The Reckoning Read online

  “Uhh, good. Fine. You know,” Tristan replied, turning towards her mirror and braiding her hair. As she watched, Olivia’s mouth dropped open behind her, a mischievous glint creeping into her eyes. “Don’t even try it. You know I seal the second I step foot onto this property.”

  Olivia grinned.

  “I don’t need you to be unsealed to know what you were up to tonight.”

  Tristan blushed from the roots of her hair all the way down to her chest, and Olivia cackled behind her.

  “Go to bed, Oceana!”

  “Your aura is totally orange,” Olivia said, still laughing. “Oh gods, and you just had a conversation with Mom and Dad!”

  “Get out!” Tristan cried, mortified, and Olivia laughed herself all the way back to her room.

  Tristan pressed her hands to her red cheeks, her eyes wide and panicky. Was her aura really orange? She hoped not, or she would never be able to look Sol and Umbris in the eye again.

  Chapter 26

  The next evening, Tristan stared at herself in the mirror, thinking about how tired she was of being nervous to attend these gatherings and how now, on top of her regular nerves, this month she also had to worry about her orange aura. Tristan had never been able to read auras -- if she concentrated very hard, she could maybe see some very watered down colors, but it gave her a headache and she didn’t care, so it wasn’t something she’d ever worked to cultivate. Tristan turned from side to side, looking at her black jeggings, black turtleneck sweater, and black booties, feeling unsettled, trapped in her own skin, in a way she hadn’t in a long time. She swept her hair into a high bun and sat on her bed, staring unseeingly out her window.

  Celes was going to know something, probably exactly what, had happened with Beckett. Despite Tristan sealing, despite the fact that she was not going to be his ever, but at least until June as far as he knew, he was going to know and she was not prepared for what his reaction might be.

  “Hey,” Olivia spoke from her doorway, and Tristan twisted around to look at her.

  Olivia was dressed stylishly, as usual, in black leggings, a lace-front black shirt, and black leather moto jacket. On her feet were Tristan’s black and white Adidas sneakers, which, as usual, she hadn’t asked to borrow.

  “We’re leaving soon.”

  Tristan nodded.

  “OK.”

  Olivia sat next to her, looking at her carefully.

  “You know I was joking about your aura, right?”

  “What?” Tristan’s head snapped around, and Olivia had the good grace to look sheepish.

  “I was just giving you a hard time.”

  “Oceana! I've been avoiding Mom and Dad all day!”

  “Sorry!” Olivia held her hands up, and Tristan shook her head, blowing out a relieved breath.

  “So how was it?” Olivia asked, after a few beats.

  “Oceana,” Tristan groaned.

  “You’re right, weird question, sorry.”

  Tristan laughed, then sobered.

  “Celes is totally going to know.”

  Olivia nodded.

  “Probably. It’s not really any of his business, though.”

  “No,” Tristan agreed. “But there was that whole kiss thing at the Solstice Celebration…”

  “Oh, the exact thing I told you not to do, you mean?”

  Tristan gave Olivia a look, who gave her one right back.

  “You should tell him something, though, Trinity. I’m not suggesting you tell him you know what, but you probably should tell him you’re dating Beckett.”

  “You just said it’s none of his business,” Tristan pointed out.

  “What goes on between you and Beckett isn’t,” Olivia clarified. “But Celes is a good person, and you ignored my good advice to not lead him on, so the least you can do is be honest with him that you're dating someone.”

  Tristan sighed.

  “I know you’re right, I just…”

  “I know.” Olivia gave her a sympathetic face, then stood, holding out her hand. “Ready?”

  Tristan took it, letting Olivia pull her up, and followed her downstairs. Her phone vibrated in her hand, and she smiled when she saw a message from Beckett.

  I miss you.

  I miss you too. How is everything going?

  Quiet. I can’t tell which is better, them fighting or them not speaking at all.

