Vital (14 page)

My dad let his hand rub against my back. “Not your day, is it?”

“Not my year,” I said, smiling slightly.

“Well, a new one is just around the corner,” he promised, letting his hand fall into mine.

“Are you gonna ask me what he did?” I asked, staring forward.

“I don’t have to ask,” he answered quietly.

“He doesn’t want me to tell Landen.”

“I bet not,” my father said, shaking his head.

“Should I?” I asked, looking down.

“Look up, Willow,” he said, squeezing my hand.

I did as he said and raised my head.

He smiled slightly but never answered me. We walked on in silence. I kept feeling those emotions; I swear, I didn’t know human beings could feel that way. It was like every blissful emotion between two people was shrouded in darkness. I would call it lust, but even that word seemed shallow in comparison to what I felt. The more I tried to forget them, the clearer they were in my memory. I knew Dane was right: if I said something to anyone, they’d kill him, or at the very least disown him. So, I decided to just not lie if I was asked; that was the only safe thing to do.

The front doors were still open at the palace, and almost every light was on. It felt like everyone was scattered. I tried to find Landen’s emotion. He was there, but I didn’t think he was in the study. I followed my dad up the stairs anyway. I figured it would be easier for someone to tell me where to look than to follow his emotion. I was exhausted; I’d never fought so long and hard with someone, and every part of my body hurt. I felt depleted.

Drake stepped out of the study door just as we topped the stairs, then waited for us to walk down the hall to him. My father reached his arm around me and squeezed me closer before letting go. He nodded politely at Drake, then walked past him into the study.

I locked gazes with Drake, and my heart started to race. I didn’t like this ‘looking up’ thing my father had taught me to do.

“Where’s Landen?” I asked quietly.

Drake tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, then stepped closer to me. “Breaking down the barricade to the looking glass,” he answered finally.

“He told you about that?” I asked, looking around, trying to notice if I felt a presence.

“Told me what?” he asked, reaching to let his hands rest on my hips.

I felt his addicting hum and sighed. “Nothing,” I mumbled, gently pushing his hands off my waist.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked quietly.

“I’m not; I just went on a walk,” I promised, breathing in.

Drake leaned against the wall and reached to let his fingers graze the bottom of my eye. “You look tired.”

“Thanks,” I said bleakly.

He tilted his head, holding my gaze.

“Sorry. Everyone keeps telling me that, and I’ve had a really, really bad day,” I explained, stepping closer, fearing that I was hurting him, making myself look ungrateful for all the risks he took to give me what I wanted.

“Did someone hurt you?” he asked, tightening his jaw. I swear, it was like anger intensified his perfect features, making him even more mesmerizing. The memory of the emotions I felt from Dane caused my heart to race as I looked into the addicting stare of Drake’s dark eyes. I blinked, breaking my daze, then shook my head.

“Would you tell me?” he asked quietly.

“No,” I answered, smilingly shyly.

“Why not?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

“Because of your temper; I’ve seen it in action,” I answered, tilting my head and thinking of that horrible man that had tried to have his way with me when I was trapped inside of Evelyn.

He raised his eyebrows, and a ghostly grin came to the corners of his lips. “He deserved more than death.”

“Maybe so,” I said quietly, agreeing with him, feeling so grateful that he was there to protect me over and over again.

“Come here,” he whispered, reaching his hands for my shoulders. He let his hands slowly slide to my neck, holding my gaze. He wasn’t trying to kiss me or make a move; he was trying to take away the tension in my body - and it was working. I leaned my head down and let his fingertips move across my neck, adoring the sensation his skin always had. After a moment or two, I looked up at him.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling.

He kept his hands on my neck, moving his fingers in small circles. “You promise you’re not avoiding me, that you don’t feel strange after helping me?” he asked, tilting his head and smiling slightly.

“No. I’d do it again – and again,” I promised.

“I wish I could help you feel that way, take whatever this is away from you,” he whispered, looking all around me.

“When I get home, I’ll be fine.” I knew there, Landen would be able to replace whatever energy I’d wasted on Dane.

Drake knew what I was talking about and let his hands fall, then leaned his head to mine. “I envy him,” he whispered.

My stomach fell as I heard him repeat the word ‘envy.’ I remembered seeing Landen fight with that very emotion when he woke that morning. I didn’t like the idea of Landen channeling him, feeling Drake’s emotions; there was no telling how dangerous that was, what reaction Landen would have if he were forced to feel them over and over again.

I heard someone clear their throat, and I assumed it was Alamos because I didn’t feel anything; when I looked up, though, I saw Dane at the top of the stairs.

Confusion absorbed my expression as I slowly leaned away from Drake. “Why can’t I feel you?” I asked.

The moment I said that, I felt a jealousy come from him, like he’d somehow flipped a switch. “I don’t know. You looked distracted – do you need me to help you snap out of it?” he asked, glaring at Drake.

An impulse kicked in, and before I knew it - before I could stop myself - I slightly nodded my head in his direction and sent a blow of energy his way. It was so strong, it flung him into the wall that was ten feet behind him. It was almost like it was too much to ask of my body. I started to get dizzy, and I felt Drake’s arms go around me. He raised my chin. “Willow, look at me...look at me,” he said firmly.

I focused on him, on his dark eyes, and took in a deep breath. I found balance, but I was still weak.

“Bad day, huh?” he said, grinning before he leaned down to kiss my forehead. He then pulled me to him.

I looked up and saw Dane on the floor, frozen. My father, Ashten, and Perodine were looking out the doorway, frozen in place; Drake had stopped time.

