Sweet Peril (22 page)

I checked it. Six texts about a graduation party tonight. Patti gave me a sad look and I felt my shoulders slump. Time to get ready to go out.

That night after the party, I called Dad.

“How was your graduation night?” he asked.

“It was okay. A spirit was there, but he didn’t stay the whole time.”

“Good.”

“I have a sort of weird question,” I began. “I heard something about Nephs being able to have more than one sin.”

“Sure, yeah. It’s rare, but not unheard of. There used to be fewer Dukes back when there were fewer humans, which meant the Dukes were in charge of multiple temptations. I’m the youngest Duke, so to speak. I’ve only been around since the eighteenth century. I only have the one sin, so you shouldn’t have a major problem with anything else. Do you?”

“No, no, not me. I just heard it and I was curious.”

“Only one of your pals’ fathers had multiple sins at one point, and that was Alocer,” Dad continued. A headache began behind my eyes as he went on. “He used to be the Duke of
Wrath and Lust, before Pharzuph came on the scene. Wait—How did you hear about this, again?”

I cleared my throat.

“Um, yeah, I heard it from Kope.” I hurried on, changing the subject. “You should have stayed today—it was funny watching Ginger and Patti—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a second.”

I clutched the phone tighter. “Yeah?” I asked, all innocence.

Silence.

“Please tell me Kopano is not a Lust Neph, too.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Dad, he’s extremely self-controlled—”

A scratchy interference cut me off, probably from his hand covering the receiver to hide the muffled string of curses taking place on his end. I cringed.

Finally it ended.

“What happened between you two?” he asked.

Why was I afraid of his anger, even through the phone?

“It was my fault—”

“I don’t wanna hear that! Just tell me nothing happened!”

“Nothing happened,” I assured him. “I promise.” It wasn’t a lie, since I knew he was referring to sex.

The line was quiet as we both calmed.

Then I whispered, “Please don’t be mad at him, Dad.”

“I’m not.” He let out a breath. “He actually talked to me when you two got back from Australia. Said he didn’t think he should accompany you anymore. I took it to mean his emotions for you were getting in the way.”

“That
is
what he meant,” I told him. “Everything got a
little too complicated.”

“Well, you’ll go to California by yourself, and then I’ll have to work something out for future trips. I don’t want you going alone when unknown elements are in the picture.”

I understood that, and I agreed.

“I have one more question, though,” I said. “Why wouldn’t Kope’s badge be red? Or red
and
black?”

“Neph inherit whatever color badge their father currently has, regardless of what other past influences might sneak into the genes. Everyone except you, it seems.”

“Hm.” I yawned and lay back on my bed.

“Get some sleep,” Dad said.

I snuggled into my pillow and closed my eyes. “Thanks for coming today,” I whispered.

He gave a grumpy little “hmph” and I smiled into the darkened room.

“Love you, Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Love you, too.”

F
ew sights compared to the Santa Barbara coast. The land on one side of the road was lined with mansions, while the other side broke off into sharp cliffs overlooking the ocean. I drove to Blake’s with the windows down, salty air drenching my system. According to the twins, Kaidan spent a lot of weekends at Blake’s. That’s good, because it was a Saturday, and I was ready to tell them both. Only a couple of miles to go.

I reached down and pressed a hand to my stomach, trying to rub the nerves away.

A hot breeze ruffled my hair around my shoulders as I guided the car to a small surf shop next to a carnival. I hadn’t brought a bathing suit because I didn’t anticipate this being a leisurely trip. But now that I’d smelled the ocean and seen the creamy-looking sand, I decided on a whim that it would
be good to have one. Just in case. And maybe I was stalling a little.

A long-haired boy behind the counter greeted me with a smile when I walked in. Beach Boys music played as I found the wall of bathing suits. I quickly narrowed it down to two: a cute pink tankini or a sexier white halter-top bikini with a small ruffle along the edges. An image of Kaidan came to mind, and I grabbed the white bikini. I picked out a pair of silver and pink girl’s surf shorts with a matching fitted T-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses from the rack. I threw everything on the counter without looking at the price tags, and presented Dad’s credit card before I could lose my nerve about the teensy bikini.

I changed in the surf shop’s restroom, then climbed back into the car for the last stretch, feeling much more like a California girl, minus an awesome tan. I passed some spectacular coastal homes, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I rounded the bend through an open security gate and saw Blake’s mansion built into the cliffside.

But whoa. It was beyond incredible. I openly gawked.

A sizzle worked its way over my skin when I recognized Kaidan’s SUV—the same one we’d driven cross-country in. He was parked in front of a multidoored garage among a bunch of other nice vehicles. I parked and sat there a few minutes. I was too nervous to stretch my hearing. Blood thumped through my ears.

