Awaking (The Naturals, #1) (7 page)

Corbin turned. “Yeah?”

Morgan looked at the floor. “Thanks for… you know.” She glanced up at him.

Corbin nodded. “You’re welcome.” He stepped out the door. “Bye.”

“Bye,” said Morgan as Corbin closed the door behind him. She stared at the door for a moment before turning toward the kitchen. She was suddenly very hungry. On her way to the kitchen, her phone started ringing. When she answered it, she heard Ris’s excited voice on the other end of the line.

Chapter Six

There was a knock at Morgan’s door just after nine o’clock. Left to her own devices in dressing for the party, she opted for jeans and a nicer tank top. When she opened the door, she immediately felt underdressed. Ris wore a tiny jean skirt and a shiny silver top. Bangle bracelets jingled on her wrists. Even Corbin looked exceptionally good in a pair of dark-washed jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt.

But if Morgan was underdressed, that fact didn’t seem to concern Ris. As they walked out to Corbin’s car, Ris linked her arm through Morgan’s and leaned in conspiratorially. “I can’t believe it,” Ris whispered. “It’s our second party in a week. And we actually have a date to this one!”

Morgan smiled. “Ris, you have a date. I’m the third wheel.”

Ris shrugged. “We can share.”

Morgan laughed. “No thanks! He’s all yours.”

When Corbin reached his car, he turned back and eyed them suspiciously. “No giggling,” he called, opening the passenger door for Ris.

Ris got into the car and smiled as Corbin closed the door for her. Corbin then opened the door behind Ris’s for Morgan. Morgan smiled politely and got into the car.

Within minutes, they were on their way to the party. While Ris chatted animatedly in the front seat, Morgan allowed her thoughts to wander. She wasn’t even sure what to expect. Tesin had said it was people like him and Kellen and Wen—and, Morgan supposed, like her, too—getting together. And then panic flooded her. What was she even thinking, going to this thing? After what they’d shown her this morning, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know more about their world. But the allure of discovering something about her mother, about her disappearance, was too strong.

“You okay back there?” Corbin asked suddenly, breaking into Morgan’s thoughts. “You’re awful quiet.”

Morgan caught Corbin’s gaze in the rearview mirror. He looked concerned and Morgan wondered how much of what she was thinking he may have sensed. She forced a smile. “I’m good. Just a little… nervous.”

Ris turned in her seat so she could see Morgan. “Don’t be. It’ll be fun…”

Morgan managed to nod and smile at Ris for the remainder of the trip, but she didn’t hear anything Ris was saying.

When Corbin pulled his car to a stop, he looked back and forth from the address on the receipt to the building before him several times. Morgan hazarded a glance out the window and was shocked by what she saw. She hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going, so she was surprised to see they were downtown. Corbin was now parked outside a hotel—the Royal Grand, a hotel being built by local billionaire Orrick Williams. It was brand new—so much so that it wasn’t officially open for business. But this fact was belied by the number of people streaming toward the doors.

Someone knocked at the driver’s side door, and Corbin, Morgan, and Ris all jumped. There was a man in a white button-down shirt standing by Corbin’s door. With an uneasy chuckle, Corbin rolled the window down.

“Yes?” Corbin asked.

“Names?” the man asked. He held and pen and a clipboard.

Corbin glanced back at Morgan uneasily before clearing his throat. “Corbin Starling,” he said, indicating himself. He then pointed at Ris and Morgan, introducing each of them in turn. “Clarissa Perry. And Morgan Abbey.”

The man made a couple of marks on his clipboard. He then stepped back from Corbin’s door. “If you’ll step out of the vehicle, sir.”

When Corbin made no move to comply, the man handed Corbin a small square of paper. “Give this ticket to one of the valets when you leave, and we’ll pull the car around for you.”

Slowly, Corbin opened his door and stepped out of the car. Morgan was about to open her door as well, but it opened before she could touch it. When she looked up, she saw that two more valets were opening the doors for her and Ris.

When she and Ris were out of the car, Ris looped her arm around Morgan’s. “Swanky,” she said appreciatively.

Corbin joined them, walking on Morgan’s other side. “What’s going on here?” he murmured in Morgan’s ear.

Morgan just glanced at him. She had no idea.

