Free Ablaze (Indestructible Trilogy Book 2) by Emma L. Adams Page B

fighting. Cold fear washes over me. They could be spies. We can’t talk here. Cas doesn’t look at me, giving no clues about whether he’s thinking the same. He’s not Jared’s. He can’t be.
    “Have fun, then,” I say, and turn my back, leaving the hall with as much dignity as I can muster.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    I spend the rest of the day in my room, thinking hard. Every time to leave, my path’s blocked by a guard, and I honestly can’t find the energy to fight. I came here to find Cas. I never should have walked right up to him in front of everyone. I need to get him alone. Idiot. I was so relieved to find him alive, but with Jared’s spies on every corner, we’ll be lucky to have a conversation without being caught.
    Guilt over Nolan stabs at me, and I can’t help thinking of the rest of the group, vulnerable to Jared’s manipulations. Even if Jared leaves them alone, the regular fiends apparently aren’t scared to go near headquarters anymore. It’s not like I have a way to contact them from here. Murray never had a phone, even if Jared does.
    I let everyone down.
    Moping won’t do any good, so I start running through training exercises, always keeping an eye on the door. A guard brings me food at one point, a sloppy kind of stew which has nothing on the food at headquarters. It’s probably all I’m getting. I’m good at imagining I’m eating delicious home cooking instead of road kill, anyway.
    Time passes.
    It’s starting to drive me mad not knowing what time of day it is. Obviously, there’s no sunlight, and no clocks, either. I’m not tired, but I rarely have been recently, certainly not since finding out I was Transcendent. Sleep is an option. And I want to be on my guard.
    I miss my dagger. Not just because it’d offer me some kind of defence, but the weapon was bonded to me. I feel its absence in a way I never expected. I pretend it’s in my hand, mime fighting a fiend. An engineered one, with wings. I can’t believe I let those get the best of me like that.
    If I’m to take down Jared, I’ll have to learn to fight them.
    But is it what I want? To fight him and the fiends? It’s too much for one person to cope with. Especially as I didn’t know I was anything special until a few weeks ago. Fighting for humanity is one thing, but fighting another human isn’t something I ever expected to do. The other Pyros are essentially human compared to me. People who chose his side.
    He didn’t even mention that I stabbed him before . Like I could ever not be suspicious of this situation.
    But Cas is here. He’s the reason I left headquarters, and the reason Nolan died. There’s no way he’s under Jared’s spell. He must have been putting on an act.
    I have to get him alone.
    ***
    Another day passes before Jared comes to see me again. The guards bring me food at intervals and occasionally swap places with others. Guess they can’t stand out there indefinitely. The real question is, what are they? Human, or fiend, or lab-grown monstrosities? Is there no depth to which Jared won’t sink?
    Stupid question.
    I nearly jump out my skin when I glance up from contemplating a crack in the wall and see Jared standing beside the door. He gives me his usual insincere smile, and walks in, handing me something. My dagger. He’s giving me my weapon back?
    “Don’t give me that look,” he says. “I’m not tricking you, Leah. You’re a Pyro. You and your weapon are bonded. You’re only half a person without it.”
    What’s he saying? I turn the dagger over, somewhat comforted by its familiar weight, but the memory of sticking it in Jared’s chest rushes back without warning. I meet his eyes then turn away, convinced he’s thinking the same.
    “Well? Are you ready to come to the training hall?”
    “You’re going to train me?”
    Jared laughs. “You won’t be much use sitting in your room, will you? Come and meet the other novices. You might even make a