Rapture

by Quinn Loftis

  “Um, thanks.”

  “Skye,” I began, but she immediately interrupted me.

  “How do you know my name? Am I supposed to know you?” Her face was once again a mask of confusion, but I was pleased to see she wasn’t afraid of me.

  I placed the doughnut box on the bed and slowly lowered myself to take a seat, raising my eyebrows to silently get her permission to sit. She nodded assent, and I watched as her hair fell over her eyes. My hand itched to tuck it behind her ear as I watched her push it up and off her face.

  “Skye,” I began again. “There are a lot of things I think I should tell you, but many I just can’t right now.” I swallowed hard as I looked into her warm, chocolaty brown eyes.

  I wondered how and what to tell her, and knew it would have been easier with Rioden around. I mentally kicked myself for not just dropping her off at home last night.

  “Um, honestly I don’t even know where to begin to try to explain myself to you.” I stuttered like a boy on his first date, but I could see I’d piqued her interest with my cryptic explanation.

  She opened up the donut box, took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet sugary smell.

  “Do you have a favorite?” she asked, pointing to the box, and suddenly I was caught up in a memory from 12 years ago…

  “Xander! Xander! Look at them making the donuts!” Skye yelled, as she waved me over to the glass window to watch as fresh donuts were being made by a machine. “Do you think we could buy one of these?” she asked me prettily when I walked up beside her.

  “Sure, whatever Princess Skye wants, she shall get,” I mocked, and bowed to her.

  Her giggles filled the store as she curtsied to me and then turned back to the donuts.

  “Oh yummy!” She licked her lips and sighed, “I want a hot one right off the belt thingy, Xander. Which one is your favorite?”

  I pretended to contemplate all of the choices and then answered her with a smile. “Whichever one is yours, Princess.”

  She laughed again and yanked my arm as she pulled me to the counter.

  “I declare you shall have chocolate with pink sprinkles, Sir Xander,” she laughed.

  And of course because I always did what Skye wanted, I ate the chocolate donut with pink sprinkles while she devoured two fresh, hot glazed donuts just off the conveyor belt.

  “Do you have a preference?” Skye asked, reigning me back in from my memory.

  “Oh, sorry. I just remembered…something. No, you pick whatever you want, I’ll eat anything,” I replied, feeling my face turn a shade redder for sounding like such an idiot.

  Skye picked out a plain glazed one, and I tried not to smile at her as she licked her lips after her the first bite.

  “Mmmmm, I don’t know why, but I have always loved them plain.”

  We sat in silence as we each ate our first donut. Skye kept her watchful eyes on me and I could practically hear the thoughts and questions formulating in that brain of hers.

  “Ok,” she started. “How about if I ask you questions and you answer what you can - deal?” I noted how her head had tilted to one side, like a puppy’s would, as she asked the question.

  When I didn’t answer her, she continued.

  “Look - I know all too well what it’s like to keep secrets. I don’t want to make you say anything you don’t feel you should, but I do have questions. First off, how did I end up in your hotel room in just my underwear? Did we…well, you…” she trailed off in embarrassment; her cheeks staining pink.

  Shaking my head I began to answer her questions. “No Skye, I would never have taken advantage of you in the state you were in.”

  Her relief was obvious as she listened to me.

  “You don’t have any memories, huh? I found you in the woods; you were so out of it I decided to bring you here. Once you puked all over the carpet there,” I pointed, “I put you in the shower to clean you up.”

  Her cheeks blushed crimson at that, and she bowed her head - either from shame or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell.

  “Thank you for helping me,” she finally replied, and then almost as an afterthought, she lifted her eyes and added, “But why?”

  “Why?” I shrugged. “Oh, you mean why did I help you?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, it was cold out, and you were shaking and wet, and well, I …” I stammered; not sure how to explain away what, to her, seemed like a random act of kindness.

  “Ok, how do you know me?”

  I cleared my throat and considered the best thing to say. “I really can’t give you an answer right now.”

  “OK….. Well, why do you seem familiar to me, then?” she asked; the frustration building in her voice.

  I tried to hold my emotions in, but hearing her say I seemed familiar brought a warmth to my chest that had been missing since I was nine.

  “Skye, there are many things you need to know, but right now I don’t know if you’re ready to hear them. I know this is going to sound crazy, but will you put some trust in me without answers for right now?”

  “What’s your name?” she asked quietly.

  I was impressed with her composure. I had a feeling most people in her situation would have told me off, but she hadn’t. Not yet anyway. She’d been through so much in her short life, so much more than she even knew, yet she sat there calmly in the hopes I would answer her questions. And I sat there knowing the answers I could provide might be the tipping point that finally made her crumble.

  “My name is Xander,” I told her, watching her face carefully.

  After a long moment of staring at me she finally shrugged, “Xander? That’s cool - with a Z?”

  “No, an X.”

  “OK, Xander with an X, I’m intrigued. I haven’t had much of a reason to trust anyone for a very long time, but I’m going to choose to trust you,” she said. Almost as an afterthought she whispered, “Please don’t make me regret this.”