  Beckett had messaged her earlier to let her know that his parents had arrived home around four that morning, escorted by Officer Grieg. Beckett had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for them, and neither of them spoke when they came into the house -- Ray had gone upstairs, and Gabriella had gone down. Tristan ached, wishing she could or would have stayed with Beckett, hoping her presence would have been a comfort if nothing else.

  For not the first time, and for what she was sure would not be the last, Tristan did not want to go to the gathering that night. She wanted to see Beckett, to invite him over to her empty house and have him spend the night with her. It was this fantasy that she lost herself in on the drive to the gathering, leaving her surprised when they pulled into the familiar New Orleans-adjacent bayou.

  “Something is wrong,” Umbris said immediately, and everyone in the car tensed.

  “What’s going on?” Olivia asked, but Umbris and Sol did not reply.

  “We have to turn around.” Sol looked at Umbris, a frown creasing between her brows.

  Brake lights lit in front of their SUV and then went out, the car, which had suddenly appeared through the darkness, stopping just short of hitting them. A man approached the driver’s side window, and Umbris rolled it down.

  “Ventis,” Umbris greeted Ventis Dearing, a fellow community member.

  “The gathering has been moved to next weekend, to the alternative meeting place on the southern point. This one was discovered. The guards are still managing the situation.”

  Tristan felt ill. She didn’t want to know what Ventis meant by “managing the situation”. She exchanged an uneasy look with Olivia and Evander as Umbris nodded and Ventis headed back to his car.

  “If this was discovered, does that mean we can’t come here at all anymore?” Evander asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Sol replied. “I guess it depends on what actually happened and how the guards are handling it.”

  “I think we know how they’re handling it,” Olivia snapped, contempt in her voice. “They live for this kind of thing going down.”

  “That’s not fair, Oceana.” Sol frowned as she looked back at her.

  “Fair or not, it’s the truth. You’d think by now they could choose something less barbaric than slaughter; what about memory wiping? Why does death have to be the go-to?”

  “Death isn’t always the go-to, it depends on the circumstances. But it’s not our job to know why they make the decisions they make, Oceana,” Umbris said, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

  “Well maybe it should be.” Olivia crossed her arms and stubbornly lifted her chin, and Umbris and Sol let the subject drop.

  “So that’s it?” Evander asked. “We just go home and try again next weekend?”

  “Yes.”

  Tristan smiled, pulling out her phone to text Beckett.

  So the reunion was canceled tonight, last minute. It was moved to next weekend instead, so we’re on our way back home now. Are you busy tonight?

  Busy seeing you when you get home. Are you hungry? My Mom just left for my Aunt’s house for the night and once again I don’t know where my Dad is, so I was going to order dinner from Perry’s Pizza.

  Tristan confirmed she could eat, letting Beckett know she’d see him in a little over an hour for a movie and pizza. The drive home seemed to take much longer than the drive to the gathering, but at long last Umbris pulled into the driveway, and everyone got out, stretching their legs.

  “I’m going to go over to Beckett’s, if that’s OK,” Tristan said to Sol, who looked over at Umbris.

  “Will you remember your curfew toni
ght?” Umbris asked, and Tristan nodded, trying not to roll her eyes.

  “Midnight sharp.” Umbris gave her a stern look before turning and heading towards the house.

  Tristan followed her family inside, grabbing her purse and her car keys before driving over to Beckett's house. A thrill ran through her when he opened the door, looking at her like he hadn't just seen her less than twenty-four hours ago.

  “Hi beautiful,” Beckett drawled, inviting her in, and Tristan smiled.

  “Hi.”

  Beckett closed the door behind them and wrapped his arms around Tristan, kissing her hello.

  “I'm glad you're here,” Beckett said, his lips brushing hers, and Tristan smiled up at him again.

  “I'm glad to be here.”

  Tristan was more thankful than Beckett knew to be at his house that night; though wanting to spend all of her free time with him was her biggest motivation, she was also relieved to the point of near tears that she didn't have to think about facing Celes for another week.

