Dissonance: An Echo Trilogy Novella (Echo Trilogy, #2.5) (7 page)

His dark gaze burned into me, his sharp features tense. “He needs
to know.”

“Not yet.” I took a deep breath and set my jaw, preparing for a
prolonged stare-down. It was a tactic that usually worked on Dominic on the
rare occasion that we were at odds with one another. Not this time. As he
inhaled to argue further, I cut him off with, “It’s pointless to tell Marcus
now. We’re too far away for him to be able to do anything but worry.”

I could see Dominic’s determination wavering.

“We’ll go back to the car and I’ll sit in there like a good little
Meswett
until Neffe gets back, and I promise I’ll
tell Marcus everything as soon as we get home. But if you tell Marcus now,
he’ll demand that we return immediately, and Neffe won’t be able to finish her
research on poor little
Tarsi .
 . .” I
stared into his eyes, pleading with my own. I couldn’t stand the idea of
Tarset
being frozen in time for a second longer than
necessary. “Dom, please.”

Finally, Dominic gave a single, slow nod. “But if we sense even a
hint of danger, we’re leaving immediately.”

“I believe the only threat to Alexandra on this day is sitting on
the table,” Re-Nik said, pointing to the slender box with his chin. “Clearly
whoever planted the watch on Dr. Ramirez intended for it to find its way to
Alexandra, and we can safely assume that their objective was not simply to kill
her, but to remove her from existence entirely.”

I frowned. “Isn’t that sort of the same thing?”

“No, my Alexandra, it is not.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Had you touched the pocket watch, in time, it would have been as
though you’d never existed at all.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table and
fingers
steepled
together. “The past would have
rearranged into a pattern absent of you entirely. And considering your recent
trip into ancient times, anyone can see that the ramifications would be
enormous.” He nodded slowly to himself, his eyes squinted in thought. “But
had
you touched the watch, it would have taken quite a while to unravel the
threads of your existence completely and weave those that remain back together
in a new pattern,
so .
 . .” He nodded
again, more definitively this time. “It seems fairly obvious to me that you are
quite safe right now, especially from whoever laid the trap. The deceiver has
invested in this particular offensive.” He looked at me, certainty written all
over his face. “Killing you would be counterproductive, at present.”

I blew out a breath and slouched back in my chair, mimicking Kat.
“Well, isn’t that a relief,” I said sarcastically.

“Yeah, not so much,” Nik said, his sarcasm matching mine. His eyes
had returned to their natural pale blue once more, his features transformed to
his harsher, standoffish expression. He reached out and dragged the box closer
to him, then lifted the lid once more.

“Nik!” I all but shouted as he lowered his hand to the beyond-deadly
pocket watch. “What are you doing?”

He glanced at me, his eyes steely. “Neutralizing the threat,” he
said, his hand hovering over the watch.

I saw a flash of quicksilver beneath his palm, and then a
translucent film of pearly
At
seemed to wink into
existence around the offending device. He’d encased the watch in solidified
At
.

I stared at the thing, eyes wide with wonder. The ticking—the
feeling of dread, of revulsion, of wrongness—was gone. It was like the oxygen
had been slowly draining from the room, but now it had been replenished and I could
finally—
finally
—take a blissfully deep breath.

Despite my overwhelming relief, I flinched when Nik curled his
fingers around the watch and picked it up. “Nik, are you sure—”

“It’s perfectly safe now, Lex.” He flashed me a devilish smirk and
winked. “Promise.” His good humor lasted only so long. His eyes widened when he
looked at the back of the pocket watch, then narrowed to irritated slits. “I
suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said, flinging the watch back into its
little depression in the case facedown.

“It’s your name!” Kat exclaimed to Nik, having read the engraving
upside down.

“No,” I said softly. While the letters
N
,
I
, and
K
were engraved into the smooth black
metal on the back of the watch, they didn’t spell out “Nik.” I sighed, suddenly
very tired. “Not
NIK
—it says
KIN
.” The same group who’d stolen the
sphere containing
Apep
, his twisted soul. The same
group who’d shot Dominic. The same group who’d turned Kat’s mom against
Nejeretkind
completely.

