Saven Deception (32 page)

There’s no point denying it considering I
admitted as much the other night. I nod. Then something else resurfaces. “Is
that what Dante did to Odie?”

“Yes. He projected the thought so many
times into his mind that it became a compulsion he was helpless to resist. Odie
falling off that railing wasn’t an accident; it was a calculated act of
murder.”

“Hell.” A powerful tremor rocks my body.
“Why? What did Odie ever do to him?”

“Dante wanted Jenna, and Odie was too much
of a distraction.”

“But that’s no reason to kill him!” I
shriek. Neve shrugs apologetically. “What else can you guys do?” I ask,
purposefully changing the subject because I don’t want to dwell on the cold,
hard evidence of Dante’s official murderer status.

She blinks rapidly. “We can also
communicate telepathically.”

“All of you?” Logan didn’t mention this.

“Yes. When we are in our true form, it’s
the only means of direct communication for our kind. No matter what form we’ve
taken in the past, we’ve always retained the ability to mindspeak. When we are
separated by distance, it’s in the form of projection. I’m able to speak to my
father and sister back on Saven while on Earth,” she says rather smugly.

Well, that answers my question about
distance. I wonder why Logan and I don’t appear to be able to silently converse
long-range. Another thought strikes me. From the way the king spoke about Neve
last night, I assumed she was his daughter. “Are you related to Logan and
Dante?” I face Haydn. “Are you?”

Neve speaks up first. “We are first
cousins, and Haydn is Logan’s assigned bodyguard.”

“Ah, that kind of makes sense,” I tell
Haydn. “But you’re more like my shadow these days.”

“That was his command,” Haydn replies. My
heart does a weird little jump. “He worries about Dante’s plans, and he felt
you needed my protection more.”

I sense his profound discontent. “You
don’t agree?” I fiddle with a loose thread on the hem of my pants.

“That’s not it. Of course, I don’t want
anything to happen to you. It’s just difficult to separate from Logan after a
lifetime of protecting him. I was groomed for this role from age seven, and it
feels like I’ve always been by his side. It’s … strange to be away from him.”

That sounds like a lonely existence, and
yet again, I can’t shake the feeling that Haydn and I are kindred spirits.
“Aren’t you allowed to have a life of your own?”

“Logan
is
my life. When I accepted
the position as his bodyguard, I understood that it was a lifetime commitment.
It was my choice.” He looks like he wants to say more but he clams up.

“Surely, you’re not expected to be with
him all the time? What happens when you fall in love and want to get married?”

A brief flash of emotion flits across his
face. “That’s not permitted. My sole dedication is protecting the crown prince
with my life, and nothing or no one is allowed to stand in the way of that.”

I’m overwhelmed with abject sorrow. Haydn
is a slave too. The only difference is that he chose that life, willingly
signed up to it, in the name of honor and loyalty. But it is what it is. He has
no life beyond his responsibility for Logan. Despite what he’s proclaimed, I
sense discomfort in him. While I don’t believe he outwardly regrets his
decision—his respect for Logan is all too obvious—perhaps it’s harder to
fulfill than he realized.

But now isn’t the time or the place to
probe.

“You worry about his safety when you’re
away from him, don’t you?”

“Constantly. And if the king found out …”

“He’d get in trouble?” Though I don’t
fully understand it, the depth of Logan’s concern for me is apparent. That he’d
risk the wrath of his father to protect me blows my mind. A tumultuous mess of
emotion starts churning inside me. No one has ever cared this much about me,
and I’m unused to dealing with the sensations it invokes in me.

“Exactly. And we can’t afford for Logan to
fall out of the king’s favor.”

I scoot closer to Haydn. This is
fascinating and I want to learn all there is to know. “Why not? What don’t I
know yet?”

Neve explains it to me. “Dante is the king’s
eldest son and technically he’s next in line to ascend. But Dante is a total
lunatic with no leadership qualities to speak of, and the king realized years
ago that Logan would make a far better successor. So he bypassed Dante and
formally announced Logan as crown prince. Since then, Dante has gone out of his
way to try to discredit Logan in the eyes of the king and the Saven people.”

