“It is my pleasure to see you again, Ariana.”
She tilted her head at his accented words, studying him curiously. It was strange that someone with his compelling presence didn't accompany his gesture with the normal metaphysical greeting of their kind. It was just one more reminder he wasn't one of them. Even so, she couldn't help but be intrigued. How was she drawn to this man when he wasn't using energy to entice her?
Suddenly aware she hadn't responded, Ariana blushed at her lapse in etiquette. “Please forgive me, Ambassador. I didn't intend to be rude. I'm not accustomed to meeting someone and not experiencing their energy signature. I have to compliment you on your excellent grasp of our language. It's improved a great deal since I last saw you.”
“You must call me Sergei,” he insisted.
She smiled and lifted her head to study him. He returned her intent gaze, and Ariana was once more struck by his magnetism. Not only was he incredibly attractive, but there was something about him that called to her on an elemental level. She took a small step forward, lifted her hand, and pressed it against his cheek. He froze, his eyes widening the barest of a fraction at the contact. He remained still, though, except to continue watching her.
Ariana traced her fingers over his cheek and down the line of his jaw. The light stubble on his cheeks tickled her fingertips. Sergei was coiled with energy, but the sensation was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. He couldn't be a Drac'Kin like her, but there was something different about him from other non-sensitives. Her cooler water energy was drawn to the heat contained within him.
Itching to explore him further, she moved her fingers down his neck toward the open collar of his shirt. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and his shoulders tensed. Ariana's eyes shot up to meet his heated gaze and she pulled her hand away, realizing her mistake.
“I shouldn't… I'm sorry…” she floundered, wondering what had come over her.
What was she doing touching a non-sensitive like that? Her brother would kill her, but before that, he'd remind her for the hundredth time why she shouldn't leave the Inner Sanctum. She glanced over at Kayla to find the former ruin rat barely suppressing her laughter. Ariana bit her lip. How on earth did they manage to get to know one another without exchanging energy? The entire thing was baffling.
Sergei captured her hand and brought it to his lips again, pressing a kiss against it. “Do not apologize, Ariana. You are welcome to touch anytime.”
Ariana blushed again, still embarrassed by the social faux pas, but she didn't pull her hand away. She wasn't making the best impression, but this stranger was arousing every inch of her curious nature.
Kayla snorted. “Funny. I remember a time not too long ago when you said the same to me.”
Sergei chuckled, but his gaze never left Ariana. “But that was a game. One you played very well.”
His expression turned more thoughtful, and he reached up to brush Ariana's cheek with his hand. Unable to resist, she leaned into his hand, feeling his warmth once again brush against her cool water energy. If he was touching her, perhaps touch was just as accepted amongst their kind. She needed to better understand their ways. Sergei was almost reverent as he caressed her cheek.
“You do not play games, do you, solnyshka? Your heart shines in those beautiful silver eyes.”
Entranced and curious by the foreign word, she parted her mouth slightly. Sergei leaned forward, and she lifted her head, caught by the intensity in his gaze. His mouth hovered just over hers, close enough she could feel his warm breath against her lips. Ariana closed her eyes, the awareness of his nearness heightening as his scent and heat surrounded her. It wasn't normal energy she was feeling, but some other sort of pull. Was he really going to kiss her? Excitement and apprehension flooded through her at the possibility.
Kayla cleared her throat and made a strangling noise. “Uh, Sergei? Not a good idea.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
Ariana's eyes flew open when she heard the familiar voice. Sergei froze, his entire body tensing as he lifted his head. His face was an expressionless mask as he pulled Ariana behind him. She pressed her hands against his back, once more intrigued by his warmth through his shirt. Shaking her head to try to clear the distracting thoughts, she looked around him to see the newcomer.
Uh oh.
Her brother's expression was thunderous as he glared at the foreigner. Sergei, however, appeared unconcerned and leaned against the edge of the desk, positioning his body in front of her in a protective gesture. The only sign of his annoyance was a slight rigidity in his shoulders. Ariana wanted to reach up and touch his shoulders to ease away the tension. She frowned and flexed her fingers, reminding herself her energy wouldn't work as well on a non-sensitive. It was tempting to try though.
Sergei nodded at the other man. “Jason, it is good to see you again. I was making your lovely sister's acquaintance.”
“Is that what you call it?” Jason snarled, clenching his fists and taking a step toward Sergei. “Get the fuck away from my sister, or I won't be held responsible for my actions.”
Ariana moved to stand beside Sergei, refusing to hide behind a man she barely knew, especially against her twin brother. “Jason, that's enough. I came here to meet with Kayla. Sergei happened to come in a few minutes ago. I was curious.”
She glanced again at Sergei to find him still watching her with that predatory gaze. Why that gave her a thrill, she wasn't sure. She reached out and touched his bare arm, intrigued by the energy just out of reach that called to her. Almost unbidden, she took a step closer to the fascinating man.
“I've never met anyone like him before. He reacts with the energy in the environment. I can sense his energy below the surface, but it's so different from ours. It calls to mine.” She glanced at her brother. “Why can I sense him better than other non-sensitives?”
