Slumber (Beauty Never Dies Chronicles Book 1)

by J. L. Weil

  “If you come with me, I won’t incinerate Dash. I’ll even let him go.”

  I swallowed. Dash had warned me that as soon as the Institute got wind I had abilities, their interest in me would be unyielding. My instinct was immediately to refuse, but as I let my gaze slide to Dash, he was wearing down. I had to do something. Talking was getting me nowhere, and I had to come to terms with the fact that Monroe was gone.

  Dash had been there from the moment I woke. And here he was fighting for me because I had wanted to save Ember, who clearly didn’t want to be saved. I wasn’t giving up, but this fight would have to wait for another day. We needed to go.

  And I needed to pull my weight. Dash and Ember couldn’t have all the fun.

  It started with a crackle. A bright blue light flared from the sky, shining straight toward a guard—the one who looked like Hulk. It flew like a bullet, hitting the guard in the chest.

  He went down, his body going all twitchy, and he didn’t get back up.

  A second bolt of lightning hit the ground, causing a fissure and ripple through the earth, knocking the other guards and Ember off balance.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I’d just killed someone. Knowing that the guard would have killed Dash, or was doing his damnest to, didn’t make me feel any less horrible.

  Dash’s bright eyes held mine, understanding melting the hard flecks of flint. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured me.

  His voice barely registered through the roaring in my ears.

  “I-I hadn’t meant to kill him,” I said, trying to convince myself more. “Oh God.”

  “Get over it,” Ember snapped.

  Waves of electricity returned to me, and the purple haze behind my eyes began to fade. When the source of my power died, so did my energy level. There was a void inside me where the power stemmed from.

  I backed up, away from Monroe, with a heavy heart. Inside, I was torn. I had only just found her, and here I was trying to escape with no idea if or when I would see her again.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Dash. The shock to the earth had shaken things up, allowing us an edge.

  Flames engulfed her hands. She wasn’t going to let us walk away.

  Ember was persistent. I’d give her that, exasperatingly so.

  “Don’t make me put an arrow in you. Remember, a good leader knows when to cut their losses, and you, Ember, can’t take on both of us.” Dash was behind me, a hand under my elbow, guiding me backwards.

  Ember grinned. “You know I can’t just let you go.”

  And that wasn’t the answer Dash wanted. He shot an arrow. It swiped through the air in a clean arc, and I held my breath. OMG. It was headed directly at my sister. He wouldn’t, would he? I get they had some sort of history, and it had ended badly, but he knew how much she meant to me.

  My heart lodged in my throat, and I stood frozen. He never missed. How many times had he boasted about his precision skills? Emotion clogged my throat, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. There was nothing I could do to stop it. All I could do was watch in astonishment as the arrow sliced through the air and. …

  I couldn’t believe it. Exhaling the breath I’d been holding, I stared as the arrow sunk into the material of her left shoulder, missing her flesh, but pinning her to the trunk of the tree. The only thing he had injured was Ember’s pride.

  Ember laughed. “I thought you never missed.”

  “I don’t,” Dash said in a low voice of warning. If they tried to follow, he would bruise a whole lot more than their egos.

  He had deliberately missed, and my shoulders sunk in relief. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  Bending down, he grabbed our packs and inhaled deeply. It came out in an unsteady rush. “Can we go now?”

  Exhaustion lined every muscle in my body. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  He slipped a hand to the small of my back. Tattered and bruised, we limped like an old couple out of the clearing and toward the misty mountains. There was a primitive and essential feel to my future.

  I missed the Charlotte that I was, back when things were normal, and I wondered what she would think of the Charlotte now—what I’d become. The Charlotte who was a weapon. The Charlotte who kills.

  Had I known it then—that it would be the last normal day of my life—what would I have done differently?

  Everything.

  Dash ran a hand through his jet-black hair. “What you did back there, it doesn’t get easier, but you did the right thing.”

