Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (27 page)

"I don't know anything. All the Vilori woman were beautiful and strong. They always did well with people."

Hunter stared at her profile. His mother always was honest with him. She never sugarcoated anything, even when he was a kid. She told it to him straight, always. And now she was lying. It didn't sit well with him.

"Just be careful," she said quietly.

"I always am. And I don't need the warning or babying. Nothing's going to happen," Hunter said gruffly.

"You don't always have control over everything," she said quietly, before walking away.

Hunter stared after her as she went into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. She had only moved into the next room, but Hunter got the impression that she was much farther away. Syney made people have all sorts of emotions or reactions, but this was the first one that bothered him. He looked back at Syney. The music had just ended, and she was laughing and out of breath, still in Lake's arms. She kissed him on the cheek before prancing over to Hunter.

"Did you see me? I was dancing!" she said, still a little out of breath. "That was definitely my workout for the day." She collapsed beside him.

"You looked good out there," he said.

"Hmmm, this was so much fun."

"You don't think you're done, do you?" Lily asked, hopping over to them. "There's so much more to learn."

"Oh, god. I don't think I could handle more," Syney said with a laugh.

"You haven't even danced with Hunter yet. He's always the best dancer."

Hunter shook his head, his mind still on his mother.

"There's no getting out of it," Lily said, pulling them both to their feet.

Hunter sighed and gave in. He looked over to an old man, who was controlling the music. "Let's do the Early Morning dance," Hunter called over.

Lily directed Syney to stand across from Hunter as the men lined up across from the women. "Just follow my lead," she whispered to Syney.

Hunter gave one last look to Rose and found her staring at him. She gave him a sad smile, her hands clasped over her chest. He looked away and over to Syney, who was also watching him. She smiled, and all of Hunter's worry faded away. When the guitar and violins began to play, Hunter took a step forward,
and so did Syney, once Lily pushed her a little. She gave a laugh, and that was all he needed. They continued the dance, going back and forth and then around each other, not touching. This was a dance based on chaste looks—until the end, that is. When the violins kicked in again, the girls stepped forward and did their moves, kicking their legs up and then crossing them. Syney was trying to keep up as best she could, smiling the whole time. When the singer began again, they stepped forward, this time grabbing hands and lifting them up as they came within inches of each other. Hunter smiled down at Syney as she came close and then pushed her back into her line. Then the solos began. Starting on one end, each couple danced down the middle of the two lines, facing each other and then turning their backs and then facing again, repeating until they reached the end other end. Once it was Syney and Hunter's turn, she began to get into the rhythm, putting a flourish on her moves, causing Hunter to laugh. Once they all had gone down the line, he looked over to her, her breath a little heavy, which made her chest heave. For the second time since he had known her, there was nothing Hunter wanted to do more than kiss her. He almost stepped out of line. The end of the dance was the best part, but he wasn't sure whether it was OK for him to continue.

Oh, Father... Oh, Father, I've got me a man
,

and he is the one I would wed if I can
.

As handsome as ever in leather did stand
,

for a kiss in the morning early
.

He never had listened to the lyrics before; he stopped for a moment and missed the cue for the next move. This always had been his mother's favorite song. He dared give Rose a glance. She was watching with tears in her eyes. He looked back at Syney, who stepped forward, on Lily's cue. He couldn't move for a moment, couldn't breathe. Syney's smile fell; she sensed something was wrong. Hunter mentally kicked himself—a royal Protector scared to dance with a girl. He shook off the feeling and stepped forward, putting his hand out toward her cheek but not quite touching it. She seemed confused at first then looked to Lily, who had her hand to her partner's cheek and his to hers as they slowly turned in a circle. Syney slowly lifted her hand and cupped Hunter's cheek, a deep calmness invading his hard surface. He gently put his hand all the way to her cheek, and they started to slowly turn in time with the music, as they stared into each other's eyes. His breath picked up. He could get lost in her violet eyes or in this feeling he got every time she touched him. But it was more than that, and he knew it. He had loved watching her play sarcastic with Gabe,
face down the queen, and even answer every inane question the young girls had asked at dinner. It was Syney that made him feel this way, not some confusing connection.

As the music came to a close, he held her face for a moment longer, moving his thumb to brush under her eye. He didn't want to let her go. He felt a stare bore into his back, which he knew was his mother. Reluctantly he stepped back and gave her a bow before moving to join Lake a few feet away. He didn't dare look back at her. He couldn't handle that right now.

A while later Hunter and Syney said their goodbyes. Syney promised to come back for the next festival. She sounded completely sincere, which Hunter had no doubt she was. She thanked Lily for the dance lessons and Rose for opening her home to them. From the first she got a hug and a laugh, from the second a slightly cold nod. Hunter looked down at his mother after giving her a brief hug and searched her eyes for something. He wasn't sure what, but he found nothing in return. This wasn't the woman who had raised him, and he needed to find out why, just not now with Syney here. They all waved as Hunter and Syney left. Once outside, Syney put up her hood and started in the direction from which they had come.

Hunter grabbed her arm to stop her. "We're going to take another way. I don't want to go through the main door. There's a side entrance by the guards' quarters."

She nodded and followed in the opposite direction. They were silent during the entire walk. Hunter wasn't sure how he should end this night. He wanted to talk to her, tell her all the things that had been running through his mind, but he knew he couldn't. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to go back to how they had been, though. It had taken everything in him not to rip off that royal snot Brian's head every time they were together. He didn't want to see her continue on that road, marry a royal, and take the throne. But that was what she was meant to do. And he was meant to stand on the sidelines and watch, act if needed, but only do that in life-and-death situations. For the first time since he was born, he hated being a Lycin.

