by Dahlia Lu
He turned to her. With a grave expression, he asked, “Are you certain?”
“Would I lie to you?” Nala asked innocently. “You’d kill me if it wasn’t true.”
“Keep that fresh in your mind,” he threatened, and then vanished from the room.
Nala left the room and returned to the lunch table.
“How did it go?” Lizzie asked. “Did he reject you?”
“I think I made a deep impression,” Nala replied.
Amara was still too busy with her report to notice what was happening around her.
“Say, Amara, do you know about pack mentality?”
“No,” she replied absently.
“In a wolf pack, the alpha males aren’t necessarily the strongest. They’re the ones with the most assertive personality.”
“Uh – huh.”
“Alright then, I have to go to class. Good luck.”
Amara looked up and smiled. “I’ll call you tonight.”
“I have a date tonight.”
“Oh!” Amara rested her pencil. “With Trent?”
Nala nodded.
“Go for it!” Amara encouraged. “I support you a hundred percent! He’s quite a catch!”
“Who?” Lizzie asked.
“My foster brother.”
“I didn’t know you had a foster brother. Is he good looking?”
“A vision of heaven itself…” Amara giggled. “Sounds kind of weird when I say it out loud.”
“You bitch! You never told me you have a hot brother! What does he look like?”
“Um… he’s around six-foot-two, pale blue eyes, platinum grey hair…”
“You had me at six-foot-two.”
“He’s Raya’s,” Amara reminded Lizzie.
“Bleh, if only you introduced him to me first!”
“I got to go,” Nala said to the girls. “See you when I see you.”
“Take care, Raya. Oh crap, I need to finish this lab. Stop distracting me, Lizzie.”
Nala was staring out of the windows of each of her classrooms, watching the sky darken as the hours floated by. Dark clouds pulled over the sky, forecasting a rainy evening. The rain will come and wash away the scent of blood. It was the perfect time to assassinate someone, for mortals and immortals alike.
Nala called 911 ten minutes before exiting the nursing building.
The parking garage was a fifteen minute walk away. She walked down the same path she had traveled since she assumed her new identity.
A hooded figure came out from the corner of the English building and intercepted her path. Fear, an emotion that had long been a stranger to her, reemerged. It quickened her mortal heart. A silver reflection of a sharp surface flashed at her face. A weapon. She felt a sudden sharp pain at her abdomen as it pierced her. A pair of cold teal eyes was staring at her. She gasped when he twisted the dagger to three o’clock and fell to her knees when he withdrew the blade.
Damian blended in with the shadows and disappeared.
Quick and clean, Nala thought as she looked up at the dark night sky. Damian always takes care of things quick and clean.
Nala had died many times before, but that was when she knew with certainty she would come back. This time, she wasn’t sure if she was going make it. A weak smile curled up her lips. Trent had often told her that her love for him wasn’t real. He couldn’t be more wrong. If only he would give her a chance to prove it.
Name the mountain and I will crawl to the top with my bare hands. Mark the distance and I will walk to the end on my bare feet.
“What are you dressing up for?” Chevalier asked, looking into Trent’s room from the hallway.
“A date,” Trent replied flatly, adjusting his navy silk tie in front of the mirror.
“Today? It doesn’t look so good outside.” Chevalier hinted at the dark grey sky out of the window. Then a knowing smile tugged on Chevalier’s lips; he asked, “with Raya, is it?”
“You mean Nala.”
Chevalier’s smile died out. He entered the room with a baffled expression on his face. “You don’t mean…”
“I’ve played this tug-of-war with Nala long enough to recognize the cues. Nothing is ever as it seems when it comes to Nala.”
“I’d love to believe you, but that girl seemed entirely mortal to me. Did you sense it was Nala? Because I didn’t.”
“No.”
“Then how do you know it’s Nala?”
“Raya felt… right.”
“Okay?”
“It’s a good indication that something is wrong.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I can’t explain it.”
“Alright then… if you think that this is one of Nala’s schemes, then why go on this date?”
“She needs to understand that her schemes will never prevail.”
Chevalier gave him a puzzled expression and then shrugged. He left the room to answer the ringing phone.
Trent stared at his reflection in the mirror, loathing what he saw. His image was mirroring him exactly, down to every minute detail. That’s just the physics of light, he told himself. Since early childhood, Nala had been with him. She was a part of him. Every time he looked into the mirror, she was there. Every time he closed his eyes, she was there. She occupied so much of his life that, even though he was always by himself, he had never felt alone.
That was until Fate decided to rip them into two broken halves.
With Raya, he felt somehow… whole.
“Yeah, he’s here.” Trent heard Chevalier’s voice from the kitchen. “Just a minute.” Chevalier shifted back into his room. “It’s for you. Amara said she needs to talk to you.”
Trent picked the phone up from Chevalier’s hand. “Yes?” he said to the line.
“Trent!” Amara sounded surprised.
“You need something?”
