Endure Read Free Page A

fellow hunter’s mind without consent, or consent of the council—your father’s. I was well aware of the punishment of this: exile or death, but I didn’t care. After your banishment, I knew something wasn’t right. Riley had Blackwell wrapped around his finger in a way I’d never seen. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.”
    “What did you see?”
    “The memory is jumbled at best, with parts still missing. But the memory is not as important as the discovery. I found darkness in Riley’s mind that didn’t belong.”
    “This was before he did the ritual?”
    Riddley nodded. “Oh yes, years earlier. I couldn’t determine what exactly had caused it, but one thing is for certain, your father had not been the hunter we knew for quite some time.”
    I had memories of a father who was kind and just. I had looked up to him and even after he changed, I still idolized him. I wanted to grow up to be him. I always thought he was being harder on me because he had high expectations. And even after my exile, I wanted his attention. Maybe I secretly hoped I could impress him, and the caring father I remembered would one day return.
    “It might not help, but for what it’s worth, I was against that from the start,” Riddley said. I looked up at him, once again confusion covered my face. Riddley tapped the side of his head. “I opposed your father’s recommendation for exile.”
    “You did?
    “It was a harsh punishment, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. We all knew his claim that Tessa had been unfaithful was preposterous and that there was a chance you’d develop your abilities later. But Blackwell sided with Riley, overruling all of us.”
    The moment he mentioned my mother’s name, images of her scorched body formed in my mind.
    Marcus walked down that endless aisle of earth. Water crashed against the embankment on either side of him. His body covered in burns and black soot, and in his arms laid my mother’s body, completely still, covered in blistering wounds from my father’s flame. Her hair was singed and draped over his charred arms, and for the first time in years, she looked at peace.
    A pang formed in my chest that had nothing to do with the wounds that covered my body. The ache and imagery put Willy’s face at the forefront of my thoughts.
    His ashy skin crumbled beneath pellets of rain as I caught the last glimpse of his lifeless eyes, and then he was gone. His remains washed along the road and into the earth.
    My mother and my best friend were gone forever. All because I wasn’t strong enough…wasn’t fast enough.
    “You mustn’t be so hard on yourself, Chase. In this war, there are no winners. We fight to survive just one more day.”
    “What do you know about fighting?” I asked, and it came out harsher than I had intended. “You’ve spent the better half of your life staring down at the rest of us from your high perch in the Circle, casting judgment and enforcing ridiculous rules to keep your grasp around the Circle tight. You don’t know a thing about war.”
    “You’re welcome to believe what you like, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I was out there once. All the elders were. We took that experience and tried to pass it on to the next generation. When I saw what we were doing wasn’t working, I adapted. I broke the Circle’s rules: I altered memories, I funneled money to Marcus for more than a decade, and I shared everything I could with him. I did this because I cared. I believed in what he was doing, and I still do. For years I fought my own war in a way I saw fit. Do not be mistaken, I’m here to stand with you, not fight against you.”
    I ran my hands through my hair, even though it made my arms and body ache with each movement. “I’m sorry…it’s been a long few days.”
    “Don’t be. From what I’ve seen, it’s been a long few months. A long few years if you count all the terrible things you and your mother had to deal with. If you