Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (16 page)

“But?”

“But I wish I could help him, especially since it was my fault that he was captured.”

Chapter Sixteen

Giovanni Sinclair walked past his adopted father’s assistant and knocked on the door. A muffled reply

bid him to enter.

His father had requested his presence, and when James Sinclair called, you came. Those who disobeyed

him were ruined. Sometimes they even disappeared. Or so went the rumors.

His classmates had always given him a wide berth because of the rumors about his father, seldom

inviting him out to the pub or to play sports, but over the years, Gio had learned to accept it. Few knew the truth of his father’s hard work and sacrifice to ensure that all
Feiru
had the same rights and opportunities as humans. Only in the last few years had his father’s quest to repeal Article I started to gain traction.

Gio himself believed in the importance of changing the antiquated
Feiru
law, but despite his best efforts to prove he could be an asset to his father’s work, Sinclair had never tapped him to help in his plans.

Sinclair rarely visited London, and Gio saw him even less. Not even his undergraduate work at Oxford or

his recent acceptance into the law program at University College London had been enough to attract his

father’s attention.

Which made today’s call to meet all the more mysterious.

Stepping inside his father’s office, Gio kept his face blank, aware that his father saw emotion as a

weakness. “You wanted to see me?”

James Sinclair nodded. “Yes, son, take a seat.”

Gio settled into the large cushioned chair in front of his father’s desk and Sinclair got right to the point.

“Over the last few years, I’ve allowed you to dabble in university and the law, but you need to put all of that on hiatus. I have other plans for you.”

He kept his face impassive, not wanting to get his hopes up. “What kind of plans?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute.” Sinclair leaned back in his chair. “First, tell me what you know of my

work.”

Gio suspected that this was some kind of test, but while some would opt to brown-nose, Gio knew his

father appreciated honesty. “You support the repeal of Article I and wish to contain all elemental abilities. I know you’re using politics to achieve the first aim, but I’m not entirely certain how you plan to reach the second.”

Sinclair nodded. “And how do you feel about those aims?”

After he finished his schooling, Gio wanted to become a member of Parliament. As things stood now,

two things prevented that: Article I and first-born abilities. “I would do anything I could to repeal Article I.

You know I want to be an MP, but that’s impossible until the law changes.”

Sinclair nodded. “And what about the first-borns? What do you think should be done with them?”

He shrugged his shoulder. “As long as they’re treated well inside the AMT compounds, I care little what

else happens to them.”

“What if there was a way to erase their elemental abilities? Would you think it ethical to make the

treatment mandatory, without exception?”

Gio blinked. “Does such a treatment exist?”

“Answer my question.”

Gio didn’t like giving an answer without all the facts, but he knew that if he refused to answer, his

father might dismiss him and he would lose his chance.

Still, if there was one thing he’d learned from his father, it was how to give an answer without

committing to anything specific. “If all
Feiru
were free of elemental abilities, then the reasons for keeping

Article I become null and void. Who wouldn’t benefit from that, especially in the case of first-borns? Not only could they re-enter society, but the High Council could close most, if not all, of the AMT compounds and save tremendous amounts of money.”

His father nodded. “Exactly.” Sinclair leaned forward, riffled through some papers until he found the

right folder, and slid it across the desk. “Now, what I’m about to tell you can’t be discussed outside of these walls, except to a pre-approved circle of people. Do you understand?”

Hope flitted inside Gio’s chest. His father was finally going to trust him.

Gio nodded and his father continued. “There’s a formula about to go into production that plays with a

Feiru
’s genetics, and it erases their ability to feel and direct elemental energy.”

He couldn’t stop from asking his question. “How long has this been available?”

“It was only proved successful very recently. However, the key person we need to finish the replication

process, a patient that’s been undergoing treatment, has escaped—and I need you to find her.”

While he wanted to immediately jump at the chance to include himself, Gio knew there were others

more qualified for the job. “Why me?”

