Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) (22 page)

Alex gave a brazen smile. “Maybe she invited me.”

Emil scoffed. “Right. Why would she want the jerk who broke her heart to come on vacation with her?”

Alex made a “tsk-tsk-tsk” noise. “Someone’s throwing stones while living in a glass house.” The lines of Emil’s face became hard. Alex continued, “Just because she doesn’t
remember
what happened, don’t for one second think that I won’t remind her.”

I put my hands on my hips. “If there’s something you need to tell me, you better get it out of the way.”

Alex and Emil both ignored my comment. The veins in Emil’s neck throbbed and I could tell he was furious. “
You
don’t know
what
happened, Night. Stop acting like you do.”

“I know everything I need to. Make one wrong move, that’s all it will take for Evie to find out.”

“Find out
what
?” I was ticked off no one was listening to me or answering my question—again.

“Are you threatening me?” Emil asked Alex, the anger in his voice palpable.

“No,” Alex said. “I’m giving you my word, and a warning. I’m not leaving. I would advise you not to be as brainless as usual.”

I was riveted as I watched Alex and Emil and my stomach felt like it was in my throat. Emil’s reaction to Alex’s threats seemed to confirm that Alex hadn’t lied; at least part of the insane story he had told me about the Amaranthine and Daevos must be true. I realized the fighting between them was only going to escalate. I considered asking them both to leave, but knew neither of them would be amenable to that plan.

At that moment, my dad came around the corner and asked if he could help with the tent. I wondered if he or my mom had heard the fighting between Alex and Emil. The tent went up quickly. My dad said he needed to get the fire going and asked Alex to help him. Alex reluctantly agreed, knowing he would have to leave me alone with Emil, but if Alex wanted my “relationship” with Emil to work, he would have to give me some time to explain things. As soon as Alex was far enough away, I grabbed Emil’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Emil. I had no idea he was going to show up here on Thursday. I wasn’t happy about it.”

Emil dropped my hand. “Thursday?” I thought his eyes might pop out of his head and play in the sand. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here when you called me?” His voice was accusatory and he seemed to be losing the level of calm control that he usually had.

“I didn’t know he was here until I got back to camp,” I defended.

“Why did he come?” Emil asked, as if he already knew the answer and was testing me.

I lifted my shoulders. “I think he wanted to make sure I was safe, that’s all.”

“Why wouldn’t you be safe? Who are these people he says have been following you?” Emil asked. I realized he might think Alex had told me more than I insinuated.

I tried to answer the question with as much truth as possible. “Alex said he noticed some guys had been interested in me recently and he wanted to make sure they didn’t bother me. Plus, he’s never liked my car. He always worries about it breaking down or me getting in an accident. Jasmine told him where I was and he got here a few hours after me.”

Emil considered that for a moment. “If someone was following you, why didn’t you let me know?”

“Because I didn’t know about it until Alex showed up here and told me.” I was calm, convincing, and pretty impressed with myself and my lying abilities.

Emil watched me, trying to decide if he should continue the interrogation. “When did you decide to start hanging out with him?” The creases in his forehead were getting deeper. “After what he did to you, I didn’t think you’d ever speak to him again, let alone allow him to come on your family’s camping trip.”

I threw my hands in the air. “It’s not like I invited him!” I was becoming angrier by the minute.

“You didn’t ask him to leave either,” Emil said, his voice low.

I learned a long time ago that the best defense is a good offense, so I replied, “How do you know? You weren’t here, and speaking of that, did you really drive twelve hours to accost me, or is there another reason you decided to show up? You can hardly get mad at Alex when you did the exact same thing as him. Neither of you were invited. I’d rather have you both back in Colorado.”

“The difference,” he said, aggravated, “is that
I
am your boyfriend and Alex isn’t. Not only that, but Alex is your
ex
-boyfriend! How do you think that looks?”

“I don’t give a damn how it looks. You know how I feel.” Truthfully he didn’t know
exactly
how I felt, but I was too angry to bother with semantics.

“I thought I did, but I might have made an error in judgment,” Emil said, his voice sharp.

“You’re not the only one,” I spat. I started to storm off when Emil caught my arm.

“Wait.” I glared at him. He closed his eyes while he took a few deep breaths. When he spoke again, he was calm. “I wanted to see you, especially after everything that happened last week. There are some things I want to talk to you about and I thought we’d get to spend some time alone together. It didn’t make me happy to find out Alex was already here with you. I’m sorry.” His smile was apologetic and I could see sincerity in his eyes.

I exhaled a long breath. “Yeah, it would have been nice to spend some time with you too, but really, all I wanted from this trip was to be alone and have some time to think. The two people I was trying to get away from in Gunnison followed me here.”

