get to know who you were—I realized the history texts had to be wrong. You weren’t some cold, world-destroying monster. You were just an innocent girl who had no idea of the situation she was about to be put into.” He sighed. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to know I might have to kill you to save the world, all while you’re trying to help me figure out a way to do it?” He paused, then added, “Let’s just say suddenly things didn’t seem so black and white anymore.”
Trinity twisted her mother’s ring. “I guess I know what you mean,” she admitted. “It was kind of the same—once I met Emmy.” She remembered how much she wanted to destroy the egg when she’d first learned of what it was capable of. To snuff out Emmy’s life force before she even had the chance to be born. It was inconceivable to think of now. And maybe Connor felt the same way about her.
“It doesn’t help that I’ve had to spend the last week sharing hotel rooms with this old guy,” Connor added, his character tossing his head toward the barbarian. “Having to hear how amazing you are. How smart and dedicated and loyal you are. How hard you work every day to keep him and his museum afloat. Blah, blah, blah.”
“Well, it’s true!” Grandpa blustered over the headphones. “I owe this little girl everything.”
Trinity stared at the screen, tears welling in her eyes. All this time she’d assumed her guardian had been too wrapped up in his own fantasy world to recognize any of the work she’d put in behind the scenes. But he’d noticed. He’d been paying attention all along. A choking sound escaped her throat.
“I love you, Grandpa,” she whispered, then repeated it louder so he could hear.
“I love you too, sweetheart,” he said. “And I’m not going to let anyone touch a hair on your pretty little head.” He huffed. “I am Stegg the Barbarian after all!” His character beat his chest and roared.
She laughed. “Yes. Very frightening.” Then she sobered. “So what’s the deal, Connor? You still haven’t told us what you plan to do.”
She heard his deep sigh over the headphones. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “The thought of allowing dragons to exist in the world terrifies me more than you could ever know. But at the same time, how can I go and mercilessly cut someone down in cold blood who has done nothing wrong?” He paused, then added, “And not just someone.
His breath hitched and Trinity felt her heart beat a little faster. She suddenly wished she wasn’t in the game but right in front of Connor in real life, so she could look into his eyes and see the truth that she so desperately wanted to see.
“I always prided myself on following orders,” he continued in a rush, “never questioning what they told me to do. But what if they were wrong? What if there is another way? Should I blindly stumble on because some people from an alternate future once told me to?” He cleared his throat. “I can’t. I just can’t. Maybe that makes me a terrible soldier. Maybe they should have never sent me here in the first place. But I’m here now. And I think it’s time to start making my own rules. Find a way to make this all work—where no one innocent has to die.”
His words were passionate, his tone fierce, sending chills down Trinity’s spine. Did he really mean what he said? Could they really have a chance? “What about Emmy?”
“Well, I’m not likely to let her sleep at the foot of my bed or lick my face anytime soon,” he said dryly, “but I’m willing to give her a chance. Most historians claim it was the hybrids that caused all the trouble. If this is true, then it should be okay for Emmy to exist—as long as we can get her away from the Dracken.”
“But wait,” Trinity hesitated. “Can’t the Dracken help us? They’ve got everything you’d need to raise a dragon here, not to mention a good hiding spot.”
Silence fell over her headphones. “What?” she demanded, a cold chill rising inside of her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Trinity, honey,” Grandpa interjected at last, “the Dracken tried to kill me.”
She froze, staring at the screen in horror. She suddenly realized that in her joy of seeing her grandpa still alive, she’d neglected to connect the dots in her mind. Darius must have doctored that newspaper, assuming the deed had already been done. And worse, he’d tried to pin the whole thing on Connor to make sure she’d never trust him again.
He’d been so sympathetic. So willing to comfort her when she’d fallen into his arms. Ready to hold a memorial service even—to honor a man he himself had ordered killed. She squeezed her hands into fists. “God, I should have had Emmy flambe that bastard when I had the chance.”
Connor’s knight put a comforting hand on her character’s shoulder. “While I’d definitely be the first to toast marshmallows on
Trinity’s heart squeezed as she thought of Caleb. “He isn’t…” she started, then trailed off. “I mean, he’s not like…”
“He didn’t know about your grandfather,” Connor told her gently, “which means he wasn’t in on Darius’s plans.”
Trin let out a sigh of relief. That was something at least. “I’m pretty sure the rest of the kids here—the Potentials—aren’t either. They’re so nice. They truly believe they’ve been brought here to save the world.” Her heart ached at the thought.
“We’ll figure out what to do about them later,” Connor said. “First we need to find a way to get out of here. I could walk right in, pretending to be my brother. But I can’t exactly waltz you and Emmy out the front door.”
“No, but we can take the back,” Trinity broke in excitedly. “There are back passageways that run along the entire mall. The Dracken had them all sealed off—I don’t think many people here even know they exist. But I was able to find a door in the west courtyard that leads to a parking garage underground where an elevator can take us outside.” She paused. “In fact, I was about to head down there and make my escape when you showed up.”
“You were?” Connor’s character face-palmed. “And here I thought I was your knight in shining armor coming to your aid.”
She smirked. “Please. This princess can save herself,” she declared. She paused, then added, “But I am glad you’re here all the same.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“The door to the parking garage should be right around here somewhere,” Trinity whispered, consulting her blueprints before beckoning for Connor to follow her down the long, dark hallway that wound parallel to the mall. Emmy flapped along behind them, her eyes darting to every corner, her ears pricked for signs of trouble. The passageways hadn’t been used for some time, judging from the dust and cobwebs, and it was all Trin could do to keep from sneezing and giving their position away. The walls were so thin that at times they could hear muffled conversations going on behind them, and Trin realized it would take only the slightest noise for the Dracken to discover that they had rats in their walls.
The passageway rounded a corner and the three of them stopped to take a peek. Sure enough, as the blueprints had indicated, the corridor dead-ended in a set of tall double doors rising before them, banded with iron. What the blueprints hadn’t been able to tell them, however, was that these particular doors were guarded by two armed men. Trinity’s heart fluttered with apprehension as she exchanged a look with Connor. What were they doing here? The Dracken must have left another entrance open when they did their remodel. But why? Was there something hidden behind these doors besides freedom? Something worth guarding?
She looked down at the blueprints, searching for another way out. But this was it—the only way into the underground parking garage and their only hope for escape. They’d have to take out the guards somehow— quickly, quietly, as to not alert anyone on the other side of the walls. At least from the blueprints, she knew the store behind them was being used as unoccupied storage space, so it was unlikely anyone was in close proximity, but a gunshot would definitely be heard throughout the mall. There had to be another way. But how? Walk up to the guards and ask nicely?
