Betrayal: (Immortals of Indriell, Book Five)

Four years ago, Allie and Aidan parted ways.

She had a new life that didn’t include him.

He had a secret he couldn’t share.

Aidan:

It broke his heart, but to save her, he had to set her free.

Shielding Allie and his family from his new life is the only thing that keeps Aidan going. That, and his special bond with his partner, Naomi. Together they have an important job to do. Convince the Milan Initiative they can be trusted to lead an army of Syntrophos—an army that is loyal to Aidan alone. But betrayal is like a cloud hanging over them. It lurks in every corner, leaving Aidan and Naomi unable to trust anyone but themselves.

Allie:

Reeling from the loss of the most important person in her life, Allie’s spirit is broken.

Her only anchor in the storm is her Syntrophos, Darius McBrien. With Aidan’s inexplicable absence, Allie distances herself from the McBrien family, finding solace in an unexpected friendship. Determined to keep her indomitable sister, Livia behind bars where she belongs, Allie moves on with her life. But as the brewing war in the Dreamworld reaches new heights, Allie and Livia must work together with Navid and Quinn to stop the dream walker who threatens the very lifeblood of the Dreamworld. 

Allie has been warned. Someone close to her will betray her.

But her clairvoyance didn’t come with a rulebook and Allie has no idea who she can trust.

Rural New York, The New Moon

“She’s dead?” Aidan blinked the soot from his eyes, turning his back on the burning orchard and the sight of Ming Lao, lying so still among the ashes. Chloe’s heartbreaking wails cut right through him.  

“But Jin will survive.” Allie choked on the words, so certain of her visions that had brought them all this way to save his parents from a similar fate.  

“He’ll wish he hadn’t,” Darius added. 

The three ran along the path through the woods taking them from the apple orchard to the main gates. The battle grew distant behind them. 

“What’s next?” Aidan looked to Allie for answers. She was exhausted and terrified, but she was in control and the power of her visions danced like green fire in her eyes. She knew what to do and Aidan trusted her with his life and the lives of everyone he loved.  

“We have to find your mom.” Allie took off like a huntress, stalking her prey. Aidan and Darius followed close behind. The bond his brother now shared with Allie clung to them with a cloying sweet scent. A spike of fear and jealousy coursed through Aidan’s veins, distracting him from the fight. Allie had him blocked from her thoughts tonight. She wanted to protect him from her evolving visions, but it left him feeling alienated and uncertain.

When they reached the sloping green lawns, Allie stopped along the tree line where his family continued to battle their unknown enemy.  

The fires burned out of control here. Churning black smoke filled the sky as the clang of weapons crashed like thunder. Allie stepped from Aidan’s side, long enough to grasp Naeemah’s wrist, wrenching her away from a blow that would have taken her out of the fight. 

His mother turned, eyes widening in fear when she saw Aidan in the thick of it when he was supposed to be safe at home. Allie had insisted that he and the others needed to be here to help change the outcome of her vision and that was all the motivation he’d needed. 

“What are you doing here?” Naeemah raged at them. 

“Emma needs you. They have Quinn. Go now, please.” Allie sobbed, shoving his mother toward the path.

“Come with me, both of you.” Her gift commanded them to obey. 

“No!” Allie’s voice boomed with a command of her own, breaking whatever influence his mother’s gift might have had over them. “We are needed here.”

With a nod, Naeemah turned and fled along the path back to the orchard, but someone followed her. Aidan glanced over his shoulder at Allie. She stood with his father, uncle and brother. She was safe for the moment. 

Without another thought, Aidan charged after his mother, stalking the man who pursued her. Drawing his sword, Aidan attacked, taking the enemy by surprise. The man turned, lifting his weapon to meet Aidan’s blade. He was strong. Powerful. An evil glint lit his eyes. 

“You’ll do nicely.” He took another step toward Aidan, tossing his dagger from hand to hand. “I’ll take you back to my dungeon at Soma. Your buddy Quinn’s no fun anymore.” 