Sinclair said nothing, and Gio wondered if he’d made a mistake questioning his father. But then his

father smiled and said, “Always question everything, no matter who does the asking. Remember that.” Gio

nodded, relieved that he’d done something right. His father continued, “But you have an advantage over

most, son, and I hope it’s enough.”

Without knowing the specifics, Gio couldn’t decode his father’s words. “Who’s the patient? How did

she escape? I thought it was impossible to break out of an AMT compound.”

Sinclair remained silent, studying him. Gio had passed his father’s first test, but maybe he’d just failed the second. Either way, he knew not to speak again until his father did.

Eventually Sinclair said, “Do I have your loyalty, Giovanni?”

Gio didn’t hesitate. “You took me in when nobody else would. You will always have my loyalty, father.”

A corner of James Sinclair’s mouth lifted. “That’s good to hear, because this won’t be easy for you.”

Gio felt a sense of unease at that statement, although he was careful not to show it. “Why not?”

“Because the patient we need in order to replicate and mass produce the formula is your eldest sister,

Kiarra Melini.”

Chapter Seventeen

Fuck
. Jaxton never slipped, giving out ‘private’’ information about himself, but something about Kiarra kept affecting him. First invading his dreams, then causing jealousy when Marco made her laugh. He was

used to being in control and didn’t understand how a tiny woman with a temper was capable of fracturing

his previously ironclad authority.

Maybe traveling alone with her to Scotland was a bad idea.

Kiarra finally spoke up. “How were you responsible for his capture? Judging from what Garrett said, he

was betrayed by a person named Marzina.”

Jaxton froze and dared a look at Kiarra. “What do you know about Marzina?”

She shrugged. “Not much, but enough to know that she hurt your brother deeply. He still calls for her in his sleep.”

Garrett had never mumbled or said anything on Jaxton’s watch, and part of him was jealous that Kiarra

knew something about his brother that he hadn’t.

Kiarra poked him in the arm and he felt the same awareness from before, when he’d stroked her cheek.

“Tell me about Marzina.”

“She’s no one you need to worry about.” She pinched him and Jaxton flinched. “Bloody hell, woman,

do you want to cause a collision?”

The instant he said it, Jaxton regretted it. Taka had told him about Kiarra’s conversation with Cam, and knew their parents had died in a staged car accident. A quick glance showed that Kiarra didn’t look

distressed on the outside, but he could only imagine what was going on inside her head.

Kiarra cleared her throat. “All right, if you won’t tell me about her, then tell me about your brother’s capture—because I have a hard time believing you handed Garrett over to the AMT.”

He didn’t have to answer her. Jaxton could say nothing and keep it all strictly business. Yet he knew

they’d be meeting his sister in Edinburgh, and Millie would probably spin some outrageous tale of Garrett’s capture. It would be better for Kiarra to hear the truth from him.

Besides, it would distract her from thinking about car accidents and her parents.

Trying not to think of how easily he’d convinced himself to tell her, Jaxton said, “I was in charge of my family after my father died. Garrett is the eldest, but since we faked his death at age twelve to keep him out of the AMT, the responsibility to look after everyone fell to me.

“Garrett was going to uni in Manchester when he met a human girl from Poland named Marzina. They

fell in love, got engaged, and Garrett shared the secret of his elemental fire abilities. She didn’t believe him at first, but after a quick demonstration, Marzina went mental and ran to the human authorities, which was how the AMT enforcement team heard about it.”

“And he was captured.”

“Yes. I was responsible for him and should’ve convinced Garrett to wait before telling Marzina about

his abilities. But instead I focused solely on my career and ignored him when he needed me the most.”

He’d seen how love blinded people and how easily someone could break your trust. From that day

forward, Jaxton had become overcautious, trusting only those who had proven themselves time and again.

Kiarra had yet to do so, and he needed to remember that.

Kiarra touched his thigh and he felt a flutter in his lower belly, his body unwilling to listen to his mind.

