Central

by Raine Thomas

  “Now I know what it is to experience joy. To watch someone learn to use her wings for the first time. I now know what it is to laugh. To tease and to encourage. I now know that I have with Caleb and Gabriel what you do with your sisters. Brothers in every sense to me.

  “And most importantly, I now know you. I can’t imagine my life now without you, Olivia. I can’t imagine not getting to see your smile every day, not hearing your laughter. I can’t imagine not getting to show you all of the many things about this plane you have still to learn and watch you absorb and enjoy every experience with your unshakable enthusiasm and intensity. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without your love to fill me so completely.”

  Her expression had only grown more stunned the more he spoke. He was becoming alarmed, wondering if he was saying something wrong. How else could he possibly convey what was in his heart?

  Then she said a little breathlessly, “You have absolutely no idea how romantic all of that just was.”

  His brow knit. “Romantic? Is that…good?”

  And then she laughed, obviously delighted. She reached up to touch both sides of his face. “You always speak the truth. It’s one of the things that I first loved about you. And when you say things like you just said, with the full force of that honesty behind them, it hits me like an arrow.” She reached down and lifted his hand, placing it over her heart. “Right here.”

  “Oh.” He blinked at that. His gaze settled on his hand where it rested against her breastbone. He felt her heartbeat beneath his fingertips. He was suddenly mesmerized by the rise and fall of her breasts. Flushing, he started to pull his hand away.

  She grabbed it before he could. Then she slowly guided his hand until it was near the base of her neck.

  “Would you kiss me again, James?” she whispered, her gaze not moving from his. “I would very much like that to be the memory in my mind before I go to sleep tonight.”

  Unable to deny her, he lightly wove his fingers into her silky hair and cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer. He settled his other hand on the tantalizing curve of her hip. Then he bent his head and touched his lips gently to hers.

  She responded by bringing both of her hands up and holding his head down when he would have stood back up after the one brief kiss. She wasn’t willing to allow the restraint he was trying to impose on himself. No…she wanted his passion.

  The kiss didn’t remain gentle for long. Before he even knew it had happened, his hands were both in her hair and cradling her head so he could encourage the tilt of her mouth toward his again and again.

  And he finally tasted her again as he had envisioned for weeks now. It was every bit as glorious and arresting as he remembered. His heart pounded like it was going to launch itself out of his chest. His body felt like it was on fire, nerve-endings blazing in foreign but incredible ways. When her hands moved to stroke his chest, he understood just how much impact mere touching could have on the entire experience. His hands moved along her shoulders, bare arms and back, and he noticed the sounds she made indicating pleasure. It served to escalate his own to a point he instinctively knew was unwise.

  Finally, he tore himself away from her, almost stepping back and falling on his mattress due to his weak knees and fuzzy brain. Remembering what Amber had said about the feeling of rejection that such a move could cause, he caught Olivia’s gaze as he tried to steady his breathing.

  “I didn’t stop because I wanted to,” he explained a bit hoarsely.

  She nodded, breathing raggedly. “I know.” Then she gave him a rather dazed smile. “Wow.” After a moment of just standing and staring at him with that same dazed expression on her face, she took a few backward steps until she felt the bed behind her.

  “Well, good night then,” she said, climbing into her bed and pulling the covers up to her chin.

  “Good night, Olivia. I love you.”

  She sighed happily. “I love you, too. Thanks for the nice memory.”

  The nightmares began an hour later.

  James was dead asleep, but he heard the murmur from Olivia’s bed. His eyes flew open, adjusting very quickly in the darkness. Not seeing any visible threats, he rose and moved closer to the bed.

  She made a pained sound in her throat and arched her back. Alarmed, he reached out to wake her.

  When she sat up in the bed, her face was white as bone, her eyes haunted. He didn’t think she even recognized him or her surroundings.

  Tossing a dim ball of light toward the ceiling, he sat beside her on the bed and gently touched her shoulder. “Olivia, are you all right?”

  She started shivering in reaction to her dream, but managed to give him a weak smile. “I’ll be fine. It was just a nightmare. I kind of figured it would happen after all of the drama today. Thanks for waking me up.”

  Not knowing what else to do, he sat and held her until she again grew drowsy and insisted he go back to bed. He did, only falling asleep when he heard her breathing steady.

  The next nightmare occurred not even thirty minutes later. He went through the same routine, waking her up and calming her down, holding her as tremors coursed through her. His heart started to ache at the terror he saw on her face each time she awoke. Was it not enough that she had defeated her demons in person? Now they must plague her dreams as well?

  This time, he left the ball of light near the ceiling, hoping it would help. It didn’t.

  Three hours after everyone else had gone to bed, with the sun likely high in the sky, James held an exhausted Olivia as she wept. He simply couldn’t bear it. She was utterly exhausted and needed her rest. So this time he remained in her bed, lying on top of the covers while she was mostly underneath them, and let her sleep against him.

  Only then did they both sleep peacefully.

  James came fully awake hours later, sensing another presence in the room. He found himself staring right at Gabriel, who was looking at him with his arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised.

