Free Entangled (Guardian Academy Book 2) by Jessica Sorensen Page A

reason.”
    Without removing my gaze from him, I point out at the field where the dead bodies lie. “Obviously.”
    “But you weren’t scared when you first saw the scene. Not like this, anyway.” He inhales deeply, and I cringe, wondering what he could possibly smell. “You’re terrified. I can smell it.”
    He’s right. I am terrified, a feeling I’ve only experienced a handful of times.
    “FYI, that smelling thing you just did is super creepy,” I joke, but my tone misses the mark. I shift in the seat, and his fingers fall away from my neck. “But you’re right. Something did happen to me out on the field. Something bad. Something terrifying.” A chill slithers up my spine as the fey’s memories slink into my thoughts. “I think I might know who killed the fey.”
    He startles back, confusion swirling in his eyes. “ What ?”
    “I saw something … when I touched one of the fey’s arms …”
    “Like a mark?”
    “No …” I hesitate, knowing I’m going to sound crazy. But I have to tell him, have to convince him that what I saw is true so we can track down those vampires who slaughtered the fey and arrest them. Although I would way rather go the Keeper route on this and inflict the same pain on them as they did to the fey, that’s not the Guardian way.
    Le sigh.
    “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say,” he says, totally lost.
    I sigh. “I guess there’s no easy way to say this, but when I touched the Fey’s arm, I saw her thoughts. No, not just saw them, I lived them. And they weren’t just any thoughts. They were the ones she had right before she died.”
    It takes a second for it to click, and then his eyes widen. “Wait a second. Are you saying that you saw who killed them?”
    I nod, hoping upon hope that what happened to me is some sort of freaky Guardian trait I haven’t learned about yet. “Yeah, I saw the whole thing play out through her eyes.” I shake my head. “No, it was more than that. It was like I was her for a few minutes.”
    His mouth thins to a line as he presses his lips together. “Wait here. I need to go talk to Hadlee.” He moves to get out of the car.
    “Wait.” I snag hold of the hem of his shirt and pull him to a stop. “What happened to me is normal, right? It happens to Guardians?”
    “I’m sorry,” he says with grave remorse. “I wish I could tell you that was it, but I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”
    My knuckles graze his back as I tighten my grasp on his shirt. “Then I don’t want you telling Hadlee. I don’t want anyone knowing about this, not until I know what’s going on with me.”
    “I’m not going to tell Hadlee about that.” He gives a stressing glance toward the front of the car where a group of five or six Guardians are standing around, talking and discussing the case. “I’m going to tell her that we’re leaving, that you’re sick, and I need to take you to the doctor.”
    “But you’re not really taking me to the doctor, right?” I ask, releasing his shirt from my death grip.
    “No, I’m taking you someplace safe where no one can overhear what we discuss, because if what you’re saying is true … if you saw….” He rubs his hand across his face so roughly his fingertips leave red marks on his skin. Then he gives a panicked glance at the people outside and leans in and lowers his voice. “If you saw what happened—saw the killer—and the wrong person finds out about it …” He doesn’t finish.
    He doesn’t have to. I know.
    If the wrong person finds out, I’ll probably end up dead in a field just like the fey.
     

Chapter 9
     
    After Jax leaves the car to go tell Hadlee we’re leaving, I crack the window, slump back in the seat, and try to sort through what just happened. While I don’t know everything about the magical world, I’ve never heard of anyone being able to live other people’s memories. Reading minds, sure. There’s a spell that can do that. But actually living the