DAEMONEUM

by Laney McMann

  Turning away from the direction Lindsey left, Giselle headed toward Kade’s second period class and found her in the hallway. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Kade’s eyes narrowed.

  They did that a lot, Giselle noticed, like she was always suspicious. She guessed she had a good reason to be. “Sorry about earlier.”

  “You okay?”

  “Stomachache.” Giselle shrugged. “Listen, can Cole ride with you to the bunker after school? I’m going to the nurse.”

  “Um, I’m sure he can, yeah, but … are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Wait … how are you checking out? You don’t have a car here.”

  “Same way I got here. I don’t need a car to get places, remember?” Giselle tilted her head to the side and lifted her waves of brown hair. Behind her ear on her neck were tiny brown wings.

  “Oh.” Kade’s eyes widened. “I just assumed you were riding to school with Lindsey these past few days, but now that I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. The common houses aren’t that close to each other.”

  “Nope,” Giselle said. “Flying here, and riding back to the Brotherhood with you every day.”

  “Um,” Kade glanced at her feet and up at Giselle. “What are you?” she asked with the sweetest voice Giselle had ever heard her use. It was a child’s voice, full of curiosity and wonder. “I’ve never asked.”

  Giselle smiled, surprising herself since she was so upset about Lindsey. “I’m me, and me is an elf owl.”

  Kade smiled wide, hazel eyes bright. “So, you’re little like me, or like I was once. Like a sparrow.” She averted her eyes again, and Giselle realized in that instant what an idiot she was.

  “Yeah.” Her eyes tingled, prickled a bit. “You’re still a sparrow, you know.”

  Kade shrugged. “Not anymore.” She touched the scar on her neck where her own wings used to be. She hadn’t even known what it was until Cole had told her a few weeks before. Sparrow wings.

  “You are, Kade.” Giselle looked into her eyes and touched her heart. “It’s in here.”. “Dracon can’t take that from you. Don’t let him.”

  Kade’s eyes welled. “Thanks, G.”

  “No crying, and thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Reminding me who I am.” Giselle gave her a hug. “I have to go.”

  “Feel better.”

  Giselle nodded.

  “Wait,” Kade touched her arm, halting her, “what’s Lindsey?”

  “A raven. Can’t you tell? She’s fearless.” Giselle wandered down the hall.

  Chapter 5

  Kade watched Giselle exit through the stairwell door and touched the corners of her eyes before walking toward to her locker. She belonged to something, she thought with a surge of pride. And maybe her sparrow wings were gone now, but they’d been there once. Giselle was right; Dracon couldn’t that away from her. Turning the combination on her locker, she transferred one of her books out of her backpack.

  “Where’s she living?” Kade heard someone say. “Home alone in that big house?” Glancing up, Cole’s ex-girlfriend Tiffany whispered to another girl as she passed Kade in the hallway. “Everyone’s saying she’s a Primeva, but I don’t know what she is.” The girl stared as she passed.

  Kade shoved her books into her locker with a little too much force. It had taken all of about a week since her dad died, along with the deaths of Alex and Kyle, for the rumors to spread. No one knew the death of her dad was related to Alex and Kyle, only that all three of them had died within the same few days of Kyle going AWOL and everyone finding out he was one of the Nefarius. Anyone with half a brain could come to the conclusion that there was something off about the timing.

  Kade could now easily pick out just how many Primori and Primeva there were at Fairview High. Too many. A few weeks before, she was just the “new girl” who had a thing for Cole Spires; now, for most of the Primori and Primeva kids anyway, she was the one to watch. All Primordial eyes were on her.

  Warden Caelius hadn’t given details to either the Brotherhood or the Kinship about Alex and Kyle—nor had he alluded to the fact that the death of Kade’s dad was related—he’d only told everyone Kade wasn’t to be touched and she was to be protected by everyone in both common houses. Needless to say, a hundred curious eyes were on her at school now. This made her uncomfortable enough, but to make matters worse, a few of the guys had taken it upon themselves to be her personal protectors. And considering her and Cole’s relationship was still under the radar, Cole’s demeanor at school for the past couple days could best be described as rigid.

