.

The sight of Matt trying to hurt him kept replaying in her head. She could still feel Renee's hands around her neck. Addy squeezed her eyes shut to try to force the images from her mind as tears streamed down her face.

Gage crouched down in front of her with his hands on her knees. His shirt was off and he was covered in bruises. His back had a large bandage covering the wound Matt, their friend, had inflicted on him. "We're gonna sort this entire mess out and do whatever it takes to stop these people."

"Renee and Matt have been our friends most of our lives—Josh helped raise us. How am I gonna tell Kim about Matt?" She hadn't seen Kim since the fighting ended—she didn't know how to face her. "She loves him..."

"She loves you more. We'll all help her get through it."

Addy went to stand up and winced in pain. She was pretty sure she had some broken ribs, but didn't want to say anything about it to Gage. During the fighting the adrenaline pumping through her body dulled the pain, but hours later it was killing her.

Gage gently pulled her hand so she was leaning against him. "Are you hurt?"

"My ribs are a little sore, but they'll be fine," she said, taking his hand and pulling him toward the door. "C'mon and walk me home."

Walking through the garden was terrible. Most of the benches were overturned or destroyed. Chunks of the grass were missing and many of the bushes were uprooted. Once beautiful statues had pieces broken off of them or were tipped over. They watched their new Akori allies patrolling the grounds of the estate. Addy was still surprised at how many of them there were.

"Everything's changed so much." Gage put his arm across her shoulders and looked around them. "Between Stubbs blasting those doors down and my healing power, I'm starting to think there's a lot more to this. How did we not know any of this was going on?"

"Jax said Fate hid it all. I understand him wanting to protect Jax, but those Mesen who attacked us were like an army. If Jax didn't have those other Akori here I don't know what would've happened." Addy started thinking about Matt and Renee again and a knot formed in her stomach. "Our friends—the kids we grew up with, were a part of it..."

"They're not our friends anymore—if they ever really were." Gage pushed her head against his shoulder and they walked the rest of the way to her villa in silence.

Once inside her place, Addy excused herself to shower. In the bathroom mirror she saw that the bruises on her left side were already deep shades of black and blue. She started a hot shower and climbed in, carefully scrubbing her bruised and cut up body. She was in a lot of pain when she went to find something to wear, so she just slipped on a loose white cotton nightgown that went down to her knees.

Gage was sitting on her patio waiting for her. "It looks like it's gonna storm," she said, stepping outside into the darkness.

He reached for her hand to bring her down to him, but she resisted because of her injuries. Just the slight tug from him was unbearable.

"Sorry," he said, pulling his hand away. "I just thought—"

"It's not that." She had to see Molly first thing in the morning and maybe even go to the hospital. "I'm just a little sore."

"Come here," he said, lightly tugging on the seam of her nightgown.

Moving very carefully, Addy sat down on Gage's lap. She pulled her feet up so she was completely in his arms.

Gage kissed her forehead and locked his arms around her. "Better?"

Addy nodded, but she was far from better—her ribs were on fire. She leaned against his chest and rested her head on him. Visions of the attack were on a constant loop, continuously replaying in her head.

Practice fighting was completely different from really trying to hurt someone. The Mesen just Scattered when they were fatally injured, so it wasn't like killing them, but they still felt the pain and bled. If she ever had to fight against other humans, she doubted she'd be able to kill them.

Gage started smoothing his fingers through her wet hair. "What're you thinking?"

The breeze was cool, but Gage's body was hot, and the combination made her shiver. "That I never thought we'd be fighting people in our own home—I never thought we'd actually be fighting anyone, anywhere." She slowly leaned forward and looked at his face. "I cut Matt open and pounded Renee into the ground until she was unconscious." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "How could I do that?"

"Stop thinking about it, you did what you had to. If you hadn't stopped Matt, he might have Scattered me—Renee could've killed you." He placed his hand on her head, making her rest it back on his shoulder. "We did what was necessary at the moment to make it through. We can't second guess it."

It hadn't occurred to her that she could've actually been killed during all the fighting. Jax and Bernard were humans also—either one of them could've died. She was thankful they were both safe.

Addy put her hand on Gage's chest. She could feel his steady breathing and heartbeat under her palm. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too." Gage ran his hot hand along her arm and shoulder. It tingled like he was melting ice under her skin and she shivered.

The last thing she wanted was to get up, but she was in some serious pain. "It's late. We should probably go in so you can get back to the main house."

It was excruciating, but she managed to get inside without his help. Once they were in the light, he could see the pain on her face.

"You're hurt and you're trying to hide it," he said.

Addy tensed as she tried to take a deep breath. "It's nothing."

"If it's nothing, then let me see."

She just stood there, looking into his eyes without any good response registering in her head.

"That's what I thought." Gage sat down on the bed and gently pulled her in front of him. He carefully lifted her nightgown to expose her side. He made a pained face the second his eyes settled on her injuries. "The bruises are horrible. You might—"

Addy pulled her nightgown back down. "I'll see your mom tomorrow, I promise." She didn't want him to worry, plus she really intended on seeing Molly first thing.

"Alright..." Gage stood up and pulled the blankets back.

It wasn't like him to give in so easily, but she was just glad he wasn't arguing with her about it. He helped her into her bed looking more worried by the second.

Addy reached up and touched his cheek. "Get back to the house, I'll be fine."

"I can't leave you like this, Addy."

Gage reached out to touch her and she instantly knew what he was going to do. It was the whole reason she'd tried not to let him know she was hurt. Addy jerked away from his hands, causing pain like she'd never experienced to surge through her body.

She choked back a scream. "Don't do that! It uses your power—you could Scatter!"

"Hey—hey..." He turned her face to look at him. "Calm down."

Each breath was a new experience in pain and she was trying to keep them even. "No more using it. Promise me you won't..." Thinking about him Scattering, the way she had seen all those Akori and Mesen do earlier was too much to take.

Gage sighed and went to the patio door. His hand reached for the handle and she thought he was leaving. Instead, he locked it and turned the lights out. He took his sandals and shirt off and slipped into the bed next to her.

Addy was lying on her right side and he scooted up behind her back, wrapping his arms around her carefully. She slowly adjusted her body until she was as close to him as she could possibly get.

"It's just that I don't know how I'd make it through this if you weren't here," she said, closing her eyes, forcing herself to stop thinking about the pain.

"You don't have to worry about that." Gage slipped his hand up the side of her body, beginning at her hip. His touch was soft and slow—soothing and just what she needed to relax. "I promise not to use my power on you again—after this."

Addy felt the energy flowing through her before she could react and everything went black.
Chapter 22

Storms went through during the night, washing the blood stains from the patio and sidewalks of the estate. The skies had cleared and it was a beautiful morning. Addy was sitting in the sun on the balcony overlooking the ocean at Tanner's suite.

Gage was already gone when she woke up, but he'd written 'Don't be mad' on her mirror with her favorite lipstick, which had the opposite effect.

Addy wasn't mad at Gage—she was furious. She was thankful to be healed, but he was one step closer to draining his power. Thinking about not having him around, especially after everything that had happened, was unimaginable. She didn't know how they'd ended up so close again, but knew she didn't want to lose him.

Once she was dressed she'd decided to go see Tanner. They hadn't talked much after the attack, but now they sat trading stories about their battles. He said Juliette perched him up on a statue in the garden where he could pick off the Mesen. According to Tanner, Juliette was a beast during the attack. He saw her take people out without even touching them, like when Stubbs blasted the door down.

"I'm telling you, girlie, we're not getting the whole story about why these guys want the Overseer out of the picture so badly," he said, handing her a piece of raisin toast.

Addy pulled at the crust and looked at him. "What do you think they're hiding?"

"I'm not sure." He smiled at the way she was picking at her food. "So, an Akori's life consists of adjusting time so they don't age, Scattering once their power is gone, and re-spawning decades later to do it again? No offense but that's pretty lame," Tanner said, making a face.

"I've always thought that too," Addy said, taking a bite of her toast. "I've never said it out loud though."

"We know I'm a different type of Akori who can track and has a crazy good memory. I watched Juliette take people out just by moving her hands through the air, and we both saw Stubbs blast the door down to the vault. On top of that, an Akori who could heal saved you and Jax when you were born."

Addy tossed Tanner's words around in her mind. "You think they want other types of powers."

Tanner nodded. "So we know your ancestor was the first Overseer made by Eva and Andrew, but we don't know why. They made a human the Overseer and gave him the stone to do what?"

"It's the Overseer's job to bridge the gap between the Akori and the humans—make it easy for them to blend into the human world. That's what I've always been told anyway..."

"And the Overseer's Stone?"

Addy thought about it carefully. "It's used to move the estate and protect it from being located by humans."

"Fate used it to summon me." Tanner stood up and leaned against the railing. "Maybe it has more powers."

"More power..." Addy recalled a piece of her conversation with her brother. "Jax said something the other night about some Mesen thinking they could get more power by getting rid of the Overseer. I just thought he meant politically..."

Tanner lowered his head and looked out at the water. "I know this might sound crazy, but do you think it's possible that the Overseer's Stone stops the Akori from using other powers?"

Addy moved over so she was standing next to him. "So what are we saying here—that the Overseer actually controls all of the Akori's powers?"

"Hell, I don't know—I'm just the new guy."

"Akori," she said, nudging him with her arm, "you're the new Akori."

"Right," he said, nudging her back, "Limited Edition Shepherd Flavored."

Addy laughed. "So what now?"

Tanner walked back to the table and picked up his coffee. "Think about it—the Mesen wanted to get Eva and Andrew out as the leaders so they made a human army. Things went bad and they lost—if you're Eva and Andrew, what do you do?"

"Fix it so they can never try anything like that again?"

"That's what I'd do."

Addy frowned and dropped her shoulders. "If you're right about all this, then even more of my life was a lie."

"Lies, truths, it's all subjective anyway."

"Not helping."

Tanner shrugged his shoulders and refilled both of their coffee cups. "Are there any records or histories kept? We need to find out when that ball was attacked and if it was before or after your family started running Tremain."

"Yes, in the library archives."

"Let's check them out and see what's been going on for the last couple hundred years."

"After practice," she said, looking at the time on her phone, "we gotta go."

Bernard and Juliette were still having them meet for practice even though they were fresh from the attack. They all agreed it was important to get everyone trained well before any other conflicts broke out.

Tanner and Addy strolled into the ballroom, talking in hushed voices about their plan to search the archives. She saw Kim talking to Gage over where Molly had a few cots set up and a first aid station. She still hadn't talked to Kim about Matt, but by the look on her face, she already knew.

Gage looked up and his eyes darted to Tanner by her side before looking back to Kim, who was talking.

Addy told Tanner they'd meet in the library after practice and as much as she was dreading it, she excused herself to go talk to Kim.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to do it. If I could just see him—" Kim spotted Addy and stood up. "Addy, please! I need to see him."

"No," she said, "he tried to Scatter Gage and he would've stabbed me if Gage hadn't knocked him out."

Kim started crying and held her hands up in front of her. "They must've done something to him. He would never do those things. Gage is his best friend—he adores you."

Addy shook her head. "Kim, you absolutely—"

"Wait, Addy." Gage stood up and turned to Kim. "We understand how you feel. Don't forget, Matt was our friend most of our lives. It's hard for us to accept what he did too, but we have to."

"He didn't mean it," Kim said, wiping her hands across her cheeks.

"There's no going back. He's dangerous." Addy couldn't budge on the subject as much as the words hurt to say. "Kim, I love you, but if you don't let it go I'll have my brother send you home."

Kim's face fell as Addy spoke. She started to say something, but put her hand over her mouth and walked away quickly instead.

Addy could feel Gage's eyes on her. "Don't look at me like that, Gage. Kim can't go anywhere near Matt."

"That was just kind of harsh." He ran his finger down her arm. "I know you're only doing it to keep her safe. You care about her and you'll do anything you can to protect her—even if it means not doing what she wants."

Addy was slightly impressed he'd managed to twist her not letting Kim see Matt, into a way of comparing it to him healing her against her will. "Nice try—but it's not the same."

He stepped closer to her and leaned down, almost whispering. "If you're hurting and I can stop it, how can you ask me not to?"

She wanted to tell him that no amount of hurt she could experience would ever be worse than losing him if he Scattered. Instead she opted to end the conversation. "I have to start practice."

Addy started to walk away but Gage stepped in front of her, giving her a look she knew would make it impossible to stay mad at him.

"Addison, you don't get to be mad at me for healing you—not unless you can tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing for me." He leaned a little closer and looked into her eyes. "Can you?"

She dropped her shoulders and decided there was no way she was going to be able to twist the conversation in her favor. "No." She locked her eyes on his. "But I wouldn't have used your favorite lipstick to write a message afterward."

A look of satisfaction spread across Gage's face. "I win." He tugged her ponytail and headed off.

Practicing with Juliette was a lot different than practicing with Bernard. Tanner was right, she was tough.

"I saw you with that sword yesterday," Juliette said, gesturing toward the Akorian Sickle Sword Addy was holding.

Addy looked down at the sword. "I found it in the weapons vault a couple of years ago. Fate showed it to me in a book once. There was something about it being able to drain Akori power and let it be absorbed by the wielder—he said it wasn't true though."

"It was true—a long time ago." Juliette pointed at the sword. "Eva had it forged with Damascus steel and her own blood. Akori just Scatter when they're fatally injured—unless the injury comes from a weapon that's made to kill them. That sword was forged to take the life of an Akori."

Addy felt a little panicked that she'd swiped something belonging to Eva. "Should I put it back where I got it?"

"She won't mind," Juliette said, picking up a scimitar sword covered in symbols and swinging it around a few times. "Like Fate said—it doesn't work the way it was meant to anymore anyway."

Addy noticed Gage across the room. He was with an Akori woman who appeared to be about his age. She was dressed in white from head to toe. Her extremely long blond hair was pulled back into two French braids which hung down her back. They were throwing knives at targets.

"Who's that?" she asked, keeping her eyes locked on where Gage stood. She wasn't thrilled about seeing him working with some beautiful Akori girl one bit.

"Angelica." Juliette answered without looking over. "She came in last night."

Addy heard Juliette and Jax talk about Angelica before—she was the one who spotted the Mesen coming to attack Jax the day she and Tanner found him. "She'll stay here now?"

Juliette glanced at Angelica briefly. "No. She's passing through on her way to meet up with my father."

"Oh." Addy suddenly felt much better about Gage's practice session. "It's too bad she's leaving."

By the time they were done training, Addy felt much more comfortable with the sword. She was also completely exhausted. Jax was right about Juliette being able to teach her a lot—she was really good.

Addy placed her sword on the table and wiped the sweat from her face. "How's Jax?"

"Quietest I've seen him in years," Juliette said with a little smile. "I haven't been able to get him to quit running his mouth since he started talking."

Addy believed that. "When he comes out of it will you get me so I can see him?"

"He told me to keep you close," Juliette said, breaking eye contact with her. "I'll be sure to let you know when he's up."

The dog's bed in the hall outside of the library was empty, which meant Stubbs was off somewhere else. Bernard was the only one in the library when Addy entered to meet Tanner. She was trying to decide whether or not to tell him what she and Tanner were discussing when Tanner walked in.

"Hey, girlie." He winked at her and plopped down in a chair at the table, looking as tired as she felt. "I told Bernard about our project during practice."

"Oh." Addy turned to Bernard. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you're correct. I've been suspecting something similar for some time, but you both pieced together what I was missing."

They were lucky Bernard was on board because so much of what they had to go through was written in ancient Akori and Addy's brain was about to explode from trying to figure it all out. They went section by section pulling anything that looked like it might be relevant. They'd been at it for hours and she really wanted to call it quits.

"I think I found something," Bernard said, waving them over.

Addy leaned down, putting her hand on his shoulder to see what he was looking at.

"That entire shelf is guest books and writings about the Reunion Balls," he said, pointing.

Tanner reached down and grabbed a book. "Is this the last one?" He showed it to Bernard.

Addy shifted her eyes from the writing on the book page to Tanner. It was written in ancient Akori, yet he was somehow able to translate it. "How'd you read that?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I flipped through one of the translation books—I can remember it."

She smiled and shook her head at him. "Cheater."

Bernard took the book and opened the cover. "Addy, go grab the book about Oren Sanders."

She walked over to the section of books in the front aisle. Each Overseer had a biography written about them that highlighted their lives and the dates they were head of Tremain. She grabbed the book and turned to see Tanner and Bernard coming up the aisle. They met at the stone table in the center of the room.

Tanner placed his finger on a sketch in the book she'd opened on the table. "Who's that?"

"Jon Sanders—Oren's son. He was the second Overseer," Bernard said.

"Jon, huh?" Tanner repeated under his breath and tapped his finger on the picture.

Addy exchanged glances with Bernard then focused on Tanner. "Yeah, Jon Sanders. Why? What's wrong?"

Tanner shook it off. "Nothing—I thought he looked familiar, but I probably just saw a painting or something around here of him."

Addy studied the picture and thought maybe he did look a little familiar. "I know what it is," she said with a grin. "He looks just like that actor who's also a singer from that one band."

"Right, that one guy—of course." Tanner bumped her with his shoulder and laughed.

"Mystery solved," Addy said, knowing he was making fun of her. Jon really did look like the guy she was thinking of though.

Bernard cleared his throat and looked between them. "Let's get back on track." He ran his fingers down the pages as he flipped through the guest book searching for the date of the ball.

Tanner continued to smile and flipped to another page in the book, but he seemed unnerved. He and Addy went through the book about Oren Sanders looking for the date he became Overseer.

Bernard gasped and put his hand on his head. "Oh my—I never knew."

"What?" Addy asked him.

"It's William Elsegood—he was at the ball that night. I didn't realize he was that old. The guest list is very interesting."

"Will is Gage's father." She told Tanner, who didn't seem to understand what Bernard was talking about. "He's Scattered right now, but he should be back soon."

Tanner leaned over like he might be able to read the page, but quickly gave up when he realized it was more than he'd memorized from the translation book. "Who else was there?"

Bernard ran down the list, calling off names. She only recognized a few like Juliette West, Mitchell West, Will Elsegood, Preston Worthington, Joshua Kenwar, and Sade LaCroft.

Addy wondered if Gage knew how old Will was. She couldn't wait to tell him about his father being at the Reunion Ball. Matt and Renee's uncle Josh was there too, which she found odd considering he didn't really come across as the Reunion Ball type.

Tanner put his finger on the date that Oren came to Tremain listed in the book. "Here's the date he became Overseer. When was the ball?"

Bernard looked up at him and smiled. "The ball was the day before Oren became the Overseer."

"You were right," Addy said, looking at Tanner. "Eva and Andrew must have made Oren the Overseer to control the Akori's powers."

He leaned over and hung his arm around her shoulders. "The Mesen tried to boot them from power, so they took their powers away."

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Bernard pulled out his pocket watch and held it out in front of him. "It's after 9pm. We should call it quits."

Tanner followed Addy up and down the aisles carrying the stack of books they'd been using. She grabbed them one at a time until they were all back where they belonged.

"What do we do now that we know?" Addy asked them as she placed the last book in its place.

"We'll wait for your brother to wake up and then discuss it with him," Bernard said, picking up his planner and the usual stack of papers he carried around. "Let's keep it between the three of us until then. I don't know who we can trust."

Once everything was straightened up, they walked out of the library together.

Bernard paused outside the door and dug through his stack of papers, pulling out an envelope. "I almost forgot." He reached his arm out and passed it to Tanner.

"Thanks," Tanner said, glancing at Addy as he jammed it in his back pocket.

"I'll see you for practice tomorrow," Bernard said to Tanner. He waved to Addy as he walked away.

She looked at the envelope, peeking out of Tanner's pocket. "What's that?"

"Something Bernard had for me," Tanner said without looking up as he checked his phone. "My band plays in an hour, I gotta roll." He paused and then looked over at her. "You wanna come see us play?"

"Sure," she said without hesitation.

"No convincing necessary, huh?" Tanner smiled with a lopsided grin. "I'll pick you up out front in a few."
Chapter 23

An hour later, Addy was sitting at a table with a guy and two girls who were dating a couple of the members of Tanner's band. He introduced them as Trisha, Aimee and Stan. Judging by the way they were checking out the other guys at the club, she decided they were using the word dating extremely loosely. They were probably more like groupies. She checked her phone and was disappointed that Gage hadn't answered the text she'd sent him about meeting her.

The jam-packed club was like a warehouse with dark walls, floors, and ceilings. Tables were scattered around the perimeter of the dance floor and a narrow bar ran the length of the back wall. Lights flashed from overhead to the beat of the music.

Addy wore a short teal and blue halter dress and matching platform heels. She'd been worried about being overdressed, but ended up looking conservative compared to the way the two girls at her table were made up. Her hair was pulled up with a few strands pulled loose hanging down around her face and neck.

The girl named Aimee leaned toward Addy. "So you're the one Tanner cut his hair for, huh?"

Addy was caught off-guard by her question and shook her head, a little surprised by the fact that he'd mentioned her to his friends at all. "I wouldn't say that he cut it for me, but I think he looks pretty good."

The three people at her table exchanged doubtful looks and Addy felt under the microscope.

Trisha stirred her drink with the straw. "We met your brother Jax the other night—he's a handful."

"The girls couldn't keep their eyes off him," Stan said, smirking. "Every guy here wanted to beat him down."

"My brother's good at making people wanna hit him," Addy said, shaking her head. "We're nothing alike."

It wasn't that she didn't like Jax—he was just different from the people she normally associated with. When she pictured a brother, it wasn't Jax.

They made a little small talk and had a couple of drinks. The DJ stopped playing music and Tanner came on stage. Addy felt bad that she'd never asked Tanner much about his band. She didn't even know the name, which was Twisted Memories, until they got there. She also didn't know he played the guitar and did most of the singing.

The other guys in the band looked pretty much like Tanner did the first day she met him, except the drummer. His head was shaved and he was covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings. He also didn't feel the need to wear a shirt—not that you could tell whether he was wearing one or not with all the tats marking him.

The first song was hardcore rock and had the whole place on its feet. Apparently, Twisted Memories had a pretty big local fan base. After another two songs, Addy checked her phone and saw she'd missed a call from Gage. There was no way she could call him back in there. She started to get up to go outside and call him when she spotted him walking in.

The flashing lights in the club made Gage's golden hair and light eyes stand out even more than usual. Matt always said that human girls were especially attracted to Akori guys, and it wasn't their fault that he and Gage always had girls falling all over them. Looking around, she believed it.

Some of the girls, including the two at her table were following him with their eyes as he walked through and scanned the crowd. He was wearing dark pants and a blue and black button down shirt with the sleeves cuffed—even Addy had a hard time not staring.

She cut through the crowd and met him near the bar. "You made it!" She had to shout over the pounding music.

He broke out into a smile when he saw her. "You look fantastic," he said in her ear.

"So do you." She motioned around the room. "Obviously the other girls here agree."

He acted surprised and looked around. "What other girls?"

Addy instantly pretended to gag. "You can put away the cheesy lines, I'm pretty sure we're past that point."

He smiled and turned his head. "You sure? I've got more if you don't like that one."

"I'm good." She took both of his hands and pulled him behind her to the table where she'd been sitting.

Addy pointed at each person. "Gage, this is Aimee, Trisha, and Stan. They're friends with Tanner."

They all greeted him and Stan flagged down their server to get Gage a drink.

Trisha scooted closer to the table and shouted over the music. "So you're Addy's boyfriend then?"

Addy felt her face flush. She couldn't believe how they just said whatever came to mind.

Gage flashed a grin at Addy. "I'm working on it."

Tanner was incredibly talented on stage. Addy would've never imagined he could be like that, and it really made her wonder why he'd ever want to put up with the issues at the estate. If she was him, she'd have bailed as soon as Jax made the pulling feeling go away.

The band vacated the stage and the DJ started playing loud club music. The packed area around the stage became a dance floor again and it was completely crowded as they made their way through.

Addy's head spun as she and Gage danced with the rest of the group to the loud music. The lights flashing on and off made rainbows of colors that were hypnotizing.

She was out of breath and burning up as Gage pulled her into his arms. He bent down and picked her up so they were face to face and her feet were dangling below her. Addy slipped her arms around his neck tightly, pulling herself against him.

Gage leaned his forehead against hers. "Do you remember dancing with me before?"

She did remember and she wished she could forget it. Doris and Stubbs were teaching them how to do some traditional Akori dances and she was paired up with Gage. She was 12 then and she stepped on his feet and tripped him, causing him to fall. It wasn't one of her better moments.

"Yeah," she said, biting her lip.

He grinned at her obvious embarrassment over the memory. "You're much better now."

Once they went back to the table, it wasn't long before Tanner joined them, looking surprised to see Gage.

"Thanks for coming, man." They did the guy handshake-half-hug-back-pat thing.

"That was awesome," Addy said, stepping forward and smiling at Tanner. "You were so good."

He stepped over and hung his arm around her neck. "Thanks, girlie."

"Yuck Tanner, you're all sweaty—get off." She laughed and pushed him away.

He tried to act offended, but once she stuck her tongue out at him they both started laughing.

Gage grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up against him. His timing told her that he wasn't completely convinced that she and Tanner were just friends yet.

Addy got Gage and Tanner talking and they discovered they both liked video games and motorcycles, and video games with motorcycles, a lot. From that point on, they forgot she was even there. She didn't really mind though. She wanted them to get to know each other and be friends.

After a few more drinks, the other girls dragged her out to dance. The floor was still crowded and the lights were flashing fast to the music.

Addy thought she caught sight of a pair of Akori hands draped around a nearby girl's shoulders. It looked like whoever it was had a ring similar to the one Gage wore. She tried to see if it was anyone she knew, but lost sight of them in the pulsing crowd.

She stopped dancing and just stood there, being slammed around by the dancing masses. Looking around, she could have sworn someone was calling her name. There was no way she heard anything over the music, but she still felt something odd and started to walk to the back of the club.

