DESIRE (16 page)

“It’s a perfectly good question, Liam.”

He turned to me, his eyes filled with questions and accusations. “There’s something you're not telling me, Kama.”

“So much has happened since my birthday.” I rose to face him. I wanted to share it all with him, to explain, but I knew it was too much.

“Are you in trouble? Is that it?” The concern in his voice was touching and I wanted desperately to alleviate his worry. “Honey, you’ll know I’d do anything to protect you. Just tell me what’s going on and I’ll fix it.”

I leaned into him, letting all the anxiety of the morning flow out of my body. He wrapped his strong arms around me and I felt safe and secure. When I looked up at him, I was touched by the emotions so plainly written all over his face. He loved me, of that I had no doubt.

His lips beckoned me and I knew that I would find happiness there; soft, warm and so welcoming. I kissed him and allowed myself to be carried off into a world where only he existed. His arms tightened around me, pressing me to his body.

“It feels so good to hold you, to kiss you. This is where I want to be for the rest of my life; at your side. No matter what happens, I want to be with you.”

“But you're the Governor’s son, Liam. If my destiny isn’t…”

“I don’t care who my father is, Kama. My life is my own and if it’s with you I’m happiest, than that’s where I belong. There are plenty of people eager to take my father’s position. The Governor’s chair won’t remain empty for long should I choose a different path to take in my life.”

I looked up at him, wanting to open my heart, open my thoughts and share all I’d been through with him. I feared his reaction to all the knowledge, about his father, about the genies, about the Catchers. Would he hate me for opening his eyes? Would he thank me?

Chapter 19

W
ith all the excitement surrounding my upcoming new Life’s Plan, I forgot about my early morning rendezvous with Torrid. I had a fresh outlook on my life, the true destiny I was meant to follow.  My life was with Liam, first lady to Arcadia.

“Have a good day at school,” Mom said as she kissed me goodbye and left for work.

For the first time in a long while, I relaxed and took up my morning routine with the same excitement I always had prior to my dismal Life’s Plan. Things were back on track and I felt confident my new Life’s Plan would be what I had always dreamed it would be.

I cleared the morning dishes from the table and brought them to the sink to be washed.

I thought little of the sound of the front doorknob turning and clicking. Mom was forever forgetting something when she left for work. But when I came to the living room, prepared to fetch her keys, scarf, sunglasses or whatever else she’d forgotten, the coffee mug in my hand fell to the floor and I gasped. “What are you doing here?”

In the seconds it took to ask the question, Torrid had stopped the mug from falling and closed the space between us, his arms quickly encircling me and his lips taking hold of mine. My lips parted, welcoming his warmth. He pressed me to the wall, pinned my hands above my head and brought his mouth to my neck, his lips playing with my skin in a way that shoved all rational thought from my head.

“Torrid,” I said through breaths heavy with longing and desire.

“Why didn’t you come this morning?” His lips nibbled their way around my ear, his question almost lost in the tiny kisses.

“I…” Making a coherent sentence was out of the question. My entire body responded to his, exploding with the desire to have more.

“I feared something had happened to you.” His kisses ceased as he cupped my face and looked me in the eye. “My God, Kama, I thought something dreadful had happened to you.”

His breathing was loud and labored, filled with longing. He kissed the tip of my nose and my forehead.

“I’m sorry. I forgot. Torrid…” I slid my hands out of his hold and shifted away from him. The moment I lost contact with his touch my body went cold, reacting violently to the sudden loss of warmth and love. “I’m to get a new Life’s Plan.”

He knew. Not only did he know, but I realized that was the very reason he’d risked coming to my house.

“Dr. Sanz is not what you think he is,” he warned.

“He’s a genie, a Magical One. I saw the violet hue. I saw the leather band.”

“Yes, he is a genie, but he has allowed the power bestowed upon him by the government to go to his head. He has no desire to see the Magical Ones freed. He has no intention of allowing you to change anything in Arcadia that he doesn’t want changed.”

“But…”

He took my hands, clasped them together and enveloped them in his. “Be careful who you trust, Kama.” He pulled me closer and laid his lips, softly and ever so lightly, over mine.