  As she shut her locker door, Jake nudged her in the shoulder, walking past with a wink. “Ignore Tiffany.”

  “Thanks.” Kade threw her backpack over her shoulder.

  Tiffany stared, standing at her own locker a few feet away. “Shut up, Jake.”

  He only laughed and kept walking.

  Normally, Kade would stare back at Tiffany—or anyone for that matter who provoked her. She would defend herself, say something, but Warden Caelius had been specific with his rules for her—keep her true form under wraps and don’t cause trouble. He was coming up with a solution and asked her to try to be patient for just a little while longer. Since her dad had passed away, Kade was basically an orphan. Warden Caelius and Plumb had taken responsibility for her, which, considering the risks the Primordial kids took every day, wasn’t unusual. Cole was an orphan, too, losing his parents three years before.

  It was weird being alone, though—not like she hadn’t always been alone—but it was weird not being able to talk to the man she’d considered her dad. She tried not to think about it. It did no good. She was thankful for the concern she’d received from the Warden and from Plumb, but she hadn’t really gotten used to it.

  Thoughts swirling, Kade turned her focus away from Tiffany and started in the other direction down the hall. A familiar pull of energy made her shift her attention to the right. Cole stood a few feet away in the hallway talking to Jake. They tapped each other’s fists, and Cole made his way across the hall toward Kade with a grin.

  “Someone causing trouble again, I hear?” He leaned against a locker with his shoulder, careful not to get too close to her or appear overly friendly.

  “Something like that.” Kade slung her long, dark blond hair up into a ponytail and secured it. “Unrequited love is a bitch, I guess.”

  Cole leaned closer by a couple inches, daring her with his gaze to come closer. “I hope I never find out,” he whispered.

  “Back up,” she laughed. “You’re supposed to keep your distance from me at school.”

  “What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t?”

  Kade glanced at Tiffany down the hall, staring at them. “You tell me.” She met Cole's gaze, returning his dare.

  He bit his bottom lip. “The Warden knows about us, so …” he squinted at the ceiling like he was contemplating it, “banishment is out of the question.” He glanced at her. “It would probably create an uproar about traditions and rules, who can date who, possibly mangle the pure blood line of the Primori—the whole Primori versus Primeva thing—and definitely make a few people hate me more than they already do if I’m the one who gets away with breaking the rules …” He shrugged. The idea didn’t seem to bother him much. “I think that covers the bases.”

  “But I’m not a Primeva,” she whispered.

  “Exactly. So, in truth I’m not breaking any rules at all.”

  “Just stay over there.” Kade smirked, backing up a step. “Your ex is staring at us, and the Warden has been really kind to me. I’d rather not disappoint him—or be the cause of an uproar.”

  Cole tilted his head, light brown hair falling over his eyes. “Too late for that last one, I think.”

  “Thanks,” she sighed. “How’s Jake?” Kade crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the locker door.

  “Are you asking because you’re worried about
him for some reason or because you’re worried about him for some reason?” His eyebrows rose.

  “How are you jealous again?” she laughed. “I mean, honestly, how?”

  Cole didn’t shift his expression, mouth in a straight line, staring at her. Kade laughed harder. Damn he was hot. Hotter still that he was jealous over her. The monster girl.

  “You are so damn hot.” She couldn’t stop her thoughts from escaping her mouth.

  His lips parted on a breath. “Say that again, and I’m breaching the distance between us.”

  She glimpsed Tiffany still staring. Kade grinned. It was so hard to do the right thing all the time. “I was asking about Jake because, regardless of your history with him, he’s a good guy, and two of his friends died on the same day. You could say I’m a little worried.”