Jason squeezed his eyes shut and muttered a curse under his breath. Opening his eyes, he ran a hand worriedly through his dark hair. “Ari, you need to step away from him right now. He's not one of us.”
Sergei's eyes narrowed at his words. Pushing away from the desk, he straightened his body to his full and imposing height. Ariana bit her lip and glared at her brother in frustration. Of course Sergei wasn't one of them, but there was something there. She just didn't know what it was nor was she willing to ignore it.
“Jason,” Kayla intervened, “just chill out. There's obviously some attraction between them. Believe it or not, it can happen. I can't imagine my life without Carl in it, and he's not one of you. Maybe it's the same sort of thing.”
“You're not my sister,” Jason snapped at the petite brunette. “If you spent a little more time focusing on developing your own abilities and training, you'd understand the dangers of what you're suggesting. Your talents are nothing like Ariana's, and you cannot begin to understand our world with just a few months of exposure.”
Kayla's mouth dropped open, and she looked ready to spit daggers at him, but before Kayla could launch into a verbal assault, Jason focused again on Ariana. She could feel every ounce of disapproval in his stare but also sense his underlying worry and fear.
“Ari, please. This is why we didn't want you to leave our tower. You cannot help him.” He took a step toward her. “Let me take you back to the Inner Sanctum.”
Ariana closed her eyes, remembering the warnings of her elderly teacher before she'd passed away. Was her psyche truly unable to withstand being around non-Drac'Kin? It didn't make sense. Something about her teachings wasn't right. Ariana had been trying to do some experiments on her own and expose herself to others in secret. She'd been careful, but this was the first time she'd really been drawn to one of them. She hadn't had the same reaction with anyone that she felt with Sergei.
As she hesitated, the air in the room started to crackle with frozen energy. Her awareness opened, and her eyes flew to her brother. Jason's worry and fear were quickly reaching a crescendo. The closer he came to his breaking poin
t, the more his control started to slip. No matter what, she couldn't allow anyone to be hurt.
“All right,” Ariana agreed in a rush, but she let Jason feel the warning snap of her energy in the air. “I'll return with you for now, but you would do well to remember you're not my keeper. You will not dictate who I decide to spend my time with. I'll consider your words, but my decisions and the consequences of those decisions are my own.”
Jason's jaw clenched, but he nodded and held out his hand. She started to take it but hesitated. She couldn't leave things this way. Above all else, Sergei was an ambassador for another powerful group. He deserved their respect.
Ariana turned back to Sergei. “I apologize for my behavior and my brother's words. I'm glad to have met you and…” Her voice trailed off, and she frowned. Energized emotion vibrated around them, but she wasn't sure how to translate it into words. Nothing seemed sufficient. How did non-sensitives express their feelings when simple words weren't enough? She paused, wondering if Sergei could sense her energy the same way she could detect something within him.
Ariana took a step toward him and stood on her toes. Brushing a soft kiss against his cheek, she sent a wave of her energy over him and whispered, “Thank you.”
With a small smile, she turned away and took her brother's outstretched hand, letting him lead her away from the room.
Chapter Two
Sergei watched Ariana disappear with a mixture of emotions. She reminded him of another woman he'd once known and was easily one of the most exquisite women he'd ever met. Ariana was tall, with a graceful and willowy form. And those legs. They seemed to go on for miles. Her long, dark hair shone with a brilliance even the light seemed to be drawn toward. Her silvery eyes, however, were his undoing. Every emotion, every thought, had all been reflected back at him with a guileless innocence that was staggering. She was wholly feminine but had an innate curiosity and strength he found fascinating.
It had been a long time since he'd had such a visceral and immediate reaction to a woman. He'd been a hairsbreadth away from kissing her, all audiences be damned. Something about her made him forget himself. She was utterly captivating, and that alone made her extremely dangerous. He couldn't afford to be distracted while he was still technically in enemy territory. The Coalition's alliance with OmniLab was tenuous at best.
“Well, that was interesting,” Kayla huffed and sat in her chair. “I thought Jason was going to blast you for sure. Did you feel those little icicles in the air? He was definitely losing his shit. She got him out of here just in time.”
Sergei glanced down the hallway again, but the two siblings were already gone. Part of him was tempted to go after her so he could touch her again. He rubbed his fingertips together, recalling the softness of her skin and her scent. She'd smelled like the flowers they had in the OmniLab greenhouses. He wasn't sure what kind they were, but he now had an almost fervent desire to figure it out. The scent had been subtle but seemed to act like some sort of drug, confusing and heightening all his senses at once.
He turned back to Kayla, wondering how much information he could glean from the former ruin rat. Kayla could be cagey when it suited her. “What do you know of her?”
“Ari?” Kayla mused with a shrug and began organizing the scattered design diagrams on the desk. “Not a whole lot, but I like her. Alec introduced us a few months ago so she could help train me. She's some sort of expert water channeler. Some of the Inner Circle people can be real assholes, but Ariana's just about as sweet as they come. Alec thinks the world of her too, but I don't think he feels the same about her brother. Jason's a handful.”
