Spark Rising (30 page)

Thomas smiled. “It’s time for Three’s heir to take his place. With him, we will have two strategically critical Zones in our control. We can put in motion our plans to acquire the third.”

“So…you’re removing Three.” She remembered the man in his garish clothes. She remembered his eyes on her body.

They nodded.

“The annual Council Meet is coming up. Three leaves via caravan in two weeks.” Alex told her. “He’s going to die on the way. When the caravan arrives at the Meet, the first order of business will be announcing the successor’s name and installing him.”

“Okay. So what’s my role? You said you wanted to take advantage of the situation. I assume you have something reserved for me?” She did a terrible job of keeping the eagerness out of her voice. It wasn’t merely what the Council had done to her. It was what they’d done to the girls.

Thomas nodded.

Alex exchanged a look with him and told her in a steady voice, “We want you to take revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“On the man who ordered your torture and allowed the death of your mother.” He looked at Thomas.

“On the man who killed your father,” Thomas said.

Her breath caught. “Three?” She’d always suspected it.

They nodded.

“But my father was his aide.” The cold sweat down her back returned. She had to know. “Was it because of me?”

“No. His security caught your father looking for information about something no one was to know about.”

“The prison?” Lena breathed.

“The prison.” Alex confirmed. “We didn’t understand why until now. Everyone within the Council upper echelon knows about the prison. Even the citizens have some idea. But not about the secret program. Not about the girls.”

“For the record,” Thomas said, “I didn’t know about the program. Either I’m too junior to be brought in on the conspiracy, or, as we suspect, not every Councilor is involved. We’re hoping to get an answer on that after this strike.” He grimaced.

Three was one of the Councilors involved in the imprisonment of powered girls. Her father had figured it out, and it had gotten him killed.

“So I’m to kill Three?”

The nonchalance of the question should have bothered her. It didn’t. She had waited for this. Her family had earned it.

Alex nodded. “We’ll insert you into the caravan as one of the workers. When the time comes, I’ll bring you to Three. Courtesy of your power, he’ll suffer a heart attack. He’ll suffer his heart attack over and over until we have all the information about the Council conspiracy he can give us.”

“Alex has been named as his Security Chief.” Thomas said. “He can create a distraction and get you in.”

“Won’t that be dangerous? I mean, it’s kind of obvious. New Security Chief? Death on the road?”

“We’ve got it covered.” Alex told her. “It will look like a heart attack brought on by betrayal. After he’s dead, there will be a strike by a well-trained force hunting the Councilor. They’ll drag him off, leave his body in the woods. We’ll find him after a search. And hopefully the seeds of suggestion we plant about agents coming for the Councilor will sow mistrust and confusion among his collaborators.” He smiled. “It’s a risk. They could close ranks. But self-preservation is a double-edged sword—we plan to work the angle that would bring some to abandon the cause, and work it hard. After all, we have a hysterical junior Councilor to demand investigations.”

The first of the blood-price would be paid soon. Her answering smile, like the eagerness swirling inside her, was close to feral. “And we start in two weeks? I’m ready. I’m ready now.”

Chapter 25

Lena yawned while she pushed Sam down the hall. It was late, and she’d discovered in the last week that there wasn’t enough time in any day to complete everything she had to accomplish. Not only did she have her own lessons with Thomas to help her learn control, but she had to teach the girls, help them acclimate, and ensure they were safe, happy, and healthy. She gave daily lessons to a group of hand-picked Senior Wards. And she met with Thomas and Alex in debriefing meetings held late at night due to Alex’s schedule.

She also carved out time to see Sam. It wasn’t simply because he offered clarity about their history and where they might be headed. She liked spending time with him. He was her respite, the quiet part of her day.

They reached his room. She parked his chair beside the bed and put the brake on, but he waved her off again when she came around to lift him onto the bed. An aide would come and ready him for bed.

“It was beautiful, Sam.” She smiled at him in the darkness, referring to the night sky they’d both enjoyed as they talked. “Thank you for bringing me.” Never mind that she had pushed his chair. It had been his idea. He’d told her to come for him the night before she ran off to save the world from the Council.

Sam returned her smile, though his eyes were tired now. “Thank you. And Lena….”

She waited. He liked to send her off with a bit of wisdom he believed she needed to hear. She liked hearing them.

“Pay attention to the voice inside your head. I ignored mine for too many years, chasing after what I thought I needed to put things right. I was wrong. That voice knows exactly what you need. Listen to it.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. She leaned in to kiss the softness of his cheek. He held her hand for a moment, nodded at her, then let her go. She went, not saying good-bye. Sam didn’t like good-byes.

