Raining Light (Fate's Intent Book 5) (16 page)

Kole laughed again and turned his head towards her. We actually got to watch them kiss and there was a long pause while they acted happy together.

That’s when it hit me. I gasped suddenly to break the moment and the silence. “I just had a great idea!”

“Oh, no.” Adele sighed.

“You should totally do that!”

Adele’s eyes narrowed even more than they already were and her answer was strong and clear. “I don’t think so!”

“Why not? Just look how happy they are.”

Ryon caught on to what I was suggesting and laughed. “Sorry, Red! That’s not going to happen.”

“Thank you.” Adele replied.

“What?” Jaylyn asked. Kole leaned into her ear and she responded with an echoing laugh. “Oh! Yeah right! That would be weird! They’re brothers!”

“That’s not why I disagreed.” Ryon said.

“Well, it would be weird, right?”

“I think it would be good for them.” I replied with my tone of approval still on the thought of finally getting to see them happy.

“Well, no one cares what you think.” Adele sighed. “So drop it. Okay?”

“All right. Fine.”

We sat in silence so the conversation would end completely and Kole let out a sigh of his own. “So, Trever’s being awfully lazy this morning, don’t you think?”

“What are you talking about?” Adele asked. “Trever is not even here.”

“Why not?”

“He went with Aleksander to send a message back to Dorlin.” Ryon answered.

“And obviously they took the gray horses since we’re this far out.” I added.

“Really?” Jaylyn asked. “They just up and took Roslyn and Rajet?”

“It’s the quickest way.” Adele said. “I suspect them to be back shortly but that’s not exactly something Kole should want.”

He laughed. “What are you talking about?”

“Trever is pissed at you. Whether you made the decision for her or not, he’s not going to be happy about it. You’re getting in the way of their relationship.”

“I am not. She’s fine with it and so is he. I didn’t make him agree to anything either.”

“Yeah, Adele. We already talked about it and we’re all okay with it.”

“Fine! Go ahead and keep it up but do not expect me to be there when it falls apart and you get hurt!”

“I won’t.”

“Oh, please! You’re involving Kole in this! It’s guaranteed to happen!”

“You know, you’re being really bitchy this morning, Adele.” Kole said.

“Just explaining the truth. You’re an expert when it comes to making her feel miserable.”

“Adele!”

“Okay.” Kole let Jaylyn’s hand go and got up to his feet. “I don’t need to sit here and take this. I’ll be outside preparing the horses because we leave the second they get back.”

“Good.” Adele muttered. “It was getting hard to look at you anyway.”

Kole didn’t reply. He just kept on going and it was a good thing he did.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Jaylyn said. “I already explained it to you.”

“Well, you know what?! Maybe I just don’t understand it! He’s a bad influence on you and just when we thought you finally got away, you go right back but this time you drag Troy into it!”

“I never asked him to. He suggested it.”

“It’s true.” I agreed.

“Okay, fine!” Adele sighed, just getting more frustrated. “I don’t care, okay? The outcome is your problem, not mine.”

“I’m fine with that.”

Silence hit the room yet again but this time for longer.

Several minutes went by where no one was speaking a word until a door opened.

“Jay, relax.” Ryon said since she was first to react. “They’re probably just coming out.”

“I know.” Darius walked out of the room first and it appeared that he was alone. “What happened? Where is he?”

He laughed from the sound of Jaylyn’s urgent questioning and glanced back at the room. “He’s fine. He’ll be back out when he wakes up.”

“Wakes up?! What does that mean?!”

Darius laughed even harder. “I was just kidding! He’s still conscious and right there.”

Jaylyn sighed from the sudden shock when she saw Troy step out of the room with Zayden and she got right up to go over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Of course I am.”

“They’re on their way back.” Zayden said. “We should get ready to go.”

I didn’t want to yet but we ended up getting ourselves ready just in time for Aleksander and Trever to make it back.

“Good.” Adele said. “We’re ready.”

“Good. Jaylyn, your horse.” Aleksander got down off of Rajet and gave her the reins. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no. Not at all. Glad he was here to help.”

“As am I. Thank you.”

“Well, it’s been a pleasant morning, hasn’t it?” Trever asked.

Kole seized from making eye contact with him and no one seemed to really seem happy at all. I only wasn’t because I wanted to do nothing some more but it was good that we were getting out.

“Perhaps a day out in the fresh air will do some good for everyone then.” Aleksander said.

Travel was silent. No conversations were made and hardly any eye contact between riders. Adele and Zayden rode together and were leading the front with Aleksander and Trever trailing behind. Darius and I were well behind them with Jaylyn and Troy just shortly after. Ryon and Kole held up the back and we kept it exactly this way as we traveled closer and closer towards the border. I wondered how things would change then.

Chapter 20

Zayden

We crossed the border into Seni by sunset through the great white stone arch.

