He paused again and I watched as he chose his next words precisely before saying them. Only a few girls ever participated in defense or security, mostly because they had small children to care for, and if their husband was lost in battle, those kids needed someone to be there.
That was when I finally saw Aric. He leaned against the wall in the corner by the door The Council came in. Our eyes locked for what seemed like a long time.
“My own daughter will be with us and, as a father that makes me proud. As a father, it puts a fear inside of me that I’ve never known before.”
The silence of the room was deafening. It wasn’t their leader talking and he never let them see anyone but their leader. He cleared his throat.
“We will be outside, ready to go at four tomorrow morning. Those of you who do not wish to stand with us don’t have to. But be sure, however many or few of us there are, we will do everything we can to ensure the safety of our people.”
With that, he stood and left the room. The others followed suit.
It was seven in the evening. We had nine hours before we started a war.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I felt like I was in high school, waiting in the hall outside of class for a boy I liked. I’d only done that once or twice with Sage. Even when we were dating, I wasn’t so attached that I’d go out of my way to see him, yet there I was, my back against the wall, waiting for Dad to let my boyfriend go.
The meeting room cleared out. I was alone and couldn’t help laughing at myself a little. Just months before, I’d wanted nothing more than to fight the Gobel, show them we weren’t backing down against their perceived infringement on our community. But that was before Jensen. Before my mom died. Before I became best friends with a Gobel who gave up his family and his ability to ever go home, for me. Even with Jensen and my ‘super power,’ I knew that all could be lost. Now I just wished peaceful negotiation would have worked.
Thinking about all that and more, I slid to the floor and brought my knees up to lay my head on top. Someone dropped beside me. Jensen nudged my shoulder with his like I didn’t already know he was there.
“Hungry?” he asked softly. I shrugged. “Why don’t I go get us something and we’ll meet in your room?” I nodded quickly before he kissed the top of my head and was off.
Tall, carrying a pizza, he came in without knocking, Aric right behind him. I was happy that the three were sitting on my bed, TV on, munching like normal friends, as if nothing else of importance was happening.
“Dahlia?” I asked Aric after he sent yet another text. He nodded. “Aww,” I teased.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then how is it?”
“I don’t know. We hang out. Even now, all she talks about is shopping.” He shook his head.
“She doesn’t know much about what’s going on.” He knew that, yet I felt like I had to say it, to defend her in some way. We all fell silent. “My dad will keep his word, you know.” Aric’s eyebrows shot up. “About having a place for you here.”
“I know,” he answered, barely above a whisper.
“But can I ask you something?” He nodded. “When we met, you were set on stopping the war. I mean, you even converted me. But now it’s happening and your family is on the other side.”
“So, what’s the question?”
“You know the question.”
Jensen cleared his throat, which made me glance over at him. He used his eyes to plead with me to shut up. I didn’t listen.
“You want to know why I’m going to stay and fight against my family?” he asked, which was exactly what I wanted to know. I nodded. “Alyssum, I don’t know. I don’t know how it’s going to be if I come face to face with one of my brothers or my dad. Kale’s sneaking back here tonight, but…I just don’t know. All I can do is hope it doesn’t happen.”
The pizza started to sit in my stomach like a brick. I tossed the half piece I held back into the box. Aric did the same and I noticed Jensen had already finished. He shifted his weight on the bed uncomfortably.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” I said. “Need my beauty rest for tomorrow.”
With that, Aric left the room and I shut the box of pizza and placed it on the table by the window. When I turned back around, Jensen was pulling my sheets back. He sat down and removed his shoes. After he yanked off his shirt and started unbuttoning his jeans, he looked up to see my questioning face.
“What?” He asked.
“What’re you doing?”
“Undressing.” He smirked.
“Ha. I can clearly see that, but you don’t usually sleep in here in case my dad comes in. Unless something tragic happened, that is. And I think we should both be well rested for the morning.”
“I told your dad I’m staying with you tonight.”
“What?”
He came around the bed, jeans undone and hanging sexily on his hips. “I always want you, but tonight I want to stay with you. We don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring and I don’t want to leave tonight. I told your dad because I didn’t want him to be surprised if he came up here.”
“And he didn’t care?”
“It’s like those first nights after your mom. He seemed kind of relieved, like knowing you’re taken care of means he can do what he needs to.”
When he looked at me, I was trying to picture the conversation between him and my dad, so the look on my face may have been less than inviting.
“Um,” Jensen started refastening his pants “unless, of course, you don’t want me to stay.”
“What?” I shouted loud enough to startle both him and me. “I do. Of course I do.”
“Okay, then.”
We climbed into bed and hit the off button on the TV. We snuggled together and my body relaxed right away. One day I’d have to figure out what that was all about, but not that day. I needed all the sleep I could get.
***
The alarm buzzed early, so early that all I wanted to do was slam the damn thing against the wall, roll over, curl my body around Jensen’s and go back to sleep. But that wasn’t in the cards. We had one hour to get dressed, eat—it’s completely important not to have a case of low blood sugar going into battle—and be on the other side of the meeting room.
