Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy, Belle Malory [motivational novels for students .txt] 📗

Classic good-guy, bad-guy.

Petra nodded. “As Thomas rose up in rank, he went on to lead the Uprising. He planned to overthrow parliament around the same time Frank started working for MEM. Frank found out about it and set a trap. In only one day, he managed to imprison about two-thirds of the existing Hollows at the time. He managed to keep Thomas out of it though. Who knows why, maybe out of some misplaced sense of loyalty; but honestly, Frank should have locked Thomas up too.”

I arched a brow, wondering if I could trust anything she said. Jett claimed she wanted me dead—why not just kill me and get it over with?

“How do you fit into all of this?” I said to Petra.

“I’m getting there. Fast-forward about twenty years. Both men now have families with teenage daughters attending Arcadia. Of course, no one knew I was Thomas’s daughter. My mother remarried and kept it a secret. When Daniel and I met, I had no idea who he was. I genuinely liked him.” Her voice turned wistful, and she smiled sadly. “One of the universe’s ironic twists, I suppose. The next part happened as you’ve probably heard. Daniel fell in love with Selena, then left me for her. Heartbroken from the breakup, I didn’t realize I was pregnant until several months into the pregnancy. My mother’s disappointment was huge. All my life, she beat it into my head that men were slimy dirtbags, and she made me swear I’d learn from her mistakes. But there I was—humiliated and pregnant, just as she had once been. My mother was so angry, she disowned me. Since Daniel was with Selena, I had nowhere to go. Thomas was my only option. I fled to the Underworld and begged him to let me stay. He agreed, with conditions. First, I had to pledge myself to the Hollows. Second, I could never leave.” Her gaze drifted up, tightening bitterly. “He bound me to this world. At the time, it sounded like a decent trade. The Hollows are a feared, powerful group. I would be protected. I would have a place to raise my baby. Or so I thought.

“Only a few weeks after my daughter’s birth, Thomas’s goons snuck into my bedroom. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many…” Her strong, even voice broke just the tiniest bit. “You know the rest, except it wasn’t me who enacted the curse. My father sacrificed one of his men and tore out his own kidney to see it done. He imprisoned me here. He stole my baby. All out of revenge against Franklin Thorne.”

As I was listening, my mouth formed an O. This was not where I expected Petra’s story to go, not at all.

And I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her.

I still couldn’t find a motivation for lying. What reason could she have for shifting the blame to her dad? If she’d been the one to curse Riley and me, wouldn’t she own up to it? Wouldn’t she proudly stake a claim in her own revenge?

Confused as hell, I came right out and asked her. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

“I’ve done many awful things in my lifetime; I admit to them all. But this—this I would never do. That perfect little baby was innocent. Sure, she may have been Daniel’s blood, but she was mine too.” She held her breath for one long moment before speaking again. “You are mine too, Sheridan.”

Wait—what?

“Don’t you mean Riley?”

Petra slowly shook her head. “If you were Riley, you would not be sitting in that chair alive.”

40

I laughed.

I laughed really hard and loudly. Petra sat there watching, without once cracking a smile.

Oh, the freaking tangliest of all webs!

The woman only spared me because she thought I was her daughter. Hell, maybe I should just go with it. Pretend I was Riley and get myself out of this mess before she figured out her mistake.

But I couldn’t help studying Petra, noticing the way her nose and mouth sloped, and the sharpness of her jaw. At first glance, she seemed so formidable, like nothing could shatter her calm. When I looked closer, I noticed how she held her hands in her lap, idly twisting the rings around her fingers. Anxiously. Similar to how I twisted my charm bracelet.

I swallowed and abruptly stopped laughing.

No way.

Xander swore under the ollidipher he made those promises to my mother, Selena Vane. The plant wouldn’t have allowed him to lie. Unless…what if it allowed him to lie because it was what he believed? Then he wouldn’t have lied; he simply hadn’t been aware of the truth.

I searched Petra’s face for evidence, as if I might find myself somewhere in it. Riley and I both took after our father, but there were subtle differences. My sister’s eyes were round. Mine were almond shaped. Just. Like. Petra’s.

Pushing against the table, I scooted the chair back and jumped out of it.

It couldn’t be true.

“What p-proof do you have?” My voice started to shake. “Show me. Get an ollodipher.”

“I would, if I had one with me.” A slow, sad smile spread across her face. “Sheridan, all the proof you need is already within you.”

“No, I refuse to believe it.” I shook my head. “This is not happening.”

I was the one with perfect grades. I never lied. Never did drugs. Never stayed out all night partying. Okay, there was that one night in the woods, but that didn’t count. I was there to meet Vanisher. And there was the mishap with the scissors—but dammit, except for that, I had a perfect track record. I was the good daughter.

My world felt like it was shattering around me. I started to pace, wishing I could get out of this tiny little shack.

I ran my hands through my hair, tightening my fingers at my scalp. Petra was the evil Hollow, the one my father didn’t choose. It would make sense if she were