Dark Side of the Moon (The Lost Royals Saga Book 2)

by Rachel Jonas

  I raked my fingertips down my scalp when I sighed. “You probably think I’m an idiot for having her over, considering what’s been happening, don’t you? Because I should be pushing her away, not trying to … keep her close.”

  Roz, generally speaking, struck me as a very black and white thinker, leaving very little room for gray areas. But, lately, she’d surprised me a time or two. Like she did with her next answer.

  “I think we all behave strangely when we care about someone. It can be subtle things that are just slightly out of character, things no one notices but us,” she shared. “But you’ll let go when you’re ready.”

  A warm smile passed my way and some of the ice melted from her personality along with it.

  I smiled back. “Thanks.”

  She pushed off my bed and nodded before getting back to work setting up. “No problem. That’s what friends are for.”

  —Chapter Fifteen—

  Evie

  Historically speaking, today was supposed to be special.

  However, it’d been anything but that.

  I stood at Nick’s door, waiting to be let in, feeling my stomach twist and turn with each passing second. The main reason being that I knew I shouldn’t have come. The wounds were still too fresh, and if I was being honest, it was too soon to try being just friends. We were more than that in the very recent past and I wasn’t really in the mood to pretend.

  But I told him I’d come, so here I was.

  My stomach did another somersault when the door unlatched. This time, it had nothing to do with having to pretend with Nick for the twenty or thirty minutes I intended to hang around. The sudden anxiety was because Liam could now, potentially, access my thoughts. And, although he still hadn’t tapped into my sight yet, it’d be easy to figure out exactly where I was, or at least who I was with. If that happened, without a doubt, he’d think I lost my mind. He was on a quest to protect me and, to him, Nick was my biggest threat.

  But I knew better.

  The only person on the planet as focused on protecting me as he was, was Nick.

  The door pulled open and I had one of those ‘speak of the devil’ moments. Before me, deep blue eyes scanned me from head to toe, focusing on my exposed arms and midriff where my tank didn’t cover skin.

  Nick smiled. “You came.”

  “I did, but I’m not staying long,” I added, smiling back. Luckily, he didn’t question why. “And Beth’s on her way. We ran into Errol outside our room and she stopped to chat, so…”

  He chuckled a bit. “Don’t say that too loud. Lucas has been all over that situation.”

  I stepped inside and laughed as Nick shut the door behind me. “Really? He’s noticed they’ve been hanging out?”

  “Are you kidding? I don’t think Beth’s sneezed once since middle school without Lucas noticing.”

  It was sweet that he cared so much for her, but sad she didn’t seem to feel the same. She and Errol were getting kind of close, so it might have been a good time for Lucas to come to terms with that.

  “Well, if it doesn’t work out with her, hopefully he finds someone else.” That was the most I could disclose without saying too much.

  The faint smile on Nick’s face told me we were thinking along the same lines.

  “Have a seat,” he offered, gesturing with his hand.

  There was an empty chair beside the dresser and I took it. So far, it was just the two of us and Roz. She hadn’t spoken since I walked in, seemingly too preoccupied with her phone. However, seeing as how we had zero service in the facility, it couldn’t have been anything but a game. In other words, her indifference toward me seemed intentional.

  “Hey, Roz,” I called out, smiling dimly when she peered up and gave a weak one of her own. One of us had to be the bigger person, I guessed.

  “Hey,” was all she said back, and the chill attached to it solidified a fleeting theory I had about her from the beginning. At the time, I thought I might have been mistaken, overthinking things in the way I sometimes do, but I’d seen the way she was around Nick. How she always treated me like I was interrupting something, like I was in her way. How she shut down when I was around.

  She liked him. As more than a friend. Nick might not have picked up on it yet because guys are sometimes late with these things, but, from one girl to another, I saw it plain as day.

  She’d gone back to her phone screen right after the halfhearted greeting and I pretended not to notice. Three bodies burst through the door, out of breath, laughing as they cradled duffle bags against their chests like they carried small children.

