by J. L. Weil
I looked around, searching for a nozzle or a spigot. Nothing. Two seconds away from peeking my head out of the stall and asking another person for a manual, my hand touched the wall. Lo and behold, droplets of water rained over my head. Squinting, I craned my neck back, curious to see where the water was coming from. It had to be some kind of trick because I couldn’t spot the source, but after a few seconds of the soothing water running over my skin, I didn’t care where it came from as long as it didn’t stop.
The water turned cold before I was ready, but I couldn’t be a shower-hog. Scrubbed clean and feeling almost normal, I wiggled into a pair of pants and pulled a clean shirt over my head. I stuffed the dirty clothes in my bag, making a mental note to wash my clothes later that day. Just as I started to leave, I caught a figure emerging from two stall doors down.
Why, oh why, did it have to be him? I froze, and my mouth started salivating as I stood there gaping.
It was Dash. Shirtless. Water glistened off his glorious abs. His damp hair was tousled and curled at the ends. I told myself to breathe and not get carried away. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen Dash’s chest before. No big deal.
And yet with Dash, it was a big deal.
I shot him my trademark annoyed look, keeping my eyes above the neckline. I did not need to be tempted by him any more than I already was. “Do you need to borrow a shirt? I’m sure I have an extra one in my pack.”
He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Is my near nakedness bothering you?”
Yes! Everything about him was bothering me. Play it cool. “No, why would it? Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
He moved closer to me, and my eyes betrayed me, shifting lower, and while I was being dazzled by his golden skin, he leaned toward me, a curve to his lips. Dash thought himself godly. “If you say so,” he replied smoothly.
I couldn’t believe I ever thought I was in love with him. He was a pretentious jackass, and I didn’t fall for guys who were jerks.
“Hey, you okay?” Dash asked, watching me intently. “You’ve got your brooding face on again.”
Don’t think about how close he is. Or how incredible he smells.
Ugh. Easier said than done. My brain and body were having a hard time communicating. “I’m fine.”
“Liar. You’re so full of crap.” He sighed when I didn’t say anything snappy in return. This must have been his lame attempt at trying to lighten the tension between us, but it wasn’t so simple. Inside, I was hurting, I was angry, and we couldn’t forget sad. I had to adjust to our current situation, whatever that may be, but I couldn’t put a time clock on my feelings. Seeing Star and Dash together was difficult. They had history … a lot of history. Dash and I had near-death situations and the Institute on our backs. Star and I couldn’t compete. We weren’t even in the same century.
It would be best for everyone involved if I kept my distance until Dash and Star figured out what they were or weren’t. I didn’t know how much they had talked, but it seemed to me that everyone was avoiding the situation, which helped no one.
I forced my expression to be blank as a pang hit me in the chest. “Maybe I am full of crap, but I’m not the one stringing two girls along.” There. Take that. I whirled around to stalk away, but Dash moved with blinding speed and latched onto my arm.
“Don’t walk away. We need to talk.”
I stiffened, my back going straight. “So you keep saying, but not until you put some clothes on.” I didn’t want to think about having any kind of serious conversation with him practically naked and my fingers itching to touch every bit.
“I don’t want things to be strained between us,” he murmured against my ear, making my stomach cartwheel regardless that I told it not to.
“Too late,” I mumbled.
He spun me around. “It doesn’t have to be like this between us. I can’t lose you.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I was never his to lose, but as my eyes connected with his, I knew it wasn’t true. “Are you saying that there is nothing between Star and you? That you don’t have feelings for her?”
His hand moved to the back of his neck in a gesture I recognized from him. He was uncertain. “Look, I know this is totally messed up. I never thought past finding her and my family. I never planned to have these feelings for you. It just happened.”
“Typical Dash. One day at a time. Tomorrow doesn’t matter.”
“That’s not fair, Freckles. I don’t know Star. She isn’t the same girl I grew up with, but I know you, and I fought too damn hard to keep you alive.”
“Well, the good news is I don’t need you to fight my battles anymore. I got it covered.”
“See, this is exactly what I don’t want. I would never hurt you, you must know that.”
Not intentionally, but playing with my emotions hurt me. Not being with, or being able to touch him like I wanted to hurt me. “We don’t always get what we want.”
Placing his hands on either side of my hips, he bent forward, our eyes locking. “You’re being unreasonable. Just give me some time to figure this out.”
“Oh, you’ve got all the time in the world, but that doesn’t mean I am going to be waiting around while you make up your mind. If you don’t know that I’m the one you want, then we have nothing more to discuss.” I stepped out of his embrace and gathered my stuff.
Star chose that moment to stroll in, not knowing what she had just walked in on. “Oh, my God. It took me forever to find you. I thought you’d disappeared.” Her eyes volleyed between Dash and me, the tension between us as thick as cake but nowhere as sweet. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I pasted on a reassuring smile. “You’re not. I was just leaving. He’s all yours.” No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the sourness from seeping into my voice.
“Charlotte,” Dash called.
I kept on walking. The truth, I was getting good at walking away.
