“She’s still a captive?” Allie frowned. “After all this time?”
“We’ve never been able to find out where she’s been held.”
“Poor guy,” Darius said.
Greyson had a long time to come to terms with his wife’s absence. But Allie watched Naomi in her rearview mirror. Her normally tough exterior grew even harder. Allie knew what it was like to have a mother she’d never met. But for Naomi, watching her father obsess over a woman she didn’t even know probably accounted for her need to be the center of attention. No wonder she’s got issues.
So maybe you could give her a break then? Aidan said. Can you imagine what it’s like to compete with a ghost for your father’s love?
~~~
They arrived early, as Greyson—Professor Hauser—had asked of them.
“Allie.” Greyson beamed his beautiful smile at her when they entered the empty lecture hall. “I’ve been looking forward to officially meeting you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“It’s nice finally meeting you too,” Allie said breathlessly. He was so pretty it almost hurt her eyes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of teaching young Immortals.” His accent was a fascinating blend of ancient and modern influences. She thought she could happily listen to him all day. No wonder he was such a popular teacher. Dressed in clay-dusted jeans and a faded Nirvana T-shirt under a well-worn corduroy jacket with the sleeves rolled up, Greyson looked more like a student than a tenured professor. He was about the same age as Gregg, but he appeared much younger, with only a slight touch of gray in the dirty-blond hair that hung down his back. He kept the hair at his temples swept back and braided with a leather thong—much as he had when she’d last seen him in Emma’s memories from several hundred years ago.
“I called you here early to give you the courtesy of a warning.” Grayson casually perched on the edge of his desk, giving them his undivided attention. “Sasha probably knows of my gift, but I wanted Allie to be equally aware. I think Emma must have hinted at it by now?”
Allie nodded.
“I can discern what your gifts are and how you can use them. For instance, that night at the museum when we almost met, I could sense your solar gift was emerging right at that moment. Since then, I see you’ve learned to use it as a weapon.”
“Reluctantly so.” She smiled shyly. “I’m not a fan of actually using it.”
“I don’t always show such transparency with Immortals I’ve just met, but I wanted you both to understand that I can see a great deal about each of you without much prying on my part. It’s an instant recognition that I have little control over. I see what I see. So I probably already know more about each of you than you’d care for me to know. In fact, as young as you both are, I may know more about your power than you do. I’ve survived a very long time with such knowledge, so I can assure you, I know how to keep your secrets.”
Allie felt a little surge of fear. She did not like the idea that Greyson might know more about her than he should.
“Rest easy, sweetheart. I’m a friend—not an enemy. Trust me, I would not want to get on your bad side.”
Allie didn’t have a chance to respond before the other students began arriving. It felt like Greyson was trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure what it could be.
“Take your seats, ladies. Darius, just … try to behave.”
“Hey, I’m taking my bodyguard duties seriously.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Allie was in her element once class began. Greyson sat on the edge of the desk, talking about the fantastic images on the screen behind him. He engaged the class, kept it interesting—fascinating, in her opinion. But at the same time, Allie was hyper-aware of Darius cramped in the seat beside her. There was something different about him. She didn't know if it was just the way she was seeing him as part of their group now, or if there was something more there––something that made her heart flip around in her chest just at the sight of him. Something she did not want in any way, shape or form.
As she sneaked a glance at him, he looked miserable.
“Bored?” She arched her brow. The classroom was huge and the seats were narrow, packed close together like movie theater seats. He was stuck between Allie and Sasha, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
“Out of my mind.” He leaned back as far as the seat would allow.
“I can imagine your job would be much more interesting than an art history class.” Although Allie was deeply engrossed in the lecture on prehistoric art, she knew it wasn’t his thing at all.
“Well, my job is a little more exciting than this,” he admitted. He was the youngest homicide detective for the Cleveland Police Department, recently promoted from narcotics. “But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get to know you better.”
“Real smooth, bro,” Sasha quipped and Darius kicked her playfully.
Allie liked Darius more than she should, but he was nearly a decade older. Not a huge amount between Immortals—most would put Darius at the kids’ table with the rest of them—but it was still too weird for her mortal brain to grasp.
“I hate to make you give up your work to follow me around. It’s gotta be a huge inconvenience,” she said.
“Don’t worry, killer. I still have plenty of time for work after school. My teachers have been conditioned to never expect me to do actual homework. It’s like a dream come true.”
“So you work, you train, and now you’re a full-time babysitter too. Busy guy. How do you have time for a life?”
“I don’t, but that’s nothing new. There’s a serious lack of Immortal women my age … so I’m stuck in a bad place. I’m either too old or too young. So I work, hang out with Scott, and train with George.”
“Poor baby,” Sasha interjected.
“Sasha, we are trying to focus on the lecture,” Darius mocked. “I’m intrigued by this seriously hot Willendorfal statue thingy.” He gestured at the figure on the screen.
“Venus of Willendorf,” Allie corrected him.
“Why exactly is she holding her enormous breasts with her tiny hands? Is this supposed to be caveman porn?”
