His jaw tensed and his shoulders squared up. “They belong to the neighboring enclave.”
“My mother told me about two enclaves close by. But I thought you would be friends with each other. Allies.”
Artan scowled. “Yeah, right.” He shook his head and took a deep breath as if thinking about what he could tell me. “My enclave is called Lovell and theirs is Bellville, after our ancestors. Bellville is not like us. We are at war with the alchemists and that’s our priority, but we also are at war with Bellville. It’s a passive war, but nevertheless, we can’t stand each other.” Again, his eyes found mine, dangerous and intent. “If they ever try to get to you, run away. I mean it.”
My mind had a hard time wrapping around the idea that two close enclaves were enemies. Unbelievable.
“So,” I started, facing him again. “I'll never be safe? I’ll forever be pursued by the alchemists? How did they even find me, do you know?”
“They have spells to scry for tziganes. In your case, you were easy prey since you still don’t know how to shut down your powers to hide them, and because you were alone and unprotected. That’s why we live together. So we can protect each other.”
I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. Please, this was not happening. I was not a tzigane, whose blood and heart oozed with power. Damn it, tziganes did not exist.
Opening my eyes, I peeked at Artan. He drove the car, watching the road. Perfectly normal. And yet, he was a tzigane. A menacing looking one. Not that I had seen many tzigane.
I analyzed my hands, looking for something different on them, like a tell-tale sign that I was a tzigane. There was nothing to see. But, when I lowered my hands, my eyes fell on Artan and his foreboding figure. I bet his senses were attuned to everything around us, not just the road.
My breath caught. He was something. It was difficult to grasp for words. The expression on his face never fell far from brave and intimidating, his eyes gleamed with danger, his presence was strong, and his movements astute.
I licked my lips and half-a-second later, gasped. Shit, I had been staring at Artan. At least, he wasn’t paying attention—I hoped.
Artan stiffened and frowned, glancing around. “What? Did you feel something?”
He unlocked the walls around him, and I felt when he sent his senses to scout for danger. His senses brushed up against me, like velvet on steel, like a caress on a thorny rose. I shivered and gasped again.
“What?” He faced me, his hazel eyes shining with worry.
“I felt you,” I whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“Just now, I felt your senses going out, like a soft breeze.” The crease on his brow deepened. “Isn’t that a normal thing?”
“I don’t feel when another tzigane does that, if that’s what you’re asking.” He lifted his fingers and a gentle breeze revolved around me, filling the car. I gasped again. “Air is my power.”
“Say what?” I stared at him. “You can make wind?”
One corner of his lips tugged up. “Among other things.” Then he pressed his lips tight and glanced around again. “What was it that startled you?”
“Nothing. Just ... my mind.” I averted my eyes from his gaze and reclined in the seat, a pout on my lips.
When he focused on the road again, I tried something new, something I had never done before. I tried reaching for his senses. I had felt things before, I had sensed them and found them, but I had never intentionally reached for someone. I wanted to see what was under that concrete wall of his, if he was as closed as his stance. My senses slipped out of my mind and floated toward him. And bumped into a wall. I peeked at him, but he didn’t seem aware of it. Pushing harder, I tried again. Nothing. Not one tenth of an inch. His mind was a closed box. Which only made me more curious about him.
Artan turned the last corner and entered the parking lot of my building.
“Home, sweet home,” I whispered to myself.
He stopped the SUV in front of my building. “There you are.”
I offered him a smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I tilted my head. “You aren’t going to say anything?”
“Like?”
“Try to convince me to listen to Darcy and Oscar and go to your enclave?”
He shook his head once. “I think you’re old enough to know what’s best for you.”
Wow, I didn’t know if he was serious and I should take that as a compliment, or if he was teasing me and rubbing it in my face that I was being childish and making the wrong choices.
Either way, I wouldn’t change my mind now. I was tired and hurt, and I desperately needed a shower and my bed.
I hopped out of the SUV and ran up the front steps to the door. I unlocked it and glanced back. Artan was still parked in place, waiting for me to get in. I nodded at him, then entered my building and closed the door. I listened as he sped away.
A long breath escaped me, and I felt like I could finally breathe again.
I climbed the steps when someone barreled into me and almost made me fall.
The guy in the dark hood I had seen around clasped his hands around my shoulders. “I need your help,” he said, his voice a thin shrill. With his hood pulled low, I couldn’t see much other than his pasty, pale chin.
Shuddering, I jerked away. “I don’t know you,” I said, sidestepping him. “Excuse me.”
My heart hammering against my ribs, I raced up the stairs and rushed into my apartment. I locked the door, and just to make myself feel better, I wedged a wooden chair under the knob.
Then I stared at the door, sure the guy would come after me and burst into my apartment.
Thankfully, the hooded guy hadn’t burst into my apartment. But since the last attack from the alchemist, I confess I hadn’t slept well. I kept the chair under the doorknob all the time now, and a small kitchen knife on the nightstand when I went to bed.
