Dark Matter (17 page)

He leveled his gaze with mine. “As if
you could have escaped me.”

Chapter Twelve

I shook my head not sure what to do.
Somewhere on this retched island were the two men I cared about
most in this world. I wasn’t about to let Heath take me away now. I
had to find them and my family. I had to make sure they were
okay.

Without another word I marched toward
the jungle. I didn’t make it more than two steps before Heath had
me bound in a bear-hug.

“
Let go of me,” I
hissed.

“
Stop being so stupid. Don’t
you get it? This is a trap. Set for you!”

“
Why would the Order care
about me? I’d hardly be useful to them yet.”

“
So now you’re an
expert?”

“
Why won’t you tell me what
happened?”

“
I’m not going to argue
about this here. We are leaving.”

I found myself floating on a current of
matter before I could say another word. I screamed at Heath to let
go of me. I pummeled my fists into his chest and kicked at his
shins. I was not going back, but I already had. Cold enveloped me
like a tomb.

I wrenched myself out of his embrace.
“How dare you!” His jaw clenched but he didn’t say anything. I
stared at him in disbelief remembering something Luke had told
me.

Heath turned away from me and started
toward the castle. I raced up next to him, my body convulsing in
shivers. I wasn’t going to stay here very long, but I had to clear
this up. “I thought Zach was the only fae that could drift with
another person.”

He didn’t even glance at me. “Obviously
not.”

I stopped in my tracks hissing out a
curse when I realized we were inside the castle compound. No. I
couldn’t get out of here unless I was outside the castle walls. An
angry racket blasted through the air. I raced for the closing
drawbridge.

Cassie screamed at me to stop, but I
couldn’t. I had to get back to that island. I had to save the men I
loved. I had to do something. The bridge was at a forty-five degree
angle when I reached it. I didn’t think I could make it, but I
would have rather fried in a river of lava than set another foot
inside that castle.

I was two feet from the edge when a
compulsion so fierce it took away my breath crashed through my
barriers. My legs turned to stone and my arms refused to move. I
might as well have been made of marble.

Heath stood behind me. I could feel him
there, taunting me to break his command. I fought with all my might
to push him back, but he was too strong. The moment I stopped
trying, he released me. I crumpled into a heap at his feat,
exhaustion claiming me. The last thing I saw was the stern set of
his jaw as he lifted me into his arms.

Patience is not something I’m known
for. I’ve tried to develop it during different parts of my life,
but somehow I always end up getting frustrated with how long it is
taking to get what I want.

Now was no exception. I peeked out my
door for the fifth time in about three minutes. I’d been trying to
drift out of here for hours even though I knew it was no use. The
wards were too strong for me—either that or I was just flat out too
tired. I gave a little shiver when I thought about Jett managing
it.

I woke up feeling as if I hadn’t eaten
in a week. I stumbled out of bed but before I had been able to get
very far I noticed the table of steaming food over in the corner. I
rushed over and started shoving things into my mouth without
bothering to look for a fork or even see what I was
eatich.

“
Slow down,” said Cassie.
“You’ll make yourself throw-up.”

I nodded at her, but seeing as how she
didn’t know how it felt to have your insides twisting into a knot
of insatiable hunger, she had no right to tell me what to do. I
finished off the loaf of bread then gulped down the hearty bowl of
soup. The fae don’t eat that much differently that we do. It just
tastes a whole lot better.

“
What’s happening?” I asked
around a mouthful of salty goodness.

She didn’t hide her cringe in time for
me to miss it. “Tabitha is coming.”

I choked on my juice and heaved myself
into the nearest chair. No. No. No. No. No! She was the last person
I wanted to see. No doubt she’d show up with Jett in
tow.

I didn’t want to hear any more. I got
up without saying a word and went into the closet. When my search
for a bag didn’t yield anything, I ripped a case off one of the
pillows and began shoving clothes into it.

Cassie lingered in the doorway biting
her fingernails. “Rayla.”

I held up a hand before I turned my
attention to packing again. When I was done with the necessities, I
pressed the button for the jewelry, but the shelf was empty. Blast
that Heath.

Didn’t matter. I still had a few
things, but when I looked at my fingers all the rings were gone. I
felt my earlobes. Naked. Well that just sucked. Nothing like
stealing from the unconscious. Oh well. I’d just have to find
another way to get something to bribe Gibbit with.

I marched into my sitting room and
lowered to my knees in front of the fire-pit. I pressed my fingers
to the stones in a random pattern. It had to be here
somewhere.

“
That’s never going to
work,” Cassie said in a singsong voice.

I ignored her. I couldn’t allow Tabitha
to get her clutches on me again.

“
They sealed it.”

I still didn’t stop. This was just the
nightmare I had been trying to avoid. I knew it was only a matter
of time before I would have to deal with that wild woman again, but
I had never imagined I’d have to do it without Luke and Zach by my
side.

I figured the next time I saw them I
would just know which one I should be with. Left up to Tabitha’s
devices, it wouldn’t be either of them. I felt a soft hand on my
shoulder, but I just kept going. My fingers were starting to hurt
because of the rough stones. Wait a minute. They had been smooth
before. So that was their game.

I stood up and brushed Cassie’s fingers
from my shoulder. “I know what you’re trying to do, Cass, but I
have to find a way out of here.” I grabbed a knife from the tray in
my bedchamber and went to work digging the grout out of the
grooves.

“
Theft wasn’t bad enough,”
said Heath. “Now you’re resorting to vandalism.”

