Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (10 page)

“Oh, can’t I keep him?” Ludiia complained.

“Not anymore.” Lucian replied.

I turned and met her eyes before we exited.
She no longer smiled her impudent smile. She glared at me, her jaw clenched.

Out in the open the trees rustled loudly
against the cool night breeze, giving an eerie feel. For a moment I forgot
where we were. The tent seemed like a permanent structure, not a temporary one
set up just outside my school.

My home.

The sounds of the dry crackling leaves
beneath our feet were sending shivers down my spine. I was on edge. I glanced
over my shoulder and the three anonymous men were gone, leaving Eli and I alone
in the bush. The tress cast freaky shadows on the clear path. I tried to force
the unwanted images of being mauled to death by vampires from my mind. I needed
to get to the safety of my dorm.

“Are you okay?” Eli’s voice was low and
rough with anxiety.

Was I okay? Well, it wasn’t the first thing
I expected him to say. Where was the chastising I was so positive I’d receive
from him? “I-I’m okay.” I stuttered nervously.

He fell silent once again. I could see the
school in the distance. So close, yet so far away.

“I have to admit, I thought you would be a
lot angrier with me.”

I caught a glimpse of Eli’s face briefly as
the gap in the trees made room for the moonlight. His lips quirked up into half
a smile, something I wasn’t expecting.

“There’s no need for me to be angry. What’s
done is done. I’m just glad we got out of there alive, for now, anyway.”

He felt so distant. I resisted the urge to
cling to him, forcing us together.

“You think we’re going to die?”

“There’s a high possibility, I suppose.” He
was polite, as if he were barely interested.

His words hurt, not literally, of course.
It was just difficult for me to hear. Eli was always so positive and strong. I’d
never seen him doubt himself before now.

I swallowed hard, forcing the annoying
questions I wanted to ask back down my throat. I should be mad at him,
shouldn’t I? As far as Lucian was concerned, Eli and Aleksandrov lied to me.
There was another reason why I hadn’t fully turned, why Hank wanted me so
badly.

“Will you tell me?”

“No,” he said curtly. He knew what I was
talking about.

“Why not? It’s my life, I deserve to know.”

“You said you didn’t want to hear any more
information.”

“Not from him. I want to hear it from you.”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

Eli exhaled in annoyance. Why couldn’t he
tell me? Why couldn’t Mr Aleksandrov tell me? More importantly, why was the
enemy the only one wanting to tell me?

“Because, Ruby, it will destroy you, and if
things go bad, then it will destroy everything. You already have such a hard
time controlling your anger. If this other thing gets out… there’s no hope,” he
replied cryptically.

I gave up as we approached the border of
the school. Its tall stone wall cast long shadows over the ground, swallowing
Eli and I as we got closer. The only light was the moon seeping through the wrought
iron gate.

Eli held the gate open for me and closed it
as he stepped through. A bright purple light illumined the gate, sending small
lightning bolts along the metal. I watched in awe as the gate was sealed. It
was a beautiful thing to witness.

I don’t know what it was, the school seemed
so alien to me. Perhaps it was the fact everyone here was lying to me with the
exception for a select few.

In the short time I’d been here at SS, I’ve
grown to love it. It has become my home, my future. Without it, I’d still be a
vampire, alone and hunted by Hank. Maybe this secret was why they were so eager
to bring me back.

My thoughts brought me all the way to my
dorm room. Eli watched me curiously as I pulled a key from my jacket pocket.

“What?” I asked, returning his curious
stare with a nervous one.

“Why did you agree?”

“I didn’t have a choice. He would have
forced me anyway and he would have killed you.”

“He wouldn’t have been able to force you to
do anything. I would’ve rather he killed me than endure what we’re about to go
through.”

“Eli, you asked for this. I didn’t want you
to be reinstated as my guardian. Your death is the last thing I need on my conscience.”

I glanced down at my fingers and fidgeted
with them nervously. Even without eye contact I could feel Eli’s eyes burning
into me.

“You know how I feel about you. You know I
could never live with myself if something happened to you and I did nothing to
help.”

I did know how Eli felt about me. I didn’t
know if it was to the extent I felt for him. He was willing to risk his life
for me again. Did that mean he loves me, too?

“Goodnight,” he whispered, then paced back
down the corridor.

