by C. A. Bleu
Drifting off to sleep, Zara burrowed deeper under the soft cotton sheets, comforted by the heavy handmade quilt. It was not long before the vision of crystal blue eyes set against rich, dark skin floated into her dreams. Reaching out, touching his face, she relived their kiss by the waterfall.
Soon, his face disappeared as her dream morphed into something else. She was trapped, Dimitri was yelling for her, but she had no way out. An overwhelming sense of betrayal and pain seeped through every pore. Startling herself awake, she was left with a foreboding sense of helplessness and fear. Shaken and alone she glanced out the window; it was still complete darkness outside. Sitting up in bed, rubbing her temples she wondered if Dimitri was awake too.
Before she knew it, she was tiptoeing out of her room. He had said if she needed anything at all to come to him. She needed reassurance. Gently walking across the hall, careful not to make a sound, she stopped in front of his door, hesitating momentarily before deciding to knock quietly. Hearing no answer, she reached for the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. What am I doing? she thought to herself, unsure why she felt the need to see him, yet drawn to him for some reason.
Surprised to find his door unlocked, she silently pushed it open. With the glow from the hall light filtering in she could see his peaceful, beautiful face sleeping. Staring at him a moment too long, she began to pull the door closed. She would have to wait to talk to him tomorrow, she could not bear to wake him from his peaceful sleep.
The door was almost shut when she heard him. “Zara, no, don’t go. I need you.” Slowly, she pushed the door open wide enough to see him more clearly. There he lay, still asleep before he rolled away from her now facing the far wall. Her mouth dropped open, staring in shock at hearing her name on his lips while he slept.
It touched something deep inside her, she had to fight the urge to go to him. Quietly pulling the door shut, she tiptoed back to her room, knowing she would never mention this to him. Locking her door, she walked over to the bed, crawling back under the covers. Unable to hide her smile or the warmth that spread in her heart. With the desperate sadness from her dream now erased, she closed her eyes. Sleep still escaped her for most of the night as her dreams jumped from Dimitri to Erebus, to Aaron and all the Trinity women.
Chapter 20
After what felt like moments later, Zara awoke to the soft knocking at her door. Irritable and tired, she climbed out of bed. “I’m coming,” she mumbled. Opening the door on a yawn, she was met by those familiar ice-blue eyes shining back at her. There he stood, smiling, hair still damp from a shower. Her pulse kicked, quickly evaporating her tired moodiness. Her throat suddenly dry as she flashed back to last night and her name on his lips.
Blinking back to reality, she smiled shyly. “I’ll be right down,” she said before closing the door, shaking her head, gathering her few belongings.
Outside, Zara filled her lungs with the cool crisp mountain air, ready for the day. She saw Dimitri over by the car, talking to the lodge owner, Sam. They both turned toward her, suddenly stopping their conversation, which left her feeling vulnerable and on edge. Tucking her hair behind her ear she walked toward the car, now self-conscious. An invisible wall was growing around her, guarding her. She needed to stay focused on this mission. Zara silently reminded herself of the possibility that Dimitri could still be completely on Erebus’s side. After all, why would he suddenly change, for her?
Dimitri watched Zara casually strolling toward him, realizing she had no idea how beautiful she was or how much it affected him. The moment she stepped outside it was like time, or the world, stood still. The birds became quiet, the wind died down almost as if everything silenced itself in greeting. Even he and Sam had stopped their conversation as they were both distracted by her.
She really did appear to have a golden glow around her, he needed to remember to ask her about that. When she approached the car door he turned and gave a final thank you to Sam, shaking his hand and promising to stay longer next time. Dimitri and Zara climbed in the car in silence and he started the engine. When he pulled out onto the winding mountain road, he sensed that something seemed off with her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.
Staring out her window, she was unsure how she wanted to respond. Part of her wanted to ignore the childish insecurities within her. “What were you guys talking about when I came outside?” she asked as she turned to face him, not trying to hide her accusatory tone. “I know it was about me.”
Shocked to see this vulnerability from her, compared to the strong confidence from yesterday, he couldn’t help but smile as she really had no idea how he had begun to feel about her. “Not at all, I was just making small talk and thanking him when you came out. Zara, I don’t think you understand how amazing and beautiful you are. You take my breath away.”
His words were unexpected and she let them sink in as she looked back out her window. Stunned by his admission she exhaled, releasing the worry she didn’t realize she was holding. She wasn’t sure why she cared so much, but there was something about Dimitri that made her feel like they were meant to find each other for some reason.
Yet, she found herself stuck with an inner battle of trusting him fully or not. Maybe it was her dream and the residual feeling of betrayal that left her feeling more doubt in him today. Maybe it was just her overall lack of experience, she had never dated or had any real attraction to anyone before in her life.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know, I’m just on edge today for some reason.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be, other than the fact that we made pretty good time yesterday even with our little stop. We will be near Erebus’s property by nightfall, but we’ll stay somewhere tonight and head over first thing in the morning. Zara, we need a plan, we cannot just walk right in guns blazing. In fact, I was thinking the best way to get close enough to take him out would be if we tell him that you are considering switching sides and aligning with him.”
