by Jenn Vakey
I kept my eyes on him and watched him shake and jump back. Leeya turned, her eyes surveying our surroundings as the male cat fled. I didn’t look back myself. I trusted her and knew she would alert me if there was another threat.
As soon as the cat was on his way, I grabbed her and we hurried toward the building.
I held my breath when we reached the doors. I knew we could get back to the subway if we needed to, but I really didn't want to. When I tried it, though, I found the door unlocked. Thank you, Zaydan.
We both relaxed some when we got into the building and I secured the door. They might have left it open, but I was fairly certain none had ventured out after dark. There was no reason for it to be open anymore.
“You okay?” I asked Leeya.
She looked a little shaken when I faced her, but definitely more relaxed than she had been when we were leaving the subway.
“That thing is cool,” she said, motioning to the gun still in my hand. “If it can make a lion back off, I'd say it will definitely help us in Eden.”
I looked down at it myself and nodded. Non-lethal was always better when dealing with people from Eden.
“Come on,” I said, turning toward the stairs. “Let's get up there. I'm guessing you didn't sleep at all while I was out.”
I didn't have to look back at her to know the truth there. If roles were reversed, I know I wouldn’t have been able to.
I didn't bother trying the door before knocking. I didn't really want to wake everyone up, but I knew someone would be on guard. I also knew they wouldn't have left this one open.
“Who is it?” Zaydan’s voice sounded moments later.
I smirked and looked to Leeya in time to see her roll her eyes.
“Have you been teaching animals to knock on doors without telling anyone?” she asked incredulously.
The locks clicked rapidly, then he jerked the door open. The relief he had when his eyes found her only magnified when he turned to me. There was also no hiding the shock there. With the fall I had taken, I doubted that he had expected me to be alive, let alone up walking around.
“Shit,” he said, then reached out and pulled us both into the room.
It was clear by the fact that the others were only half awake where they sat on the floor that he had been on watch. Like him, they all looked surprised to see me.
Now that Leeya had pointed it out, I could clearly make out many of the emotions moving through Joury’s eyes, although she did a good job hiding them.
“You okay?” Zaydan asked, looking me quickly over. He was pale, like he was seeing a ghost. “I thought…”
“I know,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “I'm glad I recommended bringing a Healer along.”
He nodded and glanced at Leeya. “Yeah, and one that was crazy enough to stay behind.” A look of guilt passed over his face as he met my eye again. “I'm sorry we didn't stay.”
I shook my head and cut him off. “You did exactly what you were supposed to do. And thanks for leaving the door unlocked. We ran into a lion outside. These work pretty well.”
I held up the gun, then dropped my stuff down onto the floor. I might have been out for several hours, but I was exhausted. Of course, that could have had something to do with what Leeya and I had done after.
Hiding my smirk, I turned back to face her. Her expression was blank, never giving anything away. At least not where anyone but me could notice it. While we had never talked about it, she knew about my desire to keep things private. It was part of the reason she was worried I'd be upset when she talked to Aarys. It wasn't something that would stay secret much longer, but tonight wasn’t the time to enlighten anyone.
“You need sleep,” I said, motioning down to her spot on the floor. That damn dog was curled up on it, saving it for her. “I'll take your watch.”
I could tell she wanted to argue just for the sake of it, but she was too tired in the end. Reluctantly, she nodded and dropped her bag to the floor, then curled up with the dog. He lifted his head and licked her cheek before pressing into her.
“Don't worry about the watch,” Zaydan said. “I've got you both covered. I saw how deep that fall was, so I'm guessing you had a lot to recover from. Get your rest.”
“That's an understatement,” Leeya mumbled, but her eyes were already closed when I looked down. She hadn't said it, but I knew I wouldn't have made it long had she not come after me. I felt it in the way she tensed up. The way she was holding me when I woke up.
“Thanks, man,” I said, not arguing myself.
“Are you okay?” Joury asked when I lowered down into the spot next to Leeya. Her normally cheerful voice was full of worry. Maybe guilt that she hadn't done what Leeya had.
“All patched up,” I said. Then laid back with a groan. “And with a cool story for the trip home.”
She wanted to talk more, but I let my eyes close and hoped that would be the end of it. The others were already settling back in themselves. Not only did I not want to keep everyone up, but I knew now that I needed to be careful not to lead her on at all. The truth would come out before long, and I wanted to lessen the blow as much as possible. Maybe I could even find a way of shifting Alister’s attention to her and take care of both problems.
We didn't leave as early as I had planned the next morning. I took one look at Leeya still sleeping when I woke up and told the others we would be getting a later start. No one argued. I think they were all still shocked about what had happened.
The downside to this was we would either have to travel at night or camp out and finish the rest of the trip in the morning. By the time the sun started to go down, we had all settled on the latter option.
Leeya had patched me up, but I was still a little sore from the fall. I hadn't realized just how deep it had been until we had to take the stairs back up. She had been right; I was lucky to have survived it until she got there. I was also lucky she had been crazy enough to risk using ropes to come down after me.
