Adaptive: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The Elite Trials Book 2) Read online

  “Wait, back up. Missions? So Brendan left here to enter Tatum City and the Trials for . . . what reason exactly?” Please know the answer, please know the—

  Her bottom lip poked out. “I’m sorry, Lune. I know you’re hoping I’ll have the answer, but I’m not privy to those details. All I know is that he leaves on mission for long stretches at a time. Has been doing so ever since he graduated. They’re dangerous, I know that much. He’s always done dangerous stuff though, so I’m kind of used to it. But,” she said with a sly grin, “I know that this latest mission messed with his head. He’s been abnormally quiet and contemplative since he got home. I wonder why that is?”

  I gave her a flat look. “I have no idea. If it involves me, he isn’t saying. That’s why I asked to switch guards, you know. He was driving me insane.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Not literally,” I rushed to add. “Well, maybe a little.”

  She snickered, then threw a hand to her forehead as her eyes rolled upward. “Boys are so much drama. I refuse to fall in love with one.” Her hand lowered, cupping her mouth next as she whispered, “I can’t help but be drawn to the tortured soul types though. They feel everything so intensely under all that dark brooding.”

  I shook my head, fighting a grin. Did I have a type? “All I want is to get my memories back. What if I have a boyfriend in Tatum City or something? And I don’t even know what my favorite food is let alone my life goals.”

  “Life goals can wait,” she said, grabbing a wad of fabric and plopping it into my lap. “You’re too young to be so serious all the time. Tonight is about having a little fun! Now try that on.”

  I held the black sparkly material up with two fingers. “Um, where’s the rest of it?”

  She sighed loudly. “Don’t tell me you’ve never worn a dress before.”

  “Do hospital gowns count?” I started to hand the slinky thing back to her but she grabbed my arm and pulled me off the bed.

  “We only get one community party a month. You’re going, Lune!” When I stared at her dubiously, she batted her eyes. “You can be my date.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “What’s a date?” When her mouth fell open in horror, I fisted the dress and headed for the bathroom, muttering, “Fine, I’ll go. But if anything weird happens at the party, I’ll leave and go to the gym instead. With this dress on.”

  Apparently getting ready for a party was supposed to be a mini workout session. There was the dress which, after several attempts at zipping it myself, I needed assistance putting on. Then makeup—who invented sparkly eyeshadow and lipstick? And hair—styled to curl loosely down my back. But when Bells pulled out black high-heeled shoes with a flourish—which were also sparkly—I snorted. “Not happening.”

  “Oh, come on,” she groaned. “It’s the one time a month tall guys can’t look down their noses at us.”

  “I can look down my nose at them just fine, heels or no.” Ugh. She could win a pouty lip award. I wrangled on the shoes after almost falling on my butt, then stood still for her inspection. Two thumbs up.

  As we exited my room, Bells whispered, “Just don’t bend over at the party.”

  “Why?”

  “Um.” I glanced at her sharply as she fiddled with her handheld. “You fill out the dress better than I do, that’s all.” She gave me a syrupy smile. “Oh, and I asked Jaxon to meet us there. You know, in case . . .”

  “In case someone goes crazy on me for thinking I’m crazy?”

  She laughed, but it sounded slightly nervous. Was I making a mistake by going to this party? I hadn’t the foggiest idea what to expect. My steps faltered and I considered turning back, but Bells’ unwavering confidence pulled me onward.

  I heard the party before laying eyes on it. The thump, thump, thump was like a heartbeat, but one that shook my entire body. I stopped in my tracks, uncertain if I liked the foreign feeling. A door in front of us whipped open and sound poured out, blasting my eardrums. I took a step back and bumped into something.

  Before I could turn and apologize, a hand settled on my lower back, guiding me forward. “Ladies,” a voice said loudly. Jaxon. I allowed myself to be steered through the door. “Yukiko’s gonna be jealous of how gorgeous my company is this evening. Don’t tell her . . .”

  His words were lost to the overpowering swell of the music. Sounds I couldn’t put a name to joined the beat in a wild clash of noise that somehow felt synchronized. I was deaf to everything but the pulse pounding in my head, my skin, my very bones. My heart could stop and I wouldn’t even know.

