Crais (17 page)

I sat up a little straighter
. Was this why my marks had been permanent since my enlightenment?

Brace
’s focus never wavered from me. He wasn’t saying much but the intensity screamed loudly. I wanted to blush. The heat in his gaze was as hot as the Crais suns’. I was probably getting a suntan. In my own nervousness I started to babble, confessing my sins.

“I’m sorry, Brace, I should never have freed the third
. You warned me.” As the guilt overwhelmed me I struggled in his arms, wanting to stand on my own.

B
ut he wouldn’t let me move an inch.

“I’m a damn stubborn idiot
. I didn’t listen. I was too caught up in the thought that I could have you back.”

Brace’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Listen to me, Red. You never stood a chance against its power and manipulation. Because of me it knew everything about us. It knew exactly what to say to you.” His tone was angry but his words confident. “If it takes me forever I will put the Seventine back in their prison. Don’t you worry about that.”

Josian interrupted us then.
“I’m happy that you’re here, Brace, but we really need to move now.”

I had no idea how long he’d been standing next to us
. Brace gave him the briefest nod before moving toward the Walker doorway.

You can put me down
. I’m sure I’m not the lightest thing to be carrying around everywhere.

I spoke through our bond, my heart fluttering at the return of his mental presence.

Brace laughed.

You weigh nothing. And neither gods, Walkers nor Seventine could tear you from my arms right now.

I thought Walkers were gods,
I teased, my lashes fluttering as exhaustion overwhelmed me.

I’d been so tired and alone that until Brace
was back I hadn’t realized how much his loss had sucked from my energy. I rested my head on his hard chest.

No, we just have the
egotism of them. Sleep now, baby. I have you and I’ll never leave you again.

I
fought it briefly, wanting to ask him a million questions, but I lost the fight. As I drifted off I realized we were surrounded by the golden aura which had been absent for too long.

The arguing woke me first. I kept my eyes closed as voices raged around me.

Should I pretend I’m still asleep?

I opened the bond to
Brace; I was curled up on his lap, his presence surrounding me.

You take as much time as you need, Red.
Accusations are being thrown around, and I’m sure they’re going to start in on you, and then I’m going to Hulk out and try to kill people and since they’re mostly people you love ... well, just take your time.

I mentally giggled,
remembering how much he’d loved the Hulk movie. A smile must have curved my lips because the next thing I knew someone’s hair was hitting me in my face.

“Quit pretending to be asleep and save me from these nut jobs.”
Lucy said as she flicked her fingers in front of my nose.

“Who are you calling a nut job, you psycho blond doll
?” I recognized Fury’s cranky voice.

“I’m not
psycho; I’m psychic. There’s a difference,” Lucy huffed out. “Bitch,” she added under her breath.

I laughed out loud this time and reluctantly opened my eyes.

“Oh, great. It’s sleeping beauty. About time you graced us with you presence, super Abby.”

I swung my head to face her.
Fury and Dune were sitting against the wall, their backs straight. Dune’s arm fell off her shoulder as she leaned forward to glare at me. Lucy, who was next to us on the white couch, also shifted forward until her elbows rested on her knees.

Her voice was low as she barked
out words. “Hey, Dune, why don’t you put a muzzle on your dog? She’s about to get her ass kicked if she doesn’t shut that whinge-hole she calls a mouth.”

Fury was on her feet so fast that I swear the wall shook from her pushing off it. “Why don’t you step o
ver here and say that.” Her voice trembled as her anger bled into the room.

Lucy also pushed herself up.
“My pleasure. You’ve needed an ass-whopping since Abby found you on Crais.”

Josian held up a hand
and stepped into the center of the room.

“Lallielle will not be happy if we fight in this room
. If you girls want to battle, then downstairs to the training room.”

My mouth fell open as I
too hopped to my feet. I shivered as my body adjusted to the loss of Brace’s warmth, before turning my glare on Josian.

“Are you fr
eaking kidding me, Dad? They can’t fight. Lucy is human and Fury has Walker powers.”

“I don’t need Walker powers to fight her
,” Fury scoffed. “She’s like the size of a ten-year-old child.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Oh
, crap.