Though tinged with restrained passion, the kiss was so much more. My head was suddenly filled with visions of a life with him, of his home… of mine. Multicolored stars lit up the sky, and the meadows and fields were filled with laughing children, abundant blooms and magic.

“Do you see who you are?” he whispered.

We stood on the balcony of a grand palace overlooking the land. Golden and filled with love, this was our home. He stood behind me, tall and strong, our gazes unified as we surveyed the peace and harmony of the world we’d built, the world we’d save. He wrapped his arms around me, nestled his lips into the crook of my neck and I felt the love and pride he had for the children playing in the fields… our children.

“Yes,” I murmured, barely aware we still stood in my living room. I was really there, in this mystical palace with him.

“If I came here, if I risked coming to your home, it’s because I had to see you, Kama. Not only to warn you of the danger Dr. Sanz posed, but to touch you, kiss you and show you the life that awaits you.”

“This palace, is this…”

“My home. Our home. For far too long this palace has been empty, void of love, void of the laughter of joyful children.”

I opened my eyes and faced the love he had for me. 

“You're that joy and love. You're what the palace has ached for all these years; what I’ve ached for.” He smiled. “I thought I was strong enough, thought I could fight the emotions I feel, but I can’t. I’ve been a warrior for longer than I can remember, and have fought enemies twice your size. But you’ve captured me, slayed me with your eyes and your soul. I cannot deny it any longer. My heart belongs to you, wants you. I love you, Kama.”

I wanted to jump for joy, to thank the heavens for opening his heart to me, but I also feared what his love could do to us. If my destiny was with Liam…

“Yes, you're right.”

Tears came to my eyes and my heart lapsed into a free-fall of confusion all over again. “You said you weren’t supposed to fall in love with me.”

“No,” he said, unshed tears making his eyes shine like never before. “Nor did I ever think I would be telling the woman I love to go to another.”

A stabbing pain ripped at my heart and I felt every fiber of my being crumble in his hands.

“I love you, Kama. I love you more than I ever thought possible. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, but you're in danger, grave danger and I won’t allow any harm to come to you because of the selfish emotions I feel for you.”

“But my Life’s Plan is going to be set right.  My destiny will be cleared. Shouldn’t I find security in that?”

“Don’t be fooled by the frailty Dr. Sanz displays. He’s far from feeble and weak. He has a high ranking position under Governor Seer and he likes it that way. If he should sense that you intend to rock the boat in any way, he’ll eliminate you.”

“Then why risk my intentions at all? He knows that I know. He could have easily hurt me last night.”

“Not with Pim and Liam around. Despite all of Dr. Sanz’s powers, Pim still holds the reins and he wants to maintain peace. He cares for your mother and for his son, therefore he cares for you. However, you don’t want to rely on that alone. When push comes to shove, he will do whatever he can to stop you from ruining the good thing he has as Governor of Arcadia, regardless of his feelings for your mother or his son.”

“No, Pim would never do anything to hurt his son.”

“Kama, you have to trust me. We have to leave.”

“Leave? Torrid, my Life’s Plan, my destiny… you yourself said it was…”

“I’ve changed my mind.” He took a firm hold of me and pulled me towards the door. “I can’t bear the thought of any harm coming to you.”

“But I can’t just leave, not now. Torrid, I want to do all I can to change the world, to save the Magical Ones. This is my destiny and…”

“I’ve asked your father to change his plans.”

I dug my heels in and glared at him. “You what?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Kama. It’s for your own good. His plan was outrageous and unimaginably dangerous.”

“What plan?”

“It doesn’t matter now.” He tugged on me, urging me to leave.

“Torrid, what plan?” I tried to dig into his mind, to find what he was holding back, but he was too good at blocking me. “Please. You can’t expect me to leave everything behind without even telling me what I’m running away from.”

He looked away and clenched his jaw while his hand clenched around my arm. I could sense his anger and his fear. His eyes narrowed as he debated how much he should tell me.

“I want to know it all, Torrid. Everything and anything that concerns me, I want to know.”

After a long intake of air, he let his breath seep out, his gaze resigned as he sat on the sofa and invited me to sit beside him.