“She’s a fertility statue. She represents the essence of motherhood—a phenomenon that was greatly revered nearly thirty thousand years ago when humans were still trying to propagate the species.”
“Very good, Allie,” Greyson said softly for their benefit. “But she dates back even further, possibly back to the heyday of the Queens of Indriell when fertility rates dropped just after the Great War. I’ve often wondered if an Immortal carved this statue. Its survival in this condition is borderline miraculous.”
Allie flinched at the mention of her ancestors and quickly pushed thoughts of the prophecy to the back of her mind, stuffing it in that box with the rest of her problems she wasn’t ready to face yet.
~~~
CHAPTER
NINE
Allie wiped the sweat off her brow and adjusted her sai securely in her grip as she moved through the forms with Aidan at her side. She enjoyed their one-on-one training sessions in the yard. It was never about him teaching her or her teaching him. It was always about them working together as equals, pushing each other’s boundaries and allowing the other to drop all the hesitations and walls they normally put up when sparring with others.
“You warmed up, Red? I’m in the mood to beat the snot out of something, and you’re it.” He gave a flourish of his blades and his most arrogant smirk. His favored weapon was a lot like her sai, but Gregg had modified the length to fit his enormous wingspan. He was a marvel with his dual blades. It didn’t matter if he fought with them joined as a single weapon, like a quarterstaff, or if he separated them in mid-fight—those blades were an extension of his body, much as Allie’s sai were for her.
“Bring it.” She moved into the grassy clearing to take her stance opposite him. She twirled her sai over the back of her hand as she settled into a crouch and held
her lead weapon up at the ready. Aidan was usually the one to strike first, but Allie was more comfortable fighting now and she was the first to make a move against him.
Gregg had done a great job choosing her weapon. She moved more naturally with the sai, like her resistance to fighting melted away when she held those blades. She wasn’t sure it was the weapon so much as the fact that the sai once belonged to her mother and she could feel a connection with her when the blades sang. She ached to hear that sound. She drew strength from it, as if the sound came from all the women of her family urging her on.
After everything she’d experienced during her brief time as a captive, Allie’s aversion to fighting had changed. She still hated the thought of hurting anyone, but with Aidan it was different.
As they fell into the rhythm of their fight, she let her power rise within, relishing the warmth as it flooded her body. She didn’t feel the overwhelming instinct to hold back. This was Aidan and she was confident there was nothing she could dish out that he could not handle.
“Nice!” He scrambled to parry her thrust and almost managed to sweep her off her feet. She dodged his kick and returned with an uppercut to his jaw, tucking the sharp end of her sai along her forearm and using the blunted end to add some force behind her punch.
“Ow! That hurt, Allie!” He turned to spit blood, rubbing his jaw.
“I’m sorry!” She reached to see if he was okay and landed on her ass beside the brook. She rolled away just in time to miss the sharp end of his blade arcing down toward her shoulder.
“Asshat move!” she snarled as she scrambled back to her feet, dusting the dirt off herself.
“I know my opponent, babe, what can I say?” he mocked as he lunged.
She raised her lead blade and managed to connect with his longer one, but she wasn’t quick enough. She felt the all-too-familiar slice of flesh meeting sharp metal and let out a startled gasp. She fell to her knees with a sob, tears blurring her vision.
“Lex! I’m so sorry!” Aidan dropped his weapons and rushed to her side. “Let me see. Is it deep?”
She hid her smile as she swept his feet out from under him. She had him pinned beneath her in a headlock before he could register what was happening. “And I know my opponent too, babe,” she whispered in his ear.
“That was reprehensible, Alexis Ann.” He broke her hold and flipped her onto her back. “You will pay for that, you little cheater.” His grin was contagious and she couldn’t help her laughter.
“Come on, tough guy, you know I won’t break.”
“Knowing you’re capable and seeing you hurt are two totally different things.” He stared down at her, the look in his eye making her feel all sorts of confused. She just broke up with Vince and already Aidan was looking at her differently.
Maybe it’s because you’re looking at me differently.
I’m not ready yet. The “yet” slipped out before she could even consider if she really meant it.
You said “yet.” I can work with yet.
“You need to be able to handle seeing me hurt, Aidan.” She brought their conversation back to training. “That’s probably something we both need to work on.” She stood to put some distance between them. “It could be a major weakness for us when it really matters.” She knew she couldn’t stomach seeing him hurt either.
“You might be right.” He lunged at her again and she barely got her weapon up in time.
Allie threw herself into the fight, returning each strike with one of her own. Her muscles burned as she moved, her speed increasing with their game of attack and retreat. The smirk faded from Aidan’s face as he concentrated on her movements, scrutinizing her every move, calculating what she would do next. He met her at every interval. They were both sweaty and out of breath, but it was the best sparring match she’d had in months.
“Nice one!” Allie laughed breathlessly as she ducked just in time to miss his blade. His only response was a grunt. His eyes were vacant, but the flicker of power there left her unsettled.
“Aidan?” she asked cautiously, lowering her lead weapon. But he didn’t stop. He pressed on, his blades moving at lightning speed. Something was wrong. She blocked his advance, taking a step back.
