LITMIR.BIZ

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moved behind me and I twisted around. An image of Gemma standing at the doorway made me stumble back.

      “Maggie?” Cooper’s form broke through the vision of Gemma as he rushed toward me, his strong hands gripping my shoulders—and me—in place.

      The nearness of his body did funny things to my insides. Even though I wanted to push him away, I found my body unable to connect with my head. Instead, I stared up at his warm gray eyes. Cooper was constantly trying to save me, even though I knew I was far beyond that. We barely knew each other but for some reason he kept coming back to me, even when I had fallen for Jackson again.

      “Did you see something else?”

      I shrugged, the movement of his fingers sending sparks through me. “Nothing important.”

      Cooper nodded. “Maybe seeing another part of the house will help?”

      I knew what was going to trigger the rest of my memories but I didn’t dare suggest it. When I had met Jackson that night, I knew what I was looking for. And I knew Jackson had all the answers. If a picture or Father could trigger the memories, I knew seeing Jackson again would bring everything I was missing back. Then I would be fully armed to fulfill my intent to destroy Hannah and him. A hole widened in my heart at the thought of losing him. Damn him for making me love him. Even though I didn’t yet possess our shared memories, the ones that he had given to me overpowered the rest, even those of my father. Why had our connection been so strong? I thought of Cooper and Ally. He had a strong love for her but not the other way around. What was different between me and my Guard? Was it because he made himself known to me? Or because he knew all of my feelings and could manipulate them?

      The idea slammed into me with the strength of a broadsword.

      “Our connection!” I exclaimed.

      Cooper tilted his head to the side. “Your connection?”

      My heart raced in my chest. “You said the body was the connection for a Guard and its Prognatum.”

      “Yes?” Cooper dragged the word out, his confusion palpable.

      I reached out and clutched his arms, willing him to understand. “Do you think when I came back to my body, Jackson could have known?”

      Cooper’s eyes widened. “If that is true, then he would already know where you are.”

      My heart leapt, “If he knows where I am, I am sure he will come for me.”

      “Or the Shadowed will come for us.”

      I shook my head. “He had plenty of opportunities to take me to them, but he never did.” Brushing past Cooper I waded through my more recent memories of Jackson. “There is something more and the only way I can figure that out is by seeing him again.”

      Cooper stepped back as if I had slapped him. His shock turned to fury. A side of him I’d never seen before. It was terrifying yet it reminded me that the Guard could be just as dangerous as the Shadowed, just as formidable. “I will not put you in danger again. He stood there and let Hannah kill your daughter and now you want to find him?”

      “Do you have a better plan?” I snapped.

      Cooper was silent and I knew I had him. As much as he was one of the best Guard I knew, he was just as limited in his knowledge of what the Caeleste and Prognatum were doing to stop the Shadowed as I was.

      “Listen,” I said, calming my voice. “Let’s just talk to Father and see what he says. But I know you and I can be an asset to this team if we try to contribute.”

      Cooper weighed his options. I could see the resolve on his face faltering with each passing second before he caved. “Lead the way.”

      We silently walked down the hallway, lost in our own thoughts. Or at least I was. I wanted to choose the perfect words to convince my father of what I was going to do.

      Cooper stopped at the top of the stairwell suddenly, turning to me. “You should let me talk to him.”

      I shook my head. “He’s my father and this is my plan.”

      “In his study he said he wanted to keep you out of it. The only thing you are going to do is make him close off further. You two are a lot more alike than you care to admit.”

      I narrowed my eyes. “Fine, but I want to be in there when you tell him my plan.”

      Cooper’s mouth quirked up and he nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

      In my excitement at the thought of being near Jackson again I misjudged the top stair and my foot met air, but before I tumbled down the stairs, Cooper took my hand in his, twirling me toward him. I wobbled and he steadied me, held close against his chest.

      He stepped back, giving me space but still holding onto my hand. “I will always be on your side. You need to trust someone.”

      “I’ll try.” It seems I surrounded myself with liars and they always betrayed me, but I wanted to trust him. Except I’d lived long enough to know that everyone had their secrets.

      Pressing his lips together he dropped my hand and took the lead down the stairs. I waited a beat before I followed him, one step behind.

      We arrived at the dining room. Muffled voices floated under the door as I touched the handle and was about to push through the doors when I heard my father say my name. My feet froze in place and I leaned toward the crack in the door.

      “Maggie,” Cooper whispered.

      I lifted a finger to my lips and closed my eyes to listen.

      “She will remain on the premises the entire time,” Father said. “There is no use getting her involved in this until her transformation.”

      “She is what they want.” I was surprised to hear Calliope’s voice but quickly realized it must be Felix Possessing her body again. Calliope was his puppet for interaction on the Living Realm.

      “And until we figure out why, she is not to interfere,” Father commanded.

      “There is a reason I had Cooper bring her here,” Calliope/Felix continued.

      “And every time you get her involved in anything, someone in our family dies. I would assume that you wouldn’t want to continue with that record.”

      “You are on thin ice, Nicholas,” Felix warned.

      “I am the only one making any progress with hunting down the Shadowed, Felix. I never asked you to bring her back here.”

      My face flushed.

      “They are who she wants,” Felix said firmly. “She is our best shot at infiltrating the Shadowed and once she has located the source of their power we can work together to destroy it.”

      “We should go—” Cooper said, but I quickly hushed him again.

      Father continued. “We have a lead on their next location. I think we should continue with what we’ve been doing. We aren’t far behind them this time. Their obsession with Margaret is something we can use to our advantage. I say we can send a decoy in her place, one that can actually fight.”

      I leaned against the door for balance. Even though my knees were the consistency of jelly, I pushed through the doors and a dozen pairs of eyes fell on me, but I was only interested in my father.

      I’d done my fair share of waiting and fighting against the Shadowed to not be involved in whatever they had planned. “I heard my name.” I said marching up to the table where papers and maps covered the entire surface.

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