“I get it. I really do.”
“No, Skyla,” she says it sweetly. “You really don’t. I’m living your worst-case scenario. Imagine if Gage were wicked.”
I swallow hard and don’t say a word.
“Imagine if he were the one who knocked up Chloe.” Her eyes expand at the horror.
“God, I would die. No wait, I would kick in his balls, and then I would die.”
Laken blows a breath into the wind. “I’m not disabling him from having any more children with that wench. In fact, that’s exactly how I’m going to prove I’m above this.” She eyes the fractured space in the railing and nods. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Not until you tell me what he’s up to.”
Laken softens. “As soon as we touch ground in the Transfer, I’ll give you all the details you want.”
“Done deal.” I take up her hand and count to three.
Laken and I race to the edge of Devil’s Peak and leap off solid ground like a couple of girls playing a schoolyard game. Our bodies sink like lead weights, and I watch as her surprise quickly grows to terror as the wind knifes over our skin.
We drill through the rocks, past the cushion of earth, into the belly of the underworld as the dark plane of the Transfer forms around us—lavender sky, bleak, gray landscape—nothing but a cemetery for the soul.
Laken and I land on a charred hillside and roll our way down to the bottom in a morbid continuation of our schoolgirl fantasy.
“Wasn’t that fun?” I moan, helping Laken to her feet. “Now”—I sharpen my tone—“leave no detail unturned. Go.”
“Which details are those?” A deep voice laughs from behind.
We turn to find Wesley staring at Laken as though she were a hard-won prize—his prize. Honest to God, with this crap lighting and his spitting image impression of my husband, if he were looking at me that way, I would have sworn it was Gage.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to tell Skyla the terms of our agreement.” Laken takes up both his hands and smiles.
She’s afraid she’ll have to tell me? Why is she touching him?
Dear God. I can’t stop starring at the way her fingers curl lovingly over his. No wonder she wanted this kept from Coop. Cooper Flanders is going to kill a Fem very, very soon.
“Why don’t I tell her?” Wes pulls me in by the hand, and suddenly it feels like a love fest I want no part in. “As soon as we arrive.”
The earth beneath our feet shifts and gyrates until that familiar stench fills my nostrils. The lavender sky is a deeper shade of purple. The earth is dry and cracked as the evergreens root themselves to the parched earth, touching the sky with their charred branches.
“The tunnels, how appropriate,” I muse. “Where are the people?” I’m curious to know how this will work.
“Once Laken fulfills the final phase of our agreement, they’ll all be transported to the location of their disappearance. It’s all very civil, Skyla.”
“I’m sure. Just about as civil as they’ve been treated. Now what’s this agreement?” I swipe Laken out of his grasp. “All of it, right now, or I’m going to turn into one celestial diva that you have to see to believe.”
They share a quiet laugh, and it feels intimate. I’m not so sure I like Laken and Wesley getting along. Especially not when she’s wearing that rock Coop gifted her a few weeks ba—
“It’s gone,” I whimper, taking up her left hand. “Where’s your ring?” I’m horrified she’s done this. Hopefully she left it in her pottery class, or on her dresser, or accidentally flushed it down the toilet because anything is better than the alternative—taking it off for Wesley.
Laken retracts her hand and touches her naked finger. “It’s safe.” She turns to Wes. “Go ahead. I want to move things along. I know those who are waiting are anxious to get home.”
“On New Year’s, when Coop proposed”—Wes swallows hard, and, for a second, I envision her engagement ring lodged in his throat—“I thought about what you said, Skyla. I was reminded that what Laken wanted more than anything was to have this hell shut down. So here we are.” Wes gives me that shit-eating grin I’ve seen Gage sport a time or two—usually in bed after he’s done something fantastic, but I digress. “The terms were as follows—date me.” He picks up Laken’s hand again, and she curls into him with a resolute sadness in her eyes. Sad because she did it? Or sad because it’s come to an end? I’m starting to suspect the latter. God, who is this woman?
Wes runs his fingers through the back of her hair, and I resist the urge to smack him like a housefly.