“I’m sorry, Evie. I’ll leave if you want me to.” At least Emil had offered to leave, unlike Alex who had told me the opposite—that he would never be gone.

“No, now that you’re here, you might as well enjoy yourself until we leave Sunday morning. Come on,” I said, smiling. “I’m sure the fire is going and we can make some s’mores.” I held out my hand. He laced his fingers through mine, and I felt a rush of heat inflame my birthmark as we walked to the fire.

My dad had put two chairs out for us and we sat down. Alex was sitting about four feet to my left. I thought it would be best to put myself between Alex and Emil, keeping them as far away from each other as possible. I didn’t really look at Alex until Emil and I had settled in our chairs, but when I finally glanced at him, the fire wasn’t the only thing burning. Alex’s eyes were blazing, focused squarely on Emil’s hand braided through my own, his expression livid.

The night wore on as the heat from the fire warmed my legs. Smoke hung heavy in the air. Emil made jokes and talked to my parents while I pretended to listen to what they were saying. However, my attention was focused not on the predicament I was in with Alex and Emil, or on the people allegedly trying to abduct me. Instead, I couldn’t stop peeking at Alex. I was consumed with trying to figure out what was going through his head. I didn’t understand why he was so upset or why the anger seemed to be directed at Emil and me as a couple. Alex was the one who wanted me to be in a relationship with Emil. Unless something had changed, I didn’t see what the problem was.

My focus on Alex made me lose track of time. After a while, my parents left to go to bed for the night. Instead of being the centerpiece of another argument between Alex and Emil, I decided to go to sleep as well. “I’m going in too,” I said. “Have a good night, guys.”

“Good night,” Alex smiled at me.

“Sleep well, sexy,” Emil said. He smirked at Alex like he had challenged him.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I assured them both, hoping that they wouldn’t kill each other during the night.

Alex gave Emil a firm glare in answer to the dare. “I
will
see you soon,” he assured me. I caught the double meaning, knowing that Alex wouldn’t leave me alone for a second with Emil here. Judging by Emil’s hard eyes and the taut line his mouth formed, I knew he understood what Alex meant as well.

My parents were amused at the two guys who had driven twelve hours to spend some time with me. My mom couldn’t get over how gorgeous they both were. My dad refused to tell me his opinion. I had a pretty good inkling of how they’d react if they knew the alleged truth about my romantic interests. I was really glad they didn’t.

Chapter 15

I slept fitfully, worried about the fight that might start at any moment outside the motor home. I woke up earlier than usual, took a shower, and got dressed. When I went outside, I was relieved to see everyone had survived the night without a scratch.

Alex and Emil still didn’t seem to be speaking to each other, but Alex smiled and Emil’s mouth quirked into a grin when I came out of the motor home. There was more drama going on in our little campsite than in a high school girls’ locker room.

“Glad you’re awake,” Emil said.

“Good morning,” Alex smiled.

“Hi,” I said to both of them. “Morning, Mom and Dad.”

I got some cereal for breakfast. While I was eating, my dad asked if Alex, Emil, and I wanted to go for a ride with him.

Alex and Emil seemed to hedge, waiting for my reaction. I felt like any activity was better than sitting around watching Alex and Emil scowl at each other all day, so I said, “Sure, when do you want to leave?”

“Right after breakfast.” My dad raised his eyes to the sky as if trying to gauge the weather. The weather fairies don’t talk to me, so I thought the sky looked fine. “It might rain later, but we’ll see.”

Alex accepted my dad’s invitation. “I’ll come too.”

“That’s great,” my dad said. “Emil, how about you?”

Emil seemed wary for a second, but agreed. “Yeah, I’ll tag along.”

For a brief moment, I wondered if Emil had any experience driving a four-wheeler or dune buggy, but decided he wouldn’t come if he didn’t know how to ride. Plus he was rugged, sexy, mysterious Emil—of course he knew how to ride something as basic as a four-wheeler. He probably had a Ducati sitting in a garage somewhere. The thought stuck in my head though. Riding a four-wheeler or motorcycle was one thing, successfully navigating dune after dune, when you had no idea what or who might be on the other side, was another story completely. You had to be prepared to gun the engine to get up a steep hill, but stop on a dime at the top if you hit the crest of a dune. The worry nagged me through breakfast.

Everyone seemed to be waiting on me, so I finished my cereal quickly and grabbed my riding gear. I met the guys outside. I wasn’t sure what the best seating arrangement would be since two of us would be in the dune buggy and one of us on the four-wheeler. My dad came around the corner, holding his helmet.