I mull that over in the context of Dante’s
threatening behavior toward me. “Did he know about my Eterno connection with
Logan? Is that why he’s had it in for me?” My head bounces between the pair of
them.

“Yes and no,” Haydn says. “At first, we
think he believed Logan had chosen you as his preferred earthen and—”

“What’s a preferred earthen?” I interrupt,
remembering the king referencing the same term.

“Didn’t Logan explain about the purpose of
our visit to your planet? About the conscience transfer?” Haydn looks confused.

 “Yes. He explained that.” My mouth
puckers sourly.

Haydn winces before speaking. “Each Saven
here on Earth was told to identify a preferred earthen to bond with. Dante
thought Logan had chosen you as his, and he wanted to mess it up for him. Dante
is desperate for Logan to fail. There are rumors on Saven that the king is
considering stepping down soon, so Dante is becoming more and more frantic. We
are at a critical juncture in our history, and if the crown prince didn’t
succeed with the conscience transfer, then it would most likely be enough
incentive to call for his replacement.”

“I’m confused,” I say, holding up a hand.
“Logan says he isn’t going to do that to me.”

“He isn’t!” Neve reassures me. “He
wouldn’t do that to you. But it’s not necessary now that you have an Eterno
connection.”

“Why not?”

Neve’s whole demeanor softens and her face
takes on a dreamy expression. “Oh my God, Sadie, it’s—”

“Neve!” Haydn scolds. “Logan was explicit
in his instruction. He wants to explain that to Sadie himself.”

Neve glares at Haydn. He glares back, and
my head whips back and forth, as they share an epic stare down. I suspect they
are arguing telepathically. “Oh, fine. You win,” she yells.

Inclining forward, she swoons. “It’s only
the singular most romantic thing in the whole entire universe.” She squeals
with delight. “I’m so envious.”

Haydn rolls his eyes.

I’m baffled. “You know I don’t have any
idea of what you’re talking about.”

“It’s—”

“Neve!” Haydn roars and we both jump in
fright.

“Take a chill pill, Haydn. Jeez, you
practically burst my eardrums.” Neve dramatically rubs her earlobes.

I’m clearly not going to get to the bottom
of this Eterno thingy until I speak to Logan, so I try and refocus the conversation.
“Do you have a preferred earthen?” I ask Neve. I’ve noticed her periodically
hanging around guys but I’ve never paid much attention.

The mood turns somber.

“Yes. Haydn is excused because he’s
Logan’s bodyguard.”

I’d already assumed as much. “Lucky for
me,” Haydn says sincerely.

“Who is it?” I demand of Neve.

“You don’t know him. I made sure of that.”

“Like that makes it all right?” I snap.

“No, of course, it doesn’t. I don’t agree
with this, Sadie. A lot of us don’t.” She looks down at her feet.

“Then why are you going along with it?”

“For appearance’s sake. If we don’t at
least
look
like we’re compliant, we’ll be hauled in for questioning, or
worse. But that’s all it is.”

“You haven’t slept with him?” Unease
trickles down my spine.

“No. And I’ve no intention of having sex
with Alex. I don’t want to do that to another living being. But it’s damned
hard.” I shoot her a “pray tell” look. “He’s so fricking hot! And if the way he
kisses is any indication? Wow.” She fans the air with her hands. “I’m having a
real hard time keeping my hands off of him.”

I splutter and Haydn chokes. “Definitely
TMI, Neve.”

God, she sounds so normal, so human when
she talks like this. Haydn too. It’s weird. “Guys, I’m confused.” I volunteer.

“No way!? Seriously?” Neve teases, her
eyes alight with mischief.

I shove her good-humoredly and she laughs.
“You guys have no conscience, right? So how come you both act like you do? And
you seem so human. Logan too. How’s that possible?”

Haydn and Neve exchange guarded looks.
“We’re not sure,” Neve says, inspecting her nails. “Logan thinks it’s because
we were part of the initial training program and we’ve been studying human
behavior for years. Combine that with the fact that we genuinely like humans
and have all formed real friendships here, and he thinks we’re starting to
develop our own conscience. We all feel different since we arrived.”

