Destiny Series Boxed Set

by Bronwyn Leroux

  Tarise stared at him, her gray eyes dubious. “Fine. Can I go now?”

  “Not yet.” Jaden took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure he could do this. But he’d promised himself that if he ever got the chance, he would. Without stopping to rationalize further, Jaden said, “I forgive you.”

  Tarise eyed him shrewdly. “Does that mean you’ll give me a second chance?”

  There had been too many years and too much water under the bridge for Jaden to not see the trap she was trying to set. Genius she might be, but she wasn’t very smart with people.

  “Let’s be clear: I’m giving you a second chance at proving yourself to the group. Not a second chance at anything other than friendship with me. My heart belongs to Kayla and always will. There’s nothing you could ever say or do to change that.” Tarise’s face grew stormy. “In fact, nothing anyone can do to change that, in case you think I’m singling you out. I’m not.”

  “There’s no way this is your forever person. You’re too young. We’ll get our chance.”

  The contempt in her voice infuriated Jaden. He was about to reply when someone beat him to it.

  “No, you won’t. Never.” Kayla slipped her hand into his, gifting him with one of her glorious smiles.

  It gave Jaden the air he needed. He looked squarely into Tarise’s steely eyes. He’d always thought her eyes were a soft gray, but now he saw them for what they were. Cold. Unrelenting. Heartless. “I’ve spoken as plainly as possible. I haven’t given you false hope. What you do with information is up to you.”

  Tarise’s lip curled in a sneer. “Trying to convince yourself you won’t be responsible if something happens to me?”

  Kayla growled. It almost made Jaden laugh. He’d never heard that sound from her. But one look at her face told him not to mess with her. “Tarise, why can’t you accept Jaden is willing to be your friend? That’s he’s found it in his heart to forgive you for what you did? Do you even care that Bree’s dead?”

  Tarise jerked back like Kayla had burned her. “Of course I care,” she hissed. “It’s you who doesn’t. Coming in where you don’t belong and taking things that aren’t yours.”

  Kayla shook her head and sighed, then glanced at Jaden. “I tried. There’s no reasoning with her. I’m done here.”

  Jaden cast a last glance at Tarise. “As am I.” Turning, he paused, then faced Tarise again. “If you ever come to your senses and decide you want to accept the friendship I’m offering, I will honor what I said and give you that opportunity. But,” he took a few menacing steps toward Tarise, satisfied when she backed away, “if you ever try and harm Kayla again, know your actions will have consequences.”

  Turning his back on Tarise, he took Kayla’s hand and led her away. Jaden was debating the wisdom of the action when he heard the sobs. Is this just a ploy to get me to relent? Everything in him wanted to keep on walking. To leave Tarise in her misery. But I’ll have to live with my actions. He sent Kayla an apologetic glance.

  She smiled and took his face in her hands. “It’s fine. Go.”

  “No need,” another voice chipped in, one Jaden knew well. Markov stepped from behind the tree that had kept him out of sight.

  “You too? Who else is here?” Jaden gaped as the rest of the gang appeared from assorted hiding places. “You were all here?”

  Stovan passed Jaden on his way to join Markov. He whispered, “We didn’t want you or Kayla alone with her.”

  “Thanks for having our backs,” Jaden whispered back.

  The others crowded around Tarise. He wasn’t sure what they were saying to her, but her tears seemed genuine enough. Either way, he was done for the day. If he stuck around, he might say something else he would regret. “Ready to get out of here?”

  Kayla’s face was sober. “Am I ever!”

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Jaden flopped onto the blanket, stretched out on his back, and dragged in a lungful of air. It was cool up here, high in the Shadow Mountains. The silence was another blessing, as was the sight of all his friends lounging in the wildflower-sprinkled meadow bordering a crystalline mountain lake.

  Not the same lake they’d visited this time last year. One at a lower altitude and where the snow had already vanished under the warmth of the spring sunshine. How is it spring again?

  “What’s on your mind?”

  Jaden glanced at Kayla, lying on the blanket next to him. He took her hand. “Can you believe it’s been a year since Zareh turned our lives upside down?”

