A/N so people don't accidentally read the second chapter before the first one again, this is chapter two of a double update 😂

Jay's POV

I walk though the same room for the third time, not finding Nya. Even though I know it's being naively hopeful, I hope she realized that Ciara let me out. She tightened the ropes herself, and maybe if she sees that her own "Auntie" was the one who let me out, it will create more doubt.

I've spotted several of the other girls, but not Nya. Skylor was standing grumpily to the side, a glass of sparkling water in her hand. I walked by Cole and Seliel dancing about fifteen minutes ago which I'm definitely going to question him about. PIXAL was looking at some exhibits. Luckily for me, I haven't seen Chamille, or at least I think so. If she's using her powers, I would never know if I saw her or not.

Several random people have stopped me to try to talk and take pictures. It's been hard to keep looking when they want to talk for long periods of time, so I have to find excuses to leave the conversations. Even though I'd love to talk usually, I need to find Nya.

After looking for a bit longer, I decide to stay in one spot. If Nya really is looking for me, she's moving around too. We're most likely narrowly missing each other, so if I stay in place, she'll walk by me.

"There you are, Jay," at the sound of her voice several minutes later, I lift up my head from looking at my shoes.

When I look up at her, the air escapes my lungs. My jaw slightly goes slack. Her raven hair is pulled back in an intricate bun, showing off her facial features. Her complexion is perfect. She's wearing a sleeveless, long royal blue dress. "Y-you look amazing."

My words cause a slight blush to rise to her cheeks. "You don't look too shabby yourself. You clean up really well..." she tells me, "not that I minded how you looked before, of course."

Now that she's here, I just want to talk to her. When I was held captive, talking to her was therapeutic. It helped me calm down when I got stressed or overly anxious. Now, it still has a calming effect.

"You don't have to lie to me. I look horrible, between the cuts on my face, the black eye, and the sling. I tried to cover the cuts and black eye with concealer, but it turns out I'm paler than I thought, and I bought the wrong shade," I explain, throwing in a little laugh at the end. Instead of laughing like I thought she would, it seems like anger seeps through her.

"She did this to you, didn't she?" Nya asks, clenching her fists by her side, just like Kai does. "My Auntie, she put you in that sling and cut up your face, right?"

"Yeah. She pulled out a knife, cut up my face, before stabbing my arm and twisting it," I explain. Nya closes her eyes, breathing in and out. She slowly clenches and unclenches her fists.

"I'm so, so sorry she did this to you. You didn't deserve any of it. She's just so...ugh," she can't find words to explain her anger. She goes to tug at her hair, but it's in a bun. She starts to build up more anger, her hands staying clenched longer. Her eyes shut, and she doesn't open them. Slowly, I see water droplets start forming in the air around her, getting larger by the second.

Impulsively, I use my good hand to grab onto one of her hands, causing her eyes to abruptly open, staring straight into mine. That's when I notice how much pain she's in. Her eyes are filled with it, "I-It's alright. Just breathe." I run my thumb over the back of her hand comfortingly. Slowly, I see the anger in her eyes fade away, getting replaced by some sort of softness.

"How did you do that?" she asks me, curiously.

"Do what?"

"You calmed me down. No one can calm me down," she tells me.

"I...," I start, but I'm quickly cut off.

"Jay, we need to go. Kai ordered an emergency team meeting, and he was beyond pissed off when he came and got me," Cole interrupts me. When I look at him, he's looking at mine and Nya's hands with furrowed eyebrows. Instinctively, I drop her hand, making a frown spread across her lips.

"Can't it wait a li...," I start, but Cole grabs into my good arm and pulls me closer

"Jay, we need to go. It's about the gemstone," he tells me quietly so Nya can't hear.

"I still need to talk to you," Nya tells me, a pleading look across her entire face. Even her posture mirrors her facial expression, her shoulders slightly slumped.

"I'll come back soon. Just stay here so I can find you," I tell her softly. The look she gives me makes my heart ache. "I promise."

---

We got Misako to tape off the room, so now no one can come in during our meeting. Cole, Zane, Lloyd and I are all crammed on a bench while Kai stands in front of us, fuming. I can already tell this isn't going to be good.

"Kai, do you want to take a walk for a bit to cool down? I can go with you," Lloyd offers, but Kai shakes his head.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. Skylor came up to me and pretty much ended up threatening us," he states.

"It can't be that bad, right?" I try to look for the bright side, but by the look on Kai's face, the threat was a bad one.

"She said if we don't let them just take the gemstone, they're going to destroy this entire museum, just like the explorer's club. They don't care if there are people inside, which there definitely will be," he explains, and all of our jaws drop.

"They think we're the evil ones, yet they're willing to kill hundreds of people?" Cole calls out their hypocrisy.

"Do you know if she came up with it, or if she was just the messenger, or if the rest of the girls knew?" I ask. The rest of the guys look at me weirdly.

"Why does it matter, Jay? These people are people who are going to die if we try to get the gemstone," Kai runs his hands through his hair. "I'm just so mad I let myself fall into her trap. She just distracted me with her amber eyes, and her smooth hair, and her long eyelashes, and her pink lips, and her..."

"Look guys, we need to focus on the matter at hand. What are our options, Zane?" Lloyd takes control, looking over to Zane.

"If we comply, they get another gemstone, putting them one step closer to freeing Mara. However, the museum and all civilians inside will be safe. If we do not comply, then we are risking hundreds of lives, giving up the work hundreds of people have spent hundreds of hours on. Additionally, considering our history with the gemstones and adding in all additional factors, we only have around a 12% of actually acquiring the gemstone," he explains the odds.

