“Where are the others?” I asked him.
“Still partying?” he said with a grin as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, we are going to wait right here until they come through so I know they are unscathed, too.
“Sorry, we have other plans,” he said as he crossed the string and pulled me to him.
Chapter Sixteen
A whisk of warm air surrounded us and I felt my body soar blindly in his arms to an unknown destination. When I focused my eyes, I could have sworn we were standing on the moon itself. Stars were all around us.
Gently, he turned me in his arms so I could take in where we were. Before me was an open room. Torches that were a few feet apart outlined a large oval room. There was an elegant round table shrouded in a white sheet, adorned with two dishes covered with silver tops, and a few small candles were burning in the center. Off to the side of the room was an ivory bed...at least I think it was a bed. It looked like a massive swing anchored to the point where beams connected the room. Lace curtains outlined the bed, making it look like a little piece of Heaven that would guide you into blissful dreams. Across the floor were red rose petals, and gentle symphony music was playing.
The reason it felt like I was standing in the sky was that there was no roof. Only wide beams, and no walls at all. It was as if this place were perched on the top of a mountain or something. Below, hundreds of feet below, I could see twinkling lights. At first I thought they were distant homes, but then I realized it must have been water, that the ocean was reflecting the detailed, starry sky.
I felt the heat of his skin near my neck. “If the height scares you...we could always go home.”
I swallowed nervously. “This is my surprise?”
“It is.”
“You’ve been holding out on me, Mr. Chambers.”
I heard a gasping smile against my neck before I felt his warm lips touch me, causing chills to course over every part of my body. He leaned up and reached his hand for the small of my back, guiding me to the table, pulling my chair out. I sat down slowly, looking up at him. Before taking his seat, he uncovered our plates and poured white wine into our glasses.
“I feel underdressed,” I said shyly as he sat down in front of me.
“This is our ball. We can dress any way we want. My opinion: you look breathtaking.”
I don’t know why, but I was nervous. I smiled as I began to eat the feast before us. I recognized the taste of Felicity’s cooking immediately. I could even see her creating this scene for us. I made a mental note to thank her the next time I saw her. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect place to hide away.
I noticed Landen’s stare as we ate. His emotions were calm, but I could feel him taking in all his insights, analyzing me.
After dinner, he filled my half-empty glass and leaned back and just stared at me.
“What are you thinking about?” I finally asked, not really wanting to break the peace of the silence.
“You.”
“What about me?” I asked, daring to let a smile echo on my lips.
“Scared of heights...I should have known that,” he mused.
I tried to hold in the blushing grin, but I couldn’t. “We’ve been really busy...not really scared. Just feel uneasy up high sometimes. Not all the time.”
“What else are you scared of?”
“You’re seriously asking me that?”
“Besides the obvious,” he said, leaning forward and giving me all of his attention.
“I don’t know. I mean, ‘scared’ is a bold word. Not really a fan of deep water either,” I said, nodding to the distance.
He moved his head from side to side with an amused look on his face. “We can go.”
I felt bad for saying that. I was trying to lighten the mood, but he was being serious.
“No...nothing really scares me if you’re next to me.”
That made his eyes sparkle. “Favorite color?”
“Right now, blue. Yours?”
“Since I have been informed by my better half that black is a shade, I’ll go with blue...though I’m enjoying the emerald before me.”
“Lavender,” I said, offering him a less mushy answer.
“Favorite subject in school?” he asked.
“Does Art count?”
His stare told me no.
“Mythology.”
“Because of the art,” he said, almost to himself, which was on point. I loved the artwork used to describe forgotten stories.
“Guilty. Yours?”
“Philosophy. Close tie with Astronomy.”
“Makes sense.”
His grin grew. “Favorite flower?”
“Was roses,” I said, glancing at the petals around the floor. “Now I think it’s the ones in the fields of Chara.”
“Mine, too. Favorite flavor?”
“This is tough. Can we not just talk about the darkness?” I teased. “Um...strawberries. Yours?”
“Recently, lemon,” he said as his eyes moved to my lips, which made me blush. “In the past, honey. Favorite music?”
“Currently, Draven’s. Kinda had a thing for the emotion in the genre.” I closed my eyes, falling into the gentle sound of a piano all around us. “But right now, I’m loving this.”
I heard him glide his chair back. When I opened my eyes, he was holding his hand out. I took it and he gently pulled me up and spun me across the open room. As we danced to the sound, the rose petals began to rise and glide around us. We swayed across the open room through countless songs, letting our words fall silent. Instead, our stare would speak the volumes we wanted to. When his hand drifted down my sides, I found myself gasping in the wake of the hum his energy left behind.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shooting star. I gasped, turning him so he could see the tail end of it. A warm rush of air surrounded me, and in the next instant I was lying in the center of the swinging bed in his arms. He adjusted me in his hold, pulling me closer. A wave of his hand made the torches around us dwindle to near nothing, amplifying the stars above us.
“I was told once,” he whispered, “that the stars tell the most engaging story of all time...do you want to hear a few chapters?”