  “No. I still wonder where the time went.”

  Jaden stared at the clear cerulean sky overhead. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to look at the sky again without worrying about Gaptors appearing?”

  “Nope. I’ll always be looking for them. You?”

  “Yeah, same.”

  They allowed the silence to wash over them again, hearing the occasional chatter as their friends set up their own blankets and rested after the strenuous climb.

  “Why the sad face?” Kayla asked.

  Jaden realized she’d been looking at him. “We could only do this hike because Bree isn’t with us. She never joined us when we came here. Said she didn’t fancy the climb. Perhaps we should’ve chosen a different spot.”

  Kayla’s hand went to his chest, and she rolled onto her stomach, lifting herself onto her elbows so she was right in Jaden’s face. He stared into those incredible green eyes, so close to his own now. He could get lost in them, in the love that shone there.

  Aware she had his attention, Kayla said, “Perhaps it’s better this place has no memories of Bree.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Kayla’s eyes shifted sideways, and she nodded her head toward another couple. “Do you think it will help Stovan move on if he’s constantly reminded of Bree today?”

  Half-smiling, Jaden tucked a lock of Kayla’s golden hair behind an ear. “No, you’re right. He’s had a rough time. I’m happy he’s found someone who can help him heal.”

  “Not just someone,” Kayla said, waggling her eyebrows.

  Jaden chuckled. “Yeah, how could I think your best friend from your last complex was just anyone?”

  Kayla’s laughter splashed over him. “It still makes me laugh every time I think about Grailynn and her family moving here. Who would’ve thought we would only have had to spend the summer apart?”

  “She would’ve been a useful ally had she been here.”

  “True, but I am glad she didn’t have to be a part of it.”

  “You don’t think she would’ve coped?”

  Kayla smacked his chest. “No, silly! I wouldn’t have made friends with you or Iri or Atu or any of the others if Grailynn had been here.”

  Jaden grinned. “She’s just that all-consuming?”

  “Ah, I don’t know. Perhaps you should ask Stovan.”

  Chuckling, Jaden pulled her down so he could kiss her. He would never get enough of the taste of her. Of her sweet fragrance. Of the heady sensation she still invoked in him.

  “Now, now, enough of that.”

  Atu’s voice cut in, and Jaden could’ve punched him. Releasing Kayla so she could sink back onto her elbows, Jaden said, “I suppose you and Iri weren’t similarly engaged a few minutes ago?”

  Atu’s face flooded with color. “That’s not the point.”

  “Oh, it so totally is.” Jaden laughed. “I saw you kissing her in the shadows under the trees near the lake.”

  Kayla began laughing too. “Are you denying it?”

  “No, but that should be something private.”

  This only made Jaden and Kayla laugh more.

  “What’s going on?” Iri looked between them as she ambled over.

  “Just teasing your boyfriend about kissing you,” Jaden answered.

  Iri smiled and linked her fingers with Atu’s. “Yeah, he’s quite the shy one. I’m trying to break him out of his shell. But old habits . . .” She broke off giggling when Atu’s dark eyes flashed. She leaned over and kisse
d him chastely. His instant appeasement had Jaden and Kayla laughing again and Atu’s ears turning pink.

  “Alright, alright, you four can’t have all the fun. How about joining us for a gridpost game before lunch? I’m thinking all this chatter means everyone’s had enough of a breather.” Markov was smiling at them, his face hopeful.

  “Only as long as I get to be on your team,” Kayla said.

  “Done!”

  “Traitor! What about my team?” Jaden complained.

  Kayla stood in one lithe movement and held her hand out to him. “I’ll be on your team any day on the arrowball court. But for gridpost, it’s Markov’s team all the way, baby.”

  Jaden laughed. “If you say so. But don’t cry when our team clobbers yours.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Her green eyes were alight with mischief.

  “And what do you have up your sleeve?” Jaden murmured, leaning forward and kissing her gently before stepping back again.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see,” she murmured back, too softly for the others to hear.

