Horizon (22 page)

His lips turned in a tiny smile while he sighed. “I knew you could be reasonable with a bit of guidance.”

It took a lot more than it should have for me to stand there, silent.

He went on, not needing my input to continue the conversation. I might as well have been a cardboard cutout. “It will not be long now, and you will officially be mine.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. My lungs heaved in a huge breath, and I let it out slowly. “Is that really supposed to excite me?”

He shrugged. “You need to get used to the idea.”

He was delusional, plain and simple. “Who’s left?”

“We are down to fifty participants.”

That wasn’t much of an answer, so I asked a specific question. “Is Zach one of them?”

He grunted. “There is no point in you continuing to hope for another bondmate.”

I scoffed. “He
is
my bondmate.”

His eyes iced over. “In name only. You have not completely connected with him.”

And what made him think I would do anything more if he managed to best Zach in the tournament? That was just gross. Zach was at least a decent person. Valen was a power hungry cockroach that needed a good squashing.

“Anything else?” I asked again, tapping my foot against the cold stone floor underneath my bell like gown.

His brows furrowed. “Do you have a pressing appointment somewhere?”

I plastered my face with saccharine, searching my mind for the perfect excuse to be unavailable. “I’m having dinner with Cassie.”

He shook his head, stepping closer. “Your plans have changed. You will be dining with me tonight.”

My heart pretty much stopped at that last sentence. “Sorry. No can do.”

His blank expression didn’t change. “I won the toss. You will sup with me.”

Toss? Anger flooded me. I wasn’t some prize he could win. “I don’t care what you think you won. I’ve got plans.”

He smiled. It was real, but worse, it was real creepy. Somehow this guy made the grim reaper look like a wannabe. It wasn’t in his physical appearance, either. He wasn’t the most intimidating lord I’d ever seen; he was just the scariest. The creep factor rose from his soul, misting the room with smoky tendrils. His voice remained level, mirroring his expression. “As I have just mentioned, your plans have changed.”

I was getting nowhere with him, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to stick around for more. “Well, I’d better go get ready then,” I said, turning to leave.

“You think me a fool, Rayla.” It wasn’t a question.

I wanted to tell him I didn’t think anything about him, but that would be a total lie. I didn’t like him. Worse, I didn’t like how I felt when I was around him. “No,” I said. “It’s been a long day, and I need to freshen up.”

He laughed, and the sound resembled something real, but it was off. “I am the one that needs to freshen up. You are merely trying to escape me. Wouldn’t you at least like to know why I desire to be your bondmate?”

Oh, heavens no. Why would I want to know the inner workings of evil? It hit me then. That was the thing that twisted his smile into something
almost
real. Who was this man? And how did I become his prey?

I backed away from him, wanting to look behind me to make sure the doors were still at my back. He laughed, taking a step closer every time I retreated.

“It has been so long since I possessed a spirited woman. I think I’m going to enjoy having you.”

All of the sudden his countenance changed. No longer plain, he was glory epitomized. His once mousy hair shone like a thousand suns, and his eyes liquefied into the Caribbean sea. His skin transformed into golden velvet draped over chiseled muscles.

The scary thing was, a part of me ignored the lie. A part of me responded to him.

His satin voice was like harp-song, soothing away my nerves. “You belong to me, Rayla.” He paused. “Clever.”

I clamped my eyes shut, closing off my emotions as best as I could. “What?” I asked, realizing what he’d said.

“You’re name. It’s not right.”

Taking the distraction, I rode the wave of my frustration to keep him out of my mind. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’ve had the same name for over twenty years now.” The truth was, I had no idea how old I was anymore, and it freaked me out.

“That does not mean it is your true name,” he said, his voice dipping low.

My eyes snapped open. He was a foot away from me. How had he gained so much ground?

“You needn’t fight me, although I hope you do. Once our bond is complete, you will beg for my attentions.”

“You make me sick. In fact, if I were you I’d back away ‘cause I can’t keep it in any long—.” I dry heaved, and then I threw up.

Valen jumped away just in time. Was this me reacting to his attack of my bond with Zach, or was this me reacting to his ickiness?