“It’s not black and white,” Haydn adds.
“In the same way there are good and not-so-good humans, and people with varying
degrees of morality, it’s similar for the Saven. We like to consider ourselves
mildly devoid of conscience. To answer your question—it’s most likely a
combination of all those things.”

“Oh my God.” I jump up. “This is huge!
That could be the solution! And that’s more or less what Logan said to me
earlier. If you guys stayed here and integrated well, there would be no reason
to force …” I trail off as I notice their joint pitiful expressions.

Neve shakes her head. “Even if we’re
right—and that’s a big if—the king won’t listen to reason. If Logan attempted
to broach the subject, he risks removal as crown prince. We can’t take that
risk.”

“You have to do something,” I wail.

“We know, Sadie,” Neve says, standing up
and hugging me. “We know this is wrong. You have to put your faith in Logan.
He’s going to find a way to make this right.”

Logan doesn’t show up the rest of the night, and I’m sorely
disappointed. There’s so much I still need to know, and Haydn and Neve have
given me plenty to consider. If what they’ve told me is the truth, then not all
the Saven are hell-bent on our destruction. And if Logan is serious about stopping
his father, then all hope isn’t lost. Perhaps if the rebels and the alien
sympathizers worked together, they could pull off the feat of the century.

But I remind myself, I have to determine
if both sides are trustworthy before I start brokering any alliance of my own.

I drift into an uneasy sleep. Whispered
words breeze through my subconscious as I toss and turn all night long.

Waking to the droning sound of the alarm,
I groan. I’m more tired than when I went to bed. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes,
I stagger out of bed and head to the kitchen.

I barely remembered to eat yesterday, and
my stomach is currently engaged in a vicious game of payback. My gut wrenches
painfully. I need food
now
.

I’m munching on some toast when Haydn
knocks. I open the door without checking and he scowls. Logan stands directly
behind him talking quietly into his comm-clip. His eyes devour me, and my pulse
races to life. “What?” I mumble, in between mouthfuls.

“You need to check, Sadie,” Hayden
chastises. “I could’ve been anyone.”

“I knew it was you.” I puff out my lips.

Logan closes the door behind him and
removes the device from his ear. He looks me up and down. “Put some clothes
on.”

My eyes narrow to pinpricks.

“Please,” he adds.

I peruse my sleep shorts and shirt.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Absolutely nothing,” he replies, “That’s
the problem.”

I scratch my head absently. “Do all aliens
speak in riddles?”

Haydn attempts to disguise his smile.
Logan offers no further explanation and I roll my eyes.

“I’ll get dressed. But only because I have
to get dressed for school.”

Haydn fails to conceal his smile this
time.

I swing my hips defiantly as I go. I’ve
barely taken five steps when I’m whisked off my feet and flung over Logan’s
shoulder. He pushes into my room and places me gently on the ground.

“What the he—” Logan’s hot lips press
against mine and I’m instantly muted. His tongue invades my mouth, exploring
frantically, and my body roars to attention. I could definitely get used to
this. He reels me into his firm body. And oh, yeah, I’m feeling all manner of
feels. Jumping up, I wrap my legs around his waist, and he holds me in place.
Angling his head, he strengthens the kiss, and I press into him, wishing I
could slip under his skin and sink into his bones.

The urge to be one entity, one complete
mass, is overwhelming. Fierce heat fans the flames of desire, and my body
pulses and throbs with powerful need. When we’re together like this, I can’t
think, I can’t speak. There is only all-encompassing sensation, and I cling to
him like there’s no ‘me’ anymore.

As if nothing else exists or matters
outside of “us.”

Skillfully, Logan walks to the bed and
guides me down. His lips never leave mine. Hands explore and legs entwine. His
lips trail a fiery path across my face and lower, lingering on the fervent
throbbing pulse that beats only for him. An insistent rap on the door attempts
to distract us. We both ignore it. My hands fist in his hair, and my back
arches off the bed as his lips move lower.

The knocking intensifies, and we continue
to ignore it. Logan grabs my leg and pulls it up around his waist. His hips
rock into mine, and a fireworks display explodes in my head.