“Sit here. I’m gonna find Landen; you look like you’re gonna pass out.”

I tightened my arm around him. I knew he was wasting his time; Landen was already on his way here and getting closer by the second. I swear, he could feel me from a mile away when I was upset.

“He’s on his way,” I said quietly, finding it hard to speak and breathe at the same time.

Drake extended his arms and looked over me carefully. “What did he do to you?” he asked as I saw the anger amplify his intoxicating image.

I knew Dane was right: if I said one word, acted like I didn’t care, his life would be over - and I hadn’t decided if I believed him yet. I wanted to talk to Clarissa, and there was no telling how long that would take; she was furious at me. Knowing what I knew then, I could see where she was coming from. If she knew about this, what Dane was doing to get information to help me...well, I would blame me, too.

“Nothing to me,” I said quietly.

I looked past him and saw Landen running toward us.

What happened?
he thought before he reached me.

I lost my temper
, I thought, pleading with my eyes, asking him not to make me explain right then.

As he reached us, Drake let his arms fall from around me. Landen pulled me to him and stared into my eyes, trying to understand what I was feeling as his eyes glared between Drake and Dane.

“Where’s your energy? There’s nothing left; I don’t know how you’re still standing,” he said, raising my chin so he could look deeply into my eyes.

“Maybe we should go,” I mumbled, feeling vacant.

He looked over my head at Drake, then at Dane on the floor. “Can you hold this a second longer? Give me a chance to make her feel better?”

Drake nodded once, still holding his expression of anger. Landen put his arm around my shoulder and led me into the next room. It was the servants’ quarters where we’d slept a few nights ago. The memory of the presence – the rattling door – sent a shock of terror through me.

“Nothing’s here; not now,” he whispered.

We sat on the edge of the bed, and I leaned forward on my knees, burying my hands in my face.

“Tell me what happened,” he murmured, rubbing my back, fighting a mix of emotions that ranged from jealousy to rage.

“I lost my temper. I was talking to Drake, and he was asking why I looked weak. I told him when I got home I’d be fine, then he leaned his forehead to mine and told me...that he envied you.” My voice trembled. “Then Dane walked up the stairs and made some sly comment like he’d caught me doing something wrong – and I just lost it.”

I looked up at him and took in a deep breath. “I didn’t even have to think about it to see the energy, to tell it where to go. I barely nodded my head...can I be that dangerous?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“You need to be,” he assured me as his jaw tightened and the shade of his eyes shifted to a deep blue.

“Something else happened,” he said quietly, looking over me, clearly believing that I was hiding something from him. My father’s warning that we had to stop this silent act of pushing down emotions was echoing in my thoughts, but I didn’t want to tell him about Dane; not here, not with the emotions I felt coursing through him.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I don’t understand it, and the one person who might isn’t speaking to me.”

“Fine,” he said under his breath.

“The word of the day,” I mumbled.

I watched as a hungry desire consumed his frustrated expression. There was only one way to make either of us feel better right then.

He leaned closer to me, then let his lips touch mine. I felt his energy send a swarming tingle through my body. I kissed him back, greedy to feel a deeper escape, hungry for his essence. I was too aggressive, though, and I managed to push him back on the bed. He rolled me over to my back and slowly ended that breathless embrace, then his lips glided across my jaw as warm chills spread across my skin. As his lips found the skin beneath my ear, he whispered,“That’s different,” in an alluring tone that made everything inside me melt at once.

I blushed and turned my head. He reached to pull my lips back to him, stealing one more deep kiss.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, “think of a moment when I made you strong, a moment when we were one.”

I did as he said and called back the last time I felt that way. A smile came to the corners of my lips, and I instantly felt stronger. Not as strong as I’d feel if it were really happening, but it was close - close enough that I found my second wind.

Better
, he thought quietly as his fingertips traced the base of my eye.

I opened my eyes and smiled. “Better – but I could use some fresh memories,” I whispered as my eyes craved every part of him.

“Agreed,” he whispered seductively, blushing slightly. “Listen, we just broke through the barricade, and the rings are standing. Let’s let Stella do her thing, then we’ll go home.”

My eyes questioned him, knowing we weren’t supposed to talk about what we did with our rings there.

“August told Alamos that he wanted to see the rubble, that he’d rebuild it with or without his help.” Landen stated, locking stares with me.

“But you’re not gonna look,” I confirmed as if someone were listening to us.

“No. Never,” he answered, holding my gaze and pulling me up.

We walked back to the hallway to see Drake pacing and the others still froze. Drake’s eyes grew darker when he saw me. “Much better?” he said with a tone laced in envy as he glanced at Landen, who was sizing up what I’d done to Dane.

I walked to the doorway and looked down the hall at Dane. I was still furious with him. I had to figure out how to get him out of this dimension.

“I don’t want you to heal him...well, if it’s fatal, heal him – but if not, tell him he has to come home for you to do it; maybe the pain will knock some sense into him.”

Landen looked over me curiously, trying to understand what had caused such a cold response from me.

“Let it go, Drake,” Landen said firmly.

Time began to move, and Dane screamed in agony.

My father looked down the hallway at Dane and shook his head. “Make that six,” he said quietly, walking to Dane, unable to hold back the doctor he was anymore.

Perodine walked to my side and carefully looked me over. “What happened?” she asked, reaching to touch my arm.

“A reflex,” I mumbled.

“I like it – a lot,” Drake said, laughing under his breath.

Perodine looked up at him. “Do you want to be next? Don’t push her,” she said protectively. She then looked to my side at Landen. “You weren’t here a second ago...one of you froze time, didn’t you?”