He finally has to go back up for another breath. I watch in anxiety as he shoots away to the surface, his legs kicking wildly. I worry my bottom lip, gnawing it with my teeth. How long has she been down here already?
Too long, an inner voice answers.
I can’t just let her drown. Everything inside me knots and twists with this conviction.
I know there are rules, tenets that govern our kind, but I’m not going to keep myself hidden away while someone drowns right before my eyes. Not when I can save her.
With a great surge, I swim to her side. I part the water, dismissing all fears and willing any hint of my draki appearance away.
I wrap one arm around the girl. Hugging her slight form close, I kick to the surface.
My head breaks amid the three others still hunting for their friend. I fake a gasp. Like I’ve been underwater without air for a long time. I urge my gills back in, sealing them off, burying that side of myself.
I’m careful to keep her chin above water as I shout out, “Here! I’ve got her!”
It all happens very quickly then. I’m barely even noticed. One of the boys, the strong one, sweeps her from me, wrapping an arm around her and swimming for the shoreline. I could have gotten her to shore faster, but what am I going to do? Wrench her from his arms? That would go over well.
The other two follow. I trail at a slower glide, taking the time to convince myself that everything is fine. Everyone is too panicked to ask who I am or where I came from … specifically how I magically appeared out of nowhere.
By the time I reach them, I’ve come up with a story of how I was just passing by and dove in. They crouch around the inert girl. A nasty bruise mars the center of her forehead, and I can only guess that she hit her head on the platform while diving.
The dark-haired boy gives her CPR. I’m not surprised that it’s him. Everything about him shouts strong, capable. His friend holds the other girl as she sobs.
He pauses to listen to her chest, water dripping from his dark hair onto her torso. “C’mon. C’mon, Anna!” The anguish in his voice is palpable. They must be in love.
I can’t help wondering if anyone would ever care that much about losing me. Sure, my parents love me, my friends, Jacinda … but would anyone ever be so determined to keep me with them?
With a stinging curse, he rolls her over and beats her hard on the back with several whacks. I wince at the blows, digging my bare toes into the gravelly shore. My stomach twists sickly. I should have acted sooner. I shouldn’t have stopped to think. A life is a life. “Anna!” the other girl screams. “Wake up!”
The boy flips her on her back again and resumes CPR.
His gaze barely flicks to his friends as he addresses them. “Get your phone! Call nine-one-one, Troy!”
Jerking as though slapped, Troy abandons the sobbing girl and darts to a Jeep parked nearby.
“Don’t you let her die, Tate.” The girl cries. “You hear me! Don’t let her go!”
Tate doesn’t acknowledge the words. He keeps moving, biceps flexing and straining. He works as though possessed. His features stark and intense, he looks capable of anything right then. Even bringing back the dead.
Despite the warming air, a chill shudders through me and I hug myself.
“Damn it,” he growls. “Breathe. It’s not supposed to be like this. Remember? Remember. We had a plan.”
Again, I hate that I didn’t react sooner. Almost as much as I hate that I’m observing this grim scenario and making it about me. Wondering if someone like this boy could ever cross my path—and choose to stay because he can’t bear the thought of anything else.
And then the most beautiful thing happens. She coughs.
Tate quickly rolls her on her side and bangs out lake water from her. I know I should disappear now, assured that she’s safe. I can just slip away.
Except I can’t.
It’s like I’m glued to the spot. Watching Tate as he leans over the girl. Even pale with blue-tinged lips, she’s one of the loveliest girls I’ve ever seen. Of course this boy would be devoted to her.
Gasping, Anna manages a raspy, “Stop hitting me!”
He eases up, laughing, the sound thick with relief. The tension ebbs from his shoulders as he leans back on his heels. I can see his eyes are dark now, deep and endless as the woods at night.
“Nice war wound there.” Tate whistles between his teeth, crouching in front of her and reaching for her forehead.