“Once a week I drove her out to the forgotten end of Paragon, and we sat by the three falls just getting to know one another again.”
The three falls? Gah! The Falls of Virtue! That’s where Logan and I had one of our first dates. That was our special spot, the exact spot where we were joined in holy matrimony, and now Wes has defiled it.
“There were no Count politics”—Wes takes up both of her hands and gazes into her eyes as if he were exchanging vows of his own—“no mention of powers, not a word about our time at Ephemeral or anything or anyone that might have come after Kansas. We were simply Laken and Wes again—hanging out, letting our feet dangle in the water while we watched the day melt into the night and counted stars when we could see them.”
“We hardly ever saw them.” Laken swallows her grief.
“I asked Laken to spend some time with me, Skyla. Once a week until this day”—he swings her hands between them—“Valentine’s Day.” He’s looking lovingly into her eyes, dimpling at her exactly the way Gage does. Sorry, Coop. Laken doesn’t stand a chance.
“And what makes this day so special?” I step forward and poke Wes in the side. “Why do I smell a proposal coming?”
They share another laugh and look a lot more like a happy couple than a hostage negotiating with a terrorist.
“No, proposal.” He locks those grass-colored eyes over Laken’s. “Not tonight, anyway. What I really asked Laken for was one last kiss—but only after spending time with me. I wanted everything we had back—if only for a moment. I know she’s with Cooper.” He leans into her with intimate intent. “But I won’t make a secret of it, Laken. I’m hoping you’ll change your mind.”
“And choose you?” Laken tilts her head as if she never considered he’d ask. “Share a bed with you?”
Oh, come on. I’m about ready to dropkick them both.
Her lips twitch. “I suppose Chloe and the new baby can sleep between us.”
Ha! She got him. Zing!
Wesley’s chest broadens as he takes a long, pissed breath.
“So you know.” He closes his eyes. Wes looks to me. “Do you ever feel like you work so hard to get something, and, right when it’s almost in your grasp, Chloe pulls out her claws and kills it?”
“Welcome to my world, Wesley.”
Laken relaxes her hand over the side of his face. “Chloe didn’t kill anything. I’m still here. Still waiting for what comes next.”
This is all an act. It has to be. Wesley is simply preying on Laken’s desperation. I can hardly wait to say I told you so.
“What comes next?” I step in. “You take her like a beast on the stone of sacrifice?” That visual of Em and Gage comes back to haunt me. His large black wings, her eager parting thighs.
“No.” Wes presses his lips tight as he bears into Laken with all the grief he can muster. “Laken agreed to gift me one last kiss.”
She offers a gentle smile. “I did.”
Wes steps in, and Laken closes the distance between them voluntarily.
This is going to be harder to watch than Chloe kissing this Gage lookalike. Hearts are on the line, engagements, and apparently babies are in the bounds. I’m sure Laken will keep it brief and chaste. She is in love with Cooper after all.
Their lips touch, and I’m relieved all mouths involved are closed. Laken is probably just letting it linger to ensure the safety of all those captives. I can’t
believe Wesley is giving it all up for a kiss. But then this is the love of his life—soon to be someone else’s wife.
Wes brings his hands up over her hips, and, just when I think Laken is going to smack him, she touches her hands to his cheeks, holding him there. That simple kiss melts into a smearing, moaning, groaning, love fest, and before I know it their mouths fall open, and Wes invades her with his tongue. For sure now she’ll throw him to the necrotic ground—but she doesn’t. Once again, Laken lingers. Wes pulls her in by the small of her back as their mouths writhe over one another in a haunting, passionate exchange I’ve yet to witness. In fact, I have to rack my brain to remember the last time Gage and I went at it like that—oozing with desperation and goodbye. Her head moves with just as much vigor as his. Her moans are just as hungry and intense. It’s hard to imagine that Laken is this good of an actress. Even her foot keeps bouncing up at the knee with erotic delight.
Great. And I get to witness this philandering lip lock first hand. Of course, I can’t wait to smear it in Chloe’s expectant face, but what about poor Cooper? How can I ever look him in the eye again? How can Laken?
