Chapter 533
Out of the corner of my eye, I studied him for a second before I asked, “If you already know that, why do you need me to tell you anything?”
Elliott sighed so loudly, the papers on the table moved. I turned my head to look at him now, feeling like a small child who’d disappointed her favorite parent as he said, “I guess I was just hoping you were still my girl. That you hadn’t changed so much in the last year that you wouldn’t be straight up honest with me.”
Those words stung deep inside of me. I knew he was right. I had changed. But in this case, I was trying to be true to my old self, the one that would’ve never betrayed her word, not to anyone, regardless of who was the friend and who was the enemy.
Elliott’s hands banged down on his legs and he pulled himself up off of the couch. “Guess I was wrong.”
“Elliott, come on. Don’t be like that. Look, I’d tell you what I know if I could. But... I made a promise.” Why couldn’t he see that I was lying to him in order to keep my word to someone else? To keep a promise I’d made before everyone wanted to know what I knew?
He turned around and looked at me. “If you’d rather keep a promise to someone you hate than tell the truth to the people you love—or at least the people I thought you did—then somethin’s not right, Cass.” My eyes widened as he continued to make me feel about two inches tall. “Maybe it was that second shot, or maybe you’ve seen too much of the evil in this world recently, but you’re not the same person you used to be. I’m not tryin’ to be mean. I’m just concerned about you. I hope you’ll think about what I’m tellin’ you because I think you’re probably the only one who can change any of it.” A small smile, the kind that means “I’m doing this for your own good, you pathetic child,” appeared for a second before he headed for the door.
I didn’t get up, but I did pull the door open for him with my powers. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing, only watched him walk away. I could justify everything I’d done, both before and after the second dose of serum, and part of me wanted to yell at him that he was wrong, that he just didn’t understand me anymore. Maybe he was the one who’d changed. He’d died, after all, and he’d been sucked into a portal. Maybe he needed to do some self-exploration.
But I didn’t say any of that because I knew he was right. I wasn’t the person I used to be. How could I be? I wasn’t even the species I used to be. After the second dose, though, I had felt different. I’d been trying to ignore it, the fact that the serum had seemed to ignite something in my Vampire blood as well as giving my Hunter side increased powers. It wasn’t easy to admit even to myself, much less to Elliott or anyone else, but I was different now. I needed to face it and come to terms with what that meant before I let it drive more people away from me.
I didn’t see what that had to do with Christian, though. In this case, I wasn’t keeping information from the team in order to be mean. I was doing it because I was trying to do the right thing, like I used to, back when I was a human. Someone had asked me to keep a secret, and I’d promised I would. That’s what the old Cass would’ve done, at least until there was no way to keep that promise and keep the person safe. Heather could find him. Why wouldn’t they just ask her.
I took another drink of my shake and set the cup back down, still puzzling over what Elliott had said. I hated making him feel that way about me—disappointed. I was about to have the same conversation with two other people whose opinions were important to me. I hoped my sister would be a little more merciful than Elliott had been, but the way that Aaron was looking at me yesterday made me think this meeting would be more of the same.
Before I headed for the office, I needed to warn Christian. I didn’t want to encounter Daunator again, but Christian needed a head’s up. This was all about to come to a head. “Christian? Dude, they’re on to us. Elliott knows.”
He sounded like I’d woken him up. “Knows what?”
He was starting to lose it completely. It was a good thing we’d be coming for him soon. “That you went to Europe. They don’t know about the giant hole in the ground. But they do know I’m covering for you.”
“Bull. Sanderson figured that out? No way. No way.”
He was delusional and practically incoherent. I wanted to walk away as quickly as I could. “Okay, well I just thought you should know.”
“Get out of my head, Findley! I’m fine!”
I sighed loudly. “Fine. No more Daunator sightings then?”
I should’ve left when I first thought of it. “No. Out! Out! Everybody out!”
I didn’t have to be told again. I wondered what in the world he meant by “everybody” but there was no way I was sticking around to ask. When he yelled at me like that, it was a reminder of why I had started hating him in the first place.
Shaking my head, I finished off my shake and took the cup to the kitchen. I still had a few minutes before Cadence would be ready for me, but I decided to go ahead and go. I needed some air, and it would give me a chance to speak to Mrs. Carminati. She knew how to make a person feel better, no matter how awful the world seemed.
With a deep breath, I headed off, certain my sister was about to tell me how awful I’d been, as well. Nevertheless, I had made a promise, one I was bound and determined to keep, even if it ended up costing me everyone I cared about.
