Chapter 428
Clementine:
“You see this star, one big star with two small star symbols?” I asked Ian as I pointed at the large stone under which my brother rested. He had sat down on the ground with me.
“My mother used to carve it for us on every toy,” I added.
Ian wrapped his arm around me, gently pulling me closer to his chest.
“I’m glad I got to meet my mother,” I told him.
He cupped my face and then pulled me closer, getting on his knees in front of me and hugging me. I knelt down too. I cried a lot. I did not know why.
I guessed it was because growing up, I had not cried at all. Now I was letting everything out because I knew there was no one left to judge me.
“What do you want to do next?” Ian asked, and I gave him a sad look.
“If I could, I would just sit here for a while, but we don’t have time,” I replied and broke the hug.
We stared at each other, then slowly stood up from the ground.
“Ian, you previously said your father was going to get you discharged and send you away,” I remarked.
I finished wiping my cheeks and started to wander away with him, heading toward the pack where my destination was.
“That was his way of taking me out of whatever they had planned for the Crusaders,” he explained, and I nodded.
“So basically that is what they did with Yorick too. I remember finding out that Yorick and you were special. Could it be that they had planned it? Maybe the Oriana thing as well?” I asked.
He shrugged, looking genuinely confused.
“That still would not make them include Oriana. They would never trust someone like her,” Ian commented.
“Or maybe they just played along with her because it helped them get Yorick out of the academy,” I suggested.
Once again, Ian shrugged, still looking unsure. From that point onward, we had to stay low.
Ian was the one who found us clothes, something casual. I wore a hat, a loose men’s shirt, and loose pants that I had to tie tightly with a belt so they would not slip.
Ian took an oversized sweater, roughly tied around his biceps, and he also wore a hat.
“So where are we headed?” he asked.
“Straight to the cave,” I replied, pointing away from the academy as we began to move.
It was definitely odd being on the mainland without any restrictions. We were able to wander around and even find places where we could get free food.
It felt real. Once in a while, I had a smile on my face, just admiring small things. It also helped that Yorick did not die, but I was worried they had married him to her.
Still, there was one question lingering in the back of both our minds. Why was Oriana not with him in the car?
Finally, one of us had to say it, and it was Ian who brought it up.
“That is what I am thinking about. Where could she be?” he questioned.
“Or do you think they married her too, and she is going to stay in the academy forever?” I questioned.
Ian shook his head.
“I do not think she would ever agree to something like that. There must be some other catch,” he replied, looking uneasy.
I guessed it was because Ian was someone who always needed to know everything. When he could not get answers, he became irritated.
We reached the pack, and honestly, I remembered it completely differently. That was probably because the last time we were here, there had been a bad storm.
This time, everything was normal. Everyone was going on with their lives. Ian and I had to sneak in, a new way, as I always did.
I had been in and out of packs before. I was a troubled teenager, always looking for trouble, mostly because I was always trying to get away from home and find solace somewhere else.
This time, though, I had already figured out the ins and outs of this particular pack when we were here before.
Once we reached the river, I noticed Ian started taking off his sweater. I bit my bottom lip while staring at his abs.
He set the sweater down and turned to me, tilting his head.
“Come on now, do not make me jump on you here. We have a mission ahead,” he taunted, smirking.
He jumped into the water. I took off my hat, let my hair loose, and jumped in after him.
We swam to the area I remembered, and he was the first to reach the stone. However, I was the one who got up first. I held out a hand to him, and he accepted it with a smile.
As we both got to our feet, we faced the cave. The cave where I had discovered the deadly secrets of the academy.
Ian could already tell that at this point I did not want to speak with him because I was too consumed by where I was headed.
It took me back to the moment I found out the truth. What I saw there had been truly traumatizing.
He quickly held my hand to let me know he was right beside me and that I could lead him anywhere I wanted. So I took him straight down the dark cave.
“I hid the tapes here,” I pointed out, gesturing at the spot. I could tell it was intact. No one had gotten into it.
“No need to touch it yet,” he suggested for some reason.
There was an uneasiness in the cave that day, almost as if it were alive.
However, once we took a few more steps forward, I realized what was happening. There was someone in the hall.
“Do you hear this voice?” I asked Ian, and he nodded.
“I think they are watching the tapes,” I uttered, my fingers curling tightly around Ian’s hand.
“That means the Crusaders are in the north,” Ian added as we continued toward the door.
Once we reached it, we heard the most traumatizing words.
“This is no fun. The cameras in the tunnels have been knocked down. We want to have fun. We were promised fun,” someone yelled, boohooing over the fact that they could not see the tapes.