Chapter Seven
I threw a glare at Cashton, telling him to make his exit now. He raised his hand, telling me I had five minutes and that was it, then vanished into thin air.
Draven was different, his energy. I was still sitting on the bed; he was leaning over me, each strong arm flexed at my sides, his jaw locked. I gasped, feeling him. Not his skin, but his essence. It felt like a warm, tantalizing blanket was all around me, teasing my flesh with its raw power. I felt his rage, his passion, and his love in this blanket encasing me. It was like his soul was around him, not within his gorgeous body. His energy - even with the anger I felt in it - was releasing all the tension in my body; it was lifting me, hypnotizing me, inviting me into a plane of existence I didn’t even know was possible.
The only time I’d even come close to feeling something this powerful was when I was around Drake, but even his gaze could not compare to this. No, this was directed at me. This was claiming me as its own. This wasn’t the Draven I knew before I was sent into a deep sleep. No, not at all. But I wasn’t complaining. I liked it. I wanted more. I wanted to feel his skin, to see if the energy was stronger near the source, if I could climb into this feeling and never come up for air. He had me mesmerized, and he hadn’t said a word or even touched me.
I took in a slow, deep breath.
“Wow,” I gasped. “I think I like this new Draven.” My voice was a deep whisper, laced with an invitation, one that I’d never had the courage to display with words.
His eyes flickered with desire, but that was soon stifled by the anger there.
“You sleep for three days - and the first thing you do when you wake up is go to him?”
I swallowed my desire and found my defense. As I leaned forward, he leaned back at the same time, not letting me touch him.
“No,” I said, ignoring the unspoken rejection. “After I woke up from the most wicked dream you could ever imagine, I talked to Madison. I talked to her because she was here, waiting on me to wake up. When I figured out what was going on while I was knocked out, I took a shower, then went to Britain to figure out how to find and kill Bianca. That didn’t go so well, by the way. So then I went to Silas to figure out why he sent Winston to us, knowing Bianca was mirroring him. I wanted to know how to put that wall up in Aden’s head.”
“Why are you so worried about that wall?” he asked scornfully as he stood up and crossed his arms.
If I weren’t looking directly at him, I might have mistaken him for Drake. He was in black dress slacks, a black button up shirt, and his dark wavy hair waywardly swooshed out of his eyes. He was dressed like a modern king, not like the musician I knew, the one who I’d rarely seen without jeans - holy ones, at that.
“Because obviously it has driven a divide in our circle. Aden is alone in another dimension, and you are here. Did you even try to talk to him?”
“I don’t need to talk to him. I can feel him. He doesn’t want to be bothered.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Those were obviously the wrong words to say. If looks could kill, I would be a goner. That glare was powerful.
“We’re twins, Charlie. You know we have a solid connection. We are
very
aware of each other.”
I had to hesitate before I had a response. I knew what he said was true; opposites or not, they were very in tune with each other. Aden had told me after my accident that he was relieved that Draven and I were all right, that he didn’t think he could handle another second of us being apart. I promised him that no matter what happened between Draven and me that he would always be my friend. I knew nothing would ever divide Draven and me; I just said that to reassure him.
He looked at me like I didn’t hear him then said, “It hurt, Charlie. I mean it
really
hurt. I’d never wished I wasn’t a twin until that happened.”
I brushed off his comment at the time, thinking it was just brotherly love he was picking up on - but right now I’m starting to think maybe there was more to it, that they were connected on a different level. If that were true and there was a wall knocked down, one that would give Aden emotions he didn’t want Draven to sense – I’d run, too.
“All right,” I said in a quiet whisper, “I get it.” I stood just to be closer to him. I felt like I was on the edge of that hypnotizing blanket of his energy, and I wanted to be inside of it. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. I told you before, it doesn’t matter what he remembers, if there was something in a forgotten past. This is now - and right now I’m yours and you’re mine. I don’t like the idea of him being alone, dealing with it. I know him, too, and I know that if he did see something, it more than likely made him sick to his stomach because in this life he could never see me like that. We are strong together and weak apart. Winston is either evil or lost, and Grayson is hunting him. Aden is in another dimension. You are sparring with Drake in some kind of training session. Madison is fighting insights on steroids. I was alone, looking for answers - trying to figure out how to fix us. I don’t regret not telling you I was awake, but I’m sorry that you took my intent the wrong way. I was scared, and when I’m scared I have to run – even if I don’t know what direction I’m running in.”
His eyes softened, then turned to coal. I knew he was searching through where I went, what Madison and I’d done, and I held nothing back. He wanted in, and I was going to let him in because I had nothing to hide. I was his. We were one.
After a moment, the green I loved so much flooded his eyes and he stepped forward. When his hand settled on my waist I gasped, knowing for sure now that his energy was the strongest next to his skin. He lifted his other hand, allowing his fingertips to coax my lips closer to his. I held my breath, imagining how different his touch would be. And when his lips touched mine I realized I had a very weak imagination. I felt a hum that started with his soft lips, then eased through my body, gripping my core and pulling me higher into this unknown plane of existence. I pulled him closer, feeling his firm body press against mine, the energy that accepted me as his.
Normally, his touch was almost greedy, like mine, wanting more. But now his lips were moving slowly, as if he knew the power behind his newfound energy would spin my mind out of control, as if he were savoring every gentle movement of my lips against his.
He pulled away just as the dizzying sensation caused my knees to buckle. I felt his arm tighten and brace around me.
“Always run to me, Charlie. I’ll take the fear away, fight your war. I love you.”
