Darklight

by Forrest, Bella

  Instead, I watched Louise. She had been standing at the buffet line for a strangely long time, twisting a cocktail napkin in her fingers—a motion I recognized as restless indecision from rather personal experience. Now, she crumpled the napkin in her hand, threw it away, and walked directly up to where Sike sat, her knees almost touching his. I assumed that she was just seeking Sike out for conversation, as I’d seen her do before, but her face looked… extremely determined. Too determined for mere talking. I held my breath. Is she going to…?

  He leaned back in his chair, a cocky smile plastered across his face, and put his arms back behind his head like the most casual guy in the world. No shame, that one. He couldn’t expect her to take that well.

  I half expected Louise to shake her head and walk away. Instead, she put her hands on her hips, looking amused. I couldn’t hear them over the music, but I could see her speak. Then, taking me totally by surprise, she thrust out her hand.

  Caught up in their moment, I watched open-mouthed as Sike regarded her. Then, with his newly cast-less arm—he’d finally ditched his bandages a few days earlier—he reached out and took Louise’s extended hand. When he stood, he twirled her by their linked fingers until she was caught up against his side. Louise flailed, looking torn between going along with his dance move and shifting into a fighting stance; they stumbled, then righted each other, and then the two of them burst into laughter. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Meeting the vampires had revealed amazing new sides to my comrades.

  They moved onto the dance floor, keeping a slightly larger distance between them but swaying with the music all the same. I noticed Grayson glancing, somewhat sadly, in their direction from where he leaned against a post, talking with Colin under the glowing lights.

  Her eyes on her dance partner, Louise beamed. Sike seemed very focused on dancing, maybe wanting to impress her. Or not trip over his lanky limbs.

  My heart beat too fast. It looked like Sike and Louise were just part of our human-vampire team, dancing together, having fun. Was that so bad? Would Halla pop up out of the woodwork, pronouncing certain doom? But I doubted she’d come to the party… too many humans.

  I could still feel Dorian’s stare on my skin. This time I gave in and turned to him. It dawned on me that this was our first time socializing… not strategizing, not hurtling through the sky on a redbill, not chasing criminals.

  "How did the assignment go?" I asked, instead of saying what I really meant. I missed you.

  "As expected," he said, an edge of fatigue creeping into his tone. An experience like that would’ve wiped me out, too. “Appreciated the straps Jim’s guys put on our chairs.”

  I considered that, furrowing my brow. What a weird thought. I imagined this was the only situation in which Dorian would appreciate doing his job basically wrapped in a straitjacket.

  "I was drained when we landed, but I'm fine now," he added, indicating his cup.

  I scrunched my nose but caught myself before I said something rude. "I'm glad Jim and Bryce could make this happen before it came down to a snack-time trip to the Immortal Plane," I said.

  Dorian laughed. "Yeah, feeling much better. But…" His voice lowered, going dark and smooth as it slipped into something that I could only read as flirting. "Not just because of the blood."

  I stared at him for a moment, feeling my cheeks heat, looking for a comeback. My head spun at the confidence in his icy eyes, and I had to look away. Dorian said stuff like this easily, as though it wasn’t incredibly forward and embarrassing. How could I respond? Should I even allow myself to flirt with him, if humans and vampires really would just separate again?

  Undecided and flustered, I focused on the dance floor again. But it didn’t provide the reprieve I’d hoped for. Everywhere around us, I saw couples dancing together.

  Sike and Louise twirled, more gracefully than I’d expected, then stood back from each other, Louise giggling as Sike made robot arms. I had no idea where he’d learned that. Kreya's head lay on Rhome's shoulder, and he held her close with a deep look of contentment. Some of the other soldiers had paired up too. I saw tall, burly Hank swaying a bit awkwardly with Lily. Their size difference was almost alarming. And off on their own stood Zach and Gina, forehead to forehead, barely moving with the music, having some quiet conversation meant only for each other. I’d always thought they would end up like our parents—insanely dedicated to their work, but also to one another.