To answer, I pulled myself closer to him, laying my head on his chest, wrapping my legs around his. He began with the stories Chara had about our signs, pointing them out, then he told me how close or far away the interpretations were to other dimensions. Hours went by, and each story led us to another topic, sometimes a playful debate on what the mythology meant, what secrets the stories were really hiding.
At some point, words became more than what we wanted to speak. His lips found mine, and gently we fell into each other’s embrace. There wasn’t a time he’d ever held me before that I didn’t feel loved, but this was the first time that I felt like we were both all here, in this moment, not suffering from some emotional trauma, not stealing a moment to be alone out of obligation, not loving each other for the sole fact of making each other stronger. He made me feel like a queen, in a world of our own, among the stars, among the silence and peace of the universe.
I have no idea when our shared dream took over reality or when I fell into a silent bliss. The next thing I felt was the sensation of falling. Gripping the blankets around me, I sat up with a gasp, finding the bed rocking from side to side, the sun peering down on us. The movement had woken Landen up, too, and a quick glance told him that we were not alone. Brady was standing on the other side of the room with his back to us. Turning crimson, I reached for my clothes and rushed to put them on, gritting my teeth, struggling for control. The taste of blood was seconds away.
“Just a few hours of privacy,” Landen muttered, squinting his eyes, trying to avoid the sun, which had added to the invasion of our privacy.
“Sorry, man. We have an emergency.”
“What now?” Landen said, pulling his shirt on and handing me my shoes.
“Drake and Madison are M.I.A.”
&
nbsp; “You’re joking!” I exclaimed, pulling on my hoodie, frantically searching the pockets for my lemon drops.
“I wish I was. Alamos went to make sure Drake was ready for some meeting he had, and he wasn’t there.”
We walked up behind him. Once Landen touched his shoulder, ensuring Brady we were decent, he turned to face us.
“It took me a while to get here. There are crazy surges of energy bolting through the string. You can feel it coming, but there is nothing you can do to avoid them. Dad thinks Xavier is trying to slow us down.”
“You have no idea where they are?” Landen asked.
“My job was to find you. Aden is at the palace. Others are gathering to search.”
“Where is Aden in the palace?”
“The study. Do you want me to get Draven?” he asked as Landen pulled me against him and reached his arm through Brady’s.
“What are you doing?” Brady asked, clearly not comfortable with being embraced.
“Hold on,” Landen said to him.
At that second, warm energy surrounded the three of us and the study came into view.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Brady said with wide eyes. “What the hell!” he said as he patted his chest, assuring himself that he was whole and in one place.
Landen ignored him. Aden was on the center couch. His eyes were focused but dark. Marc was pacing in front of him, already dressed like Drake, prepared to play role of a king.
“Well...?” Landen asked Marc.
Marc seemed caught off guard that we were already there. “I don’t think they were taken,” he answered. “Stella watched Chrispin leave with them and we fell asleep after that, assuming they would be back shortly.”
“They’re home,” I heard Aden say.
Landen was in front of him in the blink of an eye. “Where at home?”
“Her house,” he answered as green flooded his eyes and he focused on Landen.
Landen was staring deeply into him, clearly sharing a mass of silent information.
“I’ll get them,” Landen said to him.
“You see it?” Aden asked in a mystified tone.
“Yeah,” Landen said, focusing once more on him.
Perodine, followed by Austin and August, came in the study door at that moment.
“Mock whatever you have to. I’ll bring them back,” Landen ordered. He glanced at Brady. “Get Draven. If they’re going with us to Infante, we only have a few hours before we have to leave.” He walked back over to me. “Hold on,” he said under his breath as his arms tightened around my waist.
The warm rush surrounded me once more. Maybe it was because I’d only been awake for a few minutes, but it made me dizzy this time. When I felt the warm air leave, I leaned forward, bracing myself on my knees, fighting breathlessly for control.
“OK?” he asked, leaning down with me, caressing my face with is warm hands.
“Can we go back the regular way?” I asked with a gasp.
“It just felt like that because it was so far,” he assured me, sending a calm, humming sensation through his touch.
“Where are we?”
“Madison’s house.”
I stood up to find myself at the doorway to what looked like a bonus room. There was a large TV, over grown couches, and recliners. It was still dark here, peaceful. Only the glow of the muted TV lit the room. The only sounds were the short breaths of my panic, my tell that I was losing it. I reached for another lemon drop, then unfocused my eyes so I could see my energy. I had to make sure my gold shield was still in place.
It was, but I was no fool; there were cracks in it as well. I had no idea how much longer I could stand this internal battle. I yearned for a numb feeling, for peace and the right to feel what I wanted to when I wanted to.
Landen glanced forward into the dark room, then down the hall to the next doorway. “Chrispin and Olivia are behind that door. Wake them up.”
I didn’t get why he was sending me away, and I thought the worst, but then I realized that more than likely Drake and Madison were in each other’s arms, and he didn’t want me to see that.
