by T. L. Clarke
I pressed my hands over his heart boldly. I felt his muscles tighten and heart race.
"Now whose heart is beating fast?" I smiled wickedly. "Are you interested?"
A growl rumbled low in his throat as he grabbed my chin and titled it up softly, his eyes changing from gold to coal black. "Definitely." His voice vibrated weirdly. "But business comes before pleasure."
Dizzy, I swayed against his chest, grabbing his arms to steady myself. My face was now pressed firmly against his chest.
"And what is your business?"
His lips brushed my ear softly. "I’m here to warn you. The time has come, except your journey, or life as you know it, will end." His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me protectively to him.
I pulled back apprehensively. "Are you threatening me?"
"No, against my better judgment, I’m actually here to warn you." He scanned the party quickly, and as if by metamorphosis, his entourage materialized out of thin air. "Trust no one, Gabrielle."
I licked my dry lips nervously. "Does that include you?" I knew the answer before he even answered.
He caressed my cheek as his eyes narrowed, like a tiger trapping his prey. Strangely, I felt safe with him, but that didn’t stop me from suspecting that he had very dark ulterior motives for being here. He passed a finger lightly over my lips. Chills ran up and down my legs. He moved in. He closed the tiniest bit of distance between them.
His breath moved against her ear. "Especially me." He abruptly stepped away, storming off toward his entourage and out of the party.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but also a sigh of loss. It was like being away from his presence was wrong and now I was somehow incomplete. I had to regroup, get myself together. I walked away, trying to find a quiet corner to chill, when I spotted the comfy leather couch pushed against the wall. Gratefully I flopped down, closing my eyes, letting the loud music wash over me. Suddenly I felt the cushion shift like someone had just sat down.
"What’s up, first leveler?"
I instantly recognized his voice. I opened my eyes and turned slowly to look at him. "Hey, Justice."
I couldn’t take another exhausting episode tonight, but I knew that this couldn’t be avoided. Besides, he wasn’t as tiring as the mystery guy; at least I hoped he wasn’t.
He actually looked handsome tonight; he was wearing dark blue jeans, white fitted T-shirt, and a black leather motorcycle jacket. And his brown hair flopped a little over his eyes, which he raked back impatiently.
He just looked at me, smiling widely. I was shocked; this was the second time I had actually seen him smile.
His eyes twinkled with laughter. "Not interested in the party?"
"Not really." I shifted down further, wincing as my sore muscles rubbed against the rough material.
"Couldn’t handle training today, huh?" He smirked.
I gave him a mean glare. "I can handle anything they, or you, dish out."
"A tough one, I see, I like that," he responded with a huge smile.
My eyes widened with shock. He was more relaxed tonight than I’d ever seen him, scarily so, and I was going to tell him that when Terrence sauntered over casually, looking at Justice with an awkward expression.
"So, I see you found her." Terrence’s voice was tight.
"Yeah, I did." Justice shot him an annoyed glare.
"Hey, don’t look at me like that. Troy and I are only here because you dragged us here." He smiled at me cockily, then winked. "Hey, Gabrielle, you want get back on the dance floor?"
I smiled warmly. "Oh, I see, you couldn’t get enough of my music video dance moves? As mesmerizing as I am, I think it’s a wrap for tonight. Maybe next time."
Terrence chuckled. "And she’s funny too. This one’s definitely a keeper."
Justice frowned at him. "Move along, Terrence. Don’t you see me talking to her?"
Terrence laughed. "Hey, man, relax. It’s ladies’ choice, and if she wants to make a better one, then I’m here." He winked at me before sauntering away.
I looked over at Justice with annoyance. "Seriously? What’s up with that? Don’t try to regulate who talks to me. Any guy who wants to talk to me can."
He looked at me heatedly. "Does that include Chaos?"
Where had that come from? I jabbed my finger into his chest. "That includes whoever."
He looked at me angrily. "You know he’s not interested in you like that, right? So you’re just wasting your time."
I leaned forward furiously. "What? What are you talking about? Who says that I’m even interested in him anyway?"