She made her way back out to the private elevator, moving up and down the stairs and through the halls in a tired shuffle. As she turned the last corner, deep male voices echoed in the hall ahead of her, moving toward the elevator as well. She slowed, not willing to risk being trapped in an elevator with Guardians who resented her little display and did nothing to tamp down the lust or resentment threading through their energy. They weren’t all like that, but a dedicated core—

Her head lifted at the sound of her name.

“—because of Lena. He says we’d all be better off once she’s out of the picture.”

She didn’t recognize the voice, but the words froze her breath inside her.

“You shouldn’t be listening to him. The man’s a silver-tongued, two-faced snake—”

“And
no one
would ever suspect him. That’s why it’s beautiful. Think about it. Think about the army we could create if we had unlimited access to those girls.” The first man’s voice dropped, as if even he knew how foul the concept behind the words was and didn’t want to say them fully aloud.

“When?” Reluctant agreement.

“Spring. We want them comfortable and recovered before—” The heavy security door closed behind them, closing Lena off from the rest of the hateful words. She leaned against the wall, staring at nothing, swallowing back disgust and rage and disappointment.

Some mystery Guardian wanted her out of the picture so they could have free reign with the powered girls? Not freaking likely. She didn’t know how, but she’d make sure she and her girls were long gone by Spring.

# # #

Lena turned the corner, rage swirling with exhaustion in a mix guaranteed to keep her up. Ahead of her, Rose pulled Lena’s door closed behind her. Lena frowned. Rose wasn’t one of the girls to be tucked into bed, but she would take responsibility for them in Lena’s absence. She’d mentioned heading to bed to be ready for the early risers. Charity and Constance were notorious for waking everyone well before dawn, ready to go.

“Hey,” Rose greeted her with a yawn. “Alex is looking for you. Last minute details. I left you a note.”

Alex, Jackson, and Lena would leave before dawn, hiding their movements through the city in pre-dawn murk. She’d hoped to get some rest before it was time to go. Better to be up with a purpose. The words she’d overheard would echo in her head all night anyway. She’d go find Alex.

Rose blinked and tensed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Just anticipation.” She couldn’t share what she’d heard with Rose. Not yet. The Neo-barb woman would gather up their charges like chicks and take off, and Lena wouldn’t be available to protect them. She would come back after she’d finished Councilor Three, and she’d tell Rose then. They’d all go together.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. Get some sleep. You’ll need it.”

Rose snorted a response, muttering about doing exercises, not taking over all of the other crap Lena did in a day.

“Rose. Thank you,” she said. “Just keep them together and keep them close, away from the Guardians.”

Rose nodded, wariness overcoming sleepiness. “Of course. Now, go find Alex. The world will be a different place for you once you’ve avenged your family, Lena. You’ll make it right.”

She hoped Rose was right. The things she needed to make right were piling up on her. Sometimes she wanted to push them away for a minute so she could breathe.

She checked Alex’s office first. Next, she tried his rarely used personal quarters. As she raised her arm to knock, the door was pulled open from the inside.

Alex blinked in surprise, a huge reaction for the man. “There you are.”

“Rose told me you were looking for me.”

“I was. We wanted to bump up our departure, if you’re ready.”

A breath slipped out, long and slow. “I’m ready.” Did she really sound that listless?

He frowned. “What’s wrong? You’re supposed to be excited.”

“Nothing. I am.”

“Uh huh.” He leaned out and looked up and down the hallway, then backed into his room. “C’mon. Get in here. Spill it.”

Lena arched a brow at him. “Afraid to be seen with me in your private quarters, Reyes?”

He grimaced. “It’s not that. Someone might make assumptions.”

She rolled her eyes as she walked past him. “We can’t have anyone figuring out the real me, can we?” Of course, it’d been so long since she’d had sex, she could hardly say that anymore. It wasn’t like she had what she considered viable candidates for a meaningless romp to relieve tension at Fort Nevada, anyway. Jackson had made himself as clear as day. And Alex had distanced himself from her over the last week. He was all business. No more flirtations. No more stolen kisses. She was so frustrated she could scream.

He closed the door behind her then stepped past to stand in the middle of the seating area, hands on hips. He glanced around as he waited for her to approach. The further she moved into his private space, the less comfortable he looked. She stopped a foot short of him.

He crossed his arms and focused on her. “Okay. So tell me. What’s wrong? Heightened emotions are bad, remember? I can’t have you start glowing as we trot through Azcon in the middle of the night, and I’d rather not go boom. So, where’ve you been? What happened? How can we fix it?”

Lena swallowed. She rubbed her forehead and smoothed her hair back, clasping her hands behind her neck. “I was with Sam. On the way back, I overheard some Guardians talking. And I’ll fix it myself.” There. She’d answered his questions. Could she go now?