He took a deep breath and focused on the road, the cans and bottles lining the side, part of an old tire near the median divider; anything to distract him from Kiarra’s hand on his leg.

Kiarra’s voice broke through his thoughts. “You should know by now that you can’t control people just

because you want to. Just look at me. Have you been able to make me do whatever you wanted? No, because ultimately I control my own actions.”

He gave her a dry look. “I think you just want to raise my blood pressure.”

Kiarra poked his arm. “Be serious, Jaxton. The AMT tried for years to break me, and while they came

close, I managed to remain sane. If a multibillion-dollar enforcement system couldn’t succeed in directing me like a puppet, you sure as hell don’t have a chance.”

She didn’t know how he’d acted back then, before Garrett’s capture. Jaxton had spent all of his efforts

on investing his family’s money, thinking more money would mean more happiness. Only after Garrett had

been locked inside the AMT had Jaxton realized that he’d been a fool and taken the importance of family

for granted.

Not even his sister Millie knew about Jaxton’s selfish actions before Garrett’s capture—she had been

quite young and sheltered.

He’d had enough of talking about his past and decided to change the subject. “Where did you learn to

swear?”

He stole a glance and saw Kiarra’s raised chin. “Why is it such a big deal? You swear.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t locked away when I was thirteen years old.”

She removed her hand from his leg and crossed her arms over her chest. “Between my guards and my

researcher, I could make your ears bleed with what I learned.”

Her researcher.
Jaxton gripped the steering wheel again at the image of Kiarra being used as a test subject, little different from a rat or mouse.

Kiarra fidgeted in her seat for a good ten seconds before she blurted out, “Why did you rescue me from

the AMT?”

Usually he would just tell her that it’d been an order, but for some reason, he wanted to tell her the

whole truth. Maybe knowing she’d been part of a bargain would help put distance back between them. That

would make his work in Edinburgh easier. “Neena would only tell me the location of my brother if I agreed to rescue one other inmate.” He glanced over. “That was you.”

Kiarra’s brow furrowed. “Why would she want me?”

Because you’re a Fire Talent
. But they’d gone down that road before. “You’ll just have to ask her.”

Kiarra crossed her arms over her chest. “Ask Neena this, ask Neena that. The woman needs to learn

how to delegate. What if something happened to her?”

The corner of his mouth twitched and he was about to tell Kiarra that she try and suggest that the next

time she saw Neena, but as he checked the rearview mirror out of habit, he realized that the rest of this conversation would have to wait. “Hold on tight. We’re being followed and I’m going to try and lose them.”

Jaxton swerved onto the motorway exit at the last possible moment, earning a few honks in the process.

A dark blue SUV had been tailing them for the last hour, shadowing every movement, and were either

bloody awful or assumed Jaxton wouldn’t know how to spot a tail. He hadn’t wanted to alarm the SUV too

early, so he’d been keeping an eye on it. But not only had he seen the glint of a gun in the rearview mirror, they had just entered Seattle, where he could easily hide in a parking garage and contact Amma. The tricky part would be losing the tail; Garrett would not be easy to move.

Seattle was full of one-way streets, which irritated the hell out of Jaxton. It took so damn long to get to another turn, but he soon reached the Seattle Center and turned back around, heading south. He finally

turned down the right street and parked in a garage on Spring Street.

Kiarra turned and looked out the back window. “Do you think they’ll find us?”

“Possibly.” Jaxton took out a brand new prepaid phone and waited for it to turn on. “Amma will have to

meet us here, and we’ll hop on the Amtrak to Vancouver, getting off and back on along the way until we

reach Squamish Airport in BC.”

“How do you know the area so well? Your accent isn’t even American.”

Jaxton wished the bloody phone would turn on quicker. “My mother is American.” The phone had one

bar, so he dialed Amma’s number. “I’ve been here before, and even if I hadn’t, I always scout the location where I’ll be working.”