A doorman opened the door when Morgan, Corbin, and Ris approached. They walked into the hotel’s atrium. There were dozens of people milling about, most with drinks in their hands. But it wasn’t like at Corbin’s party—they were holding actual glasses. A few of the people wore looks of haughty boredom. Most appeared to be in their twenties or early thirties. Morgan was positive that she, Ris, and Corbin were the youngest people there.

A man in a white button-down shirt and black pants stood at the far end of the atrium. He seemed to be directing people to continue further into the hotel.

Corbin nodded toward the man. “Looks like the party’s that way.” He stepped between Morgan and Ris and placed a hand on each of their backs.

“Look who’s big pimpin’,” Ris teased.

But Corbin didn’t respond. Morgan could feel the unease coming off him in waves. She wished she were able to make him calm down, the way Kellen said that some people with abilities like theirs could. But she realized that even if she had the ability to, she possessed no more calm than Corbin did at the moment.

They walked past the man who was directing traffic and headed down a long hallway. At the end of the hall, a set of double doors stood open. Beyond them were multicolored flashes of light and the pulsing sound of music.

“Corbin, this is so cool,” Ris said. “How’d you hear about this party, again?”

“Friend of a friend,” Corbin said quickly.

“Must be a pretty influential friend,” Ris said. “Did you see there was a list?” She smiled. “I feel like a movie star.”

Corbin looked over at her and smiled. “You look like a movie star.”

Morgan groaned. “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.” When Ris shot her a dirty look, Morgan grinned and poked her in the stomach.

As they approached the double doors, the three slowed. Morgan cast a dubious look inside and exchanged glances with Corbin. Ris, however, didn’t see the need to wait. She grabbed Corbin’s hand and dragged him through the doors. Morgan followed.

As soon as they entered, Ris let out a little squeal. “This is so cool,” she breathed, looking around the large, open room. “I can’t believe we’re here!”

“Yeah,” Morgan agreed drily. “Phenomenal.”

Ris didn’t seem to notice Morgan’s lack of enthusiasm.

A woman in a conservative black skirt and a white button-down shirt walked by then and offered them a selection of drinks off a tray. Immediately, Ris grabbed one in a funky-looking stemmed glass and took a sip.

“Mm. Tastes like watermelon.” Ris offered the drink to Morgan, who promptly refused. When Corbin also refused a sip, Ris tipped her head back and drained the glass herself. She set the empty glass back on the tray and reached for another.

“Wow, Ris, pace yourself,” Morgan said over the music. “I don’t think that’s Kool-Aid.”

Ris cast Morgan a look that read Don’t start and took a sip of her second drink. “Green apple,” she announced.

Under the guise of scoping the place out, Corbin managed to get close enough to Morgan to whisper, “So… now what?”

But before Morgan could come up with a response, a new song came on and Ris squealed. “Let’s dance!” She grabbed Corbin’s hand with her free one and sloshed some of her drink on Morgan’s toes as she pulled him onto the dance floor.

Morgan followed grumpily, attempting to shake liquid off her foot as she went. By the time she caught up, Ris was in full dance mode. For as infrequently as she did it, Ris was actually a fairly good dancer. For his part, Corbin looked okay doing the simple guy shuffle that every boy seemed to be preprogrammed with from birth. Trying to blend in, Morgan attempted to imitate Ris’s movements. She was distracted, though, and kept bumping in to Corbin as she scanned the dance floor.

After three or four songs, Morgan was surreptitiously checking the time on her cell phone when Ris spoke up. “Morgs, don’t look now, but there is a guy approaching from your three o’clock and he’s got his eye on you.”

Morgan followed Ris’s gaze. Her eyes landed on Kellen just as Ris whispered in her ear, “Wow, he is hot.”

Morgan had to admit that she agreed. He wore his usual dark blue jeans along with a black button-up shirt that accentuated his lithe physique. His brown hair was tousled to perfection. In the flashing lights of the ballroom, he looked uncharacteristically ethereal.

He approached Morgan, a secretive smile playing on his lips. He turned his gaze to Corbin. “Corbin Starling.” He held his hand out for Corbin to shake.

Corbin shook his hand, exchanging a quick glance with Morgan. “Kellen,” he replied with a nod.

Ris, who was now on her third drink, looked slightly confused by the exchange. “Wait—Corbin, you know this guy?”

But it was Kellen who answered. “I’m a fan of Corbin’s band,” he said easily. He turned his attention back to Corbin. “When I invited you out tonight, I had no idea you’d be bringing the two prettiest girls all for yourself.”

