by Lia Davis
I studied her. She kept a wall up and pushed everyone away. I almost felt sorry for her. Nate touched my arm and when I looked at him, he shook his head. “Come on, let’s hunt down dinner.”
When I nodded, he glanced back at Soora. “You want to have dinner with us?”
She unsheathed a sword and swung it in wide swipes through the air. “No. I have new recruits to train since the ice fae over there is here to save us all.”
“Suit yourself.” Nate’s tone was clipped. He took my upper arm and tugged me out of the ring.
He didn’t let go until we were in my room and closed the heavy curtain Cyron put up after we ate breakfast. Nate fisted a hand through his hair and paced. “If she wasn’t Cyron’s sister-in-law…”
“She’s hurting.”
“And coping with it in the worst way.”
Or not coping. I kept that thought to myself but said out loud, “She doesn’t let herself relax. It’s like she pushes herself to keep others safe.”
Nate stopped pacing and stared at me. “How do you know that?”
I shrugged. “I can sense things and read people well. You can learn a lot about someone by the way they talk and their body language. Soora still holds onto the pain. Yet, she respects you and Cyron even though she gives you the cold shoulder.”
Nate sighed and dropped down on the bed. “I know. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I give her an outlet, someone to argue and fight with. Sometimes, I think I go too far, and then she’s okay. It’s weird. All we can do is be there for her.”
When I moved closer to the bed, he scooted over and patted the mattress. I lay beside him, then instantly snuggled into him. Warm desire swirled inside me, sending tingles along every nerve ending. It was like that when I touched each of the guys. With it came a feeling of belonging.
At the same time, they gave me an inner strength I’d never experienced. And I wanted to explore more with each of them.
“Nate.”
“Hmm.”
“Did you know about the call? I mean, did you know I did it when we met?”
He was silent for a moment before replying. “Not until Landon said something. I felt an instant attraction like I knew we belong together.”
“I’ve never dated anyone. I was very young when Crystal rose and poisoned the Hollow. Spending your life on the run from her monsters pretty much killed any thought of having a boyfriend. I knew I wouldn’t stay in one place for too long so I never made friends. What was the point?” A frown tugged at my lips and my thoughts turned to the children in this underground village. They had friends and didn’t have to worry about when the next time they’d have to pack up and run.
Cyron, Landon, Nate, and maybe Soora played a big role in the security of the families here. “Do you think I really can stop this?”
He rolled to his side and traced my cheek with his fingers. His eyes sparked with hope and truth. “I do. Cyron and Landon are researching ice fae and what they were able to recover from the council base. I’m thinking it’ll only confirm the theories.”
“How so?”
He kissed my nose. “The only thing that makes sense to me is Crystal is an ice fae or her main power is ice magic. If you were the evil Ice Queen, would you develop a serum that would harm you or change you like the others?”
Slowly, I pieced the information together. The ice fae were killed because they were like her. The guys said the ones that were infected with the serum didn’t change but grew stronger. Nate’s theory made sense. “I’d make sure that no one could use the serum against me.”
“And kill all like you before they figured it out and came after you.”
I shivered. There was no doubt that my power was strengthening but in an odd way. “I fear the darkness rising inside me.”
Nate lifted my chin with his fingers. “We all fear the darkness. Sometimes, we have to embrace it to win. You have a pure heart, and I believe if your intentions come from there, you can do anything.”
My chest tightened. My family believed in me. Mom had even spoke similar words to me, always telling me to think and react with my heart. However, hearing them from Nate touched a part of my soul I didn’t know existed.
Nate’s gaze fell to my lips and my pulse increased. Flutters of need raced within anticipating what might happen. Then it did. He pressed his lips to mine and a soft moan escaped me.
He deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue inside my mouth. I met his with mine. Another spark of desire shot through me as our tongues touched and danced. I wanted more of him.
As if knowing what I wanted, he moved his hand down to the hem of my shirt then under the thick cotton material. As soon as he touched my skin, we both sucked in a breath. Mine was more from the electric pulse of skin to skin with him. I guessed his was from how cool my skin was to him.
Closing my eyes, I warmed my temperature just enough where it would be comfortable to him, but not uncomfortable to me. It was something I learned when Ameria started crawling into my sleeping bag with me.
Sadness started to rise at the thought of my sister. Nate broke the kiss and hovered above me, a frown on his face. “Did I do it wrong?”
I sighed and nodded. “No. Just…”
He hugged me tightly. My cheek rested against his chest and I wrapped my arms around him. “I know. It’s hard losing loved ones. My wife was pregnant when she was infected. She killed herself before the serum could change her.”
Tears welled up in my eyes then spilled over my lashes. I held onto him tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
Nate kissed my forehead. “There’s not a day goes by I don’t think about her and what our child would look like. I was angry and bitter like Soora for a long time. Cyron and Landon helped me redirect that anger into helping others find a safe place. Plus, we’ve been searching for Crystal’s weaknesses. So far, the only one would be the ice fae, infected with the serum.” He pulled back a little. When I lifted my gaze to his, he gave me a sad smile. But it was the hope lighting up his eyes that pulled at my heartstrings. After a moment, he added, “Then we found you. The very thing we thought we’d never have. Faith is restored.”
