Mist (Book Three of the Royals Trilogy)

Chapter One

SKYLAR

I yawned and stretched before opening my eyes. Strangely, I had missed my bed from camp, and it had been a while since I slept without worries, or at least without having to worry about being hunted. 

I sat up and saw Blair still sleeping soundly. I didn’t want to wake her, so I got up and into my training gear and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I silently walked out of the cabin and ran towards the dirt road. I was running towards the very back of the camp and when I was about to run back to the cabin, I saw Mark running past me. Our eyes met briefly, and he stopped beside me. “Hey, you’re up early,” he teased me, and I laughed. 

“And I slept very well, thank you,” I played along, and he chuckled. “I didn’t know you liked to run on this track.” 

He blushed slightly and looked away in embarrassment. “I actually saw you running past just as I was getting up and I followed you,” he said nervously, and he ran a hand through his hair. 

I raised my eyebrow and laughed, “So you followed me, stalker?” I teased and he blushed even more. A moment later he leaned closer and slightly brushed his hands against mine. I tensed but didn’t pull away even though I knew I probably should. 

“Mark-“ I trailed off. 

Mark shrugged, “I wanted to see you, I’ve missed you. Honestly, it’s harder than I had imagined pretending not to like you.” I chuckled and shook my head, it had only been a week since we had arrived, but I guessed he had a point. We rarely spent time any time together since we arrived. I missed his spontaneous glances he threw my way. 

“Should we put in action the plan we had talked about?” I asked more serious now but still anxious and hesitant to be with him a minute longer without raising suspicion. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face and then he sighed. 

“I guess it is time we tell Gideon everything,” he shifted his weight uncomfortably and I nodded. The sun was higher than before, and I could distantly hear the camp come to life as everyone else began to get up to their duties. I quickly gave Mark a kiss on the lips and pulled back in case anyone appeared out of nowhere. “I’ll arrange everything and tell Blair as soon as I get back to the cabin. I’ll see you later,” I whispered, and he gave me a wide smile as he nodded. I quickly ran off, I could still feel his lingering eyes on me but this time I didn’t turn around. 

I reached the cabin and found Blair coming out of the bathroom dressed in her gear, ready for the day. We still hadn’t been assigned a new mission since Emma was still going through some tests. I was barely allowed to see her, since she hadn’t been cleared yet, she spent most of her time locked up but from what I had heard, she was separated from the Royale Brothers to ensure that she didn’t help them escape. I thought that was absurd, but they had insisted. 

Nobody apart from the four hunters that had gone on the mission knew that Emma’s beloved was Devion, nor than I used to have a beloved too whom was in camp as well. We had agreed to keep that bit of information to ourselves considering we didn’t know who to trust now that we were back at camp and it would only make the council and the other Hunters wary of me and my sister. 

“Hey, I’m guessing you were out running,” my friend said as she pointed at my clothes and the sweat that was running down my face. I nodded, I was gasping now. I had pushed myself to run faster than I ever had and now I couldn’t even feel my legs. “Do you want to see if they’ll let us check up on Emma?” Blair suggested as she put on her shoes. 

I got my fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom. “We could try, although I doubt Elda would approve,” I murmured in frustration. Elda had been the one person who had promised me we would save my sister from all this and let her free but now she was the one limiting us. It was all just ironic. “I’m going to take a shower. Would you prefer to wait for me, or should I catch up to you at the cafeteria?” I asked as I stopped at the door. 

Blair shrugged, “I’ll wait for you, there’s nothing else I have to do anyway.” I nodded and took a quick shower. When I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Blair playing with her quartz orb as if debating on whether or not to send a message to her father. 

I slowly sat next to her, “you really miss him, don’t you?” Blair looked at me and nodded her head in defeat. I felt bad for her, her whole life had been planned and manipulated by her mother even her father and her freedom had been taken away. Not to mention that once she recovered her father and was starting to get along, fate separated them again. 

“But I shouldn’t contact him unless it’s an emergency, right?” she asked hesitantly, and I stayed quiet. The best thing would be to keep our distance but seeing how much this was affecting her, I was beginning to doubt whether that was for the best. 