I cursed Dash all the way down the rocky path, mumbling and muttering under my breath like a lunatic. The people of Eberus were going to think I was insane, but what did I care.
Letting the breeze dry my hair, the damp red curls hung heavy down my back. I wasn’t in a hurry to get back to the empty house, so I wandered the little town, taking it all in during the day. I was impressed. If I could settle into a town one day, Eberus was in the lead. It was the first place in the Heights I’d seen that had character and promise. Even the Institute with all its advances lacked warmth and coziness.
“Did you sleep well?” a voice to my right asked, sneaking up on me.
I shielded my eyes from the sun and glanced up to see Orion. He stepped in time with my easy strides, and I smiled. “I did. Thank you again for your hospitality. My friend had a rough few days. She isn’t used to the Heights or sleeping on the ground.”
“One of the Institute’s?” he assumed correctly.
I nodded.
“They’re looking for you.”
My boot hit a rock, sending it skipping across the ground. “I know. I’m one of the founders’ daughters.”
Orion didn’t seem surprised by this knowledge. “Are you now? Well, isn’t that interesting. Makes sense why they wouldn’t want you traipsing around the Heights with the Slayer.”
“He really isn’t that bad,” I said, jumping to Dash’s defense.
He thought on it for a moment, the sun picking up on caramel highlights in his ponytail. “He must care for you, since he allows you to see another side of him, the one he keeps buried deep.”
I snorted.
Orion arched a coffee-colored brow. “Do I sense a bit of trouble in paradise?”
“Where Dash is involved, there is always trouble.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I knew I would like you, Kamama. You hungry? We could drink a pot of coffee and bash the Slayer.”
I stopped walking. “You said the magic word.”
“Dash?” he guessed.
“Coffee. I haven’t had a cup in over
a hundred years. Serious withdrawals.”
“I know the feeling. It wasn’t easy to replicate, but we’ve done a passable job. I’ll let you be the judge.”
The café on the corner looked like the bar in Hurst—a little rough around the edges—but it had all the makings, including freshly baked goods. “I think I just died and went to heaven.” I sighed. The smell of bread and muffins made my stomach rumble, but it was the bitter scent of coffee that hit my weak spot.
Orion delivered.
I took my first sip, closed my eyes, and savored the smooth, hot liquid with a moan of blissful appreciation. “Yep. I’ve definitely died.” With a stack of little pastries in front of me and a cup of hot coffee, I started to think Eberus was pure magic.
I was on my second delectable flaky treat when Orion asked, “You want to tell me what is eating at you, little Kamama?”
I hadn’t even realized that I had zoned out, not until the sound of his voice brought me back and what a voice he had. “I like the way you say that. I shouldn’t, but it sounds so exotic.”
Orion grinned, and it was lethal. “Maybe I was wrong about you.”
He was older than Dash, mid to late twenties, but age wasn’t a problem in the Heights. Lack of people was. If Dash decided he wanted to give it a shot with Star to see if something was still there, where did that leave me? Why the hell should I wait around until he decided to make up his mind?
I’d already left them alone, more or less shoving them together. Smart move, Charlotte. Way to fight for what you want. I wasn’t a quitter and didn’t accept defeat easily, and yet here I was giving up, feeling sorry for myself. I needed a kick in the butt.
I tilted my head to the side. What did Orion think he was mistaken about? Most people would consider me transparent, unable to hide my emotions. “How so?” I asked.
“The Slayer made it clear that you weren’t available.”
“And just when did he do that?”
He had his elbow on the table, his fingers fumbling with the rim of his cup. “It doesn’t matter. Are you saying that you and him aren’t together? Rumor is the one with the rainbow eyes belongs to the Slayer.”
The whole barbarianism of the Heights was horseshit, and how did news travel so fast? There were no newspapers or broadcasters, but I guess when you had supernatural abilities, the unthinkable was possible. “I belong to myself.”
He gave me a disarming grin. “Just so we’re clear, I fully support feminism.”
I smiled in return, because Orion was infectious. “Good to know.” There was something charming about him, and if I weren’t hung up on another douchebag, I would have jumped at the chance to see if the spark I sensed between us could go somewhere.
Would I continue to compare every guy I met to Dash? If that was the case, I would never have the opportunity to get over him, and I found the prospect frightening. I didn’t want to end up alone, pining after a guy who hadn’t wanted me.
Depressing.
Too bad my visions hadn’t shown a future with Dash and me together. It might have given me the patience to let him sort this love triangle out. Gah! I didn’t do love triangles, and I wasn’t about to start. I was going to make the Slayer choose.
Orion scooped up a bite of his coffee cake. “The people of Eberus protect one another. If you decide you no longer want to run, I offer you our protection. You are always welcome here.”
Looking around, it was a damn tempting offer. Who would have imagined a civilization lived in the middle of such a mysterious and lonely place as Somber Mountain? And maybe I could be happy here, for a little while, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think the Institute would just give up and stop looking for me. Eberus might be able to hold them at bay or hide me for a spell, but there would come a time when their defenses wouldn’t be enough.