His eyes narrowed with barely controlled hostility. "Every NC is, so why should you be any different? I’m just warning you to stay away from him."
I blew a stray curl from my eye with agitation. "Warning me? Seriously, you have some serious issues that I’m not even trying to deal with right now."
His eyes flashed furiously. "Just some friendly advice, first leveler, take or leave it."
"How about I leave it? And how about you just leave me alone?"
"Fine."
He got up and stormed away.
I looked at his departing back angrily. He was out of his ever-loving mind. Mental note to self, stay away from psycho Justice and mystery boy.
Leaning back, I closed my eyes and started tapping my feet to the music, when I suddenly felt a penetrating stare. My eyes snapped open, and I watched an angry Calleis making a beeline for me. She looked super pissed.
Calleis stopped in front of me, smiling frostily. "Leave Justice alone. He belongs to me."
"Uh, first, I’m not even remotely interested in him. Second, he’s not a dog, so he doesn’t belong to you or anyone."
"Well, I’m telling you to back off. I’ve worked way too hard to get him, and I’m certainly not going to let some first leveler get in the way."
This girl was absolutely crazy, but I wasn’t going to let her push me around.
"I can’t help it if he likes what he sees. I’m just cute like that." I gave her a very cold look. "But don’t worry, like I said, I’m not interested, but if I was, you wouldn’t stand a chance."
Her eyes narrowed. "You don’t want to start trouble with me. Akasha or no Akasha, I will take pleasure in zapping the heck out of you."
I quickly jumped up from the couch, and was going to show her some major butt kicking, when I noticed some of the partiers sidling closer to enjoy the argument. I took a calming breath. There was nothing uglier than seeing two girls fight, and fighting over a guy was an even uglier scene.
I smiled coldly. "I’m not going to take it there, Calleis. You want me to, but it’s not happening." I shoved her aside and stormed out of the party with my head held high.
chapter
SIXTEEN
He felt her essence way before she walked out of the shadows, stepping in front of him fearlessly as his sleek black motorcycle skidded to a stop, kicking up a plume of black sand. He smirked ruefully as the noisy whirs of the motorcycles that surrounded him screeched to a stop, his Guardians flipping up their helmets as they looked at her with respect.
Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms.
He groaned. She was in one of her moods again. His motorcycle revved menacingly.
She scowled at him, assessing his near-horizontal position as he straddled the padded leather seat, his long legs stretched as his feet gripped the foot pegs and hands grasped the handlebars.
She continued looking at him silently, her eyebrows arching.
He sighed. She was giving him the silent treatment, he thought with irritation. That was never a good sign with her. He quickly pulled off his black helmet with one swift movement, then jumped off his motorcycle.
The motorcycle revved with aggression. He patted it consolingly. "Now settle down, Fiammetta. You don’t want to make her angrier than she is right now," he whispered loudly. The motorcycle purred, dialing down the revving a notch.
His Guardians bowed their heads respectfully, taking
in the golden glow that surrounded her lightly tanned face. Her beauty was blinding as she glowed irritably. Beautiful strings of champagne-colored diamonds were interwoven in her golden blonde hair, which flowed down her back in lustrous waves. With each step, her crème silk dress rustled against the black sand, exposing her bare feet, which were marked with elaborate tattoos.
His Guardians nodded at him respectfully before blending back into the shadows, completely disappearing.
Her eyes narrowed disdainfully on the luminescent strips that surrounded the sleek body and wheel rims of the black motorcycle. "I just can’t figure out this fascination that you have with this atrocious monster of a motorcycle."
"Fiammetta?" He looked at her with fake hurt in his eyes. "The Devas gave her to me for my seventeenth birthday. I couldn’t return her. It would be rude." He laughed loudly. "Besides, just think of all of the complicated diplomatic issues that would have arisen from returning her." His gold-flecked eyes gleamed with a challenge.
"Humph…" She looked at the motorcycle dismissively. "I think the Devas gave her to you just to annoy me. That thing is jealous, possessive, and bites like a dog. Why can’t you use the portals like everyone else?"
