by S. L. Stacy
“She’s here. You can thank her yourself, later. Anna,” I continue, gently taking the hand of the arm without the IV drip, “can I ask you a question? I know this might not be the best time, but I really need to know something.”
Jimmy moves forward in his seat, glaring at me. Anna just looks confused. “About what?”
“Did you tell anyone about the things I told you? About the sorority?” Anna opens her mouth to answer, but her brother beats her to it, toppling his chair as he stands up.
He points to the door. “Get out,” he seethes at me.
“Jimmy—” Anna tries to protest.
“My sister’s recovering from a drug overdose. But you just have to make it about you somehow, don’t you?” he says, absent-mindedly rubbing his wrist with his other hand. It’s the first time I notice the blotchy, discolored bruises on his wrists. “People don’t change. You’re still the same, self-centered bitch from high school—”
“Jimmy! Stop it!”
“No, he’s right,” I say, getting up from the bed and backing away. “It wasn’t a good time to ask. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“No.” I turn around at the sound of Anna’s emphatic whisper. “No, I didn’t tell anyone. I know what this is about. Whoever posted that didn’t hear it from me. I swear I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you. I’m so sorry. I understand if you’re mad—”
“I’m not mad,” Anna assures me, casting a sideways glance at her brother. “Just disappointed. I wish you had a little more faith in people. In me. But I’m still grateful to you—and Victoria—for saving my life.”
“I’m just glad…” I stop myself before finishing with we got there in time. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m gonna go. Let me know how you’re doing tomorrow.”
The corners of Anna’s mouth curve upward. “I’ll keep you posted. Goodnight, Siobhan.”
Anna’s doctor is talking to a nurse just outside the door. When he sees me come out, he motions me over. “Whoever called 9-1-1 said that Anna had overdosed, but we didn’t find traces of any drugs, prescription or otherwise, in her system. Do you know if she’s been taking anything? Tonight or otherwise?”
“Oh, I…” I should have anticipated a question like this. The antidote must have worked through her system during the ambulance ride over. It’s a good thing, too, because otherwise he’d be asking an entirely different set of questions. “I think we were wrong. She just fainted.”
The doctor gives me a weird look but doesn’t press the issue. He leaves to check in on a patient in the next room. I wait in the hall for Jimmy to come out. When he does, I pounce.
“You’re still sleeping with her,” I accuse him, blocking his path to the waiting area. He stops short, digging his hands into his pockets. “With Apate. After everything she did to you. After she deceived you.” The hollow cheeks, the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes—I thought he was just worried about Anna. But then I saw the bruises on his wrists. Apate had her lover’s wrists bound in the sex tape—I guess she likes to play rough. I wonder what kind of alien rope she has to use to make Jimmy bruise like that. Jimmy, who’s healed mere minutes after cutting himself on stage.
Jimmy shrugs. “It’s really none of your business. Now if you would please move out of my way—”
“It is my business. I’m your friend.”
“Really?” Jimmy’s laugh is tired, exasperated. “This is friendship?” He motions between the two of us. “I have plenty of friends. I don’t need any more.” Dodging past me, he stalks toward the waiting room.
“She doesn’t care about you,” I call out in a last ditch effort. Jimmy pauses. “She can’t.”
He cranes his neck over his shoulder. “You don’t know everything. So stop acting like it.”
I wait until he disappears around the bend in the hallway to follow him. Unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid him completely. We’re both going to the same place.
When I get back to the waiting room, Jimmy has relocated to a chair in the far corner, arms crossed over his chest. Peter and Victoria are getting up to take their turn visiting Anna.
“I’m going back to the house,” I tell Victoria. “Unless you want me to wait for you.”
“Go ahead,” she insists. “It’s been a long night. Get some sleep. I think I’m going to stay here a little longer.”
I dial the cab company, then go wait outside. It looks like it’s rained since we’ve been at the hospital. A cold breeze whips my hair into my face. I yank my hood over my head.
