“How sure are you about this, Draven? Do you really believe this?”
“Not sure enough for us to tell anyone. I’m g
oing on gut feeling here. That p
rince, Willow, and Landen
-
- they aren’t our problem. If we’ve been kept apart, it’s not because of some waiting sacrifice; it’s because together, with time, we can defeat this.”
“How does Monroe play into this?” I asked.
“How do they all play into it is the question.”
“I saw Winston bargaining with Bianca
in The R
ealm today.”
Draven sat up quickly. “Show me.”
I let him see it all, every second I was i
n T
he R
ealm. I didn’t want to leave anything out that would give us the answers we needed.
“I’m going to
kill
him,” Draven said as he clenched his jaw
.
“What’s going on with him?”
“I don’t know. Grayson doesn’t either. One minute I think he’s cocky, the next I think he’s a scared boy looking for his mom.”
“How can she be in The R
ealm? How could she leave them behind?”
“Grayson said love.”
“I thought E
scorts couldn’t be in love, not once they chose to give in to their nature?”
We were told that by Britain
. W
ell, he told Madison that. At first I thought he said that because he was playing some kind of game with her, saying that so he wouldn’t ever have to utter that word to her, but Madison said she felt the fear in him when he told her that. She said that the word ‘love’ was poison to them, that if they said it or felt it they’d perish from what they were, that whatever existence they had or could hope to have would end. That’s why Draven made it a point to say that word to me as much as possible. I made him say it every time he was mad or lost; most of the time it made him calm, h
elped him hold on, and subdued
the hunger in his eyes, but sometimes it looked like the word hurt him.
“Their mom wasn’t an E
scort; she was light. Grayson is vague with me when it comes to his mom. All he ever really said was that his mom told him that Monroe would protect them and that they were to protect her.”
“That demon, his entire mood changed when he saw Monroe – I’m terrified for her.”
He grimaced.
“If there was a sacrifice that I would worry about, it would be her. She’s the key to this; she has to be.”
“Why do you say that? Did Grayson say something?”
“Just that she’s balance. That within her, both darkness and light reside. That she cannot find fault in either; she’s at one with who and what she is. Grayson thinks she’s a marker, an example of what we should all be. He wishes he was like her, that he could find a way to not hate part of who he was.”
I smiled slightly, and his eyes questioned me.
“In this life, both darkness and light are within me. I find no fault with what they think may be inside of you. I have no anger for the shadows or whispers that haunt me. I want the war to stop between good and evil and to use Madison’s words. I want to rise above dualities.”
A smile that I’d missed so desperately spread across his face. He leaned toward me and let his lips rest gently on mine. I kissed him back slowly at first, but then the passion in my soul took over and I became more eager.
Greedy.
“I love you,” I whispered between his kiss.
My words ignited something in him. He pulled me to his lap, then picked me up and carried me to my bed. As he laid me down, I fought to get as close to him
as I possibly could. I wanted
him to feel how much passion and love I had for him. I wanted him to know that his soul was mine and that I’d never let it go.
We pulled at each
other’s
clothes trying to get skin-to-skin as fast as humanly possible.
In the heat of passion, my phone beeped on my waist, letting me know that a text had come in. I pulled it off my waist and threw it across the bed, then gave in to my breathless passion, fighting to get as close to him as I could. A moment later, it began to ring. We ignored it at first, but just as the ringing stopped, it began again.
Draven’s lips halted. “Someone doesn’t want this moment to happen,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
“I don’t hear anything,” I said, pulling him back to me. He smiled through my kiss and reached for my phone.
I sighed and sat up. It had stopped ringing. I looked through the missed calls: it was Wesley. My eyes grew wide with hope as I read the text he sent:
Told you so. He’s on his way to your house. Hope you’re there.
I glanced over my shoulder at Draven. He’d read the text; the only problem was, I didn’t see relief in his eyes. I saw a goodbye.
Chapter Six
My heart started to race as my skin flushed
. I felt tension suffocate
the
room, takin
g away the essence of passion.
I turned to look at him, hoping that I was reading him wrong, that now what I’d been waiting on was here, that it wouldn’t be too late.
“I’m not going without you,” I said timidly.
He sat up and moved to the side of the bed, then reached for his shirt. As he slid it over his head, I felt the room grow colder; I felt him closing a door.
“You need to.”
“Why?!” I protested.
“You have to take Monroe, get her there; we have to protect her. I don’t know why
...
I just know that’s what we need to do.”
“We
...
we
have to protect her. I’m not leaving here without you,” I argued.
He squeezed his eyes closed.
“Charlie, you can see your way to me anytime you want to. Take your body to Chara. Go to a place where you can’t be hunted.”
“I’m not hunted here.”
Abruptly his heated stare met mine.
“Have you forgotten this morning?
Do you have any idea how many E
scorts could be here? Do you really think they’re going to stop?”
“No, but Silas will take care of them.”
“Silas...your hero,” he sai
d shortly as he fastened his belt back into place.
“Don’t twist my words. If he’s killing them, he’s not killing you. He’s keeping me safe.”
I argued as I put my clothes back in place.
“More like practice for when my time comes.”
He sneered.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked in a solemn tone.
