Hidden Realms

by Unknown

  “And you have the answers?”

  He nodded distractedly. “Most of them. What I want to know is: who was the chick running things?” he mulled to himself.

  “Lillian?”

  Alec raised his eyebrows. “You know her?”

  I hesitated. This was a tricky one. “I know of her,” I rephrased carefully. “You don’t?”

  Alec waited for me to elaborate.

  “She held me hostage for who knows how long...”

  “Two days,” Alec chimed in quickly. “What do you know about her?”

  Two days? I hated her even more now.

  “Tell me what you know, Kris.”

  “She used to be a Kala,” I started tentatively.

  “That’s not possible.”

  “Apparently it is,” I insisted.

  “How do you know?”

  I nibbled on my lip. This was Nathan’s knowledge to share, not mine. I was sure it was significant, and Alec would need to know. Even so, I felt like I was overstepping a line.

  “Kris,” Alec urged. “How are you so sure?”

  “Nathan knew her a long time ago, when she was a Kala. He told me about her.”

  “He knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t a spy?” He paused and I saw him piecing it together. “Were they together or something?”

  Alec took my silence as a yes. I saw the wheels turning in his head before he looked away.

  “It was seven years ago,” I added quickly. “He thought she was dead until she showed up in the barn right after you...” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Wait a minute. I almost forgot. What were you doing there?”

  Alec shook his head like that was an insignificant matter. “I’ll get to that later,” he said. “What happened when she showed up?”

  “Nathan froze. If you had seen the look on his face when he saw her, you would believe me. I knew from his reaction who she was, but I don’t know how or why. All I know is that she was a Kala, and now she’s a Skotadi.”

  Alec’s eyes twinkled as he put more pieces together, and he talked more to himself than to me. “She was running the whole thing because she had inside knowledge about him, his habits, his strengths, his weaknesses. He was their link to you, and she knew him, giving them the advantage.”

  “I don’t get it. Where do I fit in all of this?”

  That had been the question from day one. Funny, Alec had been the one with the answer all along. His elbows rested on his knees, his chin in his hands, as he stared unseeing across the small back yard.

  In the distance, rays of light from the rising sun peeked above the horizon. It was the start of another day. I should have seen the positive in it, maybe expected dawn to bring a new day and a new beginning.

  Instead, uncertainty seeped from within and struck my heart with trepidation, and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what the new day would bring.

  Nathan was still asleep when I crawled back into bed with him. As eager as I was to drill Alec for answers, I didn’t want to wake Nathan yet. More than anything, he needed rest, and I wanted to lay beside him. As always, his presence, even in a deep sleep, calmed my jitters.

  My hand resting on his chest was all I needed.

  I must have fallen asleep because, when I opened my eyes again, sunlight spilled through the window and Nathan was gone. A quick glance around the room confirmed that he hadn’t gone far. I found him standing at the foot of the bed with a puzzled expression on his face as he quietly searched for something.

  Despite the visual sensory overload, my brain was able to process a couple of things in those first few seconds after seeing him.

  First, I realized that I had severely underestimated his supernatural ability to heal, because there he was, up and about like nothing had happened, in front of my very eyes. Secondly, I realized just how good he looked cleaned up, fresh from a shower. I mean, he looked really, really good. The fact that he was in nothing other than a towel around his waist was almost too much. That was the third thing I noticed, and was what ultimately turned my brain to mush.

  He had no idea I was awake. What a dilemma. I could lay here all day with this view, or I could help him out. I finally, and a little reluctantly, spoke up. “What are you doing?”

  He spun around at the sound of my voice and our eyes met. The memory of our kiss washed over me, and sent my stomach into somersaults. He hesitated, and I wondered if something similar had gripped him.

  “I’m trying to find my clothes,” he said as he resumed his search.

  “You’re definitely not going to be able to wear those.” I sat up on the edge of the bed and pointed to the heap of bloody bandages on the floor. “They’re under that mess somewhere and in no condition to wear.”

