Embrace
Page 28
‘The gold strands that wrap around you. They wrapped around me that night.’
‘A legacy from my mother. Her hair was the first gold.’
‘Like your hair is opal.’
He smiled, but again there was nothing in it – just emptiness. After studying me for a moment, he asked, ‘How did you know they were coming that night? Did you really sense them from that far away?’
‘Why?’ I asked hesitantly.
‘I’ve been trying to work it out, how you did it. It wasn’t with the normal Grigori senses – you found them with a Sight, didn’t you?’
I looked away and remained silent, unsure what I should be saying to him now and whether I knew the answer anyway. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel his glare burning my skin.
‘Hmm…I knew it.’
I looked up. ‘What does that mean?’
‘It’s just a theory. I wouldn’t want to burden you with it,’ he said provokingly.
‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’re keeping secrets,’ I shot back.
‘Yes, we should both have learned our lesson by now. And just as you have embraced your destiny, perhaps it is time for me to embrace mine.’ He pointed to the building behind me. ‘Did you really think this would protect you?’
I turned to face the grand stone church. I hadn’t even realised I’d stopped in front of it.
When I turned back, he was already walking away. It was a brilliantly clear day, not a cloud in sight, and yet the sun didn’t seem to reach his body. He was shadowed and I couldn’t help it; I felt sad for him.
Two weeks later, I was standing in a sea of people in short shorts and singlet tops. Short shorts should be outlawed. Even on hot guys, they just look wrong.
I sat on a bench near the starting line to tie my shoelaces. I felt him before I saw him. But it wasn’t the senses. It was something more human.
‘Hey,’ he said. He sat beside me.
‘Hey.’
‘I wondered if you’d make it.’
I smiled. ‘We said we would, didn’t we?’
‘We said a lot of things.’
‘You knew, didn’t you? That Phoenix was dark.’ More pieces had been coming together since I’d been released from Phoenix’s hold. It had been like a fog clearing – things I’d been oblivious to at the time were now painfully clear.
‘I suspected.’
I didn’t know if I could ever make things right, but I had to start somewhere. ‘I’m sorry, Linc, for all the awful things I said…and did.’
He inched closer to me, but not so close we touched. ‘You have nothing to apologise for. It wasn’t really you. And even if it was, I would have understood.’
I couldn’t hide my confusion. ‘Then why did you disappear that night?’
He pushed his hands through his hair and looked away from me towards the gathering crowd of runners. ‘I promised you I’d protect you. I promised I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you again. I knew something wasn’t right about Phoenix, but I just got caught up in everything and he…’ He shook his head. ‘Worst of all, when you were lying there hurt and I could have actually done something to help, I wasn’t there and he was. I’ve failed you time and time again and I can’t keep asking you to forgive me.’ He slumped forward, his head in his hands.
I turned my body towards him and softly put a hand on his chin, tilting his face to meet mine. Our powers flared through the small touch, recognising each other. His chin was rough and unshaven. It was sexy as hell. ‘You never failed me. You’re the one person in my life who has always been there. I’m not your mother, Linc, you can’t blame yourself for everything.’ I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers. ‘All I know right now is, I want you in my life…if you want me in yours?’
He looked at me, his eyes revealing all the things he couldn’t say. ‘Violet, we—’
But before he could surge into that discussion, the one where he told me we could never be together, I stopped him.
‘Linc, how about we just go one day at a time.’
He held my eyes and I could see how hard it must have been for him – holding back, never encouraging me — when he knew how I felt. When he felt the same way. But there was no other option for us. We were Grigori partners.
Yet even as I told myself this was the way it was, I couldn’t help but hold on to the glimmer of hope within, the one that whispered, Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
‘One day at a time,’ he agreed.
A voice crackled over the loudspeaker, drowning out everything else.
‘ALL CONTESTANTS IN THE RACE LINE UP FOR THE STARTING GUN.’
Lincoln stood up, extending his hand to me. I took it. Power surged between us, affirming that we were strengthened together. Better together. I could see him suppressing a smile, just as I suppressed my own.
‘You ready?’
He pulled me to my feet.
‘Yep.’
