Before she could retort that this whole situation felt like it was leading up to stockholme syndrome, a screeching siren rang over the hall, and Memphis stood abruptly, as did everyone in the room. The reaction was an electric current running through the group as everyone stopped what they were doing.
Memphis breathed, “That’s probably Alby returning from his scout. Care to join me?”
She pressed her lips in a thin line while looking at the man before her. He bit his lower lip, waiting for her to answer, his blue eyes piercing through her. His hair was tied back, and a small crooked smile started to lift the corners of his mouth. He was a stranger, and yet...yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was familiar. She couldn’t shake her curiosity about the man who sat across from her. Emory couldn’t deny any of it.
She had always daydreamed of having a more fulfilling life; had spent years wondering about her parents, what they had been like, what their likes and dislikes were. Now, she just had to figure out if the information she was being fed was reality or fantasy.
With a nod, they made their way back over to the elevator. A well-mannered assembly line followed as they filed into the doors. A hand shot out to hold the doors open as Emory and Memphis stepped in. Brokk gently tipped his head toward them just as the doors shut, and they shot up, her heart dropping into her belly from the motion.
Sucking in a breath, she tried to hold on to her food. A smooth hand wrapped around hers, and she glanced at Memphis, a slight smirk on his face. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and let go quickly when they reached the top. Stepping out, Emory noticed a flash of golden eyes as Brokk fell into step beside them.
“Memphis, Emory.” Brokk nodded. His voice was gruff and clipped, a shiver running along her spine in response.
She had no proof that she shouldn’t trust him...other than her dreams. For six years, she was lost to his anger and betrayal, and now that they had met in the flesh, she couldn’t shake her unease. She mimicked his earlier response and tipped her head toward him. Right now, she couldn’t trust anyone.
Memphis whispered quietly to Brokk, something she couldn’t hear, and Brokk answered, his fists clenching.
“Boys will be boys.” Nyx slinked beside her, distracting her from trying to catch the conversation happening in front of her.
Holding out her hand to Emory, Nyx smirked. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I don’t count the other night when you almost got us all killed. I’m Nyx Astire. Our rebellion apparently needs you, but time will only tell what you are made of, Emory Fae.”
Each word dripped with sarcasm, as Emory met her gaze head on. “I didn’t ask to be brought into this.”
Nyx chuckled. “Oh, I know that to be a lie. You asked six years ago to leave; now these are the consequences.”
Bristling, Emory changed the subject and asked, “Black Dawn, how did you guys choose the name?”
Nyx’s violet eyes narrowed, and her mouth twitched, but to Emory, it seemed more like a flinch. “Adair has stripped our world of any peace, any balance. For years, we have been planning, hiding, and waiting for the day we had the upper hand, had a card he wouldn’t be able to read, to foresee our moves, so we could stand a chance of survival.
No one besides Brokk and Memphis knew you were alive. We have obviously found out otherwise.
Every single person in this room has watched their entire families and friends die in an instant. We have seen things you couldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. We have been forced into a life where we get fleeting glimpses of happiness and hope in our dreams, only to awake to a world burnt of it.
We swore that when it was time, we would rise as strong and fast as the dawn but with no mercy, no empathy, a blackness in our hearts so Adair could feel, if only for a second, an ounce of what we have felt.
That time has come, and as you will find out, you are our upper hand.”
Emory was left speechless, and Nyx, with a hollowness reflected in her violet eyes, pushed past her.
A world stripped of humanity, and she was to restore it?
A knot twisted in her stomach at the thought.
“Nyx can come on a bit strong sometimes, but her heart is in the right place.”
Memphis appeared at her side, Brokk now lost in the throng of people ahead of them.
“She seems lovely.”
A throaty chuckled resonated from Memphis, and Emory couldn’t help but smile herself. After a few minutes, the group reached a deep grey door and stopped in front of it, Memphis turning the knob to go in. Nyx, Brokk, and Emory followed. Maps were scattered on a small round table, coordinates and a rough map of Kiero hanging from the wall and in the half shadows.
Three people waited for them. Memphis swept his arm out. “Emory, may I introduce to you Wyatt, Jackson, and Bryd”
She took them in, trying to smile. None returned the favor.
You will find out you are our upper hand. Nyx’s voice echoed in her mind as she took the nearest seat, Memphis and Brokk on either side of her.
Nyx perched herself several chairs down, glaring at her the entire time.
“Where’s Alby?”
Brokk searched the group, waiting for the answer.
“I sounded the meeting.” The young girl with electric blue hair leaned forward, Bryd, her voice was choked. Dread filled Emory’s stomach. A strained silence followed.
Memphis's face drained of color as Brokk asked again, “Where’s Alby?”
Bryd twisted her ocean hair, murmuring, “I was on watch. Alby had gone a couple of hours before
