A Poised Nuisance (Lithe Book 1)

by Iris RIvers

  But Kai didn’t seem eager. In fact, he shut his eyes, as if weighing the consequences of the truth.

  “Yes,” he said after a while. “I think I do.”

  So Lara told him. She told him everything—starting from Lithe’s founders, to the formation of their secret creed. She told him about Lithe’s teachings, of why it was only women and why they hurt men. And finally, she watched the tears fall from his eyes as she told him about his parents; how his mother had betrayed the rulings of Lithe by telling his father, admitting to everything.

  Kai looked up from the necklace when she finished, sniffling quietly. Lara drew in a shaky breath. “I—”

  Kai silenced her with a suffocating hug, his tears dampening her shoulder. A breath released from his lungs—long and satisfying. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “For telling me.”

  Lara realized that this was what he’d been searching for—what he’d been wanting to know for years. She hoped it soothed his mind; she hoped that, as he drifted off to sleep, his parents’ murder would no longer haunt his dreams, keeping him awake.

  “Of course,” said Lara.

  A phone rang in the distance—Lara’s ringtone. She grudgingly pulled from his arms, and said, “That might be Ana.”

  Kai nodded, sniffling silently. “Go ahead.”

  Lara quickly answered her phone in Kai’s bedroom when she read Ana’s name across the screen. “Hello?”

  “Lara,” she said, “you need to come to my apartment. Now.”

  “Why?”

  “Please,” Ana said, her voice shaking. A few voices could be heard in the background, loud and anxious.

  Lara froze. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “I’ll see you in ten minutes.”

  And then the line went dead.

  Lara stood there for a few moments, phone in hand, then ran to the bathroom, changing into her dirtied clothes. Kai walked in when she’d finished dressing. “What’s happening?” he asked.

  “I have to go,” she said, slipping on her shoes, “but I’ll be back. I promise.”

  She kissed Kai quickly, scurrying to the front door. “Bye!” she yelled as she left.

  Kai laughed at the emptiness, entirely confused.

  A knock sounded from the door. He walked over, expecting Lara. “Did you forget—”

  But it wasn’t Lara. It was a face he knew all too well—his own face but different, with harsher lines and fuller lips. Kai dropped his hand from the doorknob, stepping back.

  “Kaden?” he breathed.

  EVELYN WAS NOWHERE to be found.

  When Lara had arrived at Ana’s home, she’d been told that Evelyn was answering no one’s calls, so, naturally, Lara had tried calling her friend herself, certain she would answer.

  She was wrong though, as all of Lara’s calls had gone to voicemail. She left a few messages, asking Evelyn where she was and telling her to respond, but her notifications had remained empty.

  Lara couldn’t help but feel worried. It was a startling sensation, to realize that she hadn’t seen Evelyn in a few days.

  Evelyn knew nothing of what happened. She didn’t know that Clarke had gone completely insane, kidnapping Lowri in the process. She didn’t know that Lara had killed Clarke, not alone but with Kai’s help.

  Kai. She didn’t know about Kai. About what had happened between them in the moments of her disappearance.

  Where was she? Where did she go?

  A few hours later, Ana had called a mandatory meeting at the bell tower, though ordered everyone to remain outside the structure. Instead, they were to meet at the small patch of land just behind the tower, where Lithe had burned most of their victims.

  It felt strange, walking to the tower, knowing Evelyn would presumably not be there, but it felt stranger knowing Kai was at her side. Ana had sent a private message to Lara, specifically instructing her to bring Kai along.

  So she did. She had gone back to his apartment, finding him not alone, but with his sister—Kaden. She looked so similar to him, yet so different, though they were both incredibly beautiful.

  When Lara had told Kai of Ana’s request, he’d asked his sister to wait in the apartment until they returned. Kaden had rolled her eyes but agreed reluctantly.