  Chapter 27

  Tristan twisted her fingers nervously as she watched Celes, who had said nothing for the last several minutes. Tristan had used the week between gatherings to figure out what she was going to say to him, and had settled on, as usual, a modified version of the truth delivered in as few words as possible.

  She knew Celes had known as soon as he'd seen her that something had changed, could tell by the way his smile had dimmed and a frown had come to settle on his brow. Tristan had to ask him to go for a walk that night, which was further proof that he knew.

  Tristan hadn't been sure how to broach the subject, but Celes took care of that part for her.

  “You want to talk to me.”

  It had been a statement, not a question, and Tristan had nodded.

  “I wanted to let you know I'm seeing someone. A commoner.”

  “The commoner. The one who rescued you.”

  Again, a statement. Tristan bristled at the idea she'd been rescued, but she let it slide, nodding again. Celes had gone silent then, and Tristan watched him, his expression displeased but not revealing much else.

  “We should go back,” Celes finally said, turning and heading back to the clearing without waiting for Tristan.

  “Celes, wait.” Tristan caught his arm, and he turned to look at her in the dark, still frowning. “I'm sorry. I--”

  “It doesn't matter. What you do and who you do it with until June is not my business.”

  Until June. Tristan swallowed around the sudden hard knot in her throat. Oh gods, she was dreading hurting Celes more than she'd dreaded anything else in her life so far. How was she going to do it? Where would she get the strength?

  Celes walked off again, and Tristan trailed behind him, cursing herself for not listening to Olivia the night of the Solstice Celebration. Still, there was a small sense of relief in having come clean to Celes; if nothing else, he would probably give her a wide berth until June. Until June. Ugh.

  Tristan sought out Olivia when she reentered the clearing, and Olivia took both of her hands, squeezing them.

  “I should have listened to you,” Tristan said miserably, and Olivia nodded.

  “Yes, you should have.”

  That made Tristan laugh, and Olivia laughed too, hugging her.

  “It's going to be OK.”

  “Maybe.” Tristan eyed the Elders, who were gathered at the head of the clearing in a tight circle, their faces tense as they talked amongst themselves. “Something is going on.”

  Olivia agreed, following Tristan's gaze. A breeze blew through the clearing and Tristan shivered -- the occurrence reminded her too much of her premonition for comfort.

  “Did you get to talk to Celes about the laws?” Olivia asked, thinking along the same lines as Tristan.

  “I didn't, and I'm sure he won't be thrilled to talk to me now.” Tristan shook her head, frustrated.

  “That's OK. I'll talk to him.” Olivia set her chin and started to walk away, but Tristan grabbed her elbow.

  “Oceana, no.”

  “It'll be fine, Trin. Celes and I are friends, kind of, and I can be discreet when I need to be.”

  Tristan hesitated, but ultimately let Olivia go, watching her cross the clearing to where Celes stood with his family. He looked surprised to see her, but curious, and much friendlier than he would have looked at Tristan, probably. Tristan recalled the part in her premonition when she'd realized Celes was in love with Olivia, and she wondered if that was at all based in reality. She chewed her thumbnail, watching them with interest as they stepped away from Dune and Thera, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  The thought of Celes and Olivia was a strange one for Tristan -- she envisioned years of awkward family dinners, at minimum -- but, oddly, she could also see how it could work between them; they were both smart and ambitious, both generally rule-followers by nature, and both honest nearly to a fault.

  Snapping out of it, Tristan blinked a few times, looking away from Olivia and Celes. What was she thinking? Olivia was dating Tyler, happily, and after June, Tristan was sure none of the Crenshaws would want to have anything to do with any of the Wallaces. Plus, gods knew Olivia didn't need Tristan playing the weirdest game of matchmaking ever for her, and Tristan didn't even know if Olivia would end up joining the community herself. Tristan shook her head, refocusing on the task at hand.

  A few minutes later, Olivia came back over to Tristan, looking serious, but not anxious, which gave Tristan hope.

