Libra Ascending: An Epic Urban Fantasy Romance (Zodiac Guardians Book 1)

by Tamar Sloan

  His story is completely unbelievable, the stuff of epic science fiction movies. Under any other circumstances, Brielle would never even entertain such a fantastical story. But how much more unreal are aliens than visions and curses? She knows her curse exists. Maybe other so-called fictional things do, too. And Tristan isn’t lying about any of it, so he’s either right or insane. She’s not sure which one she’s hoping for. Both come with their own dangers.

  “What makes you think I’m one of these alien princesses?” Saying it out loud feels so surreal, like she’s in a dream. And the possibility of being the soulmate he’s looking for? Pure fantasy!

  His eyes narrow at her slightly. “You’re different. I can’t explain it. I just sense it. Maybe the same way you can sense when someone is lying.” He flares his brows, giving levity to the tension.

  She nods. “And if I am one of your missing alien princesses, what then?”

  “You get to know who you really are and where you really came from.”

  “How will you know for sure?” She’s in so deep that she doesn’t know if there’s any going back, pretending this didn’t happen.

  “There’s a test.” He looks over both shoulders, as if making sure they aren’t being listened to. “I can’t go into detail, but it’s a simple test. Not a question-and-answer or biological test. More like how they find out if a child is the Dalai Lama.”

  Her pulse spiked when he said test, making her imagine having her blood drawn, so she’s relieved to hear that it’s something more abstract. Holy cow, is she actually considering this?

  “Why don’t you come over to my house some time?” His invitation spikes her pulse once again. “You can meet my parents, ask them questions, or we can just hang out, eat something awesome my mom will make. And if you really want to know, you can take the test.”

  She takes a moment to respond, pondering. “And what if I take the test and fail?”

  Tristan frowns, as if he hadn’t even considered this possibility. “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, but I’m certain you won’t fail.”

  She nods and looks down at her still unopened lunch bag, whose contents she’s nowhere near wanting.

  “Does that mean you’ll come over?” he asks.

  Her heartbeat drums a cadence in her ears that gets louder and louder until she finally says, “Sure. Why not?”

  All the colloquialisms she’s ever heard ring in her head: down the rabbit hole, not in Kansas anymore… All she’s ever wanted was to be adopted, to have a normal life with a family, a home, maybe a dog, and no bigger worries than school assignments or the latest celebrity gossip. Now she’s actually considering going along with this whole alien thing.

  She didn’t expect to be as drawn to someone as she is to Tristan. The connection between them is so much more than a run-of-the-mill high school fling. And she’s scared by how much she wants to explore it, to pass Tristan’s test and be the girl he thinks she is.

  Can she have both? A normal family and a whirlwind alien romance? Or will the two desires destroy each other?

  You can’t have both...Brielle pushes away the frightened whisper in her head.

  There’s only one way to find out.

  17

  Tristan

  She said yes!

  Tristan has to mentally restrain himself from jumping up and giving a triple backflip a red-hot go. She must feel this, too—the undeniable draw from somewhere deep down in her soul. Instead, he allows himself a grin, the motion feeling like it stretches from here to Gemini I.

  He leans forward, anticipation tingling over his skin. “Maybe tonight?”

  Brielle’s lips part, her body subtly angling closer. He can sense she wants to, but she’s fighting it.

  Tristan holds still, letting her decide, hoping she chooses what’s happening between them.

  But Brielle’s eyes widen and she jerks back. “I can’t. I have the dinner with the Pierces tonight.”

  Disappointment stabs Tristan like a blade, but he ignores it. She said she can’t. That’s different from a “no thanks.” “Well, once that goes great, maybe the day after that?”

  Brielle shakes her head ruefully, sliding a smiling glance his way. “You’re an all-in kinda guy, aren’t you?”

  Tristan grins. When the fate of the universe depends on it, it’s pretty necessary. “You noticed?”

  “A little hard to miss,” she replies, wrinkling her nose.

  Tristan doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything so adorable. He finds himself entranced. Speechless.

  Could it have finally happened? Could he have found his soulmate?