“What
the eff did you say?” Lucy’s tone was deadly.

“You.
Are. Short.” Fury emphasized each word.

And
then all hell broke loose.

By the time I
had made it across the room, Lucy was on Fury’s back, her hand buried in the long white strands of hair as she slammed her head into the floor. Fury struggled, but Lucy was very proficient in the arts of wrestling and judo.

“You take it back
,” Lucy screamed. “I do not look like I’m ten.”

“Child ... Child ... Child
,” Fury chanted over and over.

Dune and Brace
stood above them. I had to laugh watching these two brawny men jumping side to side trying to break them up. Though, as chick fights go, they were doing us proud. There was not one bit of scratching or hair pulling.

Fury twisted over, managing to gain some traction
on Lucy. Their limbs flew all over, making it impossible to separate them. I glanced around the room, noticing that Lucas, who was once again randomly in my house, was standing in the corner with the slightest grin on his face. Lallielle and Josian also looked amused. The Reds were against the back wall, and their discipline shone through. Not one of them cracked a smile, although their eyes were flat out laughing.

I turned back to the fight
, suppressing my own smirk, just in time to see Fury throw out her arm and by luck smash a fist into Lucy’s face. I heard the crack from where I was standing and right then I’d had enough. I released my power, the dream energy flying from me to immobilize the room. Even the Walkers paused in their actions. Excitement flared in my gut; I was getting stronger.

Stepping around
Brace, I reached down and hauled Lucy up. There was already the beginning of a bruise forming around her right eye and down her nose; she was going to have a hell of a shiner. I sat her on the couch, flopping down next to her, waiting for the energy to finish its job.

Brace and Josian were the first to stir
. My mate crossed the room, lowering from his great height to bring his face right up close to me.

“Very clever, Red.”
His lips brushed mine, just the slightest pressure before he pulled back.

I flushed at the
sweet but slightly frustrating kiss. After our time apart I needed more. But I knew both of us were feeling the pent-up frustration simmering between us. Privacy would be the best for our first real kiss.

I spun my head as
Fury awoke and went nuts. Dune looked to be the only reason she wasn’t shooting off fire balls and burning down the house. Even still, her blue flames were flickering on and off.

“What did you do to me?”
she sobbed, her tears evaporating in the heat of her flames. “Why did I see that?”

I shrugged
. “I don’t know what you saw, and it wasn’t deliberate, simply the easiest way for me to end the fight.”

She’d stopped st
ruggling, although her breath still came in deep huffs. “Don’t do that to me again,” she said, stumbling back with Dune and sinking against the wall.

I raised my brows at her commanding tone.
“I’ll do whatever I need to prevent people getting hurt. If you need a good dose of common sense, I’m happy to be the one who knocks it into you.”

She glared me
down. “And I’ll be the one who’s happy to burn you and your house to the ground.”

“Fury
,” Dune admonished her. “You don’t need to have this attitude; these people are not your enemy and Abby more than any is your kin.”

Uh
-oh, Dune was so in for it. Fury’s face darkened, the red highlighting her tensed features. She faced him, lowering her voice and, from what I could see, started to grill the hell out of him.

Over
her drama, I turned away. “So what was all the yelling about when I woke up?”

I hoped my change of subject
would distract everyone from whatever dreams I’d sent their way. Sometimes it was better not to know the vulnerabilities I’d exposed to the world.

“
We weren’t yelling. We were discussing the events at the dark mountains and trying to figure out the next step.” Josian made his way over to Lallielle, pulling her closer to him.

The pink aura swirling around them had m
y heart rejoicing. For the first time in a long time I could watch their love without feeling as if someone was stabbing me repeatedly.

“
Some of us were yelling,” Lucy said, rubbing her nose.

Jen the housekeeper
walked into the room then and handed Lucy a type of blue gel square. She brought both hands up to her face to demonstrate how to press it to the bruise. The moment Lucy did this relief crossed her features.

“
We need you to tell us exactly what happened in the dark mountains. The sooner we finish this debrief the sooner I can have the Doreens off to inform every Walker clan of the gathering.” Josian glanced behind him. “And Lucas arrived just after us with some urgent news.”