  Interestingly enough, Jake and Cole had come to some sort of unspoken unity since the attack with Dracon, and Jake’s response to Kade’s newfound attention at school, both positive and negative, didn’t go unnoticed. He constantly had her back. It only made Kade like him more in a completely platonic way, and Cole seemed to appreciate it as well. Kade had spoken to Jake a few times since she was released from the Ward’s infirmary, and all was good between them, but she still couldn’t help feeling guilty about the way their friendship had screeched to a halt.

  “Fair enough,” Cole said. “He’s okay, I think. We’re not that close. Losing Alex was a big loss for everyone, most of all Jake. Alex was his second in command.” He gazed at the ground, zoning out. “I can’t … even imagine.”

  Kade knew Cole was picturing the possibility of losing Danny. With his dad dying three years before in an Araneum attack and his mother having gone missing the same day, he had lost more than most. The life a Primordial led was extreme on too many levels.

  “Hey,” she stepped forward and lifted his chin, gazing at him, “Danny’s not going anywhere.”

  He nodded.

  “I’m proud of you for trying to be friends with Jake. It was the right thing to do.”

  He shrugged, staring at her. “He’s not so bad.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “I’m two seconds from closing this space between us if you keep your hand on my face.” The edge of his lip turned upward a fraction.

  Kade didn’t let her hand fall from his cheek. “We could skip the rest of the day.”

  His eyes darkened, pupils dilating. “Please tell me you’re serious.”

  “I have no parental situation. I mean, Plumb, sort of, but . . .” She gazed into his eyes. “Yeah, I’m serious.”

  Darkness eclipsed the blues and grays of his eyes completely. “I’ll beat you to your car.”

  Kade laughed, and too fast to see, Cole was gone. She only heard the door to the stairwell close with a snap.

  She had a certain kind of freedom now: a freedom she’d never known existed before. Yes, she was supposed to stay under the radar; yes, the Primori and Primeva were supposed to be keeping an eye on her; yes, she was likely being hunted by the Daemoneum—wherever they were hiding. But having her dad, or her uncle—Dracon—which she still hated calling him, out of the picture, made her feel a bit reckless. She had only ever lived by rules and lies. She wanted a life. Her life.

  The bell rang for the start of class, and Kade waited for the hallways to clear before she followed Cole. All of the times she’d dogged him about running around humans, moving too fast, possibly leaving a red wake—his Rubeum corona—in his tracks, and how risky it all was, she now found herself taking the same risk—and loving it.

  She slid into the passenger’s seat of her car in the dirt parking lot beside Cole seconds later. He already had the car cranked and the heat turned up. His grin was about the cutest she’d ever seen when he helped her shove her backpack over her shoulder and into the back seat. All twinkling eyes and white teeth with the one slightly crooked one in the front. Adorable.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” he said, putting the MINI into reverse and backing out of the parking lot. “Rule breaker.”

  Kade leaned over the middle console and kissed his neck. “You’re a terrible influence.”

  “You’d be amazed how much I hear that.” Flashing a grin, he pulled away from campus and onto the main road.

  Chapter 6

  As they drove away from school, the Flatiron rock formations loomed ahead in all their terra-cotta colored majesty like a beacon to some other universe—some faraway place. “Have you done much hiking?” Kade asked.

  “Some.” Cole shifted the car into third gear. “Why? You want to go hiking today?” He glanced at her sideways. “No offense, but that wasn’t what I thought you had in mind.”

  “I just thought it would be pretty, something different,” she said. “I’ve never been hiking before. No biggie.”

  Cole reached over and squeezed her thigh. “We’ll go.”

  “No, really, I was just—”

  He glanced at her. “Sparrow, I want to go hiking.”

  “Yeah?” She smiled wide. “You sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. It’ll be snowy up there, but yeah.”

  Cole drove to the nearest gas station and filled her gas tank, while she loaded up on water and snacks. “I can’t believe you got Slim Jims.” He emptied his backpack out into the trunk and put in the food and water bottles. “They’re gross.”

  “I got nuts, too, and granola bars.” Kade pointed. “And anyway, you never know what you might need when you’re hiking. Slim Jims are like 100% fat. They make good fuel.”

