Kes groaned, raking a hand through his hair.
I tugged at the ends of my hair again, remembering Aquarius’s recommendation. “I want hair dye. And I need someone to cut my hair.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want to change my hair, Kes. What don’t you understand?”
He threw the letter back at me. “He’s insane, and you are, too. The two of you are perfect for one… another…”
He almost caught himself. Almost held the words in, but they tumbled out like laundry from a too full dryer.
My breath caught in my chest. My mouth gaped open. I gave him a look of warning, one he wisely heeded. I’d still tackle his ass to the ground if he messed with me.
“I’ll find someone to help,” he said, vanishing without another word. He wasn’t gone long before he came back, informing me that a stylist would be by soon. Then he apologized.
I looked at him pointedly. “I’m not cutting my hair in an emo fit of rage, or to lash out at you, Aries, or anyone else. You asked me to take the mark because it gave me an edge, however small. They know what I look like, Kes. Some of them do, anyway. I just thought a cut and color might give me another small edge.”
“I get it. I’m just scared,” he said softly, the apple in his neck bobbing as he swallowed thickly.
“If something happens to me…”
“No,” he said harshly. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
My brows kissed. “Then what is it?”
“I thought I was protecting you, but I didn’t know it would make this… whatever this is between you and him. I’m worried that his feelings for you are developing and evolving too fast. I’m worried he’ll be dangerous to you in the end.”
Aries wouldn’t hurt me. I knew that much. I wasn’t even sure he could now that he’d pledged to protect me. His word was his truth. But what if his feelings became too much to bear? What if I didn’t feel that way toward him and he got angry? Would he tear me apart to be rid of me? Or keep me locked away so the pledge kept him strong, but he wouldn’t have to lay eyes on me again?
I was human. The others could just wait until I died of natural causes and then pounce when Aries weakened. What was sixty or seventy years to an immortal being?
The thoughts ran wild through my mind until a knock at the door brought me out of them. A girl with side-swept lavender hair stepped in. Her mocha cheekbones were brushed with highlighter, giving her a beautiful, dewy glow. She was beautiful and looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine.
Kes waved her in. “Thanks for coming, Helena.”
Helena entered my room carrying an enormous leather purse. She took several boxes of hair colorant from her bag and laid them on the bed, looked at me and then at them, me and them… and chose one from the half dozen. “Darker, right?” she asked. “I think this would look pretty on you.”
Kes ducked out of the room and the girl and I headed to the bathroom where two basins were already waiting, the water steaming hot. The watery mess that had flooded the tiles earlier was gone and everything smelled fresh and clean again. A Guardian had gone to great lengths to rid the room of any trace of Aries’s blood.
Still, it gave me the creeps even being in here, although having Helena with me helped. I asked her how people were settling in.
“Most are doing well accepting their new lives. Some have taken in children. There’s an art teacher who’s grinding rocks to make paint and teaching anyone who wants to learn how to paint patterns on their homes. Some are really impressive.”
“That’s awesome.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “People find a way to be content if you let them.”
“It seems harder for others, though. I know people keep asking Aries if they’ll ever be able to contact their loved ones or check on them, or if there’s any way he would reunite them.”
Helena nodded. “Some will never accept it. They’ll die with those questions in the back of their mind. What happened when they woke was very jarring. Some won’t get over it easily, and others won’t at all. In any event, most will be okay, given enough time. They’ll tell themselves that if they’re fine, their loved ones must be, too. And they’ll cling to that hope for dear life, eventually moving on.”
It was the same thing Xavier said. He felt his family must be okay because he was fine. It was a logical assumption. As long as Aries was the fair and just ruler he’d proven to be, they would assume the other Zodia were like him. I just hoped they never learned the truth of what these things really were, that they had different goals, demeanors, wants, and needs. That some were cold, like Pisces, and others fueled by hate, like Taurus.
The less they knew the better.
In the mirror hazed from the humidity, I watched the color seep into my hair, changing it strand by strand. I liked the shade; a dark, ash brown. It matched my brows and made my icy eyes pop. When it was finished, she rinsed the dye out and removed a pair of scissors and a comb from the bag. “Just a trim?” she guessed.
“No, I want it short. I want to look different.”
“How short?”
I made a chopping motion on my neck just below the jawline.
Helena smiled approvingly. “Most are afraid of change, but I like you. You’re much bolder than I thought.”
I sighed. “This isn’t boldness, it’s fear. I’m trying to disguise myself. I’m hiding.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. She started to snip the ends and I felt the weight of my hair fall away with the long pieces she cut.
“I don’t think it’s only that. You know, most cultures – modern and ancient – had warriors. And many times, warriors would paint their faces or braid their hair, or otherwise alter their looks just before battle. This is no different.”
The marks Aries gave me that made me look like a warrior may have been washed away, but in the mirror in my room earlier, I could see that I had changed. My eyes were harder. I was changing inside, and the outside should reflect it. It seemed the change in me evolved as rapidly as the change in the color of my hair. It felt like I was shedding my old skin and reveling in the luxury of new.
I just hoped that when it was time to play the role of warrior, I was ready to take up a sword.
14
Helena added blunt layers to the ends; it was short, but not too short, falling to my chin. I had a soft side bang now, too. She styled my hair with product that made it soft but textured. To be honest, I looked bangin’. In my replica room, in my replica closet, hung my prom gown. Midnight blue, the tag read. It might have been the initial reason I pulled it from the rack, but the moment I tried it on, it fit me perfectly. I have hips that shouldn’t have fit in that size dress, but they did. And I looked good in it.
I remembered Mom’s squeal when I stepped out of the dressing room. “That’s the one!” she cooed. “That’s the dress.” Her eyes lit up like I’d chosen my wedding gown or something and I couldn’t help but smile.
I stepped in and pulled the dress up, zipping it and trying to fasten the clip at the top of the zipper. It still fit like it had been tailored to my body.
With my fierce new hair color, cut to show the column of my neck, and the way my light eyes contrasted with the deep blue dress, I definitely looked different. And according to Aquarius, that was a very good thing.
Don’t be what they expect when you are so much more.
I pursed my lips and looked at the makeup Helena had applied. She took one look at my broken powder and eyeshadow, still damp from their earlier adventure, and winced. She gently handed them back to me and pulled her own out of her bag. She even left a bottle of foundation and a palette of eyeshadow behind, saying she could go find more from an abandoned mall somewhere nearby. Nearby for a Guardian could be halfway across the country or world though, so I supposed it wasn’t an inconv
enience.
My lips were stained the color of black cherries and my cheeks wore a shimmery shade of coral, delicately highlighted with gold. Not a heavy shade of gold like Aquarius wore, but more of a fine sheen. My eyes were smoky and my lashes curled to impossible lengths, thickened with black mascara.
Beneath the dress, purple bruises blossomed around my stomach where Pisces grabbed me and dragged me below the water. I pressed my hand to where it was sorest, reminding myself that at least I struggled.
A human might not be able to kill a Zodia, but we could fight back.
I stared at my reflection until Kes knocked at the door. “Come in.”
He stopped just inside the doorway. “Whoa.”
“Whoa, as in, ‘that’s dramatic,’ or whoa, as in, ‘it looks good’?” I asked.
He gave a sappy smile. “It looks great.”
“Thanks for asking Helena to help me. She’s really nice.”
He snorted. “Helena’s not nice. She owed me a favor.”
How did all these people owe Kes favors? He was like a Guardian mob boss or something. “Well, she likes me, so you should’ve kept your favor.”
Kes quirked a brow as if to ask Is that so? I smiled at him as if to say It absolutely is. I was totally likeable, unlike him.
He offered me his arm. Before I clasped it, I took in his tunic, black with matching stitches. Ram’s horns curled from the center of his chest outward. His pants were black. His boots were black. He wore a dangerously curved blade at his hip. Kes looked like a soldier, not a Guardian. In reality, he was both.
Protector.
Loyal friend.
Brother.
Kes led me out of my room, making sure the door closed and locked behind me. “I wish you could’ve worn it to prom,” he said quietly as we walked down the hall. “Dad would’ve threatened to kill Xavier if he touched you, and Mom…”
“Would’ve snapped a million pics. I warned Xavier of both when he asked me to go with him.”
Our footsteps echoed around us and down the hall.
“Xavier is going to stare,” he said, a hint of warning in his voice.
I tilted my head. “Why would he?”
Kes raised a brow. “He asked you to prom for a reason, and it wasn’t because you were a familiar face.”
“He asked me out of pity, after all that happened with Brant.”
He argued, “Not true. Xavier’s had a crush on you since we were in middle school. He saw an opportunity and decided he wouldn’t let it pass him by this time.”
Was that true? I sifted through my memories, trying to remember anything that might indicate that Kes was right, but I couldn’t think of any.
“Aries will not appreciate it if Xavier seems… overly attached to you.” Kes chose his words carefully, but he didn’t have to do that with me.
“First, I can’t control what Xavier says or does... And second, Aries needs to simmer down. He needs to stop acting like he’ll shred any male who looks at me a beat too long.”
Kes inhaled deeply and shook his head. “This is going to be fun.”
I grinned as I walked toward a set of dark wood double-doors that had been propped open. The table situated in the center of the room was rectangular and stained darker than the doors. An elaborate golden candelabra sat in the center, the candlelight casting a cheery, warm glow over the two people already seated at the table.
Aries, seated at the head of the table, noticed Kes first, but I felt the exact second his eyes clamped on me. They flared as he took in my new hair, then his gaze slid down my face, down my body where the gown hugged every inch, all the way to my feet, tucked into kitten heels.
Kes and I walked closer, my skin flushing more with each step.
Aries never blinked.
He wore a new outfit, an even deeper shade of black than what he usually wore. His obsidian horns shone like he’d polished them. The flickering candles cast buttery soft light over his dark hair. It had been combed, but fell deliciously into his beautiful pink eyes.
His unblinking eyes.
Aries stood and waited as we approached the table.