I kept scraping the knife between the
stones. I felt him kneel beside me. His hand came around mine and
squeezed gently on my fingers. When I didn’t let go, he tightened
his grip.

I whirled away from him and plopped on
the nearest couch just to avoid feeling his skin against mine. He
rose to his feet and settled on the couch opposite me. The fire
cast his face in shadow. If I had cared I would have noticed how
tired he looked, but I didn’t. At least I didn’t want to. I sat
there and stared at him blankly.

His lips rose in a smile only he could
give: ruthless with an edge of regret.

“
What are you doing here,
Heath?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.

“
My job,” was his only
reply.

“
Good to know.”

I stood up and walked toward the
gardens. I tucked a candle stick into my waistband on my way out,
praying he hadn’t noticed. I wandered the pathways for a while
searching for the best place to try my escape.

After a while I realized the only place
I could manage it was in front of the pond. I meandered to the edge
of the water, smiling at the friendly little things that greeted
me.

“
I wouldn’t get that close
if I were you,” Heath said from over my shoulder.

“
No one asked you,” I
huffed. I picked up a handful of flakes and let them drift into the
water. As before the fish went crazy. I tilted my head to make sure
I wasn’t imagining what I was seeing. How had I missed the size of
their teeth before?

I inched away. Heath laughed at
me.

This was probably the most distracted I
could hope he’d be. I ran toward the glass, candlestick poised to
strike. He didn’t try to stop me like I thought he would. I bashed
the candlestick into the barrier, but the only thing that broke was
my wrist. I bit back my pain and looked into amused
eyes.

“
You’re never going to learn
are you?”

I stomped away from him and made my way
back to my room wishing for ice. I tested my fingers. They still
worked, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought. I
went straight for the front door. Neeko twisted toward
me.

Not bothering to think twice, I held my
hand out and said, “Will you fix this for me like you did in the
arena?”

Heath was directly behind me again as
if I had grown another shadow. Neeko glanced at him before he said,
“I don’t know what you mean, my lady.”

Great. He was probably afraid of what
Heath would do to him if he found out he had that kind of power. I
didn’t bother arguing because I had no desire to get him in
trouble. He had healed me once. I know he had, but with the way he
had just acted it was clear to me that he shouldn’t
have.

Heath twisted me around. “Let me see
that.”

He cradled my hand in his and pressed
at the bones. I winced, but I wasn’t about to release the tears
that were terribly close to spilling over. I glanced up at him, my
heart racing from his touch despite the fact that he wasn’t using a
compulsion on me.

He could have been any other attractive
man for how much I could feel him, but it was as if my body had
been trained to react this way. I was just as bad as Pavlov’s dogs
but at least I wasn’t salivating. Yet.

“
You should be okay.” He
released my hand and caught my gaze. “Would you like me to call a
medic?”

I shook my head. He wasn’t going to
scold me for being so stupid?

He nodded and gestured for me to follow
him. I was beginning to hate my sitting room. Every time I saw that
fire, I would be reminded of my failed escape, but worse, I would
relive the feelings of that day. Why didn’t my body get what my
head already knew? Heath had already admitted he didn’t want me
anymore. So why was I fighting the temptation to seduce him? If I
hadn’t known better I would have thought Ainessa was hiding in the
shadows.

I took a seat but refused to look at
him. I didn’t want him to see the weakness in my eyes.

“
I assume you’ve heard
then?”

There was no point in trying to skirt
the issue now. I nodded solemnly.

“
There’s a chance that
Tabitha will bring Jett with her.”

I tried not to let my fear show through
my bluster. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

“
It is more likely she will
be alone.”

Now I was just confused. Jett had
already made it clear he would be coming back for me. What could
possibly keep him away?

As if he had read my thoughts, Heath
said, “He’s the captain of our army. He will be busy orchestrating
an attack on the island.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Why is she
coming then?”

“
I have my suspicions, but I
can’t be certain.”

“
I promise not to hold you
to it.”

“
The only way to really
protect you from Ainessa is through a bonding.”

I didn’t like where this was headed.
“But the only lord not already attached or otherwise occupied is…”
I glanced up at him just to be sure I was right. His stiff posture
told me all I needed to know. “So how do we get out of
it?”

He laughed, and I realized just how
much I missed the sound. I swallowed hard. Every time I thought I
knew what was going to happen with my life, it changed. I had
already convinced myself that I didn’t need to worry about Heath.
Now, if Tabitha got her way, I just might be bound to him before
the night was over.

He knelt in front of me bracing his
hands on my thighs. “I know of no way.”

I sat there stiffly unsure what to do
with my hands even though with him this close I would have loved to
run my fingers through his dark locks. “Then why are you
here?”

“
I thought you might take
the news better…privately.”

I pressed my back into the sofa not
wanting to relax into his touch. “What about you? I thought you’re
offer was off the table. In fact, if I recall right, you insisted
you wouldn’t bond with me ever. Now you’re just going to do what
Tabitha says? Just because she says it?”

He lowered his gaze, “No one defies
Tabitha.”

I laughed mockingly. “Is she some evil
dictator or what? I can’t imagine why you people do what she says.
She isn’t even like the rest of you.”

His eyes found mine and held them. “How
do you know that?”

I frowned. Didn’t everyone? She didn’t
feel like anyone other fae I had met. There was something
infinitely deeper about her, as if she was the heart of nature
itself not just an extension. When I didn’t speak up, Heath blasted
me with a silent compulsion so strong I almost bit my tongue when I
answered him. “I don’t know how I know. I just do. I thought you
were done trying to compel me!”