  Glancing down and seeing Olivia pressed against him, no longer under the covers since she was warmed by his body heat, James felt his face flooding with color. There simply was no way to get out of this gracefully, but he certainly had to say something.

  “Good morning, Gabriel,” he said sheepishly. “Um…I can explain.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Two days after Olivia’s abduction, there was another meeting of all the elders and their commanders. Also in attendance were the three sisters, James and Caleb. They sat around the long conference-style table, discussing what had happened and its implications on the future.

  Olivia stifled a yawn. She still hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep, even with the generous two-day delay in having this meeting.

  Her nightmares embarrassed her. She hadn’t discussed them with anyone except for James. After being found together by Gabriel after the first night, he had attempted to sleep again on his mattress the next. That hadn’t lasted more than two nightmares. They both decided they would have to risk their brother’s wrath just to have some semblance of rest.

  But now she was rather exhausted and truly dreading rehashing her experience in front of all of the Estilorians seated around her, no matter how dear they were to her.

  “We traced Grolkinei to his home,” Uriel was saying, “but by then he and his commanders had fled. From what we have gathered, one of the commanders, the one called Layla, had been left behind in the home while the others were with Olivia. She must have received some kind of alert that allowed her to pack up some items they needed and escape before we found it.”

  “Kanika probably sent her a thought,” Malukali responded. “They are both former Orculesti, so such a connection might be possible even after their transformations.”

  There were agreeing nods around the table.

  “We do not believe that Grolkinei’s main forces were present at this location,” Hitoshi said. “Their numbers were too small for that to be true.”

  “He d
idn’t expect us to find him,” Gabriel added. “He’s probably been at that location for decades without it being indentified.”

  “It was heavily camouflaged,” Harold acknowledged. “If it had not been for the Orculesti and Wymzesti along with us, we would not have found it, even with the cat’s considerable aid. The enchantment was quite powerful.”

  Olivia suppressed a shudder at how close they had come to not finding her. James reached over and put his arm around her. She leaned gratefully into his side.

  “The commander known as Cesaro died as a result of his injuries,” Uriel said, making Olivia’s eyes widen in shock. “And the commander known as Ryce is now also deceased. Apparently, the cat, being a bit wild, attacked the Mercesti commander just as he regained consciousness. It was…” he trailed off briefly and met James’ gaze, “unfortunate.”

  Catching the look, Olivia also glanced at James, but he was looking at the Waresti elder and didn’t notice her considering stare.

  “Yeah,” Amber said dryly. “We’ll light a candle.”

  Gabriel winked appreciatively at her, running a hand briefly along her hair.

  “I was able to read Tabitha’s lingering essence,” Malukali said then, her voice deeply saddened. “She had been led astray by implanted thoughts. I fear the Mercesti have found a way to prey upon some of us through our enchantments. ”

  “We will need to consider new ways of enhancing the protections already in place,” Ailfrid added. “The Mercesti have continued to evolve as a class, and we must make adjustments for that.”

  “You are correct, Ailfrid,” Jabari said. “We will consider the best way to make these adjustments in the coming weeks. It will involve a great deal of planning and preparation, but it should be done. We do not want anyone else to go through this.”

  Olivia noticed the glances in her direction and shifted uncomfortably. James’ grip on her shoulder tightened in response.

  “The search for Grolkinei continues,” Ini-herit said in his unflappable tone. “He will be highly angered by this turn of events. We do not know what it might lead him to attempt. We can only hope that whatever it is draws us closer to him.”

  “How do we know he won’t try something like this again soon?” Caleb asked with a frown.

  “We do not know that,” Ini-herit replied. “And we must be prepared for it.”

  “Now that we know about the invasion of some of our thoughts, we can warn all Estilorians to be aware of it,” Knorbis advised. “We will begin more thorough training for everyone immediately. Even without the additional protections yet in place, we can make everyone more prepared to defend themselves against that form of attack.”

  More nods.

  “I believe it would be wise to take Amber, Olivia and Skye to the different homelands of each class,” Raphael said. “Their interactions with the Estilorians housed here in our central location have prompted some notably positive changes in a very short amount of time.”

  “You are probably right, Raphael,” Jabari said after a moment of thought. “Arrangements will be made.”

  “In the meantime, we’re going to continue with our training,” Gabriel said. “Anyone who wants to participate will be welcome. A variety of disciplines won’t hurt.”

  The sisters exchanged eye rolls and groans. For some inexplicable reason, though, the very natural reaction lifted Olivia’s spirits more than anything else had in the past two days. She found herself grinning when Amber glowered at Gabriel.

  “What?” he asked, appearing genuinely baffled.

  “I believe we should also host another social event,” Zayna suggested. “The first one went quite well. It served as another way for everyone to interact, and I believe it relieved tension.”

  “I agree,” Mena said. “Knorbis and I both noticed an easing of the minds by the night’s end at our welcome dinner.”

  “We would be delighted to plan something,” Caoilinn replied, receiving Sebastian’s nod.