Approaching the far end of the dance floor, she saw the blue glow of Akori hands. It was a guy who was turning down the hallway that went to the bathrooms. He tucked his hands in his pockets and she saw him look at her out of the corner of his eye.

As she stepped off the dance floor Gage grabbed her hand, spinning her into his arms. "We've been looking for you."

Tanner was standing behind Gage. He looked toward the hallway, then back at Addy. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I just thought...never mind." She glanced at the direction she'd been headed and the urge to go that way faded.

It was way past last call and everybody started to spill out onto the sidewalk in front of the club. Gage told Tanner he was going to take Addy back with him and they headed out.

The tropical night air was still hot from the sun blazing down all day. They traveled the roads along the ocean back to the estate. The top of his Jeep was off and the wind whipped through her hair. It wasn't long before it was pulled free from the hairpins she had holding it up and flying all over the place.

Gage had his hand was on her leg, tapping his fingertips to the song that played on the radio. Her shoes were in the back seat and her feet were up on his dashboard. They could've been any young human couple driving home from a date.

For the last few hours she'd pushed every terrible thing that was happening in their lives out of her head, but the closer they got to the estate, the more difficult it was becoming. She wondered if once Jax gained his power she'd be able to leave. Getting away from Tremain and having a normal life somewhere sounded incredibly appealing.

Addy leaned her head back and turned to Gage, reaching over and running her finger along the side of his neck. "Would you ever leave the estate, like just go—live like the humans?"

Gage shifted his eyes to her briefly, and then looked back at the road. "That's a random thing to ask."

"Wouldn't it be nice to be free from all the drama?"

"Is that what you want?"

Addy turned the idea over in her mind. "Jax won't need me. I think I wanna get away."

He was quiet until he stopped at the next traffic light and she was beginning to regret what she'd said.

Gage slipped his fingers through hers. "After everything settles down we'll take a long road trip away from the estate," he said, kissing the top of her hand, "and if you decide you don't wanna come back then we won't."

"That sounds so perfect," she said as they were turning into the driveway. "We have to bring Moose though."

"And your reversible kitten blanket?"

"Of course." Addy's smile immediately faded when she saw the estate.

The lights were all on in the main house, which was unusual for 3am.

Gage sighed and let go of her hand. "What now?"

She checked her phone. "Seven missed calls from Bernard."

Gage parked without even bothering to put his Jeep in the garage and they ran into the house.

Juliette was talking to a group of Akori when she spotted them. "Addison, your human friend released all of our prisoners."

"We don't know that for sure," Bernard said.

"Addison, your human friend and all of our prisoners are gone—I wonder what happened," Juliette said sarcastically, glancing in Bernard's direction.

Addy couldn't speak, her head was spinning. That just didn't sound like something Kim would, or even could, do.

Stubbs walked up fast with Patrick and joined them.

"It was Matt," Stubbs said to Juliette, "he made her do it."

Juliette's eyes met Stubbs then she shifted to look at Patrick. "Have you finished searching their rooms?"

"Yeah," he said, glancing in Addy's direction, "and we found some interesting things."

"We should speak privately." Juliette started to walk away with Patrick, but looked back over her shoulder. "I'll meet with you in the morning, Addy."

Stubbs gave Gage an odd look. Addy followed his eyes and realized Gage was holding her shoes and purse, which he must have grabbed from his back seat on their way in. She sheepishly reached over, taking them from him.

Gage ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "How'd they get away?"

"Someone unlocked their cells and they walked right out." Bernard threw his hands in the air. "And no one saw anything."

Addy put her hand on her forehead. "So what do we do?"

Stubbs gave her a reassuring smile. "We all get some sleep and pick back up tomorrow."

Bernard and Stubbs walked away, Winkie and Brutis trailing behind them. The older men looked exhausted and she felt terrible about all the stress they were dealing with.

Gage took her hand once they were alone and stepped in front of her. "Just stay here tonight. You shouldn't be alone with them out there."

She didn't object, and they walked to his room.

"Why would Kim do that?" Addy dropped down on the edge of the bed. "I told her to stay away from him."

"People do crazy things when they think they're in love." He handed her one of his t-shirts to put on. "I'll set up on the couch tonight," he said, grabbing one of the pillows off of his bed.

She slipped his shirt on over her dress, then slid her dress off and sat back down on his bed. She was surprised he was going to sleep across the room since he'd just spent the last two nights in her bed.

"We should've known something was going on the night Kim was fighting on the beach." Gage tossed the pillow on the couch. "Remember the way her, Matt, and Renee were looking at each other?"

Addy remembered. "It was like they had an entire conversation going without us."

"Something's not right."

She reached back and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "This entire place isn't right anymore."

Gage nodded his head and came over to sit next to her. "It can only get better though."

"I hope you're right." She doubted it could get any worse.

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over to sit on the floor by the couch.

"Do you remember the year you begged Fate for a cat for your birthday, but he said no?"

"Yeah, that was my 11th birthday, the first year you and Mattie—you guys didn't come to my party." Thinking about Matt put a knot in her stomach. "You both went on a ski trip instead."

That was her worst birthday ever. The boys screwing around and causing trouble was her favorite part of every party they had at the estate and it wasn't the same without them.

"It was a last minute thing. I planned on coming, Addy. It was just—"

"No worries, it was a long time ago." She hadn't meant to make him feel bad. "Anyway, what about it?"

"Hold on." He went into his closet and she could hear him digging around. After a minute, he came back with a shoebox and sat down across from her.

She watched him open the lid. "What's that?"

"My mom always used to toss things in here she said I should keep."

Addy looked in the box and it was full of junk from when they were kids. Pictures, movie ticket stubs, cards, ski lift tickets, and bracelets from carnivals.

She reached in and picked up a picture. Gage, Matt, Renee, and Addy were standing on the top of a ski hill. Gage was holding Addy up by the back of her jacket. It was the first time Fate let her go snowboarding with the others. She was only seven. There were more like that from birthday parties and holidays. There was one that Molly took of Gage holding Addy's hands when she was still learning to walk. He was only about six, wearing a blue shirt with a dump truck on it.

Gage was digging through the box, and she examined the items he removed. He pulled out a small pink pouch and handed it to her.

"Open it."

She loosened the drawstrings and carefully emptied the contents into her hand. It was a silver chain with a black and white cat charm made of gemstones. Addy raised her eyebrows and looked at him.

"It was supposed to be your birthday gift the year I missed your party."

She stared back at him skeptically.

"It's true—why else would I have that, Addy? I got it at the gift shop in the ski lodge. When we got home you didn't talk to me for a week. I just never got around to giving it to you after that."

He reached for it and put it around her neck, fastening the clasp.

She shifted her eyes down to the sparkling cat charm. It was exactly what she would have picked out herself.

Gage looked like he was waiting for her to say something.

She crawled over to him so she was sitting on his lap, tipping the box accidently. "It's perfect."

They picked up the contents of the shoebox, talking and laughing at the different things they remembered. She had been so angry with him for not being a part of her life for the last few years that she'd forgotten how much a part of it he used to be. He was in almost every one of her memories in one way or another.

Seeing pictures of Matt and Renee stung, flooding her with feelings of anger and sadness at what they'd done. It wasn't hard to tell that Gage got the same uneasy feelings looking at their faces.

After putting the lid on the box and standing up, he pulled her to her feet.

Gage twisted his fingers around the sides of the shirt she was wearing, pulling her closer. "Despite what's happening around here—tonight was perfect."

Standing on her tip-toes, she slid her hands up his shoulders and through his hair. She laced her fingers together behind his neck and pulled him to her level. "I almost feel guilty."

Addy softly kissed along his neck, just as he'd done to her the day in her villa. His arms tightened and he leaned into her. He smelled good and felt good—she was tired of waiting around for things to get better before trying to be happy with him.

When her lips reached just below his ear, he suddenly picked her up. Gage carried her to his bed and tossed her down. She slid over, expecting him to follow. Instead, he whispered goodnight and headed for the couch.

"Where—Gage!" She sat up, staring at him in disbelief.

"When this is over." He smirked, switching the lamp off.

"When this is over?"

"Your words—not mine."

With an exasperated sigh, she collapsed back onto the pillows and pulled the blanket up over her head.
Chapter 24

Pounding on the door startled Addy from her sleep. It took a few seconds for the sound to register and she looked across the room at Gage, who was sitting up on the couch. He looked just as disoriented as she felt.

"Gage?" A muffled voice said through the door.

Gage jumped up to see who it was and pointed at Addy. "Stay there."

She looked at the clock and discovered they'd only been sleeping three hours.

He only slightly cracked the door, but it was immediately pushed open all the way. Juliette walked in with some of the Akori guards that Tanner called Team Jax. Bernard followed behind them.

"Addison!" Bernard exclaimed, looking shocked to see her in Gage's bed.

Juliette rolled her eyes. "You really didn't see that coming?"

Gage pulled his shirt on. "I stayed on the couch." He pointed at his pillow and blanket.

Juliette had a serious expression and she cut her eyes to Addy. "We've been looking for you."

Addy was still sitting on the bed covered up. "Is Jax ok?"

"This isn't about Jax." Juliette diverted her eyes. "We'll wait outside while you get dressed."

Gage closed the door behind them. "This place is like a nightmare anymore, I swear."

"Weren't you saying it could only get better?" Addy stood up and grabbed her clothes, heading to the bathroom.

After that scene, she was feeling way better about Gage having more self-control than her when they went to bed. She actually wasn't sure how much of it was self-control and how much was simply payback. Once he turned the lights out, she'd been awake for a long time fighting the urge to pounce him on the couch. When she could tell by his level breathing that he was asleep, she finally gave up and closed her eyes.

Admiring her necklace in the mirror, she thought about the night before. The memory of Kim running off with Matt and the other prisoners resurfaced, causing dread to wash over her. She hurried up and finished dressing.

When she came out Gage was ready to go, standing by the French doors leading out to his balcony. It was gloomy and windy outside. She stood next to him, slipping her arm through his.

"What do you think they want?" Addy asked in a whisper as if they might hear her through the door.

"At this point it could be anything." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."

Addy felt out of place in her dress and carrying her heels when she walked into the library. Tanner and Stubbs were seated at the table. To her relief, Tanner was still wearing the same clothes he had on the night before too.

"So I'm not the only one who was roused from my blissful slumber," Tanner said in an irritated voice.

Gage nodded at Tanner and they exchanged commiserative looks.

"Sit." Juliette pointed to a chair. "We have a lot to go over."

Gage, Bernard, and Addy joined them around the table. There was a tray of coffee and Addy poured herself a steaming cup.

Juliette got right to the point. "Why were you exchanging text messages with Matt the evening before you came to see Jax?"

"Me?" Addy just about choked on her coffee. "I wasn't!"

"We found messages on his phone from you," she said with a sharp, accusing edge to her words.

"Kim had her phone that night," Tanner said, looking directly at Juliette. He circled his eye to Addy. "Remember—she asked for it to take the pictures?"

Addy explained how Kim had borrowed her phone to take the picture of the symbols on the backs of their necks and went into her room with it. She felt like she was just punched in the gut as she told the story.

Gage grabbed her cup and took a drink of Addy's coffee. "What'd the messages say?"

"Exactly what the girls had been doing and where they were," Juliette said as she slid Matt's phone over to Gage. "There were some pictures too."

He grabbed it and scrolled through the messages.

Addy leaned over and saw the picture of her and Tanner's symbols. Then she watched as Gage scrolled through the pictures of her and Tanner together. "Why would she send those?"

Juliette looked at the phone. "Probably so they'd know what the Akori Shepherd looked like. Kim gave Matt enough information to figure out there was another male Sanders. That's probably how the Mesen knew about Jax before he ever made it to Tremain."

Gage's face was tense as he viewed the pictures of her smiling and posing with Tanner. She leaned over and put her hand on his knee. He changed his expression and reached down, putting his hand on top of hers.

They went through more text messages Kim and Matt had exchanged. She'd been telling him everything for the last few weeks. Matt had taken and sent out pictures of the Overseer's Stone, too.

"The pictures Matt sent out of the stone went to others we suspected of being spies for the Mesen," Patrick said.

Bernard leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "Well, as disappointing as it is, at least we know who told the Mesen where to find Jax."

"And who took the Overseer's Stone," Stubbs said.

Addy poured herself more coffee and looked across the table at Tanner to see if he wanted some. He was focused on what Bernard was saying and not paying attention to her. She was about to kick him under the table when he slid his cup over for her to refill without turning away from Bernard. She realized that he did things like that a lot.

"I just don't get what Kim was thinking," Gage said, shaking his head. "Addy's been such a good friend to her—we all have."

She sat for a minute not saying anything, sipping on her coffee. It was just unbelievable that Kim had been passing information to Matt about everything she did. "We need to find Kim. She's just a human—obviously one who isn't making the best decisions."

Gage looked from Addy to Bernard. "I agree. As much as I hate to say it, she's just not safe with Matt."

"With help from some of Bernard's contacts, we were able to get a location on her cell phone," Juliette said. "We can only narrow it down to about a square mile area in Miami though. Some of our people headed out to start the search this morning."

"I'm going." Addy stood up. "She's my problem, I brought her here."

"Addison I don't think you should leave your brother." Stubbs looked around at the others for support.

Juliette ignored him and tipped her head toward Addy. "Kim is your problem," she said, "but we're all going because the rest of them are our problem."

Bernard cleared his throat and looked between Gage and Tanner, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course, I'm going," Gage said to Bernard.

Tanner caught Addy's eye and nodded. "I'm in, girlie."

A large group of Akori came into the room and Juliette and Patrick started firing off orders. Some would stay to guard Jax and some would go to Miami with them. Bernard and Stubbs were asked to stay behind and coordinate the operations from the estate. Tanner, Gage, and Addy were told to hit the vault and pick up weapons and black combat gear like Team Jax wore.

An hour later, Tanner and Addy were climbing into Gage's Jeep while he punched the location Juliette gave them to search into his GPS. It was only about 15 minutes to their destination and they pulled down the driveway with the rest of the group.

They discussed how Kim could've possibly gotten the prisoners out alone as they drove. Matt and Renee should've been pretty banged up still. Addy was surprised they were able to get away, especially without being seen. They decided that Kim must have had help breaking them out.

"The Team Jax fashion is surprisingly comfortable," Tanner said. He had a large quiver of arrows and a bow on his back. "I bet he designed it himself."

Addy couldn't help but laugh. "I can totally picture him and Juliette debating how many pockets for knives would be necessary to achieve the desired fashion and functionality balance."

The navigation directed them to turn left at the next intersection. Gage pulled into the parking lot of a large cinderblock warehouse. Patrick had the area divided into a grid pattern and assigned each group an area to search.

It was storming outside and the forecast called for rain the rest of the day. Tanner called Patrick and let him know they were in position. They were told to stay put and wait for instructions because another team thought they might have a lead a few blocks away.

Addy hadn't told Gage about what her, Tanner, and Bernard had discovered the day before, and even though Bernard said not to talk about it, she really wanted to get him up to speed.

"Tanner, I think we should tell Gage what we figured out yesterday," she said.

He sounded surprised. "Sure, if you think it's ok."

"I do," she said, turning around to look at him.

He nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

Addy shifted in her seat and looked at Gage. "We found the guest book from the last Reunion Ball and it said your dad was there."

He looked over and smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"Oh." Addy didn't know what to say, she figured he would've told her something like that before.

Gage reached over and laced his fingers through hers. "My family is one of the oldest Akori families—he was at every ball."

Tanner leaned forward from the backseat. "That's not all." He began to tell Gage how Eva made Oren the Overseer after the ball and that they believed the stone prevented the Akori from using more powers.

"I would say that's crazy, but with everything going on it makes sense," Gage said. "Addy, do you remember hearing Stubbs say Matt made Kim let them go last night?"

She had to think for a second. "Yeah, I think so—why?"

"Could he have been saying that Matt used his powers on Kim? I mean, if we're assuming there are more powers out there then it's possible," he said. "Juliette changed her direction pretty quickly after Stubbs said that."

Tanner nodded. "That sounds like a possibility to me."

Addy was happy to have a potential explanation for Kim's betrayal. "Now if we can just get her away from—"

Tanner's phone rang. He said a few words and hung up. "They found them."

He directed Gage to drive a couple of blocks away. Juliette and the rest of the group were gathered in the parking lot of a tall red brick building that resembled a warehouse.

"From what we can tell, it's just Kim, Matt, Renee, and about a dozen other Mesen inside," Patrick said.

Juliette turned to Tanner. "You'll follow me. Once we're inside I'll find a position for you high enough to give you clear shots." She pointed to Addy and Gage. "You're both going in with Patrick's team."

Tanner started to follow Juliette but Addy grabbed his arm. "Please be careful."

"You too, girlie," he said, backing away and pointing to Gage. "Watch your back."

Gage nodded and they watched Juliette and Tanner enter the building. Addy suddenly felt scared and uncertain. Gage grabbed her hand and walked her around to the other side of his jeep away from the others.

"It's just like last time. Keep your head up—I can't imagine Matt just letting us walk in there."

Addy nodded as images of the attack on the estate flashed through her head, making her tremble.

"Come on, shake it off." He leaned his head down on hers. "Put your doubts away and just do what needs to be done."

"I'll try."

Gage grabbed her by the shoulders. "No, you'll do it—or you can just wait out here."

"I will," she said, nodding her head.

"Let's move!" Patrick shouted from the other side of the jeep.

Carefully, they moved up flight after flight of stairs, clearing the floors of the light crew of Mesen guarding them. When they reached the ninth floor, she heard shouting and fighting break out. There were a lot more Mesen in the blue combat uniforms than the dozen Patrick had mentioned. It was just like in the estate, fighting and Scattering all over the place. Juliette and Patrick worked as a team and pushed a group of Mesen back up the stairwell on the far wall.

Addy sliced through an Akori man, making him Scatter, when she was pushed to the ground from behind. She knew without looking who it was.

"It's nice to see you," Renee said, trying to stomp on Addy's chest.

Addy found it completely annoying that Renee always felt the need to talk as they fought. It made her feel like she was trapped in a Japanese anime where they exchanged more witty banter than punches.

As she rolled out of the way, she grabbed Renee's leg and pulled her down. There was no way she was going to let Renee get the upper hand again. Addy took a fast swing at Renee with her sword, but missed.

Tanner was perched up in the rafters picking off Mesen who came too close to Addy. Arrows flew by her head as she fought with Renee, who had a dagger. She was able to slice into Addy a couple of times, but the Team Jax gear stopped it from going deep.

A scream from the other side of the room stopped them. It was Kim, and Matt had a knife to her throat. Renee apparently had enough of Addy and ran behind her brother.

Tanner jumped down from the rafters and stood next to her. Addy noticed the only ones left on that floor were Matt, Renee, and Kim on one side of the room, and Gage, Addy, and Tanner on the other side.

"We're gonna head out," Matt said. "You're not gonna follow."

Tanner looked around. "Who are you talking to, man?"

"We're not gonna let you leave," Gage said.

Footsteps were pounding on the stairs behind them and Matt quickly whispered something in Kim's ear. Her eyes got big and a second later he closed his, sinking the knife deep into her chest. Matt shoved her at Addy and he and Renee made a break for the fire escape.

Addy shrieked as Gage caught Kim and lowered her to the concrete floor. Blood was everywhere. Her eyes were wide open and she was gasping for air.

She was screaming at Kim to stay alive as she tried to stop the bleeding. "There's too much blood—I can't stop it!"

Kim started making gurgling sounds as Juliette and Patrick came running up behind her.

Addy shouted over her shoulder at them. "We have to get help!"

Gage grabbed Addy and flung her at Tanner. "Hold her back!"

Tanner's arms locked around her and she immediately realized what was happening. "Stop, you can't—don't, Gage!"

Gage turned back as she was fighting to get away from Tanner. "Pay attention," he said, quickly putting his hands on her face. He made her look at him as he spoke in a hushed voice. "There's no other choice. I need you to calm down." He wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks. "Everything will be fine."

"No, no, no—listen to me!" Addy's heart pounded in her ears and it felt like it might explode out of her chest any second. "You can't, you'll..." She broke into sobs, her words were barely comprehensible. "Please..."

Gage hesitated for a second, but knelt down beside Kim and put his hands to her wound. Addy kicked and thrashed around in Tanner's arms, making him hold her tighter.

A flash of bright blue filled the room. The sudden burst of light stunned him and Tanner loosened his grip momentarily—just long enough for her to break free. Addy threw herself toward where he was kneeling, but it was too late—Gage was gone. The only sign he'd been there at all was his ring—soaking in a pool of Kim's blood.
Chapter 25

Tanner and Patrick dragged Addy out of the building. She screamed and cried until her voice was gone and she tasted blood in her raw throat.

Back at the estate, it was all a chaotic blur. Tanner carried her into the library and laid her on the chaise by the fireplace. Bernard and Stubbs raced in and Juliette told them what had happened. Molly was crying as she sat on the edge of the chaise, pressing a cool towel to Addy's forehead. Her throat burned but she still tried to cry out. No one knew what to do for her and eventually she just blacked out.

Standing on a wooden bridge alone, she was looking down on a shallow stream far below. The bottom was rocky and she could see the polished stones just under the surface of the clear water. The sun was high in the sky and birds flew overhead. The trees made low swishing sounds in the breeze.

Taking in a deep breath, the air was sweet with the scent of the wild flowers growing along the banks. She lifted herself so she was standing on the railing of the bridge. Leaning forward, the wind blew harder and she closed her eyes—it was what she imagined flying would be like.

Addy opened her eyes. Everything around her was a blur of color. Gage was falling alongside her. She looked at him, feeling nothing. He reached out touching her fingertips with his.

With a flash, they stood on a shore looking out into a dark sea. Storms were swirling overhead, rain was pouring down. Lightning flashes lit his face and thunder boomed in her ears, making her jump. She wasn't scared though—she felt nothing.

She waded into the water. It pulled her under, covering her face. She felt the sting of the salt in her eyes and the burn as it filled her lungs.

Gage was suddenly next to her. He gripped her shoulders, pulling her down with his body. He pressed his lips to hers; he tasted like salt and blood, every memory from the warehouse screamed into her head.

Gasping for air, Addy woke up to see she was still in Gage's room and he was still gone. Her lip was bleeding where she bit it in her sleep.

Addy was lost, replaying every moment of the past few weeks in her head. She stayed in Gage's room and spent the days sitting on the floor looking through the shoebox of pictures and keepsakes. At night she cried until she went to sleep, but even while sleeping, dreams kept her aware of all that had happened.

The others came in and out checking on her, but she didn't speak to them. They brought her meals and the only way to make them leave was to eat a little. The food was pointless—she always ended up vomiting from crying anyway.

She wasn't sure how many days had passed, but it was long enough that Moose had been brought to the main house, along with some of her things.

It was early and the sun wasn't up yet when the door opened. Addy was lying on her stomach, resting her head on her forearm on the floor. The pictures were spread out in front of her.

Jax crouched down and placed his hand on her back. "Gage was the reason you were so interested in the Akori who could heal."

She didn't answer.

He sat down on the floor next to her. "Look at me, Addison."

After a minute, she turned to look at her brother. He looked back at her with the same caring expression their grandfather always had when she was upset. The crying started all over again and she dropped her head. Jax pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. Addy sat crying into her brother's shoulder for a long time. She barely knew him, but knowing he was family—part of Fate, made her feel better.

"They said you've been in here a week."

It'd only been a week—it felt like years. Her eyes stung from the tears and her throat hurt. She wasn't sure if she could speak even if she wanted to.

Jax wiped her tears. "Has anyone ever told you what it's like for the Akori when they drain their power and Scatter?"

Addy thought about it and then shook her head. She just knew they reappeared in the same spot they Scattered.

"It's instant because time moves differently for them once they Scatter. When they reappear, it's just like jumping through time—like they blinked their eyes and jumped a couple of decades ahead."

Addy didn't know any of that and his words caused her shoulders to drop.

"So when he comes back, it'll be just like he never left for him. He'll be exactly as he was when he Scattered." Jax paused and took a breath. "You won't be though, Addy. You'll probably be married with children by then."

She pushed him away—his words stung like he'd just slapped her. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You need to understand." He made her look at him. "Gage isn't dead because he's not a human. When he does come back, even if you waste your life waiting around, he'll just do it all over again. It's the cycle—the reason Akori and humans can't be together. It's not because they're better than us humans, it's because of this. What's happening to you is too much to live with."

Addy swallowed back tears. "I can't just forget about him."

Jax gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "You never forget him, but you gotta pick yourself up and deal with it."

"I can't." She stood up and went over to Gage's bed, picking up one of his pillows. "Not yet."

Jax walked over and opened the French doors, stepping out on the balcony. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

"I know everything that's happened now," he said from outside.

It was hard to resist the fresh air blowing in from the balcony. Addy walked out and stood next to him. The view of the ocean was beautiful and the sun was just coming up. "You know everything about what?"

"The stone gave me all of the previous Overseer's memories." Jax cut his eyes at her. "I know everything the other Overseers knew. I have all of their memories."

After being inside for so long, the bright sun coming up made her eyes water. Even though it burned, she kept her gaze fixed on it as she stood next to Jax. "Did you know you'd get their memories?"

Jax shook his head. "No. Grandfather didn't tell me, and you can't tell anyone either."

"I won't," Addy said, finally looking away from the horizon.

"I can remember everything about the day my parents died. I can remember like I was there."

She wiped her watery eyes and looked over at her brother. "I'm sorry, Jax."

"It's ok." He turned his back to the blazing sunlight. "With what I already knew and what I learned from the stone, at least I know what the Mesen are trying to do."

Every time she blinked the image of the sunrise trailed across her eyelids. "They're trying to get more powers," she said, rubbing her eyes.

Jax looked surprised by her quick response. "Yeah, what else do you know?"

"I don't know anything for sure, but we figured out there are more Akori powers than just time shifting. We think the Overseer's Stone somehow limits them—stopping the Akori from doing the kind of things that led to the Mesen trying to overthrow Eva and Andrew."

