by Leela Ash
Cain tucked the flower gingerly in his pocket and took off running, trusting his body to take him where he needed to be before it was too late.
Chapter Eleven
“Let go of me!” Kyna growled, fighting against the police officers. The man from the park had led her to a cruiser, where another man, blonde with pale blue eyes, was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Got a Loni,” the man said, glancing back at her in the rearview mirror.
“No shit?” the driver said, grinning back at her. “She’s hot. What do you wanna do with her?”
“What do you think?” the man who framed her said, leering at her from the mirror. “The usual. Then take her to the camp.”
“Right,” the driver said. “I’ll radio it in.”
The crackle of the radio hurt Kyna’s head and the car jerked forward. She felt nauseated and furious. She had been caught by the Guardians and had failed her mission entirely. What was she going to do? Would they kill her?
“Cheer up, babe,” the driver said, grinning at her through the rearview mirror. “We’re gonna take good care of you.”
Kyna squeezed her eyes closed, sending as powerful a force from her mind as possible. A psychic call for help was her only chance. Otherwise, the Guardians would capture her and perform unspeakable tortures on her. Especially once they saw she was the last of her kind and would see her as personally responsible for the death of Richard, the leader.
The car moved slowly through the city streets until suddenly they were heading into the wooded wilderness. Kyna kept her eyes squeezed closed, silently sending pleas for help to anybody who might be able to hear them. If the Guardians had their way with her, she would never make it back to the Kersh clan, let alone to Kaldernon. She was doomed.
***
Cain made it to the border of the woods, his broad chest heaving with the effort of breathing. He knew deep down that Kyna was in trouble, more surely than he had ever known anything in his life. His body was suddenly electrified by her voice roaring in his head.
“Please. Route 198. They’re taking me away.”
Cain cursed and began running with all of his speed. Soon, the trees were blurring around him and he felt himself tapping in to a deep, dormant power. It helped him soar along the ground, eventually lifting him into the air. He didn’t question what was happening to him. He knew that Kyna was telling the truth and had been from the start. That deep down, he could shapeshift into a dragon, and now he was going to find her on Route 198 and destroy anyone who might harm her by any means necessary.
The scenery moved by in a blur, and didn’t slow down until he spotted a black and white police cruiser. He could feel Kyna close by, and landed forcibly in front of the car. It squealed to a halt and the men driving both got out of the car. Their eyes were round as saucers as Cain unleashed an ear-splitting roar. The men brought guns out, pointing them shakily at him. Cain swung his tail, throwing one of the men back with its force. The gun fell to the ground unconscious and the other man took a shot.
Cain dodged it, but barely. It grazed his leg and he unleashed a torrent of fire. The man screamed in agony as Cain head-butted him. He fell against the car with a thud.
The men were taken care of and Cain rushed to the car. The flames were going to reach the gas tank soon. Kyna was in the back seat, watching the whole thing with wide, terrified eyes. He tried pulling the door open. When it didn’t work, he pulled with all his force, ripping it off the hinges.
“Come on, we have to go,”
“Cain – “
“Now!”
Kyna stopped talking and allowed him to pull her to safety. He picked her up, much the same way he had when he’d saved her from the men in the forest, and took off running as quickly as he could. A few minutes later, a deafening explosion caused him to stumble.
“How did you –“ Kyna was breathless and confused and Cain smiled down at her.
“I had a dream. We have to get back to the tunnels. I need to see the world in the sky again.”
“Cain…”
“I’m so sorry Kyna. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I know it sounded ridiculous, but it doesn’t excuse the way I treated you for telling me the truth.”
“It’s all right,” she said. When he finally made it to the underground city, Clayton was standing outside, staring up at Kaldernon.
“Cain,” he said, moving forward to greet him. He was surprised to see Kyna in his arms.
“Is she all right?” he asked.
“She is now,” Cain said. He whipped around, setting her down gently and staring up at the pulsing lights of Kaldernon.
“They’re using an ancient language,” he said to Clayton. “They have a way to bring everybody back up there. Back home is what they’re saying.”
“You’re kidding,” Clayton breathed. “I’d heard it told that they were still trying. A Loni visitor made her way down a few years back, but nothing ever came of the message.”
“That’s because they weren’t ready yet,” Cain said, still craning his neck up at the sky. “You have to follow me. This is time sensitive. There are only a few more hours. Tell everybody!”
“Tell them what?” Clayton asked, heading for the entrance of the underground city.
“Tell them to hurry. The time to return is now.”
Clayton nodded dutifully and disappeared into the tunnels.
Chapter Twelve
Cain and Kyna stood outside quietly. Kyna was confused, and scared. Returning to Kaldernon had always been the theoretical goal, but now that they could, she was full of questions and doubts.
“It’s going to be all right,” Cain said, taking her hand.