Corbin glanced at Morgan, surprised. Morgan gave the slightest shake of her head. She had no idea how Kellen knew Corbin was in a band—Morgan herself had only learned about it that morning.

Ris clapped her hands together. Corbin looked at her, and she must have mistaken his concern for confusion. “You’re in a band? How did I not know that?” She turned to Morgan. “When we were dating back in fifth grade, Corbin got his first guitar for Christmas and he was so cute. He wanted to be a rock star.”

Kellen smiled at her, looking amused. “And you are?”

She put out her hand and giggled when Kellen bent down to kiss it. “I’m Ris.” She put her hand on Morgan’s back and pushed her toward Kellen. “This is Morgan. She’s psychic.”

“Really?” Kellen’s face arranged itself into a look of surprise. “How fascinating.” He touched Morgan’s elbow gently and said to Corbin, “Would you mind if I stole Morgan away for just a little while? I have some friends who would find Morgan’s abilities fascinating.”

Corbin shifted and Morgan knew immediately what was going through his mind, that he was going to object, to insist he and Ris come with them. Morgan shot him a look that she hoped he could interpret. It seemed to work, because Corbin’s face rearranged and he said, “Sure.”

Kellen glanced from Morgan to Corbin and back to Morgan. “Interesting,” he murmured.

As Morgan turned to go, she glanced at Ris, who grinned broadly and gave a less-than-surreptitious thumbs up. Kellen rested his hand on the small of Morgan’s back and led her through the crowd to a room that was an offshoot of the main ballroom. There were couches in the room, and Morgan recognized Tesin and Wen immediately, but there were at least a half dozen people there—mostly women—who she didn’t recognize at all.

As Kellen walked over to the couches he made a slight jerking motion with his head, and everyone but Tesin and Wen cleared out. Kellen sat down on a recently vacated couch and patted the spot beside him, indicating Morgan should sit there. “That’s a bit more cozy,” he said as Morgan sat down, and she wasn’t sure if he was referring to the nearly empty room or to her own closeness to him.

Morgan shifted a bit so that she was a polite distance from Kellen before speaking the first question that made its way to her lips: “How is there a party going on here? Is this place even open yet?”

Kellen smiled easily. “Not to the… general population. But Orrick was kind enough to allow a select group of people… test out the new place before opening day.”

“People like… us?” Morgan asked.

Kellen nodded. “People like us.”

Morgan found herself nodding, too, until something else Kellen had said struck her. “Wait—Orrick?”

“Come on, Morgan,” said Kellen. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Orrick Williams.”

“Of course—who hasn’t? I just find it hard to believe you’re on a first-name basis with him.”

Kellen laughed good-naturedly. “One day, I intend to prove you wrong.”

Morgan looked around at the room for a moment when something else occurred to her. “Wait—you’re not saying that… Orrick Williams…?”

“Is Veneret?” asked Tesin. “Of course.”

“But… how?” Morgan asked. “Why doesn’t anyone know?”

Tesin laughed hollowly. “It’s not exactly something we tend to advertise.”

Wen leaned forward on the couch and nodded his head toward the ballroom. “The people out there? Most of them are Veneret.”

“Except the servers?” Morgan guessed.

Kellen nodded. “And your delightful friend Ris.”

Immediately, concern for Ris bubbled up in Morgan. But then something else smothered this—curiosity. “Wait. You said Ris. But not—”

“Corbin?” Wen offered. “Strictly speaking, he’s not Veneret, either. Just like, strictly speaking, you’re not.”

“So, is he a… a Natural, like me?”

Wen nodded.

“Which would explain the exchange I noticed between you two out on the dance floor,” Kellen said. “What happened there, by the way? At his party, I got the impression the two of you weren’t exactly friends.”

“We’re not,” Morgan said quickly.

“And yet, there’s some kind of connection between you. I could sense it, but it wasn’t the other night at all.”

Morgan sighed. After a moment, she launched into a brief explanation of what happened between herself and Corbin during his reading. As she told the story, Kellen, Tesin, and Wen listened intently.

“And if he’s a Natural, like you say,” Morgan finished, “I guess what happened makes a lot more sense.”

“Tesin,” Kellen said, standing. “Given what’s happened, I think it might be a good idea to go get Corbin. It might be time for him to hear this, too.”