Fractured Truth Read Online Free PDF Page A

but this time I caught myself on the desk.
    Liam looked back at me. “You good?”
    I nodded and took a deep breath. “I’ll get used to it.” As soon as my head cleared, I swallowed and said, “Before we go down there, I have to tell you what Jackson said.”
    “Go on.”
    “Something’s been bothering me for a while. I couldn’t ever understand why Cyrus treated Jackson like his right-hand guy. Imean, I know Cyrus has other Guardians working for him, but he doesn’t keep them as close as Jackson.”
    Liam took two steps toward me.
    “When I was talking to Jackson just now, he was pretty convinced that Cyrus was going to bust him out of here as soon as possible to keep him from talking. And I’ll admit, he did seem a little spooked.”
    “But that’s impossible! The tunnel door is sealed, which means someone would have to open it from the inside or come through the school, passing countless Auras. Besides, Arik and Aaron are downstairs.”
    “I agree. I’m not convinced that Cyrus is coming for him, but Jackson is sure of it.”
    “So what does he want?” Liam asked.
    “He wants money and his freedom in exchange for telling us everything, including where Cyrus is holding the girls.”
    “But how can we trust him?”
    I paused for a moment, thinking back to our conversation, “He said he knows where the witches are, that he hid them for leverage over Cyrus and to get a lot of money.”
    “Witches? As in the three witches who originally created the Shadow?”
    “He wouldn’t say anything else, but, yeah, I assume so. We need to contact the Council right away and tell them to give Jackson whatever he wants.”
    Liam was pacing the room, seemingly deep in thought.
    “Liam?”
    He turned around. “You can tell the Council this morning. They’re here.”
    “Here? Why?”
    “Remember? The meeting about Lucent’s security and who should take Cyrus’s place as president?”
    I groaned, frustrated that I had slept so much. I had wanted to prepare some sort of speech, something motivational that would make them change their minds aboutAuras learning to fight, but so much for that. It was a small hope I had anyway.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Liam said. “You can figure out what to say during breakfast. And I’ll find Dr. Han and tell him about Jackson. I think it should be him that requests the Council’s help in giving Jackson whatever he wants.”
    I nodded in agreement and followed him from the room. A request like that would have to come from someone inside their circle. The Auran Council consisted of nine members, three from each Auran school. In addition to Lucent, there was Ellie Academy in Ireland and Ruddy Academy in Australia. I was still upset at them for waiting so long to have this meeting. They should’ve met the day after Cyrus attacked Lucent. We were lucky we hadn’t been attacked again.
    The moment I walked into the dining room with Liam at my side, all eyes turned on me. It reminded me of my first day. Except this time I was a different person. Stronger and more focused, I was not the angry, confused girl who didn’t know what was happening to her.
    And this time was also different because this time I had friends. They surrounded me now. Liam left me alone and joined the twins at a nearby table.
    Tessa hugged me first. “It’s so good to see you!”
    I squeezed her back. She looked different. Her hair was cut into a bob, and she was wearing normal clothes, fashionable even. But more than that, she looked happy.
    Tessa and I had grown close over the last several months, which was rare because she was a Lizen. They were supposed to serve Auras and nothing more, but, like many things at Lucent, I thought that rule old fashioned and, honestly, stupid.
    I glanced around at the other Lizen women as they began to serve dinner to the Auran girls. They too looked better, less depressed. As soon as Cyrus was gone, Dr. Han had announced that Lizens would be paid for their work if they