"There is nothing wrong with biting every once in a while." His lips curled into a smirk. "Because I’m not like everyone else, Fina." He stroked the motorcycle playfully. "And stop talking about her like that. I think that you’ve hurt her feelings again."
The motorcycle revved loudly, its front tire spitting sand at Fina’s feet.
Fina snorted, "You would do well to get her under control before I rip her apart, part by part, and cinder all of her pieces."
Drago laughed as the motorcycle revved its engine loudly, spun around in a series of tight circles, then rode off into the shadows.
"You see what you’ve done? Now she’ll be pouting for days."
She stalked toward him, analyzing him closely. "Never mind that." Her piercing golden eyes narrowed icily. "Why did it take you so long to get back from Transcendence?" She sharply held up her hand when he tried to interrupt. "The Royal Elementi Conclaves’ meeting had to adjourn because we couldn’t wait for you any longer." She sighed. "I’m tired of smoothing ruffled feathers on your behalf."
His gold-flecked eyes opened with fake shock. "Really? Such a shame, maybe next time."
Fina sighed loudly. "Drago, really?" She impatiently tossed her blonde hair over shoulders. "If you can’t show enough respect to show up to the Royal Conclaves’ meeting on time, why do you expect them to show any respect to your orders? Protocol is everything to the Elementi. Please remember that."
His face tightened angrily. "I don’t care about what the Royal Conclaves want. They’re a bunch of decrepit hypocrites who live in the ways of ancients."
She threw her hands up in the air with frustration. "You will need the full support of those decrepit hypocrites if you ever hope to become Fire King." She blew a calming breath. "Do you really want to start an argument with me over this?"
He scoffed, "No. Please, save the lecture, sister. I’m tired right now. I’ll see you in the morning." He spun on his heels and started to storm away.
"Drago! Don’t you walk away from me." She tapped her foot impatiently. "And?" she barked.
He ran his hands through his blond hair angrily, spinning around to look at her. "And what?" he responded.
"Don’t play with me, Drago. My patience runs very thin tonight."
He looked up at the moon with despisement. "I don’t know if she’s the one. Her essence hides behind a wall that even my powers cannot pierce," he replied.
She sighed softly and then shot a forlorn glance at the thrashing sea. "She has to be. It is written in the prophecy. Besides, Goddess Ananke has told me that she is."
He looked at her with irritation. "Goddess Ananke?" He spat the name like it was a bitter taste on his tongue. "You know as well as I do that the gods love to play games at our expense, so why would you even believe her?"
Her face tightened angrily. "Because I do, Drago, it is written. She has never lied to me before, and I don’t expect her to lie to me now. This is way too important, for everyone." She looked at him pointedly.
He scoffed, "Just because it is written that the Akasha will be reincarnated, it doesn’t mean that she’s the one." He ran his hands through his shoulder-length blond hair with agitation. "And I fear that she is not. Her essence is practically nonexistent, and her powers are not strong enough." A muscle along his jaw pulsed rapidly. "The Elementi should forget this wasteful quest and move on to a solution that is more logical."
"Like what? Time is running out. There are no other options." She grabbed his face between her hands softly as her piercing almond-shaped gold-flecked eyes examined him thoroughly. "Drago, what is it that you’re not telling me? I sense elusion snaking through your essence."
He pulled back roughly. "That’s not elusion, dear sister; that’s pure doubt. Doubt that there is any such thing as an Akasha reincarnated. Doubt in the Elementi and Eternals’ misplaced efforts in fueling a fairy tale weaved by the gods to trick us into believing that there is hope." He looked at her with penetrating eyes. "Face it, Fina. There is none."
She laughed warmly, her eyes sparkling. "That is where you are wrong. There is always hope, little brother. Hope for the Elementi. Hope for the Eternals. And hope for the Normals." She reluctantly walked away and along the shore, leaving a trail of golden dust floating softly in the air. Abruptly she stopped, spinning around to look at him with shock.
"Oh. My. Goodness." Her face softened with wonder. "Fear. It’s fear that I sense in your essence. It slithers through your essence like a poisonous snake."
