We waited, silent until Alec passed again, then slid to the next set of shadows. Again and again. I didn’t like how close the blue dragon had flown on the last round, but I held open the door to the Safehouse, breathing a sigh of relief when Flynn slipped past me.
Close. Too close.
She came in trembling, close to tears. I stopped what I was doing and went to her.
“Thanks, Flynn, I’ll take her from here.” The silent Fae nodded, carefully depositing Haven into my arms. She peered up at me, so many questions in those tired eyes, but words failed me. I knew she would hate being brought here, but at the moment, my worry was greater than her need for independence.
She could scold me all she liked when she was better. If she got better. The crystal practically burned in my pocket, fully charged. I could almost feel it tugging at me, asking to be used. And I would. I would drain all of the crystal’s power before laying hands on the frail female before me.
Too long she had suffered. For three years, I’d watched her health decline, watched her skin stretch thin and bones break again and again. I hoped that today would be her last one filled with pain. That tomorrow, she would walk again without crying. Without breaking.
“You’ll understand soon, Haven. Trust me,” I whispered, but a tear of frustration slipped down her cheek anyway. I wordlessly communicated with Reagan to distract Benji, to keep him away from his mother while I attempted the impossible. If all went wrong, I didn’t want him to see. In the back of my mind, I tucked away the knowledge that Reagan had left the Safehouse again. A cocktail of fear and anger swirled in my gut, but I shoved it down—for now. I would deal with that later.
There weren’t many Fae in the living quarters this time of day, most at dinner, so when I lowered Haven onto an unused cot in the women’s dorms, we were alone. As I fussed with the pillow beneath her head, she wouldn’t look at me. Inwardly, I sighed. She was mad. Mad at me. I clenched my jaw, reminding myself to apologize later. But this had to be done, and now.
Come tomorrow, I didn’t know where I’d be. If I’d be alive or dead. Or worse—a prisoner. When she was as comfortable as I could make her, I slipped the stone from my pocket, the familiar jolt of power zipping through my veins. I made sure Haven got a good look at the crystal. “See this? Only a week ago, this crystal healed my shattered bones.”
Her eyes widened and she sank further into the pillow, as if to flee the green object. “Is it dangerous?”
I thought of Reagan, curled on the floor in agony as her wings tore from her back. Inhaling deeply, I blinked away the image. “No, because you won’t be touching it. But I need to touch you. Will you . . . will you let me?” I’d never asked before. Shame twisted my gut. What if she didn’t want to be healed?
“Of course, Tarik.” When I looked at her, she smiled faintly. “You never have to ask. I know that you’ve been making me feel better all these years. Healed me, even. I don’t know how, though. I’ve never seen a Fae do what you can, but . . .” Her eyes flicked to the crystal again.
But my healing attempts hadn’t been enough. Maybe today, with the help of the Genesis Crystal, she would at last find relief.
When I laid a hand on her arm, the familiar weight of her ailments pressed down on me. So much damage. So much wrong. She was still young, barely in her thirties, yet she felt so old. With the crystal’s strength coursing through me, I spread my magic throughout her body, seeking, mending.
What I hadn’t been able to fix before, I was able to repair. Brittle bones became hard and smooth. Her skin regained elasticity, hiding a network of blue veins. A healthy flush stained her cheeks as the red blood cells in her body multiplied. Sweat beaded her forehead, but she kept silent.
Just when I dared hope she was healed, I felt the wrongness creep back in. It was like a disease attacking the good, healthy parts of her. Every time I repaired the damage, a new bad cell would pop up, slowly undoing my work. I bit back a growl of frustration.
Too soon, my magic depleted. Sweat slid down my neck as I slowly rose to my feet, exhaustion sweeping through me.
“Rest, Haven. I’ll be back to check on you in the morning.” Her eyes drifted shut before I’d finished the sentence, her expression almost peaceful. But as I quietly left the room, a fresh weight settled on my shoulders.
You failed.
“I know,” I whispered.
