Fates Divided: Halven Rising
Fates Divided: Chapter 25

Derek’s eyes opened with a start, his heart racing. Dammit, he must have fallen asleep.

He sat up quickly and rubbed his face, his head woozy from moving too quickly.

When Keen had taken him to his room after dropping Elena off at the lab, Derek had lain down for only a second, but it was one second too long. He felt like he’d slept for hours.

He’d been dreaming of Elena, and not one of the good dreams that left him wanting. Elena was lost, calling for help, and he couldn’t get to her. The harder he searched, the farther away her voice grew.

He turned to the clock on the side table. “Son of a bitch.” Hours had passed since he’d left her.

Over the last few days, Derek had grown sleep-deprived too, but it was no excuse. As soon as Keen had left with Elena, Derek had meant to Blend and keep an eye on her.

He shook the sleep from his head and stood, searching for his phone. He hadn’t been away from her for long, but the idea of losing her, like in his dream, made his mind want to curl in on itself in the fetal position.

He had agreed to separate rooms because Leo was being an ass and because he figured he’d Blend and follow Elena anyway. The dream brought back doubts.

He shouldn’t have left her. Not even for a second.

Derek spotted his phone on the side of the bed and grabbed it. His ability to Blend might not help Elena replace a cure for the Fae virus, but it enabled him to maneuver around Emain undetected. Fae could see him if they were paying attention, which was a bitch, but he’d use caution.

He transformed quickly and stepped carefully out of his room, watchful of anyone passing the hallway.

He’d half expected Leo to post a guard outside, but there was no one there. Either Leo wasn’t concerned about Derek leaving his room, or the Fae had bigger issues to worry about. It was the bigger issues that had Derek worried as well, because they involved Elena.

He jogged down the hall, making several twists and turns inside the complicated Fae building on his way to the lab Elena used in Emain. He stopped a couple of times to dodge Fae guards, but otherwise, the hallways were empty.

And so was the lab.

Derek raced back to her room, his heart pounding. Where the hell was she?

“Traitorous bitch,” the guy holding Elena growled. “You’re working for the wrong side.”

A loud bang sounded against the bathroom door.

The man holding her slammed her shoulder against the metal frame of the window as he raced to hoist her through. She wasn’t making it easy. She braced her foot against the wall, fighting him and the other man leaning through the window from the outside who was pulling her up at the same time.

The bathroom door burst open on a loud splinter. The man behind her let go, and the other man jerked her toward the wall, nearly dislodging her arm from its socket.

Scuffling and smacking sounds, like fists hitting a dummy bag, or in this case, flesh and bone, sounded from behind. Elena had only one person to contend with now, but he was making decent progress in pulling her through the window.

She did the only thing she could. She bit his arm.

He yelped and boxed her ear, loosening his hold enough that she fell back.

Her vision blanked as she landed on the floor. Then Keen was suddenly in front of her, pushing her against the opposite wall. “Stay here.”

The man outside was no longer at the window, and the one who’d grabbed her from behind was limping for the door.

Keen crossed in two long strides and yanked him by his preppy pink polo shirt, dragging him to the ground. Keen twisted the man’s hands behind his back and pinned him to the floor with one knee. “Who sent you?”

“No one. Can’t a guy have a little fun?”

“How many of you work for St. Just?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Keen nodded and released him, allowing the guy to half crawl, half run out the door.

Elena’s head cleared, the pain from the blow ebbing. “Why did you let him go?”

“He doesn’t know the answer to my questions, but he could lead us to St. Just.”

Keen lifted her under her arms and helped her to the door. “We suspected a group of Halven were behind the virus, but it seems St. Just has built an army. Your attacker is more use if he leads us to the others.”

Elena was dazed, but not entirely out of it. He wasn’t making sense. “Then why aren’t you following him?”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Did you never wonder about my ability?”

Keen had an ability? Other than being a giant, ruthless bodyguard? “Leo said Fae have mental or elemental powers. I figured yours was weak and that’s why they put you on guard duty. I assumed brute force was your main talent.”

He smiled arrogantly. “That too, but like all Fae, I possess a power. Put in the hands of a bodyguard, it becomes extremely useful.”

“Don’t leave me hanging.” She glanced down at his arm holding her up. “Okay, bad pun. Just tell me what it is. Otherwise, I really think we should go after this guy. We haven’t found Reese and they might have her.”

“There is no need to go after him,” he said as they made their way out of the fraternity house. No one seemed to pay them a second glance as Keen held her up. Probably because she looked like any other drunk girl getting help from a guy. “Now that I’ve touched Marlon’s thrall, I can listen in on his thoughts.”

Elena leaned back to stare at his face. “Hold up. You’re following him… in your head. Have you always been able to read minds? Is that how you knew I was in danger?”

“Yes.”

She glanced around, trying to make sense of it all. “If you can read minds, then where the hell is Reese? You must know what she’s thinking.”

Keen urged her on. “I do not believe your friend is here. We must leave and return to Emain.”

“What do you mean, you don’t believe she’s here? Don’t you know? Why did we come all this way if you can read her mind?”

Keen went silent.

“You can hear her, can’t you?”

Keen’s gaze flicked to her, then peered straight ahead as they crossed the backyard toward the exit. “No. Your roommate’s mind is a blank to me.”