Dark Matter (12 page)

I was startled by a low growl, whipping
my head around sharply. The terrifying guard came and sat right
next to me. He turned his head slowly toward me, but I refused to
look at him. I made myself stare at the field instead.

Heath hadn’t wasted any time in
creating his own monster, but I had been too distracted to actually
see it happen. This one had the body of a snake with the head of a
lion. It was comprised completely of what looked like molten lava.
Its shape flickered and roiled like it was being projected on an
old movie reel. The thing coiled in on itself just before it sprang
at the other beast. The body wrapped around the bull and squeezed.
The bull stumbled to its knees breathing out great puffs of smoke
and fire. Its armor split into glowing cracks then shattered
revealing its inner flame, but it wasn’t dead yet. The dragon’s
head whirled around and snapped the snake in half. The creature
fell to the earth with an enormous thud. Puffs of dust swirled
around my face, making it hard to see. When the air cleared, it lay
there as if dead.

That was it. Finn had won.

I blinked a couple of times to make
sure I wasn’t imagining this. What did that mean for me?

I leapt to my feet, but strong hands
pulled me back down to the bench. I glared at the guard. His
fingers dug into my skin and for one split second I could feel his
emotions as though he were a lord. He was angry at and protective
of me all at the same time. I hadn’t ever even seen this man, but I
felt connected to him in a way I couldn’t explain. He looked at my
ripped dress and cringed as though it was painful for him to see me
that way.

I yanked my arm away from him,
practically screaming, “Don’t touch me!”

He recoiled from me as though I had
slapped his face but straightened and gave me a passive look. “You
will sit and watch, Princess.”

I laughed. “I don’t know who you think
I am, but I am not royalty.”

His gaze slid over me. I could feel his
judgment, and I was pretty sure I had come up lacking. He didn’t
say anything else. Instead, he just turned his attention to the
battle. I continued to glare at him until the crowd erupted in
applause.

Everyone was on their feet cheering so
loudly I had to cover my ears. I strained to see but bodies blocked
my path. I finally climbed up onto the bench. I swayed when I
realized what was happening. The guard moved to steady me, but I
waved him off.

I thought Heath had lost, but the lion
was devouring the dragon’s head. The enormous body was already gone
and it was making short work of the rest.

Fire and ash rained through the air
like the grand finale on the fourth of July. A smoldering ember
landed on my leg, and I yelped as it melted into my flesh. I jumped
off the bench and reached for my injured limb.

The guard was suddenly kneeling in
front of me. His hand covered my wound before his fingers dug
agonizingly into my skin. I gasped, preparing to protest, but the
pain just went away. When he stood up, my leg looked normal. I
stared into his dark eyes. There was something familiar about them,
but he glanced away too quickly for me to really be able to figure
out what.

He reached for my hand, gazing down on
me just like everyone else around here. I had never been exactly
short, but somehow I felt like a child around these people. I was
constantly looking up at them, and it suddenly annoyed
me.

“
What is your name?” I asked
abruptly.

One eyebrow shot up as though he was
surprised by my question. “I am known as Neeko, my lady,” he said
over the roar of the crowd.

It came out Nee-Ko with a sharp sound
on the K. The weird thing was that the name seemed strangely
familiar, although, I was sure I had never heard it
before.

“
I’m Rayla.”

His expression didn’t change at all. “I
know.”

I took a really good look at him and
realized he couldn’t be from Ignis. His hair was lighter than any
of the men I had seen, and it had absolutely no red in it. He was
handsome, but almost ordinarily so. “Where are you from?” I blurted
out.

He tightened his jaw. “You should not
be talking to me like this. Others will notice.”

I made a face. “What’s wrong with us
speaking?”

He wouldn’t say another word. Instead
he pulled me through the crowd. Most of the people we passed held
mildly curious expressions, but a few looked like they hated me or
maybe it was him. I couldn’t tell for sure.

I had a hard time keeping up with him
and stumbled a few times. His grasp on me relentless, he didn’t
slow down at all. I tripped over a high spot on the stone floor. He
turned and grabbed my elbows before I could fall, but as soon as I
was upright he started off again. “Hey,” I complained. “I’d like to
see you go so fast in a pair of four-inch heels.”

Heath had insisted that I wear human
shoes and these were blood-red stilettos that matched my dress
perfectly. My feet were aching, and I was pretty sure I had twisted
an ankle when we rounded the corner back there.

My attempts at pulling away from him
didn’t work at all. He had me in a death-grip, and there was
nothing I could do except ride out the storm. He completely ignored
every complaint or whimper I made.

I was so relieved to see my door that I
nearly hugged it. I didn’t know what was going to happen now, but I
had a suspicion that Neeko was going to be tagging along. I was
nervous even thinking about that. He wasn’t all that easy to read,
but I was sure he didn’t like me very much.

He pushed me toward my closet and said
simply, “Change.”

I shoved my hands at my hips. “Into
what?”

He cocked his head to the side as if he
was about to give me a smart comment, but just as quickly his face
went blank. “If I were you, I’d pick something warm.”

I decided not to argue. For some reason
my fear subsided without much effort from me, and I suddenly
wondered if Neeko was using a compulsion on me. He was a strange
man. One minute I was sure he hated me, the next I thought he was
only giving me a show. Maybe he was one of Heath’s friends? Was it
possible he was here to help me escape?

I slid on some jeans that gave new
meaning to the word skinny, a heavy sweater, and my fur coat. I
pulled my boots on in a rush and stumbled out into my now empty
room.

Wow, I wished I was right about that. A
low hiss erupted behind me. I whirled around and try as I might, I
couldn’t keep my groan concealed. Heath was sprawled on my bed
looking as smug as a person could get.

