Dark Matter (35 page)

Heath asked to speak to me alone, so
Roger disappeared into the jungle. I glanced at Heath, not really
sure if I should trust him.

He paced in front of me, tension
setting his shoulders at a hard angle. “I wanted to give you
another option before you decide to go off with that human. You
need to understand that there is risk associated with his plan. If
you cannot disable the germ, we will not be able to come for you.
Ainessa is clever and likely to see through attempts to get close
to it.”

I nodded because I couldn’t get my
voice to work. I didn’t like where he was headed with this, but it
might be my best chance at real escape.

“
If we bonded now, we might
be strong enough to contain the germ from here. In essence, we
might be able to avoid the battle. Mind you, I’m not begging for
this by any stretch. You have to know that about me. I’m only
thinking about your welfare. I know how much you have been through
and I wish I could just take you away from here.” I opened my mouth
to protest, but he waved me off. “If she were able to claim you, it
would be disastrous for both our races.”

I wasn’t ready to talk about what had
happened between us, so I asked the other thing I wanted to know.
“Why?”

He stopped and stared directly at me.
“She might be powerful enough to ignite the germ on her own. The
world as you know it would be replaced by one of her
making.”

I laughed. “God would never allow that
to happen.”

A lone brow shot toward his hairline.
Today his hair was pulled away from his face in a long braid that
ran down his back. I fought the memory of him moving as if he were
gliding on the wind in the arena. That seemed so distant from me
now, almost as if it had happened to another person.

“
For one who claims to know
what your creator would and wouldn’t do, you don’t seem to know
anything. Agency is his mantle, Rayla. He will not interfere with
the free will of the Order members. To do so would go against the
plan he has for his children, which is why you have to intercede
for him.”

“
I don’t love you, Heath.” I
felt the lie slip easily through my lips like a sigh. He didn’t
need to know how I felt about him.

He gazed at me dispassionately. “This
isn’t about love. It’s about strategy, and I think it is our best
hope. Tabitha was beyond angry when you left with Gibbit. She will
not give you choices the next time she sees you. You will be bound
to the lord of her choosing.” He shook his head at me. “Don’t
expect me to beg you. The decision is yours.”

Why wasn’t it Luke or Zach standing
here telling me this? It would have been a no-brainer for me with
either one of them at this point. But Heath? I might be tying
myself to him for centuries if I agreed. What if our bond was
strong? What if one of the others couldn’t take me from
him?

“
There is one thing I have
to know before I make my decision.” He gave me his full attention.
“Why did you change your mind? I thought you didn’t want to bond
with me.”

He flinched. It looked odd on his face.
“I never said that.”

“
You told me you didn’t want
me anymore. I think that is pretty self explanatory.”

His mouth opened, but he closed it just
as fast. He shook his head and inched nearer.

Even though my entire body shivered,
remembering him crashing into me, I tried to keep my expression
placid. I tried again. “What kind of answer is that, anyway? You
were all over me when I first came to Ignis and then suddenly after
Ainessa got into your head, you couldn’t get far enough away from
me. Then just as quickly you agree to bond with me? I need a neck
brace from trying to keep up with how much you change your mind. If
I didn’t know better, I’d say it was your time of the
month.”

He chuckled, but still managed to
narrow his eyes. “Why does it matter? I am offering protection.
That is the only thing you should be focusing on right
now.”

“
How can I be sure that I
can trust you?”

“
I’m here, aren’t
I?”

“
Why won’t you just answer
me?”

“
You know what? Forget it.
This was a mistake. Go with Roger.” With that said, he bounded
toward the forest, cursing as he went.

I had to make a decision fast, but he
hadn’t even been in the realm of being an option for me just
minutes ago. I had already discounted him when I left with Gibbit.
I needed time to process the thought—time he was not willing to
give me. “Wait,” I called.

He stopped but didn’t turn
around.

“
What will you expect from
me if we do this?’

His head turned slowly. I saw him hide
his smile. “So you are agreeing?”

“
I’m thinking about
it.”

He stalked toward me, his chin tucked
toward his chest, his eyes intent upon mine. “Everything. I will
not accept anything less from you. If you agree to do this, you are
witnessing to the world you are mine.”

My brain stuttered as heat spread up my
body. I had never had a man look at me with the raw passion he was
wielding. My gaze lowered to his lips. My insides tightened at the
memory of his kiss. Was he doing this to me, or was I doing it to
myself? I couldn’t be sure if he was using a compulsion. He was a
slippery scoundrel that would do anything to get what he wanted,
but I knew in my heart that I would belong to Ainessa if I didn’t
do something soon.

Better the devil I sort of understood
than her. I couldn’t believe I was actually considering this.
“Dream on,” I said abrasively. “I’m only doing this because you’re
the best option I have at the moment. It isn’t anything more than
that.”

He took a step toward me, but I held my
ground.

He laughed, low and seductive. Man I
loved the sound of his laugh. “So it begins,” he said
softly.

“
What?” He was right in
front of me. My chest heaved under the strain of his penetrating
gaze.

He ran a finger along my collarbone,
pulling me against him with his other hand. I swallowed hard,
anticipation lighting up my nerves. “You’ll see.”

He let me go, and I staggered backward.
He didn’t move to catch me. Instead, he was disappearing into the
jungle again.

I raced to catch up to him. “Where are
you going?”

“
The only way I will to do
this is with witnesses. You saw what happened when I tried to take
matters into my own hands in Ignis. I don’t want anyone to cry foul
when we return as one.”

