“I couldn’t,” he said as his thumb rapidly traced the outline of my temple. “I’m not strong enough to tell you goodbye, even though I know that’s what I should do, even though I know being next to you is fatal. When you aren’t near me, I can’t breathe, I can’t think - and when you are with me, all I can think is that moment will be our last. My soul is tethered to yours; you are my life, and I am your death.”
I could see that I was breaking through to him, that the anger was gone. This was the thin line before passion came, and if I kept him on that line, he would see that he was strong enough to fearlessly love me.
Before I could say a word, I heard, “That’s all I needed to hear.”
I turned defensively to see Silas. Draven charged forward, and the two of them fell to the ground in the most aggressive fight I’d ever seen. Daggers and swords appeared in their hands; this was going to be a fight to the death, and I had no idea how to stop it. I screamed their names over and over again, focusing on the weapons, making them disappear as soon they manifested them. My defensive emotions made the glowing butterflies appear all around us. I wanted to stop them from appearing, knowing that with the rage Draven had, I was making him weak, hungry; my light was making this worse.
Shadows had begun to circle. At first I thought it was my light that they were attracted to, but then they began to merge into Draven, seeping into him just like they’d done on the night of his test. Before long, Draven would be in the middle of every dark moment of his existence, and I doubted he’d make the same choice again. I knew he would choose to become a part of this Realm just to avoid hurting me.
The shadows had pulled Draven up, and both he and Silas were on their feet now. As Silas manifested a dagger and aimed it at Draven’s heart, I threw myself between them. Draven’s eyes were glazed over; the illusions of his mind had taken over once again. Tears streamed down my face. “Remember – before - what happened, Draven?!” I yelled. “What moment did you love me first? Say you love me!” I pleaded, hoping against all hope that he still had the power to say that word -- that he wasn’t already gone.
The look in his eyes was cold, dark. It wasn’t him; I was looking at the evil that was haunting his soul. All at once, a dark smoke reached from his chest and beckoned the glowing butterflies out of mine. I felt weak instantly; I was vanishing. I saw a thousand moments flash before my life, echoes of my existence, of the moments we loved each other. This darkness had taken over his soul, and now it was taking my life.
Out of nowhere, Willow and Landen appeared behind him. They touched his shoulder, and with their touch, what light had escaped me came back, and my strength came back with it. Dark shadows escaped Draven as Landen and Willow pushed more and more of their energy into him.
Silas jerked me away before Draven or the darkness could return. I pulled forward, refusing to leave Draven in his darkest hour.
At that moment, Draven began to glow; their energy had completely absorbed him. Draven took in a deep breath, and in his eyes I saw him; his soul was back. “Draven?” I said as the tears that were streaming down my face stopped.
His eyes focused on me, then he reached to pull me to his lips. I didn’t feel an angry passion there like I usually did after a fight; I felt innocent love. I felt my Draven, the boy I’d fallen in love with.
The moment didn’t last nearly long enough, though. I heard a vicious fight behind me and pulled away from Draven, fearing that either Silas was hurting the others or they were hurting him. When I turned, I saw Silas suspended in thin air; I could only guess it was Landen that was holding him there. Landen let him fall, then Drake charged him and pinned him to the ground.
I ran to Silas’ side. “Stop! Don’t hurt him! I saved you! I brought Willow here!” I pleaded with Drake, wanting to say anything to bring mercy to Silas. He didn’t deserve to be hurt; he was only trying to protect me.
“And he tried to kill her!” Drake yelled as he glared at Silas.
I didn’t know what to say. It wouldn't make sense that Silas would kill her or even try, not with this ‘family of souls’ thing, not with his loyalty to Landen. The moment, though, was too tense for me to explain any of that to Drake.
“Drake,” Willow said calmly as she looked over me. I begged her with every emotion I had to show mercy -- to help me end this. Drake had frozen at the sound of Willow’s voice.
“I have no doubt that if you spare him, he will leave. He will not hurt anyone,” Willow said gently.