Jensen and I dressed in silence. Jeans, t-shirt and hoodie, since it’d be chilly that early in the morning. We both put on hiking boots. Last thing to do was pull my hair back into a braid. I didn’t want my hair to block my line of sight. Everything had to be perfect.
Just as we were about to leave my room and head to the kitchen, there was a light knock on the door. Jensen opened it to find Aric, also dressed, and we headed downstairs. The three of us sat in the kitchen, eating eggs and bacon. My dad joined us. I couldn’t think of anything to say. No one else could, either. We spent a painful ten minutes just listening to the sound of each other’s chewing.
“Alyssum.” Official Ash called me back. The guys kept going to give Dad a moment alone with me. “I know you, but I’m asking that you hang back as much as possible.”
“Yeah, right, Dad.” I rolled my eyes without meaning to.
“I’m serious. The only reason I’m letting you go is the power you and Jensen have together. Otherwise, stay back and let us handle things. I couldn’t take it if…I’m asking, not telling. As your father.”
Tears annoyingly formed with the lump in my throat, but I pushed all that down to nod. “I’ll do my best,” I answered and really, that’s all I could promise.
Jenson stood in the foyer, staring out the window.
“Ready?” I asked him. He nodded. “You’ve trained really well, better than anyone I’ve seen in a long time, so you’ll do fine.” He nodded slowly. “And our super bad ass wonder twin power doesn’t hurt.”
I wanted to give him one last kiss, for luck, for reassurance, for goodbye in case something happened to one of us, but Sage burst through the front door before I had the chance.
“Everybody needs
to get out here.” His voice was breathless, like he’d been running miles.
“What happened?” I asked, running the short distance to him.
“They found out we were coming to Phoenix today. I don’t know how. The Gobel have attacked.”
My eyes just about jumped out of my head, then Jensen and I were on the move.
Chapter Thirty
Outside, we found Kale and Aric getting into an SUV with Dad and several others. They tore out, throwing gravel in their wake. We ran until the forest came into view. It was dark, but with the full moon, I could see the mayhem. It was a true battle—fists flying, electricity being wielded like a sword. Tree roots shot out of the ground into some of our people like the tentacles of an octopus.
“Fuck,” Jensen muttered under his breath. He took off running.
It was too much to take in all at once, so I focused on one thing at a time. Sage was being over taken. I ran to him, throwing sparks as quickly as I could pick up the energy. It was enough to distract the Gobel man. Sage threw an uppercut. The guy fell.
I hit another two with higher wattage. They didn’t get back up. I kept going until a tree branch hit me in the back. Dull pain radiated down my legs and I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
It took too much effort to try to get back up. Ignoring the pain, I could hear Dad, Aric and Kale coming from the other side. It was nature versus nature. I tried to find Laken and Stone, but it was still too dark. We had electricity. They had the entire freaking forest. A strong hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back to my feet.
“You okay?” Aric’s eyes went everywhere but me.
“I think so.” He pulled me close, then we were off to help the others.
As I fought, both with my body and my power, I kept an eye out for Jensen. If we would have stayed together, we could’ve ended it before it began. Our power together only worked against the Gobel. We didn’t know the range, but any would be better than none.
I slipped into autopilot, hitting anything that got close. Finally, I got a glimpse of Jensen about a football field away. I had to get to him.
The beast appeared in front of me. Aric’s sister, the one I’d had a run in with before, slammed into me, hard enough that I hit a tree trunk and fell to the ground. She pulled me back up before I could shake it off. She knew what she was doing too, because her meat hooks wrapped around my wrists immediately, making it impossible for me to pick up electricity.
“What did you do to me?” She hissed. I didn’t answer. “You know what I’m talking about. You took everything from me. How did you do that?”
“I…don’t…” She squeezed harder, making my eyes water. Just then, a large branch grew behind her and came down on her head. Her eyes bugged and her breath caught. She dropped my hands and fell into a heap on the ground. I looked from her to Aric, struggling to get going.
Forcing my legs to move, I climbed over her and through some brush until I could get over to Jensen. The minute his hand grabbed mine, the energy coursed through us both, almost until I couldn’t take it anymore. The Gobel around us fell, like Aric did when we practiced. We knew they’d recover as soon as we disconnected, but the longer we held them under, the longer it would take for them to recover. We moved as one through the crowds, dropping the Gobel as only we could.
“Let them go.” Elliot, the Gobel leader, made his way toward us with his hand outstretched. Dad was there in an instant.
“Stay back,” Official Ash’s voice boomed. The sun started to rise, making me realize how long we’d been out there.
“How are you standing? Why aren’t you on the ground with the rest of them?” I asked myself more than anyone else. I was incredibly confused.
Elliot’s beady black eyes focused on me. “We all have secrets, Alyssum.”
Stunned that he used my name, I watched Aric behind him trying to break through our power. I felt terrible. I knew he hated what he was feeling, but we couldn’t stop, not yet. Dad called for all the Gremalians to gather together, then told me to get back to the house.
