Nephilius - A Walker Saga Book 5 (14 page)

“
I wasn’t
sure what Earth customs you’d expect,” Brace said, his eyes locked
on me. “I brought you flowers
earlier, so
for something different I thought maybe a shower of fragrant petals
from my world.”

Their scent was divine, like vanilla,
lavender and something exotic and spicy. None of the petals landed
on us or the table. Instead they formed a circle around us.

Brace was still speaking. I turned my wide
eyes toward him.

“And I’m guessing chocolate is a must, the
way Lucy raves on about sweets.” He grinned.

I sat up straighter. Chocolate got me every
time. I’d never had it much on Earth, but I remembered the bitter
sweetness with absolute clarity.

Brace’s grin turned into a laugh. I was
about to demand my chocolate when Larissa reappeared. In her hands
were two large pots. They seemed to have flames beneath them. She
set them down.

“Let them heat for a few minutes,” she said,
before departing.

The arrival of food distracted me from
chocolate. I leaned further forward, my hands drifting toward the
lids. Brace laughed again, his straight white teeth flashing at me
across the pots. Delicious smells were wafting from them. My hands
hovered close by.

“Is it a few minutes yet?” I asked.

Brace reached out and captured my twitching
fingers.

“Why do I sense Abernath energy in you?” his
question distracted me again.

I froze. What was the best way to answer
that? And why had the lalunas not removed the Abernath energy
within me? When Brace had taken his mantle as Princeps of Abernath,
I’d been there. The energy of his people had blasted into both of
us, and a part of me had ties to Abernath now. I knew the only
reason it wasn’t more obvious was that half-Walkers had some sort
of inbuilt protection that muted our energy. But still he was
sensing it.

“I’m not sure why that would be,” I finally
mumbled. “Maybe there’s some Abernath in my Walker family tree.”
That might not even be a lie.

Brace leaned back, his eyes assessing me.
Calculating. Sizing me up.

“I know Josian’s history pretty well, and I
don’t think there’s any Abernath.” His jaw locked then. He breathed
in heavily through his nose. “You don’t have a mate already, do
you?”

Shit. He was wondering if that energy was
from another Abernath male.

I shook my head. “Do you think I would go to
dinner with you, if there was another man waiting at home for
me?”

“I’d hope not.” His tone was serious,
although his eyes sparkled. “If you were mine, I wouldn’t be able
to stop myself from killing him and probably locking you up for
fifty years until you realized I was the only one for you.”

It would take all of fifty seconds, but I’m
sure we’d figure out how to keep ourselves occupied for the rest of
the forty-nine-plus years.

Brace was distracted from his questions by
Larissa emerging, carrying a tray filled with small bowls.

“It’s ready now. You use these metal prongs
to cook the food.” She demonstrated a few times before leaving
us.

The setup
was similar to something I’d heard of on Earth. A fondue, where you
submerged food into the flavored broth until it was
cooked. It took a while for the various meats,
vegetables and seafood to cook, but Brace and I chatted the entire
time, never running out of things to talk about. I had to be
careful not to let on about all the information I already knew
about him.

“
So if
half-Walkers are not supposed to be possible.” I said
supposed
because there were clearly seven of us. “Does that mean
Lucy and Colton cannot have children?” The intricacies of Walker
reproduction were lost on me.

Brace flashed me a full mouth of white
teeth. His smile had my heart flip-flopping like a fish in my
chest.

“Are you asking for Lucy or yourself?” He
tilted his head to the side.

I didn’t answer, and after a minute he
continued.

“No, Lucy and Colton will not be able to
have children. I’ve never heard of anything less than two full
Walkers being able to reproduce.” He looked away from me for a
moment. “Although now that you half-Walker girls exist, I’m not
sure what the rules are. So if Fury as a half could have children
with Dune or not? I guess only time will tell on those ones.”

I’d had many
dreams of having babies with Brace
– not
for like a hundred years or anything – right then I was not
interested in the responsibility. But to know it might never be
possible. Struck me hard.