I looked at Kat in time to see the color drain from her face. “You
don’t think it was—” She swallowed roughly, took a deep breath, closed her
eyes, and tried again. “You don’t think my mom was a part of this—of trying to—to
erase
you, Lex, do you?” When she opened her eyes, twin streams of tears
streaked down her cheeks.

In that single moment, I didn’t feel fear or worry or the urgent
need to run and hide. Like Re had said—the danger, for now, was past. At the
moment, I only felt a deep-seated sadness for the young woman sitting beside
me. For the pain and guilt this was causing her. For the longing I could see in
her eyes—that of a little girl crying out for her mother to hold her and tell
her everything would be okay. For not being able to reassure her of her mom’s
innocence.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I slid out of my chair,
crouched beside Kat’s, and wrapped my arms around her, giving her what little
comfort I could while she cried.

9

Exist & Live

“Thank you,” I said to the four other people in the Range Rover.
Dominic had parked in the roundabout driveway, just before the entrance to the
house, but I wanted each of them to know how grateful I was that they’d kept
their word—and their silence, where Marcus was concerned—before we got out of
the car. “Really—” I met each of their eyes, even Dominic’s in the rearview
mirror. “Thank you.”

I glanced down at my hands, fidgeting with the hem of my shorts.
“And, um, you might want to steer clear of the house for a couple hours.”
Passion had never been an issue where Marcus and I were concerned, and usually
I viewed that fact in a very,
very
positive light, but that same passion
made our relationship just a touch volatile at times. And I had no doubt that
the conversation Marcus and I were about to have was going to be one of
those
times.

Neffe ended up being the only person to actually get out of the
car with me at the house, Nik and Kat opting to remain with Dominic until he’d
parked in the huge detached garage nearby.

“You don’t have to come in with me,” I told her as we walked up
the broad paved steps leading up to the front door. “I’m perfectly capable of
handling him on my own.” The tension tightening my shoulders and making my neck
and head ache suggested otherwise, but I ignored it. Brave face and all that.

Neffe snorted. Apparently she didn’t believe me either. “I’m
heading straight down to the lab.” She glanced at me sidelong. “It’s
soundproofed.”

I inhaled deeply, but a sudden spurt of anxiety made me feel like
I couldn’t exhale all the way. “Good idea.”

As I reached for the door handle, the knob turned and the door
opened. I had to swallow a yelp. “Marcus!” I said too brightly. “We’re back!” I
leaned in and kissed him, and before he could wrap his arms around me in a full
embrace, I slipped past him through the door and started across the entryway to
the grand staircase. “I’m beat.” I paused to glance at him over my shoulder,
hoping my expression contained more
come-hither
than
holy-shit
. “Warm bath?”

His features were unreadable, his golden eyes equal parts black
pupil and brilliant iris. In other words, he looked normal, for him. So far, so
good. “Where are Dom and Nik?”

I forced a carefree smile. “Parking in the garage. Kat’s with
them, too.” I shrugged. “Dom said something about a
lesson .
 . .”

Marcus blinked, his face still expressionless. “I see.” His focus
shifted to his daughter, who had almost successfully made it across the
entryway to the door leading down to her lab in the basement. “How did it go
today, Neffe?”

“Fine.”

His eyes narrowed minutely. If I hadn’t been watching for it, I
wouldn’t have noticed. It was the first sign that he knew something was up.

Get out of here, Neffe!
I did my best to
relay the mental shout with my eyes, but one look at Neffe told me she was
already on the same page. The last thing I wanted was for her to get caught up
in the
shitstorm
that I was about to hurtle into
headlong. After all, she’d only been following my orders—and I’d had to remind
her of her oath to me to get her to agree.

“What did you discover?” Marcus asked his daughter as he shut the
front door.