Drake tilted his head. “Is that true?” he asked Silas.
Silas glanced at Draven. “If you have him under control, I will not hurt him.”
I felt Draven’s stare and knew I was in the last place I would ever wish to be: between them. I had to get Silas away before Draven lost control again. I knew I could talk to him later -- that he would understand that by asking him to leave, I was saving him, too. “They do! They do!” I yelled. “Let him go. It’s over. Everything is over!”
“Drake,” Landen said as Brady and Olivia moved closer, blocking Draven from seeing me at Silas’ side.
Drake stood, letting Silas up. Drake waited for him to stand, then said, “Think twice before you call someone ‘poison’ again.”
“I call it like I see it,” Silas said firmly.
I quickly moved between them, prepared to stop another fight. Drake looked down at me, then to Silas. “So do I. You and all your glory of being some holier than thou are a fool. Do you want to why I could never kill Landen?”
“Enlighten me,” Silas seethed.
“Because he’s above this. He has no doubt. No evil in him. You, however, do. You look for wrong and find it because that’s what you’re seeking. Try looking for the contrary.” Drake glanced at me once more. “If you really love this girl, then you’ll understand that having her at your side doesn’t make you a man; loving her in spite of where her heart lies makes you one. You try to kill him again – and I will be your worst nightmare.”
It was like he knew; Drake knew that in some past life, Draven was a friend of his. How could he feel that? How he could he pick up on that, and Willow hadn’t?
I turned to look at Silas to tell him to abandon this fight. His eyes were waiting on me. “Death is a small price to pay for your safety,” he murmured, and with those words, he vanished. To everyone else, I’m sure that statement seemed shallow, something anyone would say, but when I heard them I thought of Pompeii; I thought of the thousands of deaths he’d endure when he died again. That wasn’t a small price. It was a massive one, one that I didn’t deserve.
I was numb, and I wasn’t brave enough to turn and see the anger or betrayal in Draven’s eyes. Then I felt him turn me, and his eyes fell into mine. I saw compassion there; I saw a promise. His lips met mine, and the passion our love was known for took over. He lifted me up, wrapping my legs around him. The world had fallen silent -- at least it had for this moment.
Chapter Eighteen
For the first time in a long a time, I felt like I had my Draven back. We’d been through so much -- losing my memory, his war with himself -- but at this moment he was mine again; we were innocent again, and those dark times were behind us.
I heard Drake say, “I get it, man, I do, but I don’t know where the hell I am. Help us get back.”
Draven pulled away from my lips reluctantly. He smiled boyishly as his skin blushed, and he let me fall gently to the ground before he turned to face Drake. “Alright. This isn’t like mediation. It’s a dream.” As soon as he said that, the room their bodies were in appeared.
“This is where we’re at? We’re in a bed together?” Drake said as he looked down at Willow.
I could only see the bedroom vaguely. I guess I hadn’t spent enough time in that room. The forest was still dominant in my vision.
She smiled faintly. “Yep.”
“The place Bianca took you from was destroyed,” Draven offered.
An eerie wind screamed through the dark forest. The shadows around
us began to mummer amongst each other, and shifted nervously. I could feel evil approaching. I could feel the hatred that we had survived this in the air. I scanned the darkness for any sign of a threat. I didn’t see one, but I sure as hell felt it. When the shadows began to vanish I knew I was right. Evil was forthcoming.
The others were debating on how they had gotten here. I doubted anyone beyond me and Draven knew how hazardous it was for us to stay here another second.
“Can we focus, please?” Olivia bit out.
Ok, maybe she’d caught on. Thank God.
“Right,” Draven said. “This is where you are – asleep. This is a shared dream by all of us, and now…” he said as he walked over to Drake and Landen and put his hands on their shoulders, “it’s time to wake up.” And with those words, they both vanished.