Aidan grinned, spreading his arms wide. “Well, come at me, Bro.” He raced back toward the gates, his assailant hot on his heels. He intended to lead the man back to where Allie and his father were just a moment ago, but his opponent was faster than Aidan anticipated. Aidan whirled around, raising his blade just in time to avoid losing his head. His attacker wielded a sword and dagger now and Aidan had to move quickly, meeting each blow with a practiced hand. He could feel it coming on. He was falling into the zone where nothing else existed but the fight. Aidan’s last clear thought was he’d done the one thing he promised Allie he wouldn’t do. He’d left her side. 

“You’re strong,” the man said, sizing Aidan up. “But I’m stronger.”

Aidan paid him no mind. He moved from one sword form to the next, blocking, attacking and retreating. He was methodical. Like a machine, but he was barely holding his own against a man with centuries more experience. Time and again, the man’s sword bit into Aidan’s flesh, drawing blood and gore from his body, like a lion toying with his kill. 

The blood red moon broke through the clouds, bathing the sloping lawn with light as Aidan continued fighting a losing battle. It didn’t occur to him to call for help, so entrenched in the zone he was. 

An ear-splitting shriek echoed along the path to the orchard, but Aidan barely registered the sound. Something else tugged at the corners of his mind, pulling his attention away from his opponent, gradually freeing him from the dark cloud of his mind.  

Rage.

White-hot rage flashed through him like a bolt of electricity, but the emotion didn’t belong to him.  

Then he saw her, standing in the moonlight, as beautiful as she was terrifying in her fury. This girl who was everything to him. 

The chaos of battle stilled, all sound muffled to a low hush. His attacker gone. Aidan stood in the light of the blood red moon with Allie. She was the only one who mattered. The only one who would ever matter. Unadulterated joy like he’d never before experienced erupted within his soul, casting a golden green light around them. She truly was everything. His everything. How could he have not known the moment he first laid eyes on her—this thing he knew with such certainty now? He was finally whole in the knowledge that Allie was his other half—his equal in power—his best friend and his Complement.

A sob caught in his throat. I will never lose her. The rush of clarity hit him with a force he couldn’t have imagined. Love for this beautiful, outlandish and often infuriating girl bloomed in his chest. The fear he’d carried with him every day since the moment Aidan knew he loved Allie, vanished. For so long he’d feared that one day he would lose her to some other man in some distant future. A man who was meant to be her partner. Now he knew, he was that man. They would have their time and it no longer mattered when that might be. Today. Tomorrow, or years from now, they would share lifetimes of happiness and sorrow together. 

Aidan fell to his knees, overwhelmed. 

“Aidan!” Her desperate scream sounded in the distance. He frowned, letting his gaze fall from her to his father, struggling to break away from Liam’s hold. 

“Aidan!” His father’s voice broke through the stillness. 

Pain lanced through Aidan’s body.

A hand gripped the back of his skull as Aidan’s power surged in his chest. 

“No,” he whispered. His attacker hadn’t vanished at all. Aidan gazed down at the source of his agony, frowning at the dagger buried to the hilt in his side. Pain wasn’t a new experience for Aidan. He endured the physical pain of others every day of his life. This he could overcome. 

But this wasn’t just physical pain. Aidan’s power burned hot like liquid fire in his chest, just out of reach. Aidan couldn’t protect himself. His attacker had him right where he wanted him, clutching the fragile strands of Aidan’s healing gift, taking it for his own.

“No.” He couldn’t fathom a life without healing. It would ruin him. Aidan sought Allie’s face. If he lost his ability to heal—lost his ability to fight at her side as her equal, would she still love him? Could he be enough? Or would he always hold her back? 

Her rage surged within him again, giving him strength. She was fighting her anger, refusing to let it win.   

