Genesis

by Christie Rich

  I choked on my chocolate milk. “You wanted me to marry my cousin?”

  Her laugh filled the small room. “You still don’t know? I thought Sharon would have told you, or that you would have figured it out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Travis was stolen from the Order when he was a baby. We had planned to place him in a different home, but John fell in love with him. I couldn’t take him away.”

  My eyes felt huge, so I blinked a couple of times trying to get the grit to go away. “That’s just weird.”

  “Well, you’ve found someone on your own, so problem solved.”

  I shook the blanket of ick from my shoulders and stood up. “Thanks for the doughnuts and for understanding.”

  “I know you want all the answers right now, honey, but even after half a lifetime in this mess, I am no closer to understanding. Sometimes there are no reasons. Sometimes things just are.” Her expression shifted. “There is something I need to ask you about.”

  Uh-oh, I was in for it now. “What’s that?”

  “Before you chase down your knight in leather armor, would you mind giving a few pints of your blood?”

  I frowned.

  “I know I haven’t given you much time to process this, but Jessica is in a fragile place. She needs some strength.”

  “All right,” I said. I didn’t want anything coming between Jessica and Adam, and if I could help in some small way, I had to do it.

  When we entered the room, a couple of people were there. They’d brought in the bed I had occupied before and placed it next to Jessica’s. I focused on her as they hooked me up to the tubes. Her face was so pale, it might as well have been a death mask. More than anything, I hoped this worked because I was tired of seeing people torn apart. The needle slid easily into my arm, and I watched her more closely.

  I turned to Aunt Grace. “When will you wake her?”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Adam is on his way now.”

  Just then Adam walked into the room. His clothes were filthy as was his face, but his eyes shone with a blinding hope.

  He sat next to my gurney and squeezed my hand. “Thanks for doing this.”

  “Sure,” I said, not knowing what else to speak about. I should have brought his letter, but it was back in Altasia with the rest of my things.

  He laughed. “The last time I saw you, I thought you acted rather odd, but it all makes sense to me now.”

  I smiled at him. “I should have kept running.”

  He frowned. “No. If you hadn’t helped me, I would have never known what happened to Jessica. I know it sounds weird, but I couldn’t stand the thought of living without her. I blamed myself.”

  Even though I would probably feel the same way if I were in his shoes, he had to know it wasn’t his fault. “There’s nothing you could have done.”

  He took a healthy look at Jessica. “I know, but they might have thought twice about taking her if I had been with her as much as I wanted to. She came on so strong that she scared me a little, and I was trying to take it slow.”

  His reaction to her the night of the investigation made more sense to me now. “I still don’t think it would have mattered. They wiped her memories; who’s to say they wouldn’t have done the same to you?”

  A slight moan came from my roommate, and Adam rushed to her side.

  “Jessica?” he called, soft at first, but then his voice filled the room. “Jessica, you have to wake up.”

  I twisted so I could see better. Her eyes fluttered then closed. He shook her shoulders then called her name again. She opened her eyes this time, staring into his. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head.

  “Adam?”

  He crushed her to him. She pulled back. “I had the weirdest dream ever.”

  He laughed. We all did. Let her think it was a dream for now. Once I was unplugged, I went over to Aunt Grace.

  She gave me a side hug. “I’m so proud of you, Rayla.”

  “Will she need more blood?”

  She shrugged. “We can’t be sure just yet. We’ll need some time to observe her, and keeping Adam here will help.”

  “Is it okay for me to go, then?”

  “Sure, honey, and thanks again.”

  I nodded and walked out of the room. Relieved that was over with, I looked everywhere for Heath, but the boy was MIA. What was it with fae men and disappearing? I stopped in the hallway, thinking about Zach again. He was the hardest to let go. I’d made some peace with him, but I would always wonder what would have happened if I picked him. I couldn’t help it. He held a special place in my heart and always would. If it wasn’t for his secretive ways, and lying to me from the beginning, this would have been a much tougher call. Heath’s secrets had blown me away. I’d just never imagined him doing something like that for me. It didn’t hurt matters that he had been trying to help my family when no one else would. Even if I lived with Zach for millennia, I doubted I would know everything about him. With Heath, I could see myself growing old—

  What a stupid thought.

  I found my room after quite a bit of searching. Heath wasn’t there, either, so I grabbed some clothes that weren’t mine and headed for the bathroom.

  One measly light bulb hung over the chipped sink from a frayed wire. Where did they find this place? It looked like a WWII reject, maybe a discarded bomb shelter? I laughed. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

  A clean enough looking towel and other necessities were in a linen closet. The faucet handles were hard to turn, but I finally managed a comfortable temperature. I stayed in the shower longer than I probably should have, but I wanted to at least have shaved legs when I saw Heath again.

  My stomach flipped. I was barely able to suppress a squeal. I thought I’d be nervous about bonding with him. I mean, I was nervous, but now that I had chosen him, my anxiety was gone.

  I found a blow dryer in the cupboard under the sink and went to work on my tangled mess of hair. A few minutes later I thought I heard a knock. I shut off the rather questionable appliance in my hand and inched open the door.