Suddenly, I stand up. "I have an idea, but you guys need to trust me on this."

---

Nya's POV

I lean against the wall, taking deep breaths in and out. The anger I feel towards  Auntie rushes through me like a raging fire. Earlier, seeing Jay up on that stage, hurt and in a sling because of her, next to my supposed brother ripped my heart up.

I've been so confused for the past few days about everything. On the surface, it seemed like Jay was lying to me about everything, but now that I took a deeper look, everything seems so much more plausible. It makes me question everything I've ever known.

When Jay walks back into the room, the spark in his eyes is missing. Even when he was kidnapped, there was a light in his blue eyes. Now, it's non existent.

When he reaches me, he tucks his free hand into his pocket,"Did you know?"

"Know what?" I ask, confused.

"About the 'offer' Skylor made Kai," he explains.

"I knew she was making one, but I didn't know what it was. Auntie made sure to only tell Skylor," I explain, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank gosh," he says, worrying me.

"Jay, what was it?" I ask him.

"Well, she pretty much said that if we let you guys take the gemstone, then you all wouldn't destroy the museum and the people inside, but if you did..." he explains, looking down.

Just as it was fading away, the anger floods back up at full force. "This is all Auntie! She makes stupid, reckless plans that..." I start.

Jay puts a hand on my shoulder. It's as if because of his touch, a soft electrical current travels through my body, helping calm me down. "Shhh, it's okay." He looks around, and several people are giving us weird looks.

"She nearly got Skylor killed at the Explorer's Club, which she blamed us for, and now she's willing to kill hundreds of people. Plus, when we came up with the plan of kidnapping one of you, she treated it like it was a horrible idea," I go on a more quiet rant now. Jay gently rubs my shoulder, amplifying the electricity and sending shivers throughout my body. "She let you go, right? There was no way you could've gotten out without her help considering I just tightened the ropes."

The question puts a small smile on his face. "Yeah, she did. I'm glad you figured it out. Well, I was hoping you would, but I wasn't sure because..."

"Jay! Oh my gosh, where have you been? I've been looking for you all night. You look insanely hot, by the way," both of our heads turn towards the owner of the voice. A girl with slick black hair and tan skin moves her way between Jay and I. Her dress in black, short, and tight.

"Look Miriam, I'm not interested, alright? Plus, I'm in the middle of something," he tries to maneuver around her, but she steps in his way again.

"Oh come on. Jay, you've been playing hard to get for so long. Why can't things just be how they used to be?" she asks, reaching up to touch his face. A negative feeling erupts in my stomach. I glare at her.

He reaches up and grabs her wrist, stopping her hand, "Because you tried to cheat on me with my best friends several times. You realize how much pain you put me through, right? Now, leave me alone please."

"Why, so you can go back to talking to this skank? She's not even that cute," she places her hand on her hip. I don't know what that word means, but by the way she say it, I know it's an insult.

"What did you call me?" I ask, anger seeping through each word. She turns around, smirking.

"A skank. What are you going to do about it?" she asks, a smug expression on her face. I want to wipe it off her face so bad.

"Oh, you don't even know what I'm capable of," I clench up my fists.

"Bring it on," the girl cracks her neck. While I'm about to step forward, Jay steps around her and pulls me back.

"Stop it. Miriam, leave. You know I can make you, but you also know that I don't want to and..."

"Oh cut the BS, Jay. You and I both know that you won't use your powers on me," she crosses her arms, sticking her hip out.

"Jay might not, but I will," I grasp onto the moisture in the air, creating a ball of water above her head. She looks confused, but once she's hit by an orb of water, soaking her, she suddenly understand. She shrieks. People look at our interaction from afar, cautiously.

Both Jay and I start laughing. "Jay, this is one of the psychopaths who kidnapped you! Why are you defending her and not me?"

"Well, see, Nya actually has a heart. You, on the other hand, are lacking one," he tells her, putting a smile on my face.

"I...I...ugh!" she stomps her foot before storming off, leaving a trail of water droplets behind her. Both Jay and I erupt in laughter.

"Gosh, the look on her face was priceless!" Jay laughs, his nose scrunching up. Seeing how happy he is, even temporarily, makes my heart flutter. Once the laughter dies down, I decide to speak up.

"Jay?"

"Yeah?" he responds, curious at the look on my face.

"I believe you. I believe you about everything you said, about how my Mother and Auntie are evil, about how Kai is my brother."

"But?" he says, clearly seeing that I want to say more.

"But I need some type of solid evidence. While I want to just trust your word, I want some tangible evidence so there's no room for any lies," I tell him. He seems to think for a second before his face lights up.

"The police station! I was just there the other day, and the commissioner said he had a file on all of Ciara's murders!"

"Great, then let's get going," I suggest.

"Wait, won't your team get suspicious that you aren't here. I can just text mine, but you guys..." he trails off.

"I can tell one of them if I see them on the way out that I'm trying to deceive you," I think quickly.

"Alright. We can't use the streets, since that would draw too much attention, but I have an idea," he says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Should I be scared?"

"Only a little, but trust me, it'll be fun."

A/N I told you guys that you shouldn't be scared about me adding Miriam to this chapter.

There's only 7 chapters left in this book before the sequel. I don't have a name for it yet, or a book cover, but I'll figure it out once I get closer. I know I want the title to be a single word (all of my other books have been, so I might as well keep it going)

How did you guys enjoy the chapter(s)?

Any predictions of how the book will end since we're getting closer and closer

Also, I was listening to music while writing the start of this chapter, and a new story idea hit me like a truck. It's a bit darker than my other stories, but I really like it.

Thank you guys all so much for reading, commenting, and voting!