The cab pulls up to the curb. I climb in the back, poised to tell the driver Thurston University.
“555 Elmer Drive,” I say instead. “Greenview.”
Chapter 21
The next time I wake up, the damp, mossy bank of the spring is gone.
I rub my eyes, trying to clear away my confusion and leftover fatigue. I sit up and look frantically around me. I’m lying on the floor in the same vast, dark room where I first encountered the prince.
“But I wasn’t done,” I mutter groggily. Why would he send me back here? I didn’t do anything wrong! “What about the third test? What about the third test?!” My shriek bounces off the stone walls and back to me.
Oh, fudge. I clamp a hand over my mouth. I’m so stupid.
The kiss.
I can hear his mocking voice in my head: “And if at any time you give into your most carnal desires, you automatically forfeit.” I thought he meant sex. He would try to seduce me, and if I gave in, I would lose. But maybe he didn’t mean anything so dramatic. Maybe he meant something as simple as a kiss.
But he asked me if he could kiss me! He was polite! “You jerk! You tricked me—”
A whimpering sound coming from the other side of the room makes my accusation falter. I get up and walk toward the quiet sobs.
“P-Please h-h-help.” I hear his moans, but I still can’t see him. The candelabras lining the walls only dimly light the way.
“I’m here!” I shout. “I’m coming!”
“C-Can’t b-b-b-b…breathe.”
My heart tries to punch itself out of my chest. I think I was wrong about the kiss. Something’s wrong. Something’s really, really wrong.
Finally, I see him, curled in the fetal position on the floor.
“Oh, my God.” I sit down beside him and grab his shaking shoulders. His eyes are closed, and he’s rocking himself back and forth, mumbling. “Hey. Hey! Tell me what’s wrong,” I demand. “Tell me what I can do to help.”
His green eyes open and look at me without really seeing me. They’re red rimmed and blotchy. Tears ooze down his face. “There’s n-n-n-nothing we can do. No way. No way out. We’ve tried before. Tried and failed. Only the g-g-g-girl got in. Let us out. It was an a-accident.”
“What girl?” He’s delirious. Rambling. “You need to tell me what’s happening. Otherwise, I can’t help you.”
He crawls into my arms and lays his head on my shoulder. I embrace him awkwardly and run a soothing hand through his spiky hair. It’s as silky and fine as snow.
“I wish you weren’t here,” he wails into my shoulder.
“You’re the one keeping me here,” I remind him gently.
“You’re so nice. A nice girl like you d-doesn’t deserve this.” He lifts his head. This time his eyes are able to focus. He looks so sad and innocent as he gapes up at me, like an injured animal. “You should be cherished.”
I blot his cheeks with the back of my hand. “Everything’s going to be fine. You’re going to be okay.” I brush my thumb across his luscious mouth. “You’re going to be…” I tilt my head down and kiss him.
At first, it’s a wet, sloppy kiss, tangy with the salt of his tears. We cling to each other as our kisses deepen, an inferno of desperate passion consuming us.
“And if at any time…”
He unwinds himself until he’s towering over me. Running his hands from my hips to my waist, he clutches and caresses me everywhere. I’m a
rag doll in his arms as he covers my jaw and neck with kisses, not even flinching when his hand floats to my breast.
“…you give into your most carnal desires…”
“Stop,” I pant, placing a palm on his chest and shoving him away from me.
He lifts his mouth from its exploration of my collarbone and raises his eyebrows.
“You really had me,” I admit grudgingly, pulling down the hem of my dress. I see spots in front of my eyes as I try to focus on him, disoriented as I come crashing down.
Realization sparks in his eyes. He shakes his head. “No, Carly, you don’t under—”
“Although I’m starting to see through your tricks a little better.” I say it really just to reassure myself. I want to glare at him, want him to feel the full force of my resentment through my eyes, but another wave of dizziness washes over me. The room spins, the domed ceiling, stone walls and candelabras flickering in and out of existence.
