Dark Matter

by Christie Rich

  “Are they okay?” I blurted out.

  “Why wouldn’t they be?”

  “I…Finn implied. Oh…would you please take me to wherever Cassie is?”

  She stood up and beckoned me to follow. We took a different route that led to a part of the castle I had never seen. My mind had raced with worry, but I never expected to see what I was now witnessing.

  Cassie sat across a table from Finn, thank heaven. Each of them was sending the other speculative glances before looking under the table at their hands. When I walked nearer I didn’t notice any cards like I expected. Levi and a few other guys congregated around them, speaking to one another in mumbled tones.

  “What’re you doing?” I asked as I nudged my way through them to Cassie’s side.

  She gave me a brief perusal before she shushed me. Now that I was this close I saw she was holding something but they weren’t cards—at least not in the strict sense. She bent lower in her chair and rearranged the tiny—for lack of a better word—people in her hand. They were about as tall as a field mouse with completely white skin. I don’t mean white like in Caucasian. Their skin resembled the blanket of snow outside. Each wore a leathery looking helmet and a numbered jersey. In the middle of the table was a miniature version of the castle minus the roof and the surrounding mountains.

  Finn grinned at Cassie. “Quit stalling.”

  She shook her head at him, not looking up. She made some gestures under the table and watched as one of the people in her hand replied in the same odd language. “We’re ready,” she said with a glint in her eyes.

  Before I could blink, she dropped her little warriors onto the table. They raced through the doors of the castle with Finn’s troop not far behind, but Cassie’s troop had the doors barricaded before Finn’s men made it across the drawbridge.

  Levi laughed and shoved his open palm toward one of the other men. The guy replied with a quick shake of his head. “It isn’t over yet,” he said softly.

  Cassie sat back in her seat and calmly watched her little band of soldiers secure down the castle. Finn didn’t look all that upset for someone that was about to be defeated.

  Seeing them like this released a tension within me I hadn’t known existed. They were safe, playing fae games even. I smiled, feeling happy for the first time in weeks.

  I noticed movement from the corner of my eye. Heath detached himself from a wall and walked out of the room. I hadn’t seen him when I came in.

  I was tempted to go after him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to face him yet. He had gotten under my skin in a big way, and I was hoping that he hadn’t actually taken root. My life was complicated enough without adding him to the mix.

  Laughing and cursing erupted simultaneously bringing my attention back to the game. The entire castle was ablaze and Cassie’s men were rolling around face-down in the courtyard snow trying to snuff out their burning clothing.

  Cassie scraped her chair backward and shoved her hands at her hips, scowling at Finn who looked at her through amused eyes. “You cheated,” she accused.

  “The rules of Subterfuge are clear,” Finn said evenly. “I had every right to give my men whatever advantages I had in my possession.”

  “Yeah, but you had an unfair advantage. I don’t have any power to share with my men. Look at them!”

  Their poor little bodies were covered in soot, but they didn’t look as if they were injured. Levi inched closer to me and nudged my shoulder. I tensed immediately, expecting him to blast me with a compulsion.

  But all he did was say, “What do you think, Rayla?”

  I shrugged. “I’m hardly equipped to judge. I don’t know one thing about this game.”

  He smiled, pushing some stray hairs behind his ear. “We use this exercise to keep the boredom away, but it is also meant to keep our skills honed.”

  Cassie looked at me for help, but I wasn’t sure I could actually give it to her this time. “If a real enemy attacked the castle they would use whatever advantages they had to win.”

  Instead of pouting at me like I thought she would, Cassie got a glint in her eyes and motioned me over to her. She pulled me in close. “Do you think you could lend me a bit of your power?”

  I smiled, hiding my laugh behind a cough. She was such a sore loser. I leaned into her ear. “What if I blow your little warriors up instead of helping them?”

  She groaned and marched up to Finn, pulling him out of his seat and toward the corner of the room. He was laughing the entire way. Once in front of the couch, he stripped off his shoes and stretched himself into a comfortable position. Cassie motioned me over before she began massaging his feet.

  “Where have you been all night, anyway?” she asked if a little distractedly. “Don’t tell me you’ve been outside this whole time?”

  I hadn’t considered that the only people who were aware of what had really happened were me and Heath. I was done keeping secrets from her, but I wanted to discuss this alone. “Something like that.”

  She pushed herself out from under Finn and stood up. “Hey. Are you okay?”

  I felt tears pushing against my eyes. “I’m fine. When you guys are finished can you come to my room?”

  She turned around asking Finn a silent question. He nodded toward the door. She shot him a smile over her shoulder. As we were walking away he said, “Don’t think you’ve gotten out of this, Cassie.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied without bothering to turn around.

  We didn’t say much on our way to my room, and I tried to organize my thoughts so I wouldn’t keep her away from Finn for very long.

  She shut the door firmly behind her. I looked around the familiar room. It was hard not to put a mine behind everything. I took her straight to my sitting room.

  I couldn’t wait long enough for her to sit down before the words gushed out of me. “Ainessa almost got me, Cass.”

  She gaped at me. “When? I thought you were with Heath.”