  “Never,” I whispered back.

  Skye

  ‘I’m such an idiot’, I thought to myself, as I sat across from Xander and sipped my coffee. My head was still pounding, but I felt better than I would have expected after the previous night. This guy hadn’t given me anything other than his name and a bunch of questions, but for some reason I’d just told him I would trust him.

  ‘Ugh! What is wrong with you, Skye?!’ I screamed at myself. I would readily admit he was beautiful, as he sat across from me looking casual in dark jeans, a dark T-shirt and a hoodie. His clothes may have seemed typical, but his looks were anything but.

  His hair was a lighter shade of brown than mine – it was thick, and while short, had that shaggy messed-up look that made you want to run your fingers through it. However, it was the chiseled planes of his face which made it so hard to tear my eyes from him. He looked like he had been carved out of a piece of marble and then brought to life. I was almost jealous as I looked at his high, well defined cheekbones - what girl wouldn’t kill for those! - and his lips. Oh my… I could just die!

  I shook myself when I realized he was grinning at me. I felt my face start to burn as the blood rushed up my body.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled weakly. “I don’t mean to stare, but there is something so…familiar about you. I keep thinking if I stare at you long enough I’ll remember it.” I told him all of that in a rush to cover for my blatant infatuation, but as I said it I realized it was the truth.

  When he’d told me his name, my heart skipped a beat. ‘Xander, Xander, Xander’ my head kept chanting. Maybe as a kid I knew a ‘Xander’? I had virtually no memories of the life I lived with my parents. Although the doctors initially thought it was strange, later they said the trauma of losing them must have been so difficult it had forced me to repress everything. But ever since I’d heard Xander’s voice, my brain had been swimming with thoughts that maybe he was someone I should have known.

  What was it about this guy that made me so willing to let down my carefully constructed wall and let him in?
His beautiful face, his soothing voice, the fact he had saved me? I had no idea but I knew I had to trust him.

  I could feel it.

  That was the true reason I’d decided to trust him. My brain - and heart – were telling me there was something special about Xander. At this point, I was so tired of my life I found I was willing to follow what was most likely nothing…just to see if it would possibly change the path I was on.

  Please Enjoy this

  Excerpt from

  Defy (Firstborn Trilogy #1) by Raine Thomas

  Prologue

  The pain was unimaginable. She dragged herself along the ground with her one working arm, at turns scrabbling at tree roots or shrubs and at others digging her hand as deep into the earth as she could manage before hauling her broken body as far as possible. In the past hour, she had moved approximately fifteen feet.

  She knew she was going to die. The horrors that had been visited upon her were so atrocious that she couldn’t even think of them now. It was as though a black haze coated her memory.

  But her attackers had left her in sight of a platform that could get her to Central. They had no way of knowing it because, being Mercesti, they were unable to see the heavily enchanted travel system. The platform glimmered to her like a taunting beacon, however, bouncing lightly on the waves. If she’d had the required energy left, she would have extended her wings and flown to it.

  Animal-like sounds left her throat as she struggled for the strength to move. If she could somehow get to the platform, perhaps someone at Central could help her. And if she was very fortunate, kyria Amber or archigos Gabriel might even be in attendance. They could heal her.

  Once more, she stretched her right arm in front of her. The ground onto which she was emerging from the forest was sandy and open. If any of her attackers remained nearby, they would see her. While that thought terrified her, she couldn’t fight the instinct to survive. She knew she had to try. So she pressed her hand into the blazing hot sand until she had enough of a grip to pull herself. Then she strained her already aching bicep and heaved herself forward as much as she could.

  She didn’t even move a foot.

  Although she thought her attackers had wrought all of the tears from her, she realized now that wasn’t the case. They tracked down her bruised and broken face, joining with her sweat and plopping into the sand beneath her head. Heat radiated from the unforgiving surface beneath her, burning her already punished skin.

  A sound to her right had her stiffening in fear. She made a whimpering sound as distinct footfalls grew nearer.

  Her enemies must have returned to finish what they started. The tears continued unchecked as she carefully removed her hand from the sand in hopes she could do at least a little damage to the next male who hurt her. She would fight until she couldn’t.

  But the being approaching her stopped on her left side. She tried to move her head toward her left and couldn’t. Another pained sound escaped her.

  The presence knelt. He said, “Ah, Luvania. What have you gotten yourself into?”

  She couldn’t turn her head and her vision was blurred by tears and exhaustion, but recognition was immediate. Although she hadn’t heard that voice in over fifty years, she could identify it. He still managed to sound both impatient with the world and infinitely bored by it. And at the moment, there was a gentleness beneath his tone she would never have expected.

  “I am afraid your injuries are beyond my ability to repair,” he said. “I have seen others emerge from the water where you appear to be trying to reach. I can get you to the platform with your assistance.”

  She couldn’t find the energy to speak, so made another sound in her throat and moved her head in a form of a nod.

  “This will hurt.”

  He lifted her. Pain screamed through her body. She squeezed her eyes shut against it. When she again opened her eyes, she realized they were in the water. She must have passed out.