—
Our new relationship dynamic was fragile, but I didn’t seek Reagan out. I knew I should, but instead, I avoided her. And not only because she had left the Safehouse on a mission that could have exposed her to the dragons. My inability to fully heal Haven had left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I wanted to be alone. She had relied on me all these years and I’d failed her. I didn’t think I’d ever have the strength to heal her completely, even with the crystal’s help.
And so maybe I was wallowing. Pouting. Whatever.
But I needed space.
Reagan wouldn’t find my hiding spot in the men’s communal bathroom. I turned the shower on scalding hot, needing to cleanse away the sickness and hopelessness of another failed healing. As I stepped under the spray, I wished the water could melt away the helpless feeling in my gut. The feeling that Benji would soon be an orphan and there was nothing I could do to save him from that fate.
“So why exactly did you think I wouldn’t want to know about this little adventure you’ve been planning?”
Startled, I knocked an elbow against the stall’s tile. Then cursed under my breath. She found me. “Can we talk about this later, Reagan? I’m kind of busy right now.” Thankfully the white shower curtain hid me from view.
“I mean, now seems as good a time as any.” Her tone was clipped, agitated.
“Now isn’t a good time for me,” I ground out. Then reined in my riotous emotions. A little. “It’s been a stressful day. Give me a minute?”
“Sure. One minute. I’ll be outside.” A short pause. “You’ve got to talk to me, Tarik. Trust me. Or this won’t work.”
“Yeah. Talking. Sure,” I muttered. Like the way you told me you were leaving the Safehouse again? I chomped down on my tongue to keep the words from leaking out.
She left as soundlessly as she came, and I thunked my head on the tile. I had been dreading this conversation, so I’d put it off. I knew she’d be mad, but now I was too. Not a good combination. With a creak, I shut the water off and slowly towel-dried, donning my clothes. I would tell her, but I’d take my sweet time.
She was right outside the bathroom door, waiting. I breezed past her, heading for the stairs. “Let’s walk and talk,” I said over my shoulder. “I have to prepare. What have you heard and what do you want to know?”
“Wait—how is Haven?”
I grimaced. “Better. Now what have you heard?”
Reagan huffed. Oh, she was mad all right. “I’ve heard that you’re planning to make a run for the mansion. And I want to know why you left me out of this plan.”
Who had told? I swore under my breath. No one could keep their mouth shut in this place. I descended the stairs two at a time, leaving Reagan to scramble as she tried keeping pace with my longer strides.
“The last place you should be is under the same roof as Mordecai. This is simply a quick mission we’ve been planning. Grab as much crystal as we can and retreat before anyone’s the wiser. We don’t need you on this mission.”
“Okay, but Mordecai is still my problem. I can help. I know that mansion better than any of you could ever hope to.” She went silent for a moment. “I mean, do you even know where Mordecai’s armory is? He added guards to the mansion’s rotations. Are you going to be ready with dart guns as your only defense?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Then picked up the pace again. No. She wouldn’t weasel her way into this mission. “What armory?” Crap. I needed superglue.
“The one filled to bursting with weapons that you need. The one he locks. Luckily, I know where the key is. But I can’t tell you everything, I sup
pose.”
My teeth clenched. Evil girl. We didn’t need weapons. Actually, we desperately did. Akeno’s peashooters were almost useless in a fight—they’d done nothing against Bushy. We had our wings, but that was like bringing knives to a gunfight. Shifters rarely used weapons, but if there were armed guards . . .
Crap.
Landing on the ground floor, I wove through groups of Fae lounging and dining in the common areas. Some threw curious glances my way, probably wondering why the lion shifter tailed me like a cat sizing up its next scratching post, but I ignored them.
I wished Reagan understood I needed space right now. If she insisted on talking, then I needed to blow off steam before I verbally blew up at her. She might give up on me for good if I did that, so I banged open the doors to the rec room and strode to the far corner. Pulling on gloves, I said, “Reagan, you’re not going.”
She threw her hands on her hips. “Like hell I’m not.”
I struck the punching bag, pretending the thick leather was my throat. If I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t speak and say things I’d later regret. No such luck. “You’re staying here where you’re safe, and that’s that.”