“Sam?” Now concern colored his voice, although whether it was for her or for his ancient mentor, she wasn’t sure. Sam always brought out the humanity in Alex. “Were they bothering him?”

“No. As if I’d allow that,” she said.

“So what did you hear?”

She shrugged. “Some stuff.” No big deal. A plot to get rid of her in nine or ten months so they could have full access to the wounded children Lena had brought to Fort Nevada for protection.

She’d put them in danger. Wasn’t that how it worked? Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back as fast as she could. She would not cry in front of him again, no matter how good it would feel to have him put his arms around her in comfort.

She caught the flare of panic that bloomed on his face, and he stepped back, easing over to a chair to sit. Was he putting more distance between them? He really didn’t want to be alone with her. So much for that amazing kiss she hadn’t put out of her head.

“So tell me this stuff,” he said.

“I’d rather not.”

Alex rubbed his chin. “Well then, how am I supposed to help you?”

You want to help, do you?
Screw it.

She stalked over to stand directly in front of him. “You can help me by letting me feel human for fifteen minutes. I want to feel good for fifteen minutes. I want to not think, or plan, or worry for fifteen freaking minutes. I want to feel like a normal woman for
fifteen minutes
. Not someone who’s
special
.” She twisted the word.

“But you are special, Lena.” The muscle in his jaw jumped.

“I want to be touched like a regular woman—no implications or expectations. Is that so much to ask?”

He was silent.

“I know you want me.”

He growled and narrowed his dark eyes. “We all want you, because you’re special.”

“Then give me fifteen minutes. You want to fix it. That will. Give me that.”

“Fifteen minutes of tension relief? That’s what you’re asking for?”

This isn’t about feelings
, she told herself.
No feelings.

Lena lifted her chin. She wouldn’t play by anyone else’s rules. “Yes.”

“Yes?” Alex nodded. “It’s not me, then. Not personal.” He looked past her, his eyes hooded. When he brought them back to her again, she could see the decision he’d made. “Sounds like something I can live with.”

She leaned in as he reached to slide his hand up her jaw.

His palm cupped her face, fingers tangling in her hair as it slid forward. His thumb moved across her lips. Lena slid her knees up onto the seat to either side of him, straddling him as he pulled her mouth to his.

Like the first time, the contact was more than lips meeting, the electric flare deeper and brighter than it had been with Jackson. But this time, the only thing soft about his kiss was his lips.

Energy surged between them. As his tongue traced the inside of her lips, a blazing trail of shocks flared in her skin and exploded like bright lights behind her eyelids. He sucked at her lips, first one and then the other, and energy welled up from her. As he pulled and coaxed, the rising flow felt like fingers stroking deep inside. Each time he drew her lip into his mouth to suckle at the energy, those fingers of power slid up inside of her, moving toward him, leaving a quivering, electrified trail behind. He drew her power into himself.

Lena pulled away, and the electricity crackled white energy between their wet mouths. It hurt, little sparks popping against nerve endings. Alex’s eyes were glazed. He wanted more. But it was her turn.

She lowered her mouth again, pulling the energy from him this time as she darted her tongue between his lips. She framed his face with her small hands and tapped the energy deep within him to draw it up into her through his nerves, his skin, his lips, and tongue.

Alex groaned and wrapped his hands around the backs of her legs. He slid them up, cupping the curve of her bottom, fingers caressing the crease that led him to her inner thighs. He drew her to him.

She allowed it, pressing against his body. She wanted more of him. More pressure. More skin against skin. Her hands sank down from his face to slip between them, pulling on his shirt. She pulled it up and off, tearing her mouth from his for an instant to yank the shirt over his head.

He worked the buttons of her shirt, fumbling at them in his hurry. He freed the last of them, spreading her shirt open and back and pushing it off her shoulders. He sat back to look at her.

She followed his gaze to his hands. They spread wide across her ribcage, his sun-darkened brown skin stark against her pale freckles. Above his fingers, her skin curved into the slight swell of paler skin and peaked nipples. He slid his palms up to her sensitive breasts, and she pressed into him, sliding her hands up to cover his. His thumb circled her nipple then slid away as he pulled her up.

He drew her into his mouth, the power slicking electric hot up her nerves. She arched her back, melting into him, already shuddering with the force of the energy surging through her as he licked at her. He slid his hands around her back, pulled her closer, holding tight. Everywhere their skin met, the searing flux of energy wove between them. Each time their skin parted, a white arc of heat spanned the distance and danced along their skin, joining them.

Lena sank lower, pushing her hand between his waistband and his skin. She slid her fingertips along his lower belly before dipping lower. The soft, almost delicate skin she found was a contrast to the rigid flesh it covered. She wrapped her hand around him and pulled energy along the length of him.