by Trisha Wolfe
“Are you going to tell Lana?”
I blew out a long breath. “I guess it’s time. But I’m still worried that this information will endanger her.”
“Jace knows. You’re not worried about that with him.”
“God, you’re infuriating.” I smiled, my heart feeling a little lighter. “Why are you being Mr. Logical right now?” I thought for a moment. “But I won’t tell Nick. Lana needs to know, but Nick doesn’t have to. I feel bad, but really, it’s for his own good.”
Reese hugged me closer to him. “Makes sense.” He rested his lips against my forehead. “And, Dez, Jace will get past this.” His breath fanned my hair as he thought. “What about that crazy power? I’d never seen anything like it. Where did it come from?”
I buried my head in his chest, inhaling him. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Or, how about nothing.” Reese inched down, his face close to mine.
I traced my thumb over his cheek, staring into his violet eyes. I allowed mine to fade to purple, as well. He smiled and brushed his lips against mine. All my worries paled as he deepened the kiss. Whatever we had to face, I knew we could. We belonged together. And I wouldn’t have to be apart from him again. I latched onto him, bringing him closer. I was home.
After I felt I could face the world again, Reese walked me to the girls’ wing. I’d stayed until curfew. Reese had wanted me to stay the night, but I couldn’t. Not because I feared we’d get caught, but because I didn’t want additional questions from Lana.
When I got back to my unit, Lana was loosening her corset. “Hey,” she said halfheartedly as I entered.
“Hey.” I closed the door and plunked down on my bed.
She looked over at me. “Where were you? And don’t say your mom’s. I know better.”
I took a deep breath. “No. I wasn’t there. Sorry I lied.” I glanced at the floor. “I have something to tell you. I didn’t want to get into it over the communicator, so I just said that.”
She nodded. “Okay, shoot. What’s up?” She finished dressing for bed and then sat across from me.
I took another deep breath and dove in. I told her about the Council’s trial repopulation test, about my father being Narcolym, and about how I’d hidden my identity. I told her everything, baring my soul, right down to the last minutes I’d spent with Reese. By the time the room fell silent, after I’d spilled everything, her mouth hung agape. Her eyes stared through me—not seeing me.
“Lane?” I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Oh. My. God.” She jumped up and stared at me. “You’re serious. I knew it!”
I squinted. “What do you mean, you ‘knew it’?”
“I just did. After your change, somehow I sensed something was off about you, but I couldn’t place it. And your power, it’s way stronger than ours.” She smiled. “I mean, I could never have put this crazy scenario together, but somehow, I’d been trying to figure out what was going on.”
I tilted my head. “You’re not freaked about me being half Narco?” I studied her. She seemed to be taking it well—extremely well—compared to Jace.
She waved her hand through the air. “It’s not like you chose this. But regardless, this is something that’s a part of you. And besides, the only reason I don’t want to bond with a Narco is because I’m in love with Devon. That whole rebel thing is Jace’s deal.” Her eyes became wide. “Oh, Jace. What—”
“He kind of walked in on Reese and me today.” I bowed my head. I’d skimmed over the details of that part. “We were making up, sort of, and Jace saw.” I looked up quickly and watched Lana’s face fall.
“Oh.” She kept her mouth a perfect “O.” Then she sat down next to me. “You should have told me sooner. I could have talked with him. Crap, I should’ve never told him it was a go with you.” She slapped her forehead.
“Lane, it’s not your responsibly to handle Jace. It’s mine. And I messed up big time.”
“We can fix this. I know my brother. He’s definitely stewing right now, but we can make him understand what happened. And I know he’ll get past the half Narco thing. We can—”
“Leave him alone for a while?”
She lowered her eyes. “Yeah, probably a good idea.”
“Thank you, Lane.” I took her hand. “I know you want to fix this for me, but just having you accept it, that’s more than enough.” I shook my head lightly. “I was scared of losing you, or of endangering you.”