  Had I? I kept telling myself I didn’t have a choice, but I wasn’t so sure. There had to be another way than killing. “Nothing makes sense anymore.” I swayed on my feet. Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling like hot shit.

  Dash was in front of me. “Whoa there, Freckles. You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. The words were weak, probably due to the ground spinning.

  “Fine my butt.” His jaw set in a firm line as he swept me into his arms moments before I hit the ground. “I’ve got you,” he murmured. At least I think he did, because after that, I remembered nothing.

  When I came to, my head was pulsing and my mouth was dry. I’d felt like this before: the day I’d woken up in Hurst after indulging on way too much cheap alcohol. I lifted my head and glanced up. Dash had me in his arms and was carrying me across the mountainous terrain. Looping my hands around his neck, I rested my cheek on his shoulder. “Holy crap. I did it again, didn’t I?”

  “Did what?” he asked, stepping around a sizable boulder.

  “Fainted.”

  His lips twitched. “Maybe.”

  I played with the hair curling at the nape of his neck, too comfortable in his arms. “What’s happening to me? Why do I keep blacking out?”

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted, but from the expression on his face, he wasn’t liking it.

  “You don’t have to carry me,” I offered, though I was content being off my feet, particularly since my head felt as if a drummer was practicing on my brain.

  “Maybe not, but I like how you feel in my arms.” His voice lowered to a sexy whisper.

  I rolled my eyes, telling myself to not get swept up in his sweet words. “Seriously. I can walk. It’s not like I broke a leg.”

  His lips curled into a small smile. “Yet.”

  He set me slowly on my feet, my body brushing against his. A wave of dizziness assaulted me, but I wasn’t entirely sure it was all from fainting.

  And he knew it, giving me a devious grin.

  I dropped my gaze to his mouth. Wrong move. I shifted left, staring at the mountains. “Now what?” I asked.

  “I got a plan.”

  My eyes flipped back to his. “That always scares me.”

  “As it should, but this one, I think you’ll like … at least for the night.”

  I cocked a brow. “Now I’m terrified.”

  He didn’t rush me at a grueling pace, regardless that the Institute could be on our heels. I was wrapped up in my own thoughts, and the conversation lagged. So much had happened in a short span; processing the dismal change in my life was difficult to swallow. For days, all I’d thought about was finding my family, how everything would be okay once I saw them, and now I wasn’t certain of anything. I clung to the bit of hope that my parents weren’t corrupted by the Institute like Monroe was.

  I slid a sideways glance at Dash. “Did you hook up with my sister?”

  “What?” he coughed. “No.” I’d never seen him flustered, but I would say he was looking a tad guilty right about now.

  “I don’t believe you. I mean, it’s clear you knew each other.” There had definitely been some underlying tension.

  “Where is this coming from?” he asked, the tips of his ears flushed.

  I shrugged. “There was something about the way she looked at you.” Monroe might have reinvented herself into Ember, but deep down, I still knew my sister.

  “We did know each other,” he admitted. “She was one of the first people
I met when I woke. Actually, she was on patrol that night.”

  Now it was my turn to be rendered dumbstruck. I tucked the flyaways of my hair behind my ears. “You were right. She’s not the same person. The Monroe I knew never would have hurt anyone, let alone me.”

  “She’s been brainwashed, Freckles. We all were. From the moment the Institute finds you in the holding pod, they immediately start conditioning you, convincing you the only safe place is within the white walls of Diamond Towers. Those of us who showed gifts were put into the training program, and a few of us were transferred into a special division—those with exceptional skills.” Distaste lined his words. Dash harbored some deep wounds and hatred toward the Institute. Who could blame him? I myself was feeling pretty damn jaded.

  I wrapped my arm around my middle. “I don’t know what to do next.”

  “I’ve got an idea.” He draped an arm around my shoulders, drawing me to his side. “How about a night in a bed?”

  I looped a hand around his waist. “Is this some weird game of make-believe? If so, I’m not in the mood.”

