Seemed to me that Lacey might have deeper feelings for Roger than she was willing to admit, maybe even to herself. “Do you know where he’s staying?”
Her teeth clamped together. “They won’t tell me. I think they know about us, so they’re trying to keep us apart. It was just a fluke I ran into him anyway. I’d finally ditched my escort when she happened to slip on some water in the hallway. The minute she went down, I ran.” I snorted and Lacey grinned. “I hadn’t gotten any time alone in so long I was going to kill the woman with a lot more than kindness if she didn’t get out of my face.”
I gazed out the window into the glowing morning. Thoughts about school and my time here mingled as I searched for something I could offer to help her. When I came up empty, I resorted to mere words, hating myself for doing it. I had no idea what to tell her, so I tried to recall what I had done to stave off the lords. “The most important thing is to remember why you don’t want to bond with him…I guess to remember who you are.” I looked directly into her eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lacey. They are hard to resist. Once their compulsion hits you, it’s like you’ve known them forever and can’t think of another person while they are near you. You can barely remember your name, but you have to fight it. If you throw off the compulsion, you might have a chance.”
Her face fell, and I had a hard time not giving her a canned line about how everything was going to be okay. Finally, she said, “It just doesn’t seem right for them to have this much control over us. I’ve been trying to avoid this, but now, I can’t. What if I can’t fight him?”
I tried not to let my hurting for her show. With my shoulders squared I told her, “I’m going to change this, Lacey. I’m going to make these people see.”
From the look on her face, she wasn’t buying it. “How?”
I rolled the edges of my silk nightgown between my fingers. “Any way possible.”
“No offense, but that isn’t very comforting, Rayla.”
My eyes searched her face, and I sighed, shaking my head. “I know. Honestly, I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen, to you, to me, to my family. But I swear to you, as long as I have the ability to think for myself, I will not stop until things are different.”
She nodded. “I guess that’s all any of us can ask of you. What’s been happening, anyway? No one will tell me a thing other than you bonded with Zach.” Her eyes searched my face for a second before she said, “I was kind of rooting for Heath myself.”
At the mere mention of his name, tears pushed against my eyes. Me losing it was the last thing Lacey needed to see, so I turned away from her. “I’m still trying to figure things out, but Zach’s a good person.”
“I never said he wasn’t.”
Slowly, I faced her again. Did I dare tell her what had happened with Heath? I couldn’t, but I wanted to so bad I had to bite my tongue. “I guess you and I are still kind of in the same boat.”
She gave me a hard stare. “How do you figure?”
“Neither of us knows what the next few hours will bring. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’m trying to fix them now.”
Lacey’s dark eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Can’t really talk about it right now, I promise, one day I’ll explain everything.”
She nodded, but I didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes or the proud set of her mouth. “Probably for the best,” she said, “but I want you to remember one thing. You’re only responsible for you. You can’t take on the faults or the troubles of everyone around you.”
I nodded, not able to look her in the eye. “What would you do if you were me?”
She grunted. “I’d have fried that skinny princess the minute I had access to my power. You’re lucky, you know. The rest of us have to wait for it then by the time we get it, we’re pretty much shackled to the will of our bondmate.”
Should I have told her I had concerns that Ainessa was more powerful than me now. If it hadn’t been for Heath’s help, I may not have gotten away from her even though she was using Zach to compel me. I thought better of it and went on. “I’ve been trying to figure things out, but it’s harder to control the elements than you might think.”
She touched my elbow. “Not trying to say it’s easy, Rayla. I’m just reminding you that you have choices the rest of us don’t. I hope you remember that.”
“I’m trying,” I said, giving her a grim smile.
“What a pair we make,” she said, flopping onto the bed. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a second, she twisted, eying the door. When her face sparkled with mischief, I knew I was in for it. “Hey, do you think since you have some control over fire you could melt that lock or something? I could probably break the thing down, but I don’t think making noise like that would help to get us out of here.”
I smiled. “Couldn’t hurt to try.” Once I flashed some more appropriate clothes on, I moved to the door.
Lacey’s hand snagged my shoulder. “Hold on a minute there, Chica.” When I turned to face her, her eyes were narrowed at me. “You’ve got skills like that and you’ve been letting me stand here in this ridiculous dress?”
My hand shot up to my mouth as I covered a gasp then a chuckle. Tabitha would kill me for this. She growled at me, so I held up my hands. “Okay.” I really shouldn’t have but I blinked her into some jeans and a hoody. “Happy?”
Her upper lip curled back in disgust. “You could at least give a girl some style.”
I lifted my head toward the ceiling and laughed, trying to imagine what Lacey would think was stylish. “I’ve got it,” I said. Without another word, I covered her in red leather. “That more to your liking?”
Her eyes traveled down her body, and she toyed with the tight vest. She shrugged. “I could get used to it.”
I just bet she could. When I smirked, she pursed her lips together before she waved me forward.
Opening the door took me less than two seconds. I just stared at the knob and told it I wanted it to open. And just like that, it did.