I lowered my eyes, hiding the emotions that
I was surely leaking everywhere. I distracted us both by reaching
for the second pot that Larissa had left. My mouth watered as I
revealed a melted pot of chocolate. It was glossy and a rich brown.
Very close in color to Brace’s eyes. As distractions went, it was
stellar.

“It’s not Earth chocolate, but I’m hoping
the First World equivalent is just as good.” He hadn’t moved,
seeming content to watch me as I tried not to lap it up like a
puppy.

We had a variety of fruit and cake to dip
in, but by the end I was just spooning the smooth, creamy liquid
into my mouth. It was a little nuttier in flavor, but very similar
to Earth chocolate. On First World it was called it alamonlette. It
was made from the alamond nut and some other fig.

By the time we were done I was so full I
could barely move. The twinkling lights and stars above us, teamed
with soft music and the fragrant smell of the petals, was hypnotic.
I could barely keep my eyelids open. Each blink was longer than the
last. But I didn’t want to lose any of this time with Brace.

“You can sleep if you want.” Brace’s eyes
softened. “I’ll keep you safe.”

I had no doubts he would.

I didn’t want to sleep, but exhaustion was
tugging at me. Since I’d broken the bond I’d had barely any real
rest. I propped my eyes open, pinching myself to help me
concentrate on the stories Brace was telling about his life on
Abernath. But I was fighting a losing battle. My blinks slowed,
until finally I drifted off.

I awoke some time later, to find myself
snuggled under my fluffy covers, the cloud-like softness of my
mattress cushioning me. I had a brief recollection of being
carried. Brace must have brought me home. I lay in bed, recalling
every second of the dinner, letting the memories wash over me.

I thought I could still smell the spicy
sweetness of the flowers, and sure enough when I turned my head
petals surrounded me. I lifted my arm, disturbing more colored
silkiness. I was lying in a bed of flowers. And as I sat up I
noticed a note on the pillow next to me. I didn’t hesitate diving
across to grab the folded card and, smoothing it out, read it in
the low light.

These flowers are
native to Abernath. They have healing properties and should
help you rest. Tonight was beyond any expectation. Sweet
dreams.

As I ran my hands across the soft petals, I
just knew they were from the vines that grew up the side of Brace’s
house on Abernath. He was so sweet, picking the flowers from his
home. The ache pierced my heart again, and I knew I could fall
apart; I was alone, no witnesses. Now was the time to feel the
flood of loss that engulfed me. But instead I chose to close my
eyes, bury my face in the sweet scent and dream of every beautiful
second I’d spent with Brace that night.

The next
morning
, after breakfast, I was waiting
in the front room. Colton had contacted me to let me know they were
on their way back and I could feel Brace. He’d just opened a
doorway onto the front grassed area. I got to my feet. I was
wearing all black: boots, jeans and a thick jacket. Grantham had
said it was cold on Nephilius and that we’d find the surroundings
interesting. But the cagey Walker wouldn’t say any more. He didn’t
want to ruin the surprise.

Brace exited
the doorway. He strode across the lawn with his typical strong and
confident movements. He was dressed in what I liked to call his
warrior garb. Black boots, army-style pants with the big pockets,
and a dark gray hooded pullover shirt. He looked tall, sexy and
intimidating. I wouldn’t want to be fighting him. Nope, but there
were plenty of other things I wanted to do with him. Damn, I had to
stop thinking about
those things; it was
weakening my resolve. My strength.

“How did you sleep?” His eyes roamed over me
when he reached my side.

I grinned at him. “Great. I’m sorry I fell
asleep on you last night; you shouldn’t be so boring.”

He returned my grin. “What can I say? I’m a
hit with the ladies.”

A few peals of laughter rang from my lips.
“Just doing my part to keep your ego in check.”

He moved closer. “You’re succeeding.”

I very much doubted that.

We turned as another doorway opened. My
front yard was like grand central station for the Walker world.
Colton strode out, followed by a flying Lucy.

“Using your wings like a champ, hey?” I
called to her.

