"They never scared me. Only you did." She smirked when she said it and I swatted her hand. "Your eyes were always beautiful."
"Thank you. So are your stormy grays. Yours change color a little. Sometimes a little bluer, other times grayer."
"I have moody eyes for my moody moods." She chuckled and nudged the dessert menu toward me. "Do you want to share something for dessert?"
"Um…maybe. What've they got?"
"Ice cream. Brownies. Tiramisu. Cannoli. What do you like best?"
"Will you share Tiramisu with me?" I smiled and leaned my elbows on the table.
"I'd share anything with you. Tiramisu and cappuccino, bellisimo." She winked at me. "Like you."
"Are you trying to charm me, honey?" I grinned as I relished in her playful demeanor tonight.
"Yes. Do I get to go home with you then?" She bat her lashes and I laughed.
"Hot damn, you know it."
"Literally cannot wait." Harlow paused seamlessly when the server returned. "Do you want a cappuccino, honey?"
My cheeks heated when she called me a pet name in front of the stranger, and I didn't hate it at all. "Sure."
She handed him the dessert menu after placing our orders for us, then returned her attention to me when he left. "You're all red and flustered looking."
"Because you're cute when you take charge. This is one of the only places I know that employs actual servers rather than robots."
"A few other upscale places still do." She squinted her eyes at me and smiled. "And get used to my taking charge attitude."
I laughed and held my hand out to her. "I'm into it."
"Good." She gave my hand a squeeze, then laced her fingers with mine.
Our dessert arrived, and Harlow dug in right away, tapping her loaded spoon with mine. I smiled and mimicked her action.
"What are you doing, silly?" I chuckled when she turned the spoon over between her lips. My gaze lingered on her tongue as she lifted her brows upward.
"Watching you." She clearly noticed my particular attention and repeated the gesture, her tongue flicking the end of the spoon. "While you watch me."
"Can't help it." I tasted the bite of Tiramisu, letting the sweetness sit on my tongue for a moment. "Pretty good."
"It is. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Can you tell me more about what happened with Nalea the other day? I mean, from your perspective," she said, delicately. "But only if it won't upset you."
"It won't. What Nalea said is accurate. When I'm upset or overwhelmed or something stressful is going on, I get overloaded in a way. My senses are normally hyper intense but when I'm upset, it's ten times worse." I scooped another spoonful of dessert and nibbled on it.
"What does it feel like for you though?"
"Umm…" I thought about a way to describe it. "When she touched me, it's like an electric shock. Like a stun gun setting my nerves on fire. It starts with touch, then will make my ears ring or I'll smell the least pleasant thing in the room tenfold."
"It's almost as if your gifts are balanced by…punishment," she said, concern tightening her features.
"Somewhat, yes. I don't think it's purposeful like that though. I can't remember my mother much, but she didn't seem tortured by what she could do. She had more control and could manipulate all of the elements equally. Sometimes I wonder what she was like on her home planet or what I would be like if I was there."
"That Hybridian you turned over to the police…didn't you say he was trying to board a cargo ship set for Andromeda?"
I nodded, setting my fork down once the sweetness of the dessert became too overpowering.
"Did you ever think like that? I mean…if he was fully from a planet in that galaxy, he might be able to survive the atmosphere, but a Hybridian…"
"There's no telling if we could, yeah. I've never thought about leaving or going there. I've always been really comfortable here." My thoughts wandered a bit too far and I said, "And in our apartment."
"I can tell you're not thrilled about moving." Harlow sipped her hot drink, her eyes never leaving me. "Could you stay in the apartment alone?"
I shook my head and shrugged. "I could, I guess, but I've never lived alone. I went right from home to college with Nalea as my roommate. We've lived together since we were eighteen, and then with Audra a few years later."
"What would it be like for you to live by yourself?"
"Lonely. Loud." I shook my head. Even just mentioning the volume of sound made me more aware of the growing level around us. "When I'm alone and not focused on something, everything becomes very loud to me. I get lost in it."
"What's it like right now?"