“He would never buy that,” Zara said with a shake of her head. Her stomach turned in disgust as she remembered the headline in the news of the families and children killed in the bombing attack yesterday. How could she even pretend to be on his side?
Dimitri laughed. “You’d be surprised, he is so full of himself; he would believe it could be possible, I’m sure of it. If he thinks I am just completing my mission, then we could walk right in and take him out before he even knew it was coming.”
Casting a quick, stern glance toward Zara he continued. “You can never let your guard down around him. He must be killed quickly. He has power of his own, as I’m sure you know. I don’t know how, but he can get under your skin and into your mind. He can mix up your thoughts and perceptions, turning friends into enemies instantly.” Dimitri’s knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, feeling a cold dread in his chest at the thought of something happening to Zara.
Staring quietly out the passenger window, Zara sat processing his words as they drove. They stopped once for food and gas but otherwise moved on. There seemed to be a growing gap between them. She could tell Dimitri did not want to push her as she sat quietly engaged in a battle with her inner doubt.
Maybe it was the tension of the coming meeting with Erebus, she thought, or maybe Dimitri had changed his mind and was really going to turn her in and double-cross her. Closing her eyes, she replayed the image of him quietly sleeping, saying her name and that he needed her. He hadn’t known she was standing there, he must have been dreaming about her. Working to calm her growing tension, she silently went through one of her grandmother’s meditations on inner peace and balance.
They rode quietly until nightfall, until they came upon a small town Zara had never heard of and could not believe was real, Last Chance. She glanced at Dimitri, was this another sign for her? Dimitri pulled into a small hotel on the outskirts of Last Chance, Colorado, someplace he felt confident Erebus would not have any contacts.
Checking in at the front
desk, they were informed there was only one room available. They glanced nervously at one another, then Dimitri offered to sleep in the car and give her the room. The man behind the desk raised an eyebrow at what seemed to be an odd arrangement. After a brief hesitation, Zara said to the clerk, “No, it’s fine, we’ll take the room.”
Making their way down a long hallway on the second floor of the two-story hotel, Dimitri held the door open for her. Hesitantly, she stepped inside feeling awkward around this shared space. Dimitri cleared his throat with a nervous cough, telling Zara he would sleep on the floor. She nodded, headed to the bathroom and locked the door, escaping into a much-needed long hot shower.
The hot steaming water cascaded over her while she processed her current situation. What was she thinking? A few weeks ago she couldn’t wait to turn eighteen and get out of town to see the world, look at her now, she should be grateful. She buried her face in her hands as the recent events came crashing down on her. Now, here she was alone with the number one assassin of her enemy, trying to believe that he had changed and was on her side, not Erebus’s side, who basically raised him. This could not end well.
She slowly dried off, cursing herself for running away so fast she forgot to grab her bag. Cracking the door barely an inch, she called to Dimitri, “Um, I’m sorry, could you hand me my bag?”
He handed her the bag while looking the other way to ensure her privacy. Quickly changing into her clothes, she still felt reluctant to leave the safety of the bathroom. Staring at the doorknob, she finally mustered up the courage to step out into the room.
Surprised, she found that he had ordered food for them from the restaurant downstairs and had already made himself a spot on the floor to sleep. Her stomach growled at the sight of food, she was starving. They sat together at the end of the bed watching TV while they ate. Zara absently flipped through the channels when a headline flashed across about a new threat of nuclear war. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dimitri looking down, shaking his head in disgust.
“What is it?” Zara asked through a mouthful of her juicy cheeseburger.
“This,” Dimitri said, pointing at the television. “All of this is because of Erebus. You may not believe me, but from what I have seen over the years, I don’t think he is fully human. I know that sounds weird, but I swear I think he might be immortal or something. I have seen him growing older and then after some horrific event like a mass shooting or terrorist attack he literally seems to gain back his youth and strength. Somehow, I think he is manipulating the minds and hearts of people to turn them on one another. All of it seems to feed him somehow or feed his energy. I don’t know for certain, but I swear he seems to be something more than human.”
Zara wasn’t completely surprised by his words but was shocked that he would share this with her. A well of power began stirring inside her, waiting to be unleashed. She needed to put an end to Erebus and soon.
Inhaling a deep, calming breath, aware she had to stay focused so her anger did not take over she replied, “He is not human Dimitri, he is pure evil.” She worked at keeping her faith and hope in herself and humanity at the forefront of her mind so Erebus could not tap into any of the hate inside of her. Dimitri looked at her in stunned silence, but didn’t seem surprised at her words. It was a look of understanding of the gravity of the situation before them.
Zara checked the clock; it was almost eleven and she didn’t get much sleep the night before. Knowing she needed to be rested and ready to go in the morning she glanced toward Dimitri, momentarily distracted by his strong profile and chiseled cheekbones as he listened intently to the news story. He turned suddenly and caught her staring, after a brief awkward pause, she looked away.
“I’m tired, I should probably lay down and try to get some sleep,” she said, unable to make eye contact.
