Elemental Lies by Elle Middaugh

Author:Elle Middaugh [Middaugh, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-06T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Cade snarled. “What are you doing here, Loren?”

Her return smile was so genuine it actually touched her eyes as she twirled a shock of brown hair around her finger. “Hello, Cade. I’ve missed you.”

Jealousy swelled like a balloon in my chest. “What are you doing here?” I repeated through clenched teeth.

Her smile fell as she brought her attention to me. “After Xavier’s little disappearing act, did you really think Nicholai would leave you here unguarded?”

So he had sent her. Great.

Where had all these Elitists come from, anyway? Just a few months before, they were a thing of the past, an extremist organization that had disbanded as quickly as it had failed. Now they were creeping out of the woodwork from every angle.

I glanced at Cade. There was no way we could take on all these Elementals and escape. He shot a quick look at the hole in the cave wall then soundlessly mouthed, “We need to run.”

Head barely moving, I nodded to show my understanding.

We had to catch Loren off guard, though. She needed to be distracted, and I was pretty sure I could take care of that. Our dispute over a certain guy was usually enough to get her fired up.

“Did you know Cade would come for me?” I asked smugly. “Does it drive you crazy that he keeps choosing me over you?”

She laughed, a fake and sarcastic thing. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter who he chooses. He belongs to me.”

“Wow.” My brows rose. “You act like he’s nothing more than an item on a shelf, one you already have on layaway.”

She shrugged. “Interesting analogy, but sure, I suppose I do. My father is a very powerful man, so I always get what I want.”

“You won’t get me,” Cade assured her darkly.

“Sure I will,” she said, smiling.

I was pretty sure we were supposed to be escaping by that point. Cade had already begun inching toward the hole, but now that I’d gotten her talking, I was too curious for my own good.

“I don’t recall hearing about any important Marlowes in my crash course of Elementals 101,” I said sarcastically.

She sneered and rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t have. Marlowe is my mother’s maiden name. It was too dangerous for me to take my father’s name.”

Cade whispered from behind, just loud enough for me to hear. “Skyden.”

Now, that name did ring a bell—a loud, shrill warning bell.

The Skyden brothers, Erion and Draven, were the original founders of the Elitist party, superior even to Nicholai, at least back in the day. If one of them was Loren’s father, then she was probably more powerful and more evil than I’d ever guessed. Just the thought of it made my skin crawl.

I shivered, suddenly becoming more aware of my surroundings. The crowd of Elementals had gotten closer, tightening the semicircle around us. Cade was on his toes, fingers fidgeting, seconds away from fight or flight. The burnt electrical taste of adrenaline crept onto my tongue and I backed up, blood pressure rising.

Loren laughed. “There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.