Let it go, Allie. He took a shuddering breath as she threw her head back, her fists clenched at her sides. An otherworldly screech ripped from her throat. Blood oozed from her nose and eyes and her hands dripped crimson drops onto the grass at her feet. She was glorious in her wrath. An ethereal green glow surrounded her as she unleashed her judgment.  

Aidan coughed; blood oozing from his mouth. His injuries were deep, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Allie. 

Her raptor gaze zeroed in on the man who held Aidan’s future in his hands. Allie eyes filled with blood and she roared in outrage. Her anger hit him like a shock wave, but Aidan only felt the intensity of her love, and the euphoric realization he saw reflected in her gaze. She knew … Allie knew they were Complements. 

Golden green light flashed across the sky and dead silence fell around those who’d witnessed Allie’s judgment. The strength drained from his attacker’s grip and he slumped to the ground beside Aidan. In the moment before his father’s arms wrapped around him, dragging him to safety, Aidan realized what she’d done. For him. The man before him now was mortal. Allie had stripped him of his immortality to save Aidan from a life without the ability that defined him.

The girl he loved had just saved his life.  

As her frightened eyes met his, he poured all the love he had for her into that gaze, willing her to understand she was still the same Allie he’d always loved. He saw the way his father looked at her, shocked and afraid of what she’d just done. This terrifying gift of hers would carry a heavy weight. Aidan needed her to know she was not evil. 

A sob tore from her throat and Aidan wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but his legs wouldn’t obey him. His vision grew dark as his blood continued to seep into the ground beneath him. 

“Come Aidan,” Gregg lifted him onto his feet. “I’ve got you.” He draped Aidan’s arm around his shoulder.  

“Allie,” Aidan said, willing his father to take him to her. The forest swirled around him and he feared he wouldn’t remain conscious much longer. 

“Aye, she’s okay, son. She just needs a moment.” Gregg guided him back down the pathway to the orchard. 

Allie’s sorrowful wails pierced Aidan’s heart and her raw screams echoed in the growing darkness. “Please, Dad?” He coughed, wincing at the coppery taste of blood on his lips. 

“Liam will see to her. We must go, you’re in bad shape, son. Stay with me.” But Aidan couldn’t fight it any more. His last conscious thought was of Allie. His Complement.

* * *

Fresh tears burned Aidan’s eyes. He couldn’t take much more of this. He was so sure of it that night in the orchard. So certain that Allie had experienced the same revelation. It was a devastating blow when he’d realized that same night, she still had no idea they were Complements. Now, barely a week later and Aidan knew he couldn’t live like this. He was a selfish asshole, but he couldn’t live with the pain of her not knowing. Allie was currently dealing with the enormity of her new judgment gift as well as her confusing relationship with Darius. She needed Aidan to be in her corner right now. But Aidan didn’t have the strength to sit back and watch the way she lit up whenever Darius was around. The agony of his jealousy would destroy them. Hiding it would destroy him. 

Aidan paced the hallway outside Emma’s office in the underground, working up the courage to knock. It wasn’t fair to bother her when her family was dealing with Ming Lao’s death and Quinn’s return.

“Are you going to wear a hole in the floor?” Emma opened the door, her tired eyes filling with concern as Aidan furiously wiped his eyes. “Come in.” She held the door open for him. 

“I’m sorry. I know you’re busy. I can come back.”

“Oh you poor thing. How long have you known?” She pulled him into the room and guided him to a chair. 

“A week.” He sighed, relieved her gift could sense why he was there. 

“You should have come to me right away.” She took the seat opposite him. 

“It only just occurred to me an hour ago that you’ve known all along. I forgot your gift allows you to see the Complement bond even before it forms.”

“It’s no picnic keeping so many secrets. Part of me is thrilled you finally know because I can’t imagine two people more perfect for each other than you and Allie. But with the whole Syntrophos thing happening with Darius, you must be dying inside.” 

“I can’t take it, Emma.” Aidan’s eyes burned and his throat tightened. “How is anyone supposed to do this?” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s only been a few days and I already know I can’t keep this up. I know this monumental, life-altering thing about the girl I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. And I can’t tell her.”

