“So what do you think happened to Shalana?” Jackson asked.

  “Dead, most likely. The demon couldn’t risk her coming back. People would have noticed,” Sarah said.

  “I hate to be rude, guys, but I have a lot to do now. We need to find out what this demon got its claws into and how to fix it. There should be a coronation party to confirm me as the guardian soon. I’ll send word of when it is taking place. All of you are my guests. I’d also love to meet with your leader. We have a lot to discuss about the future and our people working together against this new threat.”

  “I can’t wait,” Jackson said.

  We shared hugs all around, and then they turned to leave. My best friend was going away again, and I wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to return for my coronation or not. I hoped that he and his friends would be able to make it. I truly meant what I said. We had a demon in the grove, and no one knew how to fight demons more effectively than the Ascendancy.

  They had almost made it out the door when Marcus turned around. He held his hand up to his ear like it was a phone and mouthed, “Call me.” That guy was a real piece of work, but he was starting to grow on me. I stripped the smile from my face and went in search of the captain. Someone was going to have to explain to me how a demon broke past our defenses and how to make sure it didn’t happen again.

  Chapter 22

  Jackson

  It was bittersweet to be packing up our gear to leave the house. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed this place. Even with the ghosts of my parents’ memories lingering around every corner, it still felt like home. I wondered if I was ever going to see it again. My duties to the Ascendancy might not bring me back home very often. Living outside of the academy grounds might be too dangerous for someone like me.

  I’d had a bullseye on my back since birth because of who my father was. He was a rebel leader in the fight against the Council’s control. John believed in something else, a different direction for his people to follow. A future that saw the Ascendancy working together with the Pretenders against a greater evil. His beliefs got him killed and made it so I grew up without ever getting to know him.. I loved him for it, and I hated him for it a little bit too.

  It took a lot of courage to stand up for what you believed in, in the face of certain death. He fought for it, and now I found myself in the same position. I had seen my first real demon. Now I knew that true evil existed in our world and that I would give everything I had to stop it. With my friends and my mother by my side, I felt like there was nothing that we couldn’t accomplish. We had been away from the Ascendancy for less than a week and had already secured two new allies.

  Max and his pack would be there for us when we needed them. My mother might even convince a few of the pack’s younger members to leave and join her and the Ascendancy. Alby had become the guardian of the grove and the leader of her people. I knew, now that she had seen the dangers demons posed to our world, that we had found new allies with the Fae. Hopefully, when we returned to celebrate her ascension, we could cement that relationship.

  April, Marcus, and my mom tossed their gear into the Jeep and jumped in. I found myself looking in the entryway of the house, not wanting to close the door. The good memories of this place outweighed the bad. With an enormous amount of effort, I pulled the door closed and locked it. I felt a sigh escape me, and my shoulders slumped. I turned and headed for the Jeep. Marcus was in the front with my mom, so I climbed over the tire and slid into the back seat with April.

  She put her arm around me and pulled me close. “You’re not leaving this place forever, Jackson.”

  “I was just thinking about my folks and how much I miss them.”

  “I wish I could have met them.”

  “They would have liked you.”

  “You really think so?” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  “I really do.”

  “You guys ready to go home?” my mom asked, looking in the rearview mirror.

  “Let’s go.”

  Marcus turned and gave me a huge grin. “I can’t wait to come back for the party.” He turned around in his seat and hit the radio. Classic rock rolled out through the speakers. The Jeep purred to life as my mom put it in gear. We were going home. Maybe I wasn’t leaving one behind after all. The people I cared about were the ones who meant the most to me. All of them were coming with me. Home was what you decided it was. For me, that was the people I cared about. As long as we were together, I was home.

  Our arrival back home wasn’t greeted with any fanfare. Word of our accomplishments probably didn’t mean much around here. Everyone who went out into the field was putting their life on the line to make the world a better place. Almost all of them were sent out to kill rogue Pretenders or on the hunt for demons. It was funny how sometimes you thought of what you were doing as special and unique, only to realize it was just par for the course.

  There was one person waiting for us in the garage. Henry stood there leaning against the wall, waiting for us. He was dressed in his normal style. That meant he had on a three-piece suit, and looked like he could be heading out the door for a job on Wall Street. I just couldn’t fathom how anyone could get comfortable in those clothes, but hey, if you wore them every day, they probably felt as comfortable as my jeans and T-shirts.

  “What’s up, Henry?” I asked, grabbing my bag out of the back of the Jeep.

  He limped over to the vehicle in his normal shuffling walk. I still couldn’t believe with all the wounds that we could heal that they hadn’t been able to fix his leg. “I was just waiting for your arrival. Sarah, Adam would like to see you.”

  “Sure, just let me toss my bag in my room and I’ll head over.”

  “He’d actually like to see you before you settle in.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound like fun.”

  Henry made a face. It looked like he got stuck somewhere between a laugh and a snort. It disappeared after a few seconds, and he turned his gaze on me. “Jackson, after you get settled in, he’d like to see you as well.”