  Meanwhile, Bravi pretended not to aim side-glances at me and Dorian from her chair. Did seeing the human-vampire pairs bother her? I wondered if she secretly harbored some of Halla’s less-than-friendly opinions, too. Bryce stood in the corner, having some merrily heated debate with Clemmins. At least he wasn’t getting all romantic with somebody. At least—

  Dorian interrupted my anxious surveillance by stepping directly in front of me, his crystalline blue eyes fixed on mine. “Lyra. Let’s dance.”

  My heartbeat sped up wildly. I swallowed, then made my decision. Here was an opportunity for just a single dance, a chance to stand close to Dorian. A chance to see what might happen. And if I didn’t take this chance, I knew I would regret it later.

  “Okay,” I said to Dorian.

  His hand reached out; his fingers wrapped around mine. He pulled me forward through our mingling friends, to the dancefloor on the sand. I could feel my heart beating against his fingers.

  “Something on your mind tonight?” Dorian asked as we threaded through the miniature crowd. He leaned in to speak with me over the music, and delicious shivers touched the back of my neck as he spoke near my ear. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

  I debated trying to find a joke to brush it off with, and quickly gave up. “I’m not sure what to do,” I admitted, my face flushing as I spoke into his ear in return.

  “First Lieutenant Lyra Sloane, at a loss for what to do? Am I hearing this correctly?” His voice teased me, but his eyes were gentle.

  “Hey, I've gone through a lot more training for team leadership than I have for… this,” I muttered, more amused than annoyed, but still abashed. Dorian positioned himself in front of me on the sand, his hand still wrapping mine. And, once again, he surprised me.

  "Well, to be honest, I have no idea how this ‘dancing’ thing works either. But let's give it a shot," he said, studying his feet, then looking up at me with a sly smile.

  Just like every mission we went on, we were in this together.

  The thought grounded me, and a burst of courage traveled up my spine. I took his other hand with my free one, noticing his long, elegant fingers, and how they looked next to my own.

  "This goes here," I instructed, placing his hand on my hip. A tingle zipped up my spine as I remembered our afternoons of sparring on the sand beside the other vampires and soldiers.

  He nodded, adjusting his grip until it felt solid against my skin, his face intent and focused.

  A new song came over the speakers. A steady, chill walking bass line. I could dance to that. And maybe Dorian could, too. A spark of excitement passed through me, transforming my nerves into something else.

  "What next, First Lieutenant?" he asked teasingly, and I returned his smirk with one of my own.

  "Next, I put this here," I said, placing my left hand on his right shoulder, covering the seven-ish inches of height difference between us, bringing the two of us closer together, only a few inches separating us. "And now we listen to the music and move with it." No going back now.

  I caught the beat and curved my hips back and forth. Dorian gazed down at my waist, mirroring my movements. I caught his eyes traveling a little farther north, over my chest and up to my eyes, which he held confidently. A blossom of heat traveled up my neck.

  We inched closer. Every so often, my thigh brushed his, reminding me of how firm his wiry muscles felt when he carried me on his back, and how safe I’d felt cradled in his arms.

  "You're three steps ahead of the enemy, but you can’t predict dance moves?" I commented
sarcastically.

  "At least I don't strangle and drown people," Dorian whispered, his lips brushing my ear.

  A relieved laugh bubbled up in my throat. If he could joke about the previous night, then he couldn’t be too traumatized or angry at me. Dorian drew closer, his hand sliding around from the side of my hip to the small of my back, pressing my face forward into his neck. He smelled like a breeze that had recently passed through the branches of a cedar tree.

  "At least I don't waltz out of the shower half-naked in front of unsuspecting people," I retorted, continuing the joke.

  I felt his smug smile against my cheek. On the downbeat to each measure of the song, our hips brushed briefly, then parted. I admitted to myself that I loved the feeling. I had really tossed aside Professional Lyra this evening.