“From as far back as we know, you were meant to marry Liam.”

His voice cracked on Liam’s name and I realized just how difficult this was for him.

“My sudden presence in your life alerted someone on the Committee. It may be Dr. Sanz, but it could be anyone.”

“And how was my marriage to Liam supposed to free the Magical Ones.”

“As his loving wife, trusted partner and beloved first lady, no one would ever suspect you of assassinating Pim.”

I shot to my feet, the sudden urge to retch sending me running to the bathroom. Murder. Was he crazy? I shut the bathroom door behind me and stared into the mirror. My reflection mocked me; the angelic golden hair, the clear and innocent hazel eyes, the pretty lips that were now set in a grim line of disbelief.

My blouse was crisp and freshly pressed and smelled of lavender. I was just a young woman, just 18, just starting my life. I watched the tears well in my eyes, watched the redness mar the pretty eyes with pain and watched my innocence fade away. I couldn’t believe my father would ask me to assassinate someone.

“Kama?” Torrid’s voice was soft and cautious behind the door.

Numb, I turned the doorknob and silently let him in.

“I’m sorry. I know this is a shock.”

“I’ve gone from being a starry-eyed girl, wanting only to love and be loved by a good man, and now you're telling me I’m destined to be a murderess?” My eyes remained on my reflection, willing the young and naïve girl I’d been just months earlier to return.

“Marrying Liam gives you complete access to the Governor’s mansion,” he went on, his tone grim. “You are to make it look like an accident, something that should be quite easy once you move in. However, the aftermath could be your death. As accidental as it may seem, few are going to accept the Governor’s death as such. They’ll pry and investigate. As a beloved and favored young woman of the mansion, suspicion may not fall on you for a while, but as no suspects are found, all eyes will turn to you, the new daughter-in-law. And when they learn of your heritage, learn who your father is… punishment will be swift and merciless.”

“And my father knows this?” I said.

Torrid nodded. “It pains him to make such a sacrifice.” His voice cracked under the strain of his emotions. “But he knows it’s the only way of saving everyone.”

“I’m to die so that others may live?”

“It basically comes down to that, yes.”

I gripped the edge of the sink as another wave of nausea crawled up my stomach.

“But you don’t have to do this, Kama. That’s why I’m here; to take you away, to save you from your own destiny.”

My head fell forward and I stared into the drain. Weren’t we all destined to die, regardless of the life we led?

“No,” I finally said. I turned to face him. “If this is my destiny, then so be it. I will not turn away from the task my father has given me.”

Through the pain, I saw a glint of pride shine in Torrid’s eyes. “You're even stronger than I gave you credit for; braver than most warriors I know.”

Though determined to go through with the fate that lay before me, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the notion of killing Pim. Murder was not in my blood.

Torrid set his hand on my shoulder. “I admire you, Kama Johnson. I hate that you're willing to go through with this, but I admire you. My heart wants to beg you to run away with me, to live out your life with me, but…” His voice cracked and choked. “I’ll stand by you, help you in any way I can.”

“Even stand by as I marry Liam?”

He turned away, a forced grin on his face. “In the end, this destiny of yours may kill me before it kills you. Knowing you are in the arms of another will be daily torture.”

Somehow I found solace in the fact that we’d both be struggling together. I wouldn’t live through the pain of my fate alone.

“Perhaps it’s Adon’s way of punishing me for falling in love with you when I shouldn’t have.”

“I love you, Torrid. Regardless of Adon’s orders to you or his requirements of me, I love you. Knowing you love me will no doubt help me get through this. I’m so grateful you're here, so grateful for having you in my life. I need your help. I need your shoulder to lean on, when I get scared or when I feel I can’t go on anymore. I need you there.”

“And I’ll be there.” His grin widened and his eyes shined with new hope.

He set his hands over my eyes. “Come with me,” he whispered. “Fly away with me just for a moment. Come home with me.”

We flew through a velvet sky and arrived at a crystal palace. Set high in the mountains, the world was once again at our feet as we stood on a turret. Birds painted the sky with a myriad of colors, their song sweet and pure.