“But those heal.” She had backed me into a hole and I didn’t like it.
“Burns heal.”
She was right, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to jump over the fire anyway. I plunged my hands into the pockets of Ry’s hoodie and hunched my shoulders.
“Not without scars,” I added.
Wyn leaned in close and lowered her voice, “You don’t want Ryland to think you’re a chicken, do you?” she asked, her eyebrows wagging.
I just sighed at her. It almost wasn’t even worth it to try to convince her I didn’t care what Ry thought—because I did.
We both jumped when Ryland himself placed one of his large hands on Wyn’s shoulder to get her attention.
“I think I can take it from here,” Ryland said softly, dismissing Wyn with his sly smile.
Wyn seemed caught in headlights for a minute; I could tell when her brain clicked back into action and she slinked back to her rock without a word.
Ryland turned his gorgeous stare on me, and my blood melted into my toes. Shock must have shown on my face because he smiled at my reaction, his straight white teeth glimmering in the firelight.
Just a friend, just a friend…
“Do you want to do this?” Ryland asked me, his voice soft.
“No,” I said, “but, Wyn will never let me live it down if I don’t.”
“You know we have done some crazy things, and you choose to get scared over jumping over a fire?”
“Yep.”
“Breaking into an abandoned hospital?”
“Not terrifying,” I said. We had done that last year; even got chased out of the building by a decrepit security officer.
“Cliff diving?”
“Not terrifying.” It didn’t miss my notice that he was moving closer with each question.
“Driving a car at ten?”
“Nope.”
“But jumping over a fire?” He reached out and grabbed both my hands, intertwining our fingers. Even with the size difference in our hands, holding onto him like this was still comfortable. “Do you remember the first time we raced up the trees?” Ryland asked me, his thumb tracing comfortable circles onto the back of my hand.
“The time you beat me?”
“Yeah. You were so scared. I had to prompt you to climb all the way up and then coax you all the way down while you cried.”
“I didn’t cry,” I said. Well, maybe one tear had leaked out at the time, but it still didn’t count as crying.
“The point is, after you got your feet back down on the ground, you realized how much you loved it. I haven’t been able to beat you since.”
I looked into his face for much longer than necessary. The firelight flickered in his dark hair and against his tanned skin, casting the light into weird mesmerizing shadows. He reached up to trace his fingertip along the chain of his necklace that hung around my neck, sending a pleasant shiver over me that caused him to smile.
“I’ll jump with you,” he whispered down to me.
I turned from him to look at the fire and tried to convince myself I was being stupid. Ryland’s thumb continued to caress wide circles on my hand. His hand began to radiate the gentle heat that I was so familiar with; it filled me, traveling up my arm and through my body until I was filled with warmth that made me feel both comfortable and confident. Ryland’s smiling eyes met mine as I looked up at him.
“One,” his silky voice smooth and even, “two, three.”
Our feet took off running in succession, his pace slower so as not to surpass me. As we reached the fire pit, we both took off in a flying leap and I closed my eyes. My heart fluttered as the air moved past me. For a fleeting moment, I felt like I was flying. I wanted the feeling to last forever.
My feet made contact with the hard-packed dirt and I stumbled on the landing. Ryland righted me, placing his hands on my arms to steady me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I responded in a hyper voice.
“See? It’s easier than you thought it was.” He smiled at me before planting a swift kiss on my forehead and walking away toward Wyn. “And, that’s how it’s done.”
I had a momentary flash of frustration at being used as a pawn between them, but the irritation dwindled as the warmth from Ryland’s kiss spread over me.
We left soon after that, leaving large amounts of dirt on the fire to extinguish it. We tromped through the forest in anything but silence. Wyn and Ryland jumped and pranced through the forest, singing various Styx songs I had never heard before. Their loud, out-of-key voices echoed off the trees, making it sound like the forest was filled with a cheap Styx cover band. They kept rushing up to me at different times, grabbing my hands in a desperate attempt to get me to sing along. Their bad singing had me in stitches, and it was all I could do to tromp through the underbrush without falling on my face.
We broke through the tree line to the side of the highway where Ryland had parked his Lotus. The alarm twittered in welcome as Ry approached it and inspected every inch for scratches or a break in. I smiled as he caressed the hood in grateful appreciation at finding nothing. His affection for his car was a fine, debatable line between uncomfortable obsession and a deep love. Ryland seemed to read my mind and glared at me, his falsely affronted look deepening my chuckle into a laugh.
We all piled in, Wyn stretching herself horizontally on the storage shelf that Ryland liked to pretend was a backseat. Ryland sped down the mountain doing at least ten over the speed limit. He put on an oldies station, in obvious tribute to their romp in the woods, and Wyn lay back to text on her cell phone again. I still wasn’t sure what to say to Ryland yet, so I turned my head to look out the window, letting the song about some horse in the desert fill the air.
Ryland drummed his fingers to the music as he whispered the lyrics to the song. I fought the temptation to look at him; any conversation we could have would be forced with Wyn in the back seat anyway. Ryland had been acting out of the ordinary all night, and I don’t think it was just because Wyn was here either.
