Horizon (17 page)

I pursed my lips at his dramatics. “I’ve seen the dark realms. That should count for something.”

“Ah, yes, your monster companions.” He lifted his brows and smiled. “Too bad they are not here for you now. I have a secret to share. They have been banished from our fair city. Even if you did manage to name all of them, they would not be allowed back.”

I shook my head at him again. He was so full of hate, so volatile. I felt it the first moment I met this man. His motives may be just, but there was something dark about his very nature.

“There you go again. I see it in your eyes. The judgment. How is it you can have compassion for the most disgusting creatures in existence, but for me you turn away in disgust?”

I had no answer to his question. He was right. He scared me, beautiful shell and all. Everything about him was a lie, from his flowing mane to his perfectly tanned skin. I’d only seen his real face when he’d been weakened from Ainessa’s attacks.

“You were working with her, Luke. What was I supposed to do? Let you have me, so she could use me to destroy this world?”

He lowered his face and his blond locks fell forward, shielding his eyes from me. “Those were dark times. I would rather not discuss them.”

Anger shot through me. “I’d rather not have nightmares about
those times
either, but there you go. You have done nothing but try to compel me from the moment I met you. I frankly don’t care if you’re in trouble. You
should
be in trouble for what you did to me!”

He laughed. “Any one of my brothers would have done the same thing—”

I was tired of hearing his lies. “They all had opportunity, but you were the only one that tried to make me bond with you. I have no idea why compulsion doesn’t work the same on me, but they adjusted. They tried to win my heart. You just wanted to dominate. I’m not going to feel sorry for you now that you are being held to task for what you did!”

“Ha,” he barked. “Ha-ha! You think I am being chased because of what I did to
you
? You naïve little girl, I’m being chased because I failed to accomplish what I was told to do. You have no idea what you’re up against here. You think you can avoid the unpleasantries of court, but I assure you, you haven’t begun to see what we are capable of.” He shook his head. “If I wasn’t done with you, I might be tempted to help you.”

I stood up. “No one is asking for your help. You’ve done quite enough already.”

He gave a short nod. “Even though I would have done the same thing if she hadn’t been with me, I do feel bad about how it happened.” He grinned at me. “I had planned to seduce you.”

I shook off a shiver. He had come so close to wearing down my defenses. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

He smiled, that radiant sun god smile of his, his blue eyes shining bright as the Caribbean Sea. “You keep believing that, Rayla. One day, it might just be true.”

My chin jutted upwards. “It’s always been true, Luke. You just never saw things the way they were.”

He clamped his eyes shut. “I see I am not wanted here. Forgive me for intruding on your solitude, my lady. You should be careful, though. You never know who or what might be lurking out here in the woods.”

Another shiver sliced over me. He smiled then he walked away. I traced his movements until he was no longer visible.

Once he was out of sight, I slumped, holding my head in my hands. What the heck just happened? I’d imagined seeing Luke again, but in my mind our reunion had been nothing like this. In my mind he’d asked me to forgive him, and I had.

He was nothing more than a jaded lord with a grudge against the whole world. That being said, a part of me couldn’t blame him for reacting the way he had. I mean, he had been spurned so many times. I hadn’t meant to say some of the things I let slip, but I couldn’t help it. He’d taken my innocence where love is concerned when he tried to force me to bond with him. More than anything I wanted to make my own choices. I wanted to be free enough to live the life I chose, not something that someone dictated to me.

His voice rang out again in my thoughts
How is it you can have compassion for the most disgusting creatures in existence, but for me you turn away in disgust?

I had no good answer to that question, still. Somewhere inside Luke was a hurt little boy, but I wasn’t the girl that could help him. I wasn’t the one that could see past his faults to the shiny core inside him. It was there. I’d seen it at times, but the years of perceived discrimination had corroded his character until all that was left was a man that would do anything to get what he wanted. He thought he deserved it, and he might in a different circumstance.

The last thing I wanted to do was judge him. I’d prided myself on letting others be who they were, but with Luke, I couldn’t. The weird part was I didn’t know why.