"It was just a low murmur until I started thinking about it. When I'm with you though, everything fades or totally vanishes. With Nalea and Audra close by, it settles to tolerable levels that I can ignore."
"They keep making comments about that or faces at least." She toyed with her spoon while gazing at the foam in her cup. "Like your reaction to me is different or something."
"It is. They can tell." I glanced up when the server brought us the digital check tablet, then swiped it before Harlow could.
"Hey." She swatted the table gently. "Super swift hands aren't allowed."
I laughed and tapped my watch against the scanning code, and it chimed when the payment processed. "I asked you so it's my treat."
A sweet smile curved her lips and she nodded. "Thank you."
"Thank you for saying yes again." I set the tablet back down and left it on the edge of the table. "Would you like to take a walk by the water before we head back?"
"Yes." She smiled and set her mug down after finishing most of her drink. "I'd like that."
"C'mon." I stood from my seat, setting my napkin on the table before holding my hand to her.
She rose with me, slipped her purse over her shoulder, and accepted my outstretched hand. Her cheeks turned pink immediately and I winked at her before leading her out.
In the damp night air, Seattle took on a shimmering form around us. Windows and streetlights seemed to twinkle in the mistier areas. I gave Harlow's hand a gentle squeeze and she smiled at me.
"What was the most exciting expedition you went on when you were a waist-deep-in-dirt archeologist?" I asked.
"South America, for sure. We were working in Colombia and Venezuela, excavating ruins when someone thought it would be fun to go look for El Dorado. Know that legend?"
"Mythical city of gold and riches, yes." I chuckled and wiggled my fingers in her palm. "Did you find it?"
"Nah." She snickered and tugged me toward her. "We did find some pretty interesting gold coins and the remains of a hidden village so overgrown that it was still shielded by the environment. Normally, we dig up cities, not find them tangled in vines and trees. It was so hot there. The humidity was unbearable at times. Hardly anyone lives even close to there anymore. Global warming sent them away."
"Like many places, yeah. The death of Earth is sending humans Offland, too. I'm not surprised…"
"Do you think Earth will really die?" She hugged my hand to her chest, and I snuggled up to her, my chin on her shoulder.
"Yes, but perhaps not in our lifetime. Ecosystem collapse has been somewhat mitigated by environmental efforts. Artificial life systems continue to grow plants and clone animals. And the weather systems with the power to destroy us are lessened by the alien technology the Saturnians brought us. We've bought ourselves a little time."
"I remember the world when it was a little less sophisticated," she said, her voice thoughtful. "To think that it wasn't that long ago is somewhat terrifying."
"It is." I slipped my arm around her waist as our walk turned to a meandering stroll. She leaned into me as we stopped to look out over the water.
With the Space Needle looming in the distance, the glow of its form reflected in her eyes, setting them to twinkling as if she gazed up at the stars. I admired the soft curve of her jaw coupl
ed with the plumpness of lips that I ached to kiss. She drew her attention back to me and nibbled her bottom lip.
"What are you thinking about?"
"When you flew me up there," she said, turning to face me then. "Will you do that again?"
"Yes." I gathered her hands under my chin then kissed her knuckles. "Whenever you want."
"When the moon is full next time," she said, then looked up again. "It's incredible how we can see the planets so close now. Remember when it was only the moon?"
"I do. Saturn loves to show off."
"She does." Harlow chuckled and tucked my hair behind my ears. "You look so cute."
"You said that already." I grinned and brushed my nose against hers. "You're beautiful."
"You told me that already, too." She draped her arms over my shoulders as my hands fell to her waist. "Veyda, I—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence when the pulsing sensation heading our way forced my ears into a painful pop. I grabbed her suddenly, tucking her close to the railing of the walkway. A gasp left her, and she gripped my arms when I held her face to my chest. My heart pounded in my ears and the world around us exploded into my awareness. Car horns blared, sirens wailed, and the whirring of helicopters and drones rushed the skies.
"Veyda!" Harlow shrieked, her nails digging into my skin.