Haydn crashes into the room startling us.
Logan’s expression says there’ll be hell to pay for that later. “I’m sorry for
the intrusion, Crown Prince,” Haydn says, avoiding looking directly at us. “But
we, ah, really need to get a move on.”

Logan removes my leg from around his back
and stands up with his hands twined behind his head. His eyes sparkle with
unspent desire. Haydn bows and leaves the room. It’s so strange to observe him
bowing and addressing Logan as ‘“Crown Prince.”

I struggle to calibrate my breathing. “I …
what just happened?”

“You’re too damned irresistible,” Logan
says, kneading his neck with both hands. “And I’m too damned weak.”

“Talking in riddles again.”

“It’s the Eterno connection,” Logan says,
moving over beside me. “It’s strengthening. The more we’re around each other,
and the closer we get, the tighter the connection. Can you feel it?”

Recalling the formidable sensation of
being at one, I nod.

His fingers thread in mine. “Nothing I’ve
read about it comes even close to describing the depth of emotion I feel for
you or the intense need pulsing between us.”

His eyes penetrate mine and I can’t look
away. We move closer, like magnets on a singular trajectory. He cups my face in
his strong hands and we trade warm breaths.

He fills every part of me and it feels
like home.

How could I ever have doubted him? Or felt
like I can’t trust him?

“I’ve never experienced anything like
this. I don’t think I can bear to be apart,” I admit, wrapping my arms around
him.

“If I could find some way of gluing you to
me, trust me, I’d do it.” His hand weaves through my hair and I moan. Haydn
raps once on the door with a surly “Prince!”

“He’s very annoying,” I mutter, burrowing
my face in Logan’s shirt.

He chuckles. “Completely, but he has a
point. We need to leave. I only dropped by to see if you were feeling any
better.”

I nearly choke on my laughter. “Trust me,
I’m feeling better.”

“Glad to be of assistance.” He fixes the
lightest, most delicate kiss on my lips. I sink back into that bewitched space.
“All joking aside, are you okay? I’m worried about you.” He brushes his lips
briefly against mine again. He can’t seem to stop kissing me, and I revel in
the realization.

“Just keep kissing me and I’ll be fine.” I
think I swoon, though I hope not. Because that would be plain embarrassing.

His adoring gaze slams into me, stealing
my breath and claiming my soul. “I’d happily sign up for that. Kissing you is
like owning a piece of heaven.”

I sit up straighter, keeping my arms
firmly in place. “You say the most romantic things.” A hot flush blooms over my
cheeks.

That brings a radiant smile to his face.
“I have to spend the day with my father again,” he admits. “But I’ll take you
to dinner tonight and I’ll fill in the blanks.” He tries to remove my hands but
I hold on tighter. He looks at me with so much love that I wish I could hit the
pause button, to freeze-frame this special moment in time. His fingers trip
over my lips and a small moan escapes my mouth. “I love you, Sadie. So much it
hurts.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue. I want to
tell him I love him too, but something is holding me back. He dips his head and
kisses me. “Stay safe, Angel. Until tonight.”

***

The school day drags by uneventfully. I make my way to the
auditorium after the final class of the day and attend one of the last
rehearsal sessions before the big opening night. Our production of
Romeo and
Juliet
opens to the masses five nights from now. I should be excited but my
enthusiasm has waned in the aftermath of the alien drama being performed behind
the scenes.

After rehearsal, I decide on the spur of
the moment to drop into the mall and check up on Jenna. Hopefully I’ll actually
get to speak to her this time.

Jenna is slouched over the counter, her
head resting on her arms. She is ghostly pale and reed-thin. “Hey.” I rely on
my newly acquired acting skills to appear light and breezy. Inside, I’m all cut
up.

“Sadie!” Her entire face lights up. “It’s
great to see you. I’m sorry about yesterday. Dante was a jerk.”

Dante’s always a jerk.
I don’t verbalize the opinion. “You don’t look well enough to be in work. How
are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she protests feebly. “I’m just
tired a lot of the time. This environment doesn’t suit me at all.”

My face pales. “What time do you finish?”

“You can clock out now, Jenna,” a lady
with a kind face and a manager’s badge says, approaching the counter. “You look
exhausted.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave early?” Jenna’s
head plops down on her arms. Our brief conversation appears to have drained
her.

“Head away, dear. That’s an order.” The
kind lady smiles as she pats Jenna’s arm. She levels a concerned look at me.

Jenna collects her bag from the staffroom
and we walk out together. We’ve only gone a handful of steps when she falters,
her legs appearing to crumble beneath her. I catch her before she hits the
solid ground. Even emaciated, Jenna is heavy and I struggle to help her up.

“I’ve got this,”
Logan says in my mind.

Then he’s in front of me, gently
supporting Jenna in his arms. Her head lolls and she closes her eyes. “So
sleepy,” she mumbles.

We keep walking. “
How did you know
where I was
?”

“
I came by the auditorium but you’d
already left. Then I tuned into the Eterno connection and it led me to you
.”

My eyes ping wide. “
It’s some type of
internal tracking device?”
I don’t like the sound of that, but I’m sure
stalkers the world over would kill for an Eterno connection.

Logan cracks a smile. “
Not quite.
It’s
a deep and powerful connection, which binds us to each other in a whole host of
ways. Let’s get Jenna settled and then we’ll talk.”

***

Dante answers the door right away. Muscles flex and roll
under his shirt as his mouth pulls in a displeased look. “Twice in twenty-four
hours?” He eyeballs me. “You missed me that much, huh?”

Outwardly, Logan doesn’t miss a beat. “
You
want to explain that?”

Not especially. “
Later.”

Dante gently lifts Jenna into his arms.
She winces and pain flares across her eyes. Abruptly, she twists in Dante’s
embrace and pukes down his front. Droplets of vomit and blood trickle out of
her mouth, and I cry out as hot, angry tears spill from my eyes. Logan slings
an arm around my waist.

“I messed your shirt. I’m sorry,” she
slurs, head flopping about.

“Shh,” he says, cupping her face, “It’s
okay.

I glance at Logan. He shares my curious
expression. Shucking out of his grip, I stand in front of Dante. It takes
ironclad self-control to ignore the homicidal thoughts assaulting my mind.
“I’ll help her clean up. Please bring her to the bathroom.”

Remarkably, he complies. Most likely
because he doesn’t want the job himself. He puts her down on the toilet seat
and then leaves us alone.

I fill the tub and help Jenna in. Shrunken
skin clings possessively to her bones and her ribcage protrudes in a skeletal
fashion. I’m having a hard time staving off tears, but I try to maintain a
brave face. I help her bathe and then put her into some fresh pajamas.

 The room outside is eerily quiet and I’m
on edge.
“Are you okay, Logan?”

“I’m fine, Sadie. But please
hurry up. Dante’s patience is stretched thin.
”

Tucking Jenna in under the comforter, I
sweep her hair back from her face. I want to say something, anything, to help
soothe her, but no words come.

“Can you fetch her a glass of
water please, Logan.”

“
Of course.”

Jenna’s hand edges out from under the
covers and she clasps my wrist. Her hold is weak. “I think I’m dying.” A
single, solitary tear rolls down her face.

My lower lip trembles and I’m dangerously
close to losing it when Logan enters the room. As he places the glass on the
bedside nightstand, his other hand lands tenderly on my shoulder. He squeezes
and I reach up and clasp his fingers, desperately seeking his comfort.

“Out, both of you.” Dante stalks into the
room like a wrecking ball. That snaps the thin thread on my control. I scour
the room quickly. Hopping up, I grab the desk lamp. Focusing all my energy and
emotion into one tight ball of frustration and rage and loathing, I swing the
lamp at Dante’s head. It impacts with a satisfying bone-crunching sound. The
lamp shatters, sending shards of glass and metallic splinters raining down on
him. Blood leaks from a laceration on his cheek as his face contorts with murderous
intent.

Bring. It. On.

Logan reaches out but I twist away. Dante
charges at me. Dropping to the floor at the last second, I slide through his
legs. Coming up the other side of him, I kick both my legs up in tandem and
push against him with as much strength as I can muster. Caught off guard, he
stumbles and lands headfirst into the side of the desk.