  “Well?” Tristan asked her, and Olivia looked over her shoulder before she answered.

  “The committee of the Elders can review any law at any time, be it current or terminated, and the rumor right now is that one of the main reasons Orion has been brought back is to do just that.” Olivia spoke quickly and quietly, so quietly that Tristan had to lean all the way in to hear her. “But, and this is a big but, every single Elder has to agree to abolish or reinstate a community law. There is no majority over minority ruling -- if they all can’t agree, it doesn’t happen. Supposedly Orion is not thrilled with this, but there's nothing he can do about it.”

  Tristan looked at the group of Elders once again, thinking about how most of them looked around, or at least close to, Orion’s age, which didn't make her feel great. There were two on whom Tristan could potentially pin her hopes, though -- Bayle Vencroft and Abrus Macimier, both closer to Umbris and Sol’s age than not, and both fairly newly appointed to the Elder committee.

  “Did Celes say when they’re going to be reviewing the laws?”

  Olivia shook her head.

  “He said it’s just a rumor at the moment, but that could mean that it’s in the future plans or it’s actually going on right now. Hard to tell without having inside information.”

  “Did he suspect anything about your questions?”

  Olivia shook her head again.

  “No. He likes to talk about the community and the rules, so I don’t think he really thought anything of it, and my questions were pretty innocuous, if I do say so myself.”

  “Thanks for doing this, Oceana,” Tristan said genuinely, and Olivia smiled at her.

  “We’re not out of the woods, but at least things don’t seem as dire as they did when I talked to Hydran.”

  Orion did not end up making an appearance at that gathering, much to Tristan’s relief. Still, a time or two the odd breeze would pass through the clearing, and she couldn’t help but remember the same thing happening at the gathering where Orion had made his comeback a couple of months ago.

  “Ember.” Tristan sidled up beside Ember, speaking to him as quietly as Oceana had spoken to her.

  Evander looked around, his eyebrows rising in surprise when he saw Tristan standing beside him.

  “Did you say my name?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you talking so quietly?”

  “Because,” Tristan hissed. “Listen, are you getting any weird feelings?”

  “Only from you,”
Evander said, already looking bored.

  “Hilarious. I’m serious. Have you noticed that random breeze that keeps passing through here?”

  “No. But it’s January, even down here in the bayou. There probably would be a breeze.”

  Tristan shook her head.

  “Do you remember the gathering a couple of months ago when Orion came back? Do you remember how, when they introduced him, a breeze went through the clearing? That’s what I keep feeling.”

  “I don’t remember that.”

  Tristan glared at Evander, who made a face at her.

  “I’m sorry, Trin. I’m not trying to be a dick -- I didn’t notice it then, and I haven’t noticed it tonight.”

  Tristan turned away from Evander, looking for Olivia instead. She spotted her across the way, talking to Aurelis Knight, and went over to interrupt.

  “Hi Aurelis.” Tristan smiled briefly. “Do you mind if I borrow Oceana for a sec?”

  “Not at all.” Aurelis wandered away, and Olivia looked expectantly at Tristan.

  “Have you noticed a breeze moving through here tonight?”

  Olivia frowned.

  “What?”

  “A breeze, through the clearing? Have you noticed it? It’s happened like twice now.”

  Olivia shook her head.

  “No, but I can’t say I was really paying attention. Why would a breeze pass through, though? Aren’t we sort of sealed off from the elements?”

  “Exactly. Do you remember the night Orion was introduced a couple of months ago? It happened then, too.”

  Olivia shook her head again, concern in her eyes.

  “No, Trinity, I don’t remember that happening then either.”

  Tristan fell silent for a few beats, frowning.

  “OK. I’m going to go ask Mom and Dad.”

  Tristan disappeared before Olivia could respond, locating Umbris and Sol talking with Ventis Dearing.

  “Mom?” Tristan asked, from behind Sol, and Sol turned with a smile.

  “Hi honey.”

  “Mom, have you noticed a breeze moving through here tonight?”