Dark Matter (15 page)

She pulled away, catching my eyes.
“See. I told you he really cares about you.” She gave a tug on my
hand. “Let’s go tell Finn. This should give him something else to
worry about.”

Finn agreed to help once he learned
what had happened between Heath and me. We sent a pageboy to
retrieve Heath so we could discuss the best strategy for our rescue
attempt and now were waiting rather impatiently. At least I
was.

My fingers tingled in anticipation of
what we were about to do. I was finally getting out of this place.
I wandered around the room thinking of what I would say to Zach
when I saw him. I hoped I was wrong. I hoped he was okay, but I
still had that horrible feeling eating at me whenever I thought
about him. I needed to prepare myself for something
dreadful.

The pageboy returned with a message
from Heath—he wasn’t coming.

I would just have to see about that.
He’d promised he would help. I shot a look at Cassie then insisted
the pageboy take me to Heath. Finn and Cassie stayed where they
were.

I was led down some interlacing
corridors to another part of the castle I had never seen before.
Just how big was this place anyway?

He guided me into an arena of sorts. It
wasn’t as grand as the Colluseum, but it was still pretty
impressive. Instead of being cold, it was balmy. Ivy grew up the
stone walls and the Grecian columns that lined the lower level. The
dome above looked like a cloudless sky, but it couldn’t be
considering how warm it was. Birds chirped happily as I took the
place in. Movement caught my attention; I was enchanted at first
glance. Trying to etch this scene into my mind, I walked slowly
through the archway.

Heath faced a group of about ten men,
leading them in what looked like a Kata. Considering how gracefully
his body glided through the movements he should have had
wings.

I gulped at the sight. The dark warrior
in him had emerged—not that it hadn’t been near the surface the
entire time I had known this man. I melted into a spot on the lawn
never taking my eyes off him.

He was shirtless. Sweat glistened off
his smooth skin like light refracting on water. His long hair hung
free to the middle of his back, swaying with each focused swing of
an arm or leg. I couldn’t keep myself from wondering how the silky
strands would feel sliding through my fingers.

No wonder he was such a great dancer.
His balance was impeccable, his strength undeniable. His entire
body glowed softly like the moon on a cloudless night.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there
mesmerized, but it felt like hours and seconds in the same
instant.

One of the men in the group looked my
way and Heath snapped his head toward me. He didn’t glare. He
didn’t smile. He barely acknowledged I was there.

I couldn’t hear what he told his men,
but they left through a passageway at the opposite end of the
arena. He scooped his shirt off the ground, wiped his face then
strode toward me barefoot.

I stood up and self-consciously brushed
invisible dirt from my hands, peeking up at him through my lashes.
I had no idea how to start this conversation. Somehow telling him
how amazing he had just been seemed a bad idea.

He inhaled a shallow breath. “How can I
help you, Rayla?”

“
I…I wanted to discuss the
plan for tomorrow.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to
come earlier, but as you can see I was busy preparing my men for
battle.”

I glanced at the spot he had just
occupied wishing I could rewind time. “What were you doing just
now?”

He sat indian-style in front of me and
slipped his boots onto his feet—without socks. I raised my brows at
him. He stared confusedly at his feet then back at me with a sour
expression. “I haven’t had a woman look at me like that in more
years than I can count.” He shrugged his shoulder lazily. “I hate
to disappoint you, but I already have a mother.”

I tried to laugh but it came out all
wrong. What had he been like as a child? Just how long ago was
that? I smiled. “To each their own.”

“
Somehow I don’t really
think you actually believe that.”

Okay wearing boots without socks was
just sick. All that sweat pooling between your toes, making your
feet slip around like you were on ice. It was all I could do to
keep myself from sticking my tongue out in a disgusted gag. “You
didn’t answer my question.”

“
Take the hint.”

I narrowed my eyes at him to hide the
hurt I felt. There couldn’t have been more distance between us if
he had been standing on the moon. “That was rude.”

“
So was barging in here when
you weren’t invited.”

Fine. He wanted to be that way. I would
do the same. “We’ll be in Cassie’s room when you deem us worthy of
standing in your presence, your highness.” I turned on my heel and
stormed out of the arena.

Who did he think he was anyway? Yeah,
he was lord of fire, but so what. Finn had never been that
condescending. I couldn’t wait to see Zach and Luke again. Now
those were two men who knew how to treat a…

Damn that man.

Chapter Eleven

It had been three hours and Heath still
hadn’t come to Cassie’s room. I was beginning to think he had gone
to the island without me. I occupied the time replaying what had
happened between us, all the while remembering what Luke had told
me about the way compulsion works. Heath had given me the best kiss
I had ever gotten and considering how much of a workout my mouth
had gotten in the past few weeks, that was saying quite a bit. I
couldn’t figure out why he had withdrawn from me. It wasn’t a
partial retreat either. He was gone in more ways than one. Even
when he stood right in front of me I couldn’t feel him.

Cassie had fallen asleep, her head
resting against Finn’s shoulder. They looked so comfortable as if
they had been together for years. I shifted in my seat feeling like
the intruder I was and glanced at the door again. He wasn’t
coming.

I stood up and waved farewell to Finn,
letting myself out. Cassie’s room was on a lower level than mine. I
guessed she wasn’t as much of a flight risk as I was. I laughed at
the thought. What would security do if they knew I had figured out
how to drift? I’d probably be handcuffed to my bedposts. I trudged
up the stairs feeling the full effects of the day in my aching
body.

Neeko was standing outside my door. He
didn’t say anything as I approached him.

“
Do you have a message for
me?” I asked.

He shook his head fractionally. “I am
to be your guard for the evening.”

