The Swarm Trilogy (37 page)

“Oh, we’d only met once before,” Sebrina said with a wave of her hand. “If you think I’m interested in Bryden, you don’t need to worry,” Sebrina said. “I’m not into him. He’s more like a brother to me.”

A wave of relief crashed over me. I believed her, too.

“But what I don’t like is you suggesting our mother did this horrible thing to us as babies. Why would she even do that? And I’ve never even heard of anyone doing anything like that either. I mean, I know I don’t have magic. I’m pretty sure I was born that way.”

Sebrina grabbed my hand again, all forgiven between us. “Besides, that would be beyond cruel. Stealing something from me to give to you, and then sending you out as part of a conquest plan…”

She trailed off. For the first time she’d really thought about what had been done to me. I was given up as a baby to the enemy, a ticking time bomb to help my people take down the Fithians from the inside. I’d never known my own people. Never given the chance to understand or learn how to use my magic.

Sebrina’s eyes grew wider. “Do you think she could have done it?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “You know her. I don’t. Do you think she’s capable of it?”

Deep down I knew it was probably true. I couldn’t figure out why Marek had told me. Did he think I’d be happy about it? Maybe he thought I’d want to learn the method so I could help my mother. All I knew for sure was that I wanted the Malborn to be defeated, but not by sucking the magic out of them so my people could use it to further their own domination.

Tears slipped down Sebrina’s cheeks. She nodded her head, very slowly once, and then over and over again. “Yes, I do. It’s something she’s more than capable of. I always thought I was born like my father. Simple, non-magical. She’s the one who told me that as I grew up, that I should never be ashamed of not having magic because I was like my father.” Sebrina leapt up. Pacing the bedroom was preferable to sitting on the bed with me. With every step her body tightened up instead of relaxing. “She must have. I cannot believe she did this to us!”

“We don’t know for sure,” I said, suddenly wishing I hadn’t said anything before investigating it myself, even though I had no one else I could have asked.

Sebrina’s pacing ceased. “You’re right. We don’t know for sure, but I will find out if it’s true. I’m not afraid to ask her.”

As if on cue, a knock on the door interrupted us. I answered the door. It was our mother. She stood in the hallway, imposing as ever. I’d only spoken with her briefly, and yet I knew she was a force of nature, more like a hurricane than a light spring rain.

“Marek told me about your conversation, Lianne.” She swept into the room, taking up the entire space with her presence. Sebrina slinked back on the bed, her bravado and anger pushed aside. Chilly wisps crept up my legs. I shivered involuntarily, wondering if our mother had brought a breeze in with her, or if it was simply her chilly nature.

“Is it true?” Sebrina sounded like a wounded child. She nibbled at her nails.

“That I siphoned your magic and fed it to Lianne? Yes, it’s true.” She said it as if it was not a big deal. By the look on Sebrina’s face, I could tell it mattered to her. “But, girls, really, it happened so long ago. You both turned out just fine. No regrets.”

“Yes, mother.” Sebrina’s willingness to give in astounded me. Just a moment ago she’d been angry. Now she acted like a three-year-old. Well, I wouldn’t.

“You stole something vital to Sebrina’s soul and gave it to me. Then you sent me here to be a puppet in your war. That doesn’t scream motherly love to me.” I stood still, hands planted firmly on my hips, daring her to argue with me.

She waved her hand in the air, brushing away some invisible irritant. “What’s done is done. It’s how we move on from here that matters.”

“I agree.” Three pairs of eyes focused on Bryden. I had actually forgotten he was sitting on the chair in the corner of the room. “Unless either of you are proposing she try to reverse what she did, then I suggest we try to figure out exactly how we’re going to survive the imminent attack by the Malborn.”

“You’re a good boy.” My mother patted Bryden on the cheek, as if he were a puppy who’d just performed a trick. “Lianne, we’ll meet up sometime soon so I can teach you how to do it too. That army doesn’t stand a chance against us. Our magic will destroy them.”

