Chaos (Kardia Chronicles) (Entangled Teen) by Christine O'Neil Page B

quick to tell.
    “So you know they reside in a place called The Sacred Grove, oversee semis, and keep order, then? Sort of like a government?”
    I shrugged, still unsure if he really was like me or was some creeper alien-hunting conspiracy theorist trying to milk me for information that could land me in a box in his basement while he probed my orifices.
    He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Well, they do. They descend from Athena, the goddess of wisdom, courage, and justice. So they maintain order and our judicial system. But they also keep tabs on semis who seem to be struggling with their newly forming powers so they can catch… problems before they start.”
    Problems. Like me.
    “After the incident with Eric, they sent me here to observe you. Make a determination about what to do next.”
    What to do next? What did that even mean? I folded my hands together and squeezed, resisting the urge to rock like a child for comfort. So Mac had sort of been a stalker all along. As scary as it was, part of me was a little relieved because that explained a ton. “So that’s how you knew where I would be all the time?”
    He had the grace to look slightly ashamed. “Yeah. And full disclosure, I hacked your e-mail accounts. I’d apologize, but again, part of the job.”
    I had a mini-freak-out wondering what else he’d seen there, but after a few seconds, I settled down. I almost never used e-mail. Now if he had my phone tapped…
    “Just your e-mail,” he said, preempting my question again.
    Well, that explained how he knew what I was going to write in my column. I leaned forward and rested my head in my hands, the news filling my brain so far beyond capacity that it needed the extra support. So the Council sent this thorn in my side, making my life a living hell? And he was a semi, too. Why was he only telling me that now?
    I opened my mouth to ask, but he beat me to it. Was he a mind reader? Was that even a thing for my kind?
    “There’s a certain protocol. I had to watch you unannounced until I got a feel for what you were about, how well you were dealing with your power and what we should do about it. Now I know.” And judging by his grim expression, he wasn’t impressed.
    I let that sink in and nodded. That made sense, I guessed, but I still managed to work up some indignation. “So why in God’s name have you been fucking with me all the time? Seriously, was it also part of your job to come to the school, ruin my advice column, blackmail me, and basically wreck my life?”
    He shifted in his seat and gripped the steering wheel. “It’s more complicated than that. I’m also to see how your control holds up under pressure and stress. You don’t have a boyfriend or a job, and the only thing you really seemed to care about was the column. It was the easiest way to push your buttons and get you cross with me.”
    A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature settled over me, coating my heart in a case of ice. My voice was barely a whisper served on a puff of steam. “So that I would do what?”
    He didn’t answer but turned to face me full-on and laid a hand on my shoulder. I shook him off and spoke louder this time. “I need you to answer me right now. No more jerking me around, no more BS. What was going to happen in your perfect little world when you set me off for real, Mac?”
    “Dial it back, Maggie,” he said, his voice and eyes going flat. “Understand, my job requires—”
    “No, YOU have to understand.” My voice shook, and I could feel my control slipping, but there was nothing to be done about it now. I just had to say what I needed to say and get out of the car and into my house, where I couldn’t hurt anyone.
    “If your little game worked? If you made me so mad that I blew up for real? I could have killed you. Do you get that, you stubborn asshole? That little taste you got? That was nothing. Now maybe you have some freak-o kind of death wish, or maybe the crones running the Council have