"There's more to it, but that's basically it." Jax turned and took her by the shoulders. "I need you to pull yourself together. Everyone's worried about you."

Addy looked inside at Gage's room, filled with all of his things. Before the last few weeks, he hadn't been a big part of her life for years. He was still always around though. She couldn't pretend that what was starting between them didn't happen, but Jax was right—she had to get a grip.

Addy took a deep breath and looked up at her brother. "What am I supposed to do?" She wrapped her fingers around her cat charm. "I don't know where to start..."

"Come down to the library." He looked her up and down, shaking his head. "First, take a shower—you look like hell."

Addy stepped out of Gage's room and into the hallway for the first time in a week. She expected something to be different, but it wasn't. She didn't see anyone around, so she slowly made her way to the stairs. She was wearing jeans, sandals, and a green tank top with her necklace from Gage. It felt surprisingly good to be up and dressed.

At the bottom of the steps she paused, thinking she might just go back upstairs. She looked down the hall and caught sight of Tanner walking toward the library. She was instantly filled with anger at him. He must have known it, because he turned around and began moving in the opposite direction.

"Tanner!" Her throat burned as soon as the words left her lips.

He stopped with his back to her. Reluctantly, he turned around and started toward her.

Tanner put his hands up just before he got within her striking range. "Before you say anything, please listen." He waited until he was sure she wasn't going to hit him. "I had to help Gage—just like he had to help Kim. It was the right thing to do."

Tears welled in her eyes—she knew he was right. Gage couldn't let Kim die and Tanner couldn't let her stop Gage.

Tanner took a step closer to her. "You knew he could heal?"

She nodded.

"So you knew what was gonna happen?"

Addy pressed her palm to her right temple. "I can't believe he left me."

Tanner put his arms out and two steps later, she had her face buried in his shoulder.

"I was there, girlie. That guy didn't wanna leave you."

Addy tipped her head back to look at him. "I'm sorry for being like this. Jax told me to pull myself together."

Tanner squeezed her tightly against him. "Screw Jax."

"You're making it hard to stay mad," she said with a sniffle.

"That's the plan."

"It's working."

Tanner stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Does that mean I don't have to watch out for your right hook anymore?"

She laughed for the first time in a week. "You're out of danger for now."

He dropped his arms and grinned at her. Being around Tanner made the hopelessness she'd been feeling fade a little. She was glad Jax convinced her to come downstairs.

"What've I missed?" She was almost afraid to hear the answer as they walked to the library.

Tanner told her Jax has been back on his feet for about four days, but for the first two days he and Juliette were fighting.

"They were locked in the library for hours the first day. We could hear him shouting at her about lying to him and deceiving him. Your name was even shouted a few times." The second day Tanner said Mitchell West had shown up and the three of them were locked in Jax's wing of the estate for the entire day. "When they came out, it was just business as usual."

Addy figured Jax found out some things that upset him when he got the Overseer's memories.

"We were right about everything. The Mesen want Jax out of the picture so they can get more powers and our side's been trying to stop them. So it's your basic good versus evil," Tanner said, smiling, "and speaking of good versus evil—your cat's a beast. He's been driving Stubbs' dogs insane."

She laughed as she pictured Moose torturing the little dogs.

"I really feel like everything I knew about the Akori was watered down truth mixed with lies," Addy said as they walked into the library.

Jax looked up at her from his seat at the head of the table—the same seat their grandfather used to occupy. "That's because it was."

Chapter 26

Jax directed Addy and Tanner to join them at the table. He pointed to Juliette and Stubbs, asking them to describe everything that happened leading up to the creation of the Overseer's Stone—from the beginning. Juliette took a drink from her glass and started telling the story.

Andrew and Eva were thoughtful and loving to the humans. The humans didn't know about them, but the Akori helped them whenever possible. Whether it was healing their sick, building their cities, or providing them with food, Eva always tried to help. She made the other Akori help them too. Juliette said the humans picked some virtually uninhabitable locations to try to live, and many times, if the Akori didn't intervene, they wouldn't have survived.

As with any society, dissention was occurring among the Akori and many felt Eva used the humans as toys, watching them and guiding them through narrow paths she designed for her own entertainment. They didn't want to continue helping her to help humans and a movement started to remove Eva and Andrew from leading the Akori.

The group broke away from the rest of the Akori and began calling themselves Mesen. They started trying different Akori symbols on humans to build an army. They hoped that an army of humans would force Eva and Andrew to step down, believing Eva would rather give up leading the Akori than kill humans.

The experimenting caused large numbers of humans to become gravely ill with sicknesses they called plagues. Eventually the Mesen were able to design a string of symbols that worked to control the humans as well as give them strength without killing them.

Stubbs continued where Juliette left off, but looked uncomfortable as he spoke. "The Reunion Ball was in full swing. Everyone was dancing and drinking one minute, and the next the human army marched in. They were equipped with weapons forged especially to kill Akori." Stubbs looked down at his hands. "Eva and Andrew stopped them."

"They had no choice," Juliette said in Stubbs' direction. She told them the marks on the humans couldn't be removed and what had been done to them couldn't be undone. "Eva held Andrew's hand, raised her arm in the air, and in one swoop, every human was lying on the floor in pools of blood. It was the worst thing I'd ever seen—extremely gruesome doesn't even come close to describing it."

Images of the floor in the ballroom, where she'd grown up practicing combat, covered in human bodies flooded her mind. A sick feeling started washing over her and she tried to push the images away. She was pulled from her thoughts by Tanner putting his arm around her shoulders. Addy felt bad for Juliette and Stubbs. They seemed truly pained talking about it.

"So what happened after that?" Tanner pressed on impatiently, ignoring Addy's elbow to his ribs. "How'd Oren Sanders end up in the picture?"

"Eva always watched humans," Stubbs said. He told them that she'd been watching a village that was stricken with the plague. Oren Sanders saw his family and the people of his village die, but never became sick himself. Eva felt that he was strong enough to handle the Akori power without abusing it. That night, after the ball, she struck a deal with him that gave him his son back, and guarantee he'd always have an heir. In return, he promised that the oldest male in his bloodline would always live at Tremain to regulate the Akori power.

"Eva created the Overseer's Stone which caused our powers to be diminished to basically nothing," Juliette said. "Oren was the only one able to use it."

Addy shook her head. "I've lived here my whole life—why wasn't I told any of this? This seems to be pretty common knowledge for everyone outside of Tremain."

Jax cleared his throat. "Once my parents were killed, Grandfather agreed to keep the estate out of the fighting in exchange for our lives being saved." Jax paused, looking at Juliette. "It's only now that—well some things have changed and we're able to become involved."

Addy started to question him but Tanner talked over her. "I wanna know how she took all that power and jammed it into that stone."

Stubbs dropped his hands into his lap. "The power isn't in the stone. The stone simply blocks most of the power from reaching the Akori."

Tanner shifted his gaze to Juliette. "What other powers are there?"

Juliette turned to face him. "Shifting the timeline or event shifting is a minor power, that's why most Akori can still do it. Most of us aren't strong enough to shift an event involving another Akori though. Some of us, the older Akori, still have enough power to do some other things. We used to be able to—"

"There are too many abilities to discuss them all," Stubbs said, putting his hands up.

Juliette let out an irritated huff and crossed her arms.

Addy wasn't exactly sure why, but she could tell Stubbs was getting annoyed at all of the questions. Tanner either didn't pick up on Stubbs' annoyance or didn't care, because he continued grilling them.

"What's up with the Andrew guy?" Tanner moved his eyes around the room. "He's always mentioned with Eva, but it sounds like she's the one running the show."

Juliette still looked irritated and Stubbs didn't respond, so Jax fielded his question. "Andrew's loyal to Eva and does whatever she asks."

"Loyal to a fault—he simply can't say no to her." Juliette rolled her eyes. "Anything she asks of him, he just blindly goes along with."

Stubbs shook his head. "Andrew and Eva have been companions longer that any of you can imagine. Understanding a relationship like that isn't possible for you. He has to take care of her, she—"

"It seems like Eva can take care of herself to me," Addy said, looking up at the painting of Andrew and Eva on the wall.

Jax held his hands up to the group. "Let's get back on track."

Tanner quickly got in one last question. "Can the Overseer use the powers the Akori are blocked from using?"

"No." Jax sighed, leaning forward. "So the Mesen want their powers back. Until we do something, they'll continue to try to infiltrate the estate, and kill me and—"

The door flew open, startling them all.

"Jax, the Akori you said to watch for just entered the grounds," Patrick said, walking in quickly.

"Don't let him speak to anyone, and bring him to the sitting room in my wing." Jax was already on his feet heading for the door. "Everyone meets back here in an hour."

Tanner and Addy exchanged curious glances.

"Let's take a break then," Stubbs said. He stood up, looking thankful for the interruption, and walked to the back of the library.

"How's Molly?" Addy asked Bernard. Her voice still cracked and sounded rough as she spoke.

He shrugged his shoulders. "She's strong. She was upset at first, but she's come around to understand."

"Understand? Her only child is gone, how can she possibly understand that," Addy said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go see her."

Bernard followed her into the hall. "Wait a minute," he said, stopping her. "You already knew Gage could heal?"

Winkie and Brutis were in their bed waiting for Stubbs. They looked happy to see her, and she gave them each a scratch behind the ears. "Yes, he healed me when I got hurt during practice and after the Mesen attack."

Bernard nodded. "He knew he'd Scatter, yet he healed Kim anyway?"

"Yes." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I begged him not to."

"He grew up to be a good boy." Bernard's voice cracked as he spoke, making Addy's eyes well with tears. "I didn't realize you and Gage had become so close again. I'm so very sorry he's gone."

She didn't know what to say. Bernard had to be upset about losing Gage too. He didn't have any children of his own, and he'd spent time with Gage practically every day since he was a child. "I'm sure you miss him as much as I do."

He nodded and smiled. "He'll be back—perhaps not in my lifetime, but surely in yours."

Addy's chest tightened and she couldn't handle the direction of the conversation. "I'm going to see Molly." She quickly hugged him and headed off down the hallway.

Addy walked around the estate checking in the usual places Molly would be. In the kitchen, she ran into Malcolm, the guard who was usually partnered up with Gage.

"Gage is a good guy, we're gonna miss him until he comes home," Malcolm said.

That's what she'd dreaded. Everyone probably knew her and Gage were getting close and would be offering sympathy and feeling bad for her.

"Thanks," she said and quickly changed the topic. "Have you seen Molly?"

Malcolm pointed up. "She's probably in her room."

Addy ran up the back stairs and saw two Akori guards standing outside one of the doors. That had to be where Kim was. She'd been trying not to think about her, but now—knowing she was no more than a couple dozen feet away, Addy's chest ached like she was the one who'd been stabbed.

Walking past them, she turned the corner and saw the door to Molly's room was cracked. She could see her folding clothes into a suitcase.

"Hello," Addy said, eyeing the luggage.

Molly turned around, appearing surprised to see her. "You're up and around!"

Addy entered and closed the door behind her. "You're going on a trip?"

Molly stopped what she was doing and sat down on the bed. "No. I'm actually leaving. I still have the home Will and I lived in before he Scattered—I'm moving back there."

Addy felt her stomach contract. "Why?"

"It's time. I was only here because Gage's father said he wanted him raised at Tremain if he Scattered. Then I stayed on after he was grown to take care of Fate. My jobs here are done."

She felt completely confused. "What about Will, he'll be back soon."

Molly smiled and motioned for her to sit. "Sweetheart, Will and I aren't together. We were, but that's long over."

"I don't understand. You stayed here all these years waiting."

"I wasn't waiting for Will. I was obligated to his son, to make sure he was raised the way Will and I wanted him to be. I was obligated to you too. I had you with me all day every day for the first years of your life. Fate was busy, and he didn't know how to care for a baby," Molly said, smiling over at her. "I didn't mind and Gage..."

Addy swallowed hard. hearing his name hurt.

"Gage loved having you around." Molly stood up and went back to packing.

She took a deep breath. "Gage has healing abilities. Did they tell you?"

"I suspected it when he brought you to me the day you collapsed. You were covered in blood, but you didn't have so much as a scratch. When you woke up and asked where your cuts and bruises went, I knew he did it."

"I'm sorry. I tried to stop him from—" Addy tried to apologize, but the words got caught in her throat.

"I know. Tanner told me what happened." Molly walked over to her dresser and picked up another stack of clothes. "Do you remember how he was never sick when you were children? When you'd get sick, he'd hover over you and tell me and Fate to make you better."

"I don't want you to go." Addy felt panicked. Gage and Fate were gone and Matt, Kim, Renee, and Josh had betrayed them. Molly leaving was more than she could take.

Molly sat down and put her arm around her. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart." She pulled her back to look at her face. "You have to be strong. You can't walk around like this, people need you."

"I don't know if I can." She tried to catch her breath.

"Gage wouldn't want you to be like this because of him."

Addy knew she was right, but it was hard to bury the pain she felt. "How'd you deal with it when Will Scattered?"

Molly stood up and walked over to the window. "I had Gage, which helped. I had to stay strong for him. It was hard enough for him to lose his dad—he couldn't lose me to my sorrow too."

Addy studied Molly. She was a very attractive woman. Even at nearly 50 years old, she looked much younger.

"Time is the best healer," Molly said, taking a deep breath. "I'll always love Will, but I know our life together is over. I'm thankful he gave me Gage and I'm glad we got to come here and live with you."

"I'm glad too." Addy picked up a picture in a frame of Gage when he was little sitting in Will's arms and studied it. He'd grown up to look just like his father. The ring Gage was wearing when he Scattered was sitting on the table next to another one that looked just like it. Addy figured it belonged to Gage's father. "How come Gage's ring didn't Scatter with him?"

Molly walked over and picked up both rings, slipping them both on her index finger. "I'm not exactly sure, but it has something to do with the symbol engraved on it. Some Akori families wear them so if they Scatter a piece of them is left behind—like a marker on the spot we disappeared."

She'd seen several Akori with different pieces of jewelry engraved with symbols and initials. Mitchell West and both Sade and Patrick LaCroft had them.

"I have to get back to the library, but don't leave without saying goodbye." She started to leave, but turned back. "I have a question..."

Molly turned from her packing and raised her brow at her.

"Jax told me the Akori are exactly as they were when they Scattered when they finally come back." Addy paused, getting up the courage to ask what was on her mind. "Does Will know your relationship is over?"

Molly looked taken aback by her question. Addy walked out the door without waiting for her to answer.

As she began walking down the stairs, Addy ran into Jax. He looked as cool and collected as always.

He slowed down and smiled at her. "On your way back down to the library?"

"Yep." She let her hand slide down the dark wooden railing as she walked. "Who were you meeting with?"

He avoided her eyes and put his arm around her shoulders. "You look so much better."

"I'm your sister Jackson, your charm doesn't work on me." She shrugged him off and gave him a serious look. "Don't start keeping secrets and hiding things."

"I promise I'm not lying to you about anything." At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and turned to her. "I'm not gonna lie to you though—there are things I haven't been able to tell you yet. Some of the things I just found out myself. When the time comes, I'll tell you anything you want to know, ok?"

Addy shrugged. "I guess."

They walked to the library, but the only one there was Bernard. He brought up another topic she didn't want to discuss.

"We need to talk about what to do with Kim. She can't remain locked in the bedroom," he said to Jax and Addy.

"How is she?" Addy asked him, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"Scared and worried about you," he said. "Doris has been sitting with her."

Jax tapped his finger on the table. "When you're up to it, you'll talk to her and find out what she knows."

"Me?" Addy glared at Jax. "Why?"

"You're the only one she wants to see." Jax explained that Kim didn't even think she'd done anything wrong. She still didn't believe that Matt and Renee were really trying to hurt them.

Once everyone else returned, Jax picked back up where he left off.

"The Mesen have nothing to lose, they'll continue to attack my family. Even if we Scatter them, they'll just come back and try again," Jax said, turning his palms up. "We need a permanent resolution."

"Like what—giving back their power?" Bernard asked.

"It's not that easy." Juliette dropped down into a chair, scooted it up to the table. "We'd need Eva here and we don't even know if it's possible to unblock the power."

Tanner walked over to the table and leaned against it. "Well, the Mesen must think it's possible to get the power back, or they wouldn't keep trying."

Addy thought for a minute. "We need to know what they know, that we don't know."

Her words made Tanner laugh immediately. "You think?"

She shot him a look that screamed shut-up and continued. "I think we should propose a truce with them. Then we all get together and sit down to discuss what concessions can be made. I'm sure they don't like having their people Scattered any more than we do."

Juliette shook her head. "I highly doubt they'll agree to that again."

"Again?" Tanner repeated.

"That actually might work—at least temporarily." Jax stood up and headed for the door. "I know exactly who to send to them with the offer."
Chapter 27

"Hello?" A voice said, startling her awake. "Hey, are you ok?"

Addy sat up to see a young couple was standing over her. They were looking concerned, maybe even a little scared. They probably should've been—they just walked up on a random girl laying on the beach in the middle of the night.

After getting her bearings, Addy managed to answer. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She tried to smile at them.

The girl shrugged and they started down the beach.

Addy was so sure she was losing her mind. Another week had passed and she was struggling to be normal. During the day, she went along with everyone else, training and doing whatever Jax asked her to do. At night she stayed in Gage's room or wandered to the beach. She knew it wasn't normal and was beginning to question her own sanity.

Picking herself up, she walked back down the beach to the path that led to the estate. She started hearing the faint sound of music.

Instead of turning up the path, she continued walking. The sound was getting louder and she spotted someone sitting on the beach. Upon getting closer, she recognized it was Tanner playing his guitar and singing in a low voice. She sat down and listened to him in the sand near the tall grass.

Since the day she came down from Gage's room a week earlier, she'd hardly seen Tanner. He was around, but they were pretty much doing opposite schedules with different practice times. Jax always seemed to have something for one of them to do.

On stage, Tanner was so energetic and loud. Sitting in the sand playing and singing, he sounded completely relaxed and comfortable.

After a few minutes of listening, Addy started feeling like a stalker. She figured she better leave or go talk to him. She stood up at the same time as another person did. A girl had been lying in the sand in front of Tanner, watching him play his guitar.

Addy hadn't noticed her there, but she was sure the girl saw her when she stood up. She wasn't about to go over and talk to him after discovering he wasn't alone. She knew he probably had a girlfriend, but he never mentioned her. Addy wondered if he'd told her about the Akori and Tremain.

As she walked back to the house through the garden, she noticed just how much of it had been repaired since the attack. New statues and benches replaced the broken ones, and it was beginning to look like she remembered it before the attack.

It was quiet inside the estate, but the candles in the library were still burning. She peeked inside to see Jax at the head of the table with his face in a book, sound asleep. She wondered how long it had been since he had a real night's sleep. Looking at him like that, she would've never guessed he was the same arrogant guy she met a few weeks earlier. Since claiming the stone he didn't even talk the same.

Addy decided to go in and wake him to go to bed. A scroll was unrolled on the table with drawings of Akori symbols. It caught her eye because they appeared to be the same ones she and Tanner had. There was a bow by one, and a sword by the other. The best translation of the faint writing she could do quickly was that they were marks of the Akori Shepherds. The bow and sword indicated the particular skill associated with the symbol.

Jax yawned and leaned back in his chair. "What are you doing in here, it's late."

Addy shifted position so he wouldn't notice her eyeing the scroll. "You should go to bed."

He stood up and stretched. "We should both get to bed."

"Ok." Addy watched as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it under his arm with some books.

"Can you please talk to Kim tomorrow for me? We need to find out what she knows."

"I'll try." She'd been putting it off for a week and really didn't want to.

"Thank you." He leaned over and kissed her on the crown of her head. "Good night."

They parted ways at the split in the hallway.

Addy was burning with curiosity about why Jax had that scroll and why after all of her researching she'd never found anything detailing the symbols her and Tanner carried. She decided that she'd have to find a way to get another look at it.

Walking quietly, Addy headed back to Gage's room. She couldn't wait to set her head down. The light in his room was visible under the door as she approached and she didn't think she'd left it on. After pushing the door open, she realized she wasn't alone a few seconds too late. She was quickly grabbed from behind and her mouth was covered.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Don't scream," A male voice said in her ear.

She nodded her head, but she fully planned to pound the guy as soon as he released her.

When he let go, she spun around ready to lash out, but froze in place. She had never met him, but she knew exactly who he was.

"Will Elsegood—you're Gage's father." Her chest tightened. It was like looking at Gage, maybe just a few years older. She quickly turned her eyes to the floor and bit her lip.

"I didn't know you'd be coming back here tonight. I'm sorry I scared you."

"You're back," Addy said, still shocked. "Does Molly know?"

Will nodded. "Yes, we've talked."

They stood in awkward silence.

"I'll go," she said, reaching for the door handle. "I'm sure you'd like to look around and all that."

He shook his head and motioned for her to stay.

"I Scattered when he was five." Will turned his head, studying his son's room. "I wasn't planning on using my powers anymore, but I was needed. He'd just started playing t-ball."

She laced her fingers together, thinking about all the times she played baseball with Gage. "He's so good at sports. He's good at everything he does."

Will laughed and Addy realized she probably sounded like an idiot. "You and my son are close. Molly mentioned you guys are friends."

Addy was still looking at the carpet and felt her face get hot. "We were."

"You still are." Will spotted the pictures she had spread out on the floor and sat down. He picked one up and examined it. "Is this you?" He pointed to one where Gage was laying down in the snow and Addy was in the process of burying him.

Addy smiled. "Yeah, he put up with so much from me."

She sat down and they looked through each picture in the box. She explained what they were doing and where they lived at the time.

They came across the picture she and Gage agreed was their favorite. In it, she was at the piano playing and Gage was seated next to her with his back to the keys. She was only three and had just learned to play Mary Had a Little Lamb. She'd been trying to show him but he kept turning away. Out of frustration, she'd shouted 'Pay Attention' at him. They'd always said it to each other after that. First as a joke, then it just became part of their normal way of talking.

Will shuffled through the miscellaneous items left in the box. "There aren't any pictures of you as a teenager in here."

Addy hadn't really thought about that. "He got older and just kind of did his own thing. Five years makes a big age difference."

Will nodded. "It can be when you're young."

She got up and put the box on Gage's dresser. "We didn't have enough time."

"I'm sure he feels the same way." Will walked around, looking at all of the things in Gage's room. "Tell me about him—what's he like?"

That was a difficult question and she didn't know what to say. She finally looked directly at Will for the first time. "He's perfect."

A pained expression swept across his face. "I'm learning what it's like for those of you left behind when we Scatter and I'm not at all pleased."

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "That's the way it's always been."

"Not always," he said. "How old do you think I am, Addison?"

That was a trick question—she had no possible way of knowing. "In human or Akori years?"

"I guess you can't tell." Will chuckled, which definitely gave away the fact he was much older than he appeared. "I've been around nearly as long as Eva and Andrew. Trust me when I say it wasn't always like this."

"Most of the power was taken away after the attack," Addy said. "Eva made the Overseer's Stone."

He nodded as he walked around his son's room, picking things up and examining them. "Will you do something for me?"

She was surprised he would ask her for anything, but she nodded.

"I have business away from the estate for a couple of days and I need you to make sure Molly doesn't leave." Will shook his head with the hint of a smile. The way his lips curved reminded her of Gage. "She always runs when she gets scared."

"You're still together?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and she grimaced as she watched the expression on his face change to one of hurt.

"Of course we are," Will said with firmness to his voice. "Nothing has changed."

Addy felt bad for asking him such a personal question, but it made her realize what Jax said about how the Akori Scattered was true. They did come back in the same mindset as when they disappeared.

"Sorry, but she told me—"

"Molly's just a little shaken over Gage. She'll be ok."

She nodded and tried not to think about what happened–she didn't want to lose it in front of him. "My brother knows you're here?" She sat down on Gage's bed, dragging her fingers along his blankets.

"Yes, what I'm doing is for Jax."

"Oh." It dawned on her that Will was probably the Akori Patrick said Jax was waiting for when he left the meeting so fast last week. She thought it was strange that it took a week for her to find out Will was back and wondered if Jax was intentionally keeping it from her.

Will took a couple of steps toward the door. "It was very nice to meet you, Addison."

"It was nice to meet you too," she said, playing with her cat charm.

"One more thing," he said. "Don't tell anyone you saw me." Then he walked out quietly.

Moose came slinking out from behind Gage's sofa and jumped up in bed. She couldn't believe she just had a conversation with Gage's father. Fate was right when he said they looked exactly alike. They could pass for brothers easily, and it was almost unbearable to look at him. It was clear he felt like she did about Gage being Scattered and she was happy there was someone around who understood.

Addy decided that in the morning she'd get her cat and start staying at her villa again. She'd never be able to get her life back if she continued to spend every night crying in Gage's bed.
Chapter 28

Addy took a few deep breaths and turned the corner to the hallway where Kim's room was located. Patrick was one of the guards and he greeted Addy with a smile.

"Hey Patrick," she said as she waved to him.

He nodded back. "I saw you during practice with Juliette this morning. You're getting pretty good with that sword."

"Thanks." She pointed toward the door. "Jax wants me to talk to her, is she alone?"

"Doris just left. Do you want me to come in with you?"

Addy shook her head. "No, it'll be fine."

Her hand quivered as she turned the knob and entered. Kim was sitting on the bed sorting out stacks of photos.

"I thought you were never going to come!" She jumped up and threw her arms around Addy, who just stood there stiffly. Kim dropped her arms and backed away. "What's wrong?"

Addy gasped. "What's wrong? Are you kidding?"

Kim had been sharing every secret Addy told her with Matt for weeks leading up to the attack. She told Matt where the Mesen could find Jax. She probably helped Matt steal the Overseer's Stone and then she broke them out of their cells and ran away with them.