I refused to let anyone else’s blood be shed because of me. If the Institute wanted my DNA that bad, then they were going to have to take it from me, and that only meant my fight had barely begun. “I appreciate it. And Eberus might be safe, but if I stay, you’ll have to fight to keep it that way. I couldn’t bear to see what you’ve built here destroyed.”
Disappointment flickered in his eyes. “If you change your mind, the offer stands.”
I nodded.
The following day we said our goodbyes to Orion and left Eberus. Dash was anxious to get back on the road, staying in one place too long made him agitated, and I understood this time around. That same sense of restlessness stirred inside me. It was a hot prickle at the back of my neck, urging me to get as far from Diamond Towers as I could manage on two legs.
I had hoped the tension between the three of us would have magically disappeared by now. With as much unexplained mystic energy as existed in the Heights, it didn’t seem implausible, and yet it lingered in the air.
“You and Orion seemed to hit it off,” Dash commented as we walked.
I shrugged. “I guess. He said I could stay if I wanted a place to settle.”
“Is that all he offered?”
My eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
“A guy like Orion doesn’t offer his protection freely.”
I shook my head, stepping up and over a larger rock. I wasn’t up for word battling with Dash. “You did,” I snappily reminded him. “What does it matter anyway? The entire Heights thinks I belong to you.”
Amusement crept into his eyes. “Good.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbing his arm. “What do you mean good? It is a total lie.”
“Your name associated with mine will put fear in those who hear that you have my protection.”
“Keep using your ego steroids. You might want to think about selling them on the black market. I bet you could make a fortune.” I don’t know how it happened, but I had somehow ended up on slightly higher ground, putting Dash and me nose to nose.
His eyes pierced mine. We were both breathing heavily. “My ego is going to be what keeps us alive.”
“You must really like a challenge.”
“Are you guys going to bicker the entire time?” Star interrupted.
“Yes!” Dash and I both said in unison.
Things got pretty silent after that.
Our exit from Somber Mountain less adventurous than escaping the Institute had been. The days drifted by, but keeping Star safe wasn’t going to be so easy, not with the Institute gunning for us and more determined than ever in their pursuit. No doubt they were hoping to get a two-fer—both Dash and me in one swoop.
As the sun sank over the western horizon, a tortured howl arose, echoing from the woods directly in front of our path.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
A shudder passed through the trees, and a sudden sharp wind stole the late afternoon warmth, just as I was looking forward to the balmy air of the forsaken woods.
“I’m thinking we need to move faster,” Dash said, stepping over a wild shrub.
The breeze smelled of pine and water but tinted with something else, something harsh and metallic—like blood.
“If we move faster, isn’t that going to bring us closer to whatever that was?” Star asked.
“Probably. But I’d rather find it before it finds us,” Dash said.
“My hero,” I replied, batting my eyes and putting my hand over my chest.
He scowled. “Are we going to start this again?”
“Depends if you’re going to start the macho thing again. I don’t need your protection.”
“So you keep saying, and yet I’ve saved your pretty little butt more times than I can count. Or have you already forgotten about the beast that chased you up a mountain?”
I wanted to kick him. “I was assessing the situation from higher ground.”
He tried to keep his lips turned down and failed, as I caught the hint of a curve. Amusing hadn’t been my goal. “Well, you’re going to get the chance to prove that you can handle yourself. If that thing is what I think it is, it’s going to take two of
us to kill it.”
“Kill?” Star squeaked.
A cackle rang out again. It could have been behind us, in front us, running alongside; pinpointing its location was impossible. The beast seemed to be everywhere at once.
Adding speed to my strides, I cursed Dash and the Heights into seven different levels of hell.
Chapter Thirteen
We ran for what felt like an eternity, but it made no difference; the thing was still out there and closer than ever.
Star began to lag behind, and Dash and I slowed our pace, knowing that if we kept pushing her, she would end up as dead weight Dash and I couldn’t afford to carry.
“We need to rest for a little bit,” I panted, my chest rising and falling in quick gasps.
Dash’s gaze held mine. “Then we have no choice. We have to fight.”
I nodded in agreement. “Here’s your big chance, hotshot.”
“Oh no,” Star said, stepping between us. Her big brown eyes bounced from me to him. “We’re not going to start this again.”
A roar so strong it blew my hair back erupted from within the trees. We had crossed into the outskirts of the Dying Labyrinth, a place I’d been to only once before and had hoped never to return. Large eyes the color of an angry viper, green and glowing, beamed from the shadows.
The three of us stiffened in unison at the furious sound. Dash with his hero complex stepped forward, bow drawn in his grasp. “Ash, stay behind me.”
“Who is Ash?” I asked, peeking over at Dash like he was off his rocker. I kept my guard up in case shit went sideways, fishing my blade out of my boot.
“Me,” Star spoke up. “Or the me before the mist. My name used to be Ashley.” She turned to Dash. “You remembered.”
He stared at her, a frown pulling at his lips. “I don’t know. I guess it just came out.”
My heart sunk. I was happy his memories were slowly returning, it just hurt that they were of another girl—my friend. “We really don’t have time for a trip down memory lane.”
Our eyes connected for a moment, and he gave a curt nod.