Rustling sounded down the path, and I froze. What now?

Zach came into view a few moments later. His face was drawn and his eyes full of sorrow. He didn’t say anything; he just walked up to me and took me into his arms.

I let him hug me, taking comfort in his embrace. “When does it start?” I asked.

His chest expanded sharply as he pulled in a long, tortuous breath. “Tomorrow, love. All we have left together is tonight until the outcome is decided.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to hurt you. Before Heath came along I thought we’d be together. I thought…things would turn out much differently than they have.”

He smiled, giving me the wolfish expression I’d seen the first time I met him. “The day is not over, love.”

He slid a finger along my exposed arm and my body exploded with desire. I took a deep breath to steady myself then said, “I can’t, Zach.”

He chuckled, playing with a piece of my hair that had escaped the complicated pinning’s he’d pulled off earlier. “I know. I wouldn’t expect anything more from you, but if this is to be our last night together, I want to make it count.”

I cocked my head at him, curious. “What did you have in mind?”

He stepped away. “I’ve been training you employing old-fashioned methods we’ve used from the beginning. Tonight, I want to teach you to defend yourself.”

My eyes flew wide and my heart gave a strangled beat before speeding up. “You’re giving up already?”

He laughed. “Hardly. The truth is I don’t know what will happen. Should you be faced with Valen as your bondmate, I want you to be prepared. He will not spare you. He will delve into your mind until nothing of you remains.”

Yeah, that sounded pleasant. I swallowed, looking Zach in the eyes. “I’m ready to learn.”

He gave me a grave nod. “Compulsion should be your last resort. You need to develop a connection with your power that is readily available at all times.”

I swallowed, hard. Compulsion? I didn’t know how to compel anyone, really. I didn’t ever want to know either. “How?”

He stood opposite me and took a step back. “First, you must find the core of your power. Every person is different, fae included. You must find the source, but you must not let anyone know where it is. To do so will invite trouble.”

I’d already had enough of him. “But how do I look for it?”

“It’s a pulse inside you. Not your heartbeat, but close. You have to still your body and your mind to hear it. Only then will you be able to travel the course to find it.” He stepped closer to my ear and whispered. “Close your eyes.”

I only hesitated for a second, but he still managed to notice. “You must trust me, Rayla.”

“I’m trying,” I said, meaning it.

He scoffed, but I kept my eyes shut. “You shouldn’t have to try. Just let the feeling flow through you.”

I took a couple of deep breaths and told my body to calm down.

“That’s a start, but this level of awareness will never lead you to your source. You must detach yourself from reality. You must step out of your world, out of your body and mind.”

The only time I felt that way was when I practiced Shendo, but I couldn’t do that in front of him. Somehow, I didn’t think he’d approve.

“What is it,” he asked. “Your emotions have shifted. If you know of a way, you must do it.”

I opened my eyes. “I don’t want you to see.”

He frowned at me. “Why not?”

When I picked at my nails, he swatted my hand. “Stop it! You’re going to end up with stubs for fingers.”

I gave him a mocking smirk and stuck out my tongue.

He just rolled his eyes. “Are you done being juvenile? We don’t have much time. If I’m to have any chance at winning tomorrow, I need my sleep.” He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. “That reminds me. I’ll need the bed tonight.”

I nodded, not about to argue with him over a bed. It wasn’t like I was going to get any sleep anyway.

He smiled. “I don’t mind sharing, you know.”

I shook my head at his teasing. “Too bad for you, I do.”

“Okay,” he said, as if to clear his mind. “Now that you know what to do, go ahead. I’ll turn my back if you wish.”

Of all the lame situations. I shook my head at myself. Why should it matter if Zach watched me do a kata? He’d probably be bored, but it wasn’t like I needed to worry about what he thought. If I took my pride out of the equation all I had left was a desire to learn.

My movements started slowly. After my salutations I began in a crouch then spread my body upward, reaching for the sky. I spun and kicked then punched the air, releasing some of my trapped anger. I moved onward, slowing my momentum until I lost track of my movements. My body flowed along the river of my consciousness. Time lost all meaning for me. Thought lost its hold on my mind. I allowed myself to just be.

