When War Calls(151)

A smile surfacing on his lips, Jaden continued to race past the many trucks and other vehicles, stopping for none, no matter how loudly they cried to speak with a sentinel. He wanted to see her, wanted to make sure she was safe. He had been away from her for what seemed an eternity, and he refused to wait another moment that he did not have to.

He found Alyssa seated in the back of a jeep, a coat wrapped around her shoulders as she sat behind an old couple. Jaden jumped up on top, causing the old couple to look at him in disgust, and he embraced Alyssa.

‘Alyssa, I made it back!’ he said, releasing her from his embrace but still holding onto her shoulders.

The two stared into each other’s eyes, searching, but Jaden’s expression soon lost its vibrant glow. Something was wrong. Something was missing. The embrace had felt empty, as if there was no feeling being returned, making it seem that she was made of stone.

‘Lyss?’ he asked, but she just stared back at him, unknowing and confused.

‘How do you know my name?’ she asked in a faraway voice.

Jaden continued searching her eyes, trying to find the answers somewhere within to the questions building inside. So lost in the moment of reunion  , he hadn’t noticed another young man coming up from behind Alyssa and handing her a cup. She took it from the dark-haired youth and kissed him gently as he took a seat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder as if to protect her from the cold and the stranger in front of them.

The youth looked up at Jaden. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked, his voice smooth, confident and strong.

Jaden was lost for words. This was Alyssa before him, the one he had given his heart to, but the girl he knew was no longer there. She was with someone else. She had kissed another man right in front of him.

The dark-haired youth looked uncomfortable. ‘Move along, friend, there is no reason for you to be here.’

Before Jaden could respond, he was dragged backward and off the vehicle. Strong hands took him away from Alyssa, and the endobraces began to warm with energy.

‘Let go of me!’ he demanded.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Lendon. ‘I tried to tell you.’

‘Tried to tell me what?’

‘There was an accident. Stop struggling and I’ll explain.’

Lendon pushed him away as he relaxed, and he repositioned the Daijuarn vest. ‘What happened?’

‘We left Waikor in a hurry,’ Lendon began. ‘There was a lot of confusion. We knew we didn’t have much time before the Alliance returned.’

‘Tell me what happened to her!’

‘If you give me the chance, I will,’ said Lendon. ‘But first you should know that it was nobody’s fault, and we did everything we could. She was on her horse when it happened. There was an explosion, one of the truck’s loads detached and fell. The noise must have frightened the horse. It reared up. She wasn’t ready and fell. She hit her head pretty hard.’

‘What does that mean?’ asked Jaden.

‘It means, Sentinel,’ said Lendon harshly, visibly irritated by the interruptions, ‘that she has lost some of her memory. I had hoped you were one she would remember, but it appears not.’

‘She doesn’t remember me?’ asked Jaden in disbelief.

‘Or myself, or the other sentinels, or your friend Tarsha. She remembers her father and that she came from Callibra, but nothing else.’

‘Why is that guy touching her?’ asked Jaden, looking over Lendon’s shoulder.

Lendon glanced at the couple on the vehicle, and then turned back to Jaden. ‘He has done nothing wrong,’ he said. ‘He was her caretaker. If not for him, there would have been no one else to help her. She may have died, so you should thank him for saving her life.’

‘You mean for stealing her from me!’

Lendon raised his hands. ‘No,’ he said. ‘No, that is not how it happened. I know what you must feel right now.’

Jaden doubted every word he heard Lendon utter from then on. After all the soldiers he had fought, the beasts he had ran from and explosions he had stood against that would have killed any other, he was still powerless against this. The one he had dreamed of spending his life with, the one who had eased the pain of losing his home and family, the one who had given him reason to live again, to hope for a brighter future ... gone. She had been taken from him. It felt as if the very core of his being was being stripped away. His mind overloaded with anxiety and his heart racing, his stomach weak and empty, and his breath quickened, he could do nothing else than allow his eyes to become red with hatred and sorrow.

‘There is nothing you can do,’ continued Lendon.