She swats his hand away. “Don’t.”
“You probably have a concussion. We should take you to the emergency room.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but before she gets the chance, Tate sweeps her up into his arms. “C’mon. Let’s get you checked out.”
They all start to move toward the truck.
With a jolt, I realize now is the time to flee. Before they remember my presence and look back for me.
I dart toward the trees where I left my clothes. At the tree line, I pause and stare over my shoulder, unable to keep from doing this. I tell myself that it’s just because I’m concerned. I want to make certain she’s safe. I saved her life. It’s like we’re … bound. That’s all.
But I don’t look at her. I look at him.
Who am I kidding? I’ve been looking at him since they first arrived in the pond.
Only this time, he’s staring back at me.
He has stopped and turned, facing me across the distance, still holding the girl in his arms like she weighs nothing at all. Those dark eyes train on me. Not as dark as his hair, but they’re a deep brown. Like the rich, earthy colors that fill the forest back home.
He looks startled. Like he just now sees me. And maybe he does only now register my presence. After the initial panic has died down, he can now remember that I’m here. The girl that miraculously appeared in their midst and rescued his Anna.
A breath shudders past my lips. I’m partly elated to have his attention. But only partly. I feel his gaze like a touch, a scorching caress. His eyes are intense, deep, and dark, traveling over me like the stroke of a wave, covering everything, missing nothing.
A tremor passes through my limbs. Move. Leave, the voice in my head commands my body.
He takes a step in my direction. Like he’s forgotten his friends. Forgotten the girl in his arms. As though he means to approach me.
“Tate!”
The sound of his name breaks whatever spell he’s under. He blinks and looks at his friend.
Troy looks from him to me, a perplexed expression on his face. He flicks a hand in the air, impatiently. “Are we going or what, man?”
It’s enough. For me. The only reminder needed.
I bolt into the trees, barely bending to grab my clothes as I pass.
3
The screen door slams behind me as I return home. I kick off my shoes and flex my feet on the bare wood floorboards. The place is unremitting wood, from ceiling to floor to walls. Even the furniture is an assortment of cedar and oak pieces, the only color to be found in the splash of throws tossed over the couch and love seat, and in the bright red rug stretched out before the fireplace. Dad occupies the love seat, books cluttering the floor at his feet.
“Az! That you?” my mom calls.
I bite back the less-than-kind retort: Who else are you expecting?
She asked a fair question, and I’m just being a brat. We’re not tucked high in the mountains of our pride. We’re in the human world where dangerous things can happen. Mom hasn’t forgotten that. She never does. I need to remember that as well.
“It’s me.”
She walks out of the living room set off the small entrance hall, a magazine in her hand. When she sees me her expression tightens.
I hold still at the foot of the stairs, feeling her gaze as it crawls over my still-wet hair tight in its ponytail. I resist touching it, as though that would be an admission of guilt.
“You swam.” Not a question.
I nod. The truth. Not guilt
.
She sighs and looks back into the living room, where Dad sits buried in his books.
I start up the stairs.
She calls after me. “I thought you were only going to swim when we’re with you.” Like I need a babysitter. Like I can’t be trusted. “Someone could have seen you!”
“Then they would have just seen a girl swimming,” I say over my shoulder. “It’s not like I did anything, Mom.”
Of course I know the risk I took today, but I’m not about to share that and worry her. It’s over and done.
They saw me—he saw me. But he didn’t see me. Not the real me.
“Az.”
At the sound of my name, I stop at the top of the stairs and look down at her.
Her rounded shoulders slump as her serious eyes drill into me. “Do we need to leave?”
She’s asking me? She’s asking me if we should cut our vacation short? This trip is all she’s talked about us doing for years. Just the three of us. A summer away. Maybe our last one before I take my tour. She searched online for the perfect setup, found this lake house, and reserved it for one month.
“No, Mom,” I murmur, feeling unaccountably tired. “We don’t have to leave.”
