Page 28
Are you? Really?
He was helping me, Kona, showing me how to focus. How to shield better than I’ve ever been able to before.
And what’s in it for him?
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe not being ripped into pieces by Tiamat? For a start?
You’re being naive, Tempest.
And you’re being insane. Find one more way to call me stupid and you can look for somewhere else to spend the night.
Seriously? You’d pick him over me?
Are you kidding? I rolled my eyes. It’s not a competition. You’re my boyfriend—he’s just some guy who’s supposed to teach me how to use my powers.
Then why are we fighting about him? If he’s just a guy?
We’re fighting because you seem to think you have the right to tell me what to do. We’re dating, but you don’t own me.
Dating? A minute ago I was your boyfriend. Did I just get downgraded?
Are we seriously having this conversation? I yelled. I can’t figure out if you’re being deliberately obtuse or if you’re just trying to make me insane!
Jaw clenched, eyes darker than I had ever seen them, Kona said, I’m trying to keep you safe. I don’t understand what’s wrong with that.
Nothing, except that it’s not your job.
I think it is.
Well, then, I’m not sure what to tell you. Except that we have a problem.
For long seconds he didn’t say anything, just stared me down. His hands were curled into fists and his throat was working overtime, like it took every ounce of self-control he had to swallow back the words burning inside of him.
I waited for him to speak, to say something else, but he didn’t. He just looked at me, completely implacable. Completely immovable. It scared me, because I felt exactly the same way.
Finally, he turned away. Walked over to stare out the window.
I watched him and wondered what he was looking at, considering it was after two in the morning and pitch black outside except for the bright balls of energy lighting up the temporary housing. Maybe he was looking at that, picturing the training circles that used to be there. Picturing his clan or mine dispossessed.
He didn’t move for the longest time. Didn’t so much as glance at me to indicate that he knew I was still in the room. It frightened me a little, this ability he seemed to have to completely tune me out. I’d never seen it before, but then, we’d never been in quite this situation.
Now that the actual yelling was over, it seemed worse somehow. I didn’t know what to do, how to act, what to say to make him understand. I wondered if he felt the same way.
The thought galvanized me, had me moving toward him before I’d even made the decision to do so. I put a hand on his shoulder, though I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to do next. On land, Mark had always made the first move.
Kona’s hand came up to cover mine.
Do you love me, Tempest? he asked evenly, never turning away from the window. The only indication I had that the question mattered to him at all was the way his shoulders tensed beneath my hand and his fingers clutched at mine. His grip was tight enough that I would have winced had the pressure not felt so good, so reassuring.
Of course I love you. You know that.
I love you too.
I know. It’s why I—I broke off, not willing to finish the sentence truthfully. Not willing to admit, even to myself, that he was the reason I’d given up everything. Not the only reason, but definitely the most important. Standing there, waiting for him to turn to me, I wondered for the first time if it was enough.
Kona didn’t seem to notice my lapse. He was as locked in his head as I was in mine. Do you trust me?
Yes. Kona would never deliberately hurt me. I knew that.
He turned from the window then, caught my face in his hands. Looked deep into my eyes. Do you really?
Yes.
Then will you trust me on this? Sabyn is bad for you, Tempest.
How do you know?
Again with the jaw clenching. But at least this time, he unlocked it enough to speak. He hurts girls just because he can. Because he likes it. He acts all smooth and charming, but there have been a lot of girls who end up injured around him. He always has an excuse, an explanation, but that only works so many times before it doesn’t.
He took a deep breath, blew it out slowly. He’s dangerous. I swear to you, he’s dangerous, and if you’re not careful, he will turn on you. He will hurt you. Please, please, please, watch yourself with him. Never lower your guard.
I haven’t, I said, still reeling from what he’d told me. I won’t.
Don’t let him get you on the ground again.
We were training.
It doesn’t matter. He could have killed you.
It was my turn to move away from him. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Not because he’s better than you, but because he’ll come at you when you least expect it. He’ll hit you when you’ve lowered your guard and are at your most vulnerable.
Sabyn’s mer. How do you know so much about him anyway?
Because he used to be my best friend.
Wow. I felt my eyes widen in shock. I didn’t see that coming.
His laugh was ironic. Yeah, no one ever does.
What happened?
I trusted him.
And?
He killed my youngest sister.
Chapter 14
I awoke early the next morning with a headache and a stomach so unsettled that I was sure I was going to throw up. Of course, it was no more than I deserved after tossing and turning all night while Kona’s words dogged my dreams.
I wanted to know specifically what had happened. But after telling me about his sister’s death, Kona had shut down completely. Refused to say anything more. And I hadn’t felt comfortable pushing. Not after our fight. And not about this.
Was it true? I wondered. Was Sabyn a murderer?
Oh, I had no doubt that in Kona’s mind he was, no doubt that he had somehow been involved in Annalise’s death. But down here, there were a lot of ways to die—I’d seen a bunch of them firsthand. Had Sabyn actually killed her or had he simply been a party to her death?
Then again, Kona had said that a number of girls had been hurt around Sabyn. I agreed that didn’t sound like a coincidence.
Which only made my forced association with him worse. I understood Kona’s anger now. Understood his irrationality when it came to me training with Sabyn. I just didn’t know if I could do anything about it.
I’d already pissed off Hailana enough with my defiance. If I refused to work with Sabyn, what would she do? And worse, what would I lose by not letting Sabyn train me? She had to have put us together for a reason. Plus, he’d already taught me more than any other trainer had.
It could have been because Sabyn was really what I needed to get ready for Tiamat, but it could just as easily be because Hailana wanted to hurt Kona, wanted to break us up. Knowing the merQueen’s diabolical nature, a big part of me was rooting for the latter scenario.
Beside me, Kona stirred, stretched. He didn’t awaken, though, and I was glad. He looked exhausted, like the weight of the entire Pacific was on his shoulders. I hated that, hated more the fact that I was adding to his stress.
Reaching out, I brushed a hand gently over his cheek, relishing the feel of the prickly stubble on his jaw. He was so beautiful, with his too-long hair and too-pretty face, that I could lie here looking at him forever.