After finding my balance in his arms, I whispered, “Love you,” as a blush surfaced over every inch of my body. “I’m not complaining, trust me - but are you okay? Is this energy thing a good thing or a bad thing?”
His eyes cascaded over me, doing their best to hide the hunger I saw there - not for my light, but for me.
“I can hold you without my guard up once again. That makes it a good thing in my book.”
I watched as his eyes drifted into mine, pulling me closer. If my soul were not firmly attached to my body, I would be within him. I was craving that sensation, and it didn’t make any sense to me. Was that even possible? To mingle my energy with his – my soul with his? The thought of it alone was making my heart hammer in my chest.
I remember feeling something close to this the first time he kissed me, the first time he told me he loved me, but something told me that my imagination would not give that notion justice if I tried; the kiss that was still humming on my lips backed up that point.
His eyes grew curious. I knew that look. I’d shown him everything I did today, and now he was thinking back over it, taking it in at a slower rate. After what seemed like forever, he sighed.
“I knew that bastard would hurt her. Anna? Really? That was low.”
“Easy target,” I agreed.
“I’d rather starve,” he said as the jealousy that that girl had manifested in me was reflected in my tense composure. It wasn’t just her that was causing that feeling. I didn’t like the way he referred to the desire to pull energy to him, like he was feeding on it - which I guess he was – but the reference was too chilling for me to handle.
He pulled me closer to him and slowly let his hand caress my back.
“We’ll put that wall up, one way or the other. August offered to give Aden a drug to stop it, but he refused. I won’t offer. I’ll cram it down his throat.”
“A drug?”
He nodded slowly as he began to sway me to the soundless room. “It’s called Rhelm. Apparently, it’s natural and takes recent memory away. They use it here if someone sees them move between passages or if something is too traumatic to remember. They told him that they didn’t know how well it would work. Aden refused it anyway, told them that right now he needed to remember to help us.”
“Let’s just go there - the two of us, talk to him,” I pleaded.
“I’ll give him until tomorrow. We have plans tonight.”
“Do we?” I questioned, wondering how we could have plans if I were knocked out cold until a few hours ago.
He nodded once, reaching to caress a lock of my long dark hair out of my eyes. “Alamos was sure you would wake today.”
“How? Magic or something?”
A ghost of a smile echoed on his lips as his emerald green eyes filled with admiration. “Because deities rise after three days.”
“What?!” I asked, tensing.
His arms pulled me closer, removing my tension. “Yeah, apparently we are seen that way, at least thought of in that manner. It appears that some of our actions, the paths we have taken, mirror those that were taken by those who were thought to be deities in ancient times, across different dimensions. They think we are repeating some of those paths, growing stronger because of it.”
“I’m not a god, and I don’t want anyone to think of any of us in that manner,” I said shortly, appalled that anyone would think that way about me - us.
As always, he found my sarcasm inviting and grinned. “Agreed, but you’re awake – as it was predicted – so I’m going to go with it for now.”
“What plans do we have?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Dinner with a king,” he said as if he were talking about the weather.
“I don’t want to go there – it’s dangerous,” I quickly countered.
“We’ll be safe. Those herbs we used to seal the school when we brought back the shadows were nothing compared to what Perodine and Alamos use. They have sealed several wings. They would have sealed more but they feared the power would be weakened if it was stretched to thin.”
“Why do we have to have dinner with him? Is he like your new best friend now?”
I could see my answers coming to me as my seeing ability produced an intense tingling sensation, but I was too impatient to analyze them. I wanted him to explain them to me.
He smiled slightly. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Drake over the last few days. I’ve looked deep into him, and I know I can trust his intentions. He recognized the energy I had instantly and has been working with me on how to use it, not let it seep too far from me.”
“Is that why you feel more intense?” I asked, letting my hand ease up his strong arms.
The desire in his eyes built. “I feel intense because this is yours, my soul. Others feel something around me, but not on this level. He taught me that first.”
The tingling sensation engulfed my mind, taking the image of him along with this room away and replacing them with flickering visions that showed Drake and Draven standing in a stone room with only torches lighting the way.
I watched as Drake lifted Draven into thin air with a glance, how Draven was taught not only to do that but also to use his energy as a weapon, one that was forceful enough to knock a grown man across the room, to start fires or put them out. I felt like I was watching a movie set in an ancient time. The lack of realism for what I was seeing made me lose that vision, forcing me back into the moment.
Knowing that I’d seen everything he was taught, Draven grinned then stepped back slightly. A second later, I was rising in the air. I braced my arms over my head so I wouldn’t hit the ceiling. He laughed a boyish laugh, one that I hadn’t heard in months as his hands clasped my waist and pulled me down again.
“Fun, huh?” he said, trying to stifle his joy.
“I could think of a few other words,” I said once I was sure my feet were on the ground again.
“It’s just like The Realm - only it’s here.”
“You sound like Madison.”
He nodded, pulling me against him again. “She was a fast learner. They think the time in The Realm allowed us not to be afraid of it, grasp it within minutes – whereas it took Willow and Landen days.”
“You think I can learn this?”
“Oh, dear, why are you so dense?” I heard Cashton say. “I already told you that you are currently not living up to your potential.”
Within that breath, Cashton was pinned to the opposite wall and Draven was taking dominant steps to him. When he reached him, he braced his forearm across Cashton’s chest.
“Draven!” I screamed, but he and Cashton were locked in a stare. Cashton was grinning as he appraised Draven.