That made me feel soooo much better. “I
haven’t had one before. Why would I need you here now?”

His brows furrowed in confusion.
“You’ve had a guard every night since you arrived in Ignis, my
lady.”

“
You are
mistaken.”

“
No he isn’t, Rayla. I just
had something else to do tonight.”

I paled from the sound of Heath’s
voice. I glanced over my shoulder even though I should have just
slammed my door in his face. I didn’t have the energy to think
about how he had been outside my door guarding me since I the day
arrived here. I kept my glare to myself not wanting to make this
worse than it was already. “What has taken you so long? We waited
for you for hours. If you think you’re going to inform me that I’m
not going with you, thing again. Nothing is going to stop me from
leaving this place in the morning…including you.”

“
Wouldn’t dream of it.
Tabitha wants you bound as soon as possible. We need Luke and Zach
before we can perform the ceremony.”

I tried to hide my cringe. She couldn’t
possibly think I was going to go through that again. I had to clear
one thing up with him. “Why are you acting so differently toward
me?”

“
I hadn’t realized I
was.”

Instead of fighting his magnetic pull,
I was fighting to keep myself from being thrown across the room. I
wasn’t strong enough to keep my ground at the moment so I retreated
a step. “Just tell me what the plan is so I can go to bed.” It was
one in the morning and I was exhausted.

He raised his brows. “And to think you
have the nerve to accuse me of being an arrogant
dictator.”

I wasn’t going to react to that. “Don’t
you think we should talk about what happened?”

“
No.”

“
Why?”

“
It’s a mute
point.”

“
Oh yeah, I forgot. You
‘withdrew your offer.’”

“
Glad that sunk
in.”

“
You’re
impossible.”

“
You want a play by play?
Here it is: I don’t want you anymore.”

His words stung as if I had walked into
a swarm of killer bees. “Likewise.”

His face froze and he sucked in an
exaggerated breath. “I never knew you actually wanted me, Rayla.
You’re going to make me blush.”

“
As if you
could.”

“
You know nothing about
me.”

“
And I want to keep it that
way. All the information I need from you is how we are going to get
Zach and Luke off that island without getting captured
ourselves.”

“
Captured?”

“
I’ve been saying they are
in trouble for days. It shouldn’t come as much of a
shock.”

“
You never said
captured.”

“
What else would keep them
away from….” I couldn’t say it. I sounded so stuck-up I wanted to
throttle myself.

“
Maybe they had some
distractions along the way home?”

“
Now you’re just trying to
hurt me.”

“
How would you
know?”

I threw up my hands. “Ugh. Heath. It’s
clear we could banter about this for hours. You once asked me if I
was willing to lose everything to win. There is only one reason I
can think of that would make you turn a one-eighty like you have.
What happened to make you think you would lose something you
couldn’t live without?”

A shocked expression tried to claim his
face, but anger won that battle. “This conversation is over.” He
started to walk away then paused. “I will be here to get you at
five. Don’t make me wait.”

When I opened the door after he slammed
it shut, I watched him bound around the corner looking as if he was
on his way to kill someone. Neeko turned toward me. As usual his
face was void of emotion. He gave what I suspected was supposed to
be a smile. “Good night, Rayla.”

Even though I would never openly admit
it to him, I sort of trusted Heath. The absurd thought brought a
smile to my lips. He’d had his chance to bond with me. I had been
completely defenseless just before I stopped him. The more I
considered what had happen, the more I wondered what Ainessa was up
to. Instead of coming after me herself, she had tried to hijack
Heath. Why? I didn’t think it was just because she couldn’t drift
with me herself.

Was it possible she had figured out she
wasn’t capable of bonding, or did she think she would get farther
by controlling me through Heath? I wasn’t much for gossip, but I
had been hearing rumors. The council had agreed to let Ainessa try
a bonding, but once it was clear I might be the nexus, they had
quickly withdrawn the offer.

Lysanne told me that Ainessa was
supposed to have been with the Eirian delegation at Lomarda while
she had been wreaking havoc between me and Heath. Supposedly she
had witnesses that would account for her whereabouts. Probably
servants that didn’t dare defy her. It really didn’t matter
anymore. She had done me a favor.

The next morning I followed Finn and
Cassie out of the castle compound into an open area by the forest.
We had to come clear out here to bypass the wards. Technically,
Jett shouldn’t have been able to manage it from the terrace, but
whatever. I hadn’t been courageous enough to try it myself. I
didn’t want to know I was really trapped. I took a final look
around wondering if this was the last time I would ever see this
place.

Heath was rummaging through a knapsack
when we approached him. His cool glance slid off me as if I was as
slick as the surrounding cliffs. I tried to hide my shiver, but I
wasn’t sure it actually worked.

He didn’t bother with greetings. “From
what we’ve been able to tell, some sort of shield is protecting the
compound but it doesn’t extend to this part of the island.” An
image appeared in the center of our group.

The island was bigger than I thought it
would be. There was one large peak surrounded by beach on one side
and cliffs on the other with more beach below. The compound was on
a long stretch of an outcrop that rose out of the water like an
intimidating fortress, but from here it just looked like a bunch of
buildings. The only thing intimidating about the place was the
enormous walls surrounding the generic buildings inside them. From
this vantage point the whole thing looked like a gigantic
bulls-eye.

Heath pointed to a spot on the opposite
side of the island. “We will be transporting here.” The whole scene
rotated as if we were standing on the sand. We were shown a three
hundred and sixty degree view of the beach, if that’s what you
wanted to call it. It was more rocky than anything. I was sure
Heath had chosen this spot for a reason.