That evening, my training with Kenly went as well as could be expected. Using my manipulation, I walked her through the same moves that we’d been working on before Festivis. Her coordination improved with every repetition. Toward the end of our session, I released her mind and let her use me as a practice dummy. A couple of her hits landed hard enough that I thought my arms and torso might sport faint bruises in the morning; I couldn’t have been prouder.

  True to her word, Penny wasn’t actually of any use, but she was a great cheerleader.

  “You did really well tonight,” I praised Kenly as we cleaned up the practice area.

  “Thanks,” she said shyly. “I’ve been practicing in my room.” Her big brown eyes were shining with the same determination that had originally made me want to work with her. I hated to say what I said next, but I felt that she deserved the truth.

  “Kenly, I am going to do everything I can to help you get ready for your placement exams,” I began.

  “Oh, I know. I appreciate it so much,” she nodded earnestly.

  “I know you do. But I feel like I should warn you that it might not be enough. A lot of the students that are chosen to pledge the Hunters have been training for years, and they have natural abilities that you don’t.” I met her eyes, afraid of the disappointment that my words were likely to invoke.

  “I know,” she replied in a clear voice. “I know that it’s a long shot. I’m planning to take exams for the Crypto and Interrogation Divisions as well. I just really want to be a Hunter. I’m from D.C., so when I’m home on holidays I see the Hunters come into the city, and I’ve always wanted to be part of a team like they are. I think that it would really make my mom proud. My father was a Hunter and was killed in a mission when I was eight. Mom always talks about what great things he did to stop the Coalition. I just want to do that, too.”

  I smiled. I knew her story already; I’d done a very thorough background search on her family after I’d convinced Mac to let me train her. Her father had been part of a special team, sent to arrest two known Coalition supporters who were actively working to start a rebellion. Unfortunately, the mission hadn’t gone well, and most of the Operatives died.

  “I’m sure she’ll be proud of you, no matter what,” I promised. “Cryptos and Interrogators do very important work for the Agency, too. But I’ll do everything I can to help you get ready.”

  I was so focused on Kenly that I didn’t notice the baton until I stepped on it. One of my ankles twisted painfully as my other leg flew out from underneath me. Before I could come crashing to the ground at the awkward angle, Kenly grabbed my arm to steady me. Gravity still should have pulled me down, but Kenly also used her Telekinesis to halt my fall. I was now teetering precariously on the outside edge of my twisted foot, while the other foot was still thrust in front of me.

  “OMIGOD, Tal!” Penny exclaimed running, over to grab my other arm so I could get both feet firmly back on the ground. “Are you okay?”

  “Um . . . yeah, of course,” I answered, wiggling my wrenched ankle to make sure it wasn’t sprained. The joint popped, but otherwise seemed unharmed. “Thank goodness you were here, Kenly,” I said turning to the younger girl. “That was a really awesome use of your abilities. I think that you just might be ready for those Placements after all.”

  Kenly still clung to my arm, shock and disbelief creating creases in her forehead.

  “I-I-I-I . . . it was nothing,” she replied, staring down at my feet like they might take flight again.

  “That was really amazing, the way that you stopped Tal from breaking her ankle,” Penny said, placing her hand on Kenly’s free arm to steady the slightly shaken girl.

  “Yeah, right . . . thanks,” Kenly said, still looking confused by her rare display of adept talent.

  Penny and I walked Kenly back to her dorm before heading to the Crypto Bank, where our dinner from Gretchen was waiting.

  “I think that you might really have a shot with Kenly after all,” Penny declared, digging into a plate of noodles smothered in cheese sauce.

  “I hope so. She is so determined,” I replied, twirling long strands of spaghetti around the prongs of my fork.

  “That little trick to keep your clumsy butt from falling was awesome,” Penny continued, through a mouthful of pasta.

  “I know, right?! She seemed amazed that she had actually been able to pull it off,” I agreed.

  “You must be an awesome teacher for her to have improved so much in a week,” Penny smiled.