The vague bedroom vanished along with Landen and Drake. The ghostly forest encased us. Draven reached back for my hand, then looked at Willow, Brady, and Olivia. “Step back. This vision is closed. You’re standing before an altar. Before the waking bodies of Drake and Landen.”
“Nothing is over,” I heard Bianca say.
She’d appeared behind me. I turned defensively, hearing Willow say, “I thought I killed you,” through gritted teeth.
I pushed Draven behind me, not wanting him anywhere near her. I felt Willow and Olivia come to my side.
“Killed me?” Bianca said as she smiled devilishly. “Dark shadows won’t hurt me. They are nourishment to me. What were you trying to do? Choke me or something?”
“End you,” I said coldly. She wasn’t the evil I felt in the air. There was someone else here. I just couldn’t see them. Bianca was their servant. In my mind that knocked her down a few notches on my most wanted list.
Bianca slanted her head and smiled at me. “My best friend. Why couldn’t you just stay on your side? Why couldn’t you just let them go? Why did you have to seek out more?” For a second I almost thought she was telling me to run because she cared about me. Because the friendship we had in the past really did mean something to her. But then my mind reflected on all the foul moves she’d made. Hurting Draven was high on my list, but so was what she did to Willow’s family. To the people they lead. She had no heart. I doubted she had a soul.
“More of what?” Willow asked, holding her arm out, not letting Brady or Olivia come face to face with her.
“I don’t even know what to call you. A plague that is stopping evolution,” Bianca said as she looked over us with disgust in her eyes.
“Evolution into what?” Willow asked, mocking her tone.
Bianca stepped forward and took in a deep breath. “You’re a little too late to the party. A few million years late. Everything is in motion. My kind will overtake the universe -- asunder, that is your future. Pieces, not whole lights; that’s what will be left.”
“You are a disgrace to your race,” Willow said smugly. “I’m going to figure out where the real you is. And when I do. I’m going to kill you slowly.”
“Stand in line.” I seethed.
“OOOO...I’m terrified,” Bianca said as she laughed. “Listen, I’m a distraction. Bravo you do have one brain cell that helped you figure that out. But what you will never understand with your infantile mind is what I’m a distraction from. You’ve been marked. You crossed the line.”
“What line is that?” I asked.
“You’re holding the heirs of the darkest Escort that has ever existed. His only fleshly little children. He wants them back and he always gets what he wants.”
“Wake!” Draven yelled, and instantly we were back.
Draven reached his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. I could have sworn Landen and Drake were still lying in the bed, but at that second Landen was at Brady and Olivia’s side, trying to make sure they were OK. Willow was by the window with Drake.
“They must have stopped time,” Draven mumbled to me. I looked curiously up at him. “I’ll tell you later,” he said, nudging me. I followed his stare and saw Aden and Madison on the couch. She was distraught.
Landen told Brady to go home and tell his family to prepare a big meal, that we were all starving. He left without an argument. Chrispin, Marc, and the others came in the room to relish in the victory, but I couldn’t focus on them. The sight of Madison was breaking my heart. I could tell she wanted to run, and I was prepared to run with her.
“How long did you stop it this time?” Alamos asked, looking at Drake.
These people amazed me. Was there a power they didn’t have? They could stop time, heal, control Mother Nature, see and use energy as weapon. Not to mention the fact that I was pretty damn sure a phoenix was in or apart of Landen. Oddly that little tidbit was a secret to all of them. Even Landen himself. I feared our fate now more than ever. The bigger the weapon, the bigger the enemy.
“Long enough to figure out that you invoked mourning. To understand where all our new friends came from,” Drake answered, glancing around the room, then settling his eyes on Madison.
Their stare silenced every argument. That is until Madison broke away from his pull, stood, and left the room. I followed her, leaving everyone else behind. She walked briskly toward the room our things were in. I didn’t try to talk to her until we were all alone. Several people were in the hall, eager to see that this trial was over, that the prince was awake. That Landen was awake.
She reached the room a few seconds before me. I found her pacing the floor, rubbing her hand nervously over her wrist.