  He ruffled the top of my hair. “Guess you’ll just have to see for yourself.”

  I blew the hair out of my face. “You’re cruel. If there isn’t a bed waiting for me wherever you’re dragging me, I’m going to shock you.”

  “Torture. Nice. I like a girl who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.”

  “You’re weird.”

  “And you like it.”

  Maybe. And that was my problem. I liked Dash too much.

  He stopped walking and pointed my shoulders to the northeast. “Do you see it?”

  I looked in front of me, but my eyes kept sneaking glances at his face. “You mean that hunk of weeds over there? It’s hard to miss.”

  He leaned down. “Look closely,” he whispered, his warm breath on my ear.

  If he would just stop distracting me, I might be able to concentrate long enough to focus. Squinting my eyes, I almost didn’t see it, but a moonbeam caught on something shiny—a piece of glass. “Is that—?”

  “A house.” He grinned.

  Just over the knoll stood a cabin that looked as if it had been through World War III, and maybe it had. Covered in moss, only a corner of a window peeked through the concealment, but it was a welcomed sight. “Does anyone live there?”

  Dash winked. “Let’s hope not.”

  “Great,” I muttered, following behind him. “Now we’re breaking and entering.”

  “Trust me, no one is home and hasn’t been for decades.”

  “How did it survive this long?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? But don’t expect Buckingham Palace.”

  I knew what to expect, all right. More bloodbugs, snykers, and other fun critters.

  Taking out his dagger, Dash cut through the overgrown vines, but it was almost a fruitless endeavor. Like everything in this primitive place, the laws of nature had changed. Moments after he chopped off the tops, the vines regenerated, making getting to the house nearly impossible.

  But somehow we managed to claw and hack our way through. “This thing isn’t going to strangle me in the middle of the night, is it?” I asked, wrestling with a plant taller than me.

  Dash’s head swung my way. “Uh, probably not. Depends on how intact the windows are.”

  Wonderful. He promises me a bed, but how could I possibly get any sleep knowing a plant might kill me while I slept? “Did you know this was here already?” I asked, stepping on a stem to make a path to the door.

  He placed the blade into his boot. “Yeah. I laid low here for a few weeks after escaping the dungeons.”

  “I’m shocked you were able to get out. What kind of freaking plant is this?”

  “A Venus flytrap.”

  “I hate nature.”

  Chuckling, Dash put a shoulder to the door. It took three tries before giving way with a groan. Dust particles rained down from the doorway as he wedged it open. “Ready to play house, Freckles?”

  I rolled my eyes and stepped inside.

  Besides smelling like my great grandma’s attic, the place wasn’t nearly as atrocious as I’d imagined. It was a small cabin with a kitchen and living space open to one another. In the corner was a stone fireplace with a pile of black ash in the hearth. Everything was covered with an inch of dust, but I couldn’t have cared less. It might have been sparsely furnished with what would now be considered antique furniture, but to me, this place reminded me of home.

  Well, with a lot of imagination. Regardless, it beat sleeping in a cave or in a tree.

  At the end of the wall was a set of stairs, leading to a small room with a low-lying bed. I sighed. “I never thought I’d see one of those again.”

  Dash stood in the archway, a rather dangerous smile on his face, watching me with intense, mercurial eyes. “Told you there was a bed. I think I deserve a reward.”

  I was unable to move. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Just a kiss.” His eyes were solely fixed on mine as he moved into the room.

  “Uh-huh. I thought we were friends.”

  His gaze didn’t stray from my face, and I knew we were standing on the edge of a vast abyss, looking down. If I didn’t pull away, a line would be crossed, and we could never go back. There would be nothing friendly about the way we kissed, yet I couldn’t make myself look away. “Friends can have a friendly kiss.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re a handful, and more trouble than you’re worth.”

  “If you’re trying to sweet talk me, it’s not working.”

  “You didn’t let me finish,” he said. “You’re also beautiful.”