  Cole zipped the backpack and shut the trunk. “Just know I’m not kissing you if you eat one.” He smirked, getting into the driver’s seat.

  Damn. Kade followed him, climbing in the car. So much for the Slim Jims.

  The drive up the mountain toward the hiking trails was white, gray, brown, and more white. Kade wondered for the hundredth time if she would ever see blue skies again. The cold still got under her skin and into her bones, but being outside in thirty degree weather was much better than being stuck in the underground bunker—or with all the staring eyes at school.

  Cole took the steep, rocky road up the mountain at slow speeds. “Why didn’t we get my Jeep before we decided to do this?” He downshifted into second gear.

  “Because we would’ve gotten called out for skipping school?”

  He slowed down more, shifting into first gear at a near crawl as the front right tire dipped into a deep, slush-filled pothole. “Your car wasn’t built for this.” Kade grinned. He looked so cute driving her little car. “What?”

  “Nothing. We could just stop somewhere, couldn’t we? Make our own trail?” She looked out the passenger window. Nothing but snow-covered trees and snow-covered ground—a blanket of white. “Or not.”

  “I’m thinking ‘or not.’” Cole shifted into second, so they were going at a full fifteen miles per hour. “I’m also thinking we might want to trade this in for something a little more … durable.”

  “It’s durable,” Kade snapped. “I love this car. The MINI is a rally car, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know, but this one isn’t winning any races in the snow going uphill on a mountain,” he laughed, and pulled over onto a small lookout off the side of the road. “Sorry, beautiful, but I don’t want to try to push us out if this thing gets stuck. We’ll bring the Jeep next time.”

  “Fine.” The view from the lookout was stunning, Kade had to admit. The snow-topped Rocky Mountains loomed like sentinels in the distance, the valley hundreds of feet below, draped in white under the gray sky. “It’s beautiful.”

  “And warm.” Cole put the car in reverse, turned it around, and backed in.

  “What are you doing?”

  With a grin, he shut off the engine, climbed out of the driver’s seat, opened the trunk, and laid both of the back seats down flat. He spread out the old wool blanket Kade’s dad had always made her carry in case of emergencies and patted it. “Who needs to hike when we have an awes
ome view and a blanket?” Climbing inside the car on all fours, he gingerly shut the trunk and turned around, facing her.

  Kade cracked up. “Do you fit?” His back was inches from the roof of the car, feet pressed against the trunk. She climbed over her seat next to him.

  “Hang on.” Crawling forward, he shifted both of the front seats forward and down so they acted as head rests. With a know-it-all grin, he lay down with some difficulty and beckoned Kade. “See?” He pointed out the small rear window at the Rockies in the distance. “Plus, we have snacks.” He kicked the backpack with his foot.

  Kade positioned herself in the small space beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. He was right, the view was even better from this angle. “Are your legs smushed?”

  “Smushed?” He adjusted them, but his knees were still bent in an awkward position, feet against the trunk. “Who says smushed?”

  “Me.” She snuggled against his side, burying her cold hands in his coat pocket.

  Cole pulled his fingers through her hair. “You know what, Sparrow?”

  “Hm?”

  “I think this counts as our first official date.” He shifted his weight so he could see her face.

  “I think it does.”

  “Better than the movies with a view like that.” Lifting her chin, he kissed her softly.

  “Or dinner.” She snuggled against his side, and he adjusted his position again with a grunt, scooting her underneath his body with one arm and bracing himself against the side window with the other.

  “Damn, this car is small.”

  “We couldn’t’ve managed this in the Jeep, either.” Kade held onto his hips as he lowered his weight, bracing himself over her with his arms. “Just saying.”

  Leaning down, he brushed his mouth over hers. “We could trade this in and get something a little bigger,” he whispered. “Then we could fit.”

  “You really don’t like my car, do you?” Her tongue touched his, and he trembled against her with a soft exhale. Kade pulled him closer.