“Who wants to ride the quad and who wants to ride in the dune buggy?” my dad asked.

Alex preempted everyone. “I’d like to try driving the dune buggy, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” my dad said.

I narrowed my eyes at Alex, knowing he chose first deliberately. He knew I wouldn’t let him ride with Emil in the dune buggy. “I’ll ride with Alex.” I looked at Emil, trying to convey that I was sorry, but he didn’t seem to notice and instead wore a concerned expression.

My dad and Emil put their helmets on. Alex and I belted our harnesses and put on our headphones so we could talk over the engine. As we prepared to leave, I watched Emil closely. He got the four-wheeler started without a problem. I decided his concern must have been over the fact that I was in such close proximity to my ex-boyfriend. I laughed a little to myself, if Emil only knew how little he had to be worried about.

Things started off smoothly. For a while I was even enjoying myself, which wasn’t easy; I liked the dune buggy even less when I wasn’t the one driving it. Then, Alex started interrogating me.

“What did Emil say yesterday when your dad pulled me away?”

I gave short laugh. “I think you can probably guess.”

“I don’t
want
to guess, I want to know exactly what happened.”

“Of course you do,” I said. “I’m sure it was rough on you, not being able to utilize your usual voyeur skills through your magic ring.”

The corner of Alex’s mouth went up in a smirk. “It’s nice to know what you really think of me. Now what did Emil say?”

I gave him a dirty look. “He wanted to know what you’re doing here.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him you stopped by the house looking for me and Jasmine mentioned I was driving to Idaho. I said that you were worried about the guys who had been following me, so you drove up with a friend to make sure I got here safe.”

Alex furrowed his brow. “And he believed you?”

I shrugged. “He seemed to.”

Alex was quiet for a minute. “How are things between the two of you?” He tried to cover his curiosity with a tone of indifference.

“Fine. I think.”

For the shortest second, Alex’s face became hard, the same look he had when he was upset about something, then his expression smoothed back to normal. “What was his reason for crashing your camping trip?” Alex asked.

“He wanted to talk. He felt distant because of what happened last week and wanted to spend some time alone with me.”

“What happened last week?” Alex asked, confused.

I looked at him in disbelief. “Don’t give me that Alex. Your ring probably showed you everything I did last week, from the TV shows I watched, to what I had for dinner.”

Alex shook his head as he drove up a dune, slowing down as he came to the top. “I watch you, but not that closely. Last week I was a little pre-occupied trying to find the Daevos members in Gunnison. I’m only one person. I couldn’t see you every second.”

“Oh.” I was relieved that I did have some times that were my own, even if there weren’t many.

“Evie, last week? What happened?”

“Well, aside from you being at the theater, there were some things Emil told me that made me pretty mad. It was part of the reason I broke up with him.”

Alex’s temples pulsed. “What did Emil say that made you so angry?”

I didn’t feel like I should be talking about something this personal with Alex, but knew he would be unrelenting until I told him. I took a deep breath. “We were talking about past relationships. He said there was only one girl he had ever truly loved. Someone named Cassandra.” At the mention of her name, Alex’s eyes thinned and his grip on the steering wheel hardened until his knuckles turned white. I wasn’t sure why Alex was having such a strong reaction to the information.

“Why would that upset you?” he asked, trying to keep his tone even.

Alex was an idiot. “Because I was really starting to like Emil when he dropped the bomb that he would never love anyone as much as this other girl. If I stayed with him, I would always know I was only second best, and he would probably always wonder about Cassandra.” Duh.

Alex’s answer was not what I expected, but nothing ever is with him. “I can’t believe you had feelings for Emil.”

“Why not?”

He shot me a sidelong glance as we drove around a huge bowl of sand. “I could give you a list a mile long, but for starters, he’s evil and that’s not really your type.”

I gave him a sardonic laugh. “You don’t know my type, Alex.”

He lifted his brow, amused. “I’ve watched you date for more than two hundred and fifty years. I’d say I know your type better than you do.”

“I really doubt my type stays consistent through all of my lives,” I rationalized.

Alex held his mouth tight as he mumbled, “You’d be surprised.”

I wondered what that was supposed to mean, but he didn’t elaborate, so I decided to tell him exactly why Emil was attractive. “Emil is mysterious, he challenges me, he listens to me and cares about what I think, and he’s really hot. He is
definitely
my type.”

The grimace on Alex’s face became more pronounced with each characteristic I listed. He was quiet for a minute, then started, “Evie, I need to tell you . . .”

It was at that moment, the worst possible moment, it happened. I waited for Alex to continue what I hoped was a sentence explaining he still had feelings for me, but he had stopped short, looking intently in front of us. I followed his gaze.