Seemed to me my powers worked best when I didn’t concentrate so hard, when I let them flow and trusted that they would be there for me. From what I had gathered from listening to the lords, though, mine was a very unusual case. It was almost like my powers were different than theirs somehow. Tabitha had warned me about using my powers like this, but it was just me and Lacey. I didn’t think it would hurt.
Seemed weird that Valen hadn’t ordered my room guarded since he was so bent on keeping me here, but not one person lingered in the hall. It was probably the whole bound to the realms thing that the royal guard did to me.
A shudder slithered through me at the thought of that guy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if my head had been between my legs when he’d finished with me. Thankfully, I had come out of the ordeal mostly intact.
Gulping a breath, I grabbed Lacey’s hand and made for the stairs. It occurred to me after a few steps we should have at least had a plan of where to go.
No time for thinking now. We darted down a side hallway I’d never been down. Even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I’d hoped we could find the servant’s quarters or, at the very least, a way out to the gardens.
Not knowing what else to do, I focused on making her invisible. It was a little risky, but, if I wanted to get her out of the castle, desperate measures were the only thing that had a chance of working. Unfortunately, after all my attempts, she still stood there, all six feet of her, glaring down at me like I’d just used the last of her cherry lip-balm.
Her nostrils flared before she hissed. “Why did you stop? If we wait here long enough someone will catch us.”
Lacey’s breath heated my neck, and I wanted to tell her to back off, but I didn’t dare. When we made it to another corridor, I peeked around the corner. Heaving a relieved sigh, I crept forward. Lacey was still masquerading as my shadow, so I stepped it up. Something nagged at my mind about this place, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. It was familiar in an odd
way, yet I still had no idea where we were going.
Disembodied voices floated around us, deep and masculine. Lacey’s eyes went huge. Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her into the first door we came upon.
When I spun around, I let out a little gasp. A large Grecian style pool lay in the middle of the gigantic room with no windows.
Crap. This was where they’d brought me to get ready for my bonding. No wonder it seemed familiar. What was I doing thinking I could get Lacey out of the castle when I hadn’t even been able to do it for myself?
Although, on the up side, this room might be the last place they’d think of as a suitable hiding spot—that was if they were even looking for us yet. I hated feeling paranoid, but considering what I’d gone through recently, I had a reason to be.
Lacey walked up next to me. Her mouth gaped open as she took in the billowing waterfall and the lush valley below. “Why aren’t there any windows in here?”
I shrugged. “You’d have to ask the architect. Let’s just say this isn’t my favorite place to be. Although I’d thought it, I never got around to actually asking anyone that question. Ainessa had shown up and ruined an already bad day with her demands.”
A muscle jumped on Lacey’s cheek as she stared at the tub. She looked over and asked, “What is it?”
Trying to make my voice more casual than I felt, I said, “There’s something weird about that water. It changes us. I think it’s why we don’t age while we’re here.”
Her hazel eyes clamped shut. “Great. You want to blink a bow on top of my head before you hand me over? Why do I listen to you?”
Ignoring her sarcasm, I pushed past her to track the perimeter of the room for a way out. “Stop complaining. We’ve got to figure out how to get you out of the castle. This is better than hanging out in the hallway. Help me look. For all I know there could be a door I never noticed.
She gave a mournful shake of her head. “Then what? Where am I supposed to go?”
A thought hit me. “I could try to get you to Gibbit.” Memories of our last encounter rushed at me, so I added, “I’m not really sure where he is or if he’d even help us. I haven’t been the best of friends to him lately.” I traced every line of the room, sure there had to be a way to at least hide Lacey.
Maybe that was the key: hide. Zach had hidden me from the lords for a while back at school with his powers. Maybe she couldn’t disappear, but she could be cloaked. The problem was I hadn’t exactly learned the skill. When it came to controlling space.
For a moment I considered that Lacey might be better off if she went through with the bonding. Yet, it needed to be her choice. Just about the time I was going to give up, I thought of something else. Could I teach her to resist compulsion?
“I have an idea,” I blurted.
“Should I take a turn in the pool while you ponder it?” she said after I didn’t continue.
The specifics were still solidifying in my mind, so I held up a finger. “You need to learn how to resist compulsion.”
“Right. That’s your brilliant plan?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Rayla, I hate to break this to you, but I have maybe an hour left before my new bondmate will be here.”
I frowned, not knowing what else to do. “We’re kind of out of options. If I set one foot outside this castle, I’m sure they’ll send the goon squad to come get me. You being with me will only put you in danger. Besides, I don’t want them to use you against me. If you can learn to resist compulsion, you might be able to resist the bonding, too.”
“Yeah, and what if I end up killing myself instead? I actually like living.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, suppressing a shiver. I didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t want to think about a lot of things, but I had to figure this out.
Just then the door opened and a dark figure walked in. My heart exploded in my chest. This was just great. We had nowhere to hide.
It took me a few seconds to recognize Heath with his new haircut.
Before he could even turn around completely, I launched myself at him. His face twisted with pain, and almost simultaneously unexpected rage. His arms clamped around me, but it wasn’t an embrace. His body shook and his voice came out dark. “What are you doing in here?”