  Brielle flushes, glancing at her watch. “We’d better get back. Lunch is almost over.”

  And yet something awesome has just begun.

  Leaping to his feet, Tristan turns around and extends his hand. “Always the sensible one, huh?”

  Brielle squints up at him, her smile returning. “You noticed.”

  Tristan’s laughter starts somewhere deep in his happy place. It dances out, spinning crazily through the air.

  But then Brielle places her hand in his. Instinctively, Tristan grabs it, and the laughter dies as he’s flooded with awareness. And warmth. And something he can’t name…

  Without thought, he pulls her up. Brielle is as wide-eyed as he must be as they stand facing each other, hands clasped in the space between them. The mundane world around them fades away. All Tristan can see, all he wants to take in, is the girl before him.

  It’s like everything just realigned when he never realized how out of whack it was. Like the Universe itself is drawing them together. Like a new center of gravity has just formed between them.

  When the bell rings, they both jump as they’re yanked out of the bubble of awareness that had ballooned around them. Brielle jerks her hand back and Tristan rubs the back of his head ruefully. It seems the real world wasn’t that far away after all.

  “We’d better…ah…go,” Brielle stammers.

  Tristan picks up his lunch tub. “Yeah, don’t want to be late.”

  From what he’s seen, Brielle’s spent her life trying to play by the rules. If she really is a Zodiac Heir, it’s probably why she’s struggled to blend in, to be normal. But until Brielle sees the truth for herself, she’s going to shy away. He can’t blame her. Although it’s his normal, it’s a lot for someone else to take in.

  They fall into step beside each other as they walk across the lawn. Tristan wonders if his feet are even touching the grass. Their hands brush and warmth floods him again.

  He wonders how her powers would tie in with his, if she’s the Gemini Twin. He can’t see the link between her lie detection and his visions, but he does know the Universe works in mysterious ways.

  Tristan and Brielle. He can already feel it’s going to be one hell of a love story.

  They reach the lockers and Tristan leans against them as Brielle fiddles with the code on hers. “You’ve got History next, don’t you?”

  Brielle’s brows contract as she flits a glance at him. “You know my schedule?”

  Tristan’s had to make sure he knows her every move. Because if Brielle’s who he believes she is, then Chardis wants her just as much as he does.

  And that sure as hell ain’t gonna happen.

  Tristan shrugs. “I figured if I’ve got Geography, you’ve got History.”

  Brielle nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, I’ve got History.” She smiles. “I’m handing in an assignment early.”

  Tristan’s about to point out that’s impressive—he doubts he’ll ever hand anything in early—when a voice skims over his shoulder.

  “Rush job, huh? I bet that’ll work out for you.”

  He spins around, surprised. He was so focused on Brielle he never heard Cassandra approach. Something frowns inside him. That’s never happened before. He can’t afford not to be on high alert at all times.

  Brielle turns away. “It’s none of your business, Cassandra.”

  Cass
andra crosses her arms. “You make it my business when you break up my best friend’s relationship.”

  Tristan’s frown is strongly considering finding a way to the outside. What’s Cassandra talking about? Nor does he like the snideness in her tone.

  Brielle flushes as she slams her locker closed, her gaze flickering to Tristan. “I don’t have time to talk about this. What Suki does with her own time is her choice.”

  “And yet you had time to talk to Suki and destroy her life and Zayn’s.”

  Brielle spins around, her eyes flashing. “Did she tell you she cheated on him? More than once?”

  Cassandra’s lip curls. “She said they’re exactly the rumors you’d start spreading.”

  Tristan slips in between them, raising his hands. “I doubt Brielle would—”

  But Brielle steps around him. “I don’t spread rumors.”

  There’s an anger in Brielle’s voice that tells Tristan that Cassandra just struck a chord. It sure isn’t something he could see Brielle doing. Especially if she can see when a person’s lying. Honesty is something she’d value.

  But Cassandra meets Brielle’s anger, possibly looking to raise it. “You’re jealous of Suki just like you were of me, and you know it.” Cassandra turns to Tristan. “Has she told you she tried to sabotage my adoption?”

