A Fractured Light (Beautiful Dark)

racing. I hadn’t told Asher I’d talked to Devin—but either he was more aware of my feelings than I’d thought or someone had told him.
    Suddenly I felt racked with guilt. What was I doing? Of course the Rebellion could trust me—I would never fight against them. But I knew I could never let them hurt Devin. I just couldn’t.
    He was so much more helpless than I was—he had no free will.
    I thought I’d known where I truly belonged, but now, suddenly, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
    My back stiffened. Nobody was going to use me in this war. I needed to understand my Guardian powers as well as my Rebel ones. I was beginning to think that the clue to everything lay in my visions. The gift from my mother.
    “Hey,” said a familiar voice. I whipped around, startled, to find Asher. Had he been behind me this whole time? I hadn’t heard him approach. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?”
    In the flickering light, his face looked menacing, strange. Not like the Asher I knew at all. I thought about what I’d just heard.
    How well did I really know him?

Chapter 20
    “T hese woods remind me of home,” Asher said softly, almost to himself. He stepped out of the shadows and took my hand. It wasn’t the first time I found myself wondering if his home could be my home, too. Except now I was more confused than ever about where my home should be.
    A tiny spark ignited between our fingertips.
    “Asher,” I said. “What’s our next move?”
    He leaned in closer to me and raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m glad you asked.”
    “No, stop.” I pushed him away. “I mean the Rebellion. The Order fired the first shot, right? They killed Oriax. So what’s our move? Shouldn’t we retaliate?” I was fishing for information, but all it did was make him take a step backward. He let my hand fall to my side, and his eyes grew stormy and even darker than usual.
    “We don’t know that yet,” he said. “We’re waiting for you to get full control of your powers. Then we’ll strike. The Rebels don’t feel that we have to rush this. They’re biding their time.”
    “But I am stronger. You said so yourself. I’m getting stronger every day.”
    “Look, it’s not time yet. All I know is that I have to protect you until you’re ready. I have to make sure there are no threats to you.” The unspoken subtext was clear: Or to your allegiance to the Rebellion. “Is it so much to ask”—he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration—“for you to trust me?”
    “Maybe I should be saying the same thing to you,” I said quietly.
    He met my gaze for a full beat, fire with fire. Then he turned abruptly. I watched him wind through the trees and disappear among the shadows.
    I started to make my way back to where I’d left my friends when the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I looked up—and saw Devin standing several feet away, in a dark cluster of trees. Even in the darkness, I could see his blue eyes flashing. I met his gaze head-on, but he seemed to hesitate.
    I wouldn’t look away. Even from where I stood, I could tell he wanted to ask me something. And curiosity got the better of me. I had to know if what Ardith and Gideon had said was true—if he did still care about me. Or if everything he’d ever made me believe was a lie.
    Everything seemed to move in slow motion as we walked toward each other.
    “Skye,” he said, his voice hushed, muffled by the trees and the sounds of the party.
    “Hey,” I said softly.
    “Are you all right? I saw you fall and—”
    “I’m fine,” I said. He eyed me with cautious interest.
    “When you blacked out,” he said carefully, “did you . . . see anything?” In the distance, I could hear the fire crackle and snap, the occasional laughter. If I said too much, it could be dangerous. But if I didn’t say anything at all, Devin wouldn’t be able to help me.
    “I had this strange sort of dream.” I was afraid to meet his eyes, but when I did, he looked almost excited, though it was hard to tell with his face half obscured by shadows.
    He leaned in closer, dropping his voice. “You had a vision, didn’t you?” My heart was racing. How did he know? What did he know? I nodded as if in a trance. “What did you see?”
    Could I trust him? Of course not. I answered my own stupid question. But the thing is, can you really trust Asher now, either?
    And the truth was that I had to tell someone about the visions. I needed help figuring