Central

by Raine Thomas

  Her answering smile was something to behold.

  James observed all of this from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t looked away from Olivia’s potent light green gaze since she stopped in front of him. Those eyes shone with a humor that told him she was well aware of the impact she was having on him.

  “How did you get this dress through the door?” Caleb asked Skye from a few feet behind Olivia. He sounded truly puzzled. Skye gasped and glared at him.

  Gabriel shook his head sorrowfully at the young Gloresti. “Tsk, tsk, Caleb. You have much to learn. Observe.”

  Stepping up to Skye, he extended his hand so that she reached out to take it, her face transforming into a beaming smile. Then he lifted that hand and prompted her to execute a graceful twirl. Her other arm extended to the side in a manner that displayed her gown to perfection.

  “You are exquisite, sis,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. The action made her giggle. “You look like something out of a fairytale.”

  “I know!” she replied happily. “Like Cinderella, right?”

  “That’s exactly right,” he replied. Then he turned and looked at Olivia, who met his gaze. “It seems, Sis Number Two, that your beauty has left James speechless.” He looked at James with his eyebrows raised to prompt a response.

  “Yes,” James finally responded. His voice sounded a bit hoarse, so he cleared his throat. “Olivia, you are simply staggering.”

  Skye sighed dreamily. Then she glowered at Caleb and reached out to smack him on the arm. “And you asked me how I fit through the door. Nice.”

  “What?” he asked, sounding aggrieved. “It was a valid question. If I had known I was supposed to tell you how beautiful you look first, I would have.”

  She eyed him warily. “You think I’m beautiful?”

  “You are always beautiful,” he said simply. “This,” and he indicated her gown, “is just adornment.” He obviously meant every word.

  Now, she looked astounded. She brought a hand to her heart.

  Gabriel grinned. “And I didn’t help him on that one, either,” he said. Then he glanced at all of them, his expression sobering. “All right then. We know this won’t be the easiest or most comfortable social event we’ve ever attended. None of us have any idea what to expect. We’ll hope for the best, but be ready for the worst. Keep your thoughts open to each other as much as possible.”

  They all nodded. Amber held her hand out, palm down. One by one, they added their hands to the pile, exchanging looks of solidarity.

  Then they turned and walked down the hall without another word, together.

  Olivia’s heart beat uncomfortably fast as she stood with her sisters outside the grand hall where the welcome dinner was being held. Sebastian had shown Gabriel a way to get them all to the hall without being seen by anyone. Now, they were essentially waiting in the wings until Jabari announced them into the room.

  The noise was at a high level as Estilorians arrived and took their seats, greeting each other and speculating about the night’s event. Olivia could see maybe half the room. It consisted of five graduated tiers of seating rising higher than she could see, approximately three tables deep per level. The linen-covered tables all overlooked the center floor, like a stadium. Instead of a court, playing field or concert stage, however, there was a gleaming hardwood floor on the ground level with a large, wide, rectangular table covered in a white cloth and surrounded by padded wooden chairs. Gabriel had informed them that after they were announced, they would all walk across the floor to the table. The three sisters, James and Caleb would be sitting with the elders, a great honor.

  There sure are a lot of them, Skye thought. She was clinging to Caleb’s arm, her eyes wide.

  At least a thousand, Olivia seconded. Her grip on James was nearly as tight.

  Amber had her right arm around Gabriel’s waist. He kept his hand on her shoulder, holding her near. As always, she looked collected and controlled. But she echoed her sisters’ nerves when she added, I’d double that number. Man, I hate crowds.

  Finally, the balls of light filling the hall dimmed. The sounds settled into silence. Olivia swore her heart was going to leap right out of her throat. She prayed she wouldn’t faint.

  You won’t, Amber thought firmly, catching her gaze. We’re made of tougher stuff.

  Bracing her shoulders, Olivia nodded resolutely. Skye did the same.

  “Welcome, my fellow Estilorians.”