  “So the kid gets to take a shower and gets a break, huh?” my mom said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

  “You know how it is, Sarah. Age burdens us all with extra responsibilities,” he said with a serious voice, but his eyes were twinkling.

  “Whatever, Henry.” She gave him a hug. “I’m off to see the wizard.” She slung her duffel over her shoulder and started to walk away.

  “Jackson, don’t wait too long to come. Maybe an hour or so, ok.”

  “You got it, Henry.” He turned and shuffled back out of the garage.

  Turning back to April and Marcus, I asked, “You guys want to catch up after dinner?”

  “Can’t, bro. I’ve got to see someone about something.”

  “Well, that’s the most subtle you have ever been about meeting one of your ladies.”

  April slugged him in the shoulder.

  Marcus grabbed his shoulder and winced. When he saw the look on April’s face he started to laugh. “Hey, I’m learning discretion is the better part of valor.”

  “Have fun, man.” I said with a laugh. Maybe he was finally starting to learn.

  April gave him a hug, and we did a high five, and then he was gone, leaving April and me alone together. “How about you, interested in getting together later?”

  “Why don’t we leave it open. I’ll be at my place if you decide to stop by, but you have something to take care of first.”

  “Don’t remind me. This isn’t going to be fun.”

  “I didn’t think it would be. If you need some time alone, I’ll understand.”

  “I made my choice, and I’ve never felt more sure of anything in my life. Plan on me stopping by unless Adam sends me off to do something crazy.” I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

  “See you tonight, then,” she said, and walked away.

  I could still taste her on my lips as I walked back to my room. I was doing the right thing. I wanted to be with April, but that meant I had to break up with Britta. I didn’t want to be a cheater. She deserved better than that. There was no way I was going to let her hear about us from someone else. Plus, there was no way I could commit to April and still be with Britta. This wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be the best thing for both of us.

  I opened the door to my place and turned on the light. I took a quick look around and realized something was missing. Actually, a lot of little things were missing. All of the tiny things Britta had done to make this place cozier were gone. Her little blankets on the couch, and the plants. I moved into the bathroom; all of her stuff was missing. In the bedroom, more of the same. I opened the closet, and all of her clothes were gone.

  I guess this wouldn’t be as hard of a conversation as I thought it was going to be. She had already made the choice before I had to. We should probably still talk about it and see if there was a friendship we could salvage. Britta was a great person, and I wanted her around, but I could also understand that seeing me and April together would be hard on her. I took a quick look around the room again. Ok, maybe not that hard.

  I tossed my bag on the floor. No reason to worry about being tidy right now. I guess I would enjoy my guydom for a few more days until April ended up putting her influence on the place. The kitchen looked like it had been cleaned. I noticed that her coffee cup was gone. That one missing cup kind of made the whole thing sink in. It was really over. I knew that breaking up with her was what I had planned to do anyway, but it felt weird knowing that she felt the same way and had made the choice while I was gone.

  There was a note on the counter. It didn’t say much. Basically it said to stop by her place when I was ready to talk. There was no time like the present, and hell, this might even be the best time because I had an easy out. Adam needed to see me in forty-five minutes, so no matter how the conversation went, I could leave without it being too awkward.

  I hitched up my big-boy pants and headed out the door. Britta’s place wasn’t too far away; it took me longer to get there than normal. I’ll admit it. I was stalling. She had dumped me, even though I intended to dump her, and coming back to an empty place had kind of left me shocked. This conversation was going to be very different than the one I had been playing out in my head over the last week. There was nothing left to do but suck it up and get it over with. My fist knocked on the door, and my stomach clenched.

  Britta opened the door, and she looked good, better than I had seen her in weeks. This must have been what we both needed. It wasn’t that we didn’t work with each other, or even that we didn’t really like each other. It just wasn’t the perfect fit, and we both knew it. She smiled when she saw me, and then it turned into kind of a half-smile. She obviously wasn’t sure what to say. Neither was I, but I managed to mumble out, “Can I come in?”

  Britta moved back, and I stepped into her place. It looked just like it always had, except for now she had a few of the things laid out that she used to keep at my place. I took a seat on the couch. Britta sat down across from me in a chair. The distance was probably a good thing. The last thing I wanted was to be too close. It would feel just a little too familiar.

  We sat there in silence for a while, each of us casting furtive glances at the other. It was tough to talk about. We both knew the decision had been made and our time together as a couple was over. Neither of us wanted to say it out loud, or maybe we were afraid to hurt each other again. The silence finally grew unbearable, and I cracked under the weight of it. “I see you moved your stuff.”

  “Yep.”

  Well, that wasn’t much to go on. “So what happens now?”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  “Seriously, Britta, I come back from a mission, and you moved out all your stuff, and all I get is a ‘yep,’ and ‘we’ll see.’”

  “Are you seriously going to tell me that you haven’t been thinking about breaking up with me?”

  “No, I have been—”

  She cut me off. “So what, you’re angry that I did it first?”