  “Did someone see you?” Nick asked.

  Lucas shook his head. “Only a couple kids, but we bribed them with free pop, so we’re all clear.”

  One by one, colorful bottles were taken from the bags and arranged on the desk against the far wall.

  The space was a little smaller than Beth’s and mine, and there were more beds—two single and a bunk bed to accommodate all four of the guys. It was neat at the moment, but that was most likely only because they were expecting company today. There were snacks everywhere, though. Like, a ton.

  “You guys scored all this stuff from the vending machines?” I asked.

  Nick shook his head. “Only the drinks. The snacks have been flowing in daily from our parents. Turns out, if you complain enough about feeling like you’re in prison, it tugs on their heart strings and it’s pretty easy to get whatever you want.”

  “Like a new laptop for gaming,” Chris interjected with a grin, pointing at the one resting on his nightstand.

  I scanned it all—the snacks, the gadgets.

  “Have yours been sending you a bunch of stuff?”

  Nick’s question made a breath hitch in my throat. “Uh … no. They haven’t sent anything.”

  He dismissed my response with a casual shrug before going on. “Between the four of us, feels like that phone never stops ringing.” He pointed at the one mounted on the wall near the door.

  The landlines and a shaky wi-fi connection were our only links to the outside world. The staff had separate internet access with a much stronger signal, but we weren’t allowed to use it.

  “It’s mostly Chris’s mom who calls, but she sends a ton of care packages, so I’m not complaining about that,” he added.

  I forced a smile, trying to ignore how all this talk of phone calls and care packages made my heart ache, but ignoring it was impossible. Especially considering the date. Yeah, today, more than usual, it stung that the one time me and Beth’s landline rung was when her parents called to check in on her.

  Not mine.

  Outside this facility, everyone had someone they were connected to, someone who thought about them throughout the day, someone who missed them.

  But not me.

  “Sounds like you all have a pretty sweet setup,” I said with a fake grin.

  Nick grabbed me a drink and smiled. “It works out.”

  A knock at the door abruptly ended the conversation and I was glad for it. Beth walked in looking like an ad in a magazine for teen girls. Her cheeks were tinged red and I had a feeling Errol had something to do with that. Right after her, a few others arrived—boys from our football team back home, some of Beth’s teammates, too. Within ten minutes, there was hardly even room to stand.

  While, to most, the party was just getting started, I couldn’t wait to leave. I felt boxed in and it had nothing to do with all the bodies in the room. Mostly, the clutter was inside my head. Nick hadn’t left my side since I arrived and I was very much aware of Roz taking note of that, too. When I leaned in and cupped my hand around his ear to make sure he heard me over the music, my eyes locked with Roz’s. She hurried to look away, but not quick enough that I didn’t see her.

  “I’m gonna take off.”

  There were clear signs of disappointment in Nick’s expression when he turned toward me—tension in his brow, a waning smile. However, he didn’t press, which I appreciated. Hopefully, he
understood this wasn’t easy for me, even if he didn’t know the difficulty went beyond our breakup. He had no idea I was currently estranged from my parents and being here was a loud, blaring reminder of the separation.

  “Okay, well … I’m glad you stopped in.”

  I nodded as we stood and then walked toward the door. When we got there, there was an awkward moment where I don’t think either of us knew whether to hug, shake hands, or just part ways.

  I thought a handshake seemed like a happy medium, so I settled on that. He didn’t seem put off by it.

  “Do you need me to walk you to your room?”

  “No, you should stay here,” I smiled. “You can’t leave your own party.”

  The look on his face told me he wouldn’t have minded if I wanted him to.

  “I guess I’ll see you in class tomorrow, then.”

  I nodded. “Cool. Thanks again for the invite.”

  I stepped out then, feeling like I’d suffocate if I didn’t. As I put distance between myself and the crowd, I was aware of Nick’s eyes on me until I rounded the corner. The second I was out of his line of sight, I breathed deep, letting the weight of loneliness fall on me like a bag of sand I’d been carrying above my head all day. And this moment felt like I finally got to rest my arms.

  I was sad.

  I was lost.

  I was broken.

  And I didn’t feel like pretending I was okay all the time. Truth be told, I was anything but okay. And the salt in the wound was the fact that my birth mother, a woman I thought only existed in a past life that felt more like a dream than reality, was within walking distance.

  Only, she was no dream. As far as I was concerned, she was responsible for this entire nightmare, right down to the pain of losing my parents, albeit a temporary arrangement. The fact still remained that, for the time being, I had no family, widening the void that already existed within me.

  I was about halfway to my room when the burning started. It was my hands, they were on fire, but it wasn’t supposed to hurt—hadn’t since the first time I shifted. Panic struck much like it had that unforgettable night in the woods, deepening as the flames spread up my arms to my elbows. And also like that night in the woods, I felt a tug toward Liam. The first time, I didn’t realize that was where I was being led, but tonight it was clear as I bypassed my own door and didn’t stop until I reached his.

  I wanted to scream out, begging him to answer; wanted to yell for him to hurry as my heart raced. I held my hands before me, completely useless as they blazed. Seconds before I kicked the door to let him know I needed him, he snatched it open, shirtless, buttoning a pair of jeans because, apparently, when he was alone, clothing was always optional.

  At the sight of my body going up in flames, he didn’t say a word, just let me rush inside, and then he locked up behind me. There was always this look of anguish on his face whenever I was in trouble, and it was there now.

  “I don’t … I don’t know what happened. I was walking and … it just started and … I don’t …” My entire body shook as I burned. The sting wasn’t as intense as if I’d touched the stove or let a match burn down to my skin, but I felt it enough that it made my heartrate climb.

  I wasn’t sure what I expected Liam to do, but I knew he was the only one who could fix this, the only one who could ever save me from myself.

  “Stop talking,” he asserted when I started rambling again. My lips stopped moving right away when his hands settled on my waist. At the first tug, I realized he intended to bring me closer and stopped him.

  “You can’t!” I protested. “I’ll burn you! The flames are different … I can feel it.”

  And see it.

  Instead of the brilliant orange and white I’d seen before, these were a peculiar shade of turquoise. While the average person would have heeded my warning, Liam kept his eyes trained on mine, silently acknowledging the risk.

  It also became crystal clear he didn’t care as he brought me into his arms anyway.

  We stood chest to chest as my body fit to his, like pieces of a puzzle—the soft lines of my own forming against the hard lines of his in an embrace. His skin sizzled and the sound of it caused me to lean away, glancing where my arms rested around his shoulders, where my cheek pressed to his neck. The flesh had burned away, leaving the edges of blackened wounds trimmed in glowing, turquoise embers to match my flames.

  I was … hurting him.

  I wouldn’t have known had I not heard the sizzle, had I not seen the evidence for myself, because he didn’t make a sound, didn’t pull away.

  “Liam, I—”

  The words, “Trust me, Evangeline,” touched my ears and I heard the strain in them, confirming that this was at least as painful for him as I guessed it was. And yet … he kept me close.

  My eyes searched his, wondering what on Earth would make a man put himself through this. I imagined the burn to be sheer torture, and yet he seemed content to endure it. That’s when a word pierced my flesh like an arrow, shooting straight from his heart into mine.

  Love.

  That’s what made him do it.

  That’s what made it seem so easy.

  He loved me.

  I’d never heard him utter the phrase, but there was no denying that I felt it.

  His jaw gritted and I fought against the action that felt natural—the urge to release him, to free him of the torture I brought unintentionally. Instead, I leaned in again and, feeling a sudden rush of calmness, I closed my eyes, letting him take it away.

  We stayed that way, holding one another, for more than a minute. And, when my lids lifted again, the flames were gone completely. Staring at his sun-kissed complexion, it had already begun to heal. Tattered, charred skin faded in small sections and, eventually, there was no evidence at all.