  He looked from the gruesome pile to me. “What am I supposed to wear?”

  “We could put a few more towels together and you could do a towel-toga thing.” Somehow, I maintained a serious expression and managed to not turn red at the thought.

  From his head tilt and narrowed eyes, I gathered that he wasn’t in a joking kind of mood this morning. Regardless, I couldn’t help the grin on my face as I moved my gaze pointedly to the dresser, and the clothes stacked on top that I had pulled out of it earlier. Nathan saw them and approached with a hint of dread etched on his face.

  “Alec let you borrow some of his.” I left out the fact that I had practically begged him.

  Fortunately, they were close in size. The only problem was Alec’s wardrobe consisted of designer jeans and Abercrombie, and Nathan was more of a track pants and t-shirt kind of guy.

  He picked up a shirt like he thought it might be covered in cyanide. “I guess I get to be a pretty boy today.”

  I smiled. He was going to look good in the clothes, no matter what he thought. I had picked the color just for him. The blue matched his eyes beautifully. “You never know,” I said as I stood. “You might end up liking it.”

  He gave me a look like he didn’t consider that even a remote possibility.

  I paused as I passed by him. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about the healing thing,” I gushed as I examined the scars that were the only proof of the fatal wounds that had been there just hours before.

  “Yeah, I feel fine.” He turned so I could get a better look at the scar on his chest.

  “Good.” I resisted the urge to run my hands over the clean smooth skin in front of me. It took all the willpower I had to lift my eyes to his. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

  My voice cracked on the last word, and I hurried from the room without waiting for a response. Now that I knew he was going to be okay, the reality of how close I had come to losing him hit me. Hard. I made it to the back porch before the onslaught of emotion took out my knees, and I crumbled to the top step.

  I didn’t remember the moment I knew I had such strong feelings for him. Maybe because it hadn’t been one moment. Maybe I had been lying to myself all along, and it took him almost dying for me to realize it.

  Was that what had happened to him that day by the river? Had I witnessed the moment he realized what I meant to him—the moment I became more than the little girl he found it necessary to protect? Had he cared about me like that all this time, all these weeks, through all the running and hiding, through all the training?

  Through all the arguing?

  Laying his life on the line for me suggested plenty. Looking beyond the obvious clashes we have had, I could see the other signs that I had been too blind to see until now. His gentler moments when he showed concern for me, the way he purposefully never touched me unless he had to, the words he always bit back after a moment’s hesitation, and the truth visible in his eyes when they lingered on me a second longer than usual.

  It had been there all along.

  The screen door squeaked behind me and I wiped at the tears, desperately trying to pull myself together. I wasn’t ready to see him. I wasn’t ready to confront what had almost happened to him or the feelings I knew I had for him�
��and I was sure he had for me. Not yet.

  It wasn’t him that plopped down beside me. It was Callie.

  She had an unnatural way of knowing when I wasn’t okay. Thanks to the red streaks that were probably all over my face now, it wouldn’t have taken a genius to notice. Besides, Callie had seen the way I’d acted last night. She could fill in the blanks easily enough. From the look she was giving me, I knew she had.

  “I don’t know why I’m crying,” I sobbed as I threw my hands in the air. “He’s fine.”

  “You’re crying because he is fine, when by all accounts he shouldn’t be,” Callie said softly as she placed an arm around my shoulders. “For that matter, you have a lot of explaining to do. You can start with how in the hell he walked out of that room looking like he hadn’t been all but dead last night. And don’t think you’re going to get away without telling me who he is, either.”

  I laughed through the tears. “It’s a long story.”

  “Yeah, I kind of got that already.” Callie pulled back so that she could give me a stern look. “How did you not tell me about him? You ran off with him, and I didn’t even know he existed.”

  “It wasn’t exactly like that.” I didn’t know where to start with trying to explain Nathan and, well, everything.