Turning, I move into my room and drop onto the bed with a heavy sigh.
As I close my eyes, I see him. He’s waiting there. In my head. My memory. A boy with water on his skin and intense eyes that drag over me.
I find my way back to the pond the next day.
To be honest, I knew I’d return there the moment I woke up, the events of yesterday flooding my memory in a rush as I rubbed my eyes awake. The boy—Tate. The girl, Anna, who nearly drowned. Yes, and Tate.
This time I’m up before Mom, so slipping out the front door is a relatively easy matter.
Dawn tinges the sky as I follow the same path from yesterday, passing the lake. Only a few boats dot the surface this early in the morning.
I walk at a leisurely pace through the woods, listening to the birds chattering to each other in the trees. Pausing, I slip off my sandals so that I can continue barefoot. Curling my fingers around the straps, I enjoy the feel of the earth under the soles of my feet. I tilt my head back, and gaze up at the canopy of branches and leaves swaying in the soft wind. I can almost envision myself up there. My wings carrying me, my body weightless on the air.
The brief thought enters my head that I could manifest here. Away from prying eyes. Crazy, of course. As quickly as I think it, I shove the idea aside, almost scared that I even thought it for a moment. I increase my strides. Yesterday, under cover of water, was one thing. Doing such a thing here, in the light of day.... I couldn’t be that foolish. Draki that foolish end up lost. Dead. Or worse. And I know that there are worse fates than death for a draki. With hunters out there, of course there are.
At the tree line, I slow down and peer out at the clearing, not really expecting anyone this early but knowing after yesterday that my little pond isn’t quite the secluded haven I first thought it to be.
And I’m glad I take the time to check, because someone else is here.
I jerk back and tuck myself behind a tree, pressing a hand to my pounding heart. I don’t know why. Instinct, I guess. Although I look like a normal girl. I shouldn’t be afraid of being seen.
But it’s him. Tate. A human boy who has me reconsidering the human species … even if he does have a girlfriend. His body looks every bit as powerful and strong as Cassian’s, the prince of our pride. Which is saying a lot. I’ve been infatuated with Cassian just like most of the girls back home. Only I never showed it. What would be the point when he’s not interested in me? When he’s in love with my best friend? I’m not going to be that pathetic girl.
But this boy isn’t Cassian. Then again, he’s just as off limits.
Still … a small thrill races down my spine to be this close, in proximity with a boy who I don’t have to share with anyone else back home. He’s my little secret.
He’s not my anything. We haven’t met. Haven’t spoken. He doesn’t even know my name. Precisely the way it should be. I don’t have any business trying to hurdle the gap between stranger and … well, anything else.
It’s a sobering thought. Still, I don’t head for home. I can’t make myself do that. Not yet. Heart hammering in my too-tight chest, I peek around the tree for another look, my skin snapping taut, swimming with sensation. I don’t even blink. Just … strain for the sight of him.
The same Jeep as yesterday with the row bar and lights on top sits parked there. He’s sitting on the shore, staring out at the water, his arms propped on his knees. I glance around, confirming that he’s alone.
A myriad of questions wash through me. What’s he doing out here alone? Where are his friends? Did something happen to Anna? Is she not okay after all?
I can only see his profile, but I study the chiseled features, the hard press of his lips. I follow his gaze to the water as though I can see whatever it is he’s thinking about there.
My entire body leans forward as I try to get a better look, a better understanding of why his dark eyebrows draw low over his eyes in such an intent way. Like he’s concentrating. Or sad. Or … something. I don’t know. And not knowing kills me. I move forward another half step.
Snap.
I duck back behind the tree as his head swivels in my direction. My fingers dig into the rough bark, clinging like it’s my lifeline.
“Hello?”
His deep voice ribbons through the air, sliding over me like a warm current of water. I hold still, the pulse thumping hard in my neck as I debate my next move, wondering if he actually saw me, if he’s coming closer.