  “Thanks, Penny that means a lot.”

  The next few days passed with much the same routine. My stubborn nature—and Penny’s nagging voice in the back of my mind—kept me from actively seeking out Donavon. I wasn’t positive that I knew why he was ignoring me, but I had a pretty good guess: Someone must have told him about Erik.

  I wanted to go to him, but nothing I’d say would make the situation better. Telling him that I needed more time to sort out my feelings was pointless, redundant, and untrue; I knew that I wanted to be with Erik. Now I just needed to pluck up the courage to tell Donavon. Since he was already avoiding me, the truth couldn’t make the situation much worse—I’d already lost him.

  My sessions with Kenly weren’t evolving like I’d hoped. She was improving, but I’d imagined that she would be much further along by now. The glimmer of hope that I’d felt after using manipulation to help her feel the movements had petered out. Penny researched dual Talents and concluded that Mac was right; Kenly would never be strong in both areas.

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  For his part, Mac kept telling me that I couldn’t expect miracles, reminding me that I was attempting to teach Kenly skills in just a short amount of time that had taken me years to master. Again, my stubborn nature didn’t allow me to concede to either point of view. The more that they both protested, the more determined I was to make her a Hunter.

  It had been nearly two weeks since Donavon had last spoken to me. I was running late, so naturally I literally ran into him when leaving my building.

  “Hey,” I said awkwardly.

  “Natalia,” he responded tersely.

  We stood there momentarily in uneasy silence.

  “I’m late,” I blurted out when I couldn’t find another means of escape.

  “Well, then, I guess you better go,” he answered evenly.

  Nodding, I started to walk away. I made it only several paces before I turned. He was still standing in the same place, watching me regretfully.

  “Donavon,” I began.

  “Tal, don’t,” he interrupted.

  “You don’t even know what I’m going to say,” I argued.

  “It doesn’t matter, Talia. I know that you spent Festivis with Erik. I know that he came back with you, and didn’t leave until seven o’clock the next morning. I know that you offered yourself to him after a week, but barely let me touch you in six years!” By the end of his tirade, Donavon was shouting loudly enough for the whole campus to hear.

  My mouth gaped stupidly. I had no idea what to say. At first, I was so stunned that I couldn’t even process his words. Then as the meaning sunk in, my blood began to boil. I fisted my hands at my sides and tried to swallow the blinding rage. In the same breath, Donavon had basically called me a slut and a tease.

  “Sucks to be lied to, doesn’t it?” I snapped, rooted in place. If I moved, my feet would propel me at him, and I’d likely punch the horrified expression right off of his face.

  Donavon paled and looked around nervously. “That’s different and you know it,” he hissed.

  “Yeah, it’s worse! I don’t owe you anything, Donavon. Isn’t that what you said? You didn’t want me to feel like I owed you? Or was that a lie, too? Because I think that we both know the real reason that you didn’t tell me—you’re too scared of your father!” I screamed.

  Donavon closed the distance between us, and I thought for a brief moment that he was going to strike me, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of flinching. I steeled myself for the blow, but it never came. Donavon clamped one hand over my mouth and backed me against the wall of the dorm. My eyes popped wide with disbelief; I’d have been less shocked had he actually hit me.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled. His irises went black, his eye sockets elongated, and he sounded more animal than human.

  My own primal urges took over, and I sank my teeth into his fleshy palm. My incisors sliced through the skin and his blood trickled into my mouth. Disgusted, I jerked away and gagged, spitting red liquid on the perfectly manicured grass. The coppery scent made my stomach roll, and I bent over and dry heaved painfully. When I was certain that nothing more would come out, I scrubbed my tongue with my shirt sleeve to rid my mouth of the taste.

  Donavon stared at me, shocked and scared as bloody rivers weaved down his forearm to meet at his elbow. Two puncture wounds showed on the heel of his hand. He opened and closed his mouth several times in a good imitation of a trout fish. Then without another word, he turned and stalked off, leaving me confused and terrified in his wake.