  “Are we picking teams or standing around?” Atu asked, fidgeting next to Iri.

  Jaden grinned at his discomfort. “Want to be on my team?”

  “Yes!” The vehement response sounded like it was Atu’s way out of hell. It had them all rolling again.

  They picked teams, drew lines, and the game began. Jaden forgot about Kayla’s threat because she waited until the end to deploy her mischief. He was running the ball in for the winning point when Kayla blocked his path and raised her arm. Jaden blinked, not sure what she was doing.

  One moment, he was running. The next, he was in the air, his legs still pumping but taking him nowhere. He glanced down. “Sven! Put me down! This isn’t how the game is played.”

  Sven’s laughter boomed across the lake. “Ah, but this is the way the game ends now.”

  Before Jaden could object, Sven dumped him in the lake. Jaden almost choked, inhaling sharply at the water’s icy touch. Sputtering, he rose to the surface still clutching the ball. Sven stood there, meaty hand on his hips, grinning down at him. Along the bank, the others had lined up, their faces sweaty from the game and laughing their heads off. Jaden couldn’t let that laughter stand.

  Racing out of the lake, he swept Kayla into his arms and sprinted back into the water, dropping her like a stone. She came up gasping and laughing, pulling him back down with her. A free-for-all followed, Sven the only person not fully immersed. That was until all the guys ganged up on him and dumped him in.

  Minutes later, they were on the bank again, teeth chattering. They hastily built a fire to warm themselves. The girls hived off to one part of the nearby forest and the boys to the other, exchanging wet clothes for dry behind temporary screens made from blankets. Then they gathered around the fire, spreading out their blankets and the food they had brought in their packs.

  Chatter filled the air as they shared their food. Jaden snuggled closer to Kayla to warm her when he noticed she was still shivering. She smiled her thanks and offered him a plate of food.

  Jaden took it, noting Sven had chosen a spot next to them. “It’s wonderful to have you here with us.”

  The bear of a man smiled. “Only possible because of what you did, no? Closing that gate and the threat it posed. My government could hardly ignore that you saved our planet.”

  Jaden shook his head. “Not me, us. All of us. Together. We wouldn’t have succeeded without your tech.”

  “Nonetheless, I am grateful to you. Without you acknowledging me, without you leaking the information to the world about why I was in hiding, I would never have been a free man. They would have hunted me for the rest of my life. Now I am absolved, and I may visit with you any time. It is good then that I do that, no?”

  Jaden laughed. “Absolutely. But what makes you think it was me who cleared your name?”

  Sven’s eyes glinted suspiciously. “If not you, then who? You are one of the few people who knows my story. And the only one of that group with the skills to leak the information without being caught.”

  “If you say so.”

  Sven boomed a laugh. “It remains our secret then. Now, could you pass me more of that chicken?”

  Jaden handed it over, spotting Markov and Shianna off to the side of the fire. Their heads were bent and their lips were moving, but Jaden couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “What are you two whispering about?”

  His question quieted the rest of the group. Shianna looked guilty, but Markov shrugged. “We were talking about Tarise.”

  Jaden regretted asking. The levity went out of the group, and he could’ve cut the tension with a blunt plastic knife. But Jaden had worked through his issues with Tarise. Calmly, so the others didn’t think it was a taboo subject for him, he asked, “How’s she doing?”

  Not the response anyone had been expecting. Shianna stared at him. Markov blinked a few times before getting it together and answering Jaden’s question. “Much better. Her doctors say she’s found an effective way to cope with her . . . issues.”

  A mental institution had been Tarise’s home for most of the last year. The dismal brick. The gray walls. The cheerless visiting room. He felt sorry for her. Once her doctors had explained her fascination with him was a mental health issue, he had wanted to help in whatever way he could. But they had banned him from visiting her, claiming it only set her back, so Jaden had kept his distance. “I’m glad she’s receiving the care she needs and is making progress. Will you keep us posted?”

  Markov nodded, too surprised to verbalize a reply. Jaden pretended not to notice. He turned to Iri, finding a gentle, knowing smile on her face. He really wished she was as blind to his emotions and motivations as she was to Atu’s. “So you and Atu are joining us here in the compound soon?”