“Who’s there?” His voice rings out. Yes. He’s closer.
Swallowing hard, I push off the tree, diving into the foliage. Even as I flee, I know it’s irrational. I should just step out into the open. Act normal. Flirt with him like any human girl would do.
I blame it on draki instinct. It has me running. But I can’t suddenly turn around and act as though I wasn’t just running from him like some sort of desperate criminal.
“Hey!” I hear him call after me, his feet hitting the ground with solid whacks. “Wait!”
I keep running, arms pumping, dodging trees, ducking branches. A quick glimpse behind me shows he’s right there. So close I imagine that I can feel his breath on my hair.
And then my foot catches something and I’m falling. I hit the ground, my palms taking the brunt of the fall. Palms scraped and stinging, I roll onto my back, looking up at him looming over me, legs braced wide. He’s not even out of breath. And I thought I was in shape. Maybe I need to adopt whatever exercise regime he uses.
Presented with the reality of him this close, I can hardly bring myself to meet his gaze. Looking away, I actually feel myself cringing.
“Easy. I won’t hurt you.” He holds his hands apart, bouncing them in the air like he’s trying to calm a wild beast. Me. I swallow, not liking the comparison even if it does fit to some extent. No, I need to act like a normal girl. Not prey.
Determined to do that very thing, I rise to my feet and dust leaves and dirt off me, cringing at the way my fingers tremble. I hope he doesn’t notice.
“Why were you chasing me?”
He lowers his hands. “Why were you running?”
I lift my chin and shrug, pretending not to notice the way his eyes move over me, missing nothing.
He takes his time studying my hair. The dark, blue-streaked mass falls sleekly, stopping just above my waist. I toss it back over my shoulders, trying to break his focus.
He blinks and snaps his gaze back to my face. “You’re the girl from yesterday.”
I give a small nod.
“You saved my sister.”
Something swells to life inside me at this. Anna is his sister.
It shouldn’t matter. Shouldn’t make my pulse quicken. It’s not as though this makes him suddenly available.
It shouldn’t matter, but it
does.
“Thank you.”
I shrug again, my face heating with embarrassment at the way his dark brown eyes go all soft and tender. I know it’s just appreciation, gratitude, but I bask in it. It’s so unfamiliar for a boy to look at me with such intensity.
Back home I’m just plain Az. Well liked, yes. But I’ve known every boy in the pride since birth. I’m one of a dozen water draki. Not the most common talent, but not rare either. Not like Jacinda.
I can’t remember standing in front of anyone and feeling so vulnerable, stripped bare with a look. It’s a dangerous feeling. Especially with someone I’m supposed to keep at arm’s length.
I spin on my heels. “I have to go.”
“Wait! Please!”
I hesitate at the please, grabbing on to a tree like I need it to keep me upright.
Harsh air slips past my lips as I wait, listen, looking ahead blindly.
“There’s a party tonight. Back here. At the pond.” His voice strokes me like velvet, and my skin responds, contracting, quivering, pulling tight like I just dove into frigid waters, eager to fade into my draki skin. God. I close a hand over my forearm, squeeze tightly, punishing myself. Not now. Definitely not now.
“You’re welcome to come.” Pause. “I’d like you to come.”
I turn my face, but don’t look back. Not at that face. That body. His voice is more than enough. Too much. The familiar draki pull is there, tugging at my chest, willing me over the precipice. A purr rumbles through me and it startles me. The only other times I’ve manifested unwillingly were from fear. This time I’m not afraid, and yet the urge to manifest is overwhelming. I’ve heard the whispers but never experienced it myself. I know that desire can make the draki surface, draw it from where it lurks deep inside. It’s another fierce emotion, just like fear. If I had any doubt before, I don’t anymore. This boy isn’t safe. Just look at me. I’m too volatile around him.
Breathless: A Firelight Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) Page 2