These are people you care about, Anna. There’s no reason to be scared. Just go in there and tell them the prophecy. There doesn’t have to be any drama
.

Energized from my pep talk, I took a shaky breath and
pushed my hearing into the house, spanning the silent rooms. I stepped from the car and shook out my arms. It was hot here but not humid, and the breeze made it bearable. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed stone steps to an awning wrapping around the side of the house. The walkway led to an unlocked gate. Even the outside walls of the house were covered with detail, perfectly placed stones, flowering vines, everything immaculate.

The crescendo of crashing waves and distant voices became louder as I turned the corner, a rush of warm wind giving me goose bumps. The walkway opened into an enormous three-tiered deck. I stopped to take in the lush swimming pool with a twisting waterslide, waterfall, diving area, and bungalow with an open canopy side and an enclosed changing area. Down on the next levels were a skateboarding ramp and outdoor game spot with setups for volleyball and horseshoes. The surrounding landscape boasted exotic plants with thick, green leaves and bright blossoms giving off peppery scents. It was a home worthy of the Duke of Envy.

I moved to the edge of the pool deck and my heart stilled. Amid the waves and sand below were at least a dozen boys. One of them, shirtless, stood on his board in the surf for four solid seconds before being uprooted by the force of the water’s motion.

Kaidan
.

I gripped the warm railing while I watched. Blake and another guy, wearing short-sleeved wet suits, sat on their surfboards farther back where the water was calmer. Blake was laughing at Kai’s wipeout.

Kaidan stood and shook out his hair, which was even longer than a few months ago. Some of the other guys gave him fist bumps. Kai trudged from the surf onto the sand and tossed his board down, then sat on it and watched while Blake timed the oncoming wave, paddled out to it, stood, and rode the bend of water with perfection. When they met on the sand, Blake said something that made Kaidan tackle him around the knees, and they wrestled while the others cheered.
Boys
. Seeing them laughing and having fun, even from a distance, made me smile.

Blake noticed me first. He shielded his eyes and peered up, then elbowed Kaidan. The three of us stared at one another through the distance, my body a tight coil around my heart. I lifted one hand in greeting.

This was it
.

Leaving their boards on the shining sand, the whole group shuffled up the beach, taking a steep path of wooden steps that led to the house through jutting rocks. I reminded myself to inhale, then exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Blake climbed to the upper deck and sprinted, hurdling several lounge chairs before almost knocking the wind out of me with a hug. His cold wetsuit was soaking, but I didn’t care. He pulled away and gave a long whistle as he eyed me.

“Wussup girl?” he asked. “Lookin’ good.”

“You, too,” I said. Blake’s hair was a couple of inches long, jet-black, and straight. His round Filipino face was golden brown from the sun, and a silver barbell glinted in his eyebrow.

I cleared my throat as we became surrounded by the group of dripping, tan California boys. For a stunned moment all I could think was that Veronica would be in drool heaven. I
didn’t even have the nerve to look at all of them, and I wondered where Kaidan was in this pack of hotties.

“Sweet,” someone behind me said in a low voice. “A break in the sausage fest.”

“Shut up, brah,” Blake told him. “This girl’s way too nice for you.”

Some of the guys laughed. I never felt shy around people from school anymore, but under the scrutiny of a bunch of boys I didn’t know it was different. I think Blake could tell.

“Time for you all to head out so I can catch up with an old friend.” He draped an arm around me. Some of the guys groaned, but one by one they said their good-byes, slapping hands and backs and stealing glances in my direction. Blake left to see them out. I finally got the nerve to look around and found Kaidan nearby leaning against the railing, looking at the sea.

I wanted to take a picture of him just like that. Longish brown hair, dusted with a shimmer of sand, blowing across the gorgeous angles of his face. I worked up the nerve to walk over, standing at the railing a few feet from him. My thoughts ran away from me as I took in the imagery.

It was so peaceful. So romantic.

I imagined Kaidan taking my hand, leading me down through the sand and into the surf, his hands on my hips, lifting me over the swells, weightless in his arms, cradled by the sea. But mostly I imagined saltwater kisses.

I blinked out of the daydream as Blake jogged back over to us.

“Where’s your boy?” Kaidan asked, his voice rough. When he finally turned his face toward mine, his eyes hit me like a
hammer and I couldn’t respond.

“I’m surprised he left your side.” His steely tone grated against my heart. “I thought Belial and Alocer would’ve arranged your marriage and you’d have a pack of adopted orphans by now.”

Blake let out a nervous laugh as if pretending Kaidan was joking, but I knew better. My senses went haywire with the slam of blood through my system. As bad as I felt for kissing Kope, Kaidan was not innocent in all this. He’d hurt me plenty, and I refused to be his punching bag.