Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (22 page)

She gazed at
him with adoration in her eyes. Leah raised an eyebrow and I nodded in return
as I slowly sat up on the couch, not wanting to disturb the unusually tender
moment between them. As I swung my legs over the edge of the couch, the springs
on the pullout bed creaked under me.

Ugh.

Everyone’s
attention turned toward me, and I cringed.

Mom spun toward
Talon, her hands still in
Johr’s
. “How did you know
where to find her?”

Johr pulled
her closer to his side. “He became extremely agitated as soon as she crossed
the threshold. He came to me, told me of his unease and desire to go after the
girls. It wasn’t long after they left when Harley showed up trembling on the
front steps. Breeg and I sensed the portal and ran outside to find Talon and
Jace coming back with the girls.”

Mom gaped at
me.
“Portal?
Caitlin?”

I took a
deep breath. “Well, we were out walking Harley. The weather was beautiful
outside and it relaxed me, so I was able to start thinking clearly again. When
we came around the corner to head back home, there was an awful smell and we
saw red eyes watching us from the bushes. It hissed and we ran away. That’s
when Jace and Talon came to our rescue. When that thing tried to jump over Jace,
Leah and I grabbed each other by the hand. The next thing we knew there was a
horrifically loud noise and a flash of light. After which, the creature was
gone.”

Mom buried
her head in Johr’s massive chest, while he stroked her hair down her back in an
effort to soothe her.

“Johr, it
was so close. It would’ve torn them apart. I don’t want them to leave the house
without Jace and Talon by their sides.

Johr addressed
Talon and Jace sternly. “You heard her. You know what your assignment is,
correct?”

“Yes sir.”
They replied in unison. Jace was grinning at Leah like an idiot again. Talon eyed
at me while a predatory expression played across his face.

I glanced at
Johr, confused. He winked at me, and I realized what Johr meant. He was going
to allow us to remain with the boys. I gave him a brilliant smile, in thanks. Mom
pulled away from Johr, looking at us with a sparkle in her eye.

“Well,
nothing
like
a little danger to make people hungry. Who’s
up for dessert?”

Breeg
immediately stood up walked toward the kitchen with a guilty expression on his
face. Johr and I grinned at each other.

“Brownies!”
We were pushing each other in an effort to be
first to the kitchen. Leah leaned in to Jace, and they both made a dash for the
kitchen as well.

Thankfully,
the den was open to the kitchen, so Johr and I sat at the bar with our brownies
and I was still able to watch Talon. I had to admit it was becoming my favorite
pastime.

Mom caught Talon
by the sleeve as he walked past.

“Talon, wait.
I’d like to talk to you.”

“Yes,
Your
Highness. What can I do for you?”

She
grimaced. “Please don’t call me that. Just call me Marne.”

“Okay, Marne.”

“Talon, I
need to know something. How did you know the girls were in trouble?”

“I didn’t
know for sure. I just had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The desire
to go find them at that moment was overpowering. I couldn’t wait.”

She appeared
thoughtful.
“The Blood Bond.”

Blood Bond?
What did that mean?

He stared at
her in disbelief. “Surely you don’t think…”

“Talon, I
can’t see any other explanation.”

“Marne.
We only had the one exchange, and it was at the
lake. There’s no way enough blood exchanged to make her blood bound to me. I
fought so hard to ensure it would never happen.”

She gave him
a knowing look. “Have you forgotten about the prophecy? You
shouldn’t
be so tuned in
to her after only one exchange. Talon, I think you may be
the One. There are too many coincidences with you two. If she’s indeed
a
Lumina
, the only
one she could be truly happy with is the One from the prophecy. Spend some time
with her alone, without Leah or Jace around and give it some serious thought.”

She left
Talon alone in the den as he stood there shaking his head. He seemed lost so I
went in to check on him. I was getting really irritated with people having
conversations about me within my earshot. Right now, I was more concerned about
Talon’s current state of mind than my minor irritation.

“Are you
okay?” I
asked,
concern deep in my eyes.