A shock of light explodes overhead. The ground gives a violent jolt, but the lovebirds keep on keeping on.
A loud series of cries echoes in the distance.
“That almost sounds like…” I take a few steps out with my eyes peeled to the ever-brightening sky. “Victory?” I marvel as I step closer to the charred woods. “It’s happening.”
A piercing scream knifes through Tenebrous, it doesn’t remotely sound human, or joyous, or even victorious. It’s as if the tunnels themselves were weeping for the loss of its victims. A wild jag of lightning goes off, repeating itself as the bolts weave into a crown right above the spot where Laken and Wesley exchange their never-ending kiss.
A drop of something cool prickles my head, and I touch my hand to the wetness. Then another falls and another. Before I know it, Tenebrous is in the midst of a life giving, ground-quenching storm. The tunnels have given up their captors, and now all of Tenebrous is blessed with the libations it so craved. It never wanted blood. It wanted something pure, something it was made for, a kiss from the sky above.
Wes and Laken continue their loving assault in the rain—long, impassioned, fervent exchanges that feel beyond desperate. Wes swivels his arms up and down her back with fever pitch as he feasts off the love of his life. It feels as final as an eternal parting.
A wild bolt of lightning illuminates Tenebrous, exposing all of its harrowing secrets, making it surrender every last ghost. The water below my feet glows as a blast of electricity rattles through my bones. A strangled cry struggles to break free from my throat, and I fall to the ground as Tenebrous, now empty of all its stolen souls, releases me to Paragon.
Laken and I blink back to life right next to the Mustang as the rain beats over our bodies with its merciless hammering.
“Skyla?” She sits up confused, and I pull her in tight. Laken lets loose, sobbing over my shoulder. A vat of hot tears falls over my skin in contrast to the icy rain.
“It’s done,” I whisper. “It’s all over. The tunnels are closed forever.”
I hope.
By the time I get back home, Gage’s truck sits high in the driveway and so does Logan’s.
It’s nice to see they’re finally getting along. At least they managed to park side by side in a civilized manner. I make a dash for the house, no point in pulling out the umbrella. I’m already soaked to the bone. I let myself in and hear riotous laughter coming from the living room.
“Great,” I whisper. We should be happy. We should be throwing a fucking party. “Guess what?” I burst into the family room expecting to find anything but this.
Logan, Gage, Liam, Nev, Ellis, Drake, and Ethan are all hunched over the dining room table playing cards. Emily, Lexy, Michelle, Bree, Giselle, and Ezrina are stuffing their faces with popcorn, watching some sappy romantic comedy where the love interests bond over a dying plant.
“Well, look who decided to show up?” Brielle gauges me with her words.
“I know you’re still pissed that I left with Laken. But trust me, you should be ecstatic.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Gage appears by my side and lands a tender kiss over my lips. Gage and I have already greeted each other in a proper manner this morning. To say we’ve put those carpeted walls to the test is putting it mildly. Tad was right, you can sing an opera, and no one will notice. I sang mine this morning—twice.
“It is a happy Valentine’s Day—for every single person who was in those tunnels. It’s over.” I breeze over to the table. “The tunnels are closed forever.”
Everyone hops to their feet congratulating me, asking me a million questions—and, ironically, all of the answers lie in the name of that unholy kiss I witnessed.
“It was complicated,” I say.
Drake pulls out his phone. “I don’t even know what the tunnels effing are, but I’m springing for pizza.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Ellis slams his hand over the table.
“I think we should take this party upstairs.” Michelle wraps a leg around Liam’s hip.
“Upstairs?” I glance around at the suspiciously Tad-free zone. “Where are Mom and Tad?” I ask Gage.
Brielle waves her hand. “I put ‘em up at some swanky hotel in Seattle and made sure they took all the creepy crawlers with them so we could have some much needed alone time.”
By creepy crawlers I’m guessing she means children, and even baby Ember is surprisingly missing.
“Nice?” I’d feel sorry for my mother if I didn’t know she prefers it this way.