  Somehow I kept moving, one teetering footstep after the other. We passed through a dim hallway and swept aside long strands of beads dangling from what I assumed was the party’s entrance. And then my world really exploded. With colors. Pinks and greens and blues shot through the foggy gloom in streaks, highlighting a bobbing wave.

  No, those were people, swaying to the music. Dancing.

  “Dance with me, Lune!” Bells shouted in my ear, and grabbed my hand. I didn’t protest. I was in too much shock to do anything but let her drag me into the shifting bodies. A shoulder bumped into mine. Hair whipped my cheek. A hand whacked my arm. Everywhere—up, down, all around—there were people. Moving. Touching. Breathing.

  Crap. I wasn’t breathing. I forced in air, immediately tempted to expel it when I tasted salty sweat and fruity body spray on my tongue. The room brightened enough to reveal Bells facing me now with her arms in the air, the chunky silver bracelets on her wrists flashing under the colorful lights. Her head whipped side-to-side and her lithe body, clad in sparkly dark purple, undulated like a snake. I worked on gathering my vocal chords which had found their way into my stomach. “Are you okay?” I yelled.

  Her eyes popped open, but she kept moving. “You’ve never danced before?”

  I gave her an exaggerated shrug. Maybe, but I doubted it had been anything like this.

  She grabbed both my hands and raised my arms, waving them back and forth. “Move to the beat. Shake your hips.”

  What?

  She shimmied once more, showing me how it was done, and I couldn’t help it. I busted out laughing. But she wasn’t offended. In fact, she joined me. That’s when I decided she was my friend. The thought made me so giddy, I let her teach me how to move my body in ways it’d probably never moved before. In no time, I was as sweaty as the rest of the crowd, damp curls sticking to my neck.

  If I was an adrenaline junkie, then dancing was my fix.

  “I have to go pee,” Bells said as the fast-paced song switched to a slower one. She waved her handheld in the air. “I got you a new dance partner though, so don’t move.” With that, she was gone. Blip. Leaving me alone in the middle of a swarm of strangers.

  No problem, I told myself. Jaxon would come any minute now and make me forget that the people brushing up against me could be planning my demise. Dramatic much? Yep.

  One minute and twelve centuries later, I was struggling not to panic. Where was Jaxon? Maybe they’d taken him out first so it would be easier to get to me. The faces around me spun, a sickening blend of blue, pink, and green. Someone tapped my shoulder and I whirled, coming face-to-face with . . .

  Brendan.

  I gasped, the sound smothered by the music’s slow beat, but I think he heard it anyway. I can hear your thundering heartbeats. Could he hear them now? “Where’s Jaxon?” I tried searching for his best friend, but it was no use. Even with heels on, Brendan was half a foot taller than me and blocking my view.

  He bent his head so he didn’t have to shout in my face. “Dancing with a put-out girlfriend who didn’t get the memo that he’d be here until only a few moments ago.”

  My mouth formed an O, but I couldn’t resist snickering, even if I did feel sorry for Jaxon. I finally took in the rest of Brendan, hiding my inspection by smoothing the front of my dress at the same time. He wore a black collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and dark slacks. My gaze got stuck on the vee of tan skin ab
ove his unbuttoned collar though. I kind of wanted to stare at it forever, but someone knocked into me from behind and broke my concentration.

  I pitched forward and practically nose-dived into that strip of skin. If it weren’t for Brendan’s fast reflexes, I would have. Stupid reflexes. I snorted at how loopy my mind was acting, even giggled a bit. Someone needed to punch some sense into me. His hands on my shoulders dropped, but not in the way I expected them to. They traced the bare skin of my arms, then slowly guided my hands to rest on his shoulders.

  My eyes rose to his, which were much, much closer now. He lowered his head farther and my breath caught as his cheek came up alongside mine, as I felt the graze of his stubbly jaw. “Dance with me?” his voice rumbled in my ear.

  I laughed softly, more nerves than anything. “Do I have a choice?”

  He froze, then pulled back to look me in the eye again, this time with a line bisecting his brows. Mine scrunched up too, in confusion. He blinked a few times and cleared his expression, smiling faintly. “Someone who I admire greatly once told me that you always have a choice.”