  Kai walked silently beside Lara as they made their way to the bell tower, his hand occasionally brushing her own, but he hadn’t said a single word. Neither had she—but it didn’t matter. She hadn’t wanted to speak. The silence was comforting enough.

  When they reached the tower, Kai looked up at its looming presence. “Last time I was here, I had a gun to my head.”

  “Who’s to say it won’t happen again?” Lara joked, yet she still shuddered at the thought. Ana hadn’t brought Kai here to kill him, had she? Surely not again.

  Kai looked at her, a grin plastered on that miserably beautiful face of his. “I’ll let it happen. You’re there, after all.”

  Lara brought Kai’s lips to her own, savoring the sweet taste of his tongue. “I love you,” she said after pulling away.

  “Say it again,” Kai breathed against her skin.

  She kissed him once more. “I love you.”

  “Again.”

  “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

  He kissed her three times for each confession, then once more for his own pleasure. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that,” he whispered.

  Lara smiled. Me neither.

  With their hands entwined, Lara pulled Kai to the back of the tower. Together, they opened an aging gate, stepping over old warning signs and caution tape.

  The scene before them was beautiful, in its own wicked way.

  Each girl stood in a circle, surrounding a man-made fire that burned from within. Their faces flickered in colors of orange and red, a union of the beginning and the end. They stared at Kai like they’d never seen a man before. Lara supposed they hadn’t—not in the safety of this tower. It was no doubt a strange sight.

  Kai shifted awkwardly on his feet. Lara clutched his hand, bringing it to her lips with a soft kiss. “Come,” she said, pulling him toward the circle. “They don’t bite.”

  From the circle, Irene laughed. Lara smiled at her, wrinkling her nose as she took the empty spot beside Ana. With a dull ache in her heart, she realized Evelyn wasn’t there.

  Everyone else seemed to realize too, for the laughter had died, the only noise coming from the flames of the fire and shards of burning wood.

  They all stared at Kai, and then at Ana, waiting for her to speak. Lara still held Kai’s hand, refusing to let go.

  “I tried to kill you,” Ana said as a greeting. Her tone was clipped.

  “An interesting moment,” Kai admitted, earning a laugh from another girl. Ana glared at her, rendering her silent.

  “It was, wasn’t it?” Ana said. “That’s the thing though. I tried. I never try with anyone, Kai Reeves. Least of all men.”

  A chill ran through the air, raising the thin hairs on Lara’s arms.

  “There’s something about you...” Ana trailed off, shaking her head and chuckling to herself.

  “If I can’t kill you, who can?”

  Kai said nothing. He looked to Lara as if the answer lay within her eyes, but Lara only held her breath against the stare.

  “The answer is no one,” Ana said at last. “Consider yourself an anomaly.”

  Kai blinked.

  Ana pulled a blade from the pocket of her hoodie, the metal gleaming underneath the moonlight.

  “Evelyn isn’t here,” Ana whispered, staring into the metal. “She’s gone.”

  “Where is she?” Lara asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  The answer stunned Lara as much as it did everyone else in the circle. Ana knew everything—how could she not know this?

  “She can’t be our leader anymore,” Ana stated. “I won’t wait for her return. She’s made her choice.”

  “But—” Sage began.

  “That’s what Lilah
and I have decided,” said Ana, looking to Lilah for a confirming nod. She turned to face Lara, lifting the dagger in her hand.

  Slowly, Ana pointed the blade to Lara’s chin. “You,” she said.

  Lara furrowed her brows. “Me?”

  “Yes. I want you to take Evelyn’s place. I want you to be a leader.”

  The air stilled, then, slowly, Sana nodded, staring at Lara with dignity—with respect. They were all here; they were all surrounding her. The girls who had slowly become her family were silently appraising Lara, showing her they wanted it—they wanted her to be the next leader.

  Lara shook her head, perplexed. “How do you expect me to replace Evelyn’s position like that? I haven’t been here as long as the other girls. Surely there’s someone better than me.”