“Carly, wait!” he cries. I can see he’s holding onto me even though I can’t feel the weight of his hands anymore. “Stay with me!” His voice is getting further and further away. “I can explain everything! Just don’t—”
***
I wake up for the second time.
Underneath me, the ground is damp and spongy. Cool mountain air lifts the hairs on my arms. I sit up too fast, my head throbbing in protest. I scan my surroundings.
I’m back at the spring.
I put my head in my hands and try to catch my breath. Since I came here, all I’ve had are nightmares. I must be on edge from sleeping outdoors, alone, in an unfamiliar place. Or maybe it was the fruit I ate yesterday…or whenever that was. The days are blending together.
Once I’m breathing normally and the pain in my head has eased, I stand up and go to the spring. I splash my face and take a drink of water. I wish I had a flask or something I could take with me.
I look at my reflection in the water. Ripples push outward from where my hands disturbed the surface. My hair has dried since last night, but without a dollop of mousse to relax my curls, they fan around my face in a frizzy cloud. I scrub at a streak of dirt on my right cheek.
I look down at the rest of my body. I’ve washed off most of the grass, dirt and dried blood stains. Even the bottoms of my feet are clear, showing no signs of trampling over the at times rough, merciless terrain. My dress, on the other hand, has threads and sequins coming loose and is now more brown than pink. I frown. I really liked this dress.
Getting to my feet, I crane my neck to follow the rise of the mountains into the chalky gray sky. The sun lurks somewhere behind the clouds, so I have no concept of what part of the day it is. Proud and magnificent, the mountains quietly beckon me, hiding ancient secrets in their rocky faces. I summon my wings and take off into the air, quickly covering the distance between the spring and the mountain range. Beating my wings slowly and evenly, I scale the side of the mountain, searching for my next clue—the next level in the prince’s game.
A flash of yellow draws my attention to a short plateau just a few more feet up: another fire. This time, it’s the small, cozy kind you make to warm your hands or roast marshmallows. I fly up to it, touching down on the smoothed-over outcropping of rock. A young man’s dark head is bent over the fire as he rubs his hands together just above the dancing flames. He looks up at the sound of my wings slicing the air. I trip backwards and almost lose my footing.
“Alec?”
“Carly!”
We both rush toward each other. Alec engulfs me in a bear hug. I nestle my head against his solid chest, relishing the feel of the snug, familiar embrace. He rests his chin on the top of my head.
“Carly,” he sighs. “Oh, God, Carly. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me, too.” I wriggle out of his arms so I can look up into his black eyes. “It really is you, right?”
He takes my face in his large hands. “Who else would I be?”
“Uh…never mind.”
He pecks a chaste kiss on my mouth. It’s predictable and comfortable and so very unlike the hot, greedy, invasive kisses of the prince.
Oh, fudge. Heat rises to my face. I kissed him. I let myself forget about Alec and kissed the sexy, volatile stranger that’s holding me captive. Despite how Alec and I left things, right now—on top of this mountain, on this strange world—the lavalier and our explosive break up don’t seem to matter much anymore.
“I’ve been trying to get home to you,” I say, pulling him close again.
“I’ve been trying to get to you.”
“How did you even get here? Tell me everything, Alec.”
We sit down next to the fire. I tuck my wings against my back for extra warmth. The feathers jostle against each other and Alec’s shoulder, making him jump.
“Did it hurt when you fell out of heaven?” he quips, cracking a half-smile.
“If you had said that to me when you first asked me out, I never would have said yes.”
“Somebody better call God, ’cause he’s missing an angel!”
I grind my elbow into his ribcage. Alec chuckles, not even flinching. He puts a hand on the small of my back. I lean my head on his shoulder.
“By the way, I’m not an angel—” I start to explain.
“I know,” Alec says. “All of the brothers know about the Gammas now. And the Alpha Rhos. The Sigma Iotas have been recruited to—”
“Eric’s army,” I say with a sinking feeling. “But not you?”