  “Alec told me some,” Callie said with a shrug. “I don’t know a lot, but I know you’re involved in some weird stuff.”

  ‘Weird’ was a bit of an understatement, but a start.

  “Alec obviously left out the good juicy stuff.” Callie nodded her head toward the door with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “So, tell me. What’s the story with you and hot stuff?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, you’re clearly in love with him...”

  I stared at Callie, dazed by her words. Sure, I had some feelings and I cared about him…a lot. But in love with him? I didn’t even know what love was supposed to feel like.

  “I…I don’t...” I stammered.

  Callie pursed her lips. “No? From the way you were acting, I just assumed.”

  “I really care about him,” I murmured. Did I love him?

  “Yeah, no kidding,” Callie said. “Do you know how he feels?”

  “No,” I said. “But we kissed last night.”

  Callie looked at me dumbfounded. “Yeah…and? Wait, was this the first kiss?”

  I couldn’t help the goofy smile on my face as I nodded.

  “Really?” Callie gaped. “I figured you two were a little farther along than that from the way you were acting last night. You even yelled at each other. I mean, if that’s not love...”

  “Well, this is me we’re talking about. Not you.”

  “True,” Callie mused. “You move at the pace of a snail. What am I going to do with you? That guy is gorgeous. I’d have been all over that a long time ago.”

  “Hey! Hands off.”

  Callie beamed at me like she had uncovered some big secret. “It’s not fair though. Him and Alec? Those two are polar opposites, and yet equal on the hot-o-meter.”

  I grinned knowingly at Callie. One was good, one was evil, and they detested each other; they couldn’t get any more opposite.

  A squeak announced the arrival of someone else on the porch. Callie and I turned to find Nathan standing in the doorway. We must have screamed girl talk because he shifted his feet uncomfortably. I hoped that was why, and not because he had heard us talking. His eyes lingered on me a moment before he put on a casual charade, and I knew it was because he could tell I had been crying.

  He pointed over his shoulder. “About to have a chat with Alec. I thought you might want to be there.”

  I grimaced as I stood. “As a participant or a referee?”

  From the look on his face, it was clear he had been thinking along similar lines. We shared knowing glances before his gaze dropped to Callie, who had stepped in front of him.

  “I don’t believe we’ve officially met. I’m Callie,” she said and extended her hand to his. With a note of warning that made me groan inwardly, she added, “I’m her best friend.”

  I recognized the hint of amusement in his eyes as he gave her hand a shake. “Nathan,” he said.

  “I know,” she returned with her usual flair of sass. She leaned into him secretively and lowered her voice. “I think we need to have a talk about your intentions—”

  I gave her a shove from behind, steering her into the house. “Okay, Callie. Let’s go find Alec, shall we?”

  I purposefully kept my eyes turned down to avoid Nathan’s as I followed Callie into the house. I was pretty sure I heard a low chuckle from him as I passed, and I decided that I was the one who was going to have a word with Callie later.

  CHAPTER 27

  Alec manned the black leather chair, his hands folded behind his head and his legs stretched out casually in front of him as he waited for us to join him. His eyes followed me to the couch, where I sat beside Callie, taking the seat closest to him. He gave me a weak smile before lifting a cool gaze to Nathan as he strode by.

  Nathan took a stance along the wall across from Callie and me. He glanced at me before turning his attention to Alec, all signs of amusement from a moment ago wiped clear. His eyes were as hard as Alec’s on him.

  There sure was no love lost between the two of them.

  Alec spoke up, addressing all of us. “We have some things to discuss.” He leaned forward in his chair, focusing past me on Callie. “You’re not going to understand a lot of this, but you can’t repeat anything you hear to anyone.” There was an applied or else that drove home the warning.

  I gave Callie a sympathetic smile and she nodded. Her face was a little on the pale side.

  “I can’t believe you got her involved in the first place,” Nathan said to Alec. “Isn’t that the one thing both sides agree on, to not involve humans?”