My eyes were cautious tracing the rocky terrain for all I could see. I knew where we were. I knew we were home. Darkness was coming and I didn’t feel it would be safe for anyone to travel deeper into the unknown with visibility so low. Fog swallowed the mountain pass and with Adele riding next to me, I knew I couldn’t risk anything happening to her. “I think maybe we should stop for the night.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know. I feel something, something wrong like something’s waiting for us.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want. Just make the call. We’re in Seni now.”

I nodded and brought my horse to a stop. Adele stopped with me and we simply waited for others to catch up.

“What is it?” Aleksander asked.

“We should stop.”

Aleksander and Trever looked at each other.

“Any particular reason for that?” Trever asked.

“It’s going to be too dangerous to travel at night. I know we’re all going to hate it but it’ll save lives.”

“All right.” Aleksander replied. “Would you like to give the news?”

“What are we doing?” Ruby asked.

“We’re stopping.” I said, being the first to get off my horse with Adele, Aleksander and Trever following my lead. “The nights have become too dangerous from here on in. Troy and myself cannot be eyes for all of you and guarantee safe passage with just light from the moon.”

“So, now what?” Troy asked.

“We do it right. Adele will build us an impenetrable fortress with a place for the horses inside granted if she feels any of you are worth actually saving.”

She stood with her arms crossed and looked at everyone. “I suppose I will anyway whether any of it is true or not.”

“Good. We’re going to get this out in the open right now. We’re not alone out here.”

“What? What do you mean?” Jaylyn asked with a deeply concerned voice.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she said it. “You know how much you annoy me sometimes? You’re a killer, Jaylyn. Can you grow a backbone, please?”

“Well, it’s disturbing news. How could anyone sleep knowing that?”

“That’s why I want it to be looked into.” I said. “We need to know who’s been through here recently.”

Everyone seemed to know what I wanted because everyone all turned their eyes right to Ryon after I said it. “There’s a group of Senian spies to the north that are still here and raiders farther to the east waiting for us.”

“Great. Thank you. Adele, you should cover us.”

She nodded and moved away from me, holding her hand up to the ground. It cracked loudly within the mountains and a large hole opened up with a steep slope going down inside. “Bring the horses in. It’ll be safer inside.”

We followed her instruction without a word and the horses were all led down into the large underground chamber.

Chapter 21

Jaylyn

“Ready yet?”

I was focused on what I was doing and didn’t even notice that Troy stayed behind. “Just go in. You don’t need to stand here. I’ll be right in. Promise.”

“Okay. Just hurry.” He kissed my head and turned to go inside.

By the time I got everything off Rajet and got him ready for a night of rest, I noticed Kole was out by the entrance by himself. I smiled and crept up to him. “Hey, Blackbird!”

I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind and Kole jumped to my presence but smiled. “Ah, hey, you can stop calling me that, Jay.”

He removed my arms from him and turned back around. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I knew better. “You’re lying. What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing, okay? Just go get some rest.”

“Well, are you coming to bed with us?”

“No. Not tonight, Jay.”

“Why?”

He lost his laugh by replacing it with a depressed sounding sigh. “Adele was right.”

“What do you mean?”

“This morning when she was yelling at me.”

“Oh, Kole, don’t—”

“It’s okay, Jay. You know she was anyway. I don’t want to make this complicated for you. I know you love Troy. This was never about me. I realized I’ve just been trying to hang onto something that I’ll never have.”

“Kole—”

“Please don’t, Jay. I said it’s okay. Go ahead and be with him tonight. Someone’s got to stay up anyway. It’s not safe for us all to sleep while we’re here.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. About everything. You’re going to have a great life with him.”

My expression stiffened and my eyes began to water. “Why does is sound like you’re saying good-bye to me?”

“Go inside, Jay. I need to stay focused.”

I still didn’t understand his behavior but did what he wanted and slowly started to back away with a heavy head.

“Jay, wait.” He pulled me back to him, keeping me close into his body and kissed me passionately on the lips. “I’m sorry. About everything.”

“Don’t do that again.”

He laughed. “I won’t. Get inside. You need to take this time to rest.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then?”

He seemed hesitant to answer. “Ah, yeah. Goodnight, Jay.”

“Goodnight.” I turned away with a smile, a better feeling and went right inside. I used my gift to feel Troy’s presence and went to the room he was holding for us.

“There you are. Where’s Kole? He joining us tonight?”

“No. He feels the need to stay up for the rest of us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you know, we’re in Seni now. The reality of how dangerous it is, is hitting him.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“What?” He had this look like he had to do something.

“I was thinking I should talk to Zayden about that. We should be the ones staying up.”

“Troy, no! Why?”

“This is our country. We know it better. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

I sighed and quickly kissed him. “Okay. If you say so. Go ahead.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll just go to sleep and wait for you.”

“Okay. I’ll come back when I can.”

I nodded and kissed him again. “Be careful.”

Chapter 22

Troy

Everyone seemed to be closed in their own rooms and I snuck out of the shelter. No one seemed to be outside either. I looked around and used my vision to see through the fog and the dark. Kole was north and I didn’t hesitate to go after him. I couldn’t let him do this.

“Troy!” Zayden’s voice stopped me before I could take another step. “What are you doing out here?”