“Don’t slip back into that mood that I just pulled
you
out of,” I said as my eyes glanced at the bed behind us.
A smile threatened to invade his beautiful lips as the memory of my touch came to him.
“Look, we turned Britain into a friend instead of an enemy; we could do that with Silas. He knows stuff, past life stuff. What we are or were. I bet he knows more about this war than we could imagine. And I’d bet you money he knows w
h
ere Monroe’s mom is. Maybe if we find her, we’ll have more answers.”
Even though he respected my nature to bring balance and peace
,
he didn’t agree with it.
“Britain may be your friend, but he isn’t mine. I have no idea why you trust him. It’s his nature to be seductive and blind light.”
“I thou
g
ht he was making Madison happy…
”
“Now what do you think?”
he asked, raising his eyebrows k
nowing that pushing ideas on me was a
fruitless act. I never let any
one tell me how to feel about
a
situation. I went with my gut. So far it had not failed me.
I knew he was referring to the Prince, to how Madison connected to Willow. “I’ll let you know when I see the Prince and Madison side by side.”
His dominance and protective soul emerged i
n his stare as he flatly stated:
“Well, that’s not going to happen anytime soon because you and Madison, along with Monroe, are going to Chara.”
I stood up as rage came over me. “No! Let Austin take Monroe if that’s what you’re worried about. Fine. You know what? I’m sick of this. When you wanted to go to Chara, I didn’t, and now that I want to go, you don’t. Seriously. This is old. I’m over it. Obviously, I’m fighting this on my own, and I’ll
be
damned if you close a door on me. If you’re locked behind a door I can’t open and we’re buried alive in ash and
...” Angry tears stopped my words. I was trembling with
trepidation
. I wasn’t going to let my nightmare come to life, to be symbolic of a future death or separation.
Draven was on his feet and had pulled me into his arms before one tear could fall. He rocked me from side to side. “I’m not going to let that happen,” he whispered. “No closed doors.”
I looked up at him. “In my dream, I can’t breathe, and when you leave me, when you walk away because you think you’re going to hurt me, I can’t breathe. You are my air. I’m not leaving without you – that would be my death.”
Compassion filled his eyes.
“I love you, Draven Michaels. More than I can tell you.”
A gaping smile came across his face as his eyes glistened.
“Why do you act so surprised when I say those words?” I whispered.
“Because I say them more than you do. Sometimes I think you’re going to wake up and realize that I’m the kiss of death and Silas is the breath of life. The less I give to you, the more you give back, and I don’t understand why.”
“Love. That’s love. You don’t love to get something back; you love because your soul has recognized its counterpart in another. You are me. You are the breath of life – do you understand me?” I said as my eyes searched his beautiful face.
He reached down and picked me up, wrapping my legs around him. As my lips found his, I found the passion, love, and security that gave me re
ason to fight, to fight for him. T
o fight for all that was innocent.
I heard someone clear their throat and knock on the wall. Our lips froze as Draven gently let my legs fall to the ground. My skin was beet red as
I glanced at my bedroom door.
Austin
,
dressed in black and looking like a guardian angel, was standing there.
“Bad time, guys?” he asked, grinning.
“No,” I said, looking at Draven, noticing the blush on his skin as well.
Austin cleared his throat. “Well, from what Wesley had to say, I was expecting you guys to be a bit unraveled, but I didn’t expect to find pentagrams chalked out on your floor. I really didn’t expect to see that,” he said, nodding toward us. “But, I guess, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought?”
“It’s worse,” I said, regaining my composure.
Austin grinned slightly at Draven and questioned him with his eyes.
“Making the best of peaceful moments,” Draven said as his skin blushed to a new shade of red.
Austin nodded once as he tried to hold back his grin. “What’s worse?” he asked, looking back at me.
I nodded for him to sit down.
“That bad, huh?” Austin said as he crossed the room and sat down on the leather couch.
Draven stared at me, wanting me to explain. I took in a deep breath and walked to where Austin was. I couldn’t make myself sit down. I didn’t know where to start.
“Man, this would be easier if I could just show you. I don’t know where to start,” I said to Austin, taking in the peace I always felt around him.
“I can’t see, but I got nothing but time,” Austin promised.
Draven walked to the window and looked toward his house. I’m sure he was trying to see if he could see
Aden or the others over there.
He reached for his phone and sent a text, then walked over and picked up one of my father’s guitars. It was a nervous habit of his; if a guitar was in his hand, he could explain or think through almost anything.
“Austin,” I said to get his attention, which Draven had stolen without knowing it. “Is Landen OK?”
He looked
at me
like I was insane. “He was three days ago. Why?”
“You talked to him? About us?”
He nodded once as his eyes grew curious and he leaned forward. Draven sat on the other end of the couch with his guitar in hand.
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“I didn’t really have a lot of time. They were heading out to another dimension.”
“Esterious?”
“Um...yeah,” Austin said, looking to his side at Draven, then to me. “How did you know that?”
“Lucky guess,” I said as I started to pace. “I think he’s in trouble, and it might be because you told him to help us. It might be because fate has called us to the same darkness – but right now, we’re in the middle of hell.”