  “I was.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cassie’s pale face lost all color as I recounted the evening’s events. I didn’t leave anything out. She didn’t smirk or scold me when I told her about how I’d nearly lost it with Heath. She just sat there listening intently.

  She waited for me to finish before she said a word. “Rayla, I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get mad at me.”

  “Okay?” I hadn’t known Cassie to be this serious. Normally she walks around with a tiny smile on her face as if she is harboring an amazing secret the rest of us would die to know. Right now she was staring at me compassionately, but there was something else behind her gaze that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

  “I’ve seen you with Zach and Luke. I know you have feelings for both of them, but there has only been one time in the past few weeks when you have been truly happy.”

  I didn’t remember ever being exactly happy since I came here. How could I be when I was so worried about the people I love? “When was that?”

  “When you were dancing with Heath at the ball.”

  I couldn’t deny it. I had felt exuberant when I was in his arms, but it was only because of the dancing. Wasn’t it? “I don’t like him that way.”

  “Really?” She laughed. “You might not want to like him that way, but you do. You just need to consider all your options before you rush into a decision that you might regret down the line.”

  I swallowed hard. She was right. I cared for Heath. He was different than Zach and Luke. He’d never made any qualms in admitting what he wanted. The worst part about it was I honestly didn’t think he even cared about my power all that much. “He scares me,” I whispered.

  “Are you sure you are afraid of him? Have you considered you might just be unsure of how you feel about him?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know how to feel anymore. I’m confused about everything. I enjoyed myself a little too much out in the cold with him warming me up, and I can’t blame it all on Ainessa if I a
m being honest with myself.” Cassie nodded and I continued. “Her compulsion was subtle to the point that I couldn’t tell how much she used to make me shed my inhibitions. I could have easily lost myself in the moment. And, yeah, that scares the crap out me. What if I make the wrong choice? What if Ainessa gets to me before Zach and Luke escape?” I shuddered at the thought of them being trapped on that horrible island. “I’m starting to suspect that she has something to do with them being gone this long.”

  “I’m not going to say another word about Heath. I just think you should consider how you really feel before you discount him. I know you think you’ve narrowed your options down to two men, but are you sure those are the right two?”

  “How can I possibly know that? I don’t really know any of them.” I straightened excitedly. “I think I finally get how compulsion works. Luke was definitely using it on me, but I have no idea how much. I’m pretty sure Zach didn’t use it on me at all. I think my feelings for him are real, but I could easily be wrong. Ainessa was able to penetrate my mind without me knowing. Maybe her brother has the same talent?”

  Cassie considered that a moment. “I’m not sure Zach would resort to something like that. He seemed genuinely interested in you. He could have taken you so many times back at school it’s absurd to think about it. You were alone with him in the woods, at Roger’s house, and then at his place. He could have easily bonded with you after you found out he was a lord. My point is I don’t think that’s his style.”

  She shook her head before she continued. “As far as Ainessa is concerned, that wouldn’t surprise me a bit. She’s horrible. I’ve heard stories that would curl your earlobes. She enjoys torturing people. I’ve been trying to find out where Nixlan is, but no one I ask has even heard of her. The way these people treat the lower fae is despicable. They act as if brownies don’t even have names. I’ve even tried to approach the brownies here, but they won’t talk to me. It’s as if they’re afraid.” She sighed. “Apart from going to Lombarda to search for myself, I don’t know if I will ever be able to find Nixlan.” A frown claimed her mouth, and she worried her lip. “I would feel much better about trying something like that if I could ever get Finn to bond with me.”

  The thought made me smile. “What’s he waiting for? He’s clearly not in prison.”

  Her expression grew distant and she wouldn’t look at me. “He hasn’t gotten permission yet.” The skin between her eyebrows wrinkled with worry as she turned pleading eyes on me. “What if they don’t allow him to?”

  “Why wouldn’t they? He’s no longer lord of fire. What difference does it make?”

  She threw a hand up in the air. “They claim it’s for my safety.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. “What do you mean?”

  “They’re not exactly sure I could survive a bonding.”

  The thought chilled me. “Who’s they?”

  “I should really say she. The queen called us into her chambers a few hours ago. She insisted they consult Tabitha to get her opinion, but that could take months if not years from what Finn explained to me. She never comes here, and she rarely sees anyone outside of bonding rituals. If you ask me, the queen is just afraid of a little good old fashioned competition. Her time is almost up and she is becoming restless.”

  I pulled my ankle up to my knee. “Finn is hardly going to stand for that.”

  Her gaze lingered on the fire. Her pupils dilated as if she was in a trance. “We’ve been warned. If we try to take matters into our own hands we will be punished. They’ll dump me back into the human realm without so much as a backward glance and Finn…”

  “What?”

  She gulped. “He will be sent to prison until I’m dead.”

  I hit the pillow beside me because it was the closest thing I could pound. “They can’t do that!”

  “Seems they can. He had real fear in his eyes when she was talking to us. He hasn’t mentioned it since.” She shook her head. “He’s been so sweet trying to distract me, but I know he’s worried.”

  “This just keeps getting worse.”