He led her into the side entrance of the palace and quickly past the guard rec room and one of the gyms. There were a few gyms throughout the palace, but this one was always open, and there was almost always a guard in there using down time to keep up with practice. He slowed them down when they reached a hall of rooms. He paused in front of one but then continued.

"Are these rooms?" Syney asked quietly.

Hunter nodded. "Mine is there."

Syney stopped, and for a moment, Hunter thought she was going to invite herself in. "Then you should just stay here. I can get back to my room. We're near the dining hall, right?"

Hunter nodded and pointed toward a small set of stairs at the end of the hall. "Up those and two rights."

"I'll be fine then." She smiled. "Thank you for tonight. You...you were right about there being good here."

He nodded. "Let me walk you to your room."

"Absolutely not. Why go all the way there just to come back?"

"It's my job."

Syney's smile fell a little. Obviously that wasn't the answer she wanted. "Go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and headed down the hall.

Hunter watched her go. He didn't want to go to bed, and he didn't want her to leave.

Syney

She didn't want to go to bed, and she didn't want to leave. Syney climbed the four stairs and made a right but stopped right after. She leaned back against the stone wall. Her head was filled with Hunter. The joking had relaxed him—the handsome dancing Hunter. She couldn't get him out of her head. The whole walk back to the palace she had wanted to grab his hand, pull him into a dark corner, and get that real kiss she wanted. She thought he felt at least some of that tonight, but she was never sure with him. He was hot and cold. All duty and honor and all that crap. She sighed. She couldn't let this night pass without something to show for it. She pushed off the wall and tried to remember which door Hunter had stopped at. She didn't want to go knocking on random Royal Guard doors—now that would be humiliating. She walked back to the stairs and looked into Hunter's brown eyes. He hadn't moved an inch.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath before walking down the stairs. His expression didn't change with any step she made. He looked almost confused, as if he weren't sure she was there in front of him. She stopped about a foot away. She wasn't sure what to do. Neither spoke; they just stared. Finally Hunter closed the space between them, brought his hand to her face just as he had done at the dance, and took her mouth with his.

The whole world stopped.

Syney couldn't feel anything except the heat of his lips on hers. She rested into him, placing her hand to his chest as he deepened the kiss, sliding his
tongue between her lips. He tasted like summer air and sunshine. He backed up, his mouth still on hers, pulling her with him until they reached a door. He opened it and pulled her inside. Syney didn't look around her at all—she couldn't, didn't want to. Hunter's kisses became more intense in the dark room. Syney wasn't sure what to do but followed his lead, pulling his head closer to her own, running her other hand over his shirt and arms. She felt the buttons on his shirt and instinctively fumbled with them. She managed to get one undone before he stopped kissing her and pulled back. She stared up at him, breathless. He pulled off his shirt in one motion and then hers in another. And then his hands were over her, touching, squeezing. She ran her hands down his bare chest, her fingers tingling. He turned his mouth to her neck, and Syney moaned. She never felt this good in her life. She felt Hunter's fingers on her hips and then down her legs. She bit her lip as he lifted her skirt, his fingers leaving a heat on her legs as they slid up them. He kissed her again and lifted her as if she were nothing, laying her back on the bed that she didn't realize she was in front of. And then he was on top of her. She wrapped her legs around him and laid her head back. He kissed her again—more aggressively this time—and her mind went blank. All there was was heat and passion. She ran her fingers through his hair as his hands and mouth went everywhere. She thought she couldn't feel any better than this until he slid his hand between her legs. She cried out and laid her hand on his chest. She felt something build inside her and wondered whether she was going to have an orgasm before they even did anything. But then she felt all the heat in her body run to her hand, which was on his chest, and purple sparks began to show. She stared at them in fascination and smiled. Something deep down told her this was supposed to happen. Her magic was coming out for a reason, a good one. Her hand grew hotter and turned a sparkling purple. Hunter didn't seem to notice as he kissed her neck. Suddenly he cried out in pain and shot up. He stared at her hand for a moment before ripping it off his chest. Syney felt everything inside her settle down, all the heat returning to the spots Hunter had touched and kissed. She looked up at him, unsure what to do next. He held his chest where she had for a moment, a look of pain on his face. Had she hurt him? She reached forward to pull his hand away and check, but he moved away quickly, jumping off the bed.

"Get out," he said, his voice heavy.

"What happened? I don't...I don't understand," Syney stammered, sitting up in the bed.

"Get dressed," he said, picking up her shirt and throwing it at her.

Syney felt tears fill her eyes. "What did I do wrong? I don't know what that was."

Hunter looked at her—straight at her—for the first time and said slowly, "You have to go...now."

Syney didn't hide her tears as she pulled her shirt on and slid off his bed. This wasn't her Hunter. He was scaring her. "Can we just talk—"

"Out!" he roared.

Syney took off running out of the room. She ran the whole way to her own room, crying and sobbing heavily. She threw herself onto her bed the second she could and buried her face in her pillows. She felt like a stupid girl. What was she thinking, being so intimate with him? She would have done anything with him tonight. But her purple magic had put a quick end to it. Maybe that was a way for her inner magic to tell her to stop, that it wasn't right. But everything had felt right, even her purple magic. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. This wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat.