Revelations (The Elysium Chronicles)

by Souders, J. A.

Before he can say anything, there’s a knock at the door. The boy from the general store, the one with the blue hair, pushes his head through the opening.

  Gavin jumps up and blocks his way. “What the fuck are you doing here, Asher?”

  “Nice way to talk around a lady, Mr. Hunter.” Asher lifts a brow and crosses his arms over his chest. “You kiss your girl with that mouth?”

  “Kiss my ass.”

  “Nah. You’re not my type. I prefer them slightly less hairy.” He grins at Gavin and I see the corners of Gavin’s mouth twitch before he firms them back into a straight line. Asher sighs. “Just thought you’d like to know my dad is on his way here.”

  Gavin blanches. “What the hell did you do?” Then, before Asher can respond, anger flushes his face. “What is wrong with you? Destroying my life wasn’t enough the first time?”

  Asher glares at him. “I had nothing to do with this. He heard his newest resident went tearing through town screaming her head off, then passed out twenty feet from the ocean. He thought he’d ‘check in on her and offer assistance if it’s needed.’ I, on the other hand, thought I’d actually be helpful and give you a heads-up. Especially since this might be a good way to get her the help Doc thinks she needs.”

  Gavin pauses his glowering long enough to shoot me a worried look.

  Just then there’s another knock on the door, and Gavin’s mother peeks around the corner. She focuses on me, but I have the distinct feeling she’s talking to Gavin. “Evie has another guest. And he brought flowers!” Her smile is forced when she says it. Her eyes flicker to Gavin and Asher and then back to me. “Are you up to seeing him, dear?”

  “Uh…” I look at Gavin for help.

  “Of course she’s up to seeing me,” a male voice says from behind Gavin’s mother. “I won’t stay long.” He pushes past her and stands just inside the door while I stare. His hair is blond streaked with silver, but otherwise he is an almost exact duplicate of Asher, only older. Wait. No. I look briefly at Asher, then back to his father. The mayor’s eyes are completely different. They’re a sea-foam green, and cold. Hard. They remind me of someone else’s, but, of course, I can’t pull up the memory. As always, my mind keeps the pieces of my former life just out of reach.

  His eyes flick over Gavin and his nose crinkles—only for a second, as if something smells bad—before he studies me. His eyebrows raise a fraction, and there’s something in his expression I don’t quite understand. But the way his eyes roam over my body makes me want to pull the blankets up further. I grip tighter to Gavin’s hand.

  Gavin squeezes back, but steps forward, holding out his other hand to the mayor, who ignores it. Gavin clears his throat and lets his hand drop.

  The mayor smiles, but it’s neither kind nor happy. “So, Evelyn, is it?” He looks to Asher for confirmation, but Asher doesn’t so much as nod. The mayor narrows his eyes at his son and turns back to me.

  “Yes … sir,” Gavin answers, and although it’s only an instant, I hear the hesitance before the “sir.”

  “I’m Kristofer St. James. I’m the mayor of this fair town. I see you’ve met my son.”

  I nod and take the flowers he offers me. I don’t like him. I don’t need Gavin’s warning not to trust him. Everything in me is warning me away from him.

  “How are you feeling, young lady?”

  “Fine,” Gavin interjects quickly before I can. “She’s just fine. She doesn’t need anything. We don’t need anything.”

  “Gavin,” Asher says under his breath.

  Gavin glances over to him, then me, then seems to make up his mind about something. The mayor watches us all with this knowing look on his face. For some reason this makes me angry. What is he so smug about?

  “I’d like to request a visa to get into the city,” Gavin says, completely confusing me. The city is where Doc wanted me to go, but Gavin had said that going into the town proper was the city. So why he’d need permission from the mayor, I have no idea.

  The mayor’s eyebrows lift and he looks to me as if asking if he misunderstood before turning back to Gavin. “Why?”

  Gavin tells him, but only of how I don’t remember anything from before I came and that Doc is at a loss to what it could be. I’m grateful he doesn’t mention the blackouts and freakouts, but then he goes on to explain that Doc had suggested that someone from the city with more training and experience would be able to help me, and I realize he lied to me. The city isn’t the town. It’s somewhere else altogether. And Doc thinks they can help! I can’t understand why Gavin would keep this from me.