  Jabari’s deep and commanding voice filled the hall, easily reaching even the highest and deepest seats. Olivia saw him, resplendent in an aqua-colored robe over a royal blue undershirt, standing at the head of the table currently facing the alcove where she and her sisters stood. To his right sat Knorbis, decked out in a tuxedo similar to James’ but with a long black tie and dark purple vest that matched his eyes. The lights made his blond hair appear white. Ini-herit sat to Jabari’s left. Although the Corgloresti elder was sitting, he appeared to be wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a high, round collar and matching black pants. The single silver chain he wore sported a pendant of some kind and hung halfway down his chest. He had pulled his black hair back in a fancy braid.

  Next to Knorbis was Malukali. The Orculesti elder was smiling, the expression lighting her dark green eyes. Her long, straight, brown hair hung unbound down her back, and a wreath of pink flowers tied with ribbon sat around her head. Her dark pink ball gown was high-waisted and flowing, with small cap sleeves.

  Sitting at the other end of the table was Uriel. Although his back was to them, Olivia could see the Waresti elder was wearing another tuxedo. As always, his dark hair was cut militarily short. To his right sat the Scultresti elder, Zayna. Her dark skin was luminous in the romantic lighting. She wore a toga-style gown in a soft, flattering yellow. Her brown eyes were alight with good humor. Sebastian sat across from her. He wore a formal dark-gray suit with a coordinating striped tie.

  “We have called you all together this evening in celebration,” Jabari said as she took everything in. “Tonight, we welcome the three daughters of one of our fallen Corgloresti, Saraqael. Their story is known by us all, but they themselves are only known by very few. Though they have been on our plane just a short while, they have already opened the minds and hearts of the council of elders here before you. And it is with great pleasure that I invite them now to join us for this very festive event.”

  Suddenly, the wall that had been shielding them from everyone’s view simply disappeared. The elders all rose to their feet. Olivia was too stunned to do more than stand straighter and try to keep her expression contained. There was such a dramatic intake of breath that she almost laughed.

  Sensing her nervous humor, Amber turned and caught her gaze. Then she looked at Skye.

  Want to freak them out? she thought, her golden eyes twinkling mischievously.

  Following her thoughts, Olivia and Skye released James’ and Caleb’s arms and stepped forward onto the leading edge of the hardwood floor. Amber left Gabriel’s side at the same time and joined them. The sisters stood side by side just a few feet apart.

  “Thank you, Jabari,” they said at the exact same time, their cadence and tone identical.

  Olivia heard Gabriel issue a choked sound and realized he was stifling a laugh. Even as she registered that, she followed her sisters’ thoughts and mirrored them by taking hold of her skirt with her left hand and lifting it so that she could perform a graceful and deep curtsy, her right hand pulled back and into the air as though she was greeting royalty. Their movements were executed with perfect synchronization.

  “Greetings to you all,” they intoned politely as they once again rose and stood tall.

  “Please join us, Amber, Olivia and Skye,” Jabari responded to break the ensuing silence. He looked both slightly stunned and highly humored.

  The sisters all turned and looked over their right shoulders, grinning and catching the gazes of the appreciative males behind them. Gabriel stepped forward, a
s did James and Caleb, so they could escort them to their seats.

  Just as James took hold of her arm, however, Olivia felt a wave of pressure in her skull. She knew from Knorbis’ training that it was an attempt from an outsider to read her thoughts. It felt incredibly powerful, though. The pressure quickly escalated to excruciating pain. She clutched her hands to her head and squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to somehow abate the agony.

  Beside her, Amber sucked in a sharp gasp. Skye cried out. The pain exploded.

  Then, darkness.

  James had greatly enjoyed the performance of the three sisters. They had obviously remembered Gabriel’s comments about being seen as oddities, and rather than shy away from that, they had simply fed into it. The impact of their three voices chiming together had eyes widening throughout the hall.