  Heath stood there, towel in hand. His eyes went wide then narrowed, a lusty grin spreading along his mouth. “I was about to tell the rude person in here to stop hogging the only facility in this place, but since it’s you I’ve got a better idea.” He pushed on the door trying to edge his way in; I shoved back.

  I didn’t want him to see me like this. Not yet at least. “Wait your turn,” I squeaked.

  He cocked his head and smiled wickedly, shoving his foot between the door and the frame before I could slam it in his face. “You’re supposed to invite me in.”

  I stuck my foot against his boot. “You’re supposed to be a gentleman.” He tried to peek in at me, so I pushed his face. “Give me a minute to change.”

  “There’s no need for that.”

  “Oh yeah there is, buddy, and it’s called conviction. Now step back.”

  He laughed and I shut the door, locking it immediately. His thoughts swept into my mind as if he’d opened a faucet. Images of him and me in slippery bliss. He was not getting in here with me and that was all there was to it. “Stop that!” I hissed through the door.

  “Hurry up,” he countered.

  I gave up on my hair and slid my clothes on. This was ridiculous. I tried to blink myself into a better outfit and hairdo. Wait a minute. My powers didn’t work here. I yanked the door open. “Why don’t my powers work, I thought you could feel them?”

  He rested his arm on the doorframe. “Do you think I’d be getting into a disgusting tub like that if I had any other option?”

  Good point. “But I can still hear your thoughts.”

  He grinned at me. “I already told you nothing can keep me out of your mind.”

  I frowned at him. “How is that possible? Wait a minute. Is this new sanctuary of yours broken?”

  He shrugged. “It’s all I could come up with considering how little time I had. It might have a f
ew glitches in the system.”

  New possibilities tingled through me. If we could fix the problems before anyone found us, we might be able to make this work. “We could just stay here for good—you and me and my family.”

  His smile turned sad. “I wish we could, Rayla, but there is still the matter of the Order and a princess that has taken things too far.” He touched my chin. “Tell me you could simply turn away from that. What about the Elementals you fought so hard to protect? What will become of them?”

  I hit his arm. “Killjoy. You couldn’t even give me a day to breathe.” I leaned away from him. “I can’t believe you actually care this much. You told me yourself you don’t care for the council or politics.”

  He gave me his cocky grin. “That doesn’t mean I don’t care about the people. Besides, I have to act a certain way; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to con my way into a position of being able to help the resistance.”

  I shook my head. Who knew Heath was a closet thespian?

  He frowned at me. I grinned back.

  Despite all the things that needed solving, I was absolutely burned out. I needed some space to think, to be able to come up with a plan that had a chance of working.

  He edged in nearer. “I completely intend on spending a few uninterrupted days with you before we charge in to save the day.”

  My throat stuck when I swallowed. I glided out the door and past him. “All right, lover boy, shower’s all yours.”

  He shrugged and went into the dim space. “You better be in your room when I get out of here.”

  I blanched. “Why?”

  He waggled his eyebrows at me. What a card.

  I tried to tidy up my room, but somehow my heart wasn’t in it. I kept wondering if this was right. Besides, how could Heath and I bond in a sanctuary? I still had so many questions about the fae and the Order and the resistance, yet no one wanted to give me specifics on anything.

  Once bonded, I hoped Heath would work to get me caught up on everything important. The one thing that had me worried most of all was if we bonded without the council’s approval, would they send someone to steal me from Heath? He wasn’t exactly popular, and I knew we were in for some resistance. That’s why I wanted to do this without having anyone else involved.

  Even with his added strength, how was I going to be able to bring the warring nations together? How was I—

  He crossed the room and took me into his arms, cutting off my mental ramble with a kiss. After a minute of scrambling my brains he pulled away. His eyes softened when they met mine. “You’re not alone. So many people care about you.” He tugged on my hand. “Come on.”

  I leaned away from him, fighting to extricate myself from his grasp. “I don’t feel like going anywhere. I thought we were going to have some time alone.”

  He gave me a huge smile. “I have a surprise for you.”

  I pressed my lips together in a half smile. A surprise sounded good. Without another word I jumped up next to him and tugged on his hand. “Well?”

  He laughed and led me forward. The halls in this place were as dreary as any I could imagine. After a few minutes of walking through endless tunnels, I glanced at him. “Just where are we, anyway?”

  He shrugged. “This is a little known facility the Order abandoned in the Fifties.”

  I stiffened. “Yeah, that’s a safe place to bring my family.”

  His warm hand brushed my arm and traveled down to mine. I breathed in deep, attempting to slow my heart. “Lambert thinks it was destroyed, so what better place could I have chosen?”

  I glanced at him sidelong. “How did you get involved with the resistance in the first place? What did you do?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been asking myself that same question for centuries now. I’m not exactly sure when it started, but every act to help one random couple stay together increased my conviction that what we have done is wrong.”

  Hope pooled in my belly. “Have you been bonded before?”

  “Of course.”