  “Very well,” Jabari responded. He exchanged a look with Khalidah. “We also believe that meeting as a group such as this is important to our future. We have always met as a council of elders, and that served us in the past. However,” and he looked at the sisters, “These are different times. Thus, we believe that we should meet once every other week just as we are now.”

  Agreement was voiced around the table.

  “Very well,” Jabari said again with a nod. “I believe we will consider this meeting adjourned.”

  Olivia got to her feet. She felt achy and tired and that she just might hit someone if they so much as hinted that she had to go and train right then. It would not be pretty.

  Uh-oh, she heard Skye think. Time for an intervention.

  Come on, Liv, Amber thought. You’re coming with us.

  James sat on a rock overlooking the hot spring currently being enjoyed by Olivia and her sisters. Caleb stood on the other side of the wide room, keeping watch from that end. The grotto was, of course, Estilorian-made. It had been carved into rock and was completely enclosed with the exception of a single round hole in the ceiling that allowed in natural light. Because Estilorians, in general, didn’t understand the concept of leisure time, it usually didn’t get much use.

  The Lekwuesti had designed what the girls called bathing suits for them. James personally thought they might as well not be wearing anything as wear the specially-designed tank tops and unusually short briefs that showed every inch of their long legs. But who was he to argue?

  Olivia was happier than she had been since returning to Central. Seeing her smile and hearing her laugh was nothing short of miraculous to him.

  After a while, Gabriel walked up to him and sat down. “So…you ready to talk to me yet about your intentions?”

  James didn’t pretend that he didn’t understand. He looked at the water and watched Olivia splash vigorously toward Skye, who was singing something outrageously loudly and off-key by a human musical artist that Olivia disliked. He grinned.

  “You already know,” he said, glancing back at Gabriel.

  “Of course I do,” he said, returning the grin. “I’ll have to teach you about guarding your thoughts more closely now that you’re dealing with all of this emotion. It isn’t as easy as one might think.”

  “Thanks,” James said. He looked back into the water. “I’m not sure what to do, though.”

  “No problem. I’ve got you covered.”

  Later that day, James convinced Olivia to walk with him as the sun began its daily descent. She happily agreed. When she took his hand and smiled up at him, he held hers with a great deal of wonder over the feelings she held toward him.

  They walked in silence for a while. Then she asked, “Did you kill Ryce?”

  He hesitated, surprised by the question. “I was nowhere near him.”

  “That isn’t what I asked,” she said gently. “I know Titan can hear your thoughts.”

  Frowning, he asked, “Would it matter to you if I did?”

  “No,” she answered simply, catching his gaze. “I’m just curious.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “Let’s just say that I didn’t try to stop what happened.”

  She nodded in understanding and, much to his relief, didn’t press him about it any further. The sun continued to head toward the horizon. He ultimately led her to a forested area not far from where Aurora and her mate were housed. And then, not too far in, he found the perfect tree.

  “Shall we climb?” he asked her.

  Surprise and pleasure flashed across her features. “Why not?”

  He gave her a boost to the lowest limb and then set about climbing up behind her. She moved up the tree’s branches like a nimble creature, completely fascinating him.

  Finally, they settled up among the highest limbs that would still support their weight. He situated himself across from her. Then he sat for a long while just watching her enjoy the moment. It was such a pleasurable experience to witness her unbridled joy.

&nb
sp; But he had come up into this tree with a purpose, and the sun was sinking lower in the sky. So he reached across and took her hand in his, settling his face into deliberately serious lines.

  “Olivia, there is something that I need to discuss with you.”

  His intent tone caught her attention. He saw the concern and puzzlement in her gaze when she said, “Of course. What is it?”

  “Well, the thing is, in light of recent events, I’m not happy being your Gloresti anymore.”

  Her mouth fell open. He saw shock and hurt enter her eyes. “What?” she managed.

  One corner of his mouth rose. “That is to say, I’m not happy being only your Gloresti.”

  Now she closed her gaping mouth, blinked and tilted her head, obviously perplexed. Not wishing to draw out the suspense any further, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the gift that Gabriel had given him earlier, something his brother had commissioned through Sebastian several days ago.

  When she looked down and saw what he held, her eyes goggled at him. The reaction made him laugh heartily.

  “Don’t do that!” she shrieked, reaching out and covering his hand with hers. “Holy Moses, you could drop these gorgeous rings.”

  They had been crafted from the lightest yellow gold achievable. Her ring was feminine and delicate, created to look like a series of vines woven together. The vines ended in two thin, gold leaves that gently framed the center stone, which was comprised of two circles. The outer circle was thinner than the center one. The left half of the outer circle was formed from a curved, light green gem and the right half was a curved, dark blue gem. In the center, the colors were reversed: the left side of the stone was dark blue and the right side light green. His ring was a wider, more masculine version with a solid, etched band.

  “I was hoping you’d like them,” he said. “Sebastian has much insight about such things.”

  She was looking at him with a combination of wariness and hope. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”