And I was.
Running a marathon when you have enhanced abilities in strength and endurance can be a mighty temptation. But apart from a few healthy bursts of competitiveness, we remained well behaved. There were more important things in the world than winning a race and too much at stake to risk exposure.
Steph and Dad were waiting at the finish line. I couldn’t help but laugh at their faces when they saw Lincoln running with me. More than anything, Dad was just pleased to see it wasn’t Phoenix. He’d been in an overly chipper mood since I told him Phoenix wouldn’t be hanging around any more.
After several pats on the back, Dad predictably started making noises about getting back to the office. Before he left, he gave me a hug. ‘I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You remind me of your mum. She’d be so proud of you too.’
I hugged him back and blinked away the sting in my eyes. I hoped he was right.
Steph and I went out for a post-marathon celebratory juice. I was impressed she only complained twice about having to get up before 7.00 am on the first Sunday since exams. When I had asked Lincoln if he wanted to come with us, he’d said there was something he had to do. He’d also reminded me there was a wall in his warehouse with my name on it. Steph rolled her eyes and threw around a few Jesus and Mary exclamations every time she looked at my beaming smile.
When I arrived home, one perfectly bloomed white lily sat at the foot of my door, a note tied around the stem.
Training tomorrow, 6 am. x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This story would simply be no more than a stack of papers jammed into a box somewhere if not for the wonderful people who made it more and turned it into a book.
It would be wrong to lead with anyone other than my divine agent, Selwa Anthony, who has expertly steered me from the outset and never faltered.
My publishers: Tegan Morrison for her tireless work, invaluable input and belief in the story; Fiona Hazard for taking a chance on me; Katrina Lehman for her superb slicing and dicing; and Kate Ballard for her fantastic proofread.
A couple of good men – Graham McNeice and Ian Parry-Okeden – who introduced me to Selwa and set the wheels in motion.
My friends and family, in particular Mum, whose support is always cherished. Amanda, who gave me the gift that set me on this path. Chris, whose opinion was so valued, even when it was to tell me it didn’t work. A big thank you goes to: Christine, Nick, Kylie, Liss, Peit and Joe, and my dear friend Harriet, who gave me the push to put the manuscript out there.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my parents-in-law, Jenny and Phil, for all the research material and countless discussions and without whom, this story would not be the same.
Dad…I know it’s not your thing, but I love that you read it anyway. You’re getting better at pretending!
To my favourite and kindest reader – Matt. Thank you for your unconditional love and support, and for never complaining that there was no dinner.
Lastly, the following songs cannot go without mention: ‘Falling’, ‘Drumming Song’, ‘Kis
s with a Fist’ and ‘Hardest of Hearts’ by Florence and the Machine; ‘Lentil’ and ‘Lullaby’ by Sia; ‘Citizen’ and ‘Trap Doors’ by Broken Bells; ‘All The Same To Me’ by Anya Marina; ‘Love Lost’ by Temper Trap.
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Read on for an exclusive extract of Enticed …
I looked down the narrow street as far as my eyes would allow. It was littered with homeless people lying on flattened cardboard, the lucky ones wrapped in torn sleeping bags, the rest burrowed in piles of old newspapers. I scanned the dark-red brick walls, which ran at least five storeys high on each side. The protection they offered was part of what made this strip so popular.
Lincoln walked slowly beside me, his hand going to my elbow for a moment – a silent reminder that I needed to be alert. I tried to move myself quickly through the flush of heat that came whenever I felt his touch.
I stopped walking and he looked at me, a question within his features. I smiled into his emerald-green eyes before I could stop myself.
‘I think I can sense them,’ I said.
I didn’t think, I knew. I’d been tasting apple for the past couple of blocks and the sound of birds flying, smashing through trees, was not one shared by others nearby. These were my angelic senses. Most Grigori had one. Some, like Lincoln, had two. Lucky me, I had all five, and I seemed to feel them more acutely than any other Grigori I had met. Great to be special and all, but having an extra five senses can be, well, overwhelming.
‘How long have you been sensing them?’
I hesitated.
He saw. ‘Violet… How long?’
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX