Chapter 17

Allie dragged her feet up the steps to the cliffs above. Aidan’s family waited for her, but Eiselynn’s story left her with a gloomy sense of dread. She wasn’t in a hurry to hear more bad news.

As she climbed, she felt dizzy and stumbled to her knees.

“Allie!” Aidan ran to her side when she rounded the corner at a crawl. He had been waiting for her on the steps.

“St-starving.”

“Didn’t you eat?”

“Trail mix.”

“Not nearly enough. Sit,” he ordered. “I thought you might need this.” He handed her a foil-wrapped plate.

The scent hit her, and she ripped into the scalding hot omelet with her fingers.

“I know it’s unnerving to feel so weak in front of others,” he said as she gorged herself. She swiped at the angry, embarrassed tears in her eyes.

“Our friends can’t really comprehend this kind of ravenous hunger. It’s supposed to fade, but I’m nearly a year in, and it’s stronger than ever.”

“I don’t mind you seeing me like this.” She rested her head on his shoulder, taking a deep shuddering breath.

“Coffee?” He handed her a steaming mug.

“How is it you always know exactly what I need? Is it your gift? Do you read everyone so well?”

“Just you.” He offered his hand, which was carefully wrapped in surgical tape.

“Ouch.” She traced her fingertips over the bandages before taking his hand.

“Almost good as new.” He winked.

“So, other than the freaky starvation, how are you doing?” he asked as they trudged up the last steps.

“Feeling like the other shoe’s about to drop and I’m not going to like it.”

“There’re a lot of shoes, Lex.” He sighed miserably, holding the door for her.

As they stepped into the bustling kitchen, she shot him a glare. “You didn’t tell me everyone was going to be here.” Not only was Aidan’s family present, but the room was nearly bursting with their friends’ families too.

“And they can all hear you,” he said dryly.

“Aw crap.” She forgot about all the super hearing people.

“It’s okay. You’re allowed to be grumpy.” Quinn’s mother offered a hug. Allie pretended not to notice how fast Emma pulled away.

“Thanks.” Allie always thought she was beautiful before, but Emma was drop dead gorgeous now. As she gazed around the room at the startlingly young faces of her friends’ parents, she realized they were all striking in their own way.

Chloe’s parents, Jin Jing and Ming Lao, spoke with a young man she couldn’t place. It took a moment for it to click that it was Emma’s husband, Daniel. He seemed more like Quinn and Graham’s brother than their father.

I’ll never get used to that.

* * *

“All right, lay it on me.” Allie prepared herself for another life-altering, catch-her-up-to-speed discussion after a massive family brunch.

Gregg folded his arms across his broad chest, contemplating her with a frown. “You’re less cranky today, red. But I’m afraid there are a few rather distasteful aspects of our world we need to discuss before we can move forward.”

Aidan cautiously took her hand. “Try not to break any bones today, will ya?”

“Har, har,” she muttered.

“Now that you’ve read our most ancient history,” Gregg began in a tone that indicated he was accustomed to being heard, “you probably understand the controversy between Teigan and Ían is only one account of the struggle for power. But it is important you know this struggle continues even today. Unfortunately, there are many who covet greater gifts than their own. However, our law forbids combat with the intent to take another’s ability. You must understand it is your right—your duty—to protect yourself when challenged by another.”

“Combat? I have to learn to fight?” Laws? They have their own government?

“Aye, I’m afraid so, sweetheart. Your training will begin immediately, but we’ll start with basic self-defense. Rest easy, a stolen ability is only desirable once it has matured enough to survive the trauma of an attack to manifest in another. You’re young, but you’re a powerful girl. I’m afraid you’ll become a target much sooner than most. Your gifts are your strongest weapon and greatest asset. It is your responsibility to protect your birthright,” he said passionately, with a spark of power in his amber eyes.

“Allie,” Daniel began hesitantly, “I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but I’m afraid we live very dangerous lives.”

Allie didn’t know Quinn and Graham’s father very well, but she sensed he had more experience than anyone when it came to the dangerous life of an Immortal.