She left as quickly as she’d arrived, leaving nothing but silence in her wake.

The door opened again, as swiftly as it had shut moments before.

“If you think you can just push us around like that —” I started.

“Sorry? What did I do?” It was Chase.

“Nothing, nothing. Come on in.” He looked over at Bryden, who simply shrugged. “Have you met Sebrina?” I asked, pointing at my sister.

Chase glanced at her, and then back at me. “I thought you two were supposed to be twins. You don’t look anything alike.”

“Are you kidding me?” Sebrina asked. “Same hair, same face, same eyes. We are mirror images.”

Chase squinted and cocked his head. “I guess, but the way you hold yourselves, the expressions, the little way Lianne’s nose wrinkles up in distaste whenever I’m in her presence. I guess it’s the small things that make such a big difference.”

“My nose does not wrinkle when you walk into a room.” Ridiculous.

Chase just shrugged and winked at Sebrina. “Lianne’s probably right. I’m just imagining it.”

Bryden cleared his throat. “Let’s get to work on the battle and not worry about Lianne’s reactions to Chase.”

“Right,” Chase said. “The Malborn are going to be on their way soon. They want Lianne.”

I stood still, stunned.

“Why me? Don’t they have other girls they could go after?” I tried to ignore Bryden’s sour expression. He wasn’t going to give up on torturing me, even though I probably deserved it.

“They’ve seen my drawings. It’s possible they’ve seen something that makes them believe you’re more powerful.”

“Well, that’s obvious,” Sebrina said. She crossed her arms across her chest. “Apparently our mother stole my magic and gave it to Lianne when we were babies. She’s super-charged.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. But I can’t see how any of my drawings would have clued them in to that. I didn’t even know.”

“It doesn’t matter why,” Bryden said. “All that matters is that they’re after Lianne. We won’t let them have her. It’s that simple. We just need to know when they’re coming and how to stop them.”

“I’m pretty sure the Dalagans will mobilize against them,” I said. “I explained to the emperor and he seemed interested in using my mother’s technique to steal their magic.”

“We’re trading one conqueror for another?” Sebrina asked. “I guess, better our people than theirs.”

“Really? Why?” Chase asked. “Just because they’re yours makes it okay?”

“Well, who do you think should win?” Bryden asked. “Your people? From what I’ve heard they’re just cowards who kicked the Malborn in the shins and ran away at the first opportunity.”

I expected Chase to lash out at him, but he didn’t. “Why do you think I’m here?”

Bryden’s eyes flicked over to me, but then focused back on Chase just as quickly.

“Regardless of what you may think, I’m here to stop the Malborn. My parents did something, but they didn’t do enough. I want to fix that.”

“Maybe I can get my mother to teach me what she did to us,” I said. It wasn’t like I wanted to learn, but if it was the only way to stop their army, I had to try.

“Hold on.” Chase held up a hand. “You are not going anywhere near your mother.”

“Too late, she just barged in. Left right before you got here.” Bryden said.

Chase rushed to Bryden and grabbed him by the collar. He lifted Bryden a good six inches off the chair. “You let her around Lianne? Are you crazy?”

Bryden didn’t flinch. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew they had a secret they hadn’t told me. It was clear from the look they’d tossed each other when Chase interrupted us the other night. I hadn’t dug too deep, assuming it was just their common goal to protect me, wrapped up in a little rivalry. What did my mother have to do with any of it?

“Put me down,” Bryden said, sure and steady. He rarely got angry. He’d spent his whole life learning to cope with a disability and biding his time, waiting for me to get a hold on my magic. Patience was his greatest strength. “Lianne’s fine.”

Chase’s lip snarled as he slowly lowered Bryden back onto the needlepointed chair. He shifted on the seat, acting like nothing had even happened. Chase wiped his hands on his breeches, obviously avoiding my gaze.

“Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on here?” My hands planted on my hips. I hated acting like their mothers, but someone needed to take command.