  I tipped my head to the side, wondering at the whimsical look on his face. “That’s good advice. I’ll remember that.” The tempo of the music changed then. Still slow, but the notes were long and almost languid. Crap. Things just got awkward. “Confession: I have no idea how to dance to this kind of music.”

  I watched his smile transform into that devastating, lopsided smirk. “Good thing I do then,” he said, giving me no warning as he grasped my hips and pulled me closer. Warmth immediately ignited every part of me that brushed up against him. But when he started to move, his hands guiding me into the rhythm, I wanted to burn. My arms slid around his neck, drawing us impossibly close, until all thought scattered.

  Him. Me. Our bodies moving as one. Intoxicating feelings and emotions overwhelmed my senses and stole my control.

  Control.

  I was losing it. This was what drowning felt like.

  My arms stiffened as my breaths came in harsh pants. Air. I needed air. I needed—

  “Let go,” he said, resting his forehead on mine. “I’ve got you.” As if to punctuate his words, he pressed a hand to my back, fitting me more securely against him.

  And maybe that was the last thing I should have done, but I did. I shut my eyes and let go of my fear, my control, my every thought. I let it all go. And in their place, I let him in. A rush of uncontrollable energy filled me and I drank it whole, feeling more alive than I’d ever felt before. I felt delicious warmth on my cheek. Felt it moving, exploring. Tasting.

  I tipped my head back and the warm pressure kissed my neck. Again and again. Kiss. Those were lips on my skin, trailing over my jaw, nipping at my ear. I moaned his name. I dug my fingers into his hair and brought his head around until his mouth was inches away from kissing mine.

  Then my stomach twisted violently. A force shoved me backward and an image blocked my view of Brendan. I stared at someone’s back. No, it was my back, and that was Brendan’s hand holding me close. Out of nowhere, an arm thrust into the space and jabbed something into my spine. With a yank, the arm retreated, but not before I saw a thin blade coated in red disappear into the crowd.

  Blood. That had been blood. My blood.

  I tried to scream, but only a wet gurgle came out.

  No. No!

  I jerked forward and my eyes shot open to see Brendan inches from my face, about to kiss me. With a strangled inhale, I tried to push away, tried to untangle my tongue so I could tell him of the vision. But words failed me and Brendan was lost. Lost in the moment that I had succumbed to. And now . . . and now . . .

  Not knowing what else to do, I gripped his hair. Hard. His eyes flew wide, glazed and confused. My mouth opened, but instead of a scream or something intelligent coming out, I said, “My back.”

  It wasn’t the words that clued him in, but my expression. I knew stark terror was written there. He looked over my shoulder and I saw the moment he became aware of the threat. His eyes intensified and his jaw hardened. But instead of running, or yelling, or throwing us to the ground, he crushed me to him and twisted, reversing our positions.

  I felt the moment the blade sunk into Brendan’s back. Felt him jerk against me. Heard him grunt as the blade was ripped out. Cold fear swept through me. He slumped forward but the weight of him was too great. I cried out as he slipped from my arms and crumpled to the ground. I yelled his name as his golden eyes rolled upward. As he stilled.

  No, no, no, no.

  “Don’t you dare die on me, Brendan Bearon!”

  Something inside my head snapped then. Cracked. An image leaked through an invisible shield, one where I was holding Brendan’s face like I was doing right now, telling him not to die. I choked on a sob, and let my tears fall freely.

  A memory.

  I had just seen a memory.

  “Did you see the person’s face?”

  “No. The—the angle was all wrong. I wasn’t even in my body, more like a spectator in the crowd.”

  “And why didn’t you turn around and defend yourself the moment the vision ended?”

  My mouth opened, and stayed open. I knew it was normal for Dr. Moore to be blunt, but the thought of telling him that I’d practically plastered myself to Brendan’s front and his grip on me hadn’t allowed for movement . . . I’d rather jump off a cliff.

  So, of course Jaxon, not having any qualms with being open, did it for me. “She was a willing prisoner at the time. Of Bren’s arms. The dude’s grip is stronger than an octopus’s, if you know what I mean.”