  “No, I’m angry because of this right here. What’s happening right now? So what if we weren’t a perfect fit. We can still be friends. It doesn’t have to mean that we hate each other.”

  “It’s easy for you to say; you already moved on. You have April. You and that slut deserve each other.”

  I stood up and headed for the door. I’d had enough of her bullshit. “Why did you even ask me to come over if you’re going to act like this? April isn’t a slut. We haven’t even messed around. I told her, and we both agreed that whatever was going to be between us, we couldn’t act on it until I talked with you.”

  My hand touched the doorknob. “Jackson, wait.” I turned around. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.” She stood up and walked over to me. “I just never thought I would lose you.”

  I pulled her into a hug. “You haven’t lost me. Our relationship is just changing.”

  “I know. It just feels so different, like there is a chasm between us.”

  “It won’t feel that way forever. Don’t pretend there isn’t a hundred different guys here tripping over themselves to get to you now that you’re single.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say they are tripping over themselves. It’s more like they all rushed toward the door at the same time and got stuck.”

  We both kind of laughed at that and broke apart. “If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”

  “Same goes for you.”

  I looked at her one last time and then opened the door. I didn’t know if things would ever be ok between us again. I hoped that we could still be friends. But she was right; things were different now. We would have to find a way to work together, and hopefully when she met someone else, it wouldn’t be too weird. Britta was the first girl I had dated since my life changed forever. She would always hold a special place in my heart.

  Chapter 23

  Jackson

  Adam was waiting for me in his office when I opened the door. My mom wasn’t there, so her briefing had gone pretty quickly. Adam looked bone tired, as if he had gone three rounds with Mike Tyson and then was forced to run a marathon. Something bad had happened while I was gone. I was sure of it.

  His weary eyes met mine, and he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.” He kept his eyes on me and then looked down at his desk, letting out a deep sigh. “Jackson, I don’t know whether to be impressed by your actions or if I should punish you.”

  “I’d prefer you decided to be impressed. Punishment isn’t something I’m into.”

  One of his eyebrows went up, and his eyes hardened. “This isn’t something to joke about. You were seen on TV in handcuffs. What part of we are a secret organization do you not understand?”

  “I didn’t have a lot of options at the time. I could have slipped away, but they already had a picture of me. It would have just gone on and on until they found me. Not to mention that dickhead cop was just supposed to take me in for questioning, not arrest me.”

  “How can you be sure this issue won’t come up again?”

  “I can’t be, but I’ve come to an understanding with the detective who was working on my case, and I have a feeling she will keep it under wraps.”

  “Good. We’ve spent a fair bit of time and money getting this thing under control. Sure, a few things slipped past us, but we managed to contain most of the fallout. It does put you in danger, though. People now have a face they can tie back to us. For all intents and purposes, you are the new poster child for the Ascendancy.”

  “Damn it, Adam, I never wanted any of this. I’m just doing the best I can.”

  “I understand there were some good things that happened on your trip as well. It seems that you stopped a wendigo from terrorizing the city, and made a strong alliance with the Fae.”

  “My best friend is now the guardian of the grove. In fact, we have been invited to her coronation ceremony. You should come with us to represent the Ascendancy.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but I’m not sure my presence there would be welcome.”

  “Welcome or not, I think it’s important for you to go. Cementing our relationship with the Fae will only make us stronger.”

  “Agreed. I’ll reach out to a few people I know and put out some feelers on how my arrival would be received.” Adam looked as if he had another question on his mind but was mulling over how to say it. Finally, whatever he was thinking about clicked, and he just spewed the question out as quickly as he could. “Jackson, how are the dreams?”

  “Funny, now that you mention it. I haven’t had one since I left. I don’t know if that is because I’m more at peace with what happened to my parents or if it has something to do with the changes in my personal life.”

  “It’s good to know that they have stopped. I hope that you and April are happy together.”

  “Wait, how did you know?”

  “There is very little under this roof that I don’t know. The one thing I would ask you to do is keep Britta close.”

  “I can try, Adam, but it will take time before we can be together as friends.”

  “May I speak openly?”

  “I thought that is what we were already doing.”

  “I’ve been in contact with Sarafina since April’s run-in with her. April came to me with a story not too long ago, and I’ve been trying to work out the details.”

  “So April told you what Sarafina said about Britta.”

  “She did, and I’m happy that she came to me.” He sat back, and I knew what was coming next wouldn’t be easy to hear. “I think Britta is working for Stillman to keep tabs on you for the Council.”

  “What? Why would Mr. Stillman do that? He is the one who brought me to the academy in the first place.”

  “Stillman isn’t who you think he is, Jackson. In fact, as of a few months ago, his seat on the Council was confirmed.”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  “I’m afraid not. Stillman has been playing double agent for me for some time, but now I fear that he has been working on his own agenda all along. I haven’t been able to figure it out yet, but it involves you. If Britta was truly his eyes and ears on the inside, we can use that against him.”