  My blood boiling, I skewer him with a look, promising myself we will talk about this when the mayor leaves.

  The mayor taps his finger against his lips. “So … you want to take Evelyn to Rushlake in the hopes of finding a doctor who will overlook your Outlander status and treat her. Do I have that right?”

  “Yes … sir.”

  “And how do you propose to pay for her care? Do you have any money?”

  Gavin looks at me, then at the mayor. “Um … no.”

  “I see.” The mayor moves to look out the window. Gavin and I glance at each other, then look back at the mayor when he says, “You do realize that is out of the question, don’t you, Gavin?”

  “Sir?”

  “There is no reason for me to allow you to travel to the city so you can beg for help. Which is essentially what you’d be doing: begging for someone to help you. Do you have any idea how badly that would reflect on me?”

  Gavin only shakes his head, but his frustration is practically palpable.

  “Besides, where would you stay?” the mayor continues. “No one needs your wild game there. They have stores full of anything money can buy. Would you sit on the street with an empty cup? Or, maybe play some kind of instrument and let people throw coins at you? Find some kind of tent city where the other beggers live?”

  Gavin doesn’t say anything, but his teeth clench. I’m not sure why, but this is the final straw that sets me off. This is Asher’s father?

  I shove myself to my feet and the room spins for a second, but my voice is cold and calm when I say, “Mr. Mayor, I can’t imagine anything Gavin Hunter would do that would reflect as badly on you as your own behavior. I consider our business complete. Good day, sir.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  The silence in the room is thick with tension and fear, though I can’t remember feeling less afraid since I woke up in the hospital.

  I focus my gaze directly into his eyes, unblinking, as an invisible string seems to pull my posture straighter than my injured shoulder has allowed in weeks. “I will not be treated like a commoner.”

  “Evie…” Gavin whispers, but I silence him with a flick of my wrist.

  At first, the mayor meets my stare with red spots of anger on his cheeks, but after a moment he pales and looks away. A wave of dizziness threatens to overwhelm me as the adrenaline of my anger fades, and I turn. Gavin gets to his feet, his eyes wide with concern, and reaches hesitantly toward me. I shake my head slightly. I will not let the mayor see even a moment of weakness.

  The mayor clears his throat, and says, “Perhaps you misunderstood me. I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you, Evelyn.”

  I glance at the mayor over my shoulder. He smiles and watches me for a minute before gesturing for us to sit again.

  I wait for him to take a seat first before lowering myself to the edge of the bed.

  He continues, “I said his going would be out of the question. Not yours.”

  I look to Gavin, only to see a tic in his jaw. The mayor goes on, either unaware of Gavin’s increasing annoyance, or not caring. “Gavin is an Outlander; he would never make it in Rushlake. But you, Evelyn … you’re different. You were obviously raised with a certain … quality, shall we say, that is lacking in the average Outlander. Even if you can’t remember any of it.”

  “Say what you mean, Mr. Mayor.”

  He smiles and nods graciously, like he’s indulging
me. Obviously trying to take the power back. It sets my teeth on edge, but I let him speak. “I would be willing to sponsor your treatment. Set you up with the best doctors and the best places to stay while you’re there. You wouldn’t have to beg, or borrow. Steal.” He glances at Gavin. “To get the help you need. You’d only get the best care.”

  Remembering what Gavin said about people from the city, I say, “And what do you suppose I would I owe you in return?”

  The mayor waves a hand in front of his face, the diamond on his pinky ring sparkling. “There’s no need to worry about that now. We’re both reasonable people. We can come up with something at a later date. But Gavin stays here. You’ll have to go alone.”

  I look down at Gavin and he shakes his head. “No,” he says softly.

  The mayor smiles, as if confused. “Beg pardon?”

  Gavin stands, drawing himself to his considerable full height as he sets his shoulders. “I said, no. She’s not going alone.” His voice is strong, but I can tell from the way his throat is working that he’s not comfortable standing up to this man.

