The Republic of Linae (Book 1)

Chapter 10: Cameron

Allyson quietly slips into the household only minutes after I get downstairs. Neither of our parents hear her entrance since our father is in his office staring at paperwork and our mother is busy trying to save her dead garden.

"I was wondering when you were going to decide to show up," I comment. I check my watch for the time. It's half past six, which means that it's going to get dark soon. Linae gets dark fairly quickly in the fall and winter months. "For a second there, I thought you would be stupid enough to try and run—"

I cut myself off mid sentence when I take Allyson's red rimmed blue eyes. They're only slightly swollen, enough where they wouldn't be that noticeable. Our parents probably wouldn't notice the redness or the puffiness.

Anger boils through my veins. Eric is going to regret deciding to move to Linae when I'm through with him. "I'm going to kill Blickerman," I grind through my teeth.

Straightening her spine, my sister adjusts her sleeves. I watch her take a deep breath in while she shakes her head. "I'm fine, Cameron," she responds simply. "Eric didn't hurt me."

There is no preventing the glare that I have on my face. Even after he made her cry, she's still defending him. I gesture towards her face. "Your eyes are red and puffy."

My sister has the audacity to give me a wry smile. "Really? I thought they looked pretty normal to me." When she registers the scowl on my face, she sighs. "It was those stupid reporters, okay?" She shrugs off her backpack and holds it in her hand. "One minute I was minding my own business in the park, the next I was ambushed by a bunch of news reporters." Her eyes move toward the wooden coat rack that sits next to the door. "And then I had an ability panic attack."

Ability panic attacks happen during an episode of anxiety where the person loses control over their ability for a short period of time. They can last for seconds or for several minutes. I used to get those all the time. At one point, mine got so bad I accidentally set the house on fire. Mom couldn't stop the onslaught of lightning bolts that repeatedly struck the house. We have protections in place that are supposed to prevent magic from ruining the household, but I somehow broke through all of them.

The fact that Allyson had her ability panic attack in public could be very bad. Especially with how powerful her ability is.

"Please tell me that you didn't break anything."

Rolling her eyes, Allyson walks away from the door. "Thanks for the concern," she bites back in annoyance. "And no, I don't think so." Her chews on my bottom lip for a moment and pauses right in front of me. "I think that I sent the reporters' cameras into the trees— without breaking them." She gives me a pointed look before grabbing the necklace at the base of her throat with her free hand. I haven't seen her take off the ugly thing within the past few days.

"I think I accidentally showed Eric one of my memories, though. I just don't know which one," she reluctantly admits.

My heart practically stops dead in my chest. There are so many secrets that are tucked away in Allyson's memories. She could have exposed any amount of them. "What!?"

She shakes her head at me. Her blonde waves toss a little bit with the motion. "I don't know what he saw or how much of it he saw, but he saw something that really freaked him out." Allyson must see the panicked look on my face because she rolls her eyes. "Will you relax? I'm sure if he saw anything about our secret, he knows that he needs to keep his mouth shut."

"You don't know that!"

This mistake could cost us everything. People from everywhere can turn against us at any moment. Especially if they find out what Allyson truly is. Linae cannot afford to be divided right now. Not when the opposition of the rebel group is growing stronger and there are threats of war coming from the east.