Reagan laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. For a minute there you seemed to think you have some kind of control over me. You can’t stop me from going, Tarik.”
“Oh yeah?” My eyes narrowed on her. “Call this settling the score for leaving the Safehouse in broad daylight without telling me first. No way are you going on another dangerous mission today. I’ll tell Rebel Leader not to let you go.” I threw another punch, harder this time.
“I specifically asked Benji if you were okay with me leaving and he said yes. He asked for help, do you really think I was going to say no?”
“What?” I caught the bag mid-swing so I could level her with an incredulous look. “I didn’t tell him it was okay for you to leave.”
“Regardless, I don’t need your permission to do anything. Maybe you could use a reminder that I’m my own person.” She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. “In either case, that’s between you and me. You shouldn’t punish the others for it. A lion is awfully handy in a tight spot, especially when she knows more about what you’re trying to do than you do.”
“That may be, but I still can’t let you go. There’s . . . there’s too much at stake.” I gritted my teeth, hating how my words came out. Hating how she viewed me. But I couldn’t seem to say what really needed to be said. “You can help the Fae best from here.”
“I’m not some helpless little girl,” Reagan spat, arms trembling. “I’m not going to sit here and wait for the men to solve all my problems. I’m going. I’ll plead my case to someone who will listen if I have to.”
With that, she spun and stormed out.
I growled and punched the bag one last time, needing the shot of pain the contact brought. Yanking off the gloves, I pursued her. Faces blurred past but I saw nothing. Only a spitfire shifter with blue and black hair charging into the night. As I burst into the gardens after her, she disappeared from view. My heart plummeted.
This couldn’t be the end.
Not like this. It would wreck me. I wouldn’t be able to complete this mission with her hating my guts. I scanned the rows of fruits and vegetables, becoming more and more desperate with each empty row. Finally, I saw a glint of blue, and ran.
“Reagan!” I shouted, but she kept going. If she didn’t stop soon, she’d expose herself to the night sky. To Alec. Crap. I reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her around.
“Let me go,” she growled. “You clearly don’t want to talk and I’m not staying behind.”
My breaths came too fast. I didn’t know what words to say, let alone how to say them. “I can’t. I can’t let you go.”
A muscle in Reagan’s jaw twitched. Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t walk out of Mordecai’s cage to walk into yours.”
Just like that, panic crushed me. Her words jarred my bones, collapsing my rib cage. Exposed my raw and bleeding heart. A cage. She thought I’d put her in a cage. Had I? What was I doing? Screwing everything up, as usual. I would lose her if I didn’t get this right. The urge to hide my deepest emotions raged within me, but she needed to hear them. See them. Because if I left her in the dark—if I didn’t open up—why was I even pursuing her?
“You’re right,” I said, voice strained. I glanced away. Looking into her eyes, so full of anger and confusion and hurt—I couldn’t get the words out if I held her stare. “I’ve been trying to put you in a little box. I can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt, so in order to protect you, I tucked you away for safekeeping. But that’s . . . that’s not how I want to treat you, like you’re this fragile thing that can’t take care of herself. I know you can.”
I relaxed my grip on her arm, sliding my fingers down to hers. Laced them together. When she didn’t pull away, my eyes began to burn. I heaved a sigh, locking my gaze on hers. “You can come on the mission. You’re needed and wanted. But . . . but if something happens to you, I don’t know what I’ll do, and—”
I searched her blue and gold eyes, hoping for answers. Finding none. My final words were barely a whisper. “It hurts to think of losing you.”
She scanned my face for a moment, then exhaled a long breath. “Oh, Tarik. I’ll be fine. No, don’t look at me like that. I’ll be fine because I have you at my side. We make a good team. Isn’t that the point?”
“A team.” I nodded, swallowing roughly as a new emotion punched my gut. Determination. “I won’t fail you tonight, Reagan. Even if we’re walking into a trap, I’ll get you out of there alive. And I know you’d do the same for me.”
