Inborn (The Birthright Book 1)

Chapter 25

I kept my eyes on Lachlan, disappointment sinking in. So after everything, I couldn't trust him after all. I felt stupid for being surprised, but I had really begun to think we were on the same side.

"Should've known," Bryce said.

Lachlan's expression was impossible to read. "I have my reasons. Things happen."

"I bet."

I wondered if Lachlan's necklace did belong to his relative, and what that had to do with the book I'd found–and my family. All this did explain why he jumped in to help me unlock the upstairs console.

"It takes a special code to access the controls," my dad said, pointing to the medical chambers. "I promise to let them out of their comas if you do what I ask."

I walked over to Xavier's incubator, placing my hand by his head. One of his eyes was swollen shut from a gash that looked like it barely missed his eye, and his arms were cut and bruised, but he was alive. I couldn't believe this was my dad talking. We were a close family. So was he just playing a part all that time? Pretending to be somebody else? I couldn't wrap my head around that.

"It must be exhausting," I said finally, "constantly having to act like someone you're not. Pretending to love people, when you don't."

"I do love you, Rosamund. I love all of you. I know you have a lot of questions. And I promise to answer them in time–if you help me."

"I'm not killing anyone."

"I see that." I heard his shoes clicking on the tile, but I never took my eyes off Xavier. "I was foolish to think I could convince you in minutes. You need more time to accept who you really are, and I understand that. It wasn't all clear to me immediately, either."

I thought I'd rather die than accept his reality of who I "really" was. But I said, "Why don't you just kill me and get what you want? I'm rare now, right? So just take my power and be done with it."

"I don't want to kill you. I want to share what I've learned."

That didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and I was starting to feel like Luke Skywalker when he finds out Darth Vader is his daddy. That couldn't possibly be why he wanted me to help him. What did he get from all this really? The only thing I could imagine is somehow this would make him more powerful.

"You can't kill her, can you?" I turned around to see Bryce. He walked the length of Joss' chamber, sliding his hand along the glass. His face was curious, but verging on mocking. "Rudy said there were rules, and you couldn't kill just anyone without consequences. I'm guessing someone with the same powers as you would be bad for immortality."

Other than my dad's jaw tightening, it was tough to tell if Bryce had hit a nerve.

"So what happens?" Bryce said. "Do you lose points on your evil life sucker rewards system?"

My dad gave him a tight-lipped, disdainful smile. "I knew I didn't like you."

Bryce smiled back, equally derisive, and I noticed Lachlan slipping him a warning glance. I watched my dad carefully. Something was off. There was something about his energy–it was wrong. It almost felt weak...like he'd been drained. Maybe the problem wasn't avoiding a mistake, but that he'd already made one. Maybe my mom's powers weren't rare enough.

"What do you want me to do?" I said.

"I need you to help me."

I peeked at Bryce, who shook his head vehemently. But I caressed the glass under my hand, staring down at my unconscious brother now at the mercy of a serial killer, and I made up my mind.