I acted like I didn’t care and turned to find Olivia. I really don’t think I would care. It would just be eerie to see my image in his embrace. I knew it would surely mess with my subconscious, maybe even my control.
I knocked gently on the door I knew Chrispin was behind. When no one answered, I opened it. They were lying in the center of the bed. They’d changed out of the clothes they’d worn to the ball and were dressed like normal teens: jeans, T-shirts.
I nudged Olivia. She squinted her eyes as they opened.
“Oh, hey. I was about to come and get you. We need to head back. There is a big time difference between here and home,” she said in a sleepy tone.
“It’s Willow. You overslept.”
She shot up, followed by Chrispin, who was jolted awake. I reached for the lamp.
“How much trouble are we in?” Olivia asked.
“With me, none,” I said honestly. “Alamos, everyone else—no idea.” I glanced around the room, noticing another door. “Is that a bathroom?”
She nodded to confirm.
“I need to clean up. I had a wicked wake up call, too.”
“I’ll get you some clothes,” Olivia said as she pulled herself to the side of the bed.
“Landen is down the hall,” I said to Chrispin.
I brushed my teeth with my finger, used a warm washcloth to wash my face, and was about to steal a brush when Olivia came in the bathroom with a stack of clothes in her hand.
“Whose are those?”
“Some I bought last night, a few are Madison’s,” she said as she pulled a toothbrush out of a cosmetic bag she had in her hand.
By the time I’d changed my clothes, she’d washed her face and gotten herself cleaned up.
“You’re mad,” she said to my reflection.
“Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know...I feel it.”
“I’m good.”
“What has been going on with you? I’ve heard pieces, but that is not the same as hearing it from your best friend,” she pressed.
It felt good to hear her call me that.
“Missed you. Sharing you with them sucks, but thanks for keeping them safe.”
“Missed you,” she said, turning to face me. “What has been going on?”
“Long story. Basically, Landen is or was a phoenix, and we’ve had to work with his ex, who loves throwing their past in my face.”
“Do what?” she gasped as her eyes grew wide.
“I told you it was a long story. I’m not fighting her for him or anything. It’s just knowing that is killing me.”
“That sounds familiar,” Olivia murmured.
“Yeah, I heard,” I said, realizing that Madison was more than likely facing something very similar. “I was told not to distract him—hence, why I’m in here and not shaking them awake.”
“How’s the other stuff, Mother Nature?”
That reminded me to get my lemon drops and lemon balm leaves out of the jacket I’d just taken off. “Getting control.” That was a lie. It was more like I was slowly losing it.
“Clarissa? Dane?” she asked, staring deeply into me as her pupils expanded.
“I’m going to make sure they are all right, too. Just have to get through this spell.”
“What spell?”
A knock on the door halted my answer. It was Landen. He glanced over me, surprised at how fast I’d cleaned up.
“We have to drive to the passage at Draven’s. I can’t carry us all.”
“Carry us?” Olivia asked.
“Long story,” I said again as I walked past her, following Landen out of the room and through the house.
Outside, there was a Hummer running. Drake was in the driver’s seat, Madison was on the passenger side. Landen climbed in and pulled me up on his lap so there would be enough room for Olivia and Chrispin to get in.
r /> “Nice ride,” I said to Drake’s eyes, which were staring back at me in the rearview mirror.
“Stole it,” he said with a wicked smirk.
“You did what?”
Madison grinned faintly and pointed in the direction he needed to go. “It’s Draven’s,” she said to reassure me before staring out the passenger side window. I followed her lead and kept my eyes down and let the awkward silence take over.
When we reached the house I assumed belonged to Draven and the others, Drake pulled in the garage. Madison reached across him to push the button to seal the doors behind him. I felt my heart flutter when I saw their eyes meet. For the first time, I saw a connection reflecting in her image.
I didn’t have time to analyze it, though. Landen was clearly in a rush. I told myself it was because he’d now rather travel the other way, the phoenix way.
There was a hidden key we used to get in. Minutes later, we were in the studio I’d found them all in when we first met, walking through the passage that led to the string.
I avoided the glances Drake was giving me. He was trying to do one of two things: figure out if either I was mad at him or if Landen and I were mad at each other. No one was talking, only rushing, which would lead him to believe that either was possible.
Not long before we reached the beginning of the gray passages, I felt a panic, and I was almost sure it belonged to Brady. Something horrible had happened, and he was rushing to find Landen. Knowing he wasn’t in Esterious told me it had to be Charlie and Draven that were in danger. My heart pounded so viciously that I had no choice but to taste the onset of blood in my mouth.
“Step into Esterious. I’ll be right back,” Landen thought, picking up his pace.
“I’m going with you,” I protested, trying to look stronger than I was.
“I may have to move fast to save them. Wait here,” he thought, giving me an excuse to stay behind, one that would not make me feel like the weak link. “A storm just moved through here. I’ll be right back,” he thought as the haze of the string caused him to vanish into the distance.
“What’s going on?” Madison asked, clearly feeling the emotions now. She was holding her side. On instinct, Drake reached his arms around her to balance her.