“I think I’ve identified the poison, but it’s too soon to tell for
sure,” Neffe said, patting her insulated tote and once again heading for the
door to the underground lab. “I’ve got a few time-sensitive samples, though,
so .
 . .” She opened the door and paused in
the doorway, looking back at her father. “If I’m right, Father, I should have
the antidote ready in a day or two. I’ll let you know as soon as I know
anything.” It didn’t sound like a question, but it was one.

Marcus nodded, just once, and his eyes remained on the doorway
even after Neffe had shut the door.

“Marcus?”

“Tell me,” he said without looking at me.

I opened my mouth, then blew out a breath and shut it again. In
several steps, I was standing before him, my fingertips touching the
barely-there stubble on his defined jawline. I turned his face to me. “Promise
to let me finish before you say or do anything.”

I felt his jaw tense. His eyes locked on mine, black-rimmed gold
and blazing with intensity.

“Promise me.”

He gave me the same stiff, single nod he’d given his daughter, and
I didn’t push him for more. In his present mood, doing so would be an exercise
in futility.

I took hold of his hand, lacing my fingers through his. “Come
here, sit down,” I said as I led him across the entryway toward the foot of the
stairs. He had an annoying habit of staring out of windows when we argued, and
I was determined
not
to try to reason with his backside this time. I
sat, pulling him down with me, and set my shoulder bag on one of the stairs a
few steps up.

“Remember when I said I didn’t sleep well last night?”

Again, Marcus gave that lone nod.

I sighed, searching his eyes. I hoped I’d made the right call by
not alerting him earlier, but the danger had already passed. I told myself that
several more times before continuing. The danger
had
already passed, hadn’t it? “Well, it all started with this
dream I’ve been
having .
 . .” And then
I told him. Everything.

To Marcus’s credit, he kept his promise. He didn’t say a single
thing while I spoke. Hell, he didn’t move beyond the steady rise and fall of
his chest, the intermittent blink, or the slow tensing of his whole body.

As I neared the end of my recap, I reached into my bag and pulled
out the box containing the pocket watch. “And here it is,” I said, handing it
to Marcus. “The watch is harmless now, so feel free to examine it to your
heart’s content.”

I watched his face, his eyes, his lips, his jaw as he opened the
box and picked up the pocket watch, looking for some hint of his anger level.
He turned the watch over several times, then he set it back in the depression
that had been made for it, shut the lid, and placed the box on the stair above
us.

“Are you finished?” he asked quietly and, with a slow blink,
raised his gaze to meet mine.

Shit.
His pupils were so dilated that only the
thinnest rim of gold was visible around the black. And I knew from experience
that only two emotions caused such a physiological reaction in him—extreme
desire and absolute fury.

In a lithe movement, he stood and strode away from me. He took
smooth, purposeful steps into the nearby sitting room and, true to form,
planted himself before a window, his back to me.

“
Marcus .
 . .” Using the
staircase railing, I pulled myself up to my feet but couldn’t work up the nerve
to follow him into the sitting room. “I’m alright. Nothing happened.”

Silence. No words. No movement. Just stillness. Just him, staring
out the window.

“And before you start ordering me around, I’m putting my own damn
self on house arrest, so you can save your breath.” Not that I was really
worried about him saying anything at all right now. God, when he got like this,
it was like talking to a statue.

The house’s main floor had high ceilings, but all the space in the
world wouldn’t have been enough to alleviate the stifling tension mounting all
around him.

“Marcus,” I said, my voice hardening. I took a single step toward
him, then promptly developed a severe case of lead feet. I repeated his name,
irritation lacing my voice.

Still no response.

“Damn it, Marcus.” My hands balled into fists, my nails digging
into my palms despite their short length. “I’m fine, I’ve already agreed to
stay put, so I’ll be perfectly safe while you and your people hunt down these
Kin assholes.” I paused, hoping for some sort of a response. A simple sidelong
glance would’ve been better than the cold shoulder he was giving me. “What else
do you want me to say?”

“Nothing.” The single word ratcheted the tension up to suffocating
levels.

Mounting frustration got the better of me, and I practically
shouted, “Is it that I didn’t tell you right away? Is that why you’re mad at
me?”