I felt absurdly disappointed that he
hadn’t just done it then. I hid the expression on my face with a
strategically placed cough into my elbow.

Heath glanced at me sidelong. My only
hope of really escaping this man was that Zach or Luke was stronger
than him. Bonding under dire circumstances shouldn’t
count.

“
We’ll see about that,” he
said with a growl.

Had I thought that out loud?
“What?”

He shook his head at me, giving me a
dubious frown. “Roger!” he yelled. “Change of plans.”

Chapter
Twenty-Four

You can’t mean to go through with
this!” Roger hissed into my ear.

I swatted him away. “It’s none of your
business.”

He stiffened when Heath glanced back at
us. “What happens with you is everyone’s business. Think about what
you are doing!”

I sighed in frustration. “I
have.”

Heath was a few strides ahead of us. He
seemed to be stewing about something, but I wasn’t going to ask him
about it. I had enough to worry about.

What if I was wrong? The more I thought
about it, the surer I was that Zach would be the only one that
could take me away from Heath? That was a relief where Jett was
concerned, but what if Zach wasn’t strong enough? By agreeing to do
this, I was pretty much discounting Luke. I wasn’t sure I was ready
for that decision. What if I was stuck with Heath for a small
eternity? I tried to keep the real question from entering my
thoughts, but it floated to the surface anyway. What if he didn’t
love me?

No. I couldn’t think like that. I
needed to be positive. Zach would get me out of this. Who knew,
Luke could surprise us all.

“
Clearly not enough,” said
Roger, breaking through my contemplation.

“
Leave me alone,” I growled
because I had already forgotten what we had been talking about.
“I’ve had enough of you today.”

He had the audacity to look offended.
“You couldn’t really believe I would hurt you.”

“
Oh, no? What would make me
think otherwise? I know what you did with Cassie.”

“
She wanted to. She just
needed—”

“
No she didn’t.”

“
Whatever.”

“
Shut up.”

To my surprise, he did. He wasn’t far
off the mark, though. I would have to be insane to go through with
this. I didn’t know anything about Heath, really, and I was on my
way to bond with him. Even with witnessing Cassie and Finn’s
bonding, I still had no clue what to expect, and I was starting to
get a headache from thinking about it.

We had been walking forever; my feet
were nearly raw. I stumbled over a root and fell to my knees; a
loud ripping noise rang out. “Great.” My dress was officially
destroyed.

Without even a backward glance, Heath
clothed me in jeans, hiking boots, and a tank top.

“
Thanks,” I called ahead.
“Could have used these two miles ago.”

He kept walking. “You didn’t
ask.”

I turned his words on him. “I shouldn’t
have to.”

Roger whirled around and stared at me.
He looked back at Heath. “Do that again,” he said in complete
awe.

Heath’s only response was to flip Roger
off. I hid my chuckle, and jogged to catch up to them.

“
How did he do that?” Roger
asked me, completely looking awestruck.

“
No clue.”

“
Aren’t you even
curious?”

I rolled my eyes. “Give me more credit
than that. No one will tell me how they do it. For all I know it is
just an illusion.” And for all I knew, I was just like the emperor
with a set of new clothes.

He touched my shirt at my waist before
I swatted his hand away. “Doesn’t feel like an
illusion.”

I ignored him. I had more important
things on my mind. It was hard to see anything the deeper we
trudged into the trees. We kept climbing higher and higher and I
was beginning to worry that we would never reach the fae
camp.

I stole a glance over my shoulder. The
entire compound looked like some kid had spent hours gluing the
pieces together. Above us the stars shone with an intensity that
startled me. With only a bit of light contamination here, space
took on a tangible quality. It reminded me of the night I had spent
under the stars with Luke in Eirie.

Heath stopped and held up his hand
before he turned toward me. His expression was clouded under the
cover of night. “Are you sure about this? Once started, there is no
going back.”

I straightened my spine and walked past
him in response. Like it or not, I was sticking with my
decision.

With him out of my way I could see
firelight in the distance. People were talking and a sob escaped me
when I recognized Cassie’s voice. I raced ahead, but stopped short
when I saw how few people were actually here.

There was Cassie and Finn, of course,
and Levi. I squinted to make sure. That was it. We were supposed to
take on Ainessa and the Order with only six of us? Fifteen if I
counted Lacey’s group.

I glanced around hoping she would step
out of the shadows. Where were they anyway? I thought they would
have found me hours ago. I was really getting worried about
them.

Rustling sounded in the bushes, but it
was only Heath and Roger catching up. Cassie walked over to me. She
smiled gravely. Reaching out, she touched my arm. I pulled her into
a hard hug just before she started crying.

“
What’s wrong?” I asked in
confusion.

“
Aren’t you mad at
me?”

“
For what?” I shook my head.
“You were a little preoccupied when I left, but I can hardly blame
you.”

She slapped my arm. “I can’t believe
you did that! I have been worried sick.”

“
It was a mistake. I thought
Gibbit was trying to help me. I still kind of do, but I can’t be
sure.” I couldn’t keep myself from wondering if he had been part of
a conspiracy to get me away from the fae realm. I would likely
never know. “It doesn’t matter now anyway.”

Cassie’s gaze settled on my face,
searching. “I don’t like the tone in your voice. What are you
talking about?”

Heath walked over to me, interrupting
us. “Are you ready?”

I swallowed back my fear and croaked
out, “Yes.”

“
Ready for what?” She
grabbed my hands, unwilling to let Heath lead me away. “Rayla, tell
me what the hell is going on.”