  The mayor only continues to smile and looks at me. The ultimate decision is in my hands. If we don’t go, it’ll be my choice. My choice to continue putting myself, and Gavin’s family, in danger. I can’t let that happen.

  Still, I shake my head. “That’s unacceptable. I won’t go without Gavin.”

  The mayor shrugs. “Suit yourself. Request denied, then.”

  “Mr. Mayor, I have been led to understand that you’re unable to guarantee the safety of your citizens outside the gates. Do you honestly expect me to go unescorted into a territory you yourself cannot control?”

  “I have offered you my terms.” For whatever reason, he’s decided he’s back in control.

  “Very well. I can see there’s no point in any further discussion. When you are prepared to grant my very reasonable request, we can continue. Until then, I’ll ask you to leave.” I stand, walk straight past the mayor, and open the door, waiting for him to go.

  The angry red spots are back in his cheeks. I’ve pushed him too far, I can see that, but something in me won’t back down. I don’t even know where these words are coming from.

  “Will you let them both go, if I go?” a voice says from behind me. I whirl around to see Asher staring at his father.

  I turn just enough so I can see both the mayor and Asher.The mayor purses his lips and this time I can’t control the shudder. It’s so familiar; it makes the blood in my veins freeze. I just wish I could place where I’ve seen it before.

  “You want to go to the city?” the mayor asks him.

  Asher shakes his head. “No. Not really. But Evelyn needs to go and the only way that’s going to happen is if they get visas.”

  “Why are you offering?” his father asks with narrowed eyes. Then he pauses. “Who is this girl to you?” Gavin lifts a brow as if he is wondering the same thing.

  Asher only smiles. “You’ve been wanting me to go to the city for months now and I’ve refused.” He shrugs. “So, Pops, what’s it going to be? I’ll go to the city like you want, only I take Evie and Gavin, like I want. We’ll call it a gentleman’s agreement.”

  The mayor narrows his eyes and it’s so quiet I can hear the splash of each wave as they pummel the shore even through the closed window.

  Finally the mayor nods. His eyes sparkle and I’m reminded of a cat I saw the other day toying with a mouse it had caught. I have to wonder what he’s got up his sleeve. “Fine. But there are things I need you to do in the city when you get there. Do you understand?”

  Asher makes a face, but nods. “Fine.”

  “I’ll have Greta draw up the papers.” The mayor walks away, his dismissal obvious, but his easy approval unnerves me. He was so set on denying Gavin passage. Why would he be comfortable sending his son with us—an Outlander he obviously detests and the crazy newcomer? It doesn’t make any sense.

  I keep these thoughts to myself. I’ll talk with Gavin about them later when Asher isn’t around to be offended.

  But Gavin is obviously less concerned than I am about offending Asher. He turns to him and says, “We don’t need your help. We can figure out how to get into the city on our own.”

  Asher steps right into Gavin’s face. “You don’t understand. The city is not going to let you in, even with your visa. No matter what you think. You’re an Outlander and without a sponsor you don’t get in. So get over it. You need me.”

  To his credit, Gavin doesn’t even flinch, let alone back down. “I don’t want you doing me any favors.” His voice is infused with anger. He’s practically vibrating with it. I can feel the hum of his emotions from here.

  Asher takes a step back, but I don’t think it’s because Gavin intimidates him. “I’m not doing it for you.” His eyes meet mine and I tilt my head in confusion. “I’m doing it for her. And it’s not a favor.” With that he turns around and starts to walk away. “We should leave first thing in the morning. Meet me outside the village gates at sunrise.”

  * * *

  Gavin’s soft snores beside me are oddly soothing. At least he’s sleeping. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous, but he didn’t sleep the night before, so I doubt he’d have been able to pull off another night without somehow figuring out a way to secure his eyes open.

  But I’m restless. The more I lay awake staring at the ceiling, the more I want to jump up and pace the room like Gavin does. My heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest and even though I’m breathing, I feel like I’m suffocating. I keep wringing my hands to relieve the ache that isn’t there. My body needs to move, and move now. Or I’ll explode. I’m sure of it.