  “We are. Atu’s mom has a cousin who lives here. She has two spare rooms with her kids grown and out of the house. Just think, I’ll be able to plague all of you a lot more now that we’ll be closer. Hmm, all those secrets I can spill.”

  Jaden wasn’t the only one laughing. They all knew the lengths Iri went to so she wouldn’t shove her gift in their faces, so she would respect their privacy. In the time since their quest had ended, the rest of their close-knit group had learned the full extent of Iri’s gifts.

  When they had accepted her as readily as Kayla, Jaden, and Atu, Iri had told them about having no parents. Then it had almost been a war to see who Iri stayed with after that, all the parents insisting she couldn’t live out in the forest on her own.

  The easy, quiet lifestyle Atu and his parents offered had won out, but Jaden and Kayla still secretly agreed she had chosen them and not Kayla’s family so she could be close to Atu.

  Just as well though, because Iri might’ve felt isolated with Grailynn’s return. Jaden glanced Grailynn’s way and found her resting her back against Stovan’s chest.

  So much had changed, and so much was the same.

  “You’ve got your thinking cap on again,” Kayla whispered.

  Jaden smiled. “Yeah. I was thinking same annual hike. Different place. Different group configuration. But the same love and friendship I’ve always known.”

  “You think it will always be this way?”

  “I believe it’s something we should treasure while we have it. If the last year has taught me anything, it’s that there’s truth in something I once heard.”

  “Which was?”

  “‘The dogs of doom guard the doors of destiny.’ I don’t know who said it, but there’s a very real truth there. When Zareh sent us on that mission, if we’d let our fear get to us, we would never have succeeded. If we’d believed all the negative things people said about our chances of success, we would never have fulfilled our destiny and saved our world.”

  Kayla nodded. “Profound words about the past. What about the future?”

  “Nope, no words of wisdom. As long as you’re by my side, I can do anything.” Kayla’s
glorious smile lit his world, reminding him of something he’d thought of on the hike up. “Let’s promise each other we’ll always try something once. That we won’t be afraid of failure. Fear of failure is failure in itself. Let’s live and love and hope like there’s no tomorrow.”

  “I can get behind that.” Kayla leaned into him then, drawing him into a kiss that made Jaden forget anyone else existed.

  Loud, obnoxious, pointed throat-clearing from where Atu sat had Jaden smiling into the kiss. Reluctantly, he drew back, leaving Kayla with a whispered promise. “You’ll get my undivided attention later.”

  Kayla’s throaty chuckle had his toes curling. She whispered back, “I look forward to it.”

  Jaden dragged his eyes away from her mesmerizing gaze. He glared at Atu. “Okay, I got the message. Will s’mores please you?”

  Kayla’s squeal of delight made Jaden grin. “Did you think I’d forgotten your new favorite camping snack?”

  “Have I told you I love you?”

  “Just this morning, but you can tell me again.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Sending Atu a wicked smile, Jaden planted a short, sweet kiss on Kayla’s cheek. She batted her eyelids at him.

  Atu simply rolled his eyes. “We get it already. Where are the marshmallows?”

  Jaden found the bag in his pack and tossed them over before retrieving the rest of the s’mores makings. As Jaden put his own marshmallow on a stick, he noticed individual conversations had started up again. The fire cackled and danced, eagerly licking at the sugar they offered it. Leaning back, stick in hand, Jaden tucked Kayla against his shoulder and surveyed their group.

  His heart overflowing, Jaden absorbed the sights and scents around him. His friends chattering around the fire. Wildflowers weaving their sweet fragrance into the smoke. Birdsong filling the air. It was spring and new life abounded everywhere.

  This spring certainly heralded new beginnings. For all of them. College beckoned. New romances were blooming. Old restrictions had been lifted. And though it all, they had been, and would remain, together. Working as a team, helping one another and providing support as they reached for their dreams. Life was what you made of it. And for him, it was sweet indeed.