Kim turned her palms up. "Addy, I'm so sorry Ga—"

"Do not say his name!" Addy pointed at Kim on the verge of shouting. "I don't care if Matt did make you do those things—you should've told me what he was up to."

Kim looked shocked that Addy was upset with her. "Matt didn't make me do anything. What they're doing will make life better for all of the Akori. I wanted to help him—it was to help you too."

"What exactly is it you think they're doing, Kim?" Addy didn't try to hide her anger. "How'd you even get mixed up in this?"

"They're trying to free your family from the Overseer's Stone and give his people back their power." She walked over and looked out the window. "The night on the beach after I was fighting with that girl, Matt told me everything. He said if it worked out we could finally be together."

Addy was trying to hold back all of the terrible things she wanted to spew at her. "And he can accomplish that by using people, stealing, and killing?"

Kim whipped around with a look of horror. "Who'd Matt kill?"

"He tried to kill you! If Gage hadn't saved you—" Addy stopped, worried she might just haul off and try smacking some sense into Kim if she continued.

Kim shook her head as Addy spoke. "Matt wasn't trying to kill me! He knew Gage would save me. He figured out he could heal the day you collapsed after practice." She smiled at Addy slightly. "Matt is gonna bring Gage back soon anyway."

Addy gaped at her. "Is that what he told you? That's a lie!" Her hands were clenched in fists and her nails dug into her palms. "Don't you think if that was possible he'd be back here—back with me?" It took everything she had not to grab Kim and shake her to make her open her eyes to what was going on. "Matt lied to you to make you feel better about what he was gonna do to Gage."

"You really think he's bad don't you?" Kim looked down at the pictures on the bed. "He's not, Addy. They all just want their power back—they wanna be free to use it without Scattering."

"Use powers without Scattering?" The whole conversation was going very different from what she expected. "He said they could do that?"

"They said a long time ago, before the Overseer's Stone was created to block their powers, Akori could freely use as much as they wanted and never Scatter. They had other powers too. Renee can make herself, and anything or anyone she touches invisible."

Addy wrinkled her brow, thinking about how Renee wasn't even supposed to have powers. "That's how you got out of the estate—you actually saw her do it?"

"Yeah, it's true—she can." Kim told Addy that Matt could communicate with her using telepathy. He did it the first time on the beach after the fight. He talked her through getting them out of their cells and Renee made them invisible.

The night on the beach finally made sense. The three of them really were having a conversation she and Gage couldn't hear.

Kim walked over and stood in front of Addy. "He needs your help."

"I'd never help him," Addy said, taking a step back.

"He knew you'd say that. That's why he needed Gage to be..." Kim began shaking her head.

"Matt tricked Gage into healing you so he'd Scatter?" Addy stood staring at her. "He knew I'd never help him with anything unless he had something to hold over me."

"Yes." Kim shifted her eyes to the floor. "He didn't want to—it was the only way."

It was a smart move on his part—Matt had her caught. He knew Addy too well to even be remotely concerned she wouldn't help once he dangled the carrot of getting Gage back in front of her. There was still the other side of the coin though. If there really was a way to bring back a Scattered Akori early, someone at the estate should've already known about it. Odds were Matt was lying, but she had to find out for sure—especially if it meant getting Gage back.

Addy took a deep breath and looked up at Kim. "Next time Matt contacts you, tell him I wanna chat."

Moose was beyond happy to be back at Addy's villa. He walked around and rubbed on every corner of the furniture. Addy opened all of the windows in the place, and soon the stuffy air from her being gone for the past two weeks was replaced with the sweet smell of the flowers blooming in the garden. She cleaned the place from top to bottom, not missing one speck of dust. When she was done, it felt like home—not the same as it had before, but about as much as any place could.

Addy felt pretty good about everything until she came across one of Gage's t-shirts as she cleaned her room. He stayed with her on her first night back after finding Jax, and she'd slipped his shirt on when she got out of bed. She contemplated tossing it in with her laundry, but ended up jamming it under one of her pillows instead.

Jax had asked her about her conversation with Kim earlier when she saw him at lunch. She told him what she could without letting him know how Matt was trying to use Gage to get her help. There was no way she could tell him about the meeting she'd asked Kim to set up. If there was even a slight possibility Matt was telling the truth about Gage coming back, she had to find out more without Jax interfering.

Again, she and Tanner had different practice times and he wasn't in the library when she saw Jax that morning. She'd spotted him walking with Bernard. He was holding a Scythian style bow she'd never seen him use before. Bernard was pointing something out on the grip and Tanner was so into what he was saying that he didn't even notice as she passed by. Not running into him right then was alright with her anyway. Spotting him at the beach the night before and not talking to him made her feel a little guilty—like she'd been spying on him or something.

Seeing him with Bernard made her wonder if he was making any progress finding out more about Tanner's past. It just seemed so unreal that he was an Akori and didn't even know it. Not to mention the possibility that Fate placed him with the family who adopted him. There were so many questions about him and very few answers.

Addy grabbed her clothesbasket and headed back to the estate to pick up her laundry. Jax was standing on the terrace with Juliette and Patrick. She tried to head around to the lower doors, avoiding them, but Jax spotted her and called her over. She reluctantly sat her basket on the table and joined them.

Jax looked good, more like the Mr. July she remembered. He ran his eyes up and down Addy, shaking his head. "When was the last time you left the estate?"

The day Gage Scattered, she thought. "The day we went to get Kim."

Jax shifted his eyes to Juliette. "Take Addy out somewhere—anywhere."

"Sure..." Juliette looked about as interested in doing that as Addy felt.

The sunshine made her look really beautiful. Her wavy shoulder length dark red hair and green eyes suited her oval shaped face perfectly. Unfortunately, she wore Team Jax gear almost every day, which gave her a masculine edge.

"That's ok. I'm fine hanging around here." Addy pointed at her basket. "I'm doing laundry anyway."

Juliette looked at Jax, then to Addy. "Be ready in ten minutes, Sleeping Beauty."

Jax rolled his eyes. "I think you mean Cinderella."

"Whatever, just be ready," Juliette said, heading toward the house.

Twenty minutes later, Addy was sitting next to Juliette in her black Alfa Romeo Spyder.

Addy slipped her sunglasses on and sighed. "So where are we going?"

"To a salon in Miami—Jax thinks you need to go out and do girl stuff."

"Oh."

They drove to an upscale part of the city and pulled into the valet lane out front of a busy salon. They climbed out and Juliette shot the valet a look that warned him to treat her car with care as she tossed him the keys.

The salon was extremely busy, and Addy doubted they could get in. To her complete surprise, they were quickly taken back as soon as Juliette said who she was.

"Do you come here a lot?" Addy asked as they followed the woman from the front counter into the back.

"I've never been here. Angelica recommended this place." She made a motion across the room with her head. "Who's that girl over there that keeps looking at you?"

Addy tried to place the girl who was getting her nails done. After thinking carefully, she remembered her as Tanner's friend Aimee. She was almost unrecognizable without all the gobs of make-up she'd been wearing when Addy met her at Tanner's show.

Addy waved to her and she quickly waved back with a giant smile.

The salon was completely white on the inside with bright red accents. It looked very clean and sterile, not like the one in the mall she and Kim had visited. They went through a similar routine to the one she had the day before she found Jax, but it was much more fun with Kim. Juliette wasn't exactly bubbling over with excitement to be there.

Aimee stopped them just outside the front door as they were waiting for the valet to bring the car around. She gave Addy a hug which felt completely out of line considering they'd only met once. Aimee asked her if she was going to Tanner's show later that night. Addy hadn't even been invited, which wasn't surprising since she and Tanner hadn't even spoken in over a week. By the time the car was brought around, not only was she going to the show, Aimee was picking her up.

Juliette was quiet on the ride back, leaving Addy with nothing better to do than mess around with her hair in the mirror.

Addy cleared her throat and broke the silence. "Has anyone ever come back from being Scattered early because they regained their powers sooner?"

"No, it doesn't work like that." Juliette glanced at her, and then looked back at the road. "If a child is Scattered, they come back sooner, but not an adult."

"So it's not even possible?"

"No, it's not possible." Juliette paused and then glanced at Addy as they stopped for a red light. "You really have to find a way to deal with what happened. We have much bigger issues than your boyfriend being Scattered."

Addy cringed at her sharp words—they didn't talk the rest of the ride back. Juliette's reaction just confirmed that there was no way she could tell Jackson about her plan to see Matt to find out why he told Kim that Gage would be back soon.

Jax pulled in the driveway ahead of them and parked in the garage. "You look almost as good as I do," he said, walking up to the car and opening Addy's door.

"Thanks," she said, rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses.

Juliette tossed her keys in her purse and slammed her car door. "It looks like you're going clubbing tonight."

Jax looked at her over his sunglasses. "Is that so?"

"We ran into Aimee—she's friends with Tanner." Addy slung her purse over her shoulder. "I met her a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, she asked me to go see him play tonight. You don't have to go—she's picking me up."

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Juliette. "Tanner's band, huh?"

"Like I said, I can fly solo. You're the one who wanted me to get out," Addy said, heading for her villa.
Chapter 29

Aimee arrived at the estate early to pick Addy up. She frowned when she looked at the black knee length dress Addy was wearing and insisted on taking a trip through her closet. Aimee went right for the strapless fuchsia mini dress Addy had worn for Halloween a couple of years earlier. It was similar to what the Trisha girl was wearing when Addy met her. Her outfit for the evening ended up being the Halloween dress with the black and fuchsia platform open toe heels she had that matched it. Her hair was down and wavy, and she had on much heavier eye make-up than usual. If her grandfather was still alive, she would've only gotten out of the estate over his dead body.

Twisted Memories was playing at a different club than the first time she saw them play. Addy was relieved not to be going to the same place she'd spent her last night out with Gage. The club was jammed, and the band didn't even start for another hour. People were crowded onto the dance floor, making it impossible to move.

An L-shaped section of tables had been reserved for their group and the girls took a seat and ordered a bunch of different drinks to try. Just like before, she wasn't carded and the drinks were just dropped off in front of them. Addy settled for a pink one with a bunch of cherries floating in it.

The Akori didn't observe the drinking ages humans set for themselves, so even though she was human, Addy had always been allowed to try alcohol. She usually passed on the hard liquor, and only drank beer with her friends occasionally.

Unlike the other club that looked like a warehouse, this one had a trendier style. There were two floors and the stage was upstairs in a loft style area, with a railing overlooking the lower floor. Packed tables were placed around the outer edge of an already crowded dance floor. Bunches of multi-colored lights hung low from the ceiling—bent into all types of funky designs. The lower level had a large winding bar made of glass with some type of distressed metal framing around the perimeter.

Trisha glanced from Aimee to Addy. "So Addy, whatever happened with you and that guy? You seemed pretty into each other."

She took another long sip of her drink, deciding what to say. "It just didn't work out." The words caused a shooting pain to radiate through her chest.

Kim was the first real girl friend she'd ever had, not counting Renee because she and Addy didn't really hit it off, and Kim was nothing like Trisha and Aimee. The directness of the things they said and asked made her uncomfortable—like she was always under a microscope.

"That's too bad, he was a cutie," Aimee said, standing up. "Does that mean you're back to Tanner?"

Addy choked on the cherry she was eating. "What? No, I was never, we were never—not ever." The girls exchanged doubtful looks and Addy felt under the microscope again. "He has a girlfriend."

"Tanner has lots of girls who think they're his friends," Aimee said, smiling over at Trisha, "but an actual girlfriend—not likely."

Trisha laughed and exchanged glances with Aimee. "We were betting you'd be the one who finally caught him."

Addy pressed her hand to her chest and felt the cat charm from Gage under her palm. "Me?" The conversation was getting even more bizarre by the second. "We're friends—that's all we've ever been."

Aimee raised her eyebrows. "Well something happened after he started hanging out with you. He used to be a total dick."

"Complete dick." Trisha nodded.

They went on to say he was moody and basically uncaring. At times they said he'd say things that were pretty hurtful, like he had no feelings. Addy doubted Tanner could ever be anything other than wonderful and was surprised by the way the girls were talking about him.

Gossip was something Addy really hated. She quickly waved them off and stood up, placing her empty glass on the table. Trisha and Aimee grabbed her hands and dragged her out to the floor. It was hot and the lights flashed to the rhythm of the music. The girls may not have been her kind of friends, but they were fun. She actually felt normal for a change.

They were dancing with a group of guys when Tanner came up, grabbing her and spinning her around. He didn't say anything right away and looked at her strangely.

She leaned over to his ear. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ask me when I'm drunk enough to answer honestly," he said, shouting over the music.

Addy looked down at her dress and grabbed the top, pulling it up to cover more of her skin. She was beginning to regret letting Aimee be her fashion advisor.

A smile spread across his face as he continued talking loudly. "I'm surprised to see you here."

She threw her head back dramatically, turning her palms up. "And why's that?"

"I hardly see you anymore." He spun her around so he was behind her, talking in her ear. "You avoiding me?"

"Maybe you're avoiding me," she said, tipping her head and smiling, "and you're just trying to make it look like it's me since I turned up here unexpectedly."

"It's amazing how you see right through me." Tanner laughed and dropped his chin on her shoulder. "Now it's all awkward, huh?"

"No way," she said, turning her head slightly so she was nose to nose with him. "Nothing's ever awkward with you."

They hadn't talked in over a week and she realized just how much she missed him. She was dying to tell him about the scroll she saw Jax with in the library and how Matt tricked Gage into healing Kim to get her help.

Addy turned around and laced her fingers together behind his neck. She tugged Tanner over to her so she could talk without shouting. "Tomorrow morning I'll be over at your place for breakfast—tell Oliver I want raisin toast."

She watched the sweet way he smiled and nodded back at her. There was absolutely no way he was ever cruel and uncaring like the girls described him—it just wasn't possible.

Once the music changed, they headed back to the table. Another pretty pink beverage was dropped off in front of Addy and she quickly picked it up.

Tanner pointed at her. "Slow your roll there, girlie."

"Sure." She crinkled her nose at him and took a big drink.

He shook his head and smiled as he backed away. "I gotta go finish setting up."

Several people the others knew came over and started trying to talk to them, but the music was so loud it just all blended together. When the band came on stage, it got even louder. She was finishing her drinks much faster than usual and beginning to feel it.

Even after seeing him for the second time, she still found it difficult to wrap her head around what Tanner was like on stage. He was such a contrast from the guy she met on the beach. She'd pegged him as some struggling wannabe, who'd never be able to handle the mess he was getting himself into. That turned out to be completely wrong.

The lights went down and Tanner sat on a stool by himself with an acoustic guitar. He started singing the song she heard him playing on the beach with the girl. Addy glanced at the sea of people, wondering if she was somewhere in the club watching him too.

Aimee tapped her on the shoulder and pointed into the crowd. "I didn't know your brother was coming."

Addy turned around to see Jax walking through the mass of people toward her.

"I didn't either," she said, rolling her eyes.

Jax gave a head nod to the group and put his arm around Addy's shoulders. "Having fun?"

"I didn't know you were coming." She wasn't all that thrilled to see him and hoped if she just ignored him he'd go away.

"It was a last minute thing." He pointed at her drink. "How many of those have you had?"

"Not enough." She smiled sweetly, turning her back to him.

Jax began making his way around the table talking to people and she lost sight of him, which was fine with her. She was happy to enjoy some time away from him and the estate.

The server placed another drink down in front of Addy, and then pointed over to a tall thin guy a few tables over—apparently he'd sent it over. Aimee and Stan laughed as Addy politely smiled at him.

The first thing Matt told her when he started taking her out to clubs was never to accept drinks from strange guys. Addy didn't want to yell over the music for the server to take it back, so she pushed the drink to the side and went back to watching Tanner.

Between the talking, dancing, and drinking, the night was becoming a blur. By the time Tanner was done on stage and joined the group by the tables, she was seeing double.

"Never seen you around before," the guy she recognized as Tanner's drummer said.

Addy noted that he still felt wearing a shirt was optional.

"I'm Addy," she said, "Tanner's friend."

"Spencer," he said as he looked her up and down, "also Tanner's friend."

They chatted about the band and his tattoos and then his piercings. He said he'd known Tanner since they were in elementary school.

As the conversation progressed, he started inching his way into her personal space. Addy decided he was too close and started getting creeped out by his bare chest and oddly placed piercings. She began glancing around for someone to rescue her.

Tanner was just a few feet away. She was about to reach over to get his attention, but he turned toward Spencer before she could even lift her arm. Tanner casually leaned over and said something to him. Spencer nodded his head to her and moved on.

"He's harmless," Tanner said. He started turning toward her, but one of the girls he was talking to grabbed his arm. He smiled quickly at Addy and they turned back to the group he was standing with.

After several more drinks, Addy found herself back on the dance floor whirling around. She lost sight of Aimee and was pulled into a pair of unfamiliar arms. The blue symbols on his hands told her they belonged to an Akori and Addy spotted a ring like the one Gage wore on the ring finger of the right hand. It had a gold W over a silver Akori symbol.

Addy remembered seeing those hands before at the last club she'd watched Tanner play at. She didn't recognize him, but he knew who she was.

He stared down at her with a pleased expression. "Well, it's Addison Sanders, how strange running into you here."

Addy tried to back away, but the floor was so jammed that she couldn't put much space between them. She pushed him away only to have him pushed back into her by the dancing masses.

Dressed all in black, he was tall and thin, with neatly cut black hair and dark eyes. In human years he looked like he was about her age, but there was no telling how old he actually was. She realized he was the guy who sent the drink and immediately regretted not sending it back with the server.

"Fate did a great job keeping you hidden away, not to mention that watchdog brother of yours," he said with a smirk. "You're a hard girl to get some alone time with."

"Do we know each other?" Addy took a long look at his face, but her vision wasn't the best in her current state.

"Ashford Worthington—I believe you've met my father Preston." He took her hand and gently pressed his lips to the top. "You can call me Ash."

The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place him. All the bodies around them were moving to the music, pressing them together.

"Let's dance," he said, slipping his long arms around her waist.

Addy thought it sounded like an alright idea—it was basically what they were already doing. He started running his hands along her shoulders and before she knew it, he was pressed up behind her.

"You want to get out of here," he whispered in her ear, resting his fingertips on her waist and urging her to move.

The room was closing in on her and she really needed to escape. The loud music, the crazy people, and Ash so close, was all more than she could take—getting out of there sounded like an amazing idea.

Ash brushed his lips along her neck as he moved her hair to the side and ran his fingers along the symbol that led her to Jax. "We went to a lot of trouble to find you." Ash placed one hand around her waist and the other on the small of her back and began guiding her through the crowd. "By the looks of you, it was—"

Shouting and pushing started around them, snapping Addy out of the fog that swallowed her. Before she could blink, Ash was on the floor holding his stomach and Tanner was scooping her up.

He carried her down the stairs and through the crowd to the door. "I'm pretty sure I told you to slow down with the drinks," he said in her ear as he carried her outside.

Fresh air made her feel more alert, but she still kept her head on his shoulder and her eyes closed. The drinks were catching up to her and she felt like she was on a spinning ride at a carnival.

"You were so good tonight," she said, completely forgetting about Ash. "It was even better than last night."

He sat down sideways on his motorcycle, still holding her. "Last night—you mean last time."

"No." Addy put her hand on the back of his neck, touching the symbol. "On the beach last night, I heard you."

"You were there? You should've said something." He adjusted his grip so her weight was resting on his knee.

"You weren't alone." Her head was spinning double time and she was crinkling her nose from loose strands of her hair tickling it. "I didn't wanna interrupt your date."

Tanner brushed her hair out of her face. "You're never an interruption, girlie."

The back door to the club flew open and Jax came storming out.

"Give her to me," he said, burning through Tanner with an accusing glare. "She's not one of chicks you and your buddies pass around."

Before he could respond, Jax reached over and snatched Addy out of his arms.

"She had a few too many, man. I wasn't doing anything." Tanner stood up and took a couple of steps forward. "I didn't even know she'd be here tonight."

"Call me when she needs something—I'm responsible for her." Jax turned and carried her away, leaving Tanner standing alone. He hauled Addy around the outside of the building to the valet. "You're a lot heavier than you look." He told her when he was setting her down in Juliette's car.

She strained to look up at him. "I wanted to tell you something, but I can't remember."

"Maybe it was why I'm out at 2am dragging your drunken ass out of some guy's arms in an alley—I'd really love to get your take on it."

"Ashford Worthington."

Jax tossed his wallet down on the seat after tipping the valet driver and turned her head to face him. "What about him?"

She opened her eyes long enough to see worry flash across Jax's face. "He was dancing with me..." It was a struggle to get her words out.

"Ash was with you?"

"We danced, but then he wanted us to leave." She wrapped her arms around herself, scooting down in the seat. "He said he'd been looking for me and I was hidden away."

On the drive home, Jax was talking on the phone to someone. He was telling him or her about Ash being at the club and saying that they needed to push harder for the negotiation with the Mesen. He must have thought she was asleep, because he went on to say he needed a better way to keep her away from Tanner.
Chapter 30

Hazy memories flooded her mind as the shower water poured over Addy's throbbing head. When she tried to sort them out, one in particular kept resurfacing—Jax saying he'd been trying to keep her and Tanner apart.

It made absolutely no sense and really pissed her off. Tanner was a great person and he'd helped them in so many ways. It wasn't as if Jax had ever shown any distrust in Tanner, it was the opposite actually. He was a big part of all of the planning and discussions they had.

The only explanation she could come up with for his behavior was that Jax was trying to protect her from getting in a relationship with an Akori. If that was the case, then he was way out of line. Their relationship wasn't like that, Tanner was just her friend.

Once she was dressed, Addy headed over to Tanner's place for the raisin toast she'd requested. Patrick stopped her in the garden just as she was about to hit the path to the beach and handed her an envelope—he said it was from Kim.

Addy opened it as she walked. The only thing in the envelope was a picture. It was the one Kim took by the fire of her and Gage on their first night at the beach—it was also the night she met Tanner. They were both smiling and his head was leaning close to her shoulder. It was hard to look at and made her ache for the simpler days at the estate.

After taking a deep breath, she turned the picture over and read the back.

Tonight@10pm—same place as last time.

Addy thought about the words and decided Kim must've meant the warehouse. Her heart was beating rapidly as it sank in that she was really going to meet up with Mattie. He'd been one of her best friends for most of her life. Now she could only think of him as the person responsible for taking Gage away and destroying her relationship with Kim.

Addy tried to calm herself as she walked to Tanner's place. What she needed was a plan. There was absolutely no way she could just walk into the warehouse unprepared after she'd witnessed what the Mesen were capable of doing.

Addy pressed the button to the penthouse suite and fiddled with the ends of her hair nervously as she waited at the door.

Oliver answered and looked surprised to see her there.

Addy smiled and waved to him. "Isn't he up?" She walked in without being invited and watched as Oliver closed the door. "We were supposed to have breakfast."

He shook his head. "It was a late night."

Addy looked around at the doors along the hallway, she wasn't sure which one was Tanner's room. She raised her eyebrows at Oliver and he pointed to the one on the left.

"I should probably—" That was all he managed to say before she was in Tanner's room, closing the door behind her.

Once she was in there, she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do. His room was dark and the bed was a mess with him sprawled out in the middle. She decided to open the door to the balcony to let some light and fresh air in.

Addy said his name a few times, but he didn't budge. She walked over to his bed, which was the biggest one she'd ever seen, and shook it. "Tanner, wake up."

He lifted up and looked at her and then pulled the blankets over his head. "Oliver's fired. I hope you can live with that on your conscience."

Addy climbed over him and plopped down on the other side of his bed with her feet on the wall. "We had breakfast plans—remember?"

He peeked at her from under the blanket. "Jax was a dick last night. I figured you were grounded."

"That's one of the reasons you gotta get up." She started shaking him with her feet. "Please, Tanner—c'mon, I have so much to tell you."

He made a growling sound and she watched as he tried to hide his smile. "You're a mean and awful girl." He motioned for her to get out so he could get dressed.

Oliver had breakfast set up on the balcony and she was pouring coffee when Tanner came outside. She had so much to catch him up on that she didn't even know where to begin.

Over raisin toast and coffee, she told him about the scroll Jax had in the library the week before and about the phone call in the car where he was telling someone he wanted to keep them apart.

"That makes no goddamn sense," he said, tossing his toast down on his plate. "Hell girlie, I've known you longer than he has—he doesn't decide if and when we spend time together."

It was the first time she'd ever seen Tanner completely pissed off. Instinctively, she reached over and smoothed her hand down his arm. He looked at her and his angry expression faded.

Addy pulled her hand away. "You're right, he has absolutely no say in our friendship—but dealing with my brother, the self-appointed warden, is gonna have to wait. I have even bigger news."

Addy explained to him what happened when she met with Kim. She pulled out the picture with the message about when and where to meet Matt written on the back and handed it to him. "Will you come with me—I mean, if you're not busy?"

Tanner gave the picture back to her and sighed. "You're gonna go even if I ask you not to, right?"

"I have to—it's Gage we're talking about. If Matt's telling the truth and I can get him back..." Addy didn't want to get her hopes up, but it was tough not to.

He leaned back in his chair and turned his eyes to meet hers. "You know I'm in—you can't go alone."

They made their plans as they finished eating and decided they'd meet early so they could get to the warehouse before Matt.

Her phone started ringing. She quickly sent it to voicemail when she saw it was Jax. She had nothing to say to him. A few seconds later Tanner's phone began buzzing.

Addy watched as he checked to see who it was. "Jax?"

He nodded.

"I'm telling you, something's up with him."

"One thing at a time, girlie." He smiled, finishing his toast. "Let's just handle Matt today and deal with your brother tomorrow."

Addy kept her promise to Will and made sure Molly didn't leave Tremain. After leaving Tanner's suite, Addy headed back to the estate to check in with her. She found Molly in the music room sorting through a basket of clothes. Addy took a seat at the piano and flipped through the sheet music. She selected one of Fate's favorites and began playing. Molly stopped what she was doing and came to sit next to her.