“Not me. It’s Raya,” she breathed, panic in her voice. “I just got a call from the hospital. They couldn’t find any of Raya’s emergency contact information, so they’re calling numbers from her phone. They said she’s in critical condition and want to know if I know how to contact her family. There’s a big storm over campus right now. I can’t even leave the chemistry building. Could you please go check on her for me? Trent? Hello? Hello? Are you still there?”
He followed her scent of blood and it led him to campus. The rain had diluted the thick red blood on the ground to liquid transparency. His mind raced to reconstruct the scene. If it was indeed Nala, then he would have felt the pain inflicted upon her. Their bounded connection would have alarmed him.
It did not. If it weren’t for Amara’s call, he wouldn’t even have noticed.
One of her tricks, he told himself. Another one of her deceptions!
Even knowing so, he couldn’t help but answer. He couldn’t help but go to her. His mind was too weak. His heart was too human. He’d cultivated his will over thousands of years, but it fell apart the instant he looked into her eyes. From just a brief glance, her eyes could uproot all of his control.
He yearned to be with her. To see her. To have her. The very reasons he couldn’t be around her. Couldn’t be close to her. Couldn’t even think of her.
She’s hurt.
The rawness of his emotion startled him sometimes. He continued to follow her scent and shifted into the emergency room. The doctor and nurses were crowding the operating table. From the spaces between them, he could see her face. She was unconscious, breathing with the help of a respirator. Her blood was dripping from the scalpel the doctor was holding.
The screen that was monitoring her heart weakened and alarmed the room with a prolong beep.
“Doctor! The patient has flat-lined!”
The girl lying on the operating table was all too mortal. He was staring at it. She couldn’t be Nala. But if she wasn’t Nala, then why does he feel a great pain tightening in his chest?
“How did you get in here?” One of the nurses rushed to him. “Sir! You can
not be in here! You’ll risk the patient developing an infection.”
He ignored her. His eyes shifted back and forth between her face and the screen. The seconds went by inexplicably slowly.
“Sir! I must ask you to leave!”
“Live…” he breathed, almost pleading. “Stay alive…”
As if she’d heard him, the monitor picked up a faint heartbeat. In the next few seconds, it stabilized. Relief flooded him with an intensity that shocked him.
“I’m calling security,” the nurses rushed out of the operating room.
Perhaps, he theorized, Raya is the answer to the equation. The female meant for him.
Chapter Ten
Just her luck, Amara thought. It looked awful through the window. Thunder and lightning were rampaging across the sky. Heavy rain and strong gusts were beating at the glass window. Classes for the rest of the evening were canceled, but the weather turned nasty so fast that Amara found herself stuck inside the chemistry building with dozens of other people.
It was only supposed to rain a little, according for the weather forecast. As soon as she received that phone call from the hospital and alerted Trent, it had been like this.
It was no secret among the demons that Trent’s emotions can influence the weather. Amara just didn’t realize the degree of it. Awes turned to worries. They said that Raya was in critical condition. She may not have known Raya for very long, but a friend is a friend. If the weather had permitted her, Amara would have rushed to the hospital to see how Raya was doing. They were talking about a wolf pack or whatever only a few hours ago. What could have gone wrong in that time?
When you are involved with a demon prince? A number of reasons.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have encouraged her…” Amara muttered to herself.
“Do we really have to stay here today?” Lizzie sulked.
“It doesn’t look like we have a choice.”
The phone rang again.
“Hello?” Amara answered.
“Amara, are you alright?”
“Who is it?” Lizzie asked curiously.
“It’s Camden,” she whispered with her hand over the mouthpiece. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She said to Camden
“Are you home safely?”
“Uh, no. Lizzie and I are stuck in the chemistry building. We might have to stay the night here, but we’re perfectly fine,” she assured him.
“Stay where you are,” Camden said. “I’ll be over there in ten minutes.”
“Are you crazy? Lightning is striking like every two seconds! You stay were you are too!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure–”
Amara nearly dropped the phone when an increasingly familiar six-foot-five inch frame loomed over her. He appeared in front of her out of nowhere. His clothes were soaked. Amara quickly scanned the area to make sure no one had seen. It was too late for Lizzie. Her friend jumped back out of fright.
“Amara?”
“I’ll call you back.” Amara hung up immediately.
“Mortal.” Noctis grasped her wrist. His hand was as cold as ice. “We need to talk.”
She turned to Lizzie. “I can explain.”
“Now,” he rasped.
“How could you do this?!” Amara shouted at him. “You can’t just pop in and out whenever you like!”
He impatiently waved his other hand in an upward motion. His blue eyes flickered.
Their surroundings became still. Lizzie stood frozen, a shocked expression on her face. Outside, the heavy raindrops were suspended in midair. The grey clouds were picture-still. Even a lightning bolt was stopped in its track.
“No more distraction,” he growled.
Amara turned back to face him. “Couldn’t this wait?”
“No,” he said, his tone suggested it was something urgent. His blue eyes were so intense that she thought they would burn holes through her body.