“Look, you’re his daughter and I’m sure he feels as powerless as you do right now. It’s your choice if you want to reach out to him, I'll understand and I won’t stop you nor would I blame you, but I will tell you this; if you do start talking to him, he’d be more exposed and vulnerable. I’m not saying he can’t fend off for himself but Elda wouldn’t doubt it before sending a squad to his hiding place if she were to discover your secret conversations with him,” I said honestly, sometimes the truth was harsh but it didn’t change the facts and I’m guessing that’s what Blair needed to hear because she quickly set the orb down and placed it back under her pillow. 

“You’re right, if I ever want to let him back into my life and safe him from exile, I must keep him safe and hidden from Elda,” she said as she stood. 

I pursed my lips together and also got up. “Will you be alright with that?” I asked eyeing her closely and she nodded. I sighed and continued, “Mark and I were talking, and we think it’s time to tell Gideon everything and I was considering telling Melissa too. That way she’ll be more cautious at camp and around other Hunters we don't know very well.” 

Blair looked surprised but didn’t object. “Sure, I’m guessing that by telling them you meant today?” she asked slowly, and I hesitated for a moment. 

“It should be today or tomorrow, either way, I'll plan everything so we can go out of camp and talk more privately,” I suggested, and she agreed. We walked towards the cafeteria in silence, and I was holding back the grumble building inside my stomach. If I said I was hungry that would be an understatement.

At our usual table, Gideon was eating his breakfast alone, which surprised me considering Melissa had been very close to Gideon before Blair and I had left for our mission. “Why are you so alone? Where’s Melissa?” I pointed out as I looked around the room for any sign of the short, sun-tanned brunette. 

Gideon sighed, “she’s having breakfast with the other Trainees. She’s not exactly my biggest fan right now.” He sounded sad and disappointed as we sat in front of him. 

“What happened?” his sister asked although I could tell she was a bit relieved to hear this. 

Gideon scoffed. “I perceived she was getting too clingy and I noticed that sometimes she touched my hand and bumped her shoulders with mine on purpose. I genuinely thought she was flirting, and I called her out and snapped at her as I told her that Hunters don’t get to have love in their lives, it is against our laws. I could see I had hurt her, and she told me that she didn’t like me nor was she ever attracted to me. She claimed it was never her intention to mislead me and since then she’s kept her distance,” he trailed off softly. 

I looked at him sympathetically. “Melissa has always been like that, that type of touchy person. It used to bother me until we got really close and I tolerated her lack of respect for personal space,” I finished with a chuckle and Blair laughed. 

Blair turned back to her brother and sighed, “well, you are going to have to learn to get along again because Mark, Sky and I are taking you both out to talk, there's something we need to discuss. And before you object, big brother, this is not a request, it is a heads up.” 

Gideon looked both surprised and confused. Just then, Mark walked into the picture with his filled plate. He had recently showered, and I could smell his cologne all the way from across the table. “Hey, I got here as fast as I could. I’m guessing you already told Gideon considering he looked at you as if you were out of your minds when I got here.” 

I let out a nervous laugh and Blair and I nodded. “Perfect, I already got us into an exclusive place far away from camp but it has to be tomorrow, many Hunters are going to the city to celebrate our camp's 125th anniversary, it's the perfect cover.” 

That’s when Gideon intervened, “hold on, I haven’t agreed to anything yet. First of all, why does it have to be outside of camp? Why can’t you tell me here? And secondly, I did not have that look on my face, Mark.” I rolled my eyes and Blair only glared at her brother. 

“Bro, this is confidential,” Mark whispered into his ear only loud enough for us to hear. 

Gideon tensed and raised his hands in defeat before getting up. “I don’t know what you’re plotting but I don’t like it,” he said with a straight face. “Send me a message when we have to leave tomorrow, I need to go help my mother with some things for her next mission,” was the last thing he said before disappearing out of the building. 

"Well that went well," I said sarcastically before continuing, "What mission was he talking about Blair?” 