Chase refused to look at Bryden, or me but Bryden looked me directly in the eyes. “It’s not my place to tell you,” he said. I resisted the urge to attack him. Of course it was his place to tell me. If he knew the truth, then why not?

“Chase?” I asked. Sebrina stared at all of us, her eyes wide with wonder. She’d fallen into something far bigger than anything she’d asked for.

Chase stared at his toes.

“Tell me. Now.”

He didn’t flinch.

I walked over and punched him in the gut. Chase stood firm, his eyes still locked on his shoes. I wrapped my hand around his throat, pushing on a pressure point with my thumb. Still, nothing. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I wanted him to react. I needed an answer.

“Chase?” I tried again.

He lifted his chin, removing his eyes from his shoes and focusing firmly on me. “Do you remember when I explained that my drawings tell the future? Sometimes I want to change that future, but the things I do end up bringing it about anyway.”

“So you’ve seen something tragic involving me and my mother?” With a war coming up and Marek’s insistence I learn her magic siphoning trick, I could believe that something might end badly.

He nodded.

“And you’ve shared this with Bryden?” I asked.

Chase’s eyes flicked, momentarily, to Bryden.

“Yes,” Bryden said behind me. “I’m going to die and I’ll do it saving you from your mother.”

Chapter Nineteen

“That’s crap!” Sebrina sputtered from the bed. “Our mother may have siphoned my magic, and she may have given Lianne away to the enemy, but she would never kill her. Never!” The tears spilled over her cheeks. She didn’t even try to hold them back like I would have. The mirror image of us cracked. I didn’t know Sebrina well yet, but Chase was right, she was nothing like me.

“Sometimes people get blinded by power.” I wanted to soothe her, to let her know that maybe anyone was capable of anything.

“This coming from the girl who killed her own sister.” Sebrina’s words pierced my heart.

“It was an accident,” I said.

“You’ve spent your whole life training to hurt people,” she said. “How was killing someone an accident?”

“Didn’t anyone tell you what happened?” I shouted. I couldn’t help myself. “It had nothing to do with any of my fighting skills. Those are things I use to protect myself. I killed Albree because I couldn’t control my magic – the magic our mother stole from you, dumped in me, and then locked up so I couldn’t have the chance to learn how to use it.”

Sebrina looked down at her skirt, tugging on a stray string with her fingers.

“Look, I’m not saying she’s going to kill me, but Chase wouldn’t work this hard against it if he didn’t believe it was a possibility, right Chase?”

“Of course not,” he said. “I don’t like causing drama. I’m just trying to keep everyone safe.”

“Saving the world and a girl he’s never met. Upending everyone’s lives so he can play the hero.” We all looked at Bryden, surprised at the tone of his voice. “I do wonder sometimes if he’s telling the truth. I mean, none of us have ever seen one of his drawings come true.”

I tentatively raised my hand. It wavered in the air. “I have. When I discovered his drawings, the first one I saw was like looking in a mirror. It was me, opening the chest and discovering them.”

My mind wandered back to that moment, recalling how startling it had been seeing myself on a piece of paper, drawn in such minute detail down to the expression on my face, one of surprise - not the supposed wrinkling of my nose when Chase walked in a room.

“The one I saw was accurate beyond all argument,” I said. “I believe in Chase’s visions. If he drew something that showed my mother trying to kill me, but killing Bryden instead, then it’s a threat we have to take very seriously.”

At that moment, the truth of the situation and what Bryden and Chase had been doing hit me hard. Bryden saw a drawing where he died saving me and he hadn’t run away. Not once. In fact, he’d put himself directly in the line of fire, sticking by me every moment. He easily could have abandoned me to whatever fate Chase had seen.

He was able to love me, wholly, even through the darkest hours. The chaos surrounded us, but he didn’t even flinch. Not once. Guilt enveloped my soul. I’d given up on us because I was worried about stability. Bryden, on the other hand, was willing to sacrifice everything for me.