“Are you good?” I asked gently.
“Am I good?” she said as a sarcastic smile spread across her face and her determination to build a wall around her heart surfaced in her eyes. “We did it: they’re awake. Monroe is in a safe place. Draven is balanced. Let’s go home. They don’t need us. We don’t need them.”
“You know that’s not true. This has just begun. We have to help Monroe. We’re all she has.”
“Fine. Fine, we’ll take her home then. She was fine there. We were fine there.”
“No, Madison,” I said, stepping closer to her. “You can go home. I understand. I really do. I’ll finish this, help Monroe. You gave enough, but...I know you’re strong enough not to run. To face this. Him.”
She’d stopped her pacing, and just as she went to argue with me, her eyes soared past me. I turned to see Drake standing in the threshold.
His black shirt was missing all of the buttons from where they’d ripped it open in an effort to save him before they found us. His firm chest made him look even more powerful than his energy felt as it spilled into the room. His eyes were so dark, so mesmerizing. He didn’t even seem to notice me; he was holding Madison’s gaze. “May we have a moment?” he said in a tone that was laced in royalty.
Madison reached for my wrist, refusing to let me leave her side. Drake noticed the obvious “No” in her gesture. He walked slowly toward us, and with each step he took I felt his power intensify. His presence was literally intoxicating. It was going to take every ounce of willpower Madison had to stand in this room with him, to have his undivided attention.
When he reached us, his eyes slowly moved over every part of Madison, then they rose to meet hers. “I owe you my life,” he murmured.
Madison didn’t respond. I tried to pull my wrist away from her to give them a moment alone, but she dug her nails into my skin, making it clear that if I left her alone there would be hell to pay.
I felt a sharp edge in the clutch of her hand and glanced down, noticing the ring I’d put there, the one that shielded raging emotions from completely surfacing. If she was struggling with her emotions with this ring in place then there was no telling what was going inside of her. I was terrified and excited all at once for her.
I moved my hands around the ring. I’m sure she thought I was agreeing to stay at her side, but I was plotting to pull the ring from her skin. To do what she forced me to do every day: face the emotions; use them as a weapon, not a weakness.
“I don
’t break my promises,” Madison said emotionlessly.
Drake’s eyes softened, and I could swear I saw him recognize something in her words.
“I’m not her,” Madison said quickly. At first I thought she was standing by her argument that she would never be anyone’s second choice, a substitute for another girl, but from the way Drake tilted his head, the way he smiled faintly with his angelic lips, led me to believe that Madison’s words were a dead giveaway of a private moment. One that must have occurred in her dreams, a place she’d shielded from all of us.
“A year ago,” Drake said after a numbing moment of silence, “I was in my darkest hour. I was ready to become what my mentor needed me to be - then I had dream...”
Madison took in a jagged breath; it was clear she didn’t want him to say another word.
Drake’s eyes echoed pain as they moved slowly from her lips to her eyes. “I knew deep in my soul that it was wrong, evil - but I was hungry for power. That dream, that breathtaking green-eyed girl turned my life around. She gave me hope. Balance. She showed me I wasn’t evil, that I had a purpose that was meant for good, not darkness. I woke from that dream with a new sense of purpose, and I reached out to my father for the first time, listened to him tell me about how divine soul mates were. How powerful love was. Because of that dream, I finally knew my father, my purpose for the first time.”
Drake’s eyes fell to her lips. “It was her touch. Her soft lips. How they embraced mine. The love I felt. The passion I felt...that moment, that dream gives me reason to wake every single morning.”
“I’m not her,” Madison said again, sounding even less believable.
“I’ve kissed her, kissed Willow...I didn’t feel that.” He sighed slightly. “I thought it was because her heart was divided, that Landen had reached her first, that because of that her touch was altered.”
His eyes fell to her lips again, then rose to her eyes. “You’ve caused me to question everything, and I can’t afford to do that. Not at this point in my life.”