I just hoped I didn’t let them down. “I still don’t see how. And I’m confused on why she let me live to begin with. Why infect me? Why not just kill me?”
He frowned. “That’s been bothering us as well. Landon seems to think Crystal either has a death wish or she’s testing out a new serum.”
I didn’t like either of those answers. “I hate waiting for something to happen. I hate the fear that I might be a ticking bomb or something.”
Frustration made me restless. There would be little sleep for me. I sat up and as soon as my feet touched the floor, Nate covered my hand. Glancing at him, I met his concerned gaze. His brows were drawn together. “Where are you going?”
“For a walk or a run. I’m too wired to sleep.”
He sat up and leaned into me until his lips touched mine. The prickles of desire fired to life again, racing under my skin. When he broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to mine. “I never thought I’d feel like this about anyone else after Brittany died. Then I met you. All those feelings surfaced and it felt right. It still feels right.”
Crawling back on the bed, I pushed him and he fell back against the mattress. My body ached for him. “Make me forget my worries and fears.”
One side of his lips lifted as he looped an arm around my waist and pulled me down on top of him. He flipped us over so he pinned me under him. Raising a brow, he asked, “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
13
Training with Landon was definitely different than training with Nate. Landon didn’t let me hold back. Then again, I didn’t have to. Once I learned his magical signature, I could almost predict when he would strike.
At least, until he changed things up or faked me out. But I was learning his tells, his little signs like the twitch in his left eye before he’d make a different move.
He fired a small ball of low energy at me and I shot back, freezing the energy ball. Then he shot another and another. I froze each one he threw at me, but they were coming faster than before. My focus was on the balls of energy. Even though they were low-level energy it still stung when they hit.
Suddenly, he grabbed me from behind and tossed me to the mat, pinning me. He grinned as he hovered above me. “You lost focus on me. Never lose focus on your opponent.”
I huffed. “You distracted me.”
The real problem was I was beginning to trust the guys. Deep down, I knew they wouldn’t hurt me. So my magic’s internal defense gauge didn’t go off and it took more effort to raise the power needed to expand my true strengths. I needed a better opponent. Like a malum.
I was about to suggest we go to the surface and hunt down some malums when footsteps drew our attention to Soora.
She was dressed in her usual battle gear of black pants and a black fitted long sleeve shirt. I’d come to conclusion that her scowl was a permanent fixture in her features.
Her glare locked onto Landon and me and her upper lip curled. “Which one are you fucking? All of them?”
Landon jumped to his feet faster than I could track and was in Soora’s face. “Shut up, Soora. You know nothing about what’s going on because you’re too busy feeling sorry for yourself.”
Ouch. I eased to a stand and reached out to Landon. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” He answered me but stared at Soora. “I’m tired of it. She thinks she can bully her way through the village.”
Soora didn’t even flinch at his words. They must do this often. She faced me then and glared. "I challenge you to a duel. Let's see what you’ve got and why he is protecting you."
Landon was protecting me? I glanced to him, but his features revealed nothing to me. I knew the guys believed I was the key to stopping the eternal freeze. I never thought they were protecting me.
I did know one thing. Soora wasn't going to bully me out of the village. If she wanted to see my strengths, then I'd show her. I needed another outlet to direct my emotions, anyway.
Squaring my shoulders, I crossed the stone-lined edge of the arena and continued to the middle of the circle. A satisfying grin spread on Soora's lips as she stalked over to stand a few feet in front of me.
Landon spoke from where I left him. "Same rules. First one to surrender loses. The first one to step out of the circle, loses. The purpose of the duel is to build on weaknesses and show your strengths. This is not a fight to the death. Nor is it to prove who is more dominant."
I guessed the latter was more for Soora's benefit than mine. But I nodded in agreement with the rules and fell into a defensive stance.
She twirled her swords and circled me. I moved with her, not taking my eyes from her. Conjuring my magic, I created a sword out of thick ice. A flash of interest lit up Soora’s gaze right before she charged. Yet, she already knew I was an ice fae.
I twisted my body and swung my sword in a wide circle, connecting with her back. She stumbled past me. With a growl, she charged again. This time she hit my ice sword with her metal one hard enough, the ice cracked.
Tossing my weapon to the ground, I tried to distract her by shooting pellets of ice at her. She deflected them easily, advancing toward me. Fire lit her copper gaze and her lip curled. The feeling of being hunted filled me. She wasn’t abiding by the rules Landon set. Jealousy, anger, and pride fueled her advances. I saw it in her eyes.
She swung one sword, which I deflected with a blast of ice. Then the second one swung in my direction, aiming for my head. Fear froze my blood, strengthening my powers and my need to survive.
I blasted the second sword and was able to knock it out of her hand. But I didn’t see the other one she managed to regain control of. I barely jumped out of the way. The tip cut across my cheek. I gasped and placed a hand over the wound. Bringing it down, I saw blood on my fingers.
Rage filled me. My magic ran wild, heavier than I’d ever felt it before. She was out for blood. Just like Crystal and her familiars. I shot out my hand, releasing the power building within.