  So did their unbelievable beauty. He had already identified where the Orculesti were seated in the enormous hall and spotted Dacian four levels up and two tables deep. He looked decidedly dour. So, when the wall had been removed and the sisters revealed, James had deliberately watched Dacian’s reaction. It had been even better than he thought it would be. Dacian had come up out of his seat, his mouth hanging open.

  Nearly everyone had similar expressions, he then noted. He felt Caleb’s wariness and gave him a mental acknowledgement. They scanned the crowd, paying particular attention to anyone whose expression seemed unwelcoming and making a silent note of it.

  When it was time to escort the girls to their seats, he caught Olivia’s laughing gaze over her shoulder and stepped forward to take her arm. He intended to tell her over dinner just what an impressive picture she made.

  It was as he reached her side that a confused look crossed her lovely features. Her smile disappeared. He tilted his head in consideration, believing for a second that she and her sisters were still performing. Then she clutched her head in obvious pain. His Gloresti power surged, but he couldn’t imagine what was wrong. He heard Amber and Skye make sounds indicating a similar level of pain.

  “Orculesti, desist!” Gabriel shouted, looking up into that class’s section of the hall.

  All of the Gloresti in attendance were on their feet, their power surging because Gabriel, James and Caleb’s Gloresti energy had been activated at the same time.

  Just as Gabriel issued his command to the Orculesti, Olivia collapsed in James’ arms, sending a jolt of raw fear through him. Amber and Skye fell at almost the exact same time. The sisters had gone from smiling to lifeless.

  It had taken less than ten seconds.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Malukali!” Gabriel called out, his voice filled with outrage.

  James turned with Olivia’s limp form in his arms and headed quickly for the nearest exit, followed closely by Caleb holding Skye. He wasn’t sure how his legs could still move because he was nearly numb with shock. The feel of Olivia’s unresponsive body in his arms made him want to howl with a fury he hadn’t even known he could feel.

  Even as they moved, they heard Malukali bellowing at her Orculesti, ordering them to refrain from their attempted mental intrusions. That was when he realized what had happened.

  Sebastian suddenly appeared in front of him. “This way,” he said, and led them through a doorway into a small lounging room. It had one sofa, a desk and two guest chairs. James had no intention of putting Olivia down. His heart was slamming against his breastbone.

  Gabriel hurried into the room behind them with Amber in his arms. James could feel his leader’s intense fear, knew it mimicked his own. He laid Amber on the sofa and immediately pressed his lips to hers.

  After a long moment, she responded.

  “Ugh,” she said, sitting up with Gabriel’s assistance. Her eyes were slightly bleary. Still, she got to her feet and grabbed one of each of her sisters’ hands, closing her eyes, bowing her head and concentrating.

  Shortly thereafter, Olivia stirred in his arms. James was so relieved that he had to lean against the desk to help stay standing. She slowly lifted her head and blinked at him.

  “What was that?” she asked in slightly slurred confusion. She tightened her hold on him so he wouldn’t bear her dead weight.

  Next to them, Skye blinked and looked around, catching Caleb’s gaze. “Ow,” she said.

  Sebastian hurried over to Skye. He had a white cloth in his hand. Before she could protest, he held the cloth against her face.

  “Hey!” she complained, trying to push him away. But when he pulled the cloth back from her face and she saw the blood, her face paled considerably. Her grip on Caleb tightened. “Oh.”

  “Can you clean her gown?” Caleb asked calmly.

  “My gown?” Skye squeaked, looking down. “They ruined my gown!”

  Fortunately, she had grown angry instead of teary. Equally as fortunate, Sebastian simply had to wave his hand to use his power and clean the blood away.

  James tried to command himself to put Olivia down, but he couldn’t. The feel of her against him, aware and alive, flooded him with such emotion after seeing her fall that he thought he might not ever let her go again. Since Caleb continued to hold Skye even though he was all but suffocating in the skirts of her gown, James reasoned he felt much the same way. Gabriel and Amber were standing in a corner kissing, and because Gabriel wasn’t taking particular care to guard his thoughts just then, James knew it wasn’t because she needed further healing.

