Destined (War of the Covens 2)

In that moment, Caia wanted to throw her arms around this woman and cry, beg, plead with her to help her with what she had to do. But no matter how kind Marion had been to her, she would never betray her sister.

Caia smiled determinedly and lied, “I appreciate that, Marion, but there’s really nothing keeping me with the pack.”

“Not even Lucien?”

An ache rippled across her chest and her smile tightened. “Lucien has Rose.”

“And if he didn’t?”

“He does.” She turned to leave. “I’m going to get ready. Maybe you could tell Lucien we’re leaving now? Rose is coming with us.”

Instead of heading toward her suite, however, Caia strode past it and got into the elevator at the other end of the hall. Her heart raced, and she hoped she would remain undetected as she made her way to visit the Travelers.

Luck must have been on her side. She found herself on the other side of the Center with very little trouble and was swarmed by the twins and a few others. The rest of the Travelers watched shyly from the background.

“Oh my goddess, Caia, Ophelia traveled to the top of the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza this morning!” Desi tugged excitedly on her sleeve. “We all told her not to because it’s like insanely dangerous … I mean, she could’ve missed the top by a millimeter and gone crashing down the pyramid. But she didn’t!” She laughed, shooting a look of pure pride at Ophelia, who blushed happily. “She totally pulled it off!”

Caia chuckled. “Well done, Ophelia. That must’ve been some view.”

She shrugged modestly. “There was a lot of sand.”

Desi snorted. “I would so be bragging if I were you. I can’t believe Vilhelm missed it. Did you hear, Caia? That he broke that girl out of prison, that Midnight?”

“I did.”

Desi and a few others shook their heads in amazement. “We knew he was, like, awesome at traveling, but we didn’t know he had the balls to pull that off.”

Ophelia sniffed. “Well, all I have to say is that he really must believe the girl is innocent. Vilhelm would never betray the coven.”

Oh, that’s right, Caia mused, Ophelia had a crush on Vil.

Desi grimaced. “Or, uh, the girl put a spell on him.”

“Impossible.” One of the other male Travelers shook his head, scowling at her. “The girl was contained by magik. Vil did it of his own free will.”

“So weird. He was always so quiet.”

“It’s always the quiet ones.”

“Why did he do it, though?”

“I don’t care why he did it,” Ophelia said loudly, cutting off the chatter. “I’m just not going to treat him like a villain for it.”

“Ophelia.” Desi reminded her, “She’s a Midnight.”

Her sister narrowed her eyes. “She came here for refuge.”

“Midnights are the enemy, remember,” one older woman sneered.

Caia watched them argue among themselves, her confidence growing by the minute. It seemed the younger generation were more open to the belief that maybe all Midnights weren’t to be condemned solely on heritage.

“I can’t believe you would even suggest a Midnight could be innocent,” the same woman spat at Ophelia, and the others crowded around her. Desi looked torn, and she turned to Caia as if for reassurance. As her green eyes swept over Caia, her face brightened, and she whirled back to the others. “Why not?” she demanded of the opposition. “Caia’s part Midnight, and she’s awesome.”

Silence descended over the room as they all turned to stare at her.

Great.

The older Traveler stepped forward, and still scowling at Desi said quietly and authoritatively, “That’s different. Miss Ribeiro isn’t a full-blooded Midnight and has proven her loyalty to the Daylights thrice over. In fact, she, of all people, would be able to tell you that all Midnights are evil.”

Sweat broke out under her arms. She hadn’t come here to make a declaration on that subject quite yet. She’d only visited because she wanted to tell them they could come see her anytime if they needed anything at all. The Travelers were an important group to her … and eventually, she would need them.

As Caia stared back at their waiting faces, she was loath to lie to them. If she did, they would only see it as hypocrisy later, and her hopes of winning their support would be dashed. She gave them a weary smile. “There are very few people in this world who are truly evil. That the Midnights are our enemy at the moment is all you need to know.”

Before the surprised muttering could erupt into loud chatter, Caia moved toward them. “I actually came to tell you that I’ll be returning to the pack for a few days.” More lies, she winced. “But I’ll be back.” No need to tell them when. “And while I’m gone, I want you to know that you can come visit me anytime. If you need me, I’m here.”