  Fire flared in my chest and moved lazily downward through my body. I ignored it as best I could, determined not to let it ruin my evening. I set my chin on Dorian's shoulder, no longer trying to suppress my smile.

  Zach and Gina sidled onto the dance floor. Zach let out a whistle in our direction, and hoots echoed from the rest of our colleagues. Dorian and I grinned at each other but refused to acknowledge them. They did not need any encouragement. Especially Zach.

  More drinks fell into cups; more songs played. Rhome, Kreya, and some of the other vampires slowly trickled back to their quarters, but most of the soldiers stayed a while longer before heading out. I had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually only a few couples remained. And there Dorian and I were, still dancing together.

  As the dance floor emptied, Dorian squeezed my hand.

  "Let's go for a walk," he whispered, and I nodded, feeling like I was in a dream.

  I followed him into the desert, the music from the speakers drifting over the sand and through the brush. The redbills huddled close by under the explosion of stars above us. Some of the birds leaned their heads on each other, sleeping while standing. Others watched the remaining dancers with interested chirps—and the crickets chirped back at them.

  After we'd walked out far enough to see the stars clearly, Dorian and I sat side by side on a large, smooth boulder, our shoulders leaning against one another. His fingers still twined with my own.

  "Thank you for teaching me to dance," he said earnestly. The dim light from the stars shone on his cheekbones and eyes.

  "You're a natural," I replied. I really meant it. A thought crossed my mind. “Do vampires not normally dance with one another?”

  Dorian’s eyes got somber for a moment. “Some of us do. I’ve never really had a chance or a reason to learn.”

  A moment of quiet passed in which we studied each other. The worries I'd pushed down all evening started to rustle inside me again, to my dismay. Halla's words circled through my mind. But how could something that felt so natural be unnatural?

  "Dorian," I started, not entirely sure what to say. I exhaled and shook my head. Best to just acknowledge this head-on. "What are we doing?"

  "We're sitting on a rock in the desert," he said, his voice completely deadpan, but I could still hear the teasing flickering there.

  I gazed at him, brows furrowed. He was probably avoiding opening the conversation we both knew we needed to have, and as we sat there, I decided I was all right with just taking in the sight of him, at least for a little while longer.

  Dorian’s knees touched mine. He leaned forward, shifting on the rock until he could set his forehead gently against mine, the way we’d lain on the riverbank. I closed my eyes briefly and absorbed the feeling of his skin, all my thoughts fleeing as sensation overwhelmed everything else. This felt natural. It felt right.

  I heard our breaths synchronize. After a few moments, I opened my eyes again, only to completely, utterly lose myself in his piercing pupils. This was a kind of happiness I’d never felt before. It was hot but didn’t burn; it ached but didn’t hurt. It was so big inside me, light but filling.

  I couldn't look, turn, or move away. My body felt nothing but him drawing nearer, heard nothing but our breathing. I'd never wanted to be closer to someone in my entire life. My muscles leaned into him, that magnet inside of me acting up again.

  Dorian’s breath traveled down my neck. The breeze carried his scent over me. The bursts of white in his irises consumed my vision. His parted lips drifted slowly over mine. I closed my eyes, holding onto every slight skimming of his skin on mine.

  His lower lip caressed mine.

  Finally.

  A jolt of electricity shot through my chest. Not the sweet warmth I’d felt a moment ago, but the hot poker of heartburn. Except now it had multiplied, a wheel of flame searing straight into my heart. Fire radiated between my ribs every time my heart pounded, growing stronger, harder, hotter. I couldn't breathe.

  I cried out, clutching my chest, only vaguely sensing Dorian’s hands on my shoulders, him calling out my name. I tried to power through by sheer force of will and pull myself back to awareness, but the pain in my body overwhelmed everything else.

  "Lyra!"

  My knees hit the sand. Everything went black.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I woke from a hazy dream to beeping and humming. My eyelids felt like lead, and it took me a moment to lift them. Medical machinery surrounded my bed. Their tubes extended from my arms; tape held another in my nose. I shifted in discomfort.