  They had come so close to losing them, and so suddenly.

  “Are they all right?” Knorbis asked, hurrying into the room.

  The other elders piled into the small room behind him. Malukali had evidently stayed behind to continue her censure of her class, as she was notably absent. The others all looked relieved when they saw the sisters conscious and apparently fine.

  Gabriel took one more moment to convey a thought to Amber, then turned and stepped in front of her. He was obviously far from pleased.

  “Each of you assured me you would put protections in place to keep them safe,” he said, anger in every word. “They weren’t even in there a full minute, for all holy’s sake!”

  “There are protections in place,” Ini-herit replied matter-of-factly. “If there were not, the sisters would be dead right now. Very few can survive an undiluted mental assault by so many Orculesti at one time.”

  That was exactly the wrong thing to say. James and Caleb glanced briefly at each other before they both moved to put Olivia and Skye on the ground and urged them over to stand beside Amber. Then they stood with their arms crossed on either side of Gabriel and assisted him in lighting into the council of elders.

  A few minutes later, Malukali swept into the room. Her expression was a blend of anger and concern. Everyone silenced as she hurried up to Gabriel.

  “My deepest apologies on behalf of all Orculesti, Gabriel,” she said, putting the palms of her hands together and bowing her head. “I have discovered that the intrusion was coordinated by one male. He has been removed from the hall and will be dealt with appropriately.”

  “Dacian,” Gabriel, James and Caleb said darkly at the same time.

  She started. “How did you know that?”

  Gabriel frowned darkly at having their suspicions confirmed. “I should have anticipated this,” he said, running his hand through his hair in agitation. “His comments earlier…but he sounded sincere when he said—”

  “I do not know what occurred earlier,” she interrupted. “But he did indicate when I spoke with him alone that he had planned this group intrusion a while ago. He had forgotten about it and did not participate in it himself. I was able to determine his sincerity through his thoughts.”

  Gabriel sighed. “It’s apparent that we haven’t determined all of the risks involved in introducing the sisters to everyone as a group like this. Perhaps we should—”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Skye interrupted, stepping forward with a stubborn look on her face. “I did not go through all of this training and preparation, never mind all of
this primping, to just back out now.”

  “Skye’s right,” Amber said, also moving out from behind them. She caught Gabriel’s gaze and reached out to touch his arm with an understanding expression. “We’re going to have to do this at some point. I say we go out there now and get this done.”

  “Let us prove ourselves to them,” Olivia added.

  James caught her gaze. He nodded.

  “All right then,” Gabriel responded, seeing that everyone was in agreement. He looked at the other elders. “But you know now what we’re up against. Be on better guard, would you? I’ve had enough excitement for one evening.”

  Olivia was very familiar with the phrase, “Could have heard a pin drop.” But the absolute silence among the thousand-plus Estilorians in the grand dining hall took that phrase to a whole new level. She truly didn’t think she had ever experienced a room so still and hushed. It was almost as though no one was even breathing.

  The elders entered the hall first and resumed their places at the table in the center of the floor. Jabari sent a hard and powerful look around the stadium. She realized the Gloresti were still standing.

  “That was unexpected,” Jabari said in his commanding voice, “and such behavior will most definitely not be tolerated from anyone else or it will invoke the power of all elders. Saraqael’s daughters have come here at our request, though they are fully aware that some of you are less than open to their presence. They risked their very lives to come to this plane and have done nothing but accept us and work to learn our ways, which differ greatly from those of humans. In this manner and many others you have yet to learn, they put all of us to shame. They have displayed amazing resilience and courage and deserve nothing but our acceptance and respect.

  “If this is something you are unwilling to give, then you are to leave this hall immediately.”

  Olivia wasn’t sure what she expected after the recent stunt by the Orculesti. Maybe a mass exodus or shouts of argument against Jabari’s statements. There was neither.