“No way. I love you no matter what. And I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.” She winked and wrapped her arm around me. “Now tell me about Reese. I can’t believe it’s him. He was such a hothead.”
“You have no idea.”
Lana and I talked about Reese and Devon, strategically avoiding the Jace topic. I think she knew it was too painful. I felt bad. This was her brother. But she said she didn’t feel torn. She could love us both and hope that soon things would get patched up. It was the first time our group was ever divided.
I lay in my bed that night, trying not to think. But there were too many worries swimming around in my head. Although I felt better after unloading to Lana, I realized I should have told her long ago. I couldn’t help wondering if the same went for Jace. Had I told him the truth about me before, the events of today wouldn’t have happened. Or maybe they would have, only sooner.
I closed my eyes, trying not to picture Jace’s expression after he found out what I was. But that image was permanently etched in my mind.
Chapter Twenty-One
THE NEXT DAY, LANA agreed that I should get away from the Academy. I wasn’t ready to bump into Jace. I felt he needed the extra time to settle down before we had to face each other in class.
Reese and I decided to go to our place. The falls. We had catching up to do, and he also wanted to test out my power. With everything that was going on—Jace, the Council’s secret mission—my power just didn’t register on my list of concerns. Especially now that I could control it with the help of my crystal. But I’d agreed to practice with him. It was at least a distraction from other pressing worries.
The river’s familiar trickle soothed my nerves as I settled onto the bank. Reese stood above me in his Kythan form, calling forth his White Flame on command. He’d been trying to replicate what I’d done the day before, but with no luck. His power was stronger than that of any Narco or Shythe, but he couldn’t figure out how I’d surrounded myself.
“Maybe it had something to do with what I was feeling at the time,” I said, watching him shoot blazing white flames into the river.
He turned toward me, his face lighting up. “You’re right. I think our power is more connected to our emotions than it is for most Kythan.” He rubbed his chin. “What were you thinking at that moment?”
I shrugged. “Stopping you guys.” I thought back, it hadn’t been that long, but I was having a difficult time pulling up those emotions again. “I just wanted to protect you both.”
Reese sat down beside me and raised his eyebrows. “Protect?” he said, clipped.
“Yes. I couldn’t jump into the fight, so I was wracking my brain for a way to save you guys.” I glanced at the river. “I thought you were going to kill each other.”
Reese took my hand. “So you wanted more than anything to protect us, and a shield went up.” He rubbed his thumb across the top of my hand. “That’s amazing. Not only did it protect you, closing you in, but it reached out, pummeling us.” He laughed. “Not so sure it endeavored to actually protect us, but it did work in theory. We stopped fighting.”
“What do you think that means? Are there other things we can do, or was that just some kind of heated moment thing?”
“I’m not sure. I think it’s your power alone. I don’t think it would work the same for me. You’re stronger than me.” He bowed his head. “But I know there’s more to our power. We just have to figure it out.”
I smiled. “You’re so seriou
s.” I stroked a stray hair from his eyes. “Are you jealous I’m stronger than you?”
He laughed. “Hardly. You might have that badass shield thing, but you’ve yet to take me on.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I think you’d find my power, when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, is pretty fierce.”
“I have no doubt.”
He cocked his head. “Are you patronizing me?” He smiled, his elongated eyeteeth looking sexy as they brushed his bottom lip. “I don’t mind being with a girl more powerful than me. Kind of turns me on.”
I rolled my eyes, but enjoyed being able to banter comfortably with him again. It felt safe. “Of course that would. I think I could knock the crap out of you and it would turn you on.”
“Definitely. In fact, let’s try it out.” He stood, pulling me up with him.
“Really? You want to spar?”
“I think I owe you a match.” He winked. I remembered his cocky attitude during our power matching session. Yeah, I definitely owed him.
His eyes became serious, and he stilled, tilting his head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, glancing around the fall.
“Nothing. Thought I heard something.” His brow furrowed, but then he shook his head lightly. “It’s gone. Probably a deer.” He smiled at me. “Ready?”