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. I’ll get out of your way.” Nervous and apologetic he quickly moved off the edge of the bed. Ensuring the door was locked, he turned off the light and the TV before telling Zara to sleep well.
Curling up under the covers, she found herself thinking about their kiss. Wondering what he would think if he knew that it was her first real kiss. Her eyes popped open in the dark as she silently reprimanded her wayward thoughts. This was not the time or place to be thinking about that kiss. Closing her eyes, settling in, she fell quickly into a deep comfortable sleep.
Chapter 21
Zara was running down a hall, sweat dripping down the back of her neck. Adrenaline pumping through her body fueled by anger and pain as she screamed their names out loud. She didn’t recognize her surroundings running her fingertips along a cold damp wall, but knew she was underground. Her only focus was on the pain and anger pulsing inside her as she limped along, hunting them. She knew she had to find and kill them both, Erebus and Dimitri, they had betrayed her. Someone grabbed her arm, instinct took over and she began to fight back. Unable to see her attacker, in the distance, she heard Dimitri yelling her name like an echo from far away. His voice grew louder, cutting through the pain in her mind as she continued kicking and fighting.
Dimitri yelled her name louder, hoping she would wake up as he tried to hold her flailing arms and legs down on the bed. Gasping for breath, her eyes popped open. Heart racing, she tried to blink away the burning tears, looking around the room. She heard Dimitri calling her name again, had it really been a dream? Looking up into his crystal blue worried eyes, she willed her breathing to slow. Dimitri, still straddling her, holding her down, was frozen in place.
“Zara, it’s okay, it was a dream.” His deep soothing voice melted away some of her fear. His own ragged breathing began to slow as relief washed over him that she was finally awake, and he quickly released her wrists. He had begun to worry about what might have happened if her powers took over in her sleep. Looking down at her still staring up at him he was distracted by the golden sparks flaring in her amber eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asked, still not convinced she was completely alert. She nodded silently back at him, not breaking eye contact, and he began to feel a slow growing tension building between them. He was now acutely aware that he was still on top of her in the bed and he knew the moment she realized just how aware he had become.
Zara gasped at the feeling of him against her. Dimitri leaned back, moving to get off of her, but she reached up, grabbing onto his biceps, holding him in place. She had never felt anything like this before and noticed a tremor in his muscles as she ran her thumb slowly over his silky dark skin. Overcome with a feeling she didn’t recognize, she noticed a tingling warmth spreading straight through her. She could see a battle within him as if he was making a choice and she sensed the moment he made his decision.
His body slowly, tentatively, melted toward her. She watched his lips part when he leaned down to kiss her. Slowly, he moved his hands toward her face, gently caressing her as his lips met hers. Feeling the passion of his kiss, her body responded, igniting a fire inside of her she didn’t know was there. Arching her back, pushing further into him and his kiss, she was shocked at the need running through her body. The need to feel him, to touch him, overwhelmed her as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt to take it off. Longing to touch him, feel his skin, this fire inside of her was growing, pushing her to do more.
Dimitri couldn’t move fast enough as he leaned back to help her get his shirt off. Pausing a moment to look at her, she was so beautiful, he knew he should stop what was happening, but he couldn’t. Zara reached up tentatively to touch his chest, it was such a timid exploration it left him wondering if she had ever been with anyone before. His gut instinct was telling him to slow down, but he longed for her the way it seemed she wanted him. Lightly running his fingers across her strong stomach, he bent down to kiss her.
Trailing kisses from her navel to her ribs to her chest he slowly peeled up her shirt along the way. Raising her arms so he could pull her shirt off easily, he didn’t miss the way her body trembled beneath him. Gently, his fingertips
traced down the center of her chest before moving to her breasts. Realizing it wasn’t just her trembling, but maybe the bed, or the building, he wasn’t sure. In the back of his mind, he wondered about her powers and what she was feeling right now.
As their lips met again, his right hand moved down, achingly slow toward a destination below her navel. He moved with purpose, with a desperate need to feel her, to please her. Reaching the apex of her thighs, he cupped her gently as she shuddered beneath him. Smiling when he felt her move against him. Her sharp intake of breath echoed in his chest as she grabbed his strong biceps. Slowly, he slipped his hand inside of her shorts and closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her skin. Zara couldn’t believe the feelings taking over her body. A groan escaped her as she dug her nails into his strong shoulders, urging him to keep going.
She was so warm and inviting as he slowly ran his kisses back down her body while moving his finger inside of her. The bed trembled again as he pulled down her shorts, trailing kisses everywhere he touched. He wanted to feel all of her, but knew he would not take her. Right now, all he wanted was to give her pleasure.
Overcome with emotions and sensations, Zara couldn’t believe what was happening. Watching as he left kisses on her stomach and her hips, she was throbbing with need, for what she was not sure. She had never felt anything like this before; this desire and heat running through her. So alive, she felt powerful and safe. Her mouth opened in silent awe as she watched his head dip, kissing the warm, tender spot at the apex of her thighs.