  “Speaking of, what are you going to do about Heath?”

  “I have no…”

  A muffled knock sounded from the other room. I was content to let whoever it was think we weren’t here. The sound came again, more urgent this time.

  Cassie said, “You’d better answer it.”

  I got up in a huff and flung the door open. Heath stood at my threshold looking conflicted in a big way.

  He pushed past me. “I’ve come to a decision, Rayla.” His voice was full of an emotion I couldn’t quite grasp. Before I could even react to his statement or how I was feeling about him being mere feet from my bed he said, “My offer is officially off the table.”

  My mouth fell open. “You aren’t going to help me?”

  He shook his head. “You misunderstand. I am putting a team together as we speak. I think you are right. Ainessa is a bigger threat than any of us imagined. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”

  I released a sigh of relief. “What are you talking about then?”

  His gaze shifted away from me, and I got the distinct impression that he couldn’t look me in the eyes. His voice was edgy when he spoke. “I will not bond with you.”

  “Okay?”

  “Let me finish.” His voice fell to nearly a whisper. “Not now. Not ever.” He took my shoulders between his hands. “I’ll get you to that island so you can rescue your beloved Zach, but that’s as far as this goes.”

  I couldn’t say anything. I could barely blink.

  Without another word, he turned around and walked out the door as Cassie strolled into my bedchamber. “What was so urgent?”

  “Heath is sending a team to investigate the island.”

  She rushed over to me, pulling me into a warm hug. She stopped short and pushed herself away from me with an almost comically puzzled expression on her face. “Wait a minute. Why aren’t you jumping up and down right now?”

  I bit my lip. Heath’s words circulated my brain like a racecar at the Indie 500. I should have been thrilled. One less complication. One less man to worry about. So why was my stomach plummeting into an abyss of despair? I shrugged off my feelings and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s just strange to have someone actually hear me, you know?”

  She pulled away, catching my eyes. “See. I told you he really cares about you.” She gave a tug on my hand. “Let’s go tell Finn. This should give him something else to worry about.”

  Finn agreed to help once he learned what had happened between Heath and me. We sent a pageboy to retrieve Heath so we could discuss the best strategy for our rescue attempt and now were waiting rather impatiently. At least I was.

  My fingers tingled in anticipation of what we were about to do. I was finally getting out of this place. I wandered around the room thinking of what I would say to Zach when I saw him. I hoped I was wrong. I hoped he was okay, but I still had that horrible feeling eating at me whenever I thought about him. I needed to prepare myself for something dreadful.

  The pageboy returned with a message from Heath—he wasn’t coming.

  I would just have to see about that. He’d promised he would help. I shot a look at Cassie then insisted the pageboy take me to Heath. Finn and Cassie stayed where they were.

  I was led down some interlacing corridors to another part of the castle I had never seen before. Just how big was this place anyway?

  He guided me into an arena of sorts. It wasn’t as grand as the Colluseum, but it was still pretty impressive. Instead of being cold, it was balmy. Ivy grew up the stone walls and the Grecian columns that lined the lower level. The dome above looked like a cloudless sky, but it couldn’t be considering how warm it was. Birds chirped happily as I took the place in. Movement caught my attention; I was enchanted at first glance. Trying to etch this scene into my mind, I walked slowly through the archway.

  Heath faced a group of about ten men, leading them in what look
ed like a Kata. Considering how gracefully his body glided through the movements he should have had wings.

  I gulped at the sight. The dark warrior in him had emerged—not that it hadn’t been near the surface the entire time I had known this man. I melted into a spot on the lawn never taking my eyes off him.

  He was shirtless. Sweat glistened off his smooth skin like light refracting on water. His long hair hung free to the middle of his back, swaying with each focused swing of an arm or leg. I couldn’t keep myself from wondering how the silky strands would feel sliding through my fingers.

  No wonder he was such a great dancer. His balance was impeccable, his strength undeniable. His entire body glowed softly like the moon on a cloudless night.

  I wasn’t sure how long I sat there mesmerized, but it felt like hours and seconds in the same instant.

  One of the men in the group looked my way and Heath snapped his head toward me. He didn’t glare. He didn’t smile. He barely acknowledged I was there.

  I couldn’t hear what he told his men, but they left through a passageway at the opposite end of the arena. He scooped his shirt off the ground, wiped his face then strode toward me barefoot.

  I stood up and self-consciously brushed invisible dirt from my hands, peeking up at him through my lashes. I had no idea how to start this conversation. Somehow telling him how amazing he had just been seemed a bad idea.

  He inhaled a shallow breath. “How can I help you, Rayla?”

  “I…I wanted to discuss the plan for tomorrow.”

  He nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come earlier, but as you can see I was busy preparing my men for battle.”

  I glanced at the spot he had just occupied wishing I could rewind time. “What were you doing just now?”

  He sat indian-style in front of me and slipped his boots onto his feet—without socks. I raised my brows at him. He stared confusedly at his feet then back at me with a sour expression. “I haven’t had a woman look at me like that in more years than I can count.” He shrugged his shoulder lazily. “I hate to disappoint you, but I already have a mother.”