  What just happened? Had I really bitten him? I’d felt like a cornered dog when he’d put his hand over my mouth to silence my spiteful words, but the faint smears of blood on my sleeve shamed me. I’d definitely overreacted. Donavon would never physically hurt me. How could I have bitten him?

  The part of me that was still fuming over his accusations wanted to run after him, demand that he apologize. But he really didn’t have anything to be sorry for; everything he’d said was true. I had done all those things, and I was wrong when I said that I didn’t owe him anything. At the very least, I’d owed him the truth about Erik.

  ***

  After the shortest trip to Medical on record, I rushed to the Crypto Bank. I needed to vent my frustration and embarrassment over the encounter with Donavon to Penny before I exploded. I knew that I was in store for a big “I told you so,” but I really didn’t care. Honestly, I deserved it. She’d been right about him and about us. Donavon and I were no good together; our story was a doomed broken record, repeating the same painful chorus over and over again: lies, secrets, lies, secrets.

  When I made it to the glass doors, the absence of bright red-orange was immediately apparent.

  “Where’s Penny?” I demanded as soon as the doors opened.

  “She was called away,” Gemma responded distractedly, removing her headphones. “No worries though. I have you all set up. This is Andel,” she added, pointing to the bespectacled boy sitting next to her.

  “Hi.” I waved dismissively in his direction.

  “Natalia.” He smiled nervously and replaced his headphones, returning to his computers.

  Reluctantly, I took my seat and began my daily grind. My brain warred between thoughts of Donavon and the task at hand.

  I’d barely made it through three files when the shrill sound of an alarm broke my concentration. Yanking my headphones off, I watched as Gemma hit a red button on her console.

  “Operative Reins,” she answered. She paused while the person on the other end of the line spoke. “Right away, Captain Anderson.” Pause. “I see the file now, sir.” Pause. “Affirmative, sir.” Pause. “Understood.” She hit the red button again.

  “What just happened?” I asked.

  “Emergency intelligence that needs verification,” she answered in an off-handed manner.

  “What does that mean?” I’d been sitting in this room for weeks, and had never seen something like this happen.

  “A Crypto unit at Headquarters came across information regarding the Coalition President that we need to act on ASAP,” Gemma explained, her fingers a blur as they flew over her keyboard.

  “Um, okay.” I was confused. “I still don’t understand.”

  “Protocol dictates that high priority intel needs independent verification to ensure that it’s legit,” she said patiently, her eyes never leaving her screen.

  “What constitutes high priority intel?” I asked.

  “Anything involving significant members of the Coalition and their movements.”

  “Like what?” I pressed. Gemma hesitated. “Like what?” I repeated. She didn’t answer. “Like when I was sent to Nevada?”

  “Yeah, like that,” she finally answered.

  “When the intelligence came in that Crane was in Nevada, what would have been the protocol?” I asked in a low voice. I was already on edge from my fight with Donavon, and it was hard to maintain control.

  “Given the nature of the information, the intel would’ve been sent to a second Crypto unit to be verified,” she answered.

  “Why?” I asked, struggling to sound calm.

  “To make sure that the Operative receiving the information wasn’t compromised—that he or she isn’t a spy. Plus then there’s always the possibility that whoever intercepted the intel decoded it incorrectly.”

  “Does that happen a lot? The decoding incorrectly thing, I mean?” I already knew that we didn’t uncover spies on a daily basis.

  “On occasion,” Gemma shrugged. “Usually everything checks out and it’s not a big deal, but every so often the verification team finds a mistake.”

  I sat back in my chair, tapping my fingers thoughtfully on the desk. This was important, very important. Mac said that all of the Operatives on Penny’s team had been investigated, but what about the verification team? Mac was thorough—no stone unturned and all that. Yet, I had a nagging, uneasy feeling about the whole situation. Could it really be that simple? Had one of the teams made a mistake? One team, I’d buy—but both teams seemed unlikely. I needed to speak with Mac.