Dark Matter (9 page)

Leave? I recalled something about that.
I needed to leave for some reason. I was worried about something,
but I couldn’t quite remember…I lost my train of thought. My
eyelids would have required braces to keep them open at that
point.

Someone else stomped over to the bed.
The sound of his voice reverberated around me. “Rayla.” It was
unmistakably Finn. “Get up! They are holding the tournament
tomorrow and unless you want to find yourself bound to Heath, you
had better fight to wake up.”

“
Isn’t there anything you
could do to help her?” Cassie asked. She slid away from me and
lowered her voice, but I still managed to hear what she was saying.
“What exactly is wrong with her?”

“
This is Jett’s attempt at
keeping her from being claimed before he returns with the Royal
Guard. He’s a master of subliminal control. In effect, Rayla is
under sedation.”

Cassie groaned. “There has to be a way
to break the spell or whatever it is.”

“
I could try, but I would
risk too much to do it. We’re better off leaving her here. Don’t
you see? It would be easier for us if I wasn’t around her all the
time.”

“
She’s my best friend, and I
won’t see her miserable because of me. I would rather you claim her
than have someone else have control of her power.”

Anger saturated Finn’s reply. “How can
you say such a thing? You know how difficult this has been for me
to fight.”

I tried my hardest to tell Finn that
there was no way he was ditching me, but my lips refused to move.
Feelings rushed through me. It was all returning. I had to get to
Zach. I had to find Luke. I forced my eyes open. “Don’t you dare
leave me here,” I managed to say, but my voice was so soft, I
wondered if they had been able to hear me.

Cassie whirled around. Her cheeks
lifted in a relieved smile. “I knew you could do it.” She sat next
to me and helped me to sit up.

For one brief moment, Finn looked at me
as if I were his whole reason for existing. Then his eyes held only
one thing for me: contempt that was moments away from morphing into
hatred. He stepped back and crossed his arms over his
chest.

I turned away from him and glanced at
Cassie. I had never seen her look so hopeful.

“
Do you think you can stand
up?” she asked.

My head was still woozy as if I was in
the haze of a dream, but I pushed myself to the edge of the bed.
When I rose to my feet, I staggered. Cassie put her arm around my
waist and waited for me to lean into her. She helped me pull my
boots on then led me over to Finn.

He seemed absolutely shocked that I was
actually standing. I glared at him, angry that he wanted to leave
me here. “What are you waiting for?” I blurted.

He gave me a once over then a smirk
before he turned on his heel and walked away. I was surprised when
he didn’t lead us out the door. Instead, he took us into my sitting
room. Looking as intimidating as any medieval knight, he stood
before the fire pit. His hair shone almost as bright as the flame
below, matching the color of his eyes. Cassie brought me next to
him.

He looked at the two of us and cleared
his throat. “We will only have one chance at escape. The way is
treacherous, and I will not be able to use my power to aid either
of you. I need you both to understand what you are risking by doing
this. If we are caught, I will most likely be imprisoned and you
will be dealt with swiftly.”

I closed my eyes and prayed for
strength. Then I claimed Finn’s gaze, not allowing any doubt to
creep into my expression. “Let’s just get moving.”

He nodded before he knelt by the fire
pit. Seemingly searching for something in particular, he ran his
fingers over the stones. His hand brushed one area and stopped. A
small smile curved the corners of his mouth. “I hope you two are up
for this.”

He pushed a nondescript brown stone
inward, and the whole fire pit slid away as if on a stage. A gust
of sweltering heat blasted into us. I gasped a hot breath but was
determined not to complain about the sulfuric odor. Finn led the
way down the circular staircase. I heard the soft hiss of the
entrance closing behind us and hoped that a certain man did not
know about this passageway.

We kept descending into the depths of
the earth. It was slow going at first, but after a while, I felt
stronger as if Jett’s enchantment could no longer reach me. That
thought brought a hopeful smile to my lips. At least I no longer
had to use Cassie as a crutch. Just how far down were we going to
go? And for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what was so great
about underground tunnels that made the fae and the Order both use
them.

Sweat was running down my back in tiny
streams. I unzipped my jacket, but it didn’t help much, so after a
while I took it off and wrapped it around my waist. I pulled the
hem of my tank top out, letting my skin breathe a little. It was
soaking wet as if I had been in a sauna for hours.

To my utter relief, we finally reached
the bottom of the stairs. A small door was set into the wall. I
swallowed hard and gritted my teeth, inhaling slowly.

It was official. I was
claustrophobic.

Finn had to crouch to even get through
the door. I tried not to think about how far down we were or how
long we would have to travel in this place to see sky again. The
air became so thick with sulfur that I had to cover my nose. At one
point I even wondered if I was going to die down here. Every part
of me was screaming for water, but I didn’t dare complain about
being thirsty. Finn was just waiting for an excuse to leave me in
this place to rot.

Cassie was in front of me. She kept
glancing back, giving me small smiles as if she were proud of
me.

My body was still pretty weak, but I
was hopeful for the first time since I got here that I would be
able to leave. After what seemed like forever, we reached another
door. I tried not to get too excited about being able to breathe
fresh air again because for all I knew we were headed somewhere
worse. When I looked a little closer it occurred to me that the
door was a solid metal slab. Where was the knob?

Finn murmured a couple of words in a
language that sounded as old as time before the door groaned and
dust spewed out all around us. We all started coughing. I couldn’t
see anything, but I felt Cassie’s small fingers curl around mine.
We walked tentatively through the opening.

Great. It was even hotter. Cassie
stopped cold and let out a yelp. I barely managed to avoid her.
Finn swore.

