“I wasn’t very well about to knock on the front door when I had no idea what kind of situation you were in,” Saoirse said, crossing the room. A bag hung from one shoulder, and she didn’t remove it as she pulled Ridley into a brief hug. “You might have been a prisoner in here. Would have been silly to announce my arrival in that case.”
“I’m guessing I can put this away?” Mrs. Adams said, holding up the book. It was closed now, hiding the weapon that lay within it.
“Yes,” Archer answered, standing. “Mrs. Adams, this Saoirse. Elemental, as you’ve no doubt gathered. Saoirse, this is …” He looked at Mrs. Adams. “I’m sorry, I don’t actually know your first name.”
“Blair.” Mrs. Adams slid the book back onto the shelf before moving toward Saoirse, her hand extended. “Blair Adams.” The two women shook hands. It struck Ridley that they probably weren’t too far apart in age, but Mrs. Adams looked decades younger with her perfectly dyed hair and expertly applied makeup.
“Sorry for intruding,” Saoirse said. “But we’ve all been very worried about Ridley.”
“We?” Ridley echoed. “Who else … I mean, where did you just come from? Have you seen—my dad?” She stumbled over that last bit, and Saoirse must have noticed because her eyes filled with sympathy.
“You have seen him,” Ridley said quietly. “You know that I know.”
To her side, she noticed Archer looking between the two of them. “Know … what?”
Ridley cleared her throat and turned to Mrs. Adams. “Uh, we can go now and continue all of this elsewhere. I don’t want to intrude on your hospitality any longer. But I’m very grateful for the meal and the shower and … and a safe place to hide for a bit. Thank you.”
Mrs. Adams sighed through her nose. “No rush. This isn’t what I’d planned for my Sunday morning, but you’re all here now, so you may as well stay longer if you need to. I meant what I said when I told Archer I wished Serena had had somewhere safe to hide.” She looked around. “Anyone want some tea?”
Archer seemed uncertain. Saoirse looked at Ridley as if Ridley held the answer. All Ridley could say was, “Um …”
“I’ll put the kettle on anyway.” Mrs. Adams left the room. Ridley and Archer hesitantly sat down. Saoirse followed, not bothering to remove the bag from her shoulder.
“So … magic led you here?” Ridley asked Saoirse. “To me, I mean?”
“Yes. Sorry, before I say anything else … do we trust him?” She jerked her head toward Archer. “Nathan told me about his ties to the Shadow Society. About his father being the director.” Her brows lowered in disappointment as she focused on Archer. “I don’t know you that well, but I have to admit it was a shock to discover this.”
“Saoirse, I’m on your side,” Archer insisted. “I swear. Before reaching the reserve, I had planned to never see my family or any other Shadow Society member ever again. It’s true that I once bought into everything my father told me—or at least, it was just easier not to question things—but I made my own mind up months ago.”
Saoirse looked at Ridley. “You know him better than I do. What do you think?”
Ridley sighed. “I don’t know. Everything’s become so tangled in my head. If I look back, I can see evidence to support his story, but I can also see times where things conveniently worked out in his favor. It just seems safer not to trust him.”
“I agree.” Saoirse’s magic drifted around her hands. She pulled it together between her palms, then manipulated it with a sweep and curve of her hands and repetitive flutters of her fingers.
“What are you doing?” Ridley asked.
Saorise spread her arms wide, then smacked the magic together between her palms before throwing it at Archer. It hit his chest and vanished like a puff of dust. His wide eyes shot up. “What did you do to me?”
“You can’t pull magic now. It’s basically the same effect as an AI2. I’m sorry, but I need to be sure Ridley and I have the upper hand here. You can only use your own physical strength now if you want to attack us, and our magic should help us get away from you or restrain you, should the need arise.”
Archer looked horrified. “I would never attack either of you.”
“Why do you know a conjuration like that?” Ridley asked, frowning.
“People who use magic—elemental or not—aren’t always good people. I’ve learned that the hard way. Sometimes this is the easiest method of disarming someone who’s trying to hurt you.”
“Permanently?” Archer demanded.
“Oh, no. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. It’s not permanent. There’s another conjuration to remove the effects of the one I just did.”
“So, what? I earn your trust back, and you’ll return me to normal?”
“I suppose so.”
Ridley was still frowning. This was probably the best thing to do, given that they had no way of knowing if anything coming out of Archer’s mouth was the truth. But there was still something about it that made her feel uncomfortable. There was little difference between this and the government deciding that by law, everyone would have an AI2. But this was one person deciding for another person that they shouldn’t be allowed to use magic, and that seemed a bit more like a violation of a basic human right. Or perhaps this was just Ridley’s silly heart caring more about Archer than she should. She needed to work on that.
“Back when magic was legal,” Archer said, “I assume this kind of conjuration was illegal?”
“Yes. But you’ve probably done plenty of illegal things in service of the Shadow Society, so illegal conjurations shouldn’t bother you.” Without giving him a chance to respond, Saoirse turned to Ridley. “What happened yesterday? After you left Nathan and your father—well, your … you know.” She looked uncomfortable. “I had the vague sense that you were somewhere in or near Lumina City, and then the feeling simply vanished. I thought something terrible may have happened to you.”
Ridley leaned back and folded her arms over her chest. It was just hitting her again that Saoirse had known the truth all along. Throughout every conversation, every training session—even the first moment they’d met, when it had been clear Ridley believed Dad was her father—the truth had hung there between them without Ridley being aware of it. “You knew,” she said, an accusatory edge to her voice. “And you let me believe a lie.”
Saoirse shifted her position slightly on the couch, unable to meet Ridley’s gaze now. “It wasn’t my place to say anything. I tried to convince Maverick, but he kept saying he needed more time.”
Archer leaned forward. “I think I’ve missed something. What are you talking about?”
“You’ve missed a lot,” Ridley snapped. “That’s what happens when you turn out to be part of the enemy organization. We stop telling you things.”
Archer let out a frustratedhuff of breath. “I am not the enemy.”
Ridley ignored him and faced Saoirse again. “Okay. So you didn’t tell me. Fine. I guess I understand that you didn’t feel it was your place. Though you did tell Nathan, and you must have known he wasn’t going to keep it to himself.”