“Are you coming with us?” she whispered. He took her close to his chest and frowned. He hadn’t thought about that yet, but he knew that this would be the only way to truly understand his heritage.
“It’s time to stop running from my past,” he said finally, pulling away from her and smiling. “If I keep doing that, what kind of future will I have?”
Suddenly, huge swarms of people began to pool from the entrances in the underground tunnels. They gathered expectantly around Cain, their faces taught with apprehension.
“We will follow Cain!” Clayton’s voice boomed as he followed the last of the Kersh clan from the burrows.
Cain grabbed Kyna’s hand and they took off running north, past the lake she had followed to find him. They ran for two hours, stopping for breaks only periodically. Finally, they arrived to a ledge overlooking the forest. Kyna gasped. It was the same peak she had seen in her first dream; the place in the distance Cain had been smiling at.
Suddenly, a shining golden light appeared above them. It fell over two people, who began to disappear. At first they were terrified, but soon they were smiling.
“It’s Kaldernon!” they shouted before they fully disappeared.
“We will keep order! Three at a time!” Clayton commanded, shouting authoritatively. The lines dwindled until it was only Kyna and Cain standing together on the cliff’s face.
“Are you sure you want to leave this world behind? You were raised as one of them.”
“It’s not safe even if I did,” he said, peering at her with his beautiful sea-green eyes. He gripped her hands and brought them to his lips, kissing gently. “Now that I have you, I can’t just let you go. Nobody has ever really felt like home. Maybe because my home is somewhere else.”
Kyna’s heart thudded in excitement when he pulled her toward the light. He squeezed her hand as it began to bathe over them.
“Are you ready?” she asked nervously.
Cain leaned down and kissed her tenderly.
“What are we waiting for?” he asked with a grin.
Suddenly, they felt the tug of the portal and together, they began their journey to their home world of Kaldernon.
THE END
Stepbrother Romance
My New Billionaire Stepbrother
Cynthia Wilde
Copyright ©2015 by Cynthia Wilde. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
1
Jennifer wished that she didn’t have to be there at all. But there she stood in a hideous pink bridesmaid dress, standing next to her mother while she married the man of her dreams. She was having every girl’s fantasy wedding. Her fiancée had told her that money was no object, and by the attention to detail and the spare-no-expense feel of this affair, it was clear he hadn’t been lying. Jennifer hated his constant show of wealth, but her mother Darla apparently was looking for the financial reassurance of stability over the spiritual connection of emotional attachment and chemistry. At the same time, Jennifer had to admit that the chocolate fondue fountain her mom had planned would be pretty awesome. The light show would be cool too, for that matter. Still, she would have rather stayed home.
Her mother’s new husband Ryan was a bit older than she was, maybe by ten years. Jennifer was never privy to their exact age difference, but everyone with eyes could tell when the couple was out together. To be fair that was really not a big deal. If she had really liked the guy she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But Jennifer never really did warm up to him during the whirlwind three month courtship. She kept that to herself as best as she could though, because her mother just seemed so happy. She couldn’t bear to be the one to rain on the woman’s parade, so she just kept her mouth shut and tried as best as she could to be supportive.
Jennifer was happy to see that the ritual ceremony was over and people were getting up to head to the reception. She went to congratulate her mother one last time before leaving them to go change and get to the other venue.
“Congrats mom, you look so adorable.”
Jennifer was being honest, as her mother was radiating a glow that was hard to surpass. She looked as close to radiant as she ever got and the dress was just beautiful. That dress probably cost more than Jennifer would make in a year, and it showed. All of the detail and embroidery really made it stand out.
“Thank you baby. Stick around Jenny, so you can meet your new brothers.”
Jennifer looked confused since she had never heard of Ryan having any children. She envisioned a couple of teens that he had from a previous marriage.
“I didn’t know I was getting new brothers out of this deal, mom. No one ever tells me anything. I go off to school fifty miles away and ….oh, never mind. I will see you at the reception and meet them then, okay?”
The blonde tried to smile, hiding her true feelings from her mother. As always her mother was distracted and didn’t seem to notice her daughter’s annoyance. She walked away as she heard her mom gushing to her oldest friend, Ruth. Jennifer pulled her hair out of the fancy up-do which had taken an hour to create. Shaking her hair out, she slid into her old Mazda, which had been parked in front of the church, and headed down to the country club where the reception was to be held. Well, at least she wouldn’t have trouble finding her car in that parking lot later. Being almost 10 years old, it would certainly stand out, she thought, shaking her head.
Jennifer sat in her car for a few minutes after she pulled in. She hunted for her party dress and pulled it on after taking off the pink fluffy nightmare dress that her mom made her wear. It was now the tackiest, most expensive dress she owned and she hoped to hock it on Ebay as soon as she got back to school. Maybe someone would buy it, or at least she hoped so. She figured it would at least pay for a few books if nothing else.