She was quiet on the trip back. Even when we set up camp for the night, she didn't really say much. Nothing more than responding when someone was talking to her.
Like over the previous weeks, everyone just assumed it was because of her sister. Also like then, I knew they were wrong. Sure, she was dealing with that. Her worry for Lillith wouldn't ease until she was safely away from Eden. Probably not even then. No, this was her analyzing and trying to process. Trying to understand what had happened in that underground office. I knew her well enough to know she would never ask. This also wasn't the time or place to have that discussion with her. We needed to be alone for that.
With an early start the next morning, it was breakfast time when we finally walked back into camp. There were a couple people out, but not many. Most were in the dining hall eating.
Even though we had eaten what we had on the walk back, Zaydan and Joury made straight for the hall. They didn't even stop to drop their stuff off first. Verity and Jaythan gave me the Maker items they had been carrying, then started toward housing. I was about to ask Leeya what she was planning on doing when I saw her staring out ahead. When I looked myself, I quickly understood why. The few people who were out weren't looking at us at all. I'd actually forgotten about the dog. This was going to be interesting.
“Come on,” I said, motioning toward the dorm. Orson would be calling a meeting after breakfast as soon as he realized we were back. I was sure she wanted to get a shower in as badly as I did.
Tossing our things into our rooms, we both walked in silence down the hall toward the bathrooms. I knew I could end all of this right then and there. Hell, I could probably pull her into the bathroom with me and make sure her questions were thoroughly answered in the shower. With everyone out eating, there wasn't as high of a chance of us being caught.
I didn't. I wanted to see if she would actually get desperate enough to ask. Or maybe to make the first move. So we just walked into the bathrooms without a word, Kip following right after her.
I felt her standing in the doorway before I saw her. Leeya looked around, her eyes touching everything in the room but me. Her hair was wet and pushed back behind her ears, and she'd changed into one of those tight shirts and cargo pants she usually wore while training. I had no doubt that was what she had planned after the meeting.
I could tell she still didn't know what to think about this. Questioning if she should bring it up or just let things play out the way she had been since the Adler thing.
“Can I grab my clothes?” she asked coolly.
I nodded and motioned toward the stack sitting on the bed. When she walked in toward them, Kip again on her heels, I stepped toward the door. Peering out, I made sure no one was around. Then I closed the door and turned to her.
Leeya turned back at the sound, a startled little look filling her eyes. I smiled at the sight and took the two steps to reach her, gathering her in my arms before she had a chance to come up with anything to say. My patience wasn’t strong enough to keep the game up.
Her body melted into mine when our lips met. Relief mixed with joy. It only made me smile more.
The way her body reacted to mine was intoxicating. I tried to answer all of her questions just with that kiss. To let her know that everything really was going to be okay with us. Feeling her against me made my heat spike, my body craving her. I wanted to strip her right there without a word and have her again. Screw the risk that someone would know. I probably would have had we not had a meeting to get to. One we definitely couldn't skip.
“I meant what I said, Leeya,” I told her, hoping it was enough to make her believe. “You're my girl.”
There was so much joy in her eyes at my words that it made it nearly impossible to maintain my control.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LEEYA
My heart was racing when we walked out of the dorm. It felt like I was floating. Rhydian had seemed so normal after we met up with the others in Denver. I was certain it was going to be just like when we had kissed before. Things just left up in the air.
I was wrong.
The way people were staring at us as we walked out only made it seem more real. Like everyone could tell just at a glance that something had changed. But I knew it was unrelated. They weren’t looking at us at all. It was Kip, who hadn’t left my side since we made it back to the apartment.
Unlike with retrievals, there wasn’t really a crowd when we got back. No one really knew when we’d be getting in, and most people were eating breakfast. With us going straight to the dorm, not many people had seen him yet. It was clear word had gotten around, though. People were coming out just to get a look. A wary curiosity about the newest member of Alkwin.
“Come on, boy,” I said, glad they were at least giving him a wide berth to get used to his new surroundings. “There’s someone who will be thrilled to meet you.”
Rhydian didn’t question it when I veered toward the school house. It wasn’t like they could start the meeting without us. There was someone I knew both of us wanted to see first.
Screams of both delight and nervousness filled the playground when the kids caught sight of Kip. He backed into my leg, uneasy at the attention, but he relaxed some when I gave him a reassuring pat on the head.
Naiya, who was watching the kids today, managed to keep them back. Well, all but Linley. She squealed with delight and rocketed toward us. The girl smiled brightly at her brother, but she was smart. Though I knew they both wanted to greet each other, she threw her arms around me instead. They would have to save their hug until they were alone.
“I missed you,” she cried, holding me tightly as I lifted her up. Then she dropped her voice and added, “Both of you.”
“We missed you too,” Rhydian responded. I looked over and found a hidden smile in his eyes as they moved between the two of us.
“What’s that?” Linley asked, shifting so she could look down. “It’s an animal?”