“Of course you can’t. You know very well if she’s not ready to see it, she’s not ready to hear it either. Telling her will only cause you more pain, and it will drive a wedge between you.”

“I would never cheat her out of such an amazing moment.” To tell a Complement before they were ready to see it on their own was the ultimate betrayal. He wouldn’t do that to Allie. 

“When did you see it?” Emma asked.

“In the middle of the battle,” Aidan said. “While I was getting my ass handed to me, I was caught up in the most incredible moment of my life.” Aidan smiled at the memory. “And I thought I saw the same realization come over her.” 

“I’m so sorry, Aidan.” Emma reached for his hand. 

“I don’t know what to do.” Aidan squeezed Emma’s hand, grateful for her support. 

“You’re going to have to leave. You need time to come to terms with what you know.”

Aidan shook his head. “No. I can’t leave her.” 

“Aidan, you are only seventeen years old.”

“Almost eighteen,” he mumbled, staring down at his lap. 

“And Allie just turned seventeen a month ago. It could take her years to catch up to you. You are not equipped to handle this on your own. And that’s okay.” She leaned forward, tilting his chin up to meet her gaze. “Immortals hundreds of years older than you have struggled with the physical and emotional pain of such a secret. As much as you love Allie, you have to take care of yourself right now. And that means taking some time away from her.”

“It’s the worst thing I could do to her. Do you know why it took her so long to admit she loves me?”

“Because she’s the most stubborn young woman on the planet?” Emma smiled. 

“Truth.” Aidan returned her smile. “But she’s also scared. When she first came to Kelleys Island neither of us knew what it was like to have a real friend. For the first time we each had a person who wasn’t intimidated by our power or felt the natural inclination to defer to us. We finally had a chance to just be ourselves, together. She’s resisted loving me all this time because she was so scared we were going to ruin that friendship. That somehow, by loving me she was going to lose me. We are finally in a good place, Emma. We’re together and happy, despite all the shitty things happening around us. If I leave, she’s going to think her fears were right all along.”

“Maybe they were,” Emma said. “She’s clairvoyant, Aidan. It’s entirely possible that in some way her gift warned her this would happen.”

“I can’t leave her. I can’t.” Just the thought of not seeing her every day had his heart racing in his chest. 

“But you can’t be with her either. It will destroy you, watching her go about her life, believing she’s nothing more than your high school sweetheart and Darius is her lifelong Syntrophos. And what happens if you inadvertently force it on her before she is ready?”

“Can that really happen by accident?” Aidan’s eyes widened in alarm. To force a Complement bond when one partner wasn’t ready was akin to rape. He’d never forgive himself. 

“You’re young. You’re both Unproven. You’re in an intimate relationship with your girlfriend you happen to share a telepathic connection with. It’s highly possible you could subconsciously coerce her. It’s time you learn how to block Allie fully from your mind. For both your sakes. 

Aidan’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Where would I even go?”

“Don’t you have a standing offer at the Cologne Conservatory of Music in Germany?”

“Yes, but Mom and Dad want me to go to Oberlin right here at home.”

“They have a preparatory program for high school students, don’t they?”

Aidan nodded. “They do.”

“So why not go there for a few months? Do you really think Allie wouldn’t be thrilled for you to take such a once in a lifetime opportunity? That she wouldn’t support you?”

“Well, yeah, she would understand.” The tension in Aidan’s body began to relax. 

“I’m not telling you to break up with her,” Emma said. “Just put a little distance between you for now and give yourself the distraction of music to occupy your mind for a time. You just need a little break to prepare for what living with Allie not knowing will mean for you.”

“I think … I could live with that. But what about my parents? They’ve always been dead set against me leaving for school abroad. They’d never consider letting me leave before I even graduate.”

“You’ve got more than enough on your plate, Aidan. You let me handle your parents,” Emma said, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.