The doors burst open behind me. I whirled around, expecting to see shattered wood everywhere. What greeted me was an avenging angel.

Zach stalked to my side. The minute his hand pressed against my back, my body relaxed. Too bad my mind wouldn’t follow.

His eyes lasered into Valen. “How dare you! You have no right to compel my bondmate.”

Valen laughed. “The mere fact I was able to accomplish the deed shows how weak your bond is. It will be my utter pleasure to remove you from her mind.”

Zach growled and tucked me behind him. “She’s mine. You haven’t won her yet.”

“Tomorrow,” Valen said then headed for the hidden room.

“I’ll be ready for you,” Zach chimed in.

He whirled around, taking me with him. A shiver slid over my frame. I’d underestimated Valen and his power. He had been toying with me, testing my bond, but also testing my resolve. No doubt lingered. He was the threat Tabitha warned me about.

My whole body shook as we walked but Zach didn’t slow our pace. He pulled me along, cursing under his breath.

When we arrived in our chambers he tossed me toward the couch. “How could you, Rayla?”

“What?” I asked, completely confused. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I told you to stay in this room. Why didn’t you heed my counsel? Why can’t you trust me?”

I bristled at his accusatory expression. “You’ve never given me reason to! All you’ve ever done is lie to me.” He opened his mouth as if to speak but I cut him off. “No. It’s my turn to talk. You claim you want me more than any other Elemental you’ve ever known, but I know that’s a lie. I see it in your eyes when you look at me. You wish I was her, but I’m not. I never will be.”

His boots ate up the distance between us before he pulled me to my feet. “I know who you are. I am standing here in front of you, begging
you
to be mine. If you released your feelings for Heath, you would see why we need to be together. This is no longer about a relationship. This is about your planet and mine surviving what my sister and that maniac want to do to it. Don’t you understand? You and I are the only two people who can stop the massacre. We are the only people capable, but we will only be capable if you give yourself completely to me before it’s too late.”

Was he really suggesting sex? My mouth hung open. “I can’t, Zach.” My teeth clenched together. I refused to act like a victim a minute longer. “I won’t!”

His face fell. “Then we are doomed. You have sealed our fates.”

“Yeah. I’m the one responsible for this.”

“Even though you do not wish to see it, you are. Your decisions shape our future. You’re the Nexus. We’ve awaited your coming since we first heard the prophecy.” His expression shifted. “At one time, I thought you would never come, that the prophecy was nothing but a ploy to appease us when we had lost hope.”

“I never asked to be the Nexus. I never wanted to come to Faeresia in the first place!”

“So what?” he hissed. “Do you think I wanted to pick up my shattered existence when I lost Faine? Do you think I’ve wanted to live since? I begged the wraith to take my soul, hoping it would ease my pain. They refused. It wasn’t until I saw you that I had a reason to live again.”

I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to see the emotion in his. “We can’t be together, Zach.”

His voice faltered. “Then you have signed our death warrants.”

I shook my head. “Stop being a drama queen.”

A guttural growl rose from his throat. “What did you just call me?” Before I could quip out a response, he yanked me up against his body as if reminding me of how much of a man he really was. His heat burned me where we fused together.

“I—” When I tried to back away, the backs of my calves pressed against the sofa.

His fingers sifted into my hair, pulling pin after pin out before it finally tumbled down my back. “I want you, Rayla. I want to feel you in my life, in my bed. I don’t want this shadow of you. I haven’t done the best job of convincing you. I’ve made many mistakes where you are concerned, but you belong with me. Together, we can mend the fissures between our worlds. We can forge new alliances. We can—” I pressed my fingers to his lips.

I didn’t want to hear anything else. I couldn’t allow myself to open my mind to this man again. I’d done it already and he betrayed me. I’d already given my heart to Heath. Zach captured my fingers, trapping them against his lips.

Tremors started inside me when he kissed my fingertips. He pulled my hand back and pressed his lips to my wrist. My pulse exploded.

I shook my head. “I’ve had sex with Heath.”

