Free Evernight (The Night Watchmen Series Book 2) by Candace Knoebel Page B

doesn’t. He just steps around her and heads into the facility without saying another word to anyone.
    Clara’s body shakes as she watches him pass by her. When she looks back at us, it’s as if she forgot we were there. Like she just woke from a nightmare she can’t escape from. She inhales deeply, and then replaces her frown with an uneasy smile. Clears her throat. “Let’s get on with it, shall we?” she says, recovering with the perfected diplomacy of a leader. Turning on her heel, she heads into the building.
    We all exchange glances. I lean into Jaxen. “I’m worried about him… about what she could do to him. He’s so full of hate.”
    Jaxen sighs heavily, like he knows too many truths. “Sometimes, hate is all you have to hold on to, Faye. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that can keep a person going when everyone and everything else has let you down time and time again.”
    Once we pass through the sliding doors, my eyes find Weldon’s. He’s leaning against a wall, wearing a grimace that could kill on the spot. There’s so much pain in his eyes. So much weight that seeks a place to finally rest.
    I want to hug him. I want to fix all the wrongs he’s faced.
    He joins the rest of us after Clara passes by him, pretending like she doesn’t know he’s standing there.
    “Being in shape is a major requirement as an Elite. You’re all physically fit, but you must maintain that,” Clara says. “You’re required to spend a minimum of one hour in the gym every day, which is located on the eighth floor in this building. Your appearance there will be logged by your badge.” She walks us into an elevator made of glass and pushes the button for the first floor.
    “You’ll be taking different classes every day until it’s time for the mission. Classes such as Tactical Thinking, Advanced Weaponry, Supernatural Communications, Advanced Defense… things of that nature.”
    The door slides open to the first floor. The hallway is busy with Elites in training walking in and out of doors. Early morning chatter fills the gaps between us. People in lab coats and men in ranked uniforms shuffle by, rushing to their classes.
    “All first-level Elites train here. This floor is where all of you, save Faye, will be trained.”
    My eyes jerk to hers.
    “What do you mean—except for Faye?” Jaxen asks, his entire body going stiff.
    “I mean, I will oversee her training personally, and the rest of you will train with the other first-level Elites,” she says rather calmly, precisely.
    Weldon snorts and looks away from us all, shaking his head.
    The blood drains from my face as my stomach does a weird little twist that makes me want to scream out. I don’t want to train with her. Not alone.
    “I thought we were going to be kept together,” I say defensively, backing away from her. “I don’t want to be separated again. I won’t be.”
    “Got that right,” Jaxen adds, looping his arm around my waist.
    The protests erupt behind me from Gavin, Cassie, and Jezi, all claiming that we saw this coming. That not a single one of us will take another step until she explains herself. It takes her a good, solid few seconds to regain control over the flaring tempers.
    “This is just training,” she assures with a confident smile. “All of you will have different classes at some point. This is just a part of your training that needs to be kept separate until Faye can learn to control her powers.” She looks directly at me. “You wouldn’t want to hurt them, right?”
    I look over at my friends and swallow. No. I wouldn’t want to hurt them.
    “Shoot for the Achilles, why don’t you?” Weldon kicks off the wall. Moves in next to me.
    Clara takes baby steps toward us all. “I don’t understand why you are all getting so bent out of shape. I have done nothing to show you that you can’t trust me.” Her tone is calm, and her voice careful.
    “Aside from breathing,” Cassie says under her breath.
    I’m not sure