I tried not to analyze my actions too much; otherwise, I would think I was going crazy. Or maybe I was already crazy. Ironic, since I had called my mother crazy my entire life, and now I knew she wasn’t entirely insane.
Sunday night, after I relaxed, I went through Ellie’s and Phillip’s texts. I apologized to Ellie for not responding and let her know I was okay. As for Phillip … his texts started with “where are you?” then shifted to “did you leave?” and went up to “I’m worried. Talk to me.”
He left me at the club, but now he wanted to talk? Perhaps it was childish, but I didn’t reply to him.
On Monday, I met Ellie for lunch on campus. She grilled me about Phillip, of course, and when I told her I hadn’t left with him, she didn’t believe me.
On Tuesday, she had jazz class in the evening, so I was certain to see her. However, Annie hadn’t come to my class, which rubbed me wrong. Was Phillip so disgusted with me that he made his daughter quit dancing?
I shook my head, sure I was exaggerating.
After classes were done, I changed in the dressing room, and humming a popular reggaeton, I stormed out of the dance school. So focused on not thinking about all the odd things around me, I closed the front door behind me and bumped into someone.
I opened my mouth to yell at whoever it was but stopped when I looked up and found gentle blue eyes looking for mine.
“Hey there,” Phillip said, holding my arms to steady me. My heart squeezed a little. His gaze moved to my cheek and his brow creased. “What happened?” His fingers brushed the bruise on my cheek, now a faint yellow, but still swollen and visible.
“Nothing.” I stepped back and out of his hold. He had left me at the club and had not called me afterward. What did he expect? A warm welcome? “Why didn’t Annie come to class?”
“She has a cold,” he said, his tone low. “My mother is taking care of her.”
Poor thing. “Tell her I sent her a hug.”
“Will do.” He watched me while I shifted my weight. His eyes fell to my neck, where the nec
klace still was. To be honest, I had forgotten to take it off. His gaze returned to mine. “Can we go for a walk?”
“I need to go home,” I said, avoiding his intense stare.
“It’ll be quick. Please,” he pleaded, his eyes matching his tone.
My heart skipped a beat. I nodded and let him show me the way.
For a few minutes, we walked side by side in silence, just stealing a few sidelong glances.
I was thinking about giving up and rushing home when he started. “So, I went back inside the club and your friend told me you had left in a hurry, without saying goodbye to her. She thought you had gone outside to meet me, but I didn’t see you there.”
Why hadn’t Ellie told me that? Perhaps he talked to Tonia?
I bit my lip. What could I say? That I was chased out of the club and ran smack into some masked men who tried to kidnap me? Yeah, didn’t think so.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” I lied, glad my voice sounded normal and leveled. “I went home.”
Phillip raised his brows at me. “And this?” his fingers grazed against the bruise on my cheek.
“I-I hurt myself at home. Stupid really.” I smiled at him, hoping it was convincing enough.
He halted before me, our bodies close together. I held my breath, my heart thumping in my chest.
“I understand you don’t want to tell me. I do. We barely know each other, right?” Phillip held my arms and pulled me closer. His citric scent enveloped me and I inhaled deeply, savoring it. “But I want to change that. I want to get to know you.”
Damn. My heart was about to leave through my mouth. I did want to kiss him again and probably continue whatever we were about to do that night, but I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust him much before he left me alone in the club, and now it was worse.
I took a step back, but he didn’t let go of my arms. “You left the club.”
“It was a work call, I told you. I was outside, on the phone.”
“And you expect me to believe that? A call from work on a Saturday night?”
He laughed, sounding amused. “And Sunday morning and Sunday night. My boss is quite the workaholic, and he never says no to a client, old or new. Because of that, I have to work my ass off. I’ve been working with him for three years now, and I haven’t had a single day off yet.”
I cocked my head, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. Then I had a better idea.
I placed my hands over his extended arms and closed my eyes. I willed the walls around my mind to yield and my senses rushed out around us. I focused on Phillip and his words, if whatever he was saying was the truth, if he really was that interested in me and nobody else.
The colored beams swirled around him, closing in on him, on his heart. The colors compressed until they disappeared inside of his body. Then a blinding white light exploded from within, and I gasped, its force sweeping over me.
Phillip was telling me the truth. He had answered a work call that night and he did work like crazy. He also enjoyed it. And he liked me, more than he expected or wanted in so little time. In his mind, I was stunning and incredibly sexy.
Holy crap, how had I been able to see all that?
I opened my eyes and smiled at him.
His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?” he asked, sounding every bit as curious as I knew he was.
I stepped closer to him and tilted my head toward his. “I believe you.”
His lips curled into a satisfied smile before meeting mine and kissing me.
I still couldn’t believe I believed him, but it was true. Hmm, this sensing thing could be useful in overcoming my trust problems.
10
“Hey,” Ellie whispered.
I looked up from my books to her across the table. “What?” I said in a low voice.
She tipped her chin to the table beside ours. Four guys with the school’s team jersey spread their books and laptops across the table.