“You were to train with her? Why have you not?”
Kayla glanced up and scowled at him. “Great, now you're going to start too? Alec's been a pain in the ass lately. That's why he sent Ari here. It's hard to say no to her, and Alec knows it.”
When he didn't reply, she blew out a breath. “Look, I've just had my hands full lately between the construction here and helping to oversee the underground river excavation. I'll eventually get around to doing more training, but I'm kind of busy right now.”
“These are excuses, Kayla. A weapon does not serve if you do not have the skill to wield it.”
Kayla pursed her lips in annoyance. “Fine. I'll train with her. Sheesh. I swear, Alec must have put you up to this too.” She was quiet for a moment and a sly smile crossed her face. “You seemed quite taken with Ariana. You know, if I decided to train with her… let's say… tomorrow…”
Sergei arched a brow, enjoying the deviousness of Kayla's machinations. It would give him the opportunity to learn more about these strange Omni abilities and more about the intriguing young woman. “You would need an escort?”
Kayla nodded and held up her hands in a helpless female gesture. They both knew the gesture was bullshit, but Sergei wasn't about to contradict her when she was plotting so well without his help. “Since I don't have the skill to wield my weapon and all that, I could really use a big, strong Coalition soldier to help protect me.”
Sergei chuckled. “How much will your assistance cost this time?”
Kayla gave him a wicked grin and leaned back in her chair. “I think another bottle of that vodka would do nicely. Pay up and you get to play escort. I'll even look away if you want to get handsy with Ariana again.”
“You have a deal,” he agreed, and his smile faded as he remembered the reason he'd originally sought her out. “I need to speak with you about another matter.”
When Kayla leaned forward and arched an eyebrow, Sergei asked, “What is the latest status of this river excavation?”
Kayla sighed. “I'm not sure. Carl's coming back soon to give us an update. When I spoke with him a couple of days ago, they were launching more probes to try to map the underground river. We're still having problems getting our equipment down to the ruins, so they need to try to find a more stable location to run the pipes. Between the original chasm, the ruin collapse sixteen years ago, and the more recent earthquake, the structural integrity of that area has been compromised.”
“I see,” Sergei replied, considering the implications. “I need to be updated as soon as you have more information.”
Kayla cocked her head and studied him. “Your people are in trouble, aren't they?”
Sergei hesitated, debating how much to share with Kayla. Unlike many of the tower residents, she would understand some of the dangers his people were now facing. But there were boundaries he couldn't cross without severe repercussions.
“We have moved many of our people here to help with the construction and river excavation, but we do not have easy access to our stockpiled resources from other facilities. Transports are costly, and there have already been too many delays with the construction.”
She frowned. “I know the delays have been worrying everyone, but I don't think anyone fully realized the scope of this project. We've had to make more adjustments than we first expected, and some of the materials we were going to repurpose aren't going to work. How bad is it on your end?”
“My superiors have some serious concerns,” Sergei admitted. “At least two or three of our leaders are heading to the area to evaluate our progress and the situation.”
Kayla's eyes widened. “They're coming to OmniLab? Does Alec know?”
“No,” Sergei replied, leaning against the wall to keep himself from pacing.
If Kayla or anyone in the towers knew how dire the situation was, it could prove to be disastrous. He had to tread carefully to prevent the Coalition's position from weakening even more. The original agreement with OmniLab stated the Coalition would withdraw from their forced occupation of the towers in exchange for the new tower construction being completed within a year. The new facility would provide a home to a thousand of their people, including many of the ruin rats.
Unfortunately, they hadn't anticipated all these delays. If they didn't make progress or turn things around soon, their entire alliance would be in jeopardy. The
Coalition had too much invested to walk away empty-handed. Even now, there were rumblings about whether this agreement was truly beneficial to their people. Weapons were being shipped en masse to the surrounding camps in the event their alliance degraded completely. If necessary, they were preparing to retake the towers by force.
“Our leaders will not come to your towers,” Sergei informed her. “They will stay in the outlying areas, interview our camp leaders, and make a determination. I have an appointment with Alec tomorrow, but I had hoped for better news before then.”
“I can try to reach out to Carl later tonight,” she offered. “Communication has been spotty since he's been spending so much time underground. But I'll get a message to one of our people on the surface.”
Sergei nodded. It was the best they could do for the moment. He only hoped Carl had good news whenever he reached out to them. Otherwise, all Sergei's efforts to negotiate with OmniLab and preserve life might have been wasted.
Ariana dove into the water, her body cutting through the depths with the surgical precision of a knife. The cloud of emotion surrounding her fell away sharply until there was nothing but a peaceful serenity. The water encompassed her, caressing every inch of her skin, and she channeled the energy until she was one with it. When she could no longer remain submerged, she broke the surface of the water with a gasp and filled her lungs with air.
Even the air held the moisture she craved. While she could connect with the energy through the air, it wasn't until she was touching the water that she truly felt alive. She treaded water for a moment, each kick edged with power and infused with the elemental energy.
“Hey! Am I early?”
Drop of Hope Page 2