Jennifer fluffed her hair and re-applied some light pink lipstick. She lit and took a few quick drags on a cigarette before stubbing it out and going inside, blowing smoke out of her lips as she went. She knew almost no one there and Jennifer found herself walking towards the bar. The buffet would be her second stop.
“Do you have an I.D. miss?”
“Oh come on, I’m the daughter of the bride. If I have to be here, the least you can do is give me a couple of shots.”
“I’m sorry miss, but no card, no drinks.”
Jennifer was about to say something else when a tall, dark-haired man came up behind her.
“I need….”
The man looked over at Jennifer and waited for her to answer.
“Double vodka.”
The bartender looked between the two, and rather than protest, did as the man, who also seemed to be his employer, bade. Jennifer thanked the attractive stranger and then headed towards the buffet table with drink in hand. She didn’t care for weddings in general, and especially not for this one in particular. Probably as a direct result, her cup was empty by the time she got back to the table. Jennifer looked around for the handsome stranger for a moment and when she didn’t see him, she decided to try her luck for another drink on her own.
The young, tuxedo clad bartender already had another one poured and ready for her when she got back. Pleasantly surprised, she thanked him.
“I told him to keep ‘em coming for you all night, as many as you wish…as long as don’t get too wasted.”
The change of tone was welcomed, as well as suspicious. She took the drink and walked toward the closest available table. For the moment she ignored decorum and the standard prearranged seating. She just wasn’t in the mood. Jennifer had just picked a random seat when her new tall, dark and handsome friend joined her, taking a seat on her left.
“Hi.”
Jennifer looked over at the man and said hello back. He was ruggedly handsome and he was dressed impeccably. Jennifer didn’t know that much about custom tailored suits, but she suspected that was what he was wearing. He reeked of money, as most of the people around her did. Some of those at the reception seemed to make a show of every bit of jewelry, and took every opportunity to mention their connections, but he carried it all off effortlessly, as if he might as well have been wearing a pair of old overalls. His brown eyes held hers captivated for a moment, before she looked down at her plate.
“So um, thanks back there. I really needed a drink.”
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t elaborate and he didn’t press. She ate a few bites and then looked over at him. Jennifer could feel the man’s dark eyes on her and she waited for him to say something.
“Are you here for the bride or groom?”
“Bride, ugh, definitely the bride.”
“You don’t like the groom?”
“He makes her happy. That’s what’s important.”
“So what you really mean is that he’s a pompous jerk,” he laughed.
“Are you here for the groom?”
The man chuckled and nodded.
“That I am. My name is Charles, yours?”
“Jennifer, nice to meet you.”
Jennifer finished her drink and looked over at the bar, debating if she wanted to leave to get yet another one. She found herself attracted to the tall, handsome man and he seemed to be interested in her as well. Before she had time to act first, he excused himself and headed to the bar. Walking back with the drink in each hand, he looked devastatingly gorgeous. He placed her drink in front of her nonchalantly. His hair was a bit longer than was the fashion at the moment, ending at the collar. It had a slight wave to it and was almost pitch black. His skin had an olive tone and his eyes, when focused on a person, were hard to hold a gaze with. They were just so intense.
“Thank you. I think I should slow down, I am starting to feel a bit of a reckless smile on my face.”
“There is a smile on there, and it is beautiful. If you were mine, I would make sure you smiled like that every day.”
Charles leaned in close, but instead of going for a kiss, he just asked her if she wanted to dance. His face was beside hers, his words whispered gently into her ear. She tingled w
ith the non-touch, his hot breath playing with her sensitive earlobe.
“Sure,” she said, trying to play it cool, while a wave of heat washed over her entire body.
2
Jennifer took another gulp and set her glass down. They had long since abandoned their hijacked seating in favor of a more subtle bench of to the side of the venue where they could enjoy some light conversation. The liquid courage helped her hands shake less as he led her out onto the dance floor once again. The quick beat they had risen to was almost immediately replaced with a slow and steady love song that pulled all the couples, including them, in closer. His hand grabbed her around the waist and pulled her near. She gasped as his hands settled just below her hips and her front was pushed against his hard, and apparently very athletic, body.
He moved her around slowly, but she was already breathing quickly from his touch. Her hands encircled his neck and she looked up at him with clouding green eyes. Jennifer could feel her body heating up, both from the vodka, as well as from her carnal reaction to his proximity. There was just something about the way he held her and looked at her that made Jennifer almost swoon. She couldn’t be sure, but she sensed it was more than just the alcohol. The song was over too quickly and she disengaged her arms almost reluctantly as he led them off the dance floor.
She moved back towards the table and decided she needed to sit down anyhow. Her knees were a little wobbly, though she blamed it on booze. Her mother was coming out about the same time and waved to her as Charles sat back down next to her. His chair seemed closer and he was definitely leaning towards her just a little more than was usual.