Aidan? Are you okay? But his mind was a blank slate. He just kept coming at her, his brow set in determination.
“No more fake-outs.” She parried his lead blade again, but his rear weapon caught her thigh and blood oozed from the shallow cut. Allie slowed her pace, but he was fighting so furiously. Methodically, like a machine.
“Aidan, stop!” she cried, backing up again. She flew into a low, sweeping kick, attempting to drop him to the ground to knock some sense into him, but his eyes blazed golden. He was in some kind of trance as his power raged inside of him.
He pursued her and she fought back, but she was soon covered in blood. None of his strikes cut her too deeply. She was a good fighter, and never let him get more than a graze in.
Aidan, stop. It’s me! He looked right at her, but still didn’t see her. I have to disarm him. But she couldn’t touch him. She went in for an uppercut, hoping to knock him on his ass, but he moved aside as if her fist was just an annoying, buzzing fly.
Finally, she did the only thing she could think of. She threw her weapons down and ducked under his arm, slamming against his sweaty chest. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
He faltered and dropped his weapons.
“Please, snap out of it. You’re scaring me,” she whispered as she held him. His arms slid around her and they staggered to the ground in a heap. His weapons lay forgotten beside them.
“Allie?” His guttural moan still didn’t sound like him.
“What the hell was that, Aidan?” She looked down at him, his eyes still vacant and blazing with the full fury of his power. She ran her fingertips over his jaw, hoping her gentle touch would draw him back to her.
It worked, but not quite as she imagined. He slammed her back, rolling on top of her, his fingers sliding through her hair as his mouth crushed over hers in a searing hot kiss. She could feel his heart hammering against her palm.
Aidan.… Dammit, it was such a good kiss. But she couldn’t keep letting this happen. That night in Agra was a mistake.… That kiss had done something to them, and it was like they couldn’t get past it.
“Lex,” he murmured as she shifted beneath him.
She was reluctant to bring an end to it as she slid her fingers through his hair and pulled, flipping him onto his back with an extra pulse of her solar zap for good measure.
“Ow, what the…?” He gasped as the fire dimmed in his eyes. “Did you just shock me, Alexis Ann? Was that really necessary? Wait … were we making out?”
“I pulled your hair too.”
“You’re bleeding!” He pulled her up and onto his lap before she could protest. Most of her bloodied cuts were already starting to heal, but some of them were deeper. Her sweaty hair hung limp in her face and her breath was ragged. She knew she looked worse than she felt and he was about to flip out.
I did this? He ran his hand along her arm. “I lost it, didn’t I.”
“I’m okay, but I don’t understand what came over you. Are you all right, Aidan?” She reached to touch his face, not sure if he was really himself yet.
“I’m fine. Come, let me get you cleaned up.” He helped her up, grabbing his shirt lying on the ground beside the cool, clear stream that ran through the yard. She came to sit beside him, her arms shaky and her head light from the intensity of their sparring match.
Or maybe it was the kiss.
Probably both; I’m a little lightheaded myself. He attempted a teasing tone, but he was still angry with himself. “I’m glad you shocked me. That wasn’t cool. Kissing you like that when you didn’t want it.”
“Well, to be fair, I did kiss you first.”
“Still not cool.” He shook his head. “It’s my gift.” He wiped at the blood smearing her arms and legs. “I haven’t lost control
like that in ages.”
“It’s some kind of trance?”
“Yeah. I’m so sorry, Lex.” He tossed his bloody shirt aside and pulled her back on his lap and held her close. She could feel his self-loathing rolling off him in waves. She had to shut it down now or this would send him spiraling.
“I know what that’s like, Aidan. Losing control. Hurting someone you care about when that’s the last thing you’d ever want.” She pulled his face down close to hers. “Do not blame yourself, you broody son of a bitch. It’s not worth it, so snap out of it.”
“Yes ma’am.” He laughed, grasping her hand and linking his fingers through hers. “I was in the zone.” He shrugged. “I get super focused on whatever I’m doing and nothing else matters. I’m locked inside it and sometimes it’s difficult to shake it off. I’ve never lost it so completely before. I’m actually glad it was with you and not Chloe or Graham. I’d have cut them to pieces.”
“You’ve managed this around the others?”
“Yeah, I don’t even think about it anymore. But when we’re here … like this … I just drop all of my walls, you know?”
“Me too. It’s nice to not have to focus so much attention on pretending like I do at school, or holding back when I’m working with Chloe and Graham, or even with Sasha. When we’re here and I don’t have to worry about any of that, it’s a relief to just let go.”
“Yeah. But not at this cost.” He shook his head sadly. “We’re equals and that means the world to me, but I can’t ever forget that I’m slightly more powerful than you are.”
“That’s BS.”
“It’s true.”
“I’m not a porcelain doll. You’ve never felt bad about kicking my butt before, so why start now?”
“There’s ass-kicking and then there’s the bastard who painted the ground with your blood. That will not happen again, Lex.”
Immortals of Indriell- The Collection Page 61