I couldn’t help smiling as I took in his form. The points of his ears just peeking from beneath his dark hair. His fair skin, smooth and perfect. I wanted to shift for him. More than that, I was ready to face that fear and shift for myself. Somehow, seeing Jace and Reese almost destroy each other had put things into perspective. I’d been holding back—scared of hurting someone. But I’d been hurting myself. I was different but still Kythan. I’d hurt my mom, but not on purpose. I didn’t want to fear my power anymore.
I began shifting, feeling my features change. I trembled as I held back the power, but I completed my shift without the White Flame making an appearance.
Reese smiled, and his eyes scanned over me. “You’re beautiful, Dez,” he said and walked toward me. He cupped my face, pressing his lips to mine. Then he pulled back. “Now, prepare yourself.”
Before I could counter, Reese swept my feet from under me. I hit the ground. Crap. That was my move. “Sidetracking me with hot kisses? Is that the only way you can beat me?” I peeled myself from the ground.
“Have to use what I got.” He lunged at me, but I countered, blocking his white blow. So we were going with our power. Fine.
My stomach felt a little nauseated as I summoned my White Flame. I was hesitant to use it in combat, especially this close to the other person. But I had to practice it sooner or later. I had to know what I could do. I just didn’t want to hurt Reese. Pressing my palm against my leather breeches, I felt my crystal. I trusted it would keep me from losing control.
I came at him, throwing punches as the white light surrounded my arms. Reese blocked every one. “Stop holding back,” he grunted, taking a hit to his side. “I can tell.”
“It sounds like it’s hard to speak from where I’m at.” I punched his ribs again.
He twisted my arms in his, bringing my face close to his. “You’re still holding back. Don’t be afraid of it.”
I fought back, pushing the image of my mother’s scarred wrist out of my mind. I couldn’t lose focus. I had to learn to use my power. I unlocked my arms from Reese, kicking off him. Staring him down, I raised my arms and sent a beam of light soaring through the air.
I panicked for a moment, thinking I’d sent too much power, but Reese brought his arms up and crossed them, blocking it. “Good.” He sent a beam back at me.
I mimicked his move. My shielded arms absorbed the power. I looked at my hands. Normally, when fighting with opposite power—Charge and Flame—our shielded arms only deflected the blow, sending it someplace else. But this power was different.
Before I could think about my next move, Reese shot another beam at me. I blocked and ran for him. I couldn’t beat him by using my power that way. We’d absorb each other’s blows all day. I had to get up close.
I fell to my hands and cartwheeled, kicking Reese in his stomach and sending him backward. He slid across the bank. I got back to my feet and jumped, attempting to land a blow while he was down. He rolled, reaching out and grabbing hold of my foot, taking me down.
That was the second time he’d put me on my back. Aggravated, I bounced up and faced him. We sidestepped, circling each other.
Fighting Reese was different than sparring with Jace. I realized in that moment, that if the fight would have gone on between them, Reese would probably have won. Not by using our white power, just on his hand-to-hand skills alone. He was quick.
Reese took a shot, coming at me from the side. I turned, bringing my fist around and jabbing him in his kidneys. He grunted, but came at me again. I didn’t see the head butt coming and stumbled from the impact. He took advantage of my falter and sent a blow to my side. He was definitely faster than me. But I was more creative.
As he prepared to send the finishing blow, I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist. It worked; he was caught off guard. He stared at me wide-eyed as I clasped his face and twisted his head. “You’re dead.”
Reese shot his head back around and grabbed my butt. “Best death ever.” Then he kissed me.
Sparring with Reese had its advantages. I melted against him and ran my fingers over his strained muscles, feeling his body tense. I could tell he was restraining himself.
Pulling away, I looked into his eyes. “No holding back, huh?” I tilted my head and tugged on his ear with my elongated teeth.