To my horror, black ice jetted from my palms and wrapped around Soora’s throat. Her gaze grew wide as she struggled in the black ice hold.
I knew it was wrong. My magic was all wrong. But I wasn’t in control. The darkness, the pain, and the rage of losing my family took over my will. When Soora went for blood, trying to prove a point or to kill—I wasn’t sure which—I snapped. Giving into the dark magic.
I was going to kill her and couldn’t stop it.
14
“Roshia, this isn’t you. You aren’t the darkness.” Cyron’s voice sounded close. When did he get here? The sound of it brought me back to reality.
The dark lifted and I let go of the power. The ice melted into a fine black dust, settling to the ground.
Soora gasped and fell to her knees. After several long moments, she pointed at me while yelling at Cyron. “See. That right there is unstable power. Crystal’s power. She can’t stay here.”
Cyron stepped closer to me, wrapped an arm around my shoulders and steered me out of the arena. Landon moved to stand in front of me, facing me. Both of them ignored Soora’s rants and screams to cast me out.
My chest tightened and my heart ached. I never wanted to hurt anyone. It wasn’t like to me lose control like I had.
The serum.
It had to be. The effects were finally starting to grab hold and turn me, taking over. I couldn’t let it.
Cyron and Landon directed me out of the training center and to our rooms. When we arrived, Nate stepped out of his and Cyron’s room. “What happened?”
My vision blurred, the numbness wearing off. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around my middle.
Landon framed my face. “What happened out there?”
I flinched at the mix of panic and anger of his tone. Turning, I entered my room and crawled up on the bed to sit in the middle of it. “When she drew blood, it was clear she wasn’t following the rules. I thought she was going to kill me. Then something snapped.”
A sob escaped and I drew my legs to my chest and pressed my forehead to my knees. What had I done? Why was everything so out of control?
Cyron knelt in front me and lifted my head with a finger under my chin. When I met his stare, I saw concern and compassion. The other two hovered behind him. “I’m sorry.”
But Landon was the one to speak. “I shouldn’t have allowed Soora to bait you like that. She’d wanted to pick a fight with me for a while.”
“It’s not your fault. I wanted a fight, as well. The pain and anger was too much.” I sighed and continued. I wanted him to understand me more. Hopefully, then, we could work together to find a cure and an end to Crystal’s dark magic. “Crystal turned my family. My dad now serves as one of her familiars. My mother was a malum before I froze her into a block of ice. My baby sister…died in my arms, not able to survive the change. And I don’t know where my brother is or if he is still sane.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. The guys got up on the bed and surrounded me, wrapping me in their arms. Each of their warmth was comforting so I sank into them, resting my head on his chest.
“My family was ripped away and I was helpless to stop it. Too weak.” My bottom lip trembled as silent sobs took over.
“You are not weak. Compared to Crystal and the evil poison in her heart and soul, we are all powerless against her.” Cyron pulled me closer to him and kissed my temple.
I sighed, met each of their gazes, and asked, once again because I wasn’t sure I believed it yet, “Do you truly believe I’m the key to stopping all this?”
They nodded and Nate brushed a stray hair behind my ear. “We do. Although we’re not sure if it’s your magic or your blood. Maybe it’s both.”
His words held so much confidence and strength, I wanted to draw from that. “I can’t let the darkness of the serum take over.”
“I may have a s
olution. The process is painful,” Cyron said in almost a whisper. He didn’t meet my gaze and I could tell he was battling some kind of internal demons.
Nate shook his head and Landon blurted, “No way, man. You’re not putting her in that thing.”
I scanned their faces. Nate’s and Landon’s features were filled with fear. Cyron’s was hopeful, yet worried at the same time.
“What thing?”
Cyron sighed and stood. “I created a machine that, in theory, can extract the changeling serum from your blood. There still might be time to extract the serum from yours.”
Landon crossed his arms over his chest. “No. It’s too risky.”
I ignored Landon’s protests and focused on Cyron. He said in theory, which meant it either hadn’t been tested or wasn’t successful. “Why are they so avid you forget about this plan?”
Closing his eyes, his head rolled as if trying to loosen his tense muscles. “The malum I’ve tested didn’t survive. I believe it was because they were too far gone, mentally.”
“What does it do, exactly?” I was almost afraid to ask. Yet, there was a sliver of hope laced in his tone that I grabbed onto.
He fell silent for a moment. “It searches your blood and DNA for the changeling virus and separates it so it can be removed from your system.” Drawing my brows together, I thought about it for a moment. “What makes you think I’m different? Why should it work on me when it hasn’t before?”
“The serum is slow to react within you. The progress moves at a much slower rate than I’ve ever seen it work in another.” He faced me again, his gaze looked hopeful and pleading at the same time.
“What happens if it fails?” I locked gazes with each of them.
Cyron averted his gaze and hesitated before answering. “The pain could drive you insane or the process could kill you. But I won’t allow any of that happen.” He lifted his gaze to mine. Lifting his hand, he traced my brows, then down my cheek. “I’ll pull you out before it goes that far. Promise. Please, let me try to free you from the darkness.”