  “No,” Ana said, blade still pointed toward Lara. “There isn’t.”

  Lara removed her hand from Kai’s hold. Did she want this? Did she want to lead this legacy?

  “You’ve proved to be loyal,” Lilah said loudly. “You are dedicated; you are strong. When others are weak, you continue marching ahead, head held high. You’ve had your setbacks, but that’s what makes you unique.”

  Lara parted her lips.

  “Being a leader doesn’t mean being the best or being the strongest—it means being the one to persevere, to deeply love the people of this world but also passionately hate the ones who have wronged them. The leader must be flawed; they must be different than the last. And you are all of that and more, Lara. We all see it.”

  Lara shook her head in disbelief. Looking around, she saw Irene smiling deviously, giving her a thumbs up. Violet shrugged, smiling slightly, while Mia nodded, her hands at her sides. Then she looked to Kai, to his bright eyes and thin lashes, only to find him already staring at her, waiting. His eyes held her answer.

  “Yes,” Lara said, turning back to Ana. The weight of her admission rattled her bones. “I accept.”

  Ana smiled—a real smile, broad and bright against her skin. “Good,” she said, lowering the blade. “Are you aware of the oath?”

  Lara nodded. Evelyn had explained it to her briefly during their sleepover. She felt her ribcage expand, a realization dawning over her aching body. She missed her. She missed Evelyn.

  “Then we shall begin,” Ana said, but before she could pass the blade to Lara, her eyes met Kai’s once more.

  “Is this who you are now, Kai Reeves?” she asked.

  Kai raised his chin, not hesitating for a second as he squared his jaw and nodded.

  “Are you aware that you will never be above us?” Ana pointed at the other girls.

  Again, Kai nodded. “Yes.”

  “Do you swear secrecy to our creed, just as you swear your love toward Lara?”

  Lara watched Kai’s gaze drag across the circle, eventually meeting Lara’s. He didn’t move his eyes as he nodded once more. “Yes.”

  “Then under the names of Anabelle, Elizabeth, and Lillian, I welcome you into Lithe.” Ana gripped the blade in her hand, slicing a gash across her palm. She passed it to Lilah, who did the same, and then to the next girl. Lara and Kai watched as each girl slit their palms, blood slipping into the ashen dirt. Kai mirrored the girls when it was his turn, wincing at the sharpness of the knife.

  When the blade reached Lara, she clutched it in her sweaty palms, staring into the hilt. Blood already coated her fingers—blood that belonged to Kai and the other girls. It felt like a mark against her soul. She dragged the blade across her skin, enjoying the burn that came from her torn flesh, then let the dagger fall to the floor.

  “Let us celebrate the birth of Lara Brown, and the continuation of Elizabeth’s legacy.”

  Lara Brown. The name rested on the tip of her tongue like an invitation.

  “Let us also house our newest member, Kai Reeves, son of our previous member, Dianne Reeves.”

  Kai shut his eyes at Ana’s words, shivering against the syllables as if they were praise.

  At once, Ana joined hands with Lilah, who joined hands with the girl to her left in the same desperate hold. One by one, the girls clasped each other’s hands, swearing fealty to the stars—to the women who had created Lithe.

  Anabelle Hall. Elizabeth Brown. Lillian Hart.

  When the pattern had reached Kai, he smiled, looking at Lara as blood poured from his wounded hand—the sight incredibly familiar.

  Together, they clutched each other’s palms, blood fusing with one another, and linked their fingers.

  Their mixed blood dropped to the floor in crucial drops, melting into the soil, cementing itself to the core of the earth. They were together as one, joined by the cruelest of acts, permanently written in stone until the end of time.

  No matter what was destined to happen, when the planet crumbled in on itself and mankind slipped into an eternity far from here, Kai and Lara would remain as a solid part of this cosmos, protected by each parting brick of the bell tower that hovered above them.

  Lara closed her eyes, feeling the life pour from Kai’s hand.

  She was home.