He let out a small groan. “Don’t tease. Sometimes holding back isn’t a bad thing…and it’s harder than it seems.” He buried his head in my neck, his lips caressing my skin. “Especially when you look so hot.”
“Then don’t.” I looked into his fiery, red eyes.
Reese studied my face for a moment, then his lips met mine, hard. He knelt, bringing us both to the bank, and lowered me to the ground. He slid my hands above my head and held them there before running his warm fingers down my arms. I shivered as they roamed along my body, feeling their way across my stomach. Warmth spread over my skin as he slowly slipped his hand under my blouse.
I skimmed my hands along his back, feeling his muscles work. Then I released a small current rippling over his body. He shuddered and deepened the kiss. Lost in the moment, my hands found their way to the fastening of his pants. I tugged at the snap, and it gave between my fingers.
Reese’s head shot up. “Dez, you don’t have to prove anything…”
“I know,” I said. “I want to.” I began to unclasp my breeches, but he grabbed my hand, stopping me.
He released a heavy breath. “And believe me, I want to.” He dipped his head and quickly kissed me. “But not like this. Not when you’re still upset, and definitely not here.” He brushed his fingers through my hair, his eyes trailing over my face. “I care about you.”
I stared into his eyes as they changed from red to violet. We hadn’t known each other very long. But time wasn’t a factor for us. We were the same. We shared something deep and secret that other Kythan didn’t. And I didn’t want to be separated from him ever again.
I finally spoke after a long moment. “I care about you,” I said, taking in his anxious expression.
The crease between his eyebrows relaxed. “For a minute there, I was worried.” His lips spread into a relieved smile. “I thought I’d scared you off.”
I shook my head against the ground. “Never.” I kissed him, feeling his lips—the lips I wanted to kiss every day. I slowed the kiss, and he pulled back.
“But you’re right,” I said. “This can wait. There’re other things going on right now. We need to stay focused.” He nodded. “But thanks. You know, for wanting to make it special.”
Reese sat up, bringing me with him. “You’re special, Dez.” He smiled, his face brightening. “Are you hungry?”
&
nbsp; I laughed at his sudden change of topic. “If it’s not sex with you guys…it’s food,” I joked.
He arched an eyebrow. “Have to have something to satisfy me after a match like that.” He winked. “Come on. I know a place.”
Reese hovered up to the front of the Steam Pipe, an eat-in diner not far from Cogs. After parking his levibike on the bike ramp across from the autowalk, he lowered the kickstand and shut off the engine.
I slid off the back of his bike and looked around then down the roadway. Something seemed off. Sundays were normally slow in Haven with the usual bustle of the town halted for a day of rest, but today was unusually quiet.
We hopped across the autowalk and headed into the diner. I’d been inside the Steam Pipe a few times. The walls were lined with copper, as if you were inside an actual steam pipe. The tables were, in fact, giant gears made of brass and iron with deep cogs. It was cliché, but the food was great, and I liked the atmosphere.
Reese and I sat down at a table near the back, and I glanced around. “It’s really slow today.” Two other couples and a group of three Narcos were scattered throughout the mostly empty diner.
“Yeah it is.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Even for a Sunday.”
“I was just thinking that.”
I opened my menu as the waitress approached our table. She held a small tablet. “What are we having today?”
I quickly scanned the menu. “I’ll take a burger and shake.”
Reese ordered the same, and she punched our order into her tablet. She turned to go, but I called out, “Um, wait.” She sidled back up to our table. “Are you the only one working the floor today? Normally there’re a few girls…” My face flamed as I trailed off. I wasn’t trying to embarrass her. I was only curious.
“Yeah, I am.” She rolled her eyes. “No one else showed up for work today except a few of the kitchen staff.” She blew her blond bangs off her forehead. “Not happy about that, but it’s dead anyway.” She shrugged and bounced off.
“Weird,” I muttered. I checked out Reese’s reaction, and I knew he felt the strangeness, too. There was something not right. I didn’t know how I knew, but I could sense it.