Secrets In Phoenix by Gabriella Lepore

Author:Gabriella Lepore [Lepore, Gabriella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oftomes Publishing
Published: 2015-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

AS THE HOURS PASSED BY, I was still no closer to sleep. I’d tossed and turned, punched my pillow, counted sheep—all the classics. And yet, I was more awake than I had been three hours earlier. But what incensed me most of all was that Sam and Todd both slept soundly on their side of the room. Their ability to shut off their minds so easily baffled me beyond words.

By the time I’d reached my umpteenth pillow punch, I knew the game was up. I untangled myself from my sleeping bag and sat upright.

Having not had the chance to pack an overnight bag, I was restricted to the stiff pair of jeans and a now-creased white top that I’d been trying to sleep in. I combed my fingers through my hair, doing my best to untangle the tendrils.

I wasn’t especially thirsty, but I decided that a glass of water couldn’t hurt. And if I made a trip to the kitchenette at this time of night, there’d be little chance of bumping into anyone en route.

Or so I’d thought.

I crept out of my bedroom and my hands flew to my mouth.

Jaxon stood in the hallway, with what I was suddenly able to recognise as the bearing and stance of a soldier. There was a small oil lamp at his feet casting a wavering and subdued orange glow.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, quietening my voice and closing the bedroom door behind me.

We were alone in the dimly lit corridor. It was the sort of late-night meeting that many would consider ‘too perfect’—a cloak-and-dagger sort of time reserved for illicit lovers and secret rendezvous, where the darkness liberates reticent hearts.

“Are you okay?” Jaxon asked. His voice was low and careful.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.

For a short while, we were silent.

“I don’t know who I am,” I elaborated at last.

Jaxon smiled, although his expression seemed guarded. “I know who you are, Sophie.”

I gazed at the planked floor beneath my feet. “Do you know… what I am?”

He thought about it for a moment. “Yes. Do you know what I am?” he returned the question.

“I know that you’re some kind of soldier,” I replied. “Do you know that I’m a…” I struggled to spit out the awful word, “witch?”

“Yes.”

I studied his face. It held no judgment or shock of any kind. His scar crossed the bridge of his nose and disappeared into the shadows on his jaw.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” I questioned.

“No.”

“I keep thinking there must be some mistake.” I searched his expression for answers. “I’m not a witch.”

He met my eyes but said nothing.

I leaned back against the wall. “At least, I didn’t think I was. And now, I find out that there are Divellions hunting me—”

“No,” said Jaxon, sharply. “No Divellion will ever come near you.”

I shot him a sideways glance. “Because you’ll protect me?” I guessed, sounding a little more sardonic than I’d intended.

Jaxon laughed huskily. “Yes.”

I stared at him for a long moment. Something about his presence made

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