"Sonic weapon. Stay down." I held her head to my chest, shielding her from the pulsating waves that slashed at me. "Don't move."
"I-I don't hear anything. Where?" Her fear burned against me, and I forced her to tuck her knees to her chest. I wrapped all of me around her and looked left and right as far as I could in hope of pinpointing the source.
"We need to move. Hold on to me. Hold my belt."
"Okay." She cried and the second her fingers tightened around the leather, I called the wind.
A small tornado spiraled around us, whipping the dirt and debris from the concrete. The throbbing rays of the sonic weapon thrashed at my skin, but I leapt into my trusted storm, and launched us into the night.
Harlow gasped, her face buried against my shoulder as I hit breakneck speed with one arm around her, the other with my fist pointed toward the sky in a rare trajectory. I looked behind us to see the distorted ripples from the sonic blast, like the drop of a boulder into a still lake, chasing outward from our former position. The pier area where we stood seconds before exploded, shooting fragments of wood and stone into the harbor. People screamed, fleeing from the buildings as police ushered them to safety.
Harlow didn't seem to hear any of it, and when I came to hover with gusting wind below my feet, I swept my arms under her knees, cradling her comfortably. She looked down, her eyes widening immediately when she saw us hundreds of feet above the harbor.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice somewhat muffled. "Veyda, you're bleeding."
"What?" My question left me on a heavy breath.
"Your ears are bleeding." She touched my face, her eyes wide and lip quivering. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. I'm not sure what happened, honey. Someone was using a sonic weapon. It blasted off half the pier into the water." My vision blurred a bit, and we lost a little height. "We need to go."
"I don't think you're okay…"
"Hold on tight to me. Don't let go." I squeezed her to me and flew us home.
I landed on the fire escape per usual, and Harlow set her feet down immediately, appearing unmoved by both the means of transport and the chaos that happened before it. She touched my face, her fingers just below my ears.
"Can you hear me?" she asked, again, her voice muffled.
"Yes." My eyes widened when I saw the bloody tips of her fingers. "But I can only hear you…"
The sudden silence shocked me, and I looked around. No traffic, no sirens, no heartbeats except my own. A high-pitched ringing replaced the quiet a moment later and I flinched.
"Come inside. C'mon." Harlow opened the window as if she broke into our apartment every weekend and urged me inside.
Nalea and Audra looked up from their darkened perch on the sofa where they watched television together. Elara slept in her bassinet beside them.
"Something happened downtown," announced Harlow, pulling me to the kitchen and urging me to sit on one of the stools at the counter. "Sonic attack."
Nalea flew out of her seat so fast that I thought she prepared to fly. She rushed me, her hands on my face as both she and Harlow examined me. Audra brought up the rear, completing the triquetra of worried faces.
"I'm okay," I told them, my own voice sounding bizarre to me.
"Can you hear us?" asked Nalea, her worry turning to anger.
"Yes. They're healing. My ears are ringing now."
"Harlow." Audra called, then brushed Harlow's hair back to look at her ears. "You didn't get caught in it?"
"No." Harlow shook her head, her gaze never leaving me. "Veyda…covered me."
I held my hand to her, and she took it. Nalea wore her emotions heavily in that moment and she frowned. She made to grip my shoulder, but recoiled at the last moment.
"You can touch me," I said, letting out a slow breath. "Nae, you need to call the department and see what happened. There were first responders out there. Helicopters. The works. I'm not sure about the origin of the sonic weapon. If there's someone out there using it against civilians, I need to get back out there—"
"Veyda, you can't hear right now, and you're injured. There is no going back out there." Nalea lifted a damp paper towel that Harlow handed her, and she dabbed it against my cheek, swiping at the blood.
"I can hear you. It's just muffled."
"Veyda, is Elara crying?" she asked, her lips pursed.
I glanced over to see that Audra returned to the basinet where she lifted Elara, her face screwed up in a silent cry.
"Yes."
"Can you hear her?"