“I’m not
sure.” His voice was thick with wonder.

“I never
really did get a chance to thank you.” I said to Talon. You have no idea how grateful
I am you showed up when you did.” I tilted my head to one side. “How did you
know we were in trouble?”

He shrugged
his shoulders.
“Just a hunch.”

I stared
down at the floor. “Oh, okay.”
It wasn’t quite the answer I
was looking for.

Talon
sighed. “Caitlin, come upstairs with me. I think it’s time we talked.” He held
his hand out to me.

I took it,
and he led me up the stairs to the couch near the pool table. The last time
we’d had a
talk
,
things didn’t turn out so great.

I sat warily
and he sank down beside me.
. “Okay, you
wanted to talk…so talk.”

His mouth
turned up on one side. “You aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?”

I shrugged one
shoulder. “You make it sound like I go out of my way to make things difficult
for you. I can assure you that I don’t. Now, what did you want to talk to me
about?”

Talon
grimaced. “I guess I deserve that.”

He put my
hand in his and rubbed my knuckles with his thumb. I wish he wouldn’t do that
when we have these little talks. It makes it almost impossible for me to
concentrate on the conversation at hand.

“I’m sorry. I
wasn’t trying to take a dig at you. Please continue.”

“Caitlin,
there are still so many things you don’t know about our world. I wish you knew
more about the
Ethereals
going into
all this. Unfortunately, I just don’t have enough time to fill you in on everything
you need to know. Have you ever heard the legend of the Blood Bond?”

I tilted my head
to the side. “Only in dreams, at least I think they were dreams.”

He seemed
concerned and slightly confused. “What dreams are you talking about?

“Well, I
have been having the same one for a couple months.
There are
three women who
keep giving me these cryptic messages. The dreams are
when I was introduced to Ael’onwe, Freya and Ta’-Sha. In one of the last
dreams, someone named Ciro followed Ta’-Sha into my room.”

Talon clenched
his teeth and leaned in closer. “What do these women tell you in your dream?”

“They
frequently speak other languages. Freya–now that I think about it, she reminds
me of you—told me, ‘You will be
kal’enedral
with your
ves’tacha
and the world will be in alignment again,’ the last time I saw her.”

Talon reared
back. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what she said?”

I snorted.
“Like I could make something like that up.”

“You
mentioned two others. What are they like?”

“Hmm.
One looks a lot like me – for good reason… she is my
great-grandmother. Her name is Ael’onwe and she kept calling me
‘Mi sioga
íníon’. The other looks like
she could be Native American, and she had the most beautiful, violet eyes. She
was introduced to me as Ta’-Sha. I was talking about the fact Ryan hadn’t
bothered me since you and Jace started school and she said, ‘
Ana shuuwi?
ta
?
iyaasa
’
. Something
like
that,
anyway.”

Talon‘s eyes
glazed over. “It’s because a warrior was there.”

I was
surprised. “You knew what she meant? They had to explain it to me.”

“Yes, I’ve
heard it since I was a small child.
It’s
part of the
legend I was just referring to.”

“I guess I
don’t understand. Talon, what are you getting at?”

“Your mom
pulled me aside tonight. She believes the reason I could sense you were in
danger was because we have the Blood Bond. If it’s the case, I’ll be able to sense
any time you’re in trouble, even if you aren’t with me.”

“Really?”
I said pretending surprise. He obviously didn’t
realize I had witnessed their entire conversation. “I thought you said it would
take many feedings before any sort of transformation would take place?” I stared
down at the floor shyly. “We only had the one experience, and it was such a
small exchange.”

He watched
me with flames in his bright, blue eyes. “If we’re part of the old legend, as
your mother expects, the size or number of the exchanges would make no
difference. Any exchange would begin the bond. It would also mean a lifetime of
being bound to each other.”

He had my
full attention now. “What exactly do you mean by ‘being bound’ to you?”