  “Better.” I pushed closer to Dash, tilting my head back. “The thing is, I don’t want just a kiss.”

  His eyes were dark, churning with emotion—so much conflict as his heart tried to decide what was right. “What do you want?”

  “I don’t want to be alone. Not tonight.” Not ever, I added silently and stepped forward, slapping my fingers across his chest. If he didn’t want me to touch him, he could walk away. I drank in the warm contact that I’d missed so much.

  His hands framed my cheeks and brushed aside the stray curls. “Whether I want to admit it or not, every time I look at your face, I know I would do it all over again. I wouldn’t take back the first kiss.”

  There was too much talking, and then I processed what he had said. “What are you talking about? What kiss?”

  “The one that woke you up.”

  “You kissed me?”

  “That’s beside the point. Are you listening to me?” The pad of his thumb swept over my bottom lip.

  “I’m trying, but I’m not sure I’m following.” Being pressed against him left me a little scattered.

  His eyes shifted degree by degree, the silver hue deepening. “To hell with morals and good deeds. I’ve survived just fine without a conscience before. Why do I need to start now?”

  My thoughts exactly. I grinned. “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t know. I. …” He leaned in, and his lips hovered over mine, sharing the air between us. “Maybe this will clear it up for you.”

  He kissed me.

  Dash angled his head just enough that our lips brushed. One turned into two before he increased the pressure. And just like that, any pretense of control or reason melted away. Everything around me—the noise, the smells—it all faded, leaving only Dash and me in this moment. After the first touch of his lips, fire leaped up inside me, roaring to the surface, and my heart constricted. A powerful, electric feeling coursed through me, almost like when I pulled lightning from the sky. I dug my fingers into his hair, yanking him close, and his arms crushed me to him.

  We’d shared other kisses, not many, but this was different. There was urgency between us, as if this night might end before either of us wanted it to. His lips scorched mine as he deepened the kiss, taking it to a new intensity. My fingers trailed down his chest, gripping his arms and holding onto him. />
  I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I couldn’t seem to get close enough. He must have felt the same way. His arms encircled me as he lifted me onto the bed, one hand sliding along my hip and down my thigh. The full contact of his body had every nerve in me lighting up, and I swear it felt as if I was glowing.

  Tread carefully, Charlotte.

  His tongue circled with mine.

  Screw caution.

  I wanted this.

  I wanted him.

  Now.

  My hands slipped under his shirt, tugging the material up his chest. Within seconds, he was shirtless, and I was able to continue my lingering exploration. Dear God. He had wide shoulders and abs I could sink my teeth into.

  This was crazy. I’d never been so bold with a guy before, or so anxious to do something I’d never done. Regardless of my reputation in high school, everyone had it wrong about me. This was one cheerleader who’d never had her pom-poms ruffled.

  His lips pressed against the spot under my ear, giving me a moment to catch my breath. It wasn’t helping. There was something wicked about the little kisses he dropped all over my throat. He kissed in a way I’d never been kissed. Of course, I didn’t have a lot of experience to compare it to, but Dash’s kisses could be felt all the way to my core. Under the sweat, blood, and tears, there was passion. Explosive passion. Within minutes, I was dissolving into a white-hot flood of sensation.

  I don’t remember how or why, but I was no longer wearing my tank, and Dash’s fingers were strumming over my stomach, evoking heat of epic levels.

  My skin felt like silk under his touch, making my body come alive with electric currents. Dash was a different kind of danger than what lived outside these walls—an exciting, thrilling danger—and my body was ready to take the plunge. My heart was telling me to put on the brakes.

  I could have gone on kissing him forever, gone on pretending there was no one else in the world but us. My body arched into his, and a moan escaped.

  Had that come from me?

  He stared down at my face. Time stretched, and the depth of his gaze did something funny inside me. If I could bottle the way he made me feel with just a look, I didn’t think I would be sad another day in my life. He created a light inside me that countered the darkness inside him. “Tell me to stop.” His voice was rough and raw.