Set In Sparks (Morningstars Book 2) (15 page)

Ryder stared at Jaden as the warrior glared at the guy in front of them. The surprise Ryder was feeling was not present on Jaden’s face or in his voice.

“Guys, you remember Nox, right? Destra’s right hand?” he asked instead, turning slightly so he could show them a toothy grin. “He thinks he’s smart,” Jaden went on.

“You let me go,” Nox growled and Ryder was startled.

“Let him go?” Ryder wasn’t sure he heard right. Jaden should have killed the damn fucker the moment he had the chance and
he let him go
?

“It was him telling me about Kaden. He has a hard-on for Maya. A big one. I couldn’t risk killing him in case it really was Kaden out there, doing the things he had been said to do,” Jaden said quietly and Ryder grabbed his shoulder. A rumbling above them made him glance at the sky shortly and the black clouds rolling in made the night even darker. He hated getting soaked as long as he wasn't in the shower, but they had more important matters at hand.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about Kaden?” he wanted to know and Jaden met his eyes, not ready to back down. Damn, Ryder hated fighting with Jaden, but they needed to stop keeping secrets from each other if they wanted to be the group of warriors they could be.

“He’s my brother. If I had told people that I think he is killing women and associating with trash, it would’ve made it too real. I felt like I was betraying him already. He didn’t need you to look at him as if he was already a convicted felon.”

Raindrops started to fall and a wind picked up that made it hard for Ryder to stand.

“This is not normal bad weather,” Nox called from behind them and Ryder glared at him before barking out a laugh.

“The big bad wizard is scared of a little rain?” he taunted and Nox shook his head.

“It feels weird,” he gave back, looking ready to strike.

“Why have you left him alive?” Ryder asked again towards his best friend and Jaden shrugged.

“I figured it wouldn’t be bad to have a wizard alive if Kaden needed help,” Jaden mumbled, but it was getting hard to hear him over the noise of the storm.

“Dude, Nox was being serious. He thinks this is magic raising the storm above our heads,” Lex interrupted, coming to stand between Ryder and Jaden. “There’s something off and I think we might not want to be caught outside when this really comes down,” he went on and Ryder glanced up another time. Lightening flashed in rather rapid succession across the sky and it had gone from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.

“What will we do with him?” Ryder wanted to know, nodding towards Nox. Jaden looked around and Ryder followed his eyes, seeing that the eye of the storm seemed to be pretty close to where the Queen’s mansion stood. Worry would outweigh the need to kill Nox, especially since Ryder knew that Jaden wanted information.

“We could take him,” Ryder suggested and Jaden lifted a brow.

“Yeah, and keep him were? In the mansion with Maya under one roof?” he snapped and Ryder had to admit that this was a rather stupid plan. Besides the fact that clearly illusions were the wizard’s specialty, Maya wouldn’t be able to stay away from him if she found out what he had done to Kaden.

“The compound is not a good idea, either,” Lex injected, obviously picking up on Jaden’s thoughts. Ryder couldn’t help but wonder when those two had bonded so much Jaden didn’t guard his thoughts anymore.

“Jealous?” Lex asked over his shoulder and Ryder realized that he wasn’t guarding his thoughts, either. His phone started to ring in his pocket as he wanted to reply something and he got it out, noticing that he had three unread messages and an equal amount of missed calls.

“It’s your twin,” Ryder stated, looking at Jaden in surprise.

“He’s with Maya, what’s happening?” Jaden asked, checking his own phone, but by the expression in the warrior’s face there was nothing.

“Seriously, Nox? Ugh, you make me sick,” Lex ground out and Ryder gave the mind reader a questioning look before reading the messages. They all told him to get back ASAP because something was wrong with Cany. As if displaying his inner restlessness, the wind picked up trash, blowing it around their heads. The noise were deafening by now, especially with their enhanced hearing. Ryder just wanted to leave. He was driven to be by Cany’s side.

“Can we get away from this jerk, please? The images he has of Maya and himself…” Lex shuddered as he trailed off. Jaden had Nox pinned against the wall before either of the others could react.

“Let’s kill him and get out of here!” Matt stepped forward and Ryder remembered that the youngest of them wasn’t fond of lightening. In fact, he hated thunderstorms ever since he had seen a girl being killed by one. Ryder could almost smell the burned human flesh as he recalled that night.

“No, he can’t take Kaden over anymore the way he used to,” Jaden decided, still having the wizard by his throat. Ryder actually saw a smug glint enter Jaden’s eyes and they all moved closer to hear what else he was going to say. “That was the problem, wasn’t it? That’s why we see your ugly face exactly the way it is.  Wanna know why?”

Ryder could see that Nox was too proud to ask, yet dying to know.

Jaden actually grinned like the Cheshire cat. Only it looked more malicious than Ryder remembered the comic character to be. “You do wanna know, don’t you?” Jaden mocked and as if on cue thunder echoed around them. The rain was pelting down on them now and Ryder was already soaked to his skin, but obviously Jaden wasn’t bothered by it at all.

“Stop playing around, Jaden, I need to get back and check on Cany. I … anyway.” He didn’t finish that sentence since he didn’t know how. Cany and him had almost nothing to do with each other anymore and yet he couldn’t stand the thought of Cany being hurt.

“Almost done,” Jaden promised, compassion on his face. Somehow that made Ryder’s stomach drop. It was as if the twin knew something he didn’t.

“Can’t … breathe,” Nox gasped and Ryder couldn’t help but wish that Jaden would squeeze just that little bit tighter.