“Speaking of midnight shriekers”—Bree thumps her beer onto the table—“it’s been confirmed. Guess who committed an act of procreation?”
Bile rises to the back of my throat at her phraseology.
“Skyla?” Ezrina is horrified, as she should be.
“Not me,” I say proudly, patting my fetus-free tummy. “It’s Bishop. She and Wesley have decided to spread their wicked seed over the land.”
“More power to ‘em.” Em nods as if this were a good thing.
“Oh, it will be.” More dominion power to be exact—that is if they fall in love.
“Chloe and Wes?” Gage loses all the color in his face. His dimples go off in disapproval. “I guess I thought deep down he was holding out for Laken.”
Is Gage rooting for Wes and Laken?
The card game resumes at the table sans Logan, Gage, and Nev. The movie picks up right back where it left off with the girls laughing at the hilarity of it all. Giselle laughs the loudest. I love hearing her joy echo throughout the house. Tonight that same joy is echoing all over the world.
“Skyla”—Logan walks me down the hall as Gage, Nev, and Ezrina follow—“please tell us what happened.”
My mouth opens, and that passionate exchange comes back to haunt me, only it will haunt Laken and Coop a hell of a lot more, especially if word gets out by way of me.
“It’s something Laken did. It wasn’t terrible. I mean she could have done a lot worse, and knowing her she would have.” I sag at the horrible truth. Laken wanted those tunnels slammed shut and burned after what they did to her family.
“She kissed him.” Ezrina nods. “That alone is as far as he could take it before being brought to court.”
“Is this true?” Gage looks sorely disappointed in his evil big bro, and I’m relieved because Laken belongs with Coop.
“Yes, it’s true,” I hiss. “And I really want you all to unhear it. It’s not my place to say. The important thing is that Celestra is free. Our Nephilim brothers and sisters are finally home where they belong.”
Ellis runs in waving his phone “Check this out, thousands of missing people are reappearing all over the earth, buck-effing-naked, right in the very spot they were last seen.”
“Can I see that?” I snatch the phone from him. “It says they all have the same story.” I
glance to Gage in horror. “They’ve all been returned from an other worldly abduction.”
“Dude!” Ellis runs shrieking back to family room. “You were right! It was freaking aliens.”
“Ah, shit,” I hear Ethan bellow. “We’re fucking doomed!”
“We’re doomed all right.” I clutch Ellis’s phone to my chest.
We’ve fallen right into Wesley’s wicked little plan.
That kiss may have freed the captives, but it will be the catalyst that ensures we’ll all be locked up in cages.
Chloe is with spawn. The tunnels are finally empty. Now the world believes alien beings hover the earth, ready to snatch their next victim. And it’s all thanks to Wesley.
Gage wraps his arms around me from behind and instinctively that missile shield erects around my thoughts. I touch my hand to the rough stubble on his cheeks.
And Gage, my beautiful husband, the overseer of the dark side is still keeping secrets from me.
Maybe Gage isn’t really the self-appointment overseer of the Barricade?
Maybe it’s Wesley.
Weeks trickle by. The world is riveted by these seemingly unconnected cold cases all threading together—pointing the accusing arrow at other worldly beings. I suppose, in a way, the Nephilim do qualify. Certainly the Counts qualify as monsters who kidnap others for their own greedy gain.
Since Gage has yet to confess his Femsational sins, I’ve taken it upon myself to confront him, my way, my terms, where and when I choose. But first, I pay a little visit to Ezrina at the new lab below Whitehorse.
“I’ve asked him to meet me at Dudley’s. I can’t take this tension between us anymore. He hasn’t confessed, and he still leaves for hours at a time each night. Swear to God, he’s not even hiding it anymore!” I shrill so loud she pauses whatever it is she’s doing.
Ezrina turns around with a touch of mild surprise and plucks a pair of ear-buds out of her head. “What can I do for you child?”
“Never mind.” I fold my arms tight across my chest.
“I heard every word.” A voice comes from the right, and I turn to find Chloe sitting up in the metal bed. I scream so loud both our faces turn beet read.
The Dragon and the Rose Page 35