  Brielle gasps and Tristan instinctively steps between them again. “I think everyone needs to take a chill pill right about now.” He relaxes as if to show them what he’s talking about. “Plus, the bell’s already—”

  “Cassandra. Brielle. We do not tolerate tardiness here at Mirror Point High.”

  They all spin around to find Ms. Grotberg, the vice-principal, striding down the corridor, her hand already slipping into her skirt pocket. “This is unacceptable. The bell rang several minutes ago. I’m going to be forced to issue you a late slip.”

  Cassandra’s entire demeanor changes, her body loosening as she hoists up a smile. “Ms. Grotberg, you’re looking well today. We got caught up talking about our History assignments.”

  Ms. Grotberg turns to look at Brielle, who frowns as her gaze slides away. It seems she’s not willing to back Cassandra up in her story, and if Brielle has to live with seeing people’s lies, then Tristan understands why. There’s enough untruth in the world as it is.

  Ms. Grotberg raises a brow as her gaze settles on Tristan. He shrugs. “I’m in Geography. But what they were talking about was pretty interesting.”

  Apparently, there’s a lot of bad blood still flowing under the bridge between Brielle and Cassandra.

  Cassandra stiffens, although the motion is slight. Anyone else would probably have missed it. But Tristan’s been trained to pick up on subtle changes. Cassandra ain’t happy with how things are turning out.

  Ms. Grotberg’s hand dives back into her skirt pocket. “If that’s the case, I’ll be issuing you each with a late slip. If you hurry up, I’ll reconsider giving your parents a call.”

  Even if this were Tristan’s fiftieth late offense, Zarius and Tess wouldn’t care about late slips. Ms. Grotberg obviously doesn’t realize there are more important things in life. Tristan thanks her as he takes the slip. At least Ms. Grotberg is taking her job seriously.

  Brielle holds her hand out, accepting the piece of paper. Either the orphanage wouldn’t care or she’s willing to take this on the chin.

  But Cassandra goes extremely still. Tristan glances at her from the corner of his eye, noticing she suddenly looks like she’s been molded from steel.

  Ms. Grotberg holds out the late slip and Cassandra stares at it, unmoving. Ms. Grotberg shakes it, raising her brows. “Cassandra? You’re not showing that you’re in a hurry to get to class.”

  Stiffly, Cassandra reaches out and takes it. There’s a tiny flash of yellow light and Ms. Grotberg’s eyes widen as she jerks back.

  Cassandra flushes. “Sorry, static electricity.”

  Tristan glances down. They’re not standing on carpet.

  Ms. Grotberg frowns. “Of course. Now, back to class. I don’t want to see you out here when I come back.”

  Ms. Grotberg strides away, her back looking like that little zap just shot a cranky-pole up her spine. Tristan turns back to Cassandra. He’s spent his whole life looking for anything out of the norm…

  She turns furious blue eyes to Brielle. “This is all your fault! If my dad gets a phone call—”

  “So,” Tristan jumps in. “I’m thinking class would be a pretty good idea right now.”

  He hears Brielle take a step back behind him as he watches Cassandra closely. His spidey senses are on high alert, even though he knows it’s probably another false alarm.

  Although Cassandra is an orphan…

  Cassandra pulls in a deep breath, her eyes focusing on Tristan. Tristan scans down, noting the way her hand grips the paper slip. Maybe she was telling the truth. It could’ve been nothing but static electricity. When his gaze comes back up, Cassandra is looking at him with her brow ever so slightly hitched.

  It’s totally saying “So you had lunch with her, but you’re checking me out…”

  Which is about as far from the truth as she can get, but there’s no way for Tristan to clarify that. Especially seeing as there’s now a question mark bobbing over her head.

  So he smiles. “I’m pretty sure no one wants to be here when Grotty gets back. Let’s just head to class.”

  But Cassandra juts out a hip as she lifts her hand to it, the paper slipping out and fluttering to the ground. “I actually came over to see if you were planning on putting my number to good use anytime soon. Like for that date you promised.”