“What is it?”
He took a small step toward her. “You tell me,” he said through gritted teeth.
Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
His gaze darkened significantly. “This is your last chance, mortal. Isn’t there something you should tell me? I’d like you hear it now.”
He seemed to be infuriated with her for some reason, and Amara had no idea why. Though, she recognized that demented look on his face. He’d had that exact look on his face when they first met.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Blue eyes trailed down her figure and then up again. In a low, threatening voice, he asked, “Were you intending on getting rid of it?”
“I honestly don’t know what you are talking about! Getting rid of what?”
“My child!” he exploded. His blue eyes were glinting with rage.
Her brain stopped working for a minute. The words got stuck in her throat.
Did he just say my child? What child is he talking about?
Amara didn’t understand him – couldn’t understand him – so she looked for clues in their previous conversations. She remembered when they had been shoe shopping, he’d told her that he was once married. His wife had been killed along with their unborn child. He’d looked sad, as if mourning.
Is this what it was about? The child he’d lost so long ago? Is this one of his episodes?
Sympathy took hold of her, but it was so hard to stay sympathetic when he was holding her wrist with an iron grip. She feared it would break.
“Let go!” She protested, pulling back her wrist. She rubbed it to ease the pain. “Get a hold of yourself,” she said, hoping that he would listen. She tried to soften her voice. “Your child is already dead. You should learn to let go.”
His eyes set ablaze. The glass panels all round them were cracking. He grabbed her by the arms and shook her. “You didn’t!”
“Stop shaking me!” She fought him. “I just had–”
The rough motion made her stomach churn. Her dinner, mostly leftover vegetables from lunch, was coming back up. She had no choice but to empty her stomach onto his expensive suit. A grotesque mixture of green, white, and orange was dripping from the fine wool material onto the floor.
Ah, hell. I vomited on him.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “In my defense, you were shaking me.”
He loosened his grip on her arms. He looked down at his suit, and instead of going for her throat, he looked… relieved?
“I’m warning you, mortal. If you try to get rid of it, I will destroy everything that has ever meant a thing to you!”
Her face went white the instant it hit her. She inclined her head. Her grey eyes narrowed. “Are you…” She licked her upper lip. “Are you getting me confused with your wife?”
“Why would I have you confused with her of all people?”
“Because… you miss her?”
He gave a short disdainful laugh. “I miss a lot of things about my mortal life, but make no mistake; I miss her least of all.”
She gasped. “You horrible man! How could you say that about your dead wife?”
“I loathed that woman,” he said flatly, without an ounce of emotion.
Amara stared at him, eyes widened. Just when she thought she understood the man in front of her, he showed another side of himself. She thought she’d reach his core… but really, she’d barely scratched the surface.
He’d been so gentle last night. In whispers, he revealed to her the happenings of his past. She fell asleep to his voice and in his arms. This morning, she’d thought that things would be different. She’d thought that they’d bonded. Against her better judgment, she thought that they could be friends.
She’d been misled again.
She’d been right from the beginning. The man standing before her was incapable of caring for another being. If the woman who was his wife meant so little to him, what hope did Amara have?
“Just go…” she murmured, waving a hand to dismiss him.
“You are coming with me.”
She knew by now that she couldn’t contest him. “Fine, but take Lizzie with us. I have some explaining to do.”
His blue eyes flickered once more, returning time to the atmosphere. Raindrops were falling to the ground and beating at the glass panels again. Thunder was rolling above them. The cracked panels shattered onto the floor, giving way to strong gusts of wind.
She heard Lizzie shrieked, probably frightened by the loud noises bombarding their eardrums. A touch on the shoulder and the shrieking was echoing back from a quiet room.
Lizzie took shelter behind Amara’s back. “What the hell just happened?” She pointed at Noctis. “He…”
A look of indifference on his face, he turned, and headed for the door.
“Give me a minute to get rid of this headache. I’ll explain everything after I brush my teeth.”
It took a good half an hour to explain the basics, and then another half an hour to explain the situation.
“That’s pretty much it,” Amara concluded.
“That time I thought I saw you disappeared…”
“I did.”
“Oh… so what are you?”
“I’m not anything.”
“But you know magic.”
“Barely, and I’ve been trying to learn since I was a little girl.”
“And him? Did you sleep with him?’
“Uh…” Amara broke into a smile. “That’s the first question about him? Really?”
“Well? Did you?”
Amara hesitated, debating whether she should lie, and nodded. “I slept with him…” Her confession was inaudible.
“What was that?” her friend teased. “I didn’t hear you.”
“You know I did so stop asking.”
“Are you blushing? Is it because he’s your first man?”
Amara flushed even brighter. “Oh, shut up. Shut up.”
Noctis had thought about siring children during the twenty-eight years of his mortal life because it was required of him. However, the desire had got lost somewhere along his six-hundred-year reign as a god. In his mortal life, it had been his duty to provide heirs. In immortality, the concept became obsolete.