  I didn't recognize the room at all. Unfamiliar voices carried in from the hallway.

  A nurse shuffled in. "You're awake! Wonderful," he said, his friendly tone a little too abrasive for my fogged-up state.

  "Where am I?" I croaked.

  I knew something was up, because I wasn’t immediately anxious about work—just confused, lost. A strange wave of déjà vu washed over me.

  "You just relax. Everything is fine. I'll send in the doctor," he replied, heading back out the door. “Relax,” “fine,” and “doctor” did not belong in the same sentence, so his words had the opposite of their intended effect.

  I lifted my hands to pull the tube from my nose, but the needles in my veins sent aches through my arms, so I gave up on that. The fog in my head made everything slow. What drugs was I on? Where was… Dorian? He was the last thing I remembered.

  A doctor entered, a stethoscope swinging from her neck. "Hello, Lyra," she said calmly, approaching my bed. "I’m Dr. Weiss. Your family will be in shortly."

  "Where am I? What happened?" I rasped, starting to feel some desperation through my mind’s clouds. I didn’t like this. I did not want to be here. I didn’t want to feel slow.

  "You're in the ICU in Phoenix. You've been in a coma for three days," she replied.

  That… That wasn't possible.

  "Lyra," my mother said as she hurried to my bedside. She pressed a palm to the side of my face, tears welling in her eyes. Zach, my father, and my uncle followed close behind. Their voices lilted in sighs and relief, their hands squeezing my shoulders. My uncle leaned over his cane and gripped my hand until it hurt. I attempted a smile for everyone, but my confusion and haze made that difficult.

  "What happened?" I asked again.

  My mind traced back to the party, sitting on the rocks by the redbills, Dorian easing toward me, his lip brushing mine… That happiness right before my blackout had consumed me. I wanted to just get back there, for just a minute.

  "We're not entirely sure of the root cause yet," Dr. Weiss said. "But you showed signs of severe hypertension when admitted. We understand that you've been experiencing chest pains, and your recent loss of consciousness is another symptom. We want to run more tests, but what's important is that you rest now. We need to keep your blood pressure from rising unexpectedly again."

  I rolled the doctor's words around in my head. This was more serious than heartburn. She patted my leg and left me with my family, promising to return shortly.

  "You've been too stressed," my mother said, gripping my hand anxiously. "Being locked up in that facility with vampires has been too hard on your heart." />
  "Zach told us about this side project you're working on," my father interjected. "Far too dangerous and stressful, Lyra.”

  A tiny flash of irritation with Zach flickered through my mind, as secrecy had been important for our side project.

  "I had to tell them," Zach said, his eyes pleading. "They needed all of the facts to make sure you got the right treatment."

  Honestly, I would’ve done the same in Zach’s shoes. His wellbeing would’ve meant more to me than anything else, had our roles been reversed. We’d made a lot of headway with the side project already, hopefully enough to get our point across to the board. My previous irritation dissipated into quiet gratitude for my brother, for always having my back.

  I felt foolish for assuming that my chest and stomach pains had been heartburn. Maybe I had pushed myself beyond my limits. I hated to admit that, but today I’d woken up in a hospital bed after a three-day coma. This was beyond my diet.

  "It’s not just stress," I said, my voice weak, trying to explain to them that it wasn’t simply the presence of vampires that had brought me to this state. "I fell recently. On an op. That was when I hurt myself, but it was necessary. I had to stop Dorian from…"

  "Relax, honey," my father said, his voice gentle. “You don’t have to strain yourself explaining.”

  Which was good, because as I said it, I realized I couldn’t finish that sentence in front of them.

  I mentally kicked myself for not getting a more thorough medical exam at the facility. My family continued worrying aloud, while I retreated into my still-blurry thoughts and exhaustion.

  Dr. Weiss returned, having conferred with a colleague. She wanted to monitor me for another twenty-four hours before my release.