For a moment I’d lost my purpose, but then it was there again. I was supposed to find something inside me. A source? I listened for the beating, but my heart was the only sound I could hear.

Was my heart the source of my power? I concentrated on the sound, letting the pulse take up my body. My veins became my existence. My awareness rushed forward, expanding from my heart outward.

My source of power had to be my heart. It was the only beat I could sense inside me until…what was that? My awareness rushed forward, upward. There was a different pulse. This one barely recognizable, but it was there.

A slight thumping hummed under the spot on my temple. This was the same place the angel had touched in my dream when I was in Altasia. I inhaled a gasp. He’d touched my source. He’d also given me a speck of light that had sunk into my skin and hadn’t shown itself since. Where had it gone? Was it inside this power supply? I had no way of knowing unless I could somehow get inside the bubble that housed my elemental control. My eyes flew open.

Zach stood right in front of me. His expression was that of a man completely captivated. “Who showed you how to do that?” he asked.

Only then did I notice that my entire body glowed. Pure, white light dripped out of me, spilling onto the forest canvas. The effect set an ethereal mood. “What do you mean?” I asked because I couldn’t keep track of my thoughts, let alone what he’d just asked me.

“I’ve never seen someone access their power like this. It’s amazing.”

Parts of me had glowed before when I had used my power. I tried to remember back to when I’d sent that lightning bolt at him, but I couldn’t recall. If he couldn’t either, it must have only been my hands.

He stepped closer to me. “I wonder?” he said, his voice trailing off just as he reached for my arm.

A sizzle crackled in the air before the charge went off. He flew backward and landed on his butt ten feet away from me.

My hand shot to cover my mouth. “I didn’t mean to—”

His laughter filled the night. “Rayla, don’t apologize. You are an amazing creature.”

“Thanks,” I said, cocking my head at him as he continued to chuckle.

He managed to compose himself before he stood. “Don’t you realize what this means?”

I didn’t want to seem dense, but I didn’t know how to replicate this—whatever this was. “Um,” I said. “I guess not. I mean this has to be useful somehow, but it’s not like I can use this in a fight. Think of it, me telling your sister or Valen, for that matter, to hang on a minute while I meditate. If either of them wants to come after me, they will do it in a flash.”

“That’s just it. I watched you practice Shendo before, and this didn’t happen. You are placing significance on an insignificant act.”

“Hey!” I said, ignoring his revelation. So he had followed me that night. “I happen to like Shendo.”

He gave me a grumpy face. “Whether you like it or not doesn’t matter. You used it to find your source, but now that you know where it is, you can access it at will.”

I folded my glowing arms over my glowing chest. “Right.”

“Go ahead,” he suggested. “Try it.”

The thought of letting this power go gripped me with fear. What if he was wrong? It wasn’t like I was trying to keep it going. “I think I should just stay this way.”

“You’ll burn out long before you’ll be able to use this new ability against your enemies.”

“How would you know?” I barked.

“Yeah, you’re right, Rayla. Don’t believe the fae lord that wants to help you.”

“You want my power, same as everyone else.”

He growled and stalked toward me. When I held up my electric hands, he stopped. If a look could do physical damage, I could count myself as thoroughly ravaged.

“So what?” he said, throwing his head back, his jaw clenching as he took in a sharp breath. “Yes, I want your power. Do you think your precious Heath doesn’t?”

My mouth hardened. “He loves me.”

“So. Do. I! You stubborn, pigheaded wench. I don’t know how to get that across to you the way he can, I guess. Just because I want your power does not mean I don’t want you. I’ve been a dead person, Rayla. I’ve wandered this planet looking for distractions, something that could ease my pain.” He shook his head at me. “You are the only thing that has been able to quench this need inside me.”

I flinched at his words. “You’re still in love with a dead girl.”

“No. I…it doesn’t matter. You’re all that matters to me now. We have to fix this. You and I are strong enough to do it. I need your help!”