Xavier’s back was to us, but when Aries stood, he brushed his bleached hair forward and turned to face us, his mouth gaping. “Larken,” he said breathlessly as he stood with Aries. Kes pulled out the empty chair next to Aries and pushed it in as I sat down, then took the one to my left. Xavier sat down again, seated across from me.
For a moment, awkward silence thickened in the room, making the large space feel too tight. They both stared at me; Xavier from across the table and Aries closer, to my right. I tried distracting them by asking Kes a stupid question. Xavier joined the conversation, but Aries remained silent, his eyes fixed on me. He kept so still I wasn’t even sure he took a breath.
Shifting in my seat uncomfortably, I refused to look at him for long, turning back to Kes and Xavier who were laughing at something I missed. Kes’s smile faded as he looked at Aries.
Luckily, two Guardians chose that moment to swoop in with plates of steaming food.
Oh my goodness. Pasta. I smiled. “This is my favorite.” Fettucine Alfredo was the fruit of the gods, as far as I was concerned. Mom rarely made it because of the fat gram content, but when she did… oh, mama.
“I know,” Aries said, looking down at his meal and away from me, finally. “Kes informed me that Xavier was supposed to take you out to dinner on the night of prom, and he said this would have been the meal you would have chosen if given the choice.”
That was… very sweet.
“Thank you.”
Xavier gave a wan smile, unfolding his napkin and laying it over his lap. Another Guardian poured glasses of water for each of us. Aries thanked him as he worked his way around the table.
I raised my glass and took a sip. It was hot in here, fueled by male ego.
Three musicians entered the room and set up in the corner, quietly tuning their instruments, consisting of a violin, cello, and bass. I glanced from them to Kes, finally swallowing another gulp of water. The entire scene looked almost medieval.
“I thought the two of you might appreciate some music to dance to,” Aries explained before I could comment on the entertainment.
“Wait, are you…? You’re recreating our prom night?” I asked.
He nodded once, swilling the water in his glass. Aries watched Kes twirl his noodles on his fork, using his spoon to help keep them on the prongs, then tried to copy his movements. However, his claws made using utensils difficult.
I gave him a small smile. “I just cut mine up. It’s easier.” I held up a fork full of small, chopped noodles and raised it as if I was toasting him.
Aries looked sheepish for the first time since I’d known him. He may have fumbled with his fork, but he knew how to use a knife. He sawed through the creamy pile of noodles without issue, returning my toast with his own, a satisfied and thankful smile on his face.
“So, how did you all wake up?” Xavier asked conversationally.
“The Zodia were entombed until someone disturbed their resting place,” Kes offered vaguely, smoothing the conversation.
Aries tensed at the question. The atmosphere shifted from light to heavy again in an instant.
“Tell me about prom,” Aries abruptly changed the conversation, focusing on Xavier instead of allowing Xavier to continue asking him about himself and his kind.
Xavier swallowed a bite and then barked a laugh. “Prom is a rite of passage, I guess,” he started, taking a gulp of water. Dabbing his mouth with a cloth napkin, he smiled at me. “The guys wear suits. The girls look beautiful.” He gestured to me, making heat crawl up my neck. “Your parents always want to take a million pictures of you and your date – like it’s a wedding or something. You go to a nice dinner, then you go to the dance for a while. After is up to the co
uple.” He shrugged, giving me a smile.
“What does that mean?” Aries asked, looking from Kes to Xavier again.
Xavier shrugged, missing the dangerous glint in his host’s eye. “Some kids have parties at their houses afterward. Some go bowling. Some get hotel rooms…” His voice faded when he looked up and noticed Aries’s stony expression.
I put a hand on top of his clenched claw for a moment, then awkwardly pulled away. “We were going to a bonfire.”
Aries was tense, but tried gamely to keep the conversation flowing. “How many people attend prom?”
“At our school, there would be about three-fifty, give or take,” Xavier answered.
I sat back in my chair, too full to eat more, too worried that Xavier might say something stupid and Aries would tear his head off.
Just then, the musicians began to play a song, something classical and romantic. “The two of you should dance,” Aries announced, gesturing to the empty floor in front of the musicians.
“Uh, it’s just the two of us, so that would be weird,” I said. I am so not dancing. As sweet as it was for Aries to try and give us our prom night, this wasn’t prom. If he sifted through Kes’s memories, he’d know we didn’t exactly ballroom dance. He’d realize what bumping and grinding was, and I wasn’t sure Xavier would walk out of here unscathed.
“Come on,” Xavier coaxed, flashing a smile at me. “We might never get another chance.”
“Oh, I’m sure we won’t…” I said under my breath.
He stood up and walked around Kes. My eyes widened at my brother, begging him to intervene – to do something – but he didn’t. Xavier pulled my chair out, took my hand, and led me across the floor. He wrapped his hands around my waist, I put mine around his neck, and we proceeded to awkwardly sway to the beat.
Ugh. The whole thing was awkward.
And unfortunate.
I wanted to sit back down, but Kes was talking to Aries in urgent, hushed tones. It was a conversation I shouldn’t barge in on, even though I wanted desperately to know what they were talking about.
“Wanna put on a show?” he said, grinning widely.
Things That Should Stay Buried Page 14