The leader of the group raised his head, still alive, but only just. "You fool," he whispered, blood trickling out of his mouth and staining his pale lips. "The Inquisitor will see this…"
Jax walked over to him calmly. And sliced his throat. "I care not what a deserter thinks."
I stood, stunned, staring at this boy I'd known my whole life. Not only was he one of the highest ranking members of any Order. He was also a Zenith.
Chapter 12
Nephilim War
We didn't use the underwater subway to return to Castle V. Jax acquired an Order vehicle somehow and we crossed over the bridge from Manhattan to the island. We were stopped by two armed Teutonic guards to show ID, but as soon as they recognized Jax they let us through. They didn't even raise an eyebrow at the amount of blood staining us both.
We drove in silence for a while, until I asked the question that had been on my mind since seeing him fight. "How are you a Zenith? I remember you getting tested in sixth grade, a few years before me. You passed. No para-powers."
"I didn't pass, Scarlett. And I'd seen the way Zenith were—and still are—treated. I knew it was either live a life of discrimination or do something about it. So, I asked my dad to let me join the Order. He got me in."
He stole a glance at me, but I kept my face neutral as I listened.
"I trained over the summers—"
"Those times you said you were at camp—"
He nodded. "And they gave me clearance not to wear Zenith identification. Eventually, I found out why. They wanted me to become your protector, which I have been for a few years now."
"But, the day… that day, you told me you were leaving for flight academy." All the lies. All the secrets. I couldn't keep them straight in my head. Every memory seemed tainted with falsehoods. I didn't know how much of what I remembered in my life was real and how much of it was a carefully crafted illusion meant to keep me in the dark.
"I'd been offered a full time position at the castle, as a trainer. There'd been no danger to you or your parents for years, so it seemed like the right decision."
"How did you become a Knight of the Fourth? How could you possibly get so high with just summer training?"
"As a Zenith," he said. "Five years ago, at the end of the Nephilim War, I was recruited to fight. During a mission, I killed one of them, a young girl… though I'm sure she only looked young. The Orders gave me a medal, a promotion. They placed me on a pedestal for young recruits to admire. I didn't deserve it, but that was then."
I thought back to those dark times. The Nephilim War hadn't affected my life too much. We lived in such a remote part of the country that most of the drama occurred in far away places I'd never been to. But I'd seen the news, when my parents allowed it or when they weren't home. I'd seen videos on my computer. Many died in the war between the Orders and the Nephilim. I couldn't believe Jax had been involved in that. Had gone to war, seen so much carnage, and had never been allowed to talk about it, even to me. What that must have done to him.
"There was a time, back then, when you seemed out of sorts. Quieter, more withdrawn. You'd been sick, quarantined by your family because of a fever. I thought you were just recovering."
"I was, but not from a fever. I was injured during the war. They made me stay in hiding so you wouldn't find out."
Of course. Because it was so critical that no one tell me the truth about anything.
"Now that I'm no longer your protector," he said, "I can act publicly on behalf of my Order. It's what I've needed to progress, to become a Knight of the First."
"Most never make it that far." I'd only heard of a few who ever had.
"I will," Jax said with such determination I actually believed he would.
We made it over the bridge and drove through the small streets of Vianney until we arrived at the castle. Jax handed the keys off to one of the front gate guards and we walked back into what felt like my prison. "I need to see the Chancellor," I told him.
He nodded and walked me to the Chancellor's office as his e-Glass blinked. He listened, said "Okay" and then clicked it off. "I have to go, Scarlett." He kissed my cheek and the contact had a surprising effect on my body. Suddenly I didn't want him to go. I didn't want to feel so alone in this scary new world.
"In case I don't see you tonight, sleep well. I know they'll be setting you up in your own room, but you're welcome in mine anytime. I've already set the lock to your thumbprint."
As he walked away, I called to him. "Jax?"
He turned. "Yes, Star?"
My heart clenched again at that name. "Thank you. For defending me. I don't know what they would have done, but thank you."
He stared into my soul for a long moment, our eyes locked. "Star, I would never let anything happen to you. I would defend you with my life. Now and always. Never forget that. Never forget what we are to each other, no matter what else happens."
He turned and left, his footsteps loud against the stone floors.
I stood alone by the Chancellor's door, about to knock, when I heard voices raised inside. I put my ear closer to listen.
"I almost had them." It sounded like the Head Inquisitor.
"But you don't have them, Ragathon," the Chancellor responded. "And now the whole city is afraid." I heard someone pace through the office. "You should never have kept this from the Council."