I nodded and lowered her down, scratching Kip on the head again. “This is Kip. He’s a dog. Here.” I took her hand in mine and held it out for Kip. He leaned forward and sniffed her, then gave her fingers a friendly lick. “He’s very sweet.”
Linley smiled brightly and slid her hand over his head, causing his tail to start wagging from side to side.
“We have a meeting to get to, but we’ll get you later and you can play with him,” Rhydian said, still standing back watching us. “If you’re good and actually stay where you’re supposed to, we’ve also got a surprise for you.”
Those beautiful green eyes lit up with excitement, then she nodded frantically and ran back to the group. All of the other kids surrounded her, no doubt drilling her about Kip. Rhydian shook his head and turned so we could get to the meeting hall.
The room fell silent when we walked in. By a quick look, I could tell that all of Stassa’s people were there, along with nearly all of the Alkwin regulars. Instead of taking my normal seat in the back, I walked with Rhydian up to the front. Like with outside, all attention was on Kip. Including Orson’s. He didn’t look happy.
“What is that?” he asked, folding his arms.
“Kip,” I answered, taking more pleasure in annoying him than I probably should have. “He’s a dog. My dog.”
His eyes met mine, and I could see the battle there. He wanted to use the same command he did with everyone else. At the same time, he still wanted to try to connect with me. Throwing his weight around wouldn’t get him anywhere. He knew it.
“We have rules about animals in Alkwin,” he said levelly.
I tensed to argue, but Rhydian spoke before I could.
“He’s tame,” he said calmly, almost like he thought we were wasting time even talking about it. “Docile unless there’s a threat. Especially to her.” He tossed his head toward me, then continued forward to put the bag of equipment down on the table.
“That’s the truth,” Jaythan chimed in with a chuckle. “The thing faced down a snox and actually made it retreat. He snores, but I guess you can’t really hold that against him.”
I bit down on my cheek to keep from smiling. Jaythan could see the situation. That was the only reason he had spoken up. I had earned his respect, and he was showing it now.
Orson didn’t look happy, but he didn’t argue when Kip and I walked over to a chair off to the side.
Rhydian leaned back against the table and faced the room. After a few tense moments of silence, Orson finally relented and turned to Rhydian.
“Any trouble?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” he said. “The Makers gave us a dozen weapons, along with twenty short range communicators. They work on a secure network, like the earpieces Sentry commanders have. It will let our people keep in contact without risking our Hallers. As long as they are spaced out correctly, all of our people should be able to keep in contact in the city.”
Orson gave an approving nod, but Rhydian wasn’t done.
“That’s nothing compared to what else we got.”
With that, he turned to me. The smile on his face was one of the ones he rarely gave anyone. A real one. An excited one.
When Orson’s eyes found mine, I smiled myself.
“I can talk to Lillith.”
The room was silent. I held his eye, absorbing his doubt and confusion, then stood and looked out around the room. Everyone else looked just as skeptical. Well, except Jaythan and Verity. Stassa looked to Verity for an explanation. She nodded, then whispered something. Whatever she said made Stassa’s eyes widen and turn back to me.
“I can reach out to Lillith with my mind,” I announced to the room. “When we connect, I see through her eyes and she sees through mine. I can see and hear everything going on around her, and we’ve discovered we can talk to each other with just our thoughts.”
“We’ve made it clear to Lillith that she can’t let the people holding her know that she has this ability,” Rhydian added.
The room filled with murmurs, then one of the older men with Stassa stated, “That’s not possible.”
Verity was the one to respond. “Leeya and Lillith are identical twins with siren based abilities.”
“What has she said?” Orson asked, still looking hesitant himself.
My jaw tightened, remembering the state she was in. “They’re testing on them. They make them fight each other.” Then I smiled, recalling one of the good things I’d learned. “She’s seen Lamont’s girl.”
“What have you told her?” Stassa asked. Unlike Orson, she didn’t appear to be questioning it at all. She trusted Verity.
“Very little,” I admitted. “She’s…” I sighed. “It hasn’t been easy on her. I wasn’t willing to tell her anything that could actually be used against us if they managed to break her before we moved.”
It hurt to admit it, but they needed to know the truth. Everyone going into Eden was doing so knowing they might not make it back. I owed it to them to do everything I could to better their odds.
“Talk to the Sentry,” Orson stated. “We’ll meet back up to discuss where to go next later.”
I nodded and motioned toward Kip. He didn’t delay before getting up and walking out with me. Others started to leave also, but I didn’t make eye contact. I was on a mission, and I didn’t want to be delayed with questions about this new ability.
Like when we left, the door was open to let air into the cell. Lamont was lying back on the bed when I walked up and knocked. He shifted his head to the side and smiled. I couldn’t keep from smiling back. The others might still be hesitant, but I didn’t see him as my enemy. And I had news for him.
“You’re back,” he mused, then pushed up and walked toward me. When he did, his gaze moved down toward my feet. “What’s that?”
“A dog,” I smirked. I had a feeling it was a question I would always be answering. “He found us on our trip. Apparently, I have a tendency of picking up strays. His name’s Kip.”