I heard a low growl that was definitely
not from an animal. “I knew you would try something like this,”
said a voice that had grown familiar even though I didn’t want it
to. When the dust settled, I peeked around Finn’s shoulder, hoping
I was mistaken. Heath turned toward Finn, his face contorted in
furor. “I was right. You are too much of a coward to face
me.”

He stood only a few feet away from me,
and I was finding it hard to resist the natural pull his nearness
caused. The anger fled his eyes when he glanced at me. He smiled,
warm and inviting. I felt the blood drain from my face. What
next?

Finn took advantage of the distraction
and lunged at Heath, letting out a guttural scream. The two men
went sprawling, fists flying at each other in a battle as old as
time. I just wished I wasn’t the reason they were fighting. I was a
little surprised that neither of them was using his power, but Finn
had implied that they couldn’t access it down here. This was a test
of pure strength, and I wasn’t certain which of them would
win.

Cassie shouted repeatedly for Finn to
stop. I couldn’t say a word. How had my life come to this? I wanted
to do something, anything, but I had no clue what that would be. In
the end, I just stood there gaping. They were both strong, capable
men who seemed equally matched.

Finn caught Heath off guard and threw
him to the ground, but Heath was able to roll away then jump to his
feet before Finn could pin him down. His chest was heaving, and his
face was a little ashen.

“
Please stop,” I found
myself pleading. Something inside me couldn’t bear to see either of
these men hurt. “I don’t want you to fight over me.” Why did my
voice sound so fragile? I refused to be weak, so I straightened my
spine and stared each of them in the eye.

Finn looked sharply away from me, but
Heath matched my gaze. He wasn’t about to relent.

“
Look,” I said. “I don’t
know what is going on between the two of you, and I don’t even
care. I need to get out of here, and neither of you is going to
stop me.”

Heath smirked, raising his brows.
“That’s what you think.”

“
Enough,” Cassie yelled.
“You two can have a pissing match some other time. I can’t even
breathe down here. Get us out!”

Finn glanced at her and his expression
softened. His concern for her eclipsed his anger for Heath and she
was pulled lovingly into his arms. He looked briefly at me before
he turned toward Heath. I thought I saw regret in his eyes, but I
could have been imagining that.

His tone was soft yet firm. “You have
bested me, brother. The Elemental is yours.” Then he just walked
away with Cassie in his arms.

I gaped after them. Cassie looked over
his shoulder with an alarmed expression on her face. Even though I
didn’t like the situation, this was for the best. I mouthed for her
to go. She shook her head, but I just turned away from
her.

I peeked up at Heath through my lashes
not knowing what I was going to do now. I wasn’t strong enough to
fight him, and I was pretty sure he knew it. My only hope was that
he wouldn’t want to take me like this.

He held his hand out toward me and said
simply, “Come.”

I considered him but was
frozen where I was. I had never felt this deeply conflicted. He had
fought with all his strength to win
me
. Why? Was he out for power like
Jett, or did he have something else in mind?

Bruises were already forming along his
jaw-line, and he ambled over to me with a slight limp when I didn’t
immediately respond. There was really no use in resisting him while
we were down here; besides, I needed to conserve my energy for a
time when I could actually escape. I stepped forward and placed my
hand in his.

I was completely alone now.

Would I ever feel a sense of community
again? Tears trickled soundlessly down my face. If he noticed,
Heath didn’t comment. I was absolutely shocked when he started
after Finn and Cassie. I had expected him to lead me back the way
we had come.

The tunnel opened up into a cavern that
split three ways. Heath removed his shirt and ripped a strip off
the end. His skin glistened golden in the dim light. His chest
muscles bunched as he handed me the cloth. My heart raced faster. I
couldn’t draw my gaze away from him. I was so sick of feeling like
I had no control over my own body. I nodded warily in thanks and
put the cloth to my nose.

He ripped another strip from his shirt
and stepped behind me. With the stealth of a practiced hand, he
pulled my hair up, fastening it into a sloppy bun. I felt his
fingers gently working at my nape and was barely able to suppress a
shudder. I swayed a little from the feeling of his skin against
mine. Out of nowhere, his emotions blasted into me as if they were
my own.

Heath was doing his best to protect me.
The strangest part was he felt so possessive of me that I wanted to
back away from him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. There was
something strange about the connection I felt with him that hadn’t
been there before.

I glanced up ahead toward Cassie and
Finn. That was when I realized what had just taken place. Finn had
given up claim to me in more than just words. I looked sharply at
Heath. He was as serious as I had ever seen him. I didn’t know how
I was going to do it, but I had to get away from him. He was now
lord of Fire, and I was in terrible trouble.

The tunnel finally opened up into
another cavern. Stalactites hung low in columns reaching longingly
toward the stalagmites below as if they were star-crossed lovers. I
found it sort of sad that only the slow drip of time would be able
to unite them. The stones glowed softly and made the path easier to
see but hardly easier to traverse.

I kept trying to glance around Heath,
but he was too massive to get a good view. Where had Finn and
Cassie gone? They couldn’t have been that far ahead of
us.

Heath whirled around and faced me. I
nearly ran into him. “Would you like to move ahead of me Rayla?” He
asked. He seemed a bit annoyed with me, but I didn’t
care.

I shrugged. “Where did they
go?”

“
Took a different route,” he
said simply.

Panic squeezed my insides into a tight
fist. How could they just leave me alone with him? I didn’t know
anything about him which was not helpful at the moment. I couldn’t
read his expression at all. I didn’t want to lose hope, but how was
I going to get out of this? I was pretty certain Heath had found a
way around my barriers. Was it possible that he could succeed where
Luke had failed? “Where are you taking me?”