“I don’t care,” he said, pressing kisses up my arm. “You are more than a body to me. You are my hope, my life.”

“I can’t, Zach.”

He stopped, his blazing eyes capturing mine. “What if he released you?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “He never would.”

“If he did?”

“I’m not doing hypothetical.”

As if on cue a knock sounded at the door. Panic flooded through me. Even before Zach told him to enter, I felt Heath near me. As I always had. As I always would.

I yanked away from Zach and raced up to him. His body stiffened under my embrace.

Panic rose up my throat. “I don’t care what he told you! We can figure this out. I’m yours. I want to be with you.” Heath’s eyes held no emotion as he studied me. “Heath?” I asked. “Please.”

He reached behind his back and grabbed my hands, disentangling me from him. “I’m leaving,” he said.

“But I thought you were fighting in the tournament.”

“I lost today,” he said in a monotone. “I’m sorry, Rayla. I did my best, but I couldn’t hold it together when I saw you with Valen.”

A sound so foreign it hurt my insides raced out of me, a giant keening that pierced the air. I threw my arms around him again, thinking I could keep him near me by sheer force of will. “I don’t care what happened in the arena! I’m not changing my mind.”

He shook his head, his short hair pluming out with the motion. I wanted to get him alone and show him how much we belonged together. That’s all I needed: a little alone time with him. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I can’t be with you anymore. Maybe when you are human again, we can work something out.”

“No!” I wailed. “You can’t leave me here. Take me with you.”

He ran a finger along my chin. “You can’t leave the realms, and I can’t stay.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been banished.”

Someone might as well have clobbered me over the head with a frying pan for how my mind could keep up. “Who banished you, and why?”

“It was an agreement between me and Queen Rachel. She agreed to let me participate in the tournament on condition that if I didn’t win I would leave the realms for good.”

“And go where?”

“I’ve always wanted to see Australia…maybe travel the outback for a while.”

I growled at him. “Not without me.”

His jaw clenched. “All we have is a piece of paper.” He laughed. “On second thought, we don’t even have that. You have a bondmate, and if you want a world to come back to you’d better complete it with him.”

“I’m not going to stay here without you. There’s no reason for me to be here without you!”

He smirked at me. The fool had the nerve to smirk at me. How could he risk so much to participate in the tournament? When he backed away I moved to go after him, but strong arms held me still. “Have a happy life, Rayla. I love you, but I’ve lost. There is no more I can do.”

I fought with all my strength to get out of those arms of steel. I even zapped Zach, but he stayed firmly behind me.

“Let go of me!” I yelled just before Heath made it out the door. When the barrier shut I screamed, “No!” over and over again.

My eyes blurred from tears and gigantic sobs racked my body. I whirled around, pounding against Zach’s chest. “How could you? You’ve known love before, real love. Why can’t you let me have the same?”

Zach’s face scrunched up, and for a moment I thought he would tell me to go after Heath, but then apathy stared back at me. “It will take time, but we can overcome this.”

I growled at him. “I don’t want you!”

His hands fisted at his sides. “This is no longer about what either of us wants.”

I tried to change into travel wear, but my magic wasn’t working. I stomped into the closet and reached for my bodice laces. As soon as I could get some better clothes on, I was out of here.

Warm skin bumped into my hands then pressed them out of the way. “I’ve never liked blue on you. I don’t know who keeps putting you in Luke’s colors, but I’ll not have it any longer.” When I pulled away, I was yanked back by the very laces I’d tried to discard. “Not so fast,” he said, his deep voice a low grumble. “We need to talk.”

I stiffened under his touch. “We’ve talked long enough. I have nothing else to say to you.”

His hand slid along my shoulder. “Stop being stubborn.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen stubborn from me.”

“Comforting,” he said, a hint of amusement in his tone.

At least one of us was happy about the situation. “I’m leaving,” I told him. He might as well know he didn’t have control over me, and he never would.

“Not just stubborn, you’re pig headed.”

My body stiffened and my mind raged with comebacks, but what good would it do to incite him further? “Call me anything you want. I don’t care; I’m not staying here.”