The conversation with Alex had left me paying little attention to Emil or the landscape. Apparently Alex was more aware, which was good, since he was driving. I turned in time to see Emil gun the four-wheeler to get up a big dune, but he was going too fast to stop at the top. Emil shot over the peak of the dune like a cannon. Both Emil and the four-wheeler caught air, the problem was that they did it separately from one another. The four-wheeler made it a good four feet off the ground, landing somewhere on the other side of the dune. Emil was at least six feet in the air and flew about ten feet before a puff of sand exploded from where he landed. I didn’t see my dad anywhere, though I knew he would turn around when he realized we weren’t following him anymore.

I was out of the dune buggy in a flash, running to where the sand had ruptured. In that instant, I realized I wasn’t just running because Emil had crashed, I was running to make sure someone I cared about wasn’t hurt. Regardless of how dangerous Alex said Emil was, I knew I did care about him and my feelings for Alex and Emil would always be conflicted. Alex followed me at a slower pace, unconcerned. I turned, yelling, “What are you doing? Emil crashed, aren’t you worried?”

Alex shrugged. “No.”

The disbelief came across in my voice. “He might be seriously hurt.”

Alex sighed. “If only we could be so fortunate. We won’t be, though. He’s fine.”

My voice shot up. “How do you know? Were you watching a different four-wheeler than me?”

“Amaranthine and Daevos members are basically immortal, Evie. We heal fast.”

I thought about that, but didn’t slow my pace. I found Emil lying on his back in the sand. Just like Alex had said, nothing looked broken, scratched, or even bruised. He was unconscious, though. I leaned over him and put my hands on his cheeks hoping the contact would wake him up. Nothing. “I thought you said he couldn’t get hurt?” I hissed at Alex.

“He’s recuperating. Give him a second.”

“Can he hear what we’re saying?” I asked.

“Not until he wakes up,” Alex answered.

I sat back on my calves and watched Emil, thinking about what Alex had said. “If Amaranthine and Daevos members are so unbreakable, how does anyone ever die?”

“I told you, we don’t take souls unless we’re ordered.”

“Yeah, but you do get orders occasionally. So, how do you do it?”

“It’s complicated.”

I waited, but when Alex didn’t continue I asked, “Are you going to tell me why it’s so difficult?”

“Immortals are hard to kill,” Alex said in a condescending tone. I glared. “The Daevos are resilient, though they’re not nearly as indestructible as Protectors. Protectors can’t be killed while we’re in service to the Amaranthine Society because the Protector vows are spelled to shield our minds from the Daevos. However, killing a Daevos member takes a certain amount of skill.”

“What kind of skill?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I can shoot Daevos members with a gun or stab them with a kitchen knife. It takes time, energy, and concentration.”

I was about to ask Alex to elaborate when Emil started moving his head and I could see his eyes fluttering under his eyelids.

“Emil?” I said, touching his cheek with one hand and his chest with the other. “Emil? Are you all right?”

Emil opened his eyes. “Don’t move,” I warned, “you might be hurt.”

Emil laughed and sat up. “I’m fine. Thanks for worrying though.” I glanced at Alex and his expression said, “I told you so.” I shook my head. This was getting complicated.

Emil moved his head, searching. “Where’s the four-wheeler, is it okay?” I’d noticed the four-wheeler when I first came up over the dune. It was at the bottom of the hill, miraculously unharmed and idling.

“It survived the crash better than you did,” I assured him.

“I shouldn’t have been so stupid,” Emil said.

“It’s not surprising,” Alex gloated. I punched him in the leg.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It was just a little accident. It happens to even the best riders.”

Emil winced, but not in pain. “Yeah, I’m not one of those. I should’ve asked for some lessons. I’ve only been on a four-wheeler a couple of times and have never driven one on sand.”

“Why did you come today if you didn’t know how to ride?” I wondered.

Emil snorted. “Do you honestly think I was going to let you spend all day alone with
him
?” He asked, nodding toward Alex.

“You should have ridden in the dune buggy,” I said.

“That was my plan, until Alex decided to drive.”

Alex smirked and I gasped. “Alex, did you know Emil couldn’t ride?”

Alex gave me a sly smile. “Not really. I mean, I had an inkling, but wasn’t sure until I saw his reaction when he realized he would have to ride the four-wheeler.”

I gaped at Alex, stunned. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“Why would I?” Alex asked without a hint of apology. “It’s not my job to take care of
him
.”

I glowered at Alex. I was about to tell him exactly what I thought when I heard an engine and saw my dad pull up over the dune to the west of us. Emil was standing now and seemed to be fine, but I wasn’t convinced.