I closed my eyes
briefly. It was time to face up to my actions. I didn’t waste time, getting right to the important parts.

“
It could contact me through this golden thread in my mind. I assume this was the melding bond still between Brace and me.”

Brace’s nod confirmed my thoughts.

“Every time the Bracentine came it offered me that same deal.”

Brace
interrupted. “Bracentine? You’ve got to be kidding.”

I shrugged. “
It was better than calling it ancient-dude-wearing-my-mate.”

He snorted, shaking his head
, before crossing his arms tightly. As his biceps strained against his shirt material I lost my train of thought for a moment.

Josian cleared his throat
.

I swung my head back around, but not before I caught the
darkening of Brace’s eyes and the flare of heat in his gaze.

“
So it said if I helped to free its third brother it would release Brace and never repossess him.”

“Why did you believe
it, Abbs? You of all people are generally cynical enough to ignore a deal like that.” Lucy faced me as she pulled her legs up into a cross-legged position. She still had the gel over half her face.

“
It said it’s bound by the balance of the universe. If it gives its word it has no choice but to follow through.”

Josi
an shifted closer to us. “That’s actually true. The original powers were the balance, the yin and yang of the star system. Which is the reason for the birth of the Seventine. They balanced out the original seven. And neither of these primary powers can be destroyed, just contained.”

“I still don’t understand why they can’t be destroyed
. There are plenty of other equalizers now.” Lucas spoke up, although his tone was flat.

I looked at him closely for the first time
, noticing how red his eyes were.

“The Seventine and the original seven were created in the dawn of this star system. They are the first and without them balance
in general would no longer exist,” Josian said.

“
So this Bracentine never told you that your blood was the key to releasing the third and without you the remaining four would have stayed locked in there?” Lucy asked bluntly.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “No, Luce,
it conveniently left that part out and there’s no way I would have followed through had I known that information.”

At least I hoped not.

Lucas snorted. “I doubt it, Abby. You don’t listen to much reason when it comes to your mate.”

I faced
him, working to keep my face expressionless. I so didn’t have time for his royal ass-ness right now. After a few moments of exchanged glares I decided it wasn’t worth commenting, so I turned back to Josian. My father’s normally jovial face looked – sad. My heart hurt seeing the dull bronze of his eyes.

“I am so sorry, Dad. I hope you aren’t disappointed in me.” I’d never had to worry about letting people down before. “D
espite the fact I’d have done almost anything to free Brace, I still don’t understand my complete acceptance of its offer.” I hung my head a little, blinking to stop the guilty tears. “I should have come to you and asked for your help.”

“Stop that right now, R
ed.” Brace’s anger flooded the room. The air suddenly felt harder to breathe. “The Seventine is a power beyond anything I’ve known. None of us would have stood a chance. It manipulated our melding bond.” He clashed eyes with almost everyone in the room. “Abby’s not to be blamed for this.”

His protectiveness wrapped around me.

“Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t protect –” Fury’s words were cut short when Brace swung his head to stab her with his gaze.

“Stop talking
,” he bit out, his tone low and deadly.

There was something different about Brace now
. He’d always been a tough guy, but there was a simmering energy beneath the surface, coiled and waiting to strike.

“Don’t speak to her like that.”
Dune stood.

He
’d taken two steps toward my towering mate but as Brace shifted his hard gaze Dune halted, his expression torn. I couldn’t blame him. Brace looked downright scary.

“If we’
re done with the questions I need some time with Abby. If we don’t cement the melding bond I won’t be able to control my actions,” Brace said, dismissing the rest of the room.

It was clear that h
e’d reached his limit as he scooped me up in his arms. I couldn’t deny that we needed time to work on our bond. I felt the urge eating away at me also. That of course didn’t stop the heat flooding my cheeks; I was definitely bright red.

Lucy let out the loudest laugh ever.

“Oh, yeah! Abbs is going to get some.” She started doing some weird cheer-dance thing and I wished I was close enough to punch her.

“Shut
up,” I hissed.

Brace con
tinued to ignore everyone, turning to leave.