He had always wanted to grow up and be just like his father; no matter how much the man had hurt him or dictated to him. It was always his greatest ambition to make his father proud. They butted heads and fought, but Ry had always sought his approval, except when it came to me. To have him say that he wanted no part of it made me wonder what had happened between them. I desperately hoped I didn’t have anything to do with it; I didn’t know if I wanted to be responsible for him throwing his life away, and severing his relationship with his father.
Of course, the first odd comment he had made had been back at the school. I still wasn’t quite sure what he had meant, saying that I was more important than his father’s rules. I could take a wild guess and make the assumption my heart wanted me to, but that was foolish. I had a sinking sensation that all of his revelations tonight were connected somehow. Part of me couldn’t wait until Saturday night to find out what was going on with him. I needed to make sure everything was okay.
Before I knew it, we were winding down the canyon into the suburb where Wyn and I lived. I glanced up from the blackness of the window to look at the lights, their twinkling and shining dots looking like a million stars that had fallen from the sky.
Ryland reached out, grabbed my hand and squeezed, the action pulling me away from the lights. His eyes had a million questions behind them, a million thoughts, and a million words. I was lost in them, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to me.
He turned back to the road, his hand remaining around mine, keeping them both in my lap. Before I could stop myself, my fingertips had moved forward to trace the lines of our intertwined hands. My touch shocked him and he shivered, giving me a knowing glance. I looked away from him and down to continue running my fingertips over his skin.
“So, Wyn, where to?”
I looked up to Ryland as his loud voice boomed through the quiet car. My mind froze in place. I hadn’t thought about the time between Wyn’s house and my
own. I was doomed. Luckily, Wyn came to my rescue.
“My brother is picking me up at Joclyn’s place,” she said, her eyes never leaving her phone.
I saw Ryland’s shoulders drop, while my heart eased just a bit. I wasn’t ready to talk yet.
Ryland squeezed my hand, conveying some form of sorrow that I wasn’t sure I reciprocated. In just a few minutes, he pulled into one of the few empty stalls at my apartment building. I looked up to the third floor where the obvious flicker of a television lit up the windows to my apartment. Ryland reluctantly let go of my hand as I exited so Wyn could climb out behind me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ryland asked. Suddenly, I was relieved I had already made plans.
“Actually, I’ll be at Wyn’s house all night.” My heart almost broke as his face fell.
I took off his hoodie and handed it back to him.
“What’s this for?” he asked.
“My mom won’t let me come over Saturday night if I walk in wearing a hoodie.”
Ryland smiled in understanding as he took the jacket from my hands.
“Then, I will see you tomorrow morning.” He smiled before bidding Wyn goodbye and sped off, leaving us staring after him.
Moments after he drove away, Wyn’s brother pulled up in a sleek black Mazda, his body stiff and tough, as if willing himself to only look straight ahead and not toward us.
“I changed my mind,” Wyn said as she climbed into the car.
“What?” I asked.
“He’s not your boyfriend; he’s your true love.” She smiled before Ilyan drove off, her door not even closed all the way.
All I could do was look after her, knowing full well my heart was beating erratically in my chest.
Twenty-One
Wyn
"He's not her true love," Ilyan growled as he pulled away, his eyes focused forward, jaw tight. I could feel his anger twisting through the air and I sat back. I knew when it was dangerous to poke the bear.
Although, I had no idea why this bear was getting poked. This entire mission had him on edge.
"I'm playing a role, My Lord," I said, making sure to use his title correctly.
"I know," he said, darkness still in his voice as he sped up, the headlights of the car flashing over dark streets and houses as he steered the car toward our make-believe house. "So, tell me what you saw."
"He does love her," I admitted quietly, watching him for another volatile reaction. "And he said he doesn't want to be like his father. I think, because of her."
"So can we get him out?"
"I think we can get them both out, if we are careful. I've already made contact, so that part will be easy. How long will it take you to set up an escape route? I know Talon has already been working on one." It was true, he did every time I was out on some errand. I would be surprised if he wasn't running the guard through more of their paces, just in case.
"Not long, I'm not as familiar with this area as I was—" He stopped talking abruptly, the car going from slowing down before turning to speed away.
"What?" I asked, twisting in my seat to the entry to the underground parking of our apartment. There was nothing there.
I felt it before Ilyan could respond.
A dark web that hung through the air like invisible piano wire, a crisscrossed trap.
"Cail. He's found us?" My heart was in my toes as I said it, my blood already flaring in preparation for a fight. Ilyan darted one way, then another. The air was practically shimmering with his determination.
"I don't think so," he said after a minute. "Every complex has been trapped. He knows we are here, he just doesn't know where."
"He was always a bastard. Should we weed him out?"
"Not if we want to go home empty handed." I scowled, Ilyan had a point. "I need you to shield us, Wynifred. We need to get home, and then I'll set some bait. Get him off our trail.
I nodded in understanding, my body swaying as the car changed lanes at a speed that was clearly over the speed limit. I lay against the chair, my reflection in the dark glass shimmering as I released the hold my magic had on my skin. The power I had used to cover the black marks on my face slid away, and the dratted things came into focus. The long dark lines of black covered the entire right side of my body like a bad tattoo.
