Evernight (The Night Watchmen Series Book 2) by Candace Knoebel Read Free Book Online

what’s really bothering me would be my breaking point, and I don’t have time to break. The Priesthood didn’t set enough seconds aside for me to worry over my missing parents, or the fact I haven’t spoken to Katie in ages. There aren’t enough minutes in the day to worry about what’s happening to all the Watchmen by the hands of Bael, all because of me.
    All because I got away.
    So I choose not to feel anything as I sift through the uniforms. Two of everything hangs from the clothing rack, and I wonder who brings them in and takes them away when they’ve been used. I’m left feeling as if I’ll never know privacy again.
    There’s a pair of shoes constructed for running and endurance underneath with a box next to them. Leaning forward, I grab the box. Aside from the bathroom essentials, there’s a small drawstring bag tucked inside. The object inside it falls into my hand with a soft thud.
     

     
    It’s a small, golden pin with my name etched across it. Running my fingers over the grooved letters, I can’t help but think of my mom and dad, and how proud they would have been. How surprised each of them would have been with knowing how far I’ve come in so little time.
    But more so, that I’m not a Defect.
    My heart seizes up, and a storm of suppressed thoughts and feelings brew within me. I have to squeeze my eyes shut and clench my fists against my stomach just to keep from exploding from the inside out. The guilt, fear, and pain are overwhelming.
    I feel my walls of denial cracking in half, crumbling down around me, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. There’s nowhere left to hide from the truth.
    If I had been named a Defect, then we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Katie… Jaxen… my friends… everyone would be safe from harm. From Bael’s wrath. And maybe my parents would be here. I tug at my hair, and then bury my face in my hands as an onslaught of tears surface.
    I still don’t have any answers to what happened to them, and it’s eating me up inside. Ripping me clean in half. I don’t deserve this room… this… this life. I barely got away from Bael and managed to get the Dagger before he attempted to drag me down into the Underground.
    If it wasn’t for Weldon…
    Stop it , I tell myself, but it sounds a lot like Katie’s voice.
    It takes much force to inhale. To allow myself to breathe again. To push away the demons that poor buckets of liquid fire into my tear ducts. If only I could talk to Katie. She’d know what to say. She’d have the right words that would make sense of everything and settle my doubt. But she’s back in the Academy, and I can’t speak to her from here. Only the prestigious have that privilege.
    I know she’d tell me to suck it up. That this is my chance to make things right. Being in this city… being trained as an Elite… this is my way to finding my parents, even with having to do whatever it is Clara and the rest of the High Priesthood wants me to do. Like Jaxen said, we have to make it work.
    I stand up, tuck away each and every emotion, and pull off the clothing I’ll need for tonight. Behind the rack is a door that leads to a small bathroom, so I take a quick shower. It’s been days since I’ve had one, and the thought of hot water right now sounds like heaven.
    After my shower, it takes me a minute to figure out how to put my uniform on. It’s still as dark and as black as the night, but the material is different from what was offered at the Academy. It’s stronger. The bodysuit portion is made from some type of flexible material. Somewhat like Lycra, but thicker. The moment the material slides over my thighs, I feel it adjusting to my body. Giving where it needs to give, and tightening where it needs to tighten.
    There’s a zipper in the back from the waist up, so I zip it up halfway, and then use the string attached to the zipper to pull it the rest of the way up to my neck. When I stand back in front of the mirror, I don’t even