Read Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) for Free Online Page B

back, I will. You’re more important to me than
anything else.”
    “What about Olivia?” she asks with a sly
smile.
    Chuckling, I say, “Okay, you and Olivia are the two most important things in my life and I won’t leave either of
you behind.”
    Olivia, standing next to me still,
blanches at my words. Not because of Molly, but because of what my parents told
me. Almost as if on instinct, she starts to pull away from me, but I refuse to
let her go. I can guess what’s running through her mind right now, but she must
know I won’t walk away from her that easily. I don’t have all the answers.
Giving her up and losing Molly simply aren’t options I’m willing to accept.
    “Did you find them?” Molly asks quietly.
    Her anxious voice pulls me out of my own
thoughts and back to her. Smiling, I say, “Yes, I did. I met our parents and
they were so worried about you and missed you so much. They can’t wait to see
you again.”
    Joy and fear mix on her face, too much of
both to even process. I know how she feels. Looking over at Olivia’s parents,
sorting out my feelings isn’t easy either. I loved my Caretakers, but I’ve lost
the majority of my memories of my time with them. I never referred to Olivia’s
parents as my mom and dad, but they’re really the only parents I know. I love
them. Leaving them the first time was incredibly difficult. Leaving them again?
It hurts to think about it.
    The feeling of home I felt when I met my
real parents, it definitely forged a connection, but how can the other Aerlings
really expect all of us to just forget the families that raised us, that cared
for us and protected us for most of our lives. My real parents are foreign to
me. Even though I desperately want to know them and understand where I came from,
giving up what I already have seems impossible.
    “Not that I’m unsympathetic to what
everyone is going through right now,” Sloane says, “but we really do need to
get moving. We have very little time left. The Sentinels have had Hayden for
three days already. Leaving him in their hands much longer is risking his life,
if he’s not already…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, not with Molly staring
at her with wide, frightened eyes, but we all know what she means.
    Olivia suddenly wraps her arms around her
body. Fear creeps into her expression and she bites her bottom lip. “How do I
find him?” she asks. “Tāwhiri said I could, but he didn’t explain how
before he disappeared.”
    I have seen many sides of Sloane just in
the short time I’ve known her. When she asked to come with us, she was tearful,
desperate for a chance to save the last connection she has to her lost brother.
In dealing with Evie and Molly, she has been tough and immovable. Now, as she
turns toward Olivia, her expression is filled with compassion and
understanding, though I have no clue what inspired the shift.
    “I can help you,” Sloane says softly.
    “Really? How?” Olivia asks.
    “Just as all Aerlings have different
gifts, we all were born to different roles. Mason serves our people as a
Warden, and I serve as a Guide.” She reaches out for Olivia’s hand and seems to
take stock of her power as she holds it in hers. “My role is to help Aerlings
and Escorts develop their powers once they come home.”
    “So, you’ll help me figure out how to find
Hayden?” Olivia asks with hope.
    Sloane nods. The solemnity in her motion
is slightly unnerving. “I will help you find Hayden,” she says. “I will not let
you fail.”
    Olivia and I both look at each other,
wondering if that was a promise or a threat.
     

 
    Chapter 6
    Make Them Pay
    (Hayden)
     
     
     
    I swear I recognize the Sentinel that just
walked by my cell. From where, though? It’s been driving me crazy for the last
three days. Maybe I’m only focusing on it because if I think about being a
captive of the Sentinels, I might lose it. Trying to figure out where I’ve seen
that Sentinel before is the only thing