I walked into my sitting room just to
make sure, but we were alone. When I came back into the bedchamber
I asked, “Where’s Neeko?”

His features remained placid. “I told
him to leave.” His tone was void of humor, and I didn’t like the
way he was looking at me. I might as well have had the words
Heath’s property—Keep Out! stamped on my forehead.

“
Why did you change?” he
asked with unmasked frustration in his voice.

“
He told me to.” Since he
was here, I wasn’t about to let him leave without making sure he
knew how upset I was with him. I folded my arms across my chest.
“There wasn’t really a good reason for me to wear that horrid
dress, was there?”

His lips twitched into a barely there
smirk. “I wouldn’t say that.”

This morning he’d made it sound as if
it were imperative that I wear the thing, implying that it was for
my safety. I couldn’t believe how gullible I was sometimes. “Well?”
I prodded.

He shrugged the shoulder he wasn’t
leaning against. “I thought you would look amazing in it. I was
right, by the way.”

I wasn’t even going to justify that
with a response, but I couldn’t keep myself from shifting
uncomfortably knowing that he had chosen a dress specifically to
see me in it. Thoroughly uncomfortable, I decided to change the
subject. “What now?”

He lifted himself onto his elbows,
motioning his head toward the door. His voice came out throaty.
“Run.”

That was more like it. I waited for him
to get up so we could get out of here, but his mouth tilted in a
hungry smile that made my stomach tighten.

He looked pointedly at the door then
back to me. My eyes flew wide. He meant me, and I didn’t like the
wicked sparkle lighting his eyes.

I gasped in a quick breath before
sprinting for the door. He didn’t give me much of a head start and
was soon right behind me. I could barely hear anything over the
native rhythm in my ears. I flew down the stairs, taking three of
them at a time. Pushing through the people that lingered in the
hallway, I barreled toward the front doors.

The two guards didn’t bother to help
out. They just stepped aside and let me fumble with the knob. I
cringed as the crowd mocked me.

They cheered when Heath came crashing
into the room. His laugh sent chills slithering over my
skin.

I was out in the frozen wasteland
faster than I ever thought possible. The scenery was a blur as I
raced toward impossible freedom. Was he really serious or was this
just his way of making it look as if I had escaped him? Like anyone
would really buy such a thing. I needed to think this through, but
I was going purely on instinct at this point.

I bolted toward the dark forest. I had
been warned to stay away from the trees, but I couldn’t see another
option. I needed the cover, if I could only move faster. He was too
close. I could hear him breathing behind me.

No more time to think. My mind shifted
into halted revelations.

The crunch of snow giving way. Deep
breath.

Another crunch closer this
time.

Blood hot. Overwhelming anger. Lungs
exploding. Muscles clenching.

Faster. I had to go faster.

Run.

Run.

Run.

No.

No more.

That’s all I had done since I left the
safety of home.

I stopped cold in my tracks and waited
for the impact to come. Let him do what he would.

He bashed into me throwing us both
heavily onto the frozen earth. It hurt worse than I thought it
would.

My face was buried in the snow, his
body trapping me like a coffin. I was going to suffocate if he
didn’t get up.

I writhed under him, trying to wriggle
my way free. For a second I thought he was going to kill me. That
was all the time I had before he flipped me over so fast my vision
blurred. I found myself looking into his turbulent eyes wondering
what the heck just happened and at the same time working with all
my might to get enough freezing air into my lungs to keep myself
from passing out.

“
Get off me,” I warned when
I gained a bit of composure. I had never heard my voice sound so
demanding.

His eyes fell to my lips, only briefly,
but the hungry look he gave me made my breath hitch in my throat.
He tenderly brushed snow and hair from my face. He wasn’t wearing
gloves and his skin felt amazing against mine. “Haven’t you tired
of using that line with me yet?”

“
I wouldn’t have to repeat
myself if you would keep your freaking hands to yourself,” I
spat.

No. I was not doing this again. Nobody
else was going to take a piece of my heart, especially this
smug-arrogant-jerk that thought he could bully me into wanting him.
I bucked frantically to fling him off me.

He didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes
focused deeper on mine as if he was trying to see my
soul.

I looked away from him when I couldn’t
take it any longer, but he didn’t let me claim any distance. He
held my chin steady. I clamped my eyes shut. He didn’t move a
muscle, but I could feel his gaze on me. I hated how it made my
whole body pause as if waiting for a command.

I hated my body for responding to his.
I hated my heart for being so weak.

After a while of just laying there like
that I sighed and opened my eyes. He was still staring at me, but
there was something new in his gaze that made me gasp.

It seemed as though he was waging a
strange inner battle. I felt his muscles constrict. His body went
completely rigid. Even through all my layers I could feel his every
move.

He was more powerful than he had been
before and his scent overwhelmed me, intoxicating me. Heightened by
the crisp air around us, it was a mixture of musk and dark spices I
couldn’t identify. Being this close to him was a slow
torture.

I had to find the will to fight him. I
made myself focus on Zach. I shut my eyes again to conjure his
image, but I couldn’t find it in the recesses of my mind. All I
could see was Heath. His lips. His eyes. His body pressed tightly
against mine.

What the heck was wrong with me? I
loved Zach, didn’t I? He had been everything to me just a few days
ago, and now I couldn’t even recall his face?

I pleaded silently for help that I knew
would never come. What if I couldn’t resist Heath? He seemed
infinitely more powerful than Luke. How had I forgotten about him?
Sweet, vulnerable Luke. Maybe he had been telling the truth, and he
hadn’t actually tried to bond with me?