  The Ridge leader’s bushy eyebrows bunched together which made his glasses slip down his nose. No, he didn’t seem to understand the meaning. “When Dr. Stacey is done with him, I’ll ask Bren if he saw anything. I want a full report of your story before we start the investigation though, Miss Avery. Use Jaxon’s handheld. In the meantime, all of your extracurricular activities need to be approved by me first. We need to get to the bottom of this before someone gets killed. And Jaxon, I’m sure you don’t need to be told to keep this on the down-low. Mass panic would be most unpleasant to deal with.”

  There were too many things I disliked about his instructions, but instead of speaking my mind and making things worse, I responded with a curt nod. He was in charge, not me, and his primary goal was to protect his people. My only goal was selfish—to see Brendan again and make sure he was all right.

  When we left Dr. Moore’s office with explicit orders to engage the lock on my bedroom door, I made a beeline for Medical. I had been forced to leave Brendan there, not knowing the state of his condition while Dr. Moore peppered me with questions. If he died and I hadn’t been there because of some stupid—

  “Whoa there, Lu Bear,” Jaxon said, purposefully slowing his gait to discourage me from running down the hallway. I bit back a few choice words. “I’m just a lowly Intellect, but your rage is coming through loud and clear. Even a regular human could feel it.”

  “Feel my fist,” I muttered, punching the elevator button. Three seconds later, I ditched the waiting for a much faster method: the stairs. After wrestling off the high-heeled shoes I’d managed to hobble around in all night, I all but leapt down the stairs. My ankle barked a protest, but I barked right back. I was in no mood, no mood to be told what to do right now.

  “Lune.”

  “What?”

  “Hey, don’t bite off the messenger’s head. Lots of important information has gotten lost because of that rash decision.”

  I blew out a breath and worked on a less murderous tone as I rounded the thirteenth floor landing. “What is it?”

  “We’re coming up hard on our destination. You might want to put on the brakes.”

  “We have eleven floors to go, what are you talking abou—?”

  “He’s been released.”

  I grabbed the railing and jerked myself to a stop, almost causing a bodily collision with my guard.

  “Crikey, you need tail
lights, girl.” When I turned my gaze on him, his eyes widened in mock terror. Then he grinned. “You forget who my girlfriend is. No one can shoot hellfire out of their eyes like she can.”

  “Jaxon,” I warned through gritted teeth.

  He huffed dejectedly. “He’s in his room. Lion-boy is too stubborn to stay in a hospital bed. He messaged me during our meeting with short-stuff.”

  My mouth had many things to say in response to Jaxon’s latest bits of revelation, but it settled on, “Lion-boy?” I began moving again at a slightly slower pace.

  “Yeah, his abilities have been compared to a mountain lion’s. Saber cat too, but ‘cat-boy’ isn’t manly enough, you know? I, on the other hand, am like a panther. At least, that’s what I’m telling everyone.”

  I briefly paused, digesting the information. “Interesting. I’d say you’re more like a goat though. Always bleating, always underfoot. You even have that empty stare thing going on, like nobody’s home.”

  He yelled in outrage, saying I was one headbutt away from facing his wrath, but I left him behind as I raced down the last flight and banged open floor ten’s stairwell door. When I reached Brendan’s room, I froze just shy of entering as my nerves finally caught up with me. There were so many things, so many feelings, and I didn’t know what to do with them all.

  “Should I go in first and make sure he’s decent?” Jaxon whispered from behind. “Maybe he likes to sleep in the nu—”

  I whipped up a hand and he stopped, thankfully.

  “Okay, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Things are already plenty awkward between you two without adding in . . .” At my glare, he added, “Shutting up now.”

  After rolling my neck and loosening my shoulders, I decided to knock. I mean, he could be naked. And maybe the door was locked.

  “Come in,” I heard Brendan say. “But if you’ve come to finish me off, can it wait till morning?”

  I didn’t know why my fingers trembled as they cracked open the door—which was stupidly unlocked—but when I saw him, saw the way he smiled as if relieved, I wanted nothing more than to run my shaking hands over his face and assure myself that he was alive. My limbs seemed to have petrified though.