I could ask the same thing of him. For one horrible moment, I considered that he might be the man Lacey was supposed to bond with, but that couldn’t be it. I didn’t have any more time to think, though, because he crashed his lips against mine.
Our kiss held a hunger I couldn’t quench. My hands explored his back, his shoulders, his arms, his hips, pressing him closer.
His teeth clanged against mine and he groaned. I stopped breathing entirely as he devoured my mouth.
A disturbed grunt interrupted us.
Lacey.
Crap.
I made myself back away from Heath for the second time in so many days. All thought of Lacey left my mind when I took in his rumpled, short hair.
My lips curled up in disgust. It wasn’t exactly a buzz cut, but knowing the humiliation he’d gone through boiled my insides.
With shaking hands, I feathered my fingers through the thick, dark strands. It was still amazingly beautiful, just like him, but I ached for him.
I shook my head, my voice coming out in a whisper. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”
He grabbed my hand and set it at my side. “It is merely hair, Rayla.”
But it wasn’t, and I knew it. I nodded anyway. If he wanted to play it down, I was going to let him.
When I had recovered enough of my brain to notice, I realized Lacey was standing right beside me. “What happened?” she asked.
That was a loaded question. A question I couldn’t answer.
Heath seemed to not want to go there as he extended his hand and swiftly changed topics. “You must be Lacey.”
She grinned at him. “Good to see you haven’t abandoned Rayla.”
“Never,” he said, and I knew he meant it. The scary thing was a part of me knew he would give up his soul for me. The image of him standing in front of Valen being sentenced haunted me still. I didn’t know what losing one’s soul entailed, but it didn’t sound like the best idea in the world.
“Can you help me get Lacey out of here?” I asked.
Heath’s eyes caressed mine. “I’m already on it, but you’re going to have to cover for me.”
“How?”
“They can’t know I saw you. They have to think you assisted her. You’re going to have to come up with something good.”
I swallowed, my mind racing for an obvious answer, yet none came. I reached out and clasped his hand. “I’ll do my best.”
“This is special,” said a lilting voice from behind us.
My stomach turned to goo. When I whirled around, Zach glared at me. Then his strange eyes shifted to Heath, filling with contempt so dark, I gasped. “I’ve given you all the leeway I’m going to. Rayla belongs to me.” He marched up next to me and clamped his hand on my arm. It wasn’t a vice grip, but he wasn’t about to let me go.
“Zach,” I said.
His jaw worked before he let out a stilted, “We’ll talk about this later.”
He nodded at Lacey then faced Heath again. “I’ll not say anything about the girl, but if I catch you near Rayla again, I’ll turn you in myself.”
Anger, resentment, betrayal but, mostly, fire burned my veins. “Who do you think you are?” I spat at him.
He gave me a calm glance. “I happen to be your bondmate.” His expression hardened. “You will learn to respect what that means.”
Before I could say another word, Heath took Lacey by the arm and yanked her into the hall. I gulped down my rage and faced Zach again. “You need to let me go.”
His eyes raked over me. “Never.”
Pure hatred contorted my face. Where had the loving lord I knew gone?
He stepped nearer. “Even if I could stand the thought of losing you again, our bon
d is too important.”
“How can you say that knowing your sister—”
“I’ve already told you she doesn’t control me. She used an old parlor trick on me, and I was too caught up in having you with me to realize what had happened…until it was too late.” His fingers caressed my cheek, and I shot away from him, covering the spot he touched as if my hand could take away the sensations he caused in me. Even now, my body hummed for his touch. The rest of me would blast him into eternity if he did it again. His voice came out sad. “I’ll never forgive myself for letting her break us apart.”
“I love Heath,” I blurted.
His eyes fell to his shoes. “I know.”
My voice raised a few octaves. “And you don’t care? How can you want me knowing I’m in love with another man?”
He still wouldn’t look at me. After a moment of silence, he said, “I will change your mind.”
“Impossible,” I said.
When our eyes touched, love stared back at me. “All things are possible if you are willing to work hard enough.”
I clamped my eyelids shut, wishing I could drift somewhere safe, somewhere I could love the man I chose without having to deal with the man I had rejected.
A soft but unyielding touch alighted on my arm. “We need to get you out of here.”
I nodded, keeping my eyes closed. If there was one thing worse than having to be with Zach, it was having to be here with him. Even though Tabitha had taught me how to keep the council out of my mind, I hoped my effort equally applied to Zach. I couldn’t be sure.
He led me outside and into the woods that surrounded the castle, keeping his light grip on my arm the entire way. When he finally stopped he didn’t say a word. His arms wrapped around me, and I felt the slight tug of the matter stream, but something intangible kept us grounded right where we stood.
Zach unleashed a growl that sent ice to my toes. Instead of trying again, he pulled me back into the castle. He walked so fast I stumbled, attempting to keep up with him.
When his rant started, I knew this was bad. Even with his strong words, his voice held an edge of uncertainty. “If he thinks he is going to keep you here so he can steal you out from under me, he is wrong.”
Horizon Page 7
