Crux Year

Chapter Thirteen - Royal

Panic claws up my throat. I have the urge to simultaneously cry and scream in fury. This doesn't make sense. Where would they take my father?

What if he's dead...

They fried his brain trying to fix him.

I failed him.

I failed my father.

I was too late.

Tears blur the room in front of me. A sudden wash of dizziness has me stumbling.

I can't breathe.

Why can't I breathe?

Falling to my knees, I ignore the pain that shoots through the bones upon impact. Hot tears streak down my cheeks as I clutch at my neck, desperate for air.

"Royal. Hey, Royal. Look at me." Shay's voice cuts through the devastating haze. My eyes lock onto his bright blue ones that gleam with concern. "There you go. Breathe. It's okay. I'm here."

A sob in my throat nearly strangles me before I'm able to fully suck in air. Shay is crouched on his knees in front of me, his palms cupping my cheeks. He presses a kiss to my forehead. Without him, I can't even begin to imagine how badly I would be losing it right now.

He pulls me to him, embracing me. Shay Arden may be smaller than me, but his hug is more powerful than anything I've ever known. It has the ability to hold me together when my entire world is falling apart around me.

"Listen, Royal," he says, his voice soft and reassuring, "we will find him. We will. And when we do, we'll figure out a way to get you both out of here. I promise. Do you trust me?"

Trust Shay?

The kid who days ago hated my guts?

That was before everything changed between us. Before he knew we were matched. Before we knew about genetic washes and pairing boys long before they ever entered this world.

There's an undeniable connection between us.

"Yes," I whisper. "I trust you."

"Come on," he says, rising to his feet. "Let's get out of here before we get caught."

I don't know where we'll look or where we'll go. Defeat weighs heavily on my shoulders. Shay, somehow, has the strength to lift me up both literally and figuratively. He tugs me to my feet, a fierce expression on his handsome face.

He doesn't let go of my hand even once we're safely back outside. We stop by the tree we were at earlier, both of us breathing heavily from our rush.

"I think the first place to check is at your house," Shay says, his voice low.

"Dad would have mentioned to me at dinner if he had plans to bring him home, though, right?" I shake my head. "No, he has to be somewhere else. Maybe the hospital?"

Shay purses his lips like he wants to argue, but finally nods. "Okay, let's try there. We can't go in there and demand to know where your father is, though. We'll have to be smart about this, so nothing comes back on us later."

It's a long walk to Rock City Hospital. I'm not sure how we'll manage this without getting into trouble for breaking curfew or tipping anyone off about our motives. I ponder a million different ways we can sneak into the hospital along the way. By the time we reach the large building, I'm no closer to a solution.

"When we get inside," Shay says, "I'll distract whoever's at the front desk. You get to an information kiosk to see if he's registered."

I don't like the idea of Shay being the distraction, but he seems confident in his abilities. He said to trust him. That's all I can do because I sure don't trust myself.