Blair scoffed while Mark looked uncomfortable. “Beats me. Elda hasn't gone out on a mission in years. I think she just wants to get out of camp to make sure everything is ready for the ritual and I'm sure she still needs to find the temple." What Blair said made sense, if Elda could disappear on a mission she'd be entirely focused on performing the ritual. 

"Are you going to see Emma today? I heard they were running some tests on her in the lab,” Mark interrupted casually, trying to break the ice. 

My eyes widened, “what? Now?” He only needed to nod his head, I bolted right up and looked at my partner, she said she’d go with me. 

“I’ll catch up with you, I’m still not done eating and it’s rude to leave Mark eating alone,” she said softly, and I sent Mark an apologetic look to which he waved me off. I nodded before rushing towards the hospital building. 

Inside the white building, was the same receptionist that had greeted me when I had visited Melissa a couple of weeks back. “Hi, I’m looking for Emma Drew, she is a guest whom the specialists are running some tests on.” The receptionist nodded and typed on the computer. 

“She’s on room 435 in the third floor.” I nodded and quickly thanked the Hunter as I ran to the nearest stairwell. Funny thing about the camp, there was no elevator, not even one, in any building. None of the older or senior Hunters ever reached that advanced age when they needed help to move up the stairs. 

I was gasping by the time I reached the fourth floor, I had flown up the stairs and now I was met with curious and surprised looks from the staff. I walked past them and began searching for the room 435. It was almost at the end of the hall and next to it were other empty rooms. I knocked on the door and a Hunter I had never seen before, opened the door but didn’t let me through. “Oh, Huntress Skylar, it’s you. They warned me you would probably show up. You don’t have the clearance to be here and unfortunately, I cannot let you in. Good day,” he said and began to close the door and I quickly stopped him as I placed my hand on it. 

He looked shocked by my actions. “Let me see my sister,” I demanded through clenched teeth. The doctor stiffened and stood straighter. He was a lot taller than me by much and it was clear he had experience on the field, a nasty looking scar ran from his right eyebrow across his face to his lip. His dark hair was cut short and I could see it was starting to turn gray. 

“It will not be wise to challenge me, Miss Chase,” he said warningly, his eyes had darkened, and his posture had stiffened. 

“Is that my sister you're talking to? It’s okay Ana, I’m alright, you don’t have to fight this man,” my sister called from inside. I relaxed at the sound of her voice, she sounded okay but I wanted to see it with my own eyes but the doctor wouldn't budge. 

Finally, I sighed, “just hang in there, sis, they’ll clear you out at any day now, and if not, I'll go talk to the camp leader.” I said reassuringly as I glared at the doctor in my way.

As soon as I stepped back, the doctor quickly closed the door on my face, making me jump, and the click of the lock sounded from the other side. Rude, I thought to myself. The noise of squeaky wheels caught my attention for some reason, besides me, the halls were practically empty. I looked around for the source and saw Hunter Richard pass by the hall, pushing a bed in front of him. 

He hadn't seemed to see me, otherwise he would've said something. He turned on a corner and I slowly walked over to see what he was doing on this floor. This was the medical trial floor, after all. I followed him soundlessly at a safe distance. He turned left on a corner and I watched from the other side as he neared a double-door with the bed squeaking as he came to a stop. 

The room was guarded by two Hunters, armed Hunters. They stopped Hunter Richard and I could barely hear them ask him for him to pass the wristband over a scanner and to state his motive. Richard did as he was told and unveiled what was under the white sheets of the bed. One of the guards moved him aside to inspect the person on the bed and I gasped. I covered my mouth quickly, in front of me, was Devion’s unmoving body. 

I knew he was alive, Elda needed him alive, but he looked too pale and skinnier than the last time I had seen him. The guards nodded and quickly covered his body before letting Richard into the room. Inside I could see the feet of another person laying there but I couldn’t be sure of whom it was. The only thing I knew was that they were torturing the brothers, and that wasn't supposed to happen. 

Quickly, I rushed down the nearest stairs, this was going to be something important to discuss outside of camp. Wariness rushed over me, what if they were preparing my sister to the same fate? I tensed, I wouldn’t let them hurt anyone I cared about, not ever again. We needed to figure out what was going on and plan how to stop Elda, soon. Everyone was in danger.