Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(17)

"They were my parents. Parents never tell their kids everything. But you were my best friend. We grew up together and shared all of our secrets. How could you not tell me?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I couldn't tell you… because I couldn't hurt you. Or them. And because I'd taken an oath."

His fists clenched together, and I could see the pain he was in. I reached for his hand, and he took mine. And I realized that if he hadn't known about any of this, I would be alone right now. I couldn't reconcile all the lies, but I was grateful he was here. That I wasn't alone in this.

"What was it? What was the weapon?"

He shrugged. "Only the council knows… well, now anyways."

Because my parents knew. I tried to push that thought away, but… wait. He was wrong. I shook my head. "The Nephilim—he knew."

Jax dropped his voice. "I wouldn't talk about that. Not here. The people here have strong feelings about Nephilim. Most everyone believes they are extinct. If they aren't, we have an international crisis on our hands that could send us back to war."

I pulled my hand away and leaned back against his headboard. "You think I'm making this up?"

"I think things are changing," he said.

A knock on the door interrupted us, and a woman walked in without waiting for a response. She wore the tunic of a Knight of the Hospitallers, and I recognized her as the woman on the Council who had seemed cold and calculating. Jax stood and saluted her.

"I need to examine Miss Night," she said, looking at him instead of me.

"Of course, Grandmaster."

Um, hello, I'm in the room too.

"But… " Jax added. "You should ask her yourself."

I could have kissed him for that response. Seems the old Jax was still in there somewhere.

She turned to me, a small smile on her dark face that softened her features for a moment. "Pardon me, that was rude. Do you mind if I examine you? You've taken quite a beating today."

I did mind but figured it was a good idea to get checked out. "Go ahead," I said. "But Jax stays."

"Of course."

As Jax sat back down, she asked me to lay on the bed while she examined my hands. "Your cuts were much deeper, weren't they?"

I nodded, figuring it wouldn't do any good to lie.

"I thought as much. There's some deep tissue tearing, and the bones have been damaged, but they appear to be healing remarkably well." She raised an eyebrow at me, then pulled up my shirt. Jax turned away, though he'd seen all of me already today.

The woman poked at my chest and stomach, her fingers expertly feeling around the hole that had been torn through me. "What caused this?" she asked.

I hesitated, not sure what to say. "I don't remember. Something hit me, and I fell, then blacked out. When I woke, I was in pain and covered in blood, but I was already healing."

She opened her mouth to say something, but Jax whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "Alright then. Overall you are looking remarkably well for a woman who nearly died a few hours ago. Get plenty of rest tonight. Stay hydrated, and let me know if anything worsens, or you develop other symptoms."

With deft hands she pulled a syringe from her bag and stuck it into the vein in my arm, filling three vials. "We need to run some tests to make sure there are no other problems, but you seem healthy enough to me."

She stored the vials and packed up her bag while I put my clothing into order.

She had reached the door before turning to face me, her eyes gentler than before. "I am truly sorry for your loss. I was close to your parents when we were younger. They were good people and will be missed." With that, she was gone.

Her words shocked me. It hadn't occurred to me that there would be people here who knew my parents, but it made sense. There was so much I didn't know; how could I possibly sleep? I stood and grabbed Jax's jacket, slipping it on as I pulled my items out of the tissue box and shoved them in my pocket. "I need to go home," I told him. I had to get to the bunker, to see if there were more clues to what had really been going on.

Jax placed his hand on my arm. "Scarlett, you can't leave right now. Not yet. It's the middle of the night. You need rest."

"Just try and stop me, Jax." I didn't have a plan as I slammed the door behind me and marched out of his bedroom and into the Teutonic Hall, but I didn't anticipate guards outside the room.

One on each side. They grabbed my arms. I kicked one in the knee and was about to punch the other in the face when a commanding voice called out, "Leave her!"

The Chancellor walked toward us, his long robes flowing around him and his walking stick clicking against the stone floors. The soldiers immediately let me go, scuttling away at a gesture from my grandfather.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, knowing he held my fate in his hands. "Are you planning on keeping me a prisoner?"

"No," he said simply. "But humor me for just a few moments before you traipse out of here barefoot in the middle of the night. I have one question for you. Answer it, and I will provide you an escort to take you wherever you wish to go." He looked down at my bruised feet. "And shoes," he said.

He sat at the table near us and gestured for me to join him. Recognizing my limited resources and shortsighted plan, I sat.