"Will told me you talked," Molly said when she was finished. "He was glad our son has someone like you."

Addy turned sideways on the bench. "I'd do anything if it meant getting him back."

"So would his father." Molly took her hand. "The two of you are a lot alike in that way."

Addy pulled out the picture Kim sent her and showed Molly. "This was our first night back here."

Molly studied the photo. "When I look at your heads leaning together like that, it reminds me of when you two got your hair stuck together with gum."

"That was totally his fault."

Jax strolled in and looked between them, stopping his eyes on Addy. "So this is where you are. I've been looking for you."

Addy quickly tucked the picture away. "You found me—what do you want?" She refused to look at him directly. She was still too mad about learning he was trying to keep her away from Tanner.

He walked up and leaned on the piano. "Feeling better this morning?"

"I had a wonderful breakfast with Tanner and I'm feeling great—thanks for asking."

"Well, that's just swell." He cleared his throat and wiped the irritated look off his face. "We've got our meeting with the Mesen leaders set up. I need both of you to come to the library."

Jax leaned over Addy and played a few notes of the same song she'd been playing. He smiled at her and then left the room.

When Addy and Molly entered the library, Bernard was the only one there. She quickly told them about Ashford Worthington trying to get her to leave the club with him.

"He's not someone you want to associate with," Molly said. "I've heard from more than one person that he and his father are ruthless. Ash supposedly has the ability to make people do things."

"How the hell are all of these powers we've never heard about suddenly surfacing?" Bernard asked, shuffling his stack of papers.

"They've found a way to harness each other's powers and pool them together—they're unlocking abilities once lost to us," Will said, walking in and heading toward Molly.

Addy's heart skipped when she saw him—for a split second it was like looking at Gage. Will leaned down and kissed Molly, making her cheeks flush.

"Will, how wonderful to see you." Bernard stood up and shook his hand. "I didn't know you were back."

Addy was surprised they knew each other. Bernard never mentioned knowing Gage's dad before.

Jax came in, walking fast with Juliette trailing behind him. "I hope you have good news for us."

Will scooped Juliette up, hugging her. "It's great to see you, Jules."

"My father was absolutely thrilled when he heard you were back." Juliette told Will, putting her hands up and looking at the group. "Brace yourselves—the troublemakers have been reunited."

"No. I'll take it easy on the old guy." Will smiled and winked at Juliette. "If he doesn't start using his powers to stop aging soon, people are going to be mistaking him for my father, too."

Addy's head was spinning from trying to keep score of who knew who from where. She had absolutely no idea Mitchell West and Will Elsegood were friends—apparently best friends. That meant Gage may have been around Mitchell and Juliette before he moved to Tremain with Molly.

Jax broke up the reunions and gestured toward Addy. "Preston Worthington sent Ash to see Addison last night."

Will's eyes flashed with concern. "What happened?"

Dread washed over her as she found herself stuck telling her almost boyfriend's parents about being drunk in a dance club with a creepy guy.

"We're lucky Tanner was there," Molly said when Addy finished.

Addy watched Jax tense as she said it. "It wasn't the first time Ash tried to get me alone," she said. "The night before Gage Scattered we were at a club and—well I saw Ash there. He was like in my head or something and—"

"You should've told me about that before." Jax smacked his hand on the table. "I never would've—."

"I didn't think anything of it the first time. It didn't come together until I thought about it this morning," she said, glaring at him. She took a few steps toward Jax and pointed at him. "And just so we're clear, you don't get to decide—"

Tanner and Stubbs walked in and she stopped talking. Tanner's eyes locked on Addy and he walked straight to her side.

"Well they've sure learned to argue like brother and sister quickly," Molly said, shaking her head at Bernard, who turned his palms up.

"Let's get started," Will said, clearly trying to change the direction the conversation was headed in. He told them he and Mitchell West visited with the Mesen leaders to set up a meeting that would take place Thursday. While there, he learned the Mesen had found a way to take power from each other. It allowed them to access other powers they couldn't use before. "The situation is becoming more and more urgent. If we don't proceed carefully, they may start extracting power from unwilling Akori when they run out of volunteers."

"What do you think we should do?" Juliette asked.

Will placed his hands on the table, leaning on them and looked up. "We need to summon Eva."

Stubbs leaned forward in his chair, appearing shocked at Will's words. "We don't even know when the last time she Scattered was."

"If I'm back, then she is too," Will said, turning his attention to Stubbs. "I saw her the day I Scattered."

"That's impossible!" Stubbs' face was red and he sat back. "I would've known—she would have come here."

"She did come here. It was in the middle of everything that was going on with my parents being killed," Jax said. "She's the one who tried to shift the event for grandfather."

Addy had never seen Stubbs look so angry. He was literally ready to explode.

"Eva Scattered the same day I did. She couldn't shift what happened because there were Akori involved." Will took a deep breath and glanced between Jax and Addy. "That's why Fate summoned me to heal them."

Addy whipped her head around to look at Will. "You're the one?" She suddenly felt sick and overcome with guilt. "It's because of us that you Scattered?"

She felt like she was being sucked into a tunnel and lost her balance. Tanner pulled her over so she was sitting on the chaise and put his arm around her, earning him an irritated glare from Jax.

"It was my own decision. Fate asked for my help and I helped." Will looked at Molly, and then back to Addy. "I knew I'd Scatter, and Fate agreed to bring Molly and Gage here to live until I got back. My son was supposed to be kept away from the Mesen. Gage was never supposed to be a part of this mess."

"The Mesen brought it to our doorstep, Will." Jax turned to him. "The estate was sheltered from it. That's why Addy's just finding out so many things she should've grown up knowing. It's only since Gage Scattered that we've talked about what's really going on openly."

Addy shot Jax a sharp look for talking about Gage Scattering like it was no big deal. Her animosity toward him was growing rapidly.

Tanner looked at Will and put his hands up. "So let's just make sure I've got this straight—you healed them—in exchange, Fate brought Gage here to keep him away from the fighting between the Akori and Mesen?"

Will nodded.

Tanner leaned forward with his elbows on his knees looking up at Will. "And you didn't see any holes in that plan, huh?"

Addy elbowed him and shifted her eyes to Molly. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Molly waved her off and gave her a reassuring smile. "I've told you before, we were very happy here with you."

"You kids have nothing to be sorry for," Will said, looking between Jax and Tanner. "So that's the end of it."

"So back to summoning Eva—how's it done?" Tanner asked.

Leaning back in his chair, Jax put his foot up on the edge of the table and rested his arm on his knee. "As long as Eva's back from Scattering, I can use the Overseer's Stone to summon her to me—like grandfather did to you."

"What if she doesn't come?" Addy asked. "If she's back, then she's choosing not to come here. She must know what's going on."

Stubbs stood up and they all watched him walk over to one of the bookshelves. "We won't ask her to come." He returned to the table with a large book. "We'll make her."

Will and Jax came to stand beside him as he opened the book. He turned the pages until he found what he wanted. "This is the one." He slid his finger down the page and pointed.

Juliette leaned over to take a look. "Oh, she's gonna be pissed."

Will, Jax, and Stubbs talked quietly between themselves. Addy couldn't really get a clear picture of what they were planning, but it sounded complicated.

"Can the rest of us who don't speak vague references get an update on what we're talking about doing?" Tanner walked over to look at the book. "Yeah, I'll definitely need a translation on that one."

Will shifted so he was leaning on the table. "It's an Akori Symbol that works like a trap. We draw the symbol on the floor, and then Jax powers it with the Stone to summon her. Eva is ripped from wherever she is and stuck in the circle until he lets her out."

"And she also won't be able to use any of her power while she's trapped." Juliette took a step back and raised her eyebrows. "Like I said—she's gonna be pissed."

Jax took a long look at the book, running his finger down the page. "We'll summon Eva tomorrow."
Chapter 31

Dressed in Team Jax gear, Addy and Tanner made their way up to the ninth floor of the warehouse where Gage Scattered.

Stubbs and Will were the only ones Jax needed to prepare for the summoning, and the rest of them were left to do their combat training and regular duties. As planned, she and Tanner met up and headed out early.

They wanted to get Tanner in position and check the place for traps before Matt arrived. He found a spot high enough to be protected from melee attacks, and close enough to get to Addy quickly if necessary. He also had an unobstructed shot at virtually anything in the room. He was carrying the bow she saw him talking to Bernard about. It had Akori symbols carved into it, which like her sword, supposedly used to do something special.

The area was dark, except for a small amount of red light that shined from the exit signs above the doorways. The light made the spot on the floor of Kim's dried blood look eerie—almost like it was still fresh. It was hard to believe that it had only been two weeks.

They heard footsteps echoing from the stairwell.

Addy looked up at Tanner. "He's not alone."

Matt entered with Renee by his side. They both looked as they always had, like they could be coming to hang out with her and the rest of their friends. Only now they were former friends, ex-friends who'd betrayed her.

It was hard to tell in the dark, but Matt's face looked like it had more injuries than what the bottom of Gage's shoe could've possibly done on the day of the attack.

When Renee saw Addy, she touched the scratch marks that were still healing on her face, and made a move to step ahead of Matt.

"Bad idea," Tanner said.

Addy looked directly at Matt. "He never misses."

Matt put his hand on Renee's arm, backing her off. He scanned the dark room top to bottom until he spotted Tanner.

"Kim said you wanted my help." Addy cut to the chase and took a few steps closer to him. "Explain."

Matt smirked at her. "I knew you couldn't resist."

"Did I have a choice? You knew once—"Addy was getting worked up just looking at him—she paused to get her bearings and started again. "Can you get Gage back or not?"

"We can get them all back," Matt said, glancing down at the spot of Kim's blood. "My parents, Josh, and yes—Gage too."

She shook her head. "How's that possible?" He sounded so sure of himself.

Matt began pacing back and forth. "Rumors, legend, whatever you want to call them, say there's a book that tells how to destroy the Overseer's Stone."

She looked at Tanner and then to Matt. "My grandfather would've known about it if it existed."

"Not if Eva didn't want him to know," Renee said. "It was written by Oren Sanders himself. In it, he supposedly accused Eva of using her powers to compel him to make the oath to her the night of the ball. He didn't want to obligate his son and his descendants to serve the Akori. He wrote down every last detail of what happened after she took him from the church the night of the ball, including how to undo what she'd done."

Matt continued where Renee left off. "Eva's compulsion on Oren didn't work anymore once she gave him the power to control the Overseer's Stone—he remembered everything. It became nearly impossible for an Akori to use their powers on the Overseer unless they were incredibly strong. The story says that Eva gave another Akori some of her own power to make him strong enough to change Oren's memories of what really happened. But by then it was too late—the book was already written and hidden away."

Addy put her hands on her hips. "That story sounds about as fake as the stories the Akori make up about their artifacts."

Ignoring her comment, Renee continued. "Mesen leaders already know how Eva was able to share her power with another Akori, they're confident that the story is true."

Matt stopped pacing and looked at Addy. "I know you think we're terrible and we betrayed you, but what we're doing will bring our people back to the way we're supposed to live."

"The things you've done Matt—you were my friend. I never thought you'd hurt Gage, he was your best friend. And Kim, she loves—" Addy felt herself beginning to boil over so she stopped talking and looked back at Tanner.

"Gage is still my best friend and I love Kim." Matt closed his eyes, pressing his thumb to the space between his eyebrows. "Gage will be back, Addy. I wouldn't have done what I did if I didn't believe that."

"Destroying the stone will give us our full power back, which means it'll bring back every Scattered Akori and Mesen," Renee said as she sat down on a stack of wooden pallets. "My parents and Uncle Josh are Scattered—I want them back."

"The book Oren wrote," Tanner said, "any idea where to start looking?"

"Supposedly it was hidden in a Sanders family heirloom—maybe a statue or something." Matt threw his hands up. "That's why we don't have it yet. After almost 250 years it's been hard as hell to track down. That's why we need your help, Addy."

"So Will Elsegood is back," Renee said, looking at Addy. "There's no doubting he's Gage's dad."

Addy ignored her gossipy tone. "You met him?"

"More like his fist met my face," Matt said and reached up, touching his bruises, "repeatedly."

"He came to our leaders with Mitchell West to set up the meeting for your brother," Renee said. "When he realized who Matt was, it took four of our guys to pull him off."

Addy smiled to herself thinking about Will beating on Matt. "What about the meeting Thursday and the truce?"

Matt sat down next to Renee on the stack of pallets. "They're gonna agree to it short term to give us more time to locate the book, but it won't last long. We want our powers and our Scattered friends and family back."

Renee frowned and shook her head. "They tried to deal with Eva and Andrew for hundreds of years before breaking off and becoming the Mesen. The attack on the ball was a last resort. She refused to compromise."

"It's nothing personal against your family—they're just tired of being a fraction of what we should be," Matt said.

"Something's been bothering me," Tanner said, dropping to the floor from where he was perched. "Why take the Overseer's Stone and bring it back so quickly—it seemed like a waste of time."

"We needed a good look at the symbols on it." Renee laid her hands in her lap. "We also needed to delay Jax claiming the stone—we weren't ready to try to take him out."

"But it's nothing personal against Addy's family." Tanner rolled an empty wooden reel from some type of wire over near Addy, laying it down on its side. They sat down on it across from Matt and Renee.

"There's a lot of panic at the moment. Everyone has a theory about how to get the power back." Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Attacking Tremain like that wasn't smart. We lost a lot of good people."

"What happens if we find the book? Even if it exists I'm not gonna just hand it over." Addy didn't trust them and wanted them to be perfectly clear about that.

"Once you have the book, if it details how to destroy the stone and bring Gage back, I trust you to do what's necessary," Matt said.

Addy didn't know what to think anymore. She'd been convinced they were completely evil, but what they were saying made her question that. If Gage could really be brought back, then she was going to work with them regardless of how she felt.

Addy pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her legs. "What do you guys know about Ashford Worthington?"

Renee and Matt exchanged glances.

"He's big trouble," Renee said. "Why?"

"Last night he approached me at a club. I was lucky Tanner was there." She told them glancing at him. "It wasn't the first time Ash tried to get me alone."

Renee leaned over to Matt. "I can't believe they sent Ash after her."

Matt's face paled as he looked at Renee and he shifted his eyes to Addy. "Does your brother know?"

"Yeah, he's concerned."

"He should be." Matt looked over at Tanner. "Keep her away from Ash—do whatever it takes."

Renee nodded as Matt spoke. "He's got extremely strong compulsion abilities—so strong he can even compel other Akori. He and his father presented some ideas to our leaders about how to get our powers back. Most of them just boiled down to picking your brother apart to see what makes him so special." Renee looked at her brother. "I wonder if they know about the book, Matt."

"I'm sure Preston and Ash know about it." He reached over and squeezed his sister's hand. "Don't worry, they'll find it first," he said, gesturing toward Tanner and Addy.

Sitting with Matt and Renee after everything they'd put them through was probably one of the strangest things she'd ever done. They told her and Tanner that their family had been a part of the Mesen since they broke off from the rest of the Akori. Matt explained that he and Renee were sent to live at the estate with Josh intentionally because of their ages. It was an attempt to get spies inside Tremain. The Mesen hoped Renee and Addy would become friends or she and Matt would eventually date.

Matt dropped his hands in his lap and shook his head. "It's strange to think about you out at some club without me, Addy."

"Matt, don't." Addy put the palms of her hands against her eyes. She couldn't deal with thinking about that.

Tanner put his hand on Addy's back at the same time Renee put her hand on her brother's shoulder.

Matt turned his eyes toward Addy. "I just miss—"

Renee cleared her throat. "Anyway, everyone at Tremain just became our family, when it was time to make our move it was so hard for us—we didn't want to. We never wanted to hurt you."

"I'm not gonna lie to you Addy, I was trying to Scatter Gage the day we attacked the estate. I knew if he Scattered I could get you to help me," Matt said. "But Renee was only fighting with you because I told her to. We didn't want one of the others hurting you."

"How is it that you even have abilities, Renee?" Addy had always been told that like Molly, she didn't have any power.

"I didn't—not until Uncle Josh gave me some of his power and unlocked mine," she said. "We all have abilities but some of us—"

Matt's phone rang and after a brief conversation he was on his feet grabbing Renee by the arm. "We gotta hit it, your brother and his crew just rolled up in the parking lot."

Tanner and Addy jumped up and looked at each other.

Addy put her hand on her forehead and turned to Tanner. "Do you think he knows we're here?"

"It's Jax—of course he knows."

Matt moved to hug Addy but Tanner quickly got in the way, making him step back. He and Renee headed for the stairs, saying they'd be in touch through Kim.

Tanner raised his eyebrows at her. "Well girlie, what now?"

Addy decided she didn't care if Jax was outside, and she didn't care if he didn't like her being with Tanner. "Now we go back to your bike and get out of here."
Chapter 32

When Tanner dropped Addy off at the estate, she went to the weapons vault to put her gear away. Then she headed to the library to look around for anything that might be a Sanders family heirloom. That's where Jax caught up to her. He'd been surprised when she and Tanner just walked out and greeted them in the lot of the warehouse.

Jax stood leaning against the table, watching Addy as she inspected the items on the mantle of the fireplace. "I'd just like to know what you were doing at the warehouse, that's all."

"I wanted to go back to see where Gage Scattered. Tanner came along just in case there was trouble." She didn't have any reason to explain herself to him and she wasn't about to tell him any more than she had to.

He put his hands in his pockets. "You can't just be taking off without—"

"Fine." She was standing by the fireplace with her back to him.

Before she could react, Jax had her spun around and pressed up against the stone wall. He was gripping her wrists tightly in front of her. She looked up at him, watching as anger and frustration burned on his face.

"Don't ever just say fine to me. Grandfather put pieces in place and we have to play by his rules. Regardless of how you feel about me—you have to do what I say. These aren't my rules." His features were dark and he was speaking in a hushed, but urgent tone.

Addy stood there motionless, knowing she could easily get away from him. She didn't even try breaking his grip on her. Something in his expression made her want to hear what he had to say.

Her wrists were burning and tingling under his clenched fingers. "Jackson, you're hurting me."

His eyes dropped to her wrists. He released his grip and took her hands, examining the red marks he'd left on her wrists. She was still pressed up against the cold stone wall, and it was digging into her back.

"With everything that's going on I can't have you and Tanner running around—"

The heavy wood doors to the library opened, startling them. Juliette walked in and shouted his name when she saw what was going on.

Jax dropped her hands and turned to Juliette. Addy watched her give him an uneasy look.

"Relax," he said to Juliette, walking back to the table. He leaned over and studied the book Stubbs had brought out earlier with the symbol to trap Eva.

Addy really wished Juliette hadn't come in. It was the first time Jax had ever spoken to her in any way that hinted he wasn't picking his words carefully to hide things. She was pretty shocked that he'd totally raged out on her though, and tried to ignore him as he talked to Juliette about plans for the morning.

Addy walked around every inch of the library, stopping to examine anything that might work as a hiding place. Nothing stood out to her and the next logical place to search would be Fate's old wing of the estate. Unfortunately it belonged to Jax now. Getting in there unseen would be impossible—she needed a reason to go in.

Addy pasted a smile on her face and turned to her brother. "Hey Jax?"

He looked up at her and raised his eyebrows.

"The other night when I came in here to wake you, I thought I noticed a scroll of Akori symbols on the table. I think it had the same ones Tanner and I have."

Jax seemed surprised she was speaking to him. "Yeah, there may have been some drawings of them."

"Can I see the scroll?" she asked, hoping it was still in his room.

He hesitated. "It's upstairs. I'll bring it down tomorrow."

"I don't mind going to grab it. I'd really like to look at it tonight, you know, before you summon Eva tomorrow." She continued to smile at him sweetly.

After a little persistence she was able to convince him, probably out of guilt, to let her go grab the scroll. She really wanted it anyway, so it was a bonus and she'd be able to check quickly for anything that might be used as a hiding place for Oren's book.

Addy knew she had to be quick as she slipped into Jax's wing of the estate—there was no telling when he'd get suspicious and follow her. She wanted to be fast anyway—the last time she was in there was when their grandfather died.

There was a lot of ground to cover. She scanned the shelves for anything that might hold a book. She'd never spent much time in that part of the house, and it was like being in a whole other building. She ran around frantically looking for any place the book could be. She spotted the scroll she told Jax she wanted on the table by the davenport and put it under her arm.

In the hallway, between the bathroom and the sitting room, she saw a tall statue that only had one arm. She looked at it closely and realized it was the match to the creepy statue guy in the library holding the severed arm.

Addy leaned up against it, trying to think of where to look next. She was running out of time.

Something flashed behind her and she looked up at the statue. The expression on his face made her look closer, particularly at the eyes. She could see a reflection in the shiny marble, but it wasn't her own. It appeared he was looking at a building with a tall obelisk extending up from it. On top of the obelisk, carved in stone, was an urn with what looked like a cloth draped over it. Angels stood by the door with their arms outstretched. She squinted to see better, but it was too small. She thought there was something etched in the stone above the door. The entire scene looked familiar to her.

"Addison?"

The sound of Jax's voice caused her to jump and she ran quietly back to the sitting room. She hurried and plopped down on the davenport, unrolling the scroll.

"In here." She called back to him.

He walked in, looking around the room. "I thought you were coming back to the library?"

She stood up and started to roll the scroll back up.

"I am. I just sat for a minute to look over the scroll and make sure I had the right one." Right, because there were so many scrolls lying around, she thought, mentally kicking herself. "Looks like I do, so I'll get out of here. Thanks again."

He started to say something but she was out the door in a flash. Tangling with Jax again was low on her list of desired things to do.

She was unsure about what to make of the reflection in the statue's eyes. She ran through the library doors and tossed the scroll on the table, hurrying over to the creepy statue guy holding the arm.

Addy prepared herself to gaze into his eyes the way she'd done to the other one. She stood up on her tiptoes and fixed her eyes on his, only to find that the statue's eyes were closed. She took a step back and tapped her finger on her lip. She could've sworn they were open when she'd glanced at it with Fate.

After examining the statue thoroughly, she found nothing remarkable about it. She'd never looked closely at it because Fate had told her not to. The statue appeared to be an Akori with fine lines of symbols carved into his hands. The severed arm didn't have any symbols on it.

Feeling frustrated, Addy decided she needed to pick Tanner's brain. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed him. After a few rings, a girl answered and she could hear a lot of noise and laughing in the background. Rather than interrupt whatever it was he was doing, she opted to hang up. She slipped her phone back in her pocket, feeling completely alone.

Addy walked back to the main area of the library and sat down at the table. Leaning back, she tried to recreate the scene in her mind. She caught sight of the painting with Andrew and Eva hanging above the fireplace.

"Unbelievable—the painting," she said, slowly standing up.

"You're up late," Stubbs said as he walked in carrying a stack of books.

She pointed to the painting. "Why were they painted in a cemetery?"

"That's the cemetery where Oren Sanders was buried. The structure in the background is the Sanders crypt. It's a tribute to your family, of sorts."

She put her hand over her mouth, shaking her head. That's where she recognized the building in the statue's eyes from.

He came over and stood by her, looking up at the painting. "She's so beautiful."

Addy cut her eyes at him. "Yeah, lovely—so where exactly is that?"

Stubbs hesitated, glancing over at her. "Addison, what are you up to?"

She put her hands up innocently and tried to sound casual. "I've never been to my family's crypt. I might like to take flowers sometime or whatever."

He didn't seem to buy it, but he still told her the crypt was in Europe originally, but was relocated to the North America because of The European Revolution of 1848. Her however many great grandfather, the Overseer at the time, wanted the crypt moved.

She figured she'd asked him enough and didn't want him blabbing to Jax about her questions. She made some casual conversation about how Moose missed his dogs and hoped he was satisfied that she'd dropped it. In the morning, she'd have a much easier time getting the information she needed out of Bernard.

Grabbing the scroll, she headed back to her villa. She really wished Tanner was there so she could talk to him about the statue and tell him she had the scroll. She was also still on overload after everything they'd learned from Matt and could've really used someone to confide in.

She changed her clothes and sat down on her bed with the scroll she'd gotten from Jax's room. She unrolled it and studied the pictures of the Akori Shepherd symbols. Just as she saw before, one had a bow next to it and the other had a sword. She figured that was why Tanner was so amazing with his bow and she could wield a sword pretty well. Addy wasn't Akori, but since she'd been given the mark by the Overseer's Stone, she definitely felt more skilled with the sword.

As she examined the writing and used another book for help translating, she came to a passage that described the Akori Shepherds as the warriors of the Akori people. They had fighting and tracking abilities that were greater than any of the other Akori.

Going back and forth between the book and scroll had her brain in a knot. She closed the book, rolled up the scroll, then turned out the light—she'd had enough for one day.

Addy reached under her pillow and twisted her fingers around Gage's shirt as she drifted off to sleep. In the morning, she'd finally meet Eva, the one who put it all in motion.

Chapter 33

The sun was barely up when Addy entered the main house. Her sleep was restless and she decided to get up early and go see Kim. Her entire night was once again filled with dreams about Gage. She walked through the garden to the main house with the scroll of Akori symbols tucked into her bag. She couldn't wait to show it to Tanner.

The smell of coffee filled the kitchen as she made her way to the back stairs. Bernard sat at the table alone with a newspaper.

"You're up early," he said to her.

"It's gonna be a busy day." She reached in the cabinet and grabbed a mug for coffee. "You've been pretty quiet through all of this."

"It's Akori business. I know my place. You're doing remarkably well."

A lot had happened since she'd talked to Bernard last and she decided that maybe it would be a good opportunity to tell him about it all.

"Do you have time to take a walk?" she asked, refilling his cup.

"Sure." He folded his newspaper and picked up his coffee.

Addy made sure they were far away from the estate before she began talking. They walked down the sidewalk that ran along the street with all of the souvenir shops. The street was still empty, except for a few people jogging or walking dogs.

She wasn't sure where to begin so she started with her visit to Kim. Bernard didn't seem very shocked about what she told him. Kim had been confiding in Doris about her belief that Matt and Renee weren't all that bad.