“You
wouldn’t become
Varyo
, but we’ll both
be much happier when we’re in close proximity to each other. If we’re away from
each other for too long, it’ll cause us both physical pain. It also means we’ll
be extremely aware of each other’s emotions. It’ll make my existing sensitivity
to you even more heightened.”

I peeked at
him out of the corner of my eye. “So, I’d be able to tell what you’re feeling?”

He chuckled
softly. “Something
like
that. Yes.”

FINALLY!

I gave him a
mischievous grin and pulled one of my hands back, tracing a line up his arm
over his heavily muscled bicep. He studied me with flashing eyes and soon my
breathing sped up to match his. Wrapping my fingers around the thick cording of
his arm, and gently massaging it, my pulse quickened as he pulled me closer. My
instincts told me to pull back. The pain would be excruciating when he pushed
me away again. My head and my heart don’t always see eye to eye, and he was noticeably
having the same problem. He reached over, grabbing me by the waist and pulling
me into this lap. He stroked my hair as you would a small child.

Lightly running my fingertips
along his jaw line and feeling his jaw tense—I leaned into his chest, tucking
my head under his chin. I was always amazed at his ability to be so tender when
he possessed such incredible strength.

“Talon, I
can’t continue to yo-yo back and forth between friends and more than friends. It’s
tearing me apart.” I took a deep breath. “You can’t straddle the fence on this,
anymore. I need to know if you want to be with me, or if your position within
the
Turvata
is going to make it
impossible.” I sat with shaking hands, terrified of what his choice might be.

“
Ves’tacha
, I’m sorry I’ve caused you so
much pain. I can feel it radiating from you while you sit here.” He held me
tightly to his chest before pulling me back so he could look me in the eyes. “There
are so many things at play, and there’s no simple answer. I know I’ve given you
very mixed signals, and I take full responsibility for it.
Ethereal
law forbids me from having any sort of relationship with you
other than the role of a protector. Yet, my heart screams for you when you’re
nearby. It’s a feeling I never thought I’d experience.” He put a finger under
my chin. “Never doubt my love for you. You’ve brought color,
music
and laughter to my life. I’m
absolutely willing
to put
aside my position within the
Turvata
and even lay down my own life for you. At the same time, I’m not willing to put
you in any sort of danger. You seem to have a special talent for getting into
trouble with the greatest ease.” He grinned at me as my cheeks heated.

I raised my
hands and shrugged my shoulders. “So, what do we do now? It seems we’ve reached
a stalemate again.”

He gave me a
sly wink. “Don’t give up hope just yet. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I
think we may have a new champion in Johr.”

I was
surprised.
“Really?
What makes you think that?”

Talon shook
his head. “It’s something he said to me earlier. I can’t put my finger on it. Just
a hunch I have, but we’ll have to see how it all pans out.”

I shot him a
bashful expression and the familiar warmth of a blush spread across my face. My
cheeks were soon burning. “So, we can wait together. If nothing else, we have
tonight, right?”

I couldn’t
afford to be greedy. I was happy to spend any amount of time with him.

He studied me
with blazing eyes. “Yes, thanks to your mom and Johr, we do.”

I pulled his
head down to mine, kissing him thoroughly. He anchored his hand in my hair. I
slowly wound my arms around his neck and pressed against him. I heard him give
a low growl and his breathing quickened.

My pulse
accelerated to match his as he gently laid me back against the cushions of the
couch. I pressed my body against his length. I parted my lips and opened my
mouth slightly so I could taste his breath on my tongue. Sensing his impatience
as he pushed the neck of my shirt down and sunk his teeth in just below my
collarbone, I writhed wildly beneath him. The pleasure was almost unbearable
and I could see the sparks in the air surrounding us.

After
several moments, he ran his tongue over my collarbone and raised his head to
meet my lips. I could still faintly taste the metallic saltiness of my own
blood on his lips. Suddenly, there was a thunderous crash coming from
downstairs and we heard yelling. Jace bounded up the stairs dragging Leah
behind him. Talon leapt off the couch, shoving me behind him.