Sharply he reeled back like she had physically slapped him. "You are delusional, sister. I fear nothing." He looked at her strongly with a face tight with rage.
Her eyes twinkled, her laughter ringing through the air as she strolled over to him. "You fear her." She grabbed his hands with care. "You’re afraid of the change that she will bring." She examined him. "You fear the warmth that she will bring even to the coldest of hearts." She pressed her hand over his heart, smiling with warmth. "Sometimes a change of heart is good, little brother."
He stood transfixed, his face frozen with bitterness. "Remember, sister, I have no heart. I only went to warn her because of my sworn duty to the Royal Conclaves. Nothing else."
Suddenly, golden sparks appeared, emanating from her body like angry bees, buzzing with untapped fury. "Then complete the rest of your duty…Fire Prince," she spat furiously.
His body bristled with outrage. Faint black wisps of smoke appeared, flitting around his body, nipping and snapping in the air like feral animals raring for battle. He swallowed hard, trying to leash his anger before the battle with his sister got ugly.
"All my life, that’s all I’ve done, and without fail, my sworn duty. And now you ask me to go on this fool’s quest, with a weak Eternal who has been ordained the Akasha reincarnated? Well, my answer is no. This I will not do."
The black wisps circled around him with apparent agitation, wailing with awful high-pitched resonance.
Fina looked at him, silently seething.
He looked at her coldly. "She’s too weak to make it, Fina. She wouldn’t be able to make it through one of the challenges." He grabbed one of the hungry wisps cruelly by its tail. It whimpered as he crushed it between his fingers, tossing it into the air like trash. "Face it. She’s not the one. The Elementi and Eternals are doomed. And the curse will be broken."
"Rubbish," she spat. "She’s the one; she just has not welcomed her destiny. But she must before it is too late. Goddess Ananke says that her will is strong, but she holds on to things that prevent her from moving forward to her destiny." She smoothed his hair lovingly. "I will help her see her path, but you must assist. After all, we both have a vested interest in her success, no?"
His fists tightened by his side. "Have you heard anything that I just said?" He threw his hands in t
he air with frustration. "The only vested interest that I have is the Elementi Conclaves’ survival, but that is it. The Eternals and Normals can perish, as far as I’m concerned. Maybe the destruction of this world is just what we need, like a clean slate. Then we will have no need to continue this ugly dance of pretending that our strenuous relationship with the Eternals is working. Or have to turn a blind eye to the fact that they pretend to be our allies but plot our destruction behind our backs. We don’t need them, and we don’t need her."
Her eyes narrowed icily. "Well thank goodness that it’s not up to just you. The Royal Conclaves have made the decision, and as discussed, you will fulfill your duty to us and to the Akasha."
He was shaking with anger. "Fina, you take my love and respect for you way too far. I am the Fire Prince, and I will not be ordered around like some sniveling Normal. I rule all those around me, including you. And the answer is no."
The air around her became misty and humid, red-hot-poker colored wisps angrily swirled around her like a dust storm in the desert. Bright flecks of fire danced within the wisps as faceless voices whimpered and howled in protest.
"And it would be good for you to remember, Fire Prince, that it is only by the grace of Victor and me that you are even breathing." She poked him in the chest angrily. "We keep away the enemies that seek to destroy the Fire Conclave. We deflect the whispers that say that you will never be ready to rule the Fire Conclave. We stop the assassins who wait in the shadows to kill you in your sleep." She smiled cruelly, distorting her beautiful face. "So please don’t forget all the sacrifices that we and others make—Fire Prince," she spat nastily.
The fire wisps hissed with mouths baring teeth and ready to strike him. His black wisps hovered with anticipation, relishing a fight. Fights between him and Fina were never good and always ended with destruction. This time, he backed down first, swallowing his pride and anger. The black wisps whimpered with disappointment, then disappeared into thin air.
He loved his sister, and he knew that she made sacrifices—maybe too many for him. And sometimes his temper made him forget the importance of her support. He quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, sending a burst of cold, calming energy through her body. She closed her eyes and swallowed deeply. Her body relaxed, and the fire wisps that had hovered angrily before disappearing into thin air.