She grinned widely at me. “Well, I wouldn’t
be using my legs like a sucker.”

Colton held her hand. With her new pixie
appendage, they were much more equal in height.

“Did you learn anything from Malisna?” I
asked, hoping Lucy could tell me about the visions without
revealing everything to the men.

She knew
exactly what I needed to know. “The visions were definitely
planted. Malisna showed me how to block them off so that it can’t
happen again. But …” Lucy broke off, her face falling. “There was
no way to know if my
prophecies were
placed there by friend or enemy, and therefore we have no way to
determine if they’re accurate.”

“Considering that some of them most
definitely came true, we have to accept that there is some accuracy
to them,” I said with a sigh, blowing out a huge puff of air. “What
else did you learn?” I shoved aside my disappointment.

She wriggled her nose at me, before
comically raising and lowering her eyebrows. “I can do this.” And
in a flash she sucked her wings into her back. They literally
disappeared, and then she dropped in a graceful movement to the
ground. And then in another flash her hands waved about and she
opened one of those pocket things and stepped inside.

“Pixies can use pockets between two
dimensions of First World to cloak themselves.”

Colton had that little grin on his face
which told me he thought Lucy was cute as hell.

Brace chuckled. “Very useful, but did the
pixies tell you that Walkers could do this.”

He reached into the spot Lucy had just been
and with some sort of similar hand movement and a blast of energy
he yanked her out. She was swearing and glaring as she became
visible again. Colton gave Brace a shove before removing Lucy from
his grasp.

“How did you do that? I didn’t know we could
manipulate the dimensions.” Colton looked surprised and pissed off,
his brows drawing together as he too glared at Brace.

Brace shrugged. “Walkers and pixies have
been friends for a long time. There was this pixie I knew once who
taught me some of their secrets. I’m guessing the queen wouldn’t be
too happy to hear about it, so I’ll keep the name to myself.”

I noticed then that Lucy was in fresh
clothes. She had on dark-blue jeans, and a white ribbed
long-sleeved shirt. The back had two little tears for her wings.
And with her new shimmery green skin and hair she looked so lovely.
Ethereal and earthy all at the same time. I stepped between her and
Colton, hip-shoving him out of the road so I could hug her.

“I’m so happy for you, Luce. Who would have
believed both of our families were on First World?”

She gripped me tightly, not letting me move
back. “Malisna and I are very sure that we were placed together for
a reason. She senses a true bond between us. A blood bond.”

At her words I glanced down at my hand. The
mark from when Lucy had cut me as a kid so we could be blood
sisters wasn’t there anymore, but the moment was permanently
imprinted in my mind.

“The blood bond?” I widened my eyes, pulling
back to see her face.

Lucy grinned. “Told you it was
important.”

“So what other abilities do pixies have?
Besides the cloaking and flying thing.”

I figured everyone else knew ten times more
about pixies than I did.

“We have some affinity for nature, excellent
sense of fashion, and the ability to bespell lesser beings.”

“Bespell?” I asked.

“Female pixies can work their wily ways on
males.”

Colton snorted and I couldn’t tell if he was
impressed or annoyed with that development.

“Right, lesser beings. I get it.” I winked
at Lucy.

“Alright, I think it’s time we moved on to
our next venture.” Brace interrupted us before the women versus men
debate got violent.

Trickles of nerves and excitement flooded
through me. Each new planet brought with it complications, but I
genuinely loved meeting the new half-Walkers and discovering the
worlds. Our sisterly girl-power was not something I’d give up for
anything. People searched lifetimes for the type of true bond the
half-Walker girls had.

Brace opened a doorway, but before we could
step through a shout had us turning around.

“
I know
you’re not leaving without saying goodbye, Supes.” Fury was
striding a
cross, Dune next to her. “Hey,
Pixie, Wolfboy and Badass.”

Apparently,
we now all had the privilege of a Fury nickname. Following close
behind them were Talina and Ladre
. Ria
and my parents brought up the rear. And then I was bowled over by
an enthusiastic two-headed dog.