  Callie grabbed my hand and I gave it a squeeze. I knew she had realized for the first time that she was surrounded by not-completely-human company. I also doubted Nathan had meant to let that detail slip.

  Alec snorted. “She was going to be a bigger pain if I didn’t involve her. Trust me.” From his tone, I could only imagine the hell Callie had put him through when I had gone missing.

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Callie added quietly.

  “She was already on their radar. She’s safer hanging with me, believe it or not.” Alec narrowed his eyes at Nathan. “Now, enough about Callie. I want to know where your loyalty is before we go on.”

  Nathan stood against the wall with his arms folded over his chest and a smirk on his face as he stared at Alec. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Are you on Team Kris or Team Lillian?”

  My breath came in a sharp gasp and I held it, frozen in my seat, as I stared in disbelief at Alec. What in the hell was he doing? I wanted to kick him, and would have if it was geometrically possible.

  Afraid to see his reaction, I peeked at Nathan out of the corner of my eye. He stared blankly at Alec in that way that he was so good at, that way that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking. The only thing I could presume was that he was dangerously close to leaping across the coffee table at Alec.

  “Your girlfriend?” Alec prompted with a teasing ring. “Seriously, she’s bad ass.”

  “You should know. Don’t you work for her?”

  “Girlfriend?” Callie whispered to me, and I shook my head because it was so not the time to get into that.

  Alec leaned back in his chair and shrugged casually. “But you know her on a much more personal level.”

  I sunk into my seat, and wished for the ability to disappear. This time, Callie’s hand squeezed mine. From the almost comical look of annoyance on Nathan’s face as he purposefully avoided looking at me, he didn’t need to ask how Alec knew.

  Of course, Alec volunteered the information anyway. “When you were passed out last night, Kris and I did some catching up. It was brought up.”

  I caught
my jaw before it dropped, but there was no avoiding Nathan’s gaze as it shifted to me. I felt it from across the room. I glanced at him and saw the array of exasperated disbelief on his face. Then he looked at Alec.

  I had been wrong earlier. Nathan hadn’t been about to launch himself at Alec then. He was now.

  I beat him to it and slammed a fist into Alec’s arm. “Why do you have to make it sound so dirty? It wasn’t like that.”

  Alec rubbed his arm absentmindedly. “I want to make sure he knows I’m around,” he said to me, nodding his head in Nathan’s direction. He turned to look at Nathan. The hostile glare in his eyes matched the threatening tone of his voice. “Now answer the question. Who are you loyal to?”

  Nathan scoffed. “You really have to ask me that?”

  “Yes,” Alec said, sitting up in his chair. “For two reasons. One, your history with the leader of the Skotadi group that was hunting Kris. Two, I don’t understand how Kris ended up on their doorstep to begin with, unless she was set up. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you led her there, didn’t you?”

  Nathan looked ready to explode. Not once had I questioned his motives or intentions. Alec brought things to the table I had never considered, and if it were directed at anyone other than Nathan, I might have been interested in hearing an explanation. From him, I didn’t need one.

  “Alec,” I tried to interject.

  “I want to know,” Alec insisted.

  Nathan’s voice was tight when he spoke. “Considering I thought Lillian was dead, I had no idea she was a Skotadi, let alone looking for Kris. I don’t know why. I don’t even know how she turned.”

  I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes when he talked about Lillian, and I knew this whole thing was harder for him than he let on. It didn’t last long, and I doubted anyone else noticed.

  “I did lead Kris there,” Nathan continued, “under the assumption that we were meeting a Kala group that would escort us to our base. Obviously, we both were set up.”

  Alec tapped a finger to his chin as he listened, then glanced at me. I nodded in agreement and he looked back to Nathan. “What you’ve been doing with her isn’t something the entire Kala community would know about,” Alec said. “You’re not allowed to do it, and I’m not sure how you’ve gotten away with it off for so long, but somebody knows, right?”