“I’ll find you, because I know you’ll come for Maya. Be prepared as next time you’ll die. Until then, I’m gonna leave you with a little food for thought. You can’t do that to Kaden anymore because he’s Maya’s mate. The moment they’re together whatever witch-trick you have going disappears.”

“Liar!” Nox suddenly seemed furious, his eyes almost bulging out of his head.

“You have no idea how it is to be mated to someone, but trust me, there’s no greater power. You can no longer own him because Maya does. Now, go forth and be depressed. Enjoy your last days since there’s a twin out there who will enjoy killing you slowly.”

Jaden stepped back, letting Nox scramble away, while Ryder stared at the warrior as if he never had seen him before. Funny enough, Matt and Lex did the same. “That’s it?” Not that he minded being done, but he didn’t think letting Nox walk was a good idea, either.

“There’s nothing worse than for Nox to know that two people get to touch Maya,” Lex commented, obviously hanging onto the thoughts of the wizard. “He’s so pissed right now. Why didn’t I realize how obsessed he was with her the night they tried to kill you?” he then asked towards Jaden, but all the answer he got was a shrug.

“Destra is still loose and someone promised Maya that her father is still alive. Nox is all we can go on for now, but in the light of things I’d say we take care of that another night,” Jaden replied and then they were on the move.

Once they reached the front gates, Ryder could barely think. They had slowed down to a human run since the wind was gripping them so hard, making moving in a straight line almost impossible. Trees were burning all around them and Ryder only faintly heard Kaden call his name.

“Calm her down as quickly as possible.” There was no doubt who ‘she’ was, but the way Kaden said it made Ryder’s skin crawl. He needed to catch the twin after he had talked to Cany. It should have made him wonder why everyone thought he could make a difference, but in that moment he didn’t care.

Dripping wet and cold as hell he went up the stairs, deciding to be collected and quiet when he saw the little courtier kneeling next to the bed, crying. All control he had snapped and he want over, ignoring Maya. She was still seated on the bed, but jumped to her feet the moment she spotted him.

Ryder swept Cany up into his arms, pressing her trembling body against his as tightly as he could. He didn’t care that he was soaking her clothes, too. He didn’t even care that he most likely had ruined the beautifully exquisite carpet. All he cared about was the female in his arms. Protectiveness and worry fought a raging war inside of him as he wondered about either asking her what was wrong or simply telling her to forget it all.

Shifting her so he could sit down on the bed with her, he reached out and cupped her cheek the way he had wanted to since the first time they had met.

His back first tingled and then started burning, the lightning outside not able to conceal the truth revealing itself that moment. He should have known. The way he had wanted her should have been a hint. Maya had known, and so had Kaden, or they hadn’t asked for him to come back. He should have known. His mind went blank as his racing heart took over his body.

Ryder, of all people, was the one to pick her up and take charge. Cany wanted to scream and kick, needing to get away from him because she couldn’t deal with his snarky remarks, but her body refused to listen. She was broken already, devastated to the point of wanting to die, but Ryder suddenly anchored her to life like no one ever had.

He smelled like rain, storms, and cold, but it soothed Cany’s raw nerves. She didn’t even mind the wetness seeping through her clothes as his hand touched her cheek and scorched her skin. Sparks had been flying and suddenly they caught fire. Cany was burning for him and there was nothing else to worry about.

“Open your eyes,” he ordered, his voice thick with something she couldn’t place.

She didn’t want to since she feared whatever moment was between them would be broken then. Snuggling closer, she refused to follow his demand.

“Open your eyes,” he repeated and she reluctantly gave in, emerald glow being the first thing she saw. Cany gasped, pulling back. The moment the skin contact was gone, the light in the room changed again.

“Was that…?” she wanted to know, but Ryder’s green eyes wordlessly roamed her face. She knew he’d see the tears and her pain, but she couldn’t care less. Where she had been a bundle of nerves and pain just a second ago, she was complete and whole now.

“What happened?” Ryder asked, his voice rough while his hands were gentle, combing through her curls, brushing over her arms. He avoided skin contact now and Cany hated it. She needed to see the glow again.
Their
glow.

“That’s what you want to talk about?” she gave back and he met her eyes again. Dearest Creator, he was so beautiful, Cany had no idea how any woman ever could resist those long, dark lashes framing his forest colored eyes. His lips were full and rosy, ready to be devoured by her. It was crazy how one-tracked her mind became when it came to him.

“That’s what we need to talk about, because as soon as we address that pink elephant in the room there won’t be any talking left,” he promised, his voice thick with raw need and unadulterated longing. “I need to know what upset you though.” She believed him, noticed the aguish in his eyes. Someone was hurting for her. What a crazy feeling.

She took a deep breath, looking around the room, needing to find the way to start and wanting to make sure they were alone. She knew Maya had joined her at some point, but now the Queen was nowhere to be seen and the door was closed, encasing them in privacy.

“I went to see my mother and tried to tell her about something Maya said, something I doubted up until I saw my mother’s face. Before I ever get to say a word, she had slapped me.” Cany shuddered at the memory. Something flared in Ryder’s eyes and she reached out, brushing her knuckles over his cheek. Again there was this glow and Cany felt herself smiling despite everything. “It’s the first time my mother has touched me since I was two,” she added and Ryder picked her up, only to place her next to him on the bed, leaving her side then.

“Ry,” she whispered and he turned back to her, giving her a weak smile.

“If I keep you close through this story, I might crush you with anger you don’t deserve. I do want to hear though what happened, so please, just get it out there, okay?”