Smiling, I shook my head.
When Ellie invited me to meet her in the school library after classes Wednesday evening, because she had a big test coming up and I had a project I had to work on, I assumed we would be working. Of course, my dear Ellie’s boy radar was always on, and she noticed the moment some cute guys walked into the library. And now her notebook lay ignored in front of her.
While she stared at them, I stared at her.
Being here with her felt so natural. It was as if she was meant to be my friend. And that meant I was selfish. Selfish because I shouldn’t trust others, and because by hanging out with me, her life was at risk.
A shudder rolled down my spine, and the memory of that night in the parking garage invaded my mind. She already had been in danger because of me.
Shit.
She was a great person, and so far a great friend. I couldn’t do this to her. I had to walk away. I had to stay away. My mother’s methods might not have been the best, but she had ensured I had no friends growing up, because she was protecting them. And the one time I couldn’t resist, the one time I lied to her about it, the one time I sneaked around to meet with my best friend … alchemists murdered her and her entire family.
It was my fault, and now I was bringing the murderers to Ellie’s doorstep.
I sucked in a sharp breath and closed my book.
Ellie pressed her toes into my shin. I looked up at her. With a big smile, she waved at one of the guys. He waved back. Then she faced me, wiggling her eyebrows.
“They’re so hot,” she mouthed.
I glanced at them. Sure enough, they were looking at us. Two of them waved at me. I grimaced and nodded, then I picked up another book and lowered my head again.
They were handsome, and on another occasion, I might have considered letting them come to our table and talk, but I couldn’t now. I had something going on with Phillip, and I was happy with that so far.
“I know what’s going through that head,” Ellie said, her voice low so not to disturb the others in the library. “You’re thinking of Phillip.”
Heat spread through my cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”
She smiled. “It’s what I would be doing if I had a boyfriend that hot.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Not yet.” She whirled her pen in her fingers. “What about Annie?”
“What about her?”
“Does she know about you two?”
I frowned. “Hmm, I don’t think so. I hope not, to be honest.”
“Why?”
“Because … whatever Phillip and I have is still new; anything could happen. Her mother already left, and I don’t want her to experience something similar again, should our relationship not work out. We should wait until it’s something more before we tell her.”
“That’s wise.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, sometimes I surprise myself too.”
She chuckled. A moment later, she started scribbling in her notebook again. Then she stopped and looked at me again. “What about your mom?”
“What do you mean?”
“What does your mother think about you dating a guy with a daughter?”
I sat straighter, feeling like I was under watchful eyes—not Ellie’s. My mother’s. “It’s none of her business.”
Ellie shrugged before returning to her notes.
I meant it, though. My mother had no business in my life. I was allowing her to come over and pretend she was a doting mother for her sake, so she could sleep at night, thinking she was taking care of her daughter. But when it came to my life, she had no authority. Her opinions didn’t matter.
My mood went sour and more worrying thoughts filled my mind. My mother and her lies, the alchemists, the enclaves Lovell and Bellville … would my life ever be normal? College, the dance studio, Ellie and Phillip were the only normal things in my life, and even then, I felt like a rain cloud hovered over all of them, ready to burst open.
I glanced at my phone. It was already ten. The library was closing soon.
“Oh, okay. Then I’m going too.”
We picked up all the books, notebooks, pens, and pencils we had spread over the table, shoved everything inside our totes, and after Ellie waved at the guys at the other table once more, we walked out of the library.
“Thanks for the company,” I said, and I meant it. After avoiding having friends for so long, I felt complete and sometimes overwhelmed with her and Phillip in my life. And when Tonia or Raul came into the game, I felt it even more.
She looked at me as if I had had too many drinks. “What is that about?”
I shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Are you taking the bus home?”
“Yes.” Usually, I walked the few blocks to my building, but this late at night, I would take the bus.
“Want me to go to the bus stop with you?”
“Nah.” I gestured around the campus’s pathways. “There are lots of students out. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow, then.”
“Good night.”
She waved her fingers at me. “Night.”
Ellie made a sharp turn to the right, in the direction of her dorm, and I walked toward the edge of campus where the bus stop was.
The bus ride to my building was uneventful. However, when I got there, I rushed inside, afraid of meeting the hooded guy again. Once inside my apartment, I locked the door and shoved the chair under the knob. It seemed I would do that for the rest of my life; it didn’t matter where I lived.
I threw my tote on my coffee table, knelt in front of it, and started organizing it for tomorrow’s classes. I placed all my books in a stack in the corner of the table and counted. One, two, three, four …
One was missing. My biology book. I didn’t even remember taking it out of my tote in the first place, but Ellie and I had many things spread over the library table, so it was possible.
The air fled my lungs.
Holy shit, Ellie had my book.
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening again. I checked my tote, and looked through all my books and notebooks. I raced to my desk in my bedroom and looked there too, even though I knew it was a waste of time, because I had had my biology book with me earlier.
Heart Seeker (The Fire Heart Chronicles Book 1) Page 8
