Collide and Seek: Act 4-5 (Bitter Ashes Book 2) by Sara C. Roethle Page A

of the cab while James put her suitcase in the trunk. Alaric gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then slid into the backseat after James. I touched my cheek where he'd kissed me, feeling a mixture of annoyance and apprehension.
    Diana rolled down her window to tell Sophie and me the address of the hotel, then suddenly we were left to wait for another cab by ourselves. It was the first time Sophie and I had been alone since she'd rejoined our party after leaving me to be tortured in her place. I crossed my arms and turned away from her, wishing I would have just gone with the others, leaving her to catch a cab on her own. It wouldn't compare to her leaving me in the Salr to face punishment for her crimes, but it was a start.
    She sighed dramatically at my back. “How long are you going to ignore me? Maya left me. I think I've paid for my actions.”
    I looked over my shoulder at her. “So because someone betrayed your trust, it makes it okay that you betrayed mine?”
    “I said I'm sorry,” she snapped, quickly losing patience.
    I turned away from her again and mumbled, “Barely.”
    Another cab pulled up to the curb and I turned and followed Sophie as she opened the back door and climbed in. The heat inside the cab was almost stifling, but felt good after standing on the chilly curb.
    I would have been tempted to take my own cab, but one, I had already forgotten the address, and two, I had no money to pay the cab driver, so I was stuck with Sophie.
    The driver barely even looked at us as Sophie told him where to go. I crossed my arms again and stayed silent as he drove the cab through a few round-abouts leading out of the airport, then onto the highway. I had no idea how far away the hotel was, but I hoped it was close. Sophie was staring at me intently, her face a pale oval in the darkness of the cab, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to maintain the silent treatment.
    “You would have done the same,” she said eventually.
    I looked into her dark eyes, so similar to her brother's, and could see that she really believed what she'd said.
    “Not everyone is like you,” I replied sullenly.
    “Look,” she sighed. “I said I was sorry . It's not something I say often, and I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. What else do you want from me?”
    Her emotions were intense enough at that moment that I could sense her frustration, and underneath it, guilt. She really did feel remorse over leaving me. It might not make up for the original act, but it was a start.
    “Okay,” I replied.
    She squinted her eyes at me. “Just . . . okay? Why don't you seem angry suddenly?”
    I shrugged. “I know you regret leaving me. If I can forgive Alaric, I can forgive you . . . eventually.”
    Sophie's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. “You empathed me! That's not fair.”
    I cringed and gave her an apologetic look. “I can't really help it. Strong emotions leak through whether I want them to or not.”
    Sophie snorted, then glanced at the driver as he swerved to the right and cut several people off so he could exit.
    She turned back to me. “So you've forgiven my brother?”
    I shook my head. “Not quite, but I'm getting there.”
    She shook her head in return. “I don't know how you do that.”
    “Do what?”
    “Forgive so easily,” she explained. “If I were you, I'd have already tried to kill me, and Alaric would have been dead the moment I saw his face. Not that I'm not grateful that you're not attacking me . . . ”
    I shrugged again. “It's the empath thing. Guilt is a very strong emotion. So is fear. It's hard to blindly judge someone when you can literally feel what they are feeling.”
    It was Sophie's turn to cross her arms. “I am not afraid.”
    I laughed. “Oh please, you're terrified, and you're sad.”
    She glared at me as the cab pulled into the parking lot of a large, well-lit, resort-style hotel. “I don't think I like you very much.”
    I grinned. “And here you were just begging for