  “Thought I might have lost you there,” he said. “Are you ready for placement on the platform?”

  Why would he not get on it with her? The thought floated through her head and then faded as insignificant. They had only a couple feet more to go. Extending her right arm toward the platform, she indicated she was ready. He obligingly moved forward. When her hand came into contact with the platform, more tears welled in her eyes. He settled her on it and stepped away.

  “Good fortune to you, Luvania,” he said.

  She once again thought to ask why he wasn’t accompanying her, but by then she was lifting into the sky.

  The trip took an eternity. She lost consciousness more than once. Each time, she saw her rescuer’s face in her mind, though she hadn’t actually glimpsed him during their encounter. Thoughts of him from the past as well as what he had just done for her kept her focused, overriding the brutality she had endured.

  She wanted to thank him. Wanted to praise him for giving her hope merely moments after she had given up and decided she was going to die. She wanted to help him as he had helped her. Surely he needed her help if he was living on the mainland and had removed himself from existence for over five decades.

  Her delirium grew. Thinking became difficult. But at long last, through vision that was slowly fading to gray, she saw the outline of Central approaching.

  She had made it.

  The platform eased its way into Central’s loading bay. The darkness of the underground cavern had her blinking to try and focus. It did her no good.

  Her brain registered the sounds around her, but couldn’t interpret them. The pain had leeched from her body. She understood then that it had all been for nothing. Her efforts. His efforts. For nothing.

  “Holy light!” she heard.

  There were other sounds. Other exclamations. People touching her. But she no longer felt anything. She registered only one lingering image.

  “Luvania, can you hear me?”

  Something flickered in her mind at the echoing voice. Caoilinn.

  “Luvania, can you tell us who did this to you?” the Lekwuesti commander asked, her words filled with urgency.

  She wanted to tell them. They needed to know. Others would be at risk as she had been. There were dangers beyond any Estilorian’s knowledge lurking on the mainland.

  So she struggled to work her strained vocal chords as darkness clouded her mind. There was something important she had to tell them. Wasn’t there?

  Then she remembered. The image she had carried with her on the ride to Central. Someone she needed to help.

  And with her last breath, she told them.

  “Zachariah.”

  Chapter 1

  Being seventeen absolutely sucked.

  Tate crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the grassy ground beneath her booted feet. The response to her request had been exactly what she’d expected, but that didn’t make her any less annoyed. She would be eighteen in about a month, for all holy sake. What difference did a few weeks make?

  “You know why I’m saying no, Tate,” her father, Caleb, said in his level tone. “You’re not yet eighteen. Leaving the area of protection around our home would be very unsafe. You can’t bring forth your wings yet.”

  She looked up at him, fighting against the instinctive pout that she knew wouldn’t help her cause. “Only because you won’t let me try,” she countered.

  He gave her The Look. It was one he had mastered over the years, and she felt her shoulders hunching against it. Huffing out a sigh, she rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, fine. So I’ve tried. But that doesn’t mean I’d be helpless out there. I’d be with Quincy and Sophia, and they won’t be very far outside the area of protection. Don’t you trust Quincy?”

  Her father gave her another look, this one telling her that she was losing her touch. “I certainly do trust Quincy. He brought you into this world and he would protect you to his death. Is that what you want?”

  She pursed her lips in frustration. He knew she wasn’t going to say yes to t
hat. Refusing to give up, she said, “What I want is for you to trust my ability to defend myself. I’ve been trained to do so since I was old enough to hold a weapon. I know very well that mom only trained for a few months after she transitioned to this plane before she helped you defeat Grolkinei. So I’m curious as to just when you’re going to consider me ready.”

  Now, her father’s dark blue eyes seemed to take her measure. Then he acknowledged, “Well played.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But it doesn’t change my mind.”

  “But, Dad—”

  “No, Tate. My answer is final.” He reached out and tugged on one of her many bouncy curls—curls that resembled his outside of their coloring. “You offered a sound argument. But the last thing that Quincy and Sophia need is a distraction while they’re outside the area of protection. That would defeat the purpose of their efforts. On top of that, my concern for your safety won’t ease until you’re eighteen, and even then, I’m your father. I love you and I’ll always worry about you.”

  Her frown softened at the words, but she still found the disappointment hard to swallow. She knew that she was ready to experience more of the world. How could he not feel the same? “I wouldn’t be a distraction,” she grumbled. “They wouldn’t even know I was there. You’re going to have to learn to trust my abilities at some point, Dad.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve lived a much more sheltered life than your mother and your aunts did, Tate. You don’t understand it yet, but you’re a much younger seventeen than they were.” His lips curved into a smile that eased the sting of his words. “When you’re really ready to leave the area of protection, you’ll understand what I’m saying.

  “The bottom line is that you might be the oldest of all your siblings by five minutes, but you’re not the oldest of your cousins. Clara Kate and Sophia will experience certain things before you and Tiege do. But that won’t make those experiences any less special for you when it’s your turn. Before you know it, we’ll be taking you and Tiege out for your first attempt at flying.”