Addy told him about her meeting with Matt. She'd expected him to scold her for taking off without telling him, but he took it much better than she thought he would.

"It sounds like you believe them," Bernard said. "Think it's wise to get mixed up with him behind your brother's back?"

"Jax won't understand. I guess I get why the Mesen would want to destroy the stone now. It makes sense. If Eva really compelled Oren, then everything our family's done was based on deception." Addy took a deep breath. "But I want Gage back and maybe that's clouding my judgment."

"There's nothing wrong with missing him. If it were Doris I'd tear down cities with my bare hands to get her back," Bernard said, patting her shoulder. "Does that mean you think the book of Oren's exists?"

"I actually do." She started telling him about searching for the book and the statue in Jax's room. "I know it sounds strange, but I feel like that statue was telling me it's in my family's crypt."

Bernard didn't say anything for a couple of blocks as they walked. "If we assume that the statue was telling you where to look for the book, which I'm not entirely on board with, I guess the crypt would make sense based on what Matt and Renee told you."

"Do you know where the crypt is located?" she asked, crossing the street to head back toward the estate.

"It was moved to America around 1850." Bernard explained that a new crypt was constructed in Kentucky and the bodies were transported from Europe once it was completed. "I know it's quite large. The entrance is in a cemetery and it extends deep underground."

"It contains all of the Overseers—Even Oren?"

"That's my understanding," Bernard said as they approached the estate.

Addy stopped walking. "I also have a scroll—the one I saw Jax with. It has drawings of the Akori symbols that Tanner and I have." She reached into her bag and handed it to him.

"I've been searching for anything with details about your symbol." Bernard took the scroll. "I wonder where he found this." He turned the scroll over in his hands, examining the paper and edges.

"I haven't looked at it very closely—you know I'm terrible at the translations. But I did see that the symbol Tanner has means a strong ability with a bow, and mine shows skill with a sword."

"I'd like to examine it if you don't mind," he said as they reached the door to the estate.

She nodded. "There was one more thing." Addy told him about Jax wanting to keep her and Tanner apart and about him blowing up at her the night before.

"As far as your brother's motives for trying to keep you and Tanner apart—I can't even begin to figure out what's in that boy's mind. He's definitely more like Mitchell West than Fate."

"What about Tanner?" Addy put her hand on Bernard's arm, stopping him before he went inside the house. "Have you found anything out how he ended up with the Sutherlands?"

He looked uncomfortable with her question. "Addison, I can't discuss it. He specifically asked that I keep it to myself. He trusts me and with all that he's discovered about himself—he needs someone he can confide in."

"Oh." She looked down and immediately felt bad for asking. She was just dying to know about him. She felt so close to Tanner, yet almost everything about him was still a mystery.

"Just continue to be his friend." Bernard said, patting her arm. "He'll talk to you about it when he's ready."

Addy nodded her head at him. "Will you be joining us when Jax summons Eva?"

She hoped he would, but he shook his head.

"Stubbs said he's unsure what Eva will be like and he'd rather keep any humans outside of your family away. I won't be far if you need me though."

They parted ways at the stairway and Addy went up the back stairs to Kim's room. She waved to the guards and opened the door. Kim was at the table finishing breakfast when she walked in.

Kim glanced up at her with a tentative smile. "Are you still mad at me?"

"I don't know Kim," Addy said, closing the door.

"I'm sorry if saying this makes you upset, but I don't regret helping Matt."

"Honestly, Matt made a lot of sense when we talked last night."

Kim stared down at her plate. "How's he look?"

"Same as always, a little banged up where Gage's dad got ahold of him, but he's the same Matt."

Kim tipped her head up. "I know he's right, Addy. The four of us will be back together soon, causing trouble like always."

Addy nodded, but seriously doubted if she and Gage would ever be able to forgive Matt for everything he'd done.

"Thanks for the picture."

Kim smiled and nodded.

Addy sat down across from her at the table.

Kim reached over and squeezed her hand. "Have faith, he'll be back." Then she raised her eyebrows and smiled at Addy. "How together were you two?"

"He never even kissed me," Addy said, shaking her head.

Kim shrugged her shoulders. "That'll just make it better when he's back."

Addy smiled at her, thankful Kim kept her jokes about the fact that she'd never been with a guy to herself for once. As much as she regretted that they'd never even kissed, she figured not knowing what she was missing was probably a good thing anyway.

"Have you talked to Matt?" Addy asked her, not knowing how his telepathy worked.

She nodded. "But he can't drain too much of his power so he was really short."

"We might have a lead on the book. I'll keep you posted."

Kim's demeanor changed and she shifted in her seat. Addy knew what was coming next.

"When can I leave here? I'm tired of being locked up—I'm no threat to your brother." She looked just like Matt did when he spoke about her at the warehouse. "I just wanna go be with Matt."

Addy could completely understand how she felt, but she didn't know how to answer. Jax would never agree to let Kim just walk out of there. She also needed Kim to communicate with Matt.

Doris opened the door and peeked in.

"They want you in the library," she said to Addy.

Addy stood and moved toward the door. "I'll talk to Jax and see if I can at least get him to let you go back to your villa."

In the library, the large stone table they always sat around had been turned, opening up a wide area of the marble floor.

Will was squatted down next to Juliette, and they were making a large symbol with markers on the marble floor. Jax was sitting on the table with a book open on his lap looking troubled. Stubbs stood beside him looking equally as distressed.

"Does it really need to be that big?" Jax asked, looking from the book to Stubbs.

Stubbs nodded. "It must be made precisely as described in the book."

Juliette and Jax exchanged worried looks.

Addy was concerned by the general tone of the room. "What's wrong?"

Jax jumped off the table and walked toward her. Taking her hand, he led her down a row of books to one of the alcoves away from the others. He was being extra intense and he put his hands on her face, turning it to look at him.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am about last night. I shouldn't have talked to you like that." He looked at her wrists that were deeply bruised with his finger imprints. "I'd never intentionally hurt you."

His face was only inches from hers as he leaned down and spoke, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Things are stressful around here—you're under a ton of pressure." Addy tried to reassure him by speaking in a relaxed tone. He looked very tired and weary. "I know we haven't known each other long, but if Fate had a plan—I trust you to follow it."

Addy was careful not to say what he did was ok though, because if he ever pulled anything like that again, brother or not, she was going to make him regret it.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, relaxing a little and backing away. "What grandfather told you about reading all of the books here—it was true," Jax said as he looked around. "The Overseers as a group have read every single one."

Addy smiled at him, trying to keep the mood light. "That means you have too."

"That's right." Jax glanced around and stopped his eyes on her. "The things I learned from Grandfather's memories—you're not the only one who—"

They heard Juliette calling his name and Jax dropped his shoulders with a defeated sigh.

Addy was keeping score and that was the second time Juliette had interrupted them when Jax was about to open up to her. Jax's face was stressed and she felt kind of bad for him. She patted his shoulder, which was the best she could do to try to ease him. "We can talk later, ok?"

He nodded and they walked back to join the others. The symbol ended up to be about six feet around with several curving lines intertwining within it when it was completed.

Tanner entered the library and everyone turned to look at him.

"Who's sniffing magic markers?" he asked, making a face.

Addy pointed to the symbol on the floor.

"Markers really are magic?" Tanner grinned at Addy who rewarded him with a big smile.

"Apparently magic marker can be used to summon Akori," she said, turning her palms up.

"No, it can't," Juliette said, sounding irritated. "That's just a template to follow." She once again was looking worried at Jax.

"Enough with the cryptic exchanging of distraught looks—what the hell's going on?" Addy glanced around at everyone, except Tanner. "The four of you've had worried looks on your faces since I got here."

Will walked over and placed the magic markers on the table. He pointed to the symbol. "It has to be made in blood."

"What kind of blood?" Addy stared down at the magic marker template. "Just any blood—from anyone?"

"Probably from a virgin," Tanner said, shaking his head. "—that's how these things usually go." He glanced around at the group. "I don't think we're gonna have much luck finding it here."

Jax took a few steps and stood in the center of the symbol with a nervous smile on his face. "We use my blood—I'm the one summoning her."

"No way." Addy shook her head, realizing just how big the symbol was with Jax standing in the middle. "We'll find a different way."

"There is no other way," Stubbs said.

Juliette took a deep breath. "Will can heal Jax once we get enough blood."

Addy circled her eyes to Tanner and he turned his head to meet her gaze. If what Matt told them was true, Will wouldn't be able to heal Jax—he wouldn't have enough power. Supposedly Eva had to combine her power with another Akori's just to be able to manipulate Oren's memories.

"We're not doing it." Addy stepped forward and grabbed Jax by the hand. "You're not doing it."

He took her other hand in his. "It'll be fine—there's no reason to get worked up."

Addy quickly had to make a choice and her stomach was churning. She could tell them she didn't think the healing would work, which would make them ask too many questions. She'd end up having to confess about meeting with Matt. The other option was just to keep quiet and let things play out. Maybe the healing would work. Either way, it'd be a good test to see if Matt was telling the truth.

Addy was surprised by how emotional she felt. She turned her back on them and walked over to the fireplace. "Why is there something horrible looming at every turn?"

"If you can't stay, I'll understand." Jax came over and stood next to her. "Summoning Eva is necessary—we don't have a choice."

He was right about that. Eva took away any choices the men in her family had. She took a deep breath and lightly hugged her brother. He pulled her close and buried his face in her shoulder. Addy was beginning to think he went out of his way to make her feel uncomfortable.

She backed away trying to escape his arms. "If you think you can do this, then I'll be by your side." She went back to the circle feeling sick with guilt, knowing she'd never let Gage or Tanner take a chance like she was letting her own brother take.

Jax whispered a few words to Juliette. She nodded and pulled out one of the many knives she had tucked into her Team Jax gear.

"Don't die," she said, handing him the knife.

He went to the table where a small bucket was waiting. Gripping the knife, Jax sliced down the palm of his hand and made a fist. Blood began dripping into the container.

Addy felt sick watching, but couldn't look away as the blood was trickling slowly down his fingers and into the bucket. Her head was spinning and she felt Tanner's arm tighten around her shoulders. She realized that at some point he had ended up by her side and she was leaning on him.

"It's taking too long." Jax picked the knife back up, slicing his wrist deeply this time.

"Dammit Jackson, you're so impatient!" Juliette rushed over and helped brace him as the blood flowed out fast.

"Addy..." He started to say something, but lost consciousness.

Tanner let go of Addy and hurried over to help Juliette keep Jax upright.

Stubbs grabbed the first bucket and placed another in front of him. "We'll still need one more."

Addy watched for several minutes as her brother bled out before she couldn't take it anymore. Jackson's usually golden skin was pale and his breathing was shallow.

"We have to stop the bleeding, it's too..." Addy's heart was pounding and she was sweating like she was going to pass out.

"Wait, we're almost done." Juliette glanced up at Addy. "Will, do something with her before she's unconscious too."

Will grabbed Addy by the shoulders and turned her away from Jax. "Take a few breaths."

Addy felt a slight surge through her body and suddenly she felt more in control and the panic subsided. She saw his hands glowing and realized he'd used his power on her. Once she was steady, Will let go of her and walked back to Juliette's side.

When the second bucket was full, they moved Jax to the chaise and Will attempted to heal him. She watched impatiently as he tried several times.

Addy shook her head and threw her hands up in frustration. "I know what healing looks like and it's not working!"

Will dropped his arms and circled his eyes to Juliette. "Go get Molly."
Chapter 34

Molly made everyone except Will leave the room while she tended to Jax. When Addy saw Molly's face, she knew it wasn't good. Stubbs was on the phone calling Bernard, asking if he was able to get blood for transfusions from any of his contacts.

Tanner made Addy walk through the garden with him to get some air. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was the blood.

"You knew the healing wasn't going to work too, didn't you?" she asked him.

"Yeah, but I didn't know if I should speak up," he said, plucking a pink flower from a bush and handing it to her. "I think it's just another confirmation that Oren's book exists."

"I searched for it last night." She explained what happened, leaving out the part about Jax freaking out on her. She told him Bernard had the scroll with the symbols.

"I saw you called, but by the time I got in I figured it was too late to call back." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry, girlie."

"It's ok." She stopped walking to put the flower he'd given her in her hair. "Don't be sorry. You're completely allowed to have a life. I just forget sometimes that you haven't always been around." She smiled at him. "I can't believe you don't run from our weirdness."

"It's far too late to escape—I'm hooked." He reached over and straightened the flower. "Besides, it's my weirdness too. I feel connected."

Addy raised her eyebrows, looking hopeful. "Connected enough to take a trip?"

Tanner looked at her out of the corner of his eye suspiciously. "What are you cooking up now, scheming girl?"

"I think a statue in Jax's room told me that the book is in my family's burial crypt."

He dropped his head and shifted his eyes toward her. "A statue told you?"

Addy nodded. "I looked into its eyes and there was like—I don't know, like a reflection of the crypt in them."

"Did you confirm this revelation with your cat to see what he thinks? I mean I'd really rather not go if the statue and the cat aren't on the same page about it."

"I'm serious!" She took a swat at him but he dodged her. "It's in Kentucky and I wanna go check it out."

He put his hands up in defeat. "It sounds like a good place to start looking, but I don't know. Jax is gonna blow a gasket if we take off together."

"He'd come unglued if he knew, but he's currently in no condition to object." Addy felt her flower slipping and she reached up to reposition it. "Maybe we'll be back before he even knows we're gone."

Tanner's eyes flashed with concern and he carefully took her hands, examining her wrists. "What the hell happened?"

"It's not a big deal." She pulled her hands away, immediately wishing Will's little healing trick had gotten rid of her bruises. "My brother was upset last night after you dropped me off."

"Jax?" Tanner's face darkened as he spoke. "Jax did that to you?"

"Not on purpose—"

"Be ready to go in an hour." Tanner stormed off, shaking his head.

Hurrying into the main house, Addy found Bernard. He was just coming from the library, walking to his office.

"How is he?" she asked, catching up to him.

"Molly's doing the best she can. I've made some arrangements for medical supplies, but it'll still be a little while until they arrive."

"Thank you." She felt relieved that at least supplies were on the way.

"You should have stopped him." Bernard shook his head at her. "You and Tanner both knew the healing wouldn't work."

"Jax would've done it anyway." She didn't have time to debate what she should've done with him. "I need to know exactly where the crypt is," she said as they entered his office and closed the door. "Tanner and I are going there to search for Oren's book."

Addy prepared for a fight, but surprisingly he didn't protest. He sat down at his desk and looked through a file drawer until he found a sheet of paper with the cemetery's information. "The location is marked on the map. Be careful—family or not, you'll still be trespassing."

"Thanks, Bernard," she said, taking the paper.

"I've been working on the translations for the scroll you gave me and—" Bernard hesitated. "If it says what I think it does—things are going to get complicated."

Addy almost laughed. "Complicated? I don't think it's possible for things to get any more complicated around here."

Bernard ignored her attempt at humor and kept a serious expression. "I need to get into the library to cross reference what these smaller symbols inside of the larger one mean, but I have to wait until things settle down. I'd prefer no one know what I'm looking for."

She nodded, feeling somewhat alarmed at the seriousness of his tone. "Call us if you find something." She started to go but stopped, turning back to him. "I don't know how long we'll be gone, but please don't tell anyone where we're going."

"Daddy, you don't have to come here, he'll be fine," Juliette said as Addy passed her in the hall. Juliette was on the phone talking and Addy figured she must have been discussing Jax's condition with Mitchell. She'd never heard Juliette speak like that before and it sounded strange after hearing her barking orders off most of the time.

Addy felt terrible leaving with Jax in such bad shape, but it was the best time to get away. Once in the vault, she grabbed a large empty duffle bag and packed gear for herself and Tanner inside. She made her way to the garage using the back hallways to wait for Tanner.

In the garage, Gage's motorcycle was still sitting where he'd left it. He was always doing something to it, and as usual, it was disassembled. Someone had been driving his Jeep, probably Will, and it was parked in the wrong spot.

Tanner sent a text message saying he was outside of the front gate waiting. She'd never seen him drive anything other than his motorcycle, but the car out front was a newer model Cadillac CTS in black. Oliver was driving. When they saw her, Tanner climbed out and threw the bag in the trunk.

Addy looked from the driver's seat to Tanner, who was seated next to her in the back seat. "Oliver's driving us?"

"Just to the airport." He tipped back into the headrest and turned to her. "I chartered a plane."

"Oh." She'd just assumed they'd be driving.

Roughly six hours later they were in their rental car pulling up to the cemetery gate. "It's already closed? It's only 6pm," Addy said.

"Relax, girlie. We'll just find another way in."

It was still daylight outside so they parked down a quiet street and started to survey the perimeter of the cemetery. It wasn't very good news. A tall stone wall topped with sharp razor wire surrounded the entire cemetery.

They walked over to the gate and got a good look inside for the first time. "It's amazing." Addy was in awe at what she saw. "It's definitely where the crypt is."

The area they were looking at was full of elaborate monuments, adorned with angels and tall obelisks. Many had stone urns, some of which were draped with a cloth, like what she saw in the painting. Some had angel statues and columns or were covered with carvings.

Tanner tugged on the bars of the gate but they were sturdy.

Continuing around the edges of the property, they spotted a small stream. There was an arch in the wall covered with bars to allow the water to flow through it. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Tanner carefully stepped down the small bank and checked the bars.

"We can get in through there, but we'll have to wait until after dark," he said, walking back up and kicking the mud off his boots. "We also need to get some flashlights, and whatever it's gonna take to open the crypt."

They hit a local hardware store and picked up some tools and flashlights. Once that was off their to-do list, they grabbed dinner in the city, and then headed back to the cemetery to wait. It was a nice break from everything to just sit and talk together. Addy was surprised they were able to push everything happening aside and just hang out for a little while.

She stared out the window at a squirrel digging at the base of a nearby tree. "Can I ask you something?"

He tipped his head at her sideways and grinned. "If I can wait to answer the first question until I know the second one."

She smiled, watching his reflection in the window rather than him directly. "That's fair."

"You're not looking at me—I'm taking that as a bad sign."

"It's not."

"Shoot then."

She turned to him then hesitated, unsure if she should ask him after all. He was giving her an impatient look so she just blurted it out.

"You're one of my closest friends and I don't know anything about where you grew up."

Tanner shrugged. "I grew up in Florida, not far from the estate."

"What about your family?"

He turned to look out the window at the same squirrel she'd been watching.

"Never mind," she said. "I'm sorry for being—"

"It's fine." He cleared his throat and looked back at her. "I went to live with my adopted parents when I was three."

She knew she should stop but couldn't make herself. "Do you remember your real parents?"

"No."

"But you remember every—"

"Listen girlie, my parents were older when I went to live with them and pretty set in their own life already. They were wonderful people, but Oliver took care of me most of the time."

"Oh." Addy reached for her drink and saw Tanner eyeing her wrist. She pulled her arm back out of his view.

"Let's find the book and get the hell away from these people." Tanner reached down and turned the radio off. "They can destroy the stone, or not destroy the stone, or they can just go off and destroy each other. Whatever they decide to do—they don't need us around to do it."

Addy was caught off guard by his words and the intensity in his voice when he said them. She didn't have a clue how to respond, but she knew she had to say something.

"Where would we go?" she asked, biting her lip.

Tanner smiled and put the side of his index finger on his chin. "Anywhere except abandoned warehouses. We've already scratched it off our places to see before we die list twice."

Leaving the estate had been her plan with Gage before he Scattered—it was a painfully familiar conversation. She and Tanner joked about all kinds of ridiculous places, most of which involved free-range cattle for some odd reason.

"It's getting dark—we'd better get ready to roll," Tanner said, pulling his white t-shirt off.

When he was reaching around to grab a black one from the backseat, Addy couldn't help but notice all the tattoos covering his upper body. She leaned way over to look closer in the dark. When he turned around he blasted into her with his elbow.

"Whoa—watch out. You alright?"

Unable to shake the urge to examine his skin, she immediately leaned toward him again without saying anything. It was dark, but she thought something looked strange.

He started to pull the black shirt over his head, but she reached out and stopped him.

There was definitely something different about the skin where the tattoos covered it. Addy raised her hand to run her fingers along his shoulder. Without any warning, he grabbed her wrist. His fingers squeezed the bruises Jax gave her, making her wince.

Tanner immediately let go and pulled his shirt on. He took a deep breath and turned to her. "I'm sorry. You just shouldn't—"

"I shouldn't have been a space invader, I know." Addy looked at him out of the corner of her eye, feeling like a complete creeper. "I didn't mean to." She couldn't help herself though. Even after she sat back in her seat, her fingers still itched to touch his skin.

Tanner leaned his head back on the headrest. "I'm not used to having someone around who's so—well you're just..." He trailed off and she watched him close his eyes.

As she studied him, the fact that he could simply stop coming around any time he felt like it rolled over her like a boulder, causing her body to tense. There was nothing making him spend time at the estate—or with her.

In a panic, she just started talking fast. "I didn't mean to be pushy with my questions or—space invade and overstep by asking you to do crazy things like coming here." She pressed her hands down flat in her knees. "I won't do it anymore—just don't stop coming around and being my friend."

He quickly lifted his head and held his hands up. "Slow down—geez, girlie. How'd we go from you being pushy to me not being your friend anymore all in like five seconds?"

She opened her mouth to talk, but he held his hand up again. After pulling his shirt up over his shoulder, he reached over and took her hand, placing it flat on his skin.

Just by pressing down lightly, she could feel fine lines under her palm. Addy moved her hand slightly and felt him tense. "What is it?"

Tanner turned his head away from her. "Scars."

Slowly she moved across his skin, lifting her hand so only a single finger was running along the edge of the lines. They seemed to wind into a circular pattern.

Addy closed her eyes and tried to visualize the design her finger traced in her head. A chill crept through her when it began to dawn on her what it was. She kept lightly trailing along his skin until the entire picture screamed to life in her mind. Every spot covered with a tattoo was hiding scars in the shapes of Akori symbols.

Tanner pulled his shirt down, forcing her to move her hand. Addy had so many questions, but couldn't bring herself to ask them. There was no way he could've done it to himself—someone did it to him. She fought off angry tears at the thought.

"Ready to get it done?" he asked, snapping her back to what they were there for.

Addy didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded. She got out of the car and moved to the backseat to change her clothes. Tanner stood outside of the car, a few feet away with his back to her. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he'd gotten the scars that covered his shoulders and back. The only thing she knew for sure was that nothing like that was ever going to happen to him again as long as she was around.

As she finished getting dressed, Addy realized she couldn't press Tanner about his past again. She'd have to wait for him to tell her, like Bernard said.

They loaded up the duffle bag with the items from the hardware store and headed toward the stream. Tanner easily kicked out two of the bars that blocked their way in and they were soon walking through the pitch-dark cemetery.

"Finding it's gonna be impossible," Addy said, raising her hands and waving them around. "It's too dark to see anything clearly and this place is huge."

They wandered around for nearly an hour looking for the right section based on the map Bernard gave them. They'd entered the cemetery in what appeared to be an area of more modern monuments, but she could tell by the change in design that they were getting closer to the section they needed.

There was a noise behind them like footsteps and Addy drew her sword. It started again and she swung around, about to strike out.

Tanner immediately hooked his arm around her waist. "Hold on, girlie."

He shined the flashlight on the grassy area. She followed it with her eyes until he stopped on a peacock poking around.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Addy burst out laughing. "He owes you his life."

She put her sword away and he took her hand, probably to save the woodland creatures from her wrath, and they continued through the dark cemetery until they found the section they were looking for.

Addy stood in front of the entrance to the Sanders crypt. "It's so much bigger than it looked in the painting."

Even in the dark it was beautiful. Built into a hill, the entrance was wider than a normal door, way big enough to fit a coffin through, she thought. The angels on each side of the entrance were as tall as Addy. The name Sanders was carved in the top center.

Neither one of them had ever broken into an underground burial crypt before, so Tanner just grabbed the tools and started trying to find a way into the entrance. She checked out the angels by the door and then walked around the immediate area, reading the names and dates on the elaborate markers.

Tanner called to her in a loud whisper, startling her. She hurried back to the entrance to see it was now open.

It was pitch black inside and the light from their flashlights made the shadows creepy. About ten feet from the entrance there was a long stone stairway leading down. Tanner carefully closed the door behind them, making sure it didn't latch. They slowly started down the stairs, hand in hand.

"Your Kung Fu Grip is cutting off the blood flow to my fingers." He unlaced his fingers from hers and simply grabbed her hand. "I'm seriously questioning why I do these things for you."

She let out a nervous laugh that echoed eerily around them in the stairway. "Me too."

They continued down about forty feet before the stairway ended. The room at the bottom was around twenty feet wide by eighty feet long. The stairs took up one wall and doors lined the sidewalls. Three of the doors were closed.

In the center of the room stood a stone sarcophagus topped with a tall angel statue. The ceiling was about twenty-five feet above them. Statues of angels were placed between each door and the walls were covered with intricate carvings of leaves and branches.

Tanner shined his flashlight around the room. "It's not what I expected." He let go of her hand and started walking around. He reached into the bag and pulled out the pack of emergency glow sticks and began dropping them around the room to light it up.

Addy figured she might as well check the rooms where her family was first. She poked her head into each room and quickly discovered that the ones with the doors open were empty. A strong, musty stench met her as she pushed the first closed door open.

The flashlight lit the room as she read the names by the coffins on shelves along the walls. It was Oren's son Jon, the second Overseer, and his son, the third Overseer. Their wives were also entombed in there. She searched, but there wasn't anything in the room she could picture as a hiding place for Oren's book.

Tanner followed her into the next room. The same foul smell hit them at the door. There they found the fourth and fifth Overseers and their wives. In addition, a smaller coffin that must have belonged to a child was with them. Again, there wasn't anything particularly interesting.

He pulled door number two shut after they exited to the main room. "You just want me to check out the last room?"