  I gritted my teeth. Yeah, great answer. How could I have forgotten that Zach had said Heath had never given himself completely in a bonding? It was ridiculous, but it made me feel better to know he hadn’t been into the Elementals before me.

  “Think of it as a job,” he said casually. “I have to maintain a certain façade in the realms, Rayla. I’m known for being impulsive and at times rebellious, but I always do what I am told.”

  I laughed. “Oh right, who told you to become a lord?”

  He didn’t even flinch. “Ainessa.”

  I stopped short and he came back to me. “Why would you do anything she wanted?”

  “Intel, for one thing. I haven’t had the luxury of being in the upper circles, so I’ve improvised.”

  “Improvised!” What a thing to say. “She’s evil. Consorting with the devil might be good for your rep, but this…this complicates things.”

  His hands fell to my shoulders in a heavy thud. “I’ve kept a safe distance.”

  My mind raced with images of him tackling me in the snow. It was her. It was all her.

  “You are so infuriating. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

  “You told me she had control of you. What makes you think she won’t be able to do that again?”

  He tilted my chin back until I looked up at him. “Once I knew she was there, I couldn’t evict her without raising suspicion. She has to think she can manipulate me.”

  Zach and Luke had said the same thing. Look what happened to Luke. “What if you don’t realize she’s in your head again? What if she’s able to control you? If we were bonded—”

  He sighed. “Aren’t you forgetting one very important point?”

  I didn’t think so. “Go ahead. Tell me your great words of wisdom.”

  He smirked. “She had control of you too.”

  My cheeks flamed. That was true. Why was I worried so much anyway? It wasn’t like anyone knew where we were. Heath could give me a crash-course in fire manipulation, and I would be fine. The only other element I needed training in was space. I was pretty sure I could handle the others.

  Heath snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. “Mind staying in the present for a minute, or have you already forgotten your surprise?”

  I laughed. “Fine. I’ll worry about the fate of the world after you rock mine.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Tingles rippled through the anticipation in my belly. What was he up to?

  He finally stopped after what had to have been a couple of miles and stood in front of an ordinary door. “I’ve been planning this for a while. I had hoped we would have a different venue, but this will have to do.”

  “Well?” I said after he just stared at me.

  He chuckled and opened the door. Soft music floated into the hall inviting me to enter the small room.

  Candles rested on every horizontal surface, their warm glow casting shadows onto the cracked wall tiles. Over in the corner leaned an archway of flowering vines.

  Aunt Grace, Uncle John, Jenny and Sarah sat on folded chairs near the archway. Another woman was with them, her bright blond hair giving her away.

  No. He did not bring my mom here. Didn’t he know she was in Ainessa’s pocket now?

  “What’s going on?” I whispered even though I had my suspicions.

  Heath lowered to one knee. “I know it isn’t perfect, and neither am I, but I will love you fiercely until I no longer exist. Rayla, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  I was about to give him a resounding yes, but that last bit threw me. “Wait, what?”

  He laughed. “Will you marry me?”

  “Don’t you mean bond with you?”

  His smile warmed his brown eyes. “That’ll come later, but only if you want to.”

  “Well okay, then, yes!” Heath grinned at me and in that moment we were the only two people in existence. Brown eyes blazed into mine, making me want to forget about every person in this
room. I glanced around again at all the smiling faces of the people I loved most. “But who will conduct the ceremony?”

  Uncle John stood up. “I would be honored to, honey.”

  He looked so much better today. Most of his wounds were dressed and the visible ones didn’t seem too bad. I’d thought he hated me when we took him from the compound. Now his eyes were bright with love. I let out a relieved sigh and nodded. “Okay, but since when have you become a pastor?”

  Uncle John gave me a rare smile. “There are many things you don’t know about me, Rayla.”

  Heath hugged me from the back then led me forward. Marriage was such a human thing to do. I’d nearly put it out of my mind, but now that I was here with this man that had captured my heart, I couldn’t have been more grateful for the chance to have my family here. The only person missing besides Travis was Cassie. Travis would have been bored off his backside, but Cassie would be angry if I did this without her.

  She’d have to get over it because I was done waiting. Besides, she’d done the same thing to her mom. I hoped she had found her. I hoped Mrs. Lambert was okay.

  Commotion rattled in the hallway. Cassie’s voice shot into the room, startling me. “You had better not start without me, Heath!”

  I glanced at Mom, who smiled brightly. Was Ainessa somewhere behind her bright gaze? I shoved that thought out of my mind. Something else had to be going on. One thing gave me hope. Ainessa’s powers wouldn’t work here, either. A thought suddenly struck me. Was my mom a double agent? It would explain a few things about our limited conversations.

  I’d figure out all of that later because right now I had other things to attend. My wedding being the most important. I wrapped my arms around Heath’s waist and buried my face into this chest. “Thank you.”

  He patted my shoulder, so I looked up at him. “Cassie should have brought—”

  She pushed past him. “Man, that was close.” She gave me a scrutinizing once over. “How would I ever forgive myself if you were married in that?” I didn’t miss the garment bag in her hands.

  I glanced down at my ratty ensemble and shrugged. “I’d have managed.”