  Behind him, Brielle gasps and it’s like a shot straight through Tristan’s back. This isn’t what she needs to see, not after the lunch they just had. With a sharp slap, one of her books lands on the ground.

  Tristan frowns, bending down to pick it up, conscious she hasn’t moved. Hurting Brielle was never part of the plan. He grabs the notepad and straightens. “I’m pretty sure that’s not why you came over—”

  The words turn to ash in his mouth. Cassandra’s late slip flips up as the wind from the fallen book hits it and hovers as if it wants Tristan to get a really good look. A split second later, it flicks and flutters back down to the ground.

  Tristan blinks, a whiff of burnt paper tickling his nose. The slip lays on the linoleum floor, the sight undeniable. The edges of the paper are singed. Burned.

  And static electricity sure as hell doesn’t do that.

  Tristan gets himself vertical again, knowing this should be good news. But it’s come at the worst possible time. Brielle hasn’t moved a muscle behind him. She’s waiting to see what he’s going to say to Cassandra’s flirty question.

  And he has no choice. He has to find out if she’s a Zodiac Heir.

  Tristan yanks up a grin. “But now that you mention it, no harm with the new guy wanting to make friends, is there?”

  But Brielle’s tiny intake of breath tells him otherwise. He spins around but she’s already walking away, leaving him holding her notepad.

  And a truckload of regret.

  “Smart and good-looking,” says Cassandra, her voice full of admiration. “I like.”

  Tristan turns back, telling himself if Brielle really is his soulmate, then something small like this won’t get in the way. He angles his head. “What have you got against Brielle? She’s not exactly the arch nemesis type.”

  Cassandra flicks her hair as she spins on her heel. “We’ll have plenty of time to chitty chat over dinner. Tonight?”

  Wow. And Brielle thought Tristan worked fast. But at least this way it’ll mean he might have his answers sooner rather than later. “Sure. I’ve got your number.”

  After she scrawled it across his arm.

  With a shining smile, Cassandra sashays past. “Looking forward to it.”

  Tristan pulls his hand down his face, wanting to groan aloud. Surely that didn’t just happen. Maybe he should’ve said no, talked to Z
arius or Tess. Maybe he’s wrong.

  Except the slip of paper is still on the floor. Tristan picks it up, and the burnt edge crumbles between his fingers.

  He’ll explain this to Brielle. Once she truly grasps what hinges on finding the Zodiac Heirs, she’ll understand. He crushes the paper in his fist, striding down the empty hall.

  Any other outcome isn’t even worth considering.

  That evening, Cassandra’s already waiting at the restaurant, Chez Monet, insisting on meeting Tristan there. He’d joked that she doesn’t want her parents knowing who she’s going out with and Cassandra had giggled…but not denied it.

  Tristan had shrugged it off, though. He’s not out to impress her parents, or anyone else. He has more important things to do.

  Like find out whether Cassandra’s a Zodiac Heir.

  As Tristan approaches, he’s glad he went to the effort of a collared shirt and brushing his hair, because Cassandra has knocked it out of the park. She slinks toward him in a dark blue number that almost has Tristan’s jaw dropping. How the hell is that thing staying up?

  Cassandra smiles. “Hey.”

  Tristan’s suddenly uncomfortable. Cassandra’s gone to a lot of effort to look the way she does, when he’s not interested in anything like that.

  Unless she’s your soulmate…

  Tristan has to hide his startle. If Cassandra’s a Zodiac Heir, there’s a chance she could be.

  Something in him screams a denial as Brielle’s face flashes through his mind. But the Universe chose his soulmate, just like it chose each one of the Heirs. He doesn’t get a say…

  “Are you okay, Tristan?” Cassandra’s brow crinkles in concern.

  Get it together, man! He grins. “Sorry, my brain just flatlined for a second. You look amazing.”

  Cassandra’s smile is dazzling. “Training six days a week means I get to wear dresses like this.” She twirls and the layers of blue skirt fan out.

  “Well, that’s not fair. I train seven days a week and I don’t get to wear anything as cool as that.”

  Cassandra laughs, the sound bright and bubbly and Tristan’s grin grows. If he can keep things platonic, this date might actually be fun.