Free Hyacinth by Abigail Owen Page A

Griffin’s
dreams and eventually was able to through Ellie’s. Then she showed them the
final battle when they’d freed her forever from her brother’s terrible reign.
    Finally, she
showed them the past year…the memories slowly returning to her people… their
despair over what they’d been a part of… and their determination to rebuild and
start over.
    Selene paused.
When she opened her eyes, she was amazed to see tears on most of the faces
around her. She’d done her best to shield them from her emotions, but it hadn’t
been enough apparently.
    “Before I go
on,” Selene broke the heavy silence, “Do you have any questions so far?”
    “My heaven,”
Lucy was the first to speak. “Ellie had told us, but I didn’t understand until
now. You poor child.”
    “I didn’t know
all of that ,” Ellie commented, her voice trembling. “How did you find
the strength, all those years, to keep fighting him? And all on your own?”
    “I focused on
helping as many people as I could, like you and Griffin. And I held on to the
hope that someone would eventually defeat him.”
    “How did you
make it through all that without becoming twisted yourself?” Ramsey asked.
Having balanced on the razor-edge of bitterness and rage himself, he was
impressed. As a firestarter, he was in constant danger from volatile emotions.
Most firestarters didn’t live very long. It had taken a degree of strength to
keep the power within him under control while Selene had shared her story with
them, and he’d really only managed to do so with Lila’s help.
    Selene gave him
a funny little smile. “How do you know I didn’t?”
    They were all surprised
by this, and Nate gave a sharp laugh.
    “I’m not trying
to be flippant,” Selene explained. “I’m not even sure that something didn’t
warp inside me. I got really good at completely turning off my emotions. Like a
robot. It’s a thought that scares the hell outta me.”
    Sliding a glance
at Griffin, who was regarding her steadily but had yet to say anything, Selene
gathered her courage. Her shoulders rose and fell with her deep breath. “In
fact, I can’t say for certain that the wolf attack last night wasn’t me,” she
admitted.
    Griffin tensed,
and Selene felt something inside her chest clench.
    “What do you
mean?” Hugh asked, concern clouding his kind brown eyes.
    Selene grimaced.
“I left the Vyusher not just to go to college—that was just a welcome excuse. I
left because I’d been having these dreams. Nightmares really…”
    “About wolf
attacks?” Dexter guessed.
    “Yes. In my
dreams it’s always a white wolf.”
    “But you control
dreams, right?” Nate asked, his deep brown eyes openly curious.
    “Not
necessarily. I can visit people, but they’re still in control, mostly. And they
have to let me in. Also, I’ve never had my own dreams before. What if…” Selene
couldn’t finish the thought.
    “What if you’re
responsible for the murders?” Ellie completed.
    Selene bit her
lip and nodded. “I can show you last night’s dream.”
    She closed her
eyes again and replayed the night’s events… of waking up in a terrified panic,
yet with no blood on her or any evidence whatsoever that she’d been anywhere
but her bed. And then later of learning about the wolf attack from Ellie.
    Selene opened
her eyes. “I know I have no right to ask, but I don’t know what to do. Can you
help me?” she pleaded.
    Griffin abruptly
stood and let go of her hand, his expression unreadable. Then he turned on his
heel and left the room.
    “Let him go,”
Ellie told Alex as he made a move to follow. “He just needs time to think
through everything.” She turned to Selene with a wry smile. “You’ve given him a
lot to deal with.”
    “I have an
idea,” Charlotte piped up, drawing everyone’s attention. “What if Selene stayed
here, and we each took turns keeping an eye on her at all times? Then if
there’s another wolf attack, we’ll know whether it’s her or