  Carefully, so I don’t wake Gavin, I slide out from underneath the sheets and out of bed. He stirs and instantly I freeze. He only rubs a hand across his nose and rolls over so his back is to me. The T-shirt he fell asleep in pulls tight across his back, showcasing the muscles in his back and shoulders.

  I stare. Who wouldn’t? But even though my whole body protests, I turn away and make my way to the door instead of crawling back in beside him and making him help me forget all my worries about tomorrow. He deserves to sleep.

  Even so, I’m disappointed when the cool doorknob turns easily in my hand and the door opens without so much as a whisper. And not just because Gavin promised to keep me locked in, but because it means nothing is stopping me from continuing on my path to get out of the ever-shrinking room and get some fresh air down by the shoreline.

  With the floor cool and smooth under my bare feet, I shuffle as quietly as I can down the hallway and out the back door, which I’ve learned doesn’t squeak like the front.

  The sand is still warm from the day, but is soft, crunching softly as I walk. The water laps at the shore, making soft whooshing sounds. The instant I hear it, the tension in my body starts to ease. And when I see the ocean, the rest of it fades away.

  Pulling my skirt tight against my body, I sit close enough to the waterline to let the water lap at my feet, but not enough to soak me if an errant wave decides to go a little further than normal. I lay down, crossing my arms underneath my head and staring at the stars. They’re almost the best part here. They’re just so beautiful and free. I feel wistful just looking at them.

  My mind wanders as I lay there, and before long I feel myself drowsing. I know I should get up and walk back into the house before I do manage to fall asleep—Gavin could wake up and if I’m not there, who knows what he’d do?—but I can’t summon the energy.

  Without warning the hair on the back of my neck tingles and I know I’m not alone. But I don’t get up. I know who it is. There’s only one person who can make my nerves jangle like a whole fistful of bells.

  Gavin.

  When I feel him stare down at me, I open my eyes, finding myself peering into the most gorgeous gray ones. They’re worried at the moment, as they are most of the time, but I give him a shy smile and the relief in his eyes is almost instantaneous.
/>   “Hey,” he says.

  “Hi.”

  “Scared me. I didn’t know where you’d gone. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  I reach up and press a hand to his cheek, enjoying the scratchy feeling of his stubble against the sensitive part of my wrist. I stare into his eyes. The beautiful gray shines in the moonlight like polished silver. A delicious thrill courses through me as his gaze travels down my face to my throat and comes to rest on the little v-shaped patch of skin on my chest. It’s almost like he’s taken his fingers along that path instead of just his eyes.

  And when those same eyes flash up to meet mine again, my heart skips a beat, then pounds so fast it’s like it’s in a race against itself. The want—no, need—is burning so brightly in his eyes I can feel its echo within me.

  I move my fingers to the back of his head, tangling my fingers lightly in his hair, then pull him down so his lips are a hair’s breadth from mine. He continues to stare down into my eyes as if they’re not the only things that he’s seeing. It’s like he’s seeing into my soul and seeing me, really seeing me. As terrifying as it is, it’s also thrilling.

  “I love you,” I whisper, unable to stop myself. But instead of the sad look that’s come into his eyes every other time I’ve said it, his lips slowly curve into a smile. One that swells my still racing heart to the point it almost hurts.

  “I love you, too. Always,” he whispers back, and I have only a moment to think how much I’ve wanted to hear those words without his usual hesitancy, before his lips breach the short distance between us and I can’t think anymore at all.

  His lips are soft and hard at the same time, like he’s holding back. I pull him closer, savoring his taste. He pulls back almost instantly, his eyes roaming over my face, that familiar worry gleaming in them for only a second before it disappears and he kisses me again. This time he’s not holding back. I kiss him back, desperately craving his taste. His scent. His feel. Him.

  His hands are rough over my body, but I don’t care. He’s making me feel more alive than I’ve felt in a long time with each touch of his fingers on my skin. The stubble on his chin is scratching my skin and I crave every delicious scratch.