Just as they had for the last hundred years.
Ilyan turned a corner, this street darker and thankfully void of cars. It was only us as we drove along, the sleek black vehicle reflected in the windows on the store fronts beside us.
My body grew warm as I focused, releasing all of the power that I had focused inside of me so intently for the last few days. It flew out of me in a rush, so strong that I was sure Cail and his traps would be able to track us. If he could see us.
One stretch of my magic, and our car had disappeared.
"Good girl," Ilyan said, still focused ahead as he began to weave the invisible car through the thankfully empty streets. "Now bind it."
He didn't need to tell me twice. I didn't want Cail finding us just as much as he did. I had shielded the car from view, not shielded my magic. Only once that was done did Ilyan turn our car back toward the complex, the roads were as dark as the car as we drove underground and into one of the many open spots rather than our assigned space. As much practice as I had, I knew how strong Cail was, and I wasn't going to test the limits. Moving like silent assassins, Ilyan and I kept ourselves under the strong shield until we had closed the door to our apartment behind us. We didn't bother to lock the door, we both knew how useless it was. We just moved from corner to corner of each room. Checking the shields. Checking that the protective stones Ilyan had placed there were untouched.
We were safe. But one look at Ilyan and I knew how dire this was.
"We are out of time," I said, he nodded his head once. "Do you think they know you are here?"
"I hope not. If they do, they are going to put two and two together and realize that the Silnỳ is close."
The fact that they hadn't already was a miracle.
"We need to move this weekend. Can you get them both here?"
I grit my teeth and shook my head. It wasn't like we had another option.
“Just don’t try to help this time, okay? I’m still amazed she bought that story about you doing a dissertation.”
“If that’s what amazed you, then you have underestimated her power, Wynifred.” Ilyan gave me a smile before he retreated to his room, whistling some song the whole way.
I could just stare at him. He wasn’t wrong. He had been shielded. She shouldn’t have been able to see him at all.
Twenty-Two
Joclyn
Night of the Living Vampire turned out to be just as horrible and sucky as promised. It was full of teenage humor that mocked the vampire craze with a nice splattering of cheesy gore thrown in. Wyn and I sat on the long couch in her living room with a bowl of popcorn in between us, while Ilyan occupied the overstuffed lounge chair. He was trying very hard not to laugh at the stupid jokes and dirty humor, but every once in a while a laugh escaped anyway, which sent my own hidden giggles into overdrive. Wyn chose to glare at both of us.
I pulled my hands into Ryland’s bright blue hoodie that he had dropped off at school for me that morning and sank into the couch to watch the final fight scene of the movie. The lead vampire was running across a clearing after some girl he thought he was in love with; but instead, he decided she would make a better lunch. The whole thing was so over-the-top, it was ridiculous.
“Last minute, he decides not to eat her because he loves her, and they run away from the vampire horde together to live happily ever after.” Ilyan’s voice was flat, his accent rolling delightfully.
“Ilyan!” Wyn shrieked, her hands going in the air. “You’re ruining it.”
“How am I ruining it? These things are so predictable. Besides, don’t you want them to end up together?”
“Well, yes. But, I wanted to discover that for myself!”
&nb
sp; Ilyan just sighed at his little sister.
“Joclyn,” Wyn whined at me, “don’t you agree?”
“I’m sorry, Wyn, but Ilyan is right. It is pretty predictable.”
Wyn huffed, folded her arms and faced the television just as the vampire took the human girl in his arms and proclaimed his love for her. Wyn just pouted and huffed again.
“This should be romantic, but you guys totally ruined it for me.”
Ilyan and I laughed together, drowning out the vampire’s declaration of love. Wyn huffed more and rewound it so we had to sit through the whole ending over again.
“I’m going to go order some Chinese food,” Ilyan grumbled as he headed for the kitchen. Part of me was jealous he had an excuse to get away from the mush I had to endure.
Wyn had her hands clasped together as she leaned forward, her face glossed over. I sighed as the credits finally began to roll again, and Wyn leaned back with a tear-streaked face.
Oh, bother.
“Wasn’t that so beautiful?”
“Not really.”
She looked at me like I had skinned her cat.
“But, I don’t get into this stuff, Wyn,” I amended to make her feel a bit better.
“But it was funny, and scary and gory, and romantic. It had something for everyone!”
I chose not to reply to her; the whole movie was just silly.
“What kind of movies do you like then?” she asked in slight frustration.
“Sci-fi, super hero, action and spy movies,” I rattled off, knowing full well I had just listed all of Ryland’s favorites. If she had asked me what my favorite video game was however, I could have spouted off half a dozen racing games that I knew I enjoyed on my own. Ryland didn’t like to lose.
“Super heroes?” she said.
“Yes! They are brave and fight bad guys, and tend to look very nice,” I said, fighting the blush that was rising to my cheeks.
Imdalind Ruby Collection One: Kiss of Fire | Eyes of Ember | Scorched Treachery Page 15