Alec’s smile is determined. “Not me. Never. And believe me, they tried. They got to Sam first—and pretty easily, I might add. The rest followed. Our first assignment was to bring Jasper back from the other side. But the membrane dividing our universes is becoming unstable.” His eyes keep darting warily in my direction as he speaks. “In order to keep things balanced, we had to send someone across.”
“Me,” I sigh, drawing my knees into my chest and wrapping my arms around them.
“I didn’t know at first that they had chosen you.” Alec’s grip on my waist tightens. “When I found out, I knew I couldn’t keep seeing you. Being with me was only putting you in danger—”
“So you broke up with me,” I realize, relief welling up inside of me. “That’s why you told me to stay away from the Sigma Iota house. You were trying to protect me.”
“But when I refused to cooperate with them, they found another way to get to you.”
I nod. “Max.”
“The next thing I knew, he had brought you down to the basement. I tried to stop them, but they—”
“I know you did.” I reach up and brush a lock of silky black hair out of his eye. Part of me is bursting with delight that my boyfriend tried to save me, but the other half is confused and disappointed in him. If it hadn’t been me, would Alec have tried to save them, or would he have joined in the savagery?
“I don’t even know why,” Alec continues, shaking his head. “Out of everyone that goes to Thurston, why would they pick you? Why would they do this to you? To us?”
“I guess it was…convenient, to pick someone they knew. Someone who was around most of the time, anyway.” I try to recall the words of the ritual: something about a precious gift, pure of body and mind. “Someone they thought was weak. Innocent.”
“You might be innocent, Carly, but you are the strongest person I know.” Alec meets my gaze head on. I tear my eyes away quickly and watch the lively fire instead.
“I’m not, that, inno-cent.” I chant it to the tune of the Britney Spears song to conceal my sudden embarrassment.
“Sure, Carly,” he humors me. “You’re about as vicious as a kitten.”
“The words of the ritual must be symbolic, though,” I say. “Otherwise the other universe would have spit me back out.”
“Oh, come on—”
“No, Alec. Listen to me. There’s something I need to tell you. I should have told you a long time ago. I know that my reluctance to…to get intimate hurts you—”
> “I’m fine,” Alec insists, using his hand to smooth back my hair. “And I’m sorry. I don’t want to rush you. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything you’re not ready to. I want your first time to be special—”
“Alec—”
“—and you’re worth waiting for. I love you.”
“I love you, too, and I think you deserve an explanation. I’m ready to give you one.”
My voice quiet and steady, I tell him about Jeffrey.
As Alec listens, the corners of his mouth tremble with sadness. A tear spills down his tan cheek. “Oh, God, Carly. Why didn’t you tell me?” He pulls me into his arms. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, eyes watering. “I guess I was afraid of losing you. You thought I was this perfect girl that I just…wasn’t.”
“No one’s perfect,” Alec cries, voice cracking. “You don’t have to be a certain way for me. I love you just the way you are. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Maybe I’m—I’m bad,” I whisper.
“You’re not bad. Something bad was done to you.”
I burrow my face in his shoulder, drying my eyes against his polo shirt. He smells like Axe and laundry detergent. Deep down, I know he’s right. I’m not a bad person. What happened wasn’t my fault—no matter what my mother said to me.
Recovering my composure, I straighten up, ready to change the subject. “You never told me how you got here,” I remind him.
“Oh, that’s right.” Alec blinks like he’s emerging from a dream. “Well, the brothers were angry at me for fighting against them—for defying orders. They overpowered me and sent me here, too.”
His fraternity brothers turned on him? “I’m so sorry, Alec.”
He gives a helpless shrug. “It’s too bad, but…if I have to be anywhere, I’d rather be wherever you are.”
I smile and kiss him on the cheek. “Now that we’re together again, I’m sure we’ll find a way out of here. Two heads are better than one.”