“I’m not,” he responded, his voice quieter than mine, but his
words just as sharp. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. “I’m
not mad at you, Lex.” His enunciation was precise, impeccable, and each
syllable set my nerves more on edge. “I want to tear apart those responsible
for the incident
today .
 . . I want to feel
their bones snapping in my grip while my hands are coated in their blood.” He
bowed his head, and his voice grew quieter. “But I’m not angry; I’m terrified.
I want, more than anything, to lock you away in a cage of
At
keyed only to me so I know that nobody will ever be able to get to you. Nobody
will ever be able to even attempt to hurt you again.”

I held my breath for a few seconds, waiting to see if he would say
more, then exhaled and crossed into the sitting room to stand behind him. I
slipped my hand into his and leaned against his back, pressing my forehead
against his shoulder. “That would be no way to live.”

He was quiet for a long time. Seconds passed, maybe minutes, and
we stood there, apart and together. We were always apart and together, it
seemed.

Finally, he swallowed audibly and said, “But at least you would be
alive.” At last, he turned his head to the side and stared down at me. “At
least you would exist.”

Lifting my head from his shoulder, I searched his darkened eyes.
There was a hint more gold now, but his pupils were still unusually large, not
to mention uncommonly glassy. I’d never seen Marcus cry—hell, I wasn’t sure the
ancient former god I’d bound myself to for the rest of eternity
could
cry
anymore—but I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a tear break free at that
moment.

“Oh, Marcus,” I said, my voice hushed. I rose up onto tiptoes and
leaned my forehead against his. “Even if they try something like this again, it
won’t work, because I know what that anti-
At
stuff
feels like now. I could sense it all morning, I just didn’t know what it was I
was sensing. You don’t have to worry about me being unmade or anything like
that. You’re not going to lose me to this.”

Marcus closed his eyes. “But what of the thousands of others ways
I could lose you?” His eyelids opened, his eyes blazing like twin golden suns.
“Every day, I’m afraid.”

I smiled one of those weak, joyless smiles. “I think they call
that living.”

“It hurts.”

“I know,” I said, my voice soft. And then I closed the distance
between our lips and kissed him gently, then pulled away. “Now how about that
bath?”

His lips curved upwards, and he kissed the corner of my mouth. “In
a bit, Little Ivanov. We’ll call an emergency Council meeting first. These
Kin
have gone too far.”

I snorted a derisive laugh. “As the would-be victim of an
un-making, I couldn’t agree more.”

“I know he’s disinterested in taking part in Council politics, but
having Re there would be beneficial.” I heard Marcus’s unasked question loud
and clear.

Sighing, I leaned my head on his shoulder once more. “I’ll ask
him.”

“And he’ll say yes, because it’s you who is asking.”

There was a hint of jealousy in Marcus’s voice, just humming along
the edges of his words. I could’ve called him on it. But honestly, it was
nothing new and hardly worth the effort. I rested my chin on his shoulder and
smirked. “I don’t know if you heard, but I’m kind of a big deal. I’ve got
sway .
 . .”

Marcus turned around to face me, golden eyes burning. “Yes, Little
Ivanov.” His arms slipped around me, fitting perfectly along the curve of my
back, and he lowered his head, his mouth hovering over mine. “I’m quite aware.”

His lips touched mine, a gentle kiss. A plea, or maybe a question.
A reassurance. As his lips parted mine, he slid the slightest tendril of his
ba
—his soul—into me to caress the edges of mine as only a
truly bonded pair of Nejerets can do. And for a few, blissful moments, the Kin
didn’t matter. Ma’at and the fate of the universe didn’t matter. Only this
kiss, this moment mattered.

Shakily, I let out a breathy laugh against Marcus’s lips. “
So .
 . . the
meeting .
 . .”

Marcus made a displeased noise low in his throat. He kissed me one
last time, then pulled back and nodded. “Let’s gather the others. This is war.”

This
concludes
Dissonance
.
Lex’s story continues in
Ricochet Through Time
,
coming soon.

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