“We’re a formidable race,” he continued, “capable of remarkable things, but we have weaknesses. And enemies. There are a group of mortals and Immortals who refer to themselves as the Coalition.”

“So, this group wants to take over the world, and they have a bunch of mortals to do their bidding,” Allie said. It sounded scary but not surprising. When you had this kind of power, of course there were going to be some who took it too far.

“The exact opposite, actually,” Daniel said. “The Coalition has a history almost as long as our own. Today, they have their hand in every major technological advancement. They have enormous political influence and a wealth of support from the private sector funded by old mortal families.”

“So the mortals are in charge? How does that work?” Allie frowned. It seemed impossible that powerful Immortals would allow themselves to be used.

“They know how to manipulate us. For ages, our enemy was nothing more than an unruly group of zealots. They believed our time had long passed and we shouldn’t be allowed to exist. They have since grown into something much more powerful. Through the years, they’ve hunted us and discovered our weaknesses, using them against us without remorse.”

“Weaknesses?” The way Allie saw it, they were pretty well invincible.

“Have you ever noticed an unusual aversion to anything? An unreasonable phobia?” Gregg asked.

“Remember the physics lab a few weeks ago?” Aidan prodded.

“With the magnets? You guys were cracking up because I can’t stand them.”

“You’re not alone,” Daniel continued. “We all have the same aversion, but a very strong magnetic force is quite dangerous. If you were to pass through such a field, it would sever your power, leaving you weak and vulnerable. For thousands of years, the Coalition has created magnetized weapons, ranging from crude lodestone arrowheads and spears to high-powered arms with ammunition containing a liquid magnetic core. Their prisons are built along powerful magnetic fields from which we have little hope of escape. In the past, they simply captured and eliminated us whenever possible in their petty crusade. Since the seventeenth century, however, they’ve had a different agenda. They are organized now, with the goal of gaining complete and total control over the Immortal race—not to eliminate us, but to use us.”

“How could they possibly use us against our will?”

“When taken, if your gifts are desirable, they will use whatever means necessary to manipulate you into cooperation. If they deem you worthless, they’ll eliminate you if circumstances allow it. Many choose to join them willingly to avoid prison or worse. Some hope for the opportunity to gain or earn their freedom, but most become nothing more than broken slaves used for their abilities.”

“For what possible purpose?” Allie asked.

“Supremacy. He who controls the Immortals has the power to command the world. The Coalition is to be feared, Allie. The more powerful you are, the more attractive you become to them. If they decide they want you, they will hunt you.”

“It sounds like you’re saying they can kill us.” Her brow furrowed in confusion. “How is that possible?”

Gregg sighed as he came to rest crouched at her feet. “I hate dumping this on you when you’ve never asked for any of it.” He clasped her hands. “We can regenerate from almost anything, but that doesn’t mean we’re invincible. Our immortality lies within the Complement bond. If you destroy that connection even for a moment, we can be killed. If Naeemah and I were captured and gravely wounded, our bond would be momentarily broken. In that single instant before regeneration began, we would be at our most vulnerable. If our hearts were removed from our chests and burnt to ash in a violent ritual.… From that we could not recover. We cannot die naturally, but we can be murdered,” he finished gently.

“Are there people who actually do that?” Allie recoiled.

“Unfortunately, such brutal executions are all too common,” Daniel said bitterly. “Which is yet another reason you must learn to protect yourself.”

“However, we have chosen to raise our children here on Kelleys Island for its obscurity,” Emma said. “The Coalition is not active here. They have headquarters somewhere in the city, but it is primarily an archive.”

“Aye, we have anonymity here,” Gregg added. “I promise you are safer from the enemy now than you have ever been. We will protect you as if you were our own daughter, but you simply must follow our rules.”

“Immortality doesn’t come cheap, does it?” Allie shook her head sadly.

“Allie,” Ming Lao said, “I don’t know you very well, but it says a lot that you aren’t blinded by the lure of immortality. You will adapt; it will just take time to come to terms with our limitations.”

“All right, guys, you’re free for the rest of the morning,” Gregg announced. “We’ll meet at our usual time and place this afternoon. Allie, you’ll be with Nae today, and tomorrow you’re with me.” He grinned wickedly.