  My eyes traced the outline of his jaw and then his lips as we kept one another close, panting from the rush of adrenaline as smoke dissipated into the air around us. When it cleared, I saw him differently than before. The change wasn’t physical. I’d simply never seen strength like his. It went beyond bravery, went beyond ego and testosterone. Liam was just an incredible, extraordinary being.

  ‘Kiss him.’

  The voice that filled my head was mine, but … not.

  The feeling that came along with it was urgent. It was the dragon within me. More than usual, that part of who I am was desperate for him, like I needed to get closer; as close as humanly possible.

  Close in ways I’d never gotten close to any other guy before.

  Ever.

  The impulse came on so strongly it startled me. I took my hands off him, leaving his back to cool where they were once planted. My eyes never left his, though. His prominent brow hooded his stare, making his natural expression so intense—a constant reminder of the fierce warrior he was, and still is. The sweet demeanor I knew to exist within him was, I believed, something only I could see. Maybe that was the way he wanted it. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be. To the rest of the world, old and new, he was a force to be reckoned with, a force to be feared.

  The Reaper.

  But with me, he was loyal, and gentle, and caring, and … all those things worked against me as that small voice whispered again.

  ‘He’s the only thing that matters. The only thing that’s ever mattered.’

  I took a deep breath and ignored the words as they fluttered into my thoughts, praying the heat lingering between Liam and I would evaporate like the turquoise-tinted smoke a moment ago.

  The couch was nearby, but I didn’t sit. Instead, I stood with my arms crossed in front of my torso, looking everywhere but at him.

  “What … was that?” I mumbled sheepishly. “The flames; they were different. Felt different.”

  I held myself tight while waiting for an answer. It was the only thing I could do to keep from reaching for him.

  “It’s a trait you inherited,” he explained. “Only the original dragon and her descendants have ever burned t
hat way.”

  “But why the strange color? Is it some kind of a phase? Is something wrong with me?”

  Liam let his back rest against the wall as his arms folded over his bare chest, drawing my eyes there when he spoke again.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with you. When you burn turquoise, you’re more powerful and you’re burning at a higher temp.” His expression didn’t change when he went on. “Typically, for the rest of our species to take the life of another dragon, we have to break the neck, remove or pierce the heart, but … for the original, for descendants, it’s a little different.”

  My eyes narrowed when he added more. “Along with the added strength that comes with the turquoise flames, is the ability to burn other dragons to death. It’s not the point of them, but more of a side effect.”

  I swallowed a surge of air when I inhaled deeply. “So, I … could’ve killed you just now?” I stared, finding it hard to believe he’d stood there and let me cling to him, knowing what I could’ve done.

  I had zero control over myself and wouldn’t have been able to stop if it got out of hand.

  “Liam, why would you … why wouldn’t you stop me. I—”

  “Because you won’t hurt me,” he interjected.

  “But I did hurt you.” I recalled the burns I left behind on his skin before they healed.

  He shrugged and it was so casual. Like he had this inexplicable belief that no harm would come to him by my hand.

  “I guess I just trust you. Like you trust me,” he reasoned.

  And I did trust him. More than I trusted myself lately.

  I glanced back toward Liam when he moved to the couch. “Would you like to sit?”

  My gaze landed there, in the spot beside him, and my steps were reluctant as I moved closer. He had no clue how I was struggling physically just being in the same room with him. I was, literally, aching to get closer, knowing I couldn’t let that happen.

  I was stiff and uncomfortable when I sat with an empty cushion between us.

  “What happened tonight?”

  If I’d been eating or drinking, the question would’ve made me choke for sure. I couldn’t tell him where I’d been. Not because he’d be jealous, but because he’d be angry. Nick was the last person he wanted me around and I’d gone right into the lion’s den. But I was able to leave that part out because my issue went beyond being in Nick’s room tonight.