I wanted to protest. No matter what, whatever peace was negotiated, we couldn’t risk Jensen and I being in the same place once we broke the hold we had on the Gobel. They’d be angry like Aric was when it first happened and some would likely lash out. That’s what Dad once told me. Something about the great power dying off completely or some other bullshit. I think he just said it to protect me. Even still, for once I followed orders.
Waiting in my father’s office, which faced the clearing where the fight happened, was horrible. I hated being able to hear Dad and Elliot’s voices but not being able to make out what they were saying. Their arms flailed, big gestures that showed they really meant whatever they were saying. Dad got close to grabbing Elliot by the throat and then the Gobel started backing away. We still had a lot to do.
We had to see if there were casualties. Any from their side would be returned. My back and cheek felt like they were on fire, but I hadn’t had a chance to check myself over. I touched my cheek softly and came back with a little blood, some bruising and scrapes. Nothing too serious.
Time to find out the terms of the truce. I hauled ass out of the office and down the hall to the foyer just as Dad, Jensen, Sage, Kale and a few others came through the door.
“Is everybody okay?” I got to Jensen first and saw a few nicks and scratches. Otherwise, he seemed okay. His thumb gently caressed whatever scratch was on my cheek. “It’s fine,” I said, continuing to ignore the pain in my back.
“Where’s Aric?” Nobody answered. I yanked the door open, running out onto the porch, but he wasn’t there either. The area was too quiet.
“Where is he?” I asked louder. When no one offered an explanation, I put it together myself. There was only one reason I could think of that would make Kale look ashen and ready to puke.
Without thinking, I took off back out the door and toward the woods. I’d run all the way to Phoenix if I had to. I wanted revenge for the death of my friend. Since Jensen ran out right after me, I didn’t get too far before he caught my arm, yanking me back. Physically, he was stronger, so when he started to move, I did too. Even dragging my heels against the dirt did nothing against his bigger body and better muscles.
“What are you doing?” I screamed. As I twisted to try to get away, I stumbled, but he never let go. I did succeed in causing a couple of friction burns on my arms from his grasp.
“Stop fighting me,” Jensen spat, squeezing my arm even harder. I thought if I stopped, he’d let me go, so I did. I stopped everything, put my feet flat on the ground and even took a couple of regular steps. When he knew I was cooperating, he released his hold on me.
“He isn’t dead, but they took him back.”
Sweet relief washed over. If Aric was alive, then I wasn’t too late. Jensen and I, maybe even Kale and Stone, needed to head out right away to intercept Aric and bring him back. I didn’t say any of this to Jensen until we were inside the foyer with the battle weary others.
“What’s going on? They’ve got Aric. Why are we not going after him?” My demand for information came out one after another. Nobody had a chance to answer until I was finished.
“It was the only option they’d agree to.” Dad wouldn’t look me in the face.
“He went willingly.” Kale barely got the words out and Laken turned away to hide tears.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“He went to save us.” Kale swept his hand toward his brothers. “I told him we’d all go, but he insisted.”
“Why was he so important?”
“Because they know about Wes, on top of working with you guys and what they called brainwashing us into it. Apparently, we’re not really welcome back either.”
“So let’s go get him.”
“We need a plan first.” Jensen sounded calmer than I felt he should have.
“A plan? The plan is to go get our friend back, now.” We didn’t have time to fuck around. We needed to act.
/>
“Alyssum—”
“No, Jensen.” Anger grew out of fear of what would happen to him. “They’ll kill him. You know that,” I yelled, my voice bouncing off the walls, bringing everyone’s attention to us.
“We can’t go half-cocked. We’re not doing that. We need to think this through,” he yelled back, the vein in his neck popping out. I’d never seen him that angry before.
“Half-cocked? I’d say you’re fully cocked right now.” The look on his face said I was pushing all the right buttons…or all the wrong ones.
“He’ll be dead before you and my dad get around to a decision. I’m going and you,” my finger hit his chest, “should come with me. If this was reversed and it was you that had been taken, I’d have to run after him to catch up. He wouldn’t be standing here arguing.”
Taking a breath, I decided to come at him another way. I was going, no question, but I would prefer to have some back-up. “Jensen, he’s our friend.” The gentleness in my voice worked on him, at least a little, because his face softened as did his voice. “Come with me.”
“We aren’t going today.” He pushed the point home, thinking I’d fall in line.
My jaw clenched. “Don’t tell me what I am or am not going to do. You’re not my father. I’m going and you should be, too!”
His face remained hard and his jaw tightened. His decision was made, as was mine. I crossed his line in the sand, though I never thought we’d be standing on opposite sides.
Taking several steps away from him, ignoring Dad’s words, I let the venom loose from my mouth. “You’re not coming? I guess you’re not the man I thought you were.” His eyes drilled into me harder, finding their way to my core. “If this is some leftover jealousy, don’t worry about it. I’m done.”
He got pissed. Not caring about the anger I saw cross his face, it was the hurt behind it that almost made me compromise. Screw that. Turning on my heel, I blew through the door. The frame slammed behind me and shattered.
Grounded (Grounded #1) Page 20