The truth in those words still staggered my mind. But as she looked at me, the hurt and anger melting away, all too willing to forgive, I knew there was still one thing left undone. Watching her reaction carefully, I slid my free hand behind her neck. My heart pounded out of control. I didn’t know if the timing was right. I didn’t know if she wanted this, but . . . “I owe you something,” I said softly.
Her throat bobbed. “What could you possibly owe me?”
Through the tremor in my voice, I managed to say, “A kiss. That I stole. I want to give it back.”
Reagan’s breath hitched. After a moment, she whispered, “You have to catch me first.” Her grip on my fingers loosened as mischief sparked in her eyes.
Before she could escape, I captured her lips with my own. She stilled and I focused on her mouth. Soft. And utterly perfect.
This.
I belonged here.
And here I would stay.
I wrapped an arm around her, drawing her to me, and she came willingly. When she dug her fingers into my hair, bringing me close, closer, my heart exploded. She couldn’t get enough either.
My blood warmed, raging hot, hotter as her mouth moved against mine, tentative, teasing. I mirrored the movements, then grasped her hair, tipping her head back. She moaned and I almost lost control, almost went too fast. I wanted her, every last tattooed inch of her, but I knew she wasn’t ready. So I slowed, rolling my tongue along her bottom lip—soft, then hard as I found her metal lip ring.
Bad idea.
I immediately became addicted to her taste and wanted more. I growled against her mouth, asking, pleading. She opened and I swept my tongue inside, seeking hers. When they touched, the world ceased to exist. She became my world. I explored her and she let me, gasping softly when my teeth grazed her lip.
“Tarik, are you out here, man?”
I broke the kiss, barely, brushing my lips against hers. She pushed upward, asking for more. I groaned softly and gave in, lowering my head.
“We have to go, Tarik. So if you’re out here doing things, finish up now. We’re leaving in five.” I heard Malachi snicker, followed by a hoot from Micah. I was going to kill them.
I inched back. When I met Reagan’s gaze, she looked as lost as I felt. “We’re not done here. Once this mission is over, we’re picking up where we left
off.”
She nodded mutely, slipping her bottom lip between her teeth. Nibbling. Crap. We needed to go. The timing was terrible, though. What I wouldn’t give to spend the rest of the night out here with her.
Soon, I promised myself.
After this mission, things would change. And maybe, just maybe, we would earn ourselves more moments like this.
—
A few seconds after we were safely inside Mordecai’s downstairs study, Reagan appeared with a golden key.
Rebel Leader motioned for her to open the hidden armory, and we—Caspar, Akeno, the twins, and I—watched as Reagan approached the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining the room’s inner left wall. Flipping a book open, she inserted the key. Click. The whole shelf-back cracked open. Caspar and Akeno swung it wide, careful not to let the hinges squeal.
Inside was a whole new dimension. A dangerous one. The rectangular room was top to bottom white, but peppering that white was row upon row of silver and black glittering weapons. Rebel Leader gestured at us to grab what we could comfortably carry, nothing more. We still had to collect the Genesis Crystal, and that was far more important than basic technology.
Nevaeh hadn’t come on this mission, neither had Flynn, Sebastian, or Elias who were left to guard the Safehouse. The responsibility would be good practice for them, Rebel Leader had said. They’d grumbled but agreed, except for Flynn who simply shrugged.
I slipped a knife through my belt and slung a gun over my shoulder. Not a gun with bullets, though. They couldn’t always penetrate the hide of a shifter, so I’d opted for a long-distance taser gun. High volts of electricity knocked anything down. When the team was bristling with weapons—especially Caspar, who had three gun straps criss-crossing his chest, his pockets bulging with . . . grenades?—Rebel Leader waved us forward, Reagan taking point.
The overprotective part of my nature balked at seeing her petite frame in the lead, exposed to whatever lurked in this tomb of a place, but I didn’t pull her back. I knew the action would undo the progress we’d made but an hour earlier. Surprisingly, the mansion had been deathly silent as we’d crept inside. Had Mordecai hired a new butler? I wondered what their shifter form would be. Maybe an elephant with venomous tusks.
Dawn till Dusk: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Genesis Crystal Saga Book 1) Page 25