I stared after him until he disappeared and
then I entered my room. On the noticeboard attached to the back of the door, I
saw a note. It was in Mila’s handwriting:

R,

Uncle asked me to stay at his house tonight.

We have a family friend visiting.

See you tomorrow, hopefully.

Love,

M.

I threw myself onto the bed. I didn’t take
into account the fact I’d be leaving Mila behind. I didn’t think I could. Raina
would no doubt go back to harassing her. She’d most likely move back in with
her uncle and have no one to talk to about Gabriel.

I realized I was shaking. I couldn’t stop
the tears. It was as if suddenly everything hit me all at once. I was leaving
here, leaving everything behind.

I reflected on my current lifestyle,
knowing it would all be gone soon. I needed to figure out a plan. I couldn’t let
Lucian get away with this. We were human beings (well, kind of). We weren’t
vending machines or a spring of infinite blood that he could just harvest
willy-nilly. If I had any chance of fixing this, then I needed to know the
secret. Hopefully it could help.

Pain and Temptation

Escaping from the girls’ dorm was easy. Mrs
Ploit took a toilet break, leaving the exit unmanned. I felt guilty once more for
sneaking past her, but if I could get back unnoticed, then what was the harm?

The teachers’ campus was quiet. Getting
past the guardian in the booth wasn’t a problem, either. Although the gate by
the booth was the only official entrance, the rough cut of the seven foot
Cumbrian stone wall that divided the community from the student campus was easy
to climb. It offered natural stepping stones, allowing me to pull myself up and
over.

I approached Eli’s house. The moon
reflected on the side of his Audi Q5 SUV. As I neared, the front door opened
and Mr Aleksandrov stepped out onto the porch with two other guardian angels. I
dove beside the SUV, hoping the guardians didn’t hear me. I peered through the
dark glass, my stomach twisted into knots as the one closest to me shot a
glance my way. When he turned back to the conversation, my body relaxed.

The dialogue between Eli and Mr Aleksandrov
was quiet and muffled. Whatever they were discussing, they didn’t want anyone
else to hear. They shook hands and Mr Aleksandrov and his guardians descended
the steps before turning down the street, walking at a leisurely pace. I didn’t
move, not until Mr Aleksandrov disappeared out of sight. Once they did, I
waited a few more minutes before I found myself at Eli’s door; my arm was
poised and ready to knock, but suddenly I was unsure if I should intrude. I had
put him through so much tonight already.
Maybe I should go?
I turned my
back to the door but a creak made me turn back.

“Ruby? What are you doing here?”

“I — uh —”

I took a big gulp of air, trying to buy
time to piece a sentence together. What was I doing here? It kind of just
happened. One minute I was crying uncontrollably in my bed and the next I was
scaling a stone wall. I guess I wanted to know about me more than I thought I
did.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

Eli stepped aside, gesturing for me to
enter his house.

“Are you sure?” I glanced around nervously.

“It doesn’t matter. Lucian already has us.”

His lips pursed into a passive line. His
beautiful bright eyes were bleak and he hunched slightly. I stepped into his
house cautiously; I couldn’t shake the forbidding feeling. I was expecting Mr
Aleksandrov or Lucian to jump out at me and scream ‘busted,’ but of course,
nothing happened. As soon as I stepped in, I was in the living room. It was so
elegant and modern. Not what I had expected at all. Eli struck me as the kind
of decorator that would have animal heads on the wall, not pretty landscapes.

The floors were wooden and shiny, the walls
were white. The dark pleather couches that were perfectly spaced made the room
less sterile and cold. A red-brown Persian rug covered most of the floor. I was
reminded of my mother’s cabin; Eli’s home had a similar layout. It had an open
living style, except his room and the bathroom were hidden behind wooden doors.

“You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you.” He smiled but the smile didn’t
reach his eyes.

He waltzed over to the bar separating the living
room from the kitchen. I admired paintings of an unknown countryside adorning
his wall.

“Vidzeme.”

“Hmm?”

“The paintings. They’re of the countryside
in Vidzeme, Latvia.”

“Beautiful,” I whispered.

I had no idea Eli enjoyed paintings or the
countryside, and then it dawned on me. I knew nothing about Eli. His likes,
dislikes, favorite music, or favorite foods.

“You’re of legal age, so I suppose I should
ask you if you would like a drink?” Eli held up a bottle of wine. Even though I’d
promised myself I wouldn’t drink again