I focused on the baby then Audra. Her lips moved, but she said nothing. I shook my head and returned my attention back to her.
"You can only hear us standing in front of you this close. Understand?" Seriousness laced her tone and smoothed her forehead at the same time as realization hit me.
"Yeah." I flinched when a sharp pain struck my left ear. "This has happened before. It's going to—"
"Hurt in a minute. Yes."
"Can we do something?" I heard Harlow say, her voice laced with distress.
"Nothing we can do." Nalea stepped away from me when I motioned for her to do so. "Step back. Audra, take Elara in our room."
My hair blew from my face and only then did I notice that everything around me appeared unusually pale. Everything lacked color, only shades of gray painted the normally vibrant space filled with my family. Napkins flew off the counter and Harlow jumped back when Nalea stepped in front of her.
My gaze shot to her as the pain suddenly hit, stabbing me in both of my ears at once. I held my breath, my fingers digging into my knees as I stifled an anguished cry. My stomach swirled with sickness, and I focused on the hem of Harlow's untucked blouse as it fluttered against her stomach. The lower button came undone, and it lifted her shirt enough for me to see a bit of her bare skin. I forced myself to concentrate on her, stretching my shaking hands out and pressing downward to quell the angry wind.
With some breath control, the pain slowly passed, and the color returned to my vision. Harlow's navy-blue top brought out the hue of her eyes to a deeper shade of gray that hinted on blue. A tear streamed her cheek, and when the storm stopped, I held my hands to her.
She scurried past Nalea and pulled me into a hug. The pain released me as soon as my skin met hers and I let out a shaky breath. Sirens returned to screaming, helicopter blades slashed, and Elara's cries settled with Audra's gentle consoling. I rested my head on Harlow's shoulder as a wave of fatigue struck me. Nalea returned to my side and rubbed my back in a slow circle.
"Guess we don't have to sweep tonight," she said, forcing me to look up.
She pointed to the neat pile of dust
bunnies hanging out in the center of the kitchen. It appeared as if someone swept the entire house and left the remnants there without scooping them into the bin. I laughed softly and a small smile tugged the corner of Harlow's mouth. Worry didn't leave her, however, and she continued to caress my face.
"Jokes on you, Nae, because I was really trying to blow Harlow's shirt off her." I tugged the unfastened button. "Almost worked."
They both chuckled, and their energy visibly relaxed around me.
"I'm sorry. Is Elara okay? Did I scare her?" I made to stand, but Harlow held me in place.
"Elara is just fine. She was crying before the indoor tornado. What was that, by the way? Are you okay?" She rubbed my shoulders as if making sure I remained in one piece.
"When I get hurt or upset, stuff like that happens—"
"She cleans the house with her alien powers—"
"Nae." I laughed and shoved her shoulder. "C'mon—"
"We hired Mary Poppins to be our nanny—"
"Go fly a kite, would ya?" I grumbled at her but laughed anyway.
"Who's Mary Poppins?" Harlow looked between us.
"Stop confusing Harlow." I pulled her into a hug. "By making jokes to lighten the mood. Please check on the baby."
"Can you hear her heartbeat?" asked Nalea, her gaze flickering to my ear again.
"Um." I nodded when I, indeed, heard her heartbeat and the sound of her hungry gulps. "Audra's nursing."
"See? You didn't make her cry. She was just hungry." Nalea doted on me a little bit, her pained smile continuing. "Are you really okay? Tell the truth. Harlow hates when you lie."
"I do." Harlow nodded fervently. "Better tell the truth. It's my one rule."
"I know, honey." I cupped her face in my palms, stroking her lips with my thumbs. "I'm fine. I can hear again, but I'm very, very tired. And I have a headache."
"Come lie down." She urged me from the stool and wrapped her arm around my middle as she helped me over to the sofa.
My limbs felt a little shaky and the sensation surprised me. I sprawled out, and she knelt on the floor beside me while wiping the rest of the blood from my face. I watched her, both of us remaining silent as the heaviness of the situation seemed to strike both of us.
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 22