"I'm alright." She followed him across the room to her grandfather's final resting place. "Thanks though."

Ever since Addy received the symbol from the stone, she'd been feeling removed from much of the pain she felt about losing Fate. Even now, she didn't feel like she would break down being in the room with his body.

The smell in the third room was horrendous and the floor was wet.

"Oh, my—" She started gagging. "What is that?"

"Hardcore decomposition." Tanner grabbed her arm. "Watch the floor, its slippery."

"Tanner, something's not right." She flashed the light all around. "My grandmother isn't here."

"Are you sure she's supposed to be? You've never told me about her."

"She died giving birth to my dad." Addy told him, still looking around. "I was specifically told she was here—right with my parents."

Tanner examined the place where her coffin should've been. "It doesn't look like another coffin was ever here."

Addy walked out of the room because the smell was too much to take. Tanner followed and closed the door behind them.

"I don't know what to think." She shook it off and decided she had to deal with one thing at a time. "I guess I'll talk to my brother about it when things settle down and I can tell him we were here."

They searched every statue in the crypt and came up empty. As a last resort, they began pressing on all of the stones and stepping on every brick in the floor. There was no book to be found.

"I was so sure we'd find it," Addy said, leaning against the sarcophagus in the middle of the room. She was beginning to wonder if she imagined seeing the vision in the statues eyes. "Sorry for dragging you all the way here."

Tanner moved next to her and sat on top of the sarcophagus. "If the music thing doesn't work out, I can add grave robbing to my resume thanks to this trip."

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it was worth it then." Tipping her head back, she was about to close her eyes when she suddenly grabbed his arm and pointed up.

"What?" He shined his flashlight in the direction she was pointing. "Who's climbing up there?"

"Give me a boost." She tucked her flashlight into her pocket and jumped up on top of Oren Sanders' sarcophagus.

Tanner stood up and lifted her as high as he could. After a few careful movements she ended up standing on his shoulders. The angel perched on top was holding a book in its hand. With his help, she was just able to reach it.

"Its part of the statue—it doesn't come off." She smoothed her fingers along the hand of the angel that was grasping the book, and then along the book itself. "It's made of stone or something—definitely not marble like the angel."

"Break it off then." Tanner wrapped his fingers around her calf to steady her. "And hurry up—you're heavier than you look."

"Sorry family angel guy." Addy braced herself, taking the end of her flashlight and pounding on the book. "It sounds hollow." She continued pounding on it and after a little more effort pieces started breaking away.

"I'm getting pelted with debris so something must be happening up there." Tanner shifted her weight to his other shoulder. "Can I get an update?"

"Bring me down!"

He lowered her down and they jumped to the floor together. Addy stood in front of him and flipped her light around to shine on a small brown leather bound book.
Chapter 35

"The book is empty," Tanner said, handing it over to Bernard in his office. "The only thing written on the inside is the name Oren Sanders."

Addy couldn't speak. All her hopes of getting Gage back and ending what Eva did to her family were dashed.

It was 7am when they got back to Tremain from Kentucky. Tanner had called Bernard from the car and asked him to meet them. Bernard said Jax was doing better but was still weak, and that he was going to summon Eva in the afternoon. He'd covered for Addy and he didn't think anyone ever realized she was gone from the estate.

They chatted with Bernard for a few minutes while he examined the book, but they were both exhausted. Tanner said he'd drop their gear off in the weapons vault on his way back to the resort to get some sleep. She grabbed Oren's book and headed back to her villa too. She needed to rest, shower, and see her cat.

Addy was awakened by the cat banging a toy into the wall over and over. She looked at the clock and was shocked to see she'd been out for five hours. She hadn't meant to fall asleep for so long. She took a hot shower, dried her hair, and then put on a pair of cropped jeans and a white lacy tank-top with her flip-flops. She ran her fingers along her cat charm while looking in the mirror. The sick feeling of finding the empty book washed over her again.

Tanner was probably back from the resort already and if Jax was well enough, they'd be starting the summoning soon. Addy needed to get word to Matt that she had Oren's book and break the news that it was blank. She tucked the book into her bag and headed for the main house.

Addy checked the library first, but it was empty. The painting on the wall of Andrew and Eva had new meaning to her after seeing the crypt and knowing what Eva had done to her family. She stared at it for a minute then shifted her eyes down at the magic marker symbol on the floor. She decided to go see her brother.

Juliette answered when Addy knocked on the door to the south wing of the house.

"Jax, your sister finally decided to grace you with her presence," she said, leading Addy into his sitting room.

Addy ignored Juliette's comment and sat down next to Jax. He had a thick bandage on his arm and hand. She noticed that the bracelet he always wore with the different Akori symbols was on his other wrist. He raised his eyebrows at Juliette and pointed toward the hallway. With a huff, she walked out, closing the door hard behind her.

Addy smiled at him. "How do you feel?"

He grabbed the remote and flipped the TV off. "Good enough to finish the summoning."

"Right." Addy looked around the room, noticing how many books were piled around on the floor. "Meeting Eva should be a blast."

She'd never actually sat with her brother talking normally, but after a few minutes of awkwardness, they chatted easily. He told her that he'd always lived in the house she found him at, but traveled with Mitchell frequently and went to a lot of big Akori events. That's where he met many of the Akori who were staying at the estate.

"How'd you make it nineteen years pretending to be an Akori without any symbols?" Addy asked, eyeing the tops of his hands. "No one noticed?"

"I jammed my hands in my pockets when I had to and wore extra long sleeves. That took care of it most of the time. When we traveled or went to events I had to have fake marks. Jules is a pro at drawing them—they look completely genuine."

The conversation made her realize that Jax was a huge part of the life she and Gage were hidden from. He was probably a big reason Fate kept them away from all things Akori.

Jax picked at the edge of the tape that held his bandage in place. "I saw you once when we were kids."

She turned sideways on the davenport to face him. "You did— where?"

He lifted his eyes toward her. "In Vail. Mitchell met up with grandfather at a ski resort and he took me with him."

"How old were we?"

"Ten. You were snowboarding with some other kids—probably Gage, Matt and Renee."

"I actually remember that trip. Gage didn't get to go because he was grounded. I took one of his boards without asking and wrecked it—he was so pissed at me."

Jax smiled thinly and got to his feet. "We should head downstairs."

"Oh ok—right." She was taken aback by his quick shift in direction. "I have one thing to do first, and then I'll meet you there." She stood up and gave him a hug that was more genuine than any other time she'd hugged him.

Addy walked fast to Kim's room. As usual, she waved to the guards and found Kim sitting on her bed reading. After closing the door behind her, she made her way across the room and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Tanner and I found Oren's book." She pulled it out for Kim to see and explained how they'd traveled to the crypt.

"That's an odd cover. My parents' store has a lot of old books, but this one is really unique looking." Kim carefully took the book and opened it. Panic quickly spread across her face as she flipped through the pages. "It's blank."

She looked as bad as Addy felt. "Without any information we can't get Gage back." The words hung up in her throat. "It was all a waste."

Kim put her arms around Addy. "It's not over, we'll think of something else." She pulled away and began to sniff the book. "What's that odor?"

"The book probably smells like the crypt, which was rancid to say the least."

Kim continued to smell the book.

Addy raised her eyebrows. "You ok?"

"I'm just thinking about something my parents showed me once at the book store." Kim stood up and walked over to her lamp, removing the shade.

"Bernard already checked it out, he couldn't see anything."

Kim held the page over the light, looking through it. "Just wait."

It was a few minutes before Kim spoke again—she just stared at the page over the lamp.

"Addy, come look."

Addy stood up and leaned over the book. "What is it?" Something dark was forming on the page.

Kim bit her lip and looked over at her. "Can you tell Doris to come up here and bring an iron?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand." Addy looked from Kim to the page over the light bulb.

"I don't think the book's blank," Kim said, holding another page over the bulb. "I just need a little time and an iron to be sure."

Going as fast as possible without actually running, she found Doris in Bernard's office with him. She explained what Kim was up to. He told Addy to go to the library before Jax came looking for her and that he and Doris would check out what Kim found.

Addy really didn't want to go, but she knew if she missed the summoning Jax would know something was going on. She told Bernard to let her know as soon as they had something and hurried from his office to the library.

Ahead of her down the corridor, Juliette was entering the library behind Tanner. Addy wanted to call out to him to wait so she could tell him that Kim may have found something, but the last thing she wanted to do was alert Juliette.

Before she even entered the library door, she could already smell the blood. Stubbs and Will were down on the floor with the buckets, painting it carefully on top of the magic marker outline. The sight made her stomach churn and she wondered how her life had gotten so twisted.

Jax had the Overseer's Stone on the nearby table, and he and Juliette were going over the book one last time. Tanner was seated on the chaise by the fireplace. When he saw her, he motioned for her to sit next to him.

"I'm sorry Oren's book was a bust." He whispered so quietly she could barely hear him.

She looped her arm through his, tugging him toward her. "It might not be." She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "Kim thinks she found something on the pages."

Tanner gaped at her. "What—how?"

Addy glanced around before answering and Jax was already walking toward her. It was like he had an alarm that went off anytime she got too close to Tanner.

Jax reached his uninjured hand out and pulled her to her feet. "We're ready."

They gathered around the table. Will, Stubbs, and Tanner on one side, and Juliette and Addy on the other. Jax stood at the end with the stone.

Jax didn't usually have blue Akori marks on his hands, but when he touched the stone, they appeared bright and glowing. The circle on the floor began shining with the same blue color. It continued for several minutes and Addy was starting to think that maybe Will was wrong, and Eva hadn't come back yet.

At last, a swirling started in the center of the circle. Wet blood splattered around on the floor and a figure began to take shape. Long blond hair whipped around and the gold Akori robes she wore twisted against her body.

They all stared, mesmerized by what was unfolding in front of their eyes.

"Eva..." Stubbs said under his breath.

Suddenly all of the whirling stopped and Jax pulled his fingers from the stone.

In the center of the bloody circle, looking flabbergasted stood Eva. She was incredibly beautiful just like in the painting on the wall, only she wasn't smiling now.

Stubbs walked over to face her. "You've caused me to take some drastic steps to get an audience with you, my sister."

"Sister?" Addy repeated as she and Tanner looked at each other.

Eva still seemed to be processing what was happening and she gave him a long look, assessing him. "Andrew, what have you done to yourself?"

He motioned to his hair and face as she studied him. "I've aged while waiting for you—my only choice was to wait here for you to return."

"Andrew? Stubbs is Andrew?" Addy whipped her head around to check out the painting of him on the wall. She shook her head, wondering how she never saw it before. She noted that Will, Jax, and Juliette didn't share her and Tanner's surprise at the revelation.

"You shut me out—cut me off," Stubbs said, throwing his hands in the air. "I can no longer feel what you feel—or feel your presence. You've even stopped me from visiting you in your dreams."

Eva appeared unfazed, as if she was dismissing everything he said as soon as he said it. "What is it you want from me?"

"Let's not play games—you're well aware of what's going on." Stubbs turned his back to her. "Our people are unsettled. They're finding ways to steal power from each other. They've become quite organized again and even tried to kill the Overseer. They want their power back."

"The Mesen are no longer our people," Eva said, waving her hand. "It's out of my control regardless, what has been done cannot be undone."

For the first time Eva seemed to notice the group standing there watching and her face flushed.

"It's good to see you, William. I can't tell you how disappointed I am to find you're a part of this." She turned to Juliette. "How's Mitchell?"

Juliette left the table and walked closer to Eva, bowing her head. "My father's fine. We need you. There are things going on that you must deal with."

Will slowly made his way over and stood next to Juliette. He bowed his head, but he didn't look directly at Eva. "It's time for the punishment to end. My own son is gone because he didn't have enough power—the situation is unacceptable."

Eva glared at them as if what they were saying was unbelievable. "You feel they've learned their lesson? Even now they plot and scheme to control the power."

"It's not about control, it never was. They wanted open discussion with us about how we were leading them—they wanted to be free to live without having to help the humans at every turn." Stubbs took a step closer to the circle. "We were wrong not to compromise with them when they were willing to negotiate, Eva."

Eva tried to step from the circle but was held back. She scanned the room and stopped on Jax. "Release me."

Stubbs put his hand up to Jax, instructing him to wait. "Tomorrow we have a meeting set up with the Mesen leaders to discuss what compromises can be made."

"Nothing can be done that they'll be satisfied with." She looked down at the symbol on the floor. "Our power cannot be restored to what it once was. The Sanders family controls the Akori power here."

"She's lying," Addy said, surprising everyone. "There's a way—Oren Sanders knew how."

Eva whipped her head around to look at Addy and seemed to be studying her. "I don't believe I know you."

Jax spoke up to answer Eva before Addy could. "Her name is Addison Sanders, she's—"

"Don't speak for me Jax." Addy moved around the table to where Eva was trapped. "The power can be restored and my family can be freed of the mess you created."

Stubbs grabbed Addy by the arm, pulling her to the side. Jax started in their direction, but Tanner got there first, immediately removing Stubbs' hand from Addy's arm.

"Don't touch her, Andrew," Tanner said, making him take a step back. "You're as much at fault for this mess as your evil twin."

As if Tanner hadn't even spoken, Stubbs continued staring at Addy. "What do you know?"

Addy slipped her arm through Tanner's and walked with him back to the group. The second she touched him, Eva's eyes got big and she glared at them.

"Eva compelled Oren Sanders to make the deal," Addy said. "He didn't wanna make our family serve the Akori."

Will exchanged whispers with Juliette and then put his hands up, shaking his head. "There have always been rumors about what happened the night Eva created the Overseer's Stone. Rumors are not truth—there's no way to prove what happened."

Addy noticed Eva was still glaring at her as she spoke. "What if we could prove it—and destroy the Overseer's Stone?"

Eva tried again to step from the circle, but was held back. "What is it you think you know?"

"We know what really happened the night after the ball was attacked," Tanner said, tightening his grip on Addy. "The rumors were true. You compelled Oren to take the oath."

Eva studied Tanner, and for the first time she seemed to be nervous. She glanced between him and Addy. "You—both of you."

Tanner nodded. "Yes—we both know."

Addy pulled Tanner with her closer to Eva. "Once Oren was given the power to control the stone, he figured out he'd been compelled. When he wanted out of it, you gave your power to another Akori so he'd be strong enough to manipulate Oren's memories."

"That man was difficult." Eva shook her head in disgust. "I gave Oren his son Jon back—brought his only child back from the grave. He thanked me by calling me a demon and a devil." Eva threw her hands up. "He said I was unnatural—that I'd be punished by his god for disrupting the natural order of things."

"He was right." Stubbs dropped his shoulders. "We shouldn't have been interfering with the humans."

"I can understand wanting to punish the Mesen by taking their powers away. What they did to the humans was horrific." Addy let go of Tanner and looked between Stubbs and Eva. "What about you and Andrew—or the rest of the Akori who never did anything wrong though? You punished everyone. Don't you want your powers back?"

Eva studied Addy then turned to Jax, staring at him intently. Jax shifted his eyes to Juliette and they exchanged worried glances.

Eva finally turned her attention back to Addy. "Your question—do I want my powers? Of course I do, but that's not possible. Breaking the Overseer's Stone comes at a higher price than I'm prepared to pay."

Eva reached out to Stubbs who was again standing close to her, but she couldn't touch him through the barrier. "Tell the Overseer to release me."

There was a knock on the door and a second later Bernard came walking in without waiting for someone to answer it. He pointed to Tanner and Addy. "I need to see you both—now."
Chapter 36

After Bernard interrupted them, all hell broke loose in the library. Jax wouldn't let them leave without an explanation and they were not about to give it in front of Eva and Stubbs. Juliette called Patrick and Malcolm in to watch the library while Bernard led the rest of them to Kim's room.

On the way, Addy explained everything to Jax, Juliette, and Will. She disclosed every detail about her meeting with Matt and her trip to the cemetery.

Jax erupted at her. "You should've been telling me everything!"

Juliette put her hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter, Jax. She may have done it in a completely irresponsible and reckless way, like she does everything, but she got important information for us."

"You knew Stubbs was Andrew and you didn't tell me." Addy pointed at Jax. "You know a lot of things you don't feel like sharing!" She turned to Juliette. "And why the hell are you always such a complete bitch to me?"

Juliette's mouth dropped open; her face quickly matched her red hair. Before she could speak, Jax put up his hand to stop her.

Tanner put his arm around Addy's shoulders and leaned in close to her. "Relax girlie, we're gonna get everyone on the same page."

Jax immediately shot Tanner a pissed off look and lost the last bit of calm he had. "I told you to stay away from her!"

Tanner glared back at Jax, lurching forward. "Never gonna happen."

Addy pressed her hand against Tanner's chest to keep him in place and turned her head toward Jax. "Stop trying to decide who my friends are. You copped an attitude about Gage—now you're trying to come between Tanner and me."

"Alright children, that's enough!" Will scolded, looking between the four of them. "If the book really has the information to destroy the stone, we'll all need to cooperate. You can fight it out after we get my son back."

Addy stayed close to Tanner as they continued walking. Jax may have been her brother, but she felt much closer to Tanner. Will was right—the only way things were going to get resolved was by working together, whether they liked it or not.

They were quiet until Bernard opened Kim's door and led them inside. The book's pages were spread out on the floor in rows. They all had words on them, but the letters were larger than normal and brown.

Addy hugged Kim and then pointed at the pages. "How is this possible? The pages were blank."

"Oren was very clever." Kim crouched down and ran her finger along the sheets of paper. "He must've been worried about the book being found by the wrong person. He wrote it using milk—an old method of invisible ink. We had a book like this in my parent's store once. When you heat the pages, the fat in the milk burns, turning brown."

"It's exactly like Matt described," Bernard said. "Oren realized he'd been compelled after getting the power. He wanted out of the deal but Eva refused, saying she couldn't change things."

Juliette bent over and looked at the text. "Does it say how Jax breaks the stone's power?"

"That's the really interesting part, because he's not the one who does it." Bernard had Kim pick up the pages and put them in order.

Jax read the pages first. As he finished each one, he passed it to the next person. They were all quiet as they read.

When they were finished, Kim was the first one to speak. "Fate must have known what he was doing when he called Tanner here and marked Addy with the stone."

Jax shook his head. "He didn't know about the book. I'd know if he knew—and he didn't. The book has nothing to do with the reason he summoned Tanner or the mark Addy got from touching the stone."

Addy handed the pages she was holding back to Jax. "So it's all been a coincidence? I have a hard time believing that."

Bernard tipped his head back, mulling it over. "I have to agree with Addy. Either we got really lucky—or there's something else at play here."

"I'm not helping do it." Tanner put his hands up and took a step back. "Something's not right about how easy it all is."

Will crossed his arms, facing Jax. "When I met with the Mesen they strongly suggested that I get you to summon Eva before the meeting about the truce. I wasn't sure why until now."

"They told you about the book?" Tanner asked.

"No, but they alluded to the fact that they had some leads on how to destroy the stone and whatever it was would lead back to Eva."

Jax reached for the door handle. "I'm not on board with doing anything yet. We better get back to the library."

"But if we can bring back the Scattered Akori..." Addy started, but gave up with a sigh.

On the way out of Kim's room, Will leaned down to Addy. It was the same way Gage always did when he wanted to say something only to her.

"Be patient," he said, patting her shoulder. "The pieces are falling into place."

Bernard said he was going back to his office, but he grabbed Addy and Tanner and pulled them off to the side first.

"I translated the scroll." He spoke so quietly they could hardly make out what he was saying. "I know what the symbols on the back of your necks mean."

They both looked at him waiting for an explanation.

"Not here," he said, looking around. He put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I need to tell you—both of you, when we're alone."

They agreed to meet at his office as soon as they were done dealing with Eva.

Stubbs was whispering with Eva when they returned, but he quickly moved to face them.

"What's going on?" Stubbs asked, looking directly at Jax.

"We have a book written by Oren Sanders detailing what happened." Jax placed the pages on the table, pointing at them. "It also explains how to destroy the Overseer's Stone."

Eva looked up as her face went pale. "Destroying the stone comes with consequences greater than you can imagine."

"I thought it couldn't be done at all," Tanner said.

Eva turned in his direction. "It cannot be done with results any of you will be pleased with."

"It requires both you and Eva to be present." Will told Stubbs. "Along with two others marked with specific Akori Shepherd symbols. The same ones Tanner and Addy have."

"Is that why you broke our connection and blocked me?" Stubbs turned to Eva. "You knew something was going on?"

Eva's face softened, her voice was pleading. "We shouldn't be together." She raised her head and pointed to Tanner and Addy. "Neither should you."

Addy stepped closer to Tanner, taking his hand. "Why?"

She turned her palms up, looking from her brother to Addy and Tanner. "I've done everything over the years to prevent all of our lives from intersecting and yet still—here we are."

"But what the book said would work—the power would be restored if we did it?" Addy asked. "The Akori who are Scattered would return?"

"The Scattered Akori will return if the stone is destroyed." Eva pointed to Jax without looking directly at him. "If we sever the Overseer's connection to the stone he'll die."

Juliette dropped her hand on top of the wrinkled pages. "We're not doing it then."

Eva sighed, placing her hand on her chest. "Andrew tried to warn me, but I was blinded by my anger and grief. The night of the ball I was determined to bind the power to protect the humans from the Mesen. I thought Oren would welcome my help. Compelling him was just a way to ease him. I never expected him to want out of the deal. When he asked me to break the oath I couldn't, so I had his memories altered. It was difficult and I regretted what I'd hastily done, but there was nothing I could do to change it."

Tanner let go of Addy's hand and crossed his arms. "Cut to the chase. Besides Jax kicking over, which I'm still on the fence about being a bad thing, what would happen if the Overseer's Stone was destroyed?"

"There's no way to—" Eva was stopped by a loud commotion outside.

Ash Worthington and his father Preston walked in followed by a group of Akori and humans. They were all dressed in white uniforms from head to toe.

"Eva," Preston said, "I didn't believe it when I heard you were being summoned and trapped." He gave her a sympathetic look and bowed his head. "How embarrassing for you."

"Preston, you're not welcome here," Will said, stepping in front of him.

Ash raised his hand casually and made a sweeping motion. Will flew through the air into the stone wall.

Jax made a move toward Ash, but Juliette held him back. "We don't know what we're dealing with."

"You've got that right." Ash stopped in front of Addy. He ran his fingertips down her arm, causing her to shudder. "It's very nice to see you again." He leaned close and whispered in her ear. "You've eluded me twice, but I have a feeling the third time's gonna be a charm."

"Get away from her!" Tanner's teeth were clenched and his face was tense. "I swear, I'll—"

Ash raised his hand in Tanner's direction without taking his eyes off Addy. "Don't make me silence you, Shepherd—I've been told it's quite unpleasant."

Preston walked over to stand in front of Tanner. "You honestly don't remember us, do you? Perhaps we should—"

"Leave the boy alone, Preston." Eva raised her hand toward him from where she was trapped across the room.

Preston tipped his head and began slowly walking around the group. "I can't believe after all this time I finally have all of you in the same room. It feels wonderful when a plan comes together." He paused and turned to his son. "Ash, we'll need to clear the room of unnecessary individuals."

Stubbs moved to stand by Eva. "What do they want?"

"Preston is the one who removed Oren's memories," she said, closing her eyes, "and he's the only one, outside of me, who knew everything."

"Not the only one." Preston corrected her. "Surely you haven't forgotten about Or—"

"I've never forgotten anything that happened—or what you did," Eva said.

"That's why we're all together today, and believe me when I say I've worked very hard to get to here," Preston said. "When the children were separated, I didn't know if this would ever be possible. It was very clever of Fate to place his grandson with Mitchell West—I didn't suspect a thing."

"Preston, you were once a good friend to us." Stubbs shook his head and turned his hands over. "What happened to you?"

"You know what happened all those years ago. If you'd have made her do as you asked we wouldn't be here now." He tipped his head and studied Stubbs. "Andrew, my friend, do you really believe I'm the one you should be so concerned about?"

Panic flashed in Stubbs eyes and he diverted them.

"Ah, yes—so you do remember him." Preston's face broke out into a sick grin. "He's who you should be worried about—not us."

"Who are you talking about?" Addy asked, looking between Eva and Preston.

"He's gone—with no way to return," Eva said as if Addy hadn't even spoken. "If he's why you're doing this then—"

"Gone?" Ash turned around and gaped at Eva. "He's never been gone, just waiting. Watching, always watching."

Eva looked pale and immediately turned to Andrew, whispering.

Ash began following his father's orders. He pointed for his people to remove Will, who was unconscious. Then he turned to Juliette.

"You still look fantastic, Jules." He flipped his hand and sent her out the door.

Jax lunged at him, but Ash calmly put his hand up and stopped Jax in his tracks. "Sit down," he said, pointing at Jackson.

Jax moved to the closest chair and plopped down, saying a few swearwords as he tried to stand.

Ash's face twisted into a devilish smirk. "Stay."

Jax let several more swearwords slip out of his mouth as he pounded his fist on the table.

Addy looked at Tanner, covering her mouth and whispering. "He must be really strong if his power works on Jax."

Ash turned to Tanner and Addy. "We need you both—stay put."

"That was pretty cool," Tanner whispered.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Can you move?"

Tanner tried to lift his foot but it was glued to the floor.

"Still think it's cool?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Will you be mad if I say yeah?"

Preston sauntered over to Eva. "Well, it appears as though we're ready to begin."

"You don't understand what you're doing, Preston." Eva shook her finger at him. "Andrew and I will be gone; the power won't be restored like it was."

"Those pathetic Mesen may be concerned about the power, but you know that's not the case with me, Eva." Preston looked over at his son and smiled. "So I'm willing to chance it."

More noise came from the hallway and Akori in Team Jax gear, as well as Mesen wearing the blue combat uniforms, came rushing in.

Matt and Renee were the first through the door. Addy still couldn't move and wasn't sure if they were there to help or make things worse.

"Don't just stand there," Renee said, shouting at her and Tanner. "Help us stop them!"

Addy felt a wave of relief that they seemed to be on the same side.

Tanner pointed to Ash who was flinging Team Jax and Mesen around like toys. "We can't."

Eva was shouting at Jax over the noise, yelling for him to free her. He was trying to reach the Overseer's Stone, but he was still stuck to the chair.

Matt ran to the table and slid it in front of him, slapping him on the back. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, man—at least for today."

Jax grabbed the stone and immediately placed his fingers on the symbols. A bright flash of blue light caused Eva to be freed from her blood-smeared trap.

Eva grabbed Stubbs by his hand. They directed the small amount of power they had together, attempting to free Jax, Tanner, and Addy from Ash's hold. Addy could feel the surge flowing through her and finally she was able to move. The symbol on her neck started burning like crazy and she pressed her hand against it.

"Does yours burn?" she asked Tanner.

"Yeah." Tanner reached up and touched his, glancing at Addy. "No pulling this time though."

"Weapons," Jax said, standing up.

After kicking off her flip-flops, Addy was right behind Tanner and Jax heading for the door. They met substantial resistance and did a lot of fighting on the way to the vault.

"There's so many of them," Addy said while trying to catch her breath. "Some are human."

"Doesn't matter—an enemy's an enemy." When they rounded the corner into the vault, Jax stopped and turned to them. "Do not hesitate to kill them because they're human—they won't hesitate to kill you."

They each grabbed their weapons. This time Jax only had one sword because his other hand was still injured.

Addy passed Jax as they ran up the stairs. "We need to get back to the others."

Before either of the guys could respond, they heard Juliette's voice. She was shouting for Jax as she put her phone in her pocket.

"I'm here," he said, spotting her.

She looked like she was about to cry and hurried over to him. "I thought they killed you."

"Suck it up," Jax said, surveying the area around them. "Where's Ash and Preston?"

"They slipped out of the library with a few of their people, but they haven't left the estate. The rest have been forced into the ballroom," she said.

"Why are the Mesen here fighting on our side?" Addy asked.

"My father was contacted by the Mesen," Juliette said. "They had information that the Worthingtons were on their way to Tremain and offered a truce to deal with them together."

"It looks like we lost a lot of people," Jax said, adjusting the bandages on his arm. "Ash is so damn strong."

Juliette reached over and helped get the bandage back in place. "Angelica is on her way here with help—we just have to hold them off."

"Who do you think they were talking about back there?" Addy asked as they began walking toward the ballroom. "The man Preston said they should be more concerned about than him?"

Jax pulled his sword out, swinging it in front of him. "I'd like to know too."

"Preston plays mind games," Juliette said, shaking her head. "Bringing up some old enemy of Eva and Andrew's is a good way to shake them."

Tanner pulled his bow off his shoulder as they turned the last corner to the ballroom. "How many Akori do you guys think Ash Scattered to get enough power to do those things? That was incredible."

"That was nothing." Juliette readied her sword. The fighting was visible just head of them. "You should've seen what Andrew and Eva were capable of doing."

In the ballroom, Matt and Renee were fighting back to back, Scattering Akori, and killing the humans. It was awful and Eva was in tears watching the humans die. It took a lot of power out of her and Andrew to free them from Ash's hold. Eva and Andrew were backed into a corner. Juliette and Jax took position in front, shielding them from the Worthington's people. Stubbs was gripping the Overseer's Stone against his chest.

Addy and Tanner battled with fluid movements as if they knew what the other was going to do before they did it. She knew to drop as he shot arrows past her, and he instinctively ducked out of the way when she swung her sword. It was like they could see what the other saw even with their backs turned. They were faster than everyone and hardly broke a sweat fighting off anyone that came at them.

Three large men converged on Addy. She sliced through two of them as she jumped up and grabbed one of Tanner's arrows out of the air, stabbing the third with it. Without stopping, she swung around, launching the arrow back in the direction it was originally headed, Scattering a woman who was taking a swing at Renee.

Tanner's eyes were huge as she turned to look at him. Addy didn't have time to say anything before she was back to swinging her sword.

It was the first time she and Tanner hadn't been separated while fighting. The mark on the back of his neck was glowing brightly. Addy noticed some of the others, including Jax, watching them as they moved from one opponent to another.

Eva began shouting for them to come over to her. Addy and Tanner moved closer to Andrew and Eva. Once Renee and Matt were able to take up a position in front of them, Jax and Juliette came over as well.

"Andrew, if Preston wasn't lying and he's still around—if Ashford is in contact with him..." Eva gave him a pleading look. "We must destroy the stone."

Stubbs gazed at her and took her hand. "If that's what you think must be done, then we'll do it."

Tanner looked between them, taking a step forward. "Who the hell has you so freaked out that you're suddenly on board with breaking the Overseer's Stone?"

"Someone dangerous—a threat to all Akori and humans." Eva blinked back tears. "I crossed lines that weren't meant to be crossed—did things I had no business doing."

"Once the stone is gone there won't be anything to be concerned about," Stubbs said, trying to reassure them. "Everything will be as it should."

"What about the Scattered Akori?" Addy asked.

"They'll rematerialize outside of our circle," Eva said. "—without any powers at all."

Addy took a quick step toward Eva. "The Akori who come back from being Scattered won't have powers anymore?"

Stubbs nodded. "Not just them—all of the Akori here will lose their powers and age like humans."

"Obviously the Mesen don't know that," Tanner said, looking over his shoulder at Matt and Renee, "or they wouldn't be so hell-bent on getting rid of the Overseer."

Eva reached out, placing a hand on Addy and Tanner. "We need both of you to help us."

"If it brings them all back—I'm in," Addy said immediately.

Tanner didn't look so sure about helping and flashed Addy a look of concern.

"The consequences of destroying the stone Eva spoke of are real." Stubbs focused on his sister as he spoke. "She and I will be gone, we won't return." He took Addy's hand with a grim expression. "You're just a human, sugar. You weren't meant to have that symbol on your neck—you won't be able to survive what it takes to destroy the stone. Severing Jackson's connection to the power will kill him as—"

"What about Tanner—will he be alright?" Addy caught Jax out of the corner of her eye, standing by expressionless as he listened.

"Tanner will be fine." Stubbs shifted his eyes between them. "He's an Akori, you and Jax are not."

Addy swallowed hard and forced back tears as she glanced at Tanner. They'd come so far and after everything, she and Jax wouldn't make it through to see the end. Gage would come back just in time to see her die. It was almost funny and she fought off a sick smile.

She bit the inside of her cheek, snapping herself out of it, and then nodded to Eva. "If you can promise me that Tanner will be ok then I'll help you."

"I swear to you." Eva glanced over at Preston and Ash, who were making their way through the crowded ballroom. "We have to hurry—Preston and Ash cannot be a part of what we're doing."

"I'm not doing anything." Tanner grabbed Addy by the shoulders, pulling her close to him and looked at the rest of them. "There's no way I'm helping do something that'll hurt her," he said, then nodded toward Jax, "or him."

Juliette and Jax immediately began whispering to each other. Jax looked upset and Juliette was waving her hands in the air frantically as she spoke.

Addy turned around to face Tanner. "Bernard said the symbols we have meant something. Maybe it's this, maybe we were meant to do it." She forced him to look her in the eye. "You'll be alright and I'm ok with whatever happens to me."

"But I'm not ok with it, girlie." Tanner hugged her against him and put his chin on her shoulder. "I'm not doing it—not if it means losing you."

Addy leaned her head against his, still wondering how she ended up with such an amazing friend. "Don't think about it like that." She pressed her fingers against the symbol on the back of his neck, trying not to cry. "After today, you won't—"

"If they were Akori would they survive?" Juliette asked, stepping closer to Eva.

Eva nodded, as a confused expression crossed her face. She darted her eyes at Stubbs who shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine." Juliette put her hand on her forehead. "Jackson and Addison both have Akori blood."

"What?" Addy spun around to look at Juliette.

Juliette actively tried not to look at Addy as she spoke. "There's a reason my family took such an interest."

"The Overseer's bloodline had been tainted?" Eva gasped and looked between Jax and Juliette. "But how—when?"

"But, that changes everything about the symbol she has..." Stubbs grabbed Eva by the shoulders and began whispering to her.

"How is this possible?" Addy was seething pissed at being kept in the dark as she shifted her gaze to Jax. "Did you know about this?"

"There's Akori mixed in the Sanders bloodline." He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Addy, there's a lot that I only found out after claiming the stone."

Jax stepped close to her, trying to take her hand. She pulled it away, shoving her palm into his chest, making him take a step back. His expression looked like he was hurt, but it quickly changed to anger.

"You're just made up of half-truths and excuses. You do nothing but lie and manipulate me." Addy looked at him with rage in her eyes. "When this is over—I'm done with you!"

Tanner stepped between Jax and Addy when it looked like they might actually start throwing punches. "Now's not the time to—"

"You can be pissed at me all you want, but this doesn't change anything." Jax's green eyes darkened as he peered around Tanner at Addy. "We're not destroying the stone—not until we know more about the consequences. You're letting hopes of getting your boyfriend back mess with your head."

"It's not up to you." Addy snapped at Jax and turned back to Eva. "What'll happen to you and Stubbs?"

"We're tied to the stone—destroying it will also...." Eva took her brother's hand as her eyes began to glisten. "Don't worry about us. We've had long lives."

Stubbs looked back at her. "Very long."

Addy realized they were talking about dying and she got a lump in her throat.

"I should've listened to you and done as you asked, Andrew." A tear slipped down Eva's cheek. "Perhaps you've indulged my schemes one too many times."

Stubbs wiped his sister's face. "Never once have I regretted the things I've done for you. I'd do them all again if it's what you wanted."

Addy was shocked and crinkled up her face involuntarily as Stubbs suddenly kissed Eva on the lips. It was way too passionate for siblings.

Stubbs pulled away from Eva looking stunned. "Our connection..."

Eva threw her arms around him and began whispering.

"Hey!" Matt shouted, causing them all to turn around. "We need some help!"

Juliette grabbed Jax by the arm and they jumped in to help Matt and Renee.

Addy looked around at the crowded ballroom. No more Akori power would mean no more Scattering and moving around. Kim and Matt could be together, and Doris and Bernard could retire somewhere the right way. Molly and Will could finally be free from worrying that he'd Scatter. Gage would be back—they could have the time they needed to figure out what was starting between them.

She shifted her eyes to Tanner. He'd be able to go back to his life too. The thought of not seeing him anymore caused a sharp pain in her chest that radiated through her body. It wasn't just going to be hard to let him go—it was going to be nearly impossible. Even the thought of Gage coming back couldn't cut through the dread she felt about Tanner moving on.

Addy pushed back the thought of not seeing him anymore and grabbed Tanner by the hands. "I think we should help."

"I still think it's all too easy." He squeezed her hands with his. "All the pieces came together way too conveniently."

Addy knew Tanner was right—it was all too easy. Nevertheless, the idea of ending all of the fighting and power struggles was too tempting to pass up.

"We can't do it without you," she said, pulling herself closer to him. "Tanner, please."

He closed his eyes and after several seconds, gave her a reluctant nod. "Note that I'm doing it for you—against my better judgment."

Addy threw her arms around his neck and they leaned their heads together whispering.

"Thanks," she said.

"I do insane things for you."

"Bright side—it could potentially be the last thing."

"That doesn't sound like the bright side to me."

"Me either," she said, closing her eyes.

"I'm glad I found you, girlie."

"So is that peacock."

"Right, he owes me one."

"Tanner, if this works—"

"You'll have Gage back."

"Yeah, but you'll still—"

"I'll still be around."

"Promise you won't just—"

"I promise not to bail on you," he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "You haven't scared me off yet."

Addy put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes—it was all going to be over. She'd finally get to be normal and the generations of Sanders after her and Jax wouldn't be burdened with the weight of the Overseer's Stone as their destiny any longer.

At the sound of yelling, she dropped her arms and turned to look at the room. She was amazed at how much fighting was still going on. She watched Stubbs and Eva with their foreheads together, similar to the way she and Tanner had been. They whispered quietly to each other and even with tears streaming down their faces, they were smiling and giggling like children.

Thinking of her own brother, she turned to see Jax and Juliette still helping Matt and Renee hold Preston's group at bay. Jax glared at Addy with disdain as he cut though a blond haired man.

Renee caught Addy's eye and held her hands up. "If you guys are gonna do something, now would be the time."

Preston and Ash were closing in, but it looked like Ash was running out of power and it was taking more effort to reach them.

"Let's get it done." Tanner patted Stubbs' back, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand. Stubbs leaned over and said a few quiet words to Tanner.

"I don't understand." Tanner stepped back, shaking his head.

Stubbs nodded his head. "You will if the time comes."

Eva took Addy by the shoulders. "It was a mistake for me to ask Fate to separate you from him, I'm so sorry."

"You did what you thought was necessary," Stubbs said, grabbing Eva by the hand.

Addy thought separating her and Jax was all her Grandfather's doing—she was never told Eva had any other role in the day her and Jax's parents were killed other than trying to shift the time back for Fate. It was no surprise though—every part of her life was made up of lies and secrets.

Tanner pointed impatiently toward Ash and Preston. "We should get started if we're gonna do it."

Addy took a few steps back and grabbed Matt. "If something happens to me, you've gotta take care of my cat. Tell Gage that—"

"I will." He kissed her on the forehead and turned back to fighting.
Chapter 37

Grabbing a knife, Stubbs sliced his palm and used his blood to smear a small symbol on the floor. He passed it to Eva and she did the same. They looked at Tanner expectantly as she passed the knife to him. He reluctantly took it and complied.

When it was Addy's turn, she didn't even reach out to take the knife as Tanner tried to hand it to her. "I can't." She shook her head at him. "Do it for me—please." She held out her arm to him.

"You're pushing the limits of our friendship, girlie." He stepped in front of her, pulling her arm under his so she was behind him and unable to look at what he was doing.

The pain from the knife piercing her skin sent a jolt through her and she instantly became lightheaded. She grabbed Tanner's shoulder with her other hand to steady herself. He lowered her hand to the floor and helped her make the same symbol the other three had already created.

Eva directed Tanner to stand on the symbol Stubbs made and Stubbs stood on Tanner's. She moved over to stand on the one Tanner helped Addy make and Eva pointed to hers for Addy. The wet blood was slippery under her bare feet and oozed between her toes. Stubbs carefully placed the Overseer's Stone in the center.

Eva and Stubbs took turns saying a few words. Out of nowhere, a swirling wind like when they trapped Eva in the bloody symbol surrounded them. Blue rays of light came from every direction. The symbols on the stone shined brightly. They grabbed each other's hands to stay in place as the wind whipped around them.

Once he realized what was going on, Jax threw himself at the group in an effort to stop what was happening. Juliette scrambled to stop him and they were both pulled into the center of the circling blue light, unable to escape.

Time seemed to pass slowly and Addy struggled to keep her watering eyes open in the bright light. The scene played like a movie in slow motion. Akori were rematerializing outside of the circle by the dozens. Her eyes burned as she scanned the growing crowd.

Addy caught sight of Matt and Renee hugging their uncle Josh to her right. Their parents would be back too. The fighting had stopped and everyone was either staring at them in shock, or had realized what was happening and started seeking out someone they knew who'd Scattered.

She was about to give up, when she finally spotted Gage pushing his way through the frantic group of Akori between them. A wave of heat rushed through her body and the blue light got even brighter. He froze in place when he saw her.

Addy's heart was pounding and it was a struggle to stay rooted where she was. Gage looked exactly the same as he did the day he Scattered. His face showed too many emotions to figure out what he was feeling and she wanted to run to him more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life.

The swirling wind was too loud for her to hear him, but Addy could tell he was calling her name. Suddenly he began to rush toward her. After briefly glancing down at Jax and Juliette pinned in the center of the circle, she tried to yell at him to stay away. No words would form and she watched in horror as he continued toward her.

She screamed in her mind for someone to stop him, and as if they heard her, she watched Will and Bernard grab Gage, pulling him back. He kicked and fought to free himself the same way she'd fought to get away from Tanner the day Gage Scattered.

Addy couldn't wait for it to be over so she could go to him. Matt and Josh ran over to help restrain him. Gage was fighting unbelievably hard to get to her and she wished she could tell him to calm down and pay attention—that it would be fine.

Tanner's hand tightened, snapping her attention away from Gage as an intense pulling started to draw them into the center of the swirling circle. She tried to fight it, but it was useless—she had no choice but to let it suck her in.

Blazing blue light swallowed them, forcing her to squeeze her eyes closed tightly. Addy felt overwhelmed by the amount of power flowing around them. She could hardly breathe.

Nausea swept over her when she realized she was no longer holding Andrew's hand. The feeling she was going to faint continuously came and went. Tanner's fingers were still wrapped around her hand and every time she seemed close to blacking out he shook her arm or squeezed her hand to bring her back to attention. It seemed as though they'd been standing for hours and her body ached to drop to the floor.

Even though her eyes were closed, she could tell when the blue light was finally fading away. Once her vision adjusted, she was relieved to find Tanner standing in front of her. Jax and Juliette were on the ground beside them, but Eva and Andrew were gone.

The air was fresh and sweet, almost intoxicating. The ground under her bare, blood crusted feet was soft green grass. The sky was clear blue and the sun was blazing high overhead.

Jax and Juliette got to their feet and stood beside them. Addy still had a firm grip on Tanner's hand with no intention of letting go. The four of them stood side by side, looking down at an ancient city in the valley below.

"Oh, hell." Juliette took a few steps forward and turned around to face them. "We're home."

Other books in the Unbinding Fate Series:

Sanctify (Unbinding Fate Book Two)

Chasing Darkness (Unbinding Fate Book Three)

Twisted Memories (Unbinding Fate Book Four)

Hellfire (Unbinding Fate Book Five) Available Fall 2014

Sanctify Preview

Running up the sidewalk in the garden, Addy's shoes had come untied. She stumbled a few times and finally tripped, falling down and skinning up her hands. Gage dropped his toys and came over to pull her up off the sidewalk.

"Geez, tie your shoes tighter," he said, turning back to what he was doing.

She rubbed her stinging hands on her pants. "Yep."

She started to run off but stumbled on her still untied laces again. Frustrated, she sat down and pulled her shoes off.

"It's too cold for no shoes," Gage said, lining his cars up in a row on the sidewalk. He glanced up at the main house. "Put your shoes back on before you get in trouble."

"I'm fixing these."

Gage grabbed more cars and dumped them on the sidewalk. "You're weird."

Addy stuck her tongue out at him and started pulling the laces out of her shoes.

Gage watched her for a minute then crawled over to where she was sitting.

"Stop being a pain and put your shoes back on, Addy."

The sidewalk was freezing under her feet as she stood up in her socks. "I'm getting my slippy ones. I'll tell Molly to tie these ones more better next time."

"Can't you even tie your own shoes?"

"I'm gonna get my nother ones with no ties."

"Watch." He untied his shoe and retied it. "You try."

She sat down, slipping a shoe back on, and tried unsuccessfully to tie it.

"Pay attention," he said, showing her again.

Addy sat up in bed and glanced at her surroundings with a sigh. She studied her hands closely. They stung as though they really were freshly scraped on the sidewalk and her feet felt like she'd been walking through the snow barefoot. She flopped herself back down on the pillow, realizing she was just dreaming again. They were so vivid lately that it was hard to tell what was real and what was only in her head.

Tugging the blanket from the bed, she wrapped it around herself and slowly stood up. She quietly walked to the terrace across the room. It had no doors and was wide open with only thin curtains that were pulled back on each side. The floor was made of stone and felt cold on her bare feet. Creeping closer, she could smell fresh air and the sweet scent of flowers.

Leaning forward, she checked both ways before stepping through the door. It was dark outside and she heard the faint sound of music from the city below. There were chairs with ivory colored pillows off to one side and a table with four chairs on the other. Looking up, she saw two moons in the sky; one of them was small and pale blue. Moving out further, she walked to the railing and stared down at the city she'd been trapped in for what she thought had to be at least a week.

Addy crouched down and rested her chin on one of her hands at the railing. She wrapped her other hand around the charm Gage gave her that hung from her neck. She had no idea where Juliette and Jax were. She only knew Tanner wasn't far away because she could feel his presence.

She figured that destroying the stone had somehow connected them like Andrew and Eva had been. It was a strange feeling and she wondered if he felt it too. Knowing she wasn't alone was one of the only reasons she'd been able to cope so far.

When she woke up the first time, she only vaguely remembered being on the hill with Tanner, Jax and Juliette. After having time to get her bearings, it all started coming back to her.

Juliette and Jax kept fighting about how they'd ended up there in the first place, while Addy and Tanner were incredibly sick. Both of them had been down on their knees at opposite sides of the hill vomiting and couldn't stand.

Akori symbols covered the backs of their hands with leafy vines that twisted up their forearms to just below their elbows. The realization that she really was an Akori like Tanner and didn't know it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Tanner had managed to get himself together enough to sit on the grass and pulled Addy over to him, holding her on his lap. The pain from the symbols on her arms was unbearable and she couldn't stop crying.

Seeing Gage so close and being ripped away from him was overwhelming, and she was inconsolable. The guilt of asking Tanner to help break the stone, only to get him stuck in some strange place suffocated her. She continuously apologized to him between sobs, but he just kept whispering that he'd get her back home and not to worry.

After she and Tanner sat lapsing in and out of consciousness for hours, several Akori appeared in front of them. The last thing Addy remembered was hands marked with symbols reaching out and touching her forehead.

"You shouldn't be awake again."

Addy whipped around to see a tiny girl who looked like a child standing in front of her. She was the only one Addy had seen since waking up for the first time.

"I can't help it," Addy said.

The little girl smiled sympathetically. "You're confused, scared."

Addy was fighting back frustrated tears. "I still don't understand why we're here."

"You opened a portal to come home."

"This isn't my home!" Addy wrapped the blanket tightly around her and headed back inside.

The little girl calmly followed her. "Please don't get upset."

"I need to see my friends."

"I've told you, your companions are fine."

"Tanner—where is he? I know he's close." Addy started to go for the door, but the girl was in front of it before she could blink her eyes.

"You're not supposed to be awake yet, please come back and rest."

The same thing happened each time Addy woke up. The girl came in and touched her, making her go back to sleep.

"No!" The symbols on her hands started to glow brightly. Rushing power like when they destroyed the stone filled her. In all the times she'd woken up and been put back to sleep that had never happened. She shook her arms like she could somehow shake the symbols off. "What's happening to me?"

The girl's eyes got big and she quickly put her hand on Addy's arm like she'd done all the other times. Addy braced herself to black out again but it didn't happen. The symbols dulled and she felt calmer. Soothing feelings washed over her.

"Come sit with me," she said, taking Addy by her index finger and leading her back out to the terrace. She sat next to her on one of the chairs.

Addy figured the girl must not have been able to put her back to sleep and looked at her. She was tiny with pale skin and blond hair that was perfectly straight. It was parted down the middle and hung just above her shoulders. Her eyes were clear blue and she wore the traditional Akori gold robes.

"My name is Leeli," she said, smiling at Addy.

Addy took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "Please tell me what's happening, where are we?"

"We're in the Palace of the Shepherds; it was Eva and Andrew's home."

"Eva and Andrew were Akori Shepherds?"

Leeli nodded.

Addy looked up at the little blue moon. "But where are we exactly?"

"The earth has layers, one on top of another. We are in the layer called Greystone. It's where Akori come from."

Addy shook her head, feeling more confused than ever.

"Think of it as just another view of earth, one that humans cannot see or cross-over into." Leeli smiled over at her. "You grew up in the layer we call Tremain."

Addy tipped her head back, staring at the sky. "We're not on earth. I'd remember two moons."

"Look closely. Those are the same stars and moon you know. The small blue moon is called the Shepherd Moon. It's not visible from Tremain."

"I don't understand why I'm here," she said, putting her hands on her head.

"You have the symbol on your neck, is that correct?"

Addy reached up and touched it. "Yes."

Leeli bowed her head. "I serve you."

Addy stood up, looking for an escape route. "No, not happening. I need to get home. I have a cat."

Leeli took Addy's hand and again the calming feelings washed over her. She tugged her back to sit. "You don't know who you are."

It wasn't really a question but Addy shook her head.

"Eva and Andrew had the marks when they left, but you and the boy came back with them. They were passed to you."

"Why'd they give the marks to us?"

"They didn't pick you." Leeli folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them. "They gave up their power."

Addy didn't fully understand but she was starting to wonder if Andrew and Eva lost the Shepherd marks when the Overseers stone was created.

"Once they gave up the marks, they were passed to the next generation of Shepherds," Leeli said. "You and the boy were the next in line."

"Yeah, I don't know about that."

"It's true, that's why you're here."

Addy remembered Andrew saying that Shepherds were rare and Tanner was the first he'd seen in a long time. "We're in the Palace of the Shepherds, so how many Shepherds live here?"

"All of the Shepherds left with Eva to Tremain. You and the boy are the only ones," Leeli said.

"But Tanner, the boy, was the only Shepherd who'd been around Tremain. Andrew said so himself."

Leeli waved her off. "No, he was wrong, there are many."

Addy was beginning to panic thinking about Juliette saying she and Jax had Akori blood. She looked down at her hands and wondered if Jax had marks too.

Standing back up, she decided it was time to get Tanner and find Jax and Juliette. The strange looks and comments everyone was making around them at the estate were playing in her mind and she needed to sort them out.

"I need Tanner, where is he?"

"Sleeping, as you should be. He'll wake up knowing everything he should; you're making it difficult by continuing to wake up."

"Let me see him now!"

"That's not possible."

Addy stopped just short of throwing a temper tantrum when she realized that yelling wasn't getting her anywhere.

"If you serve me, doesn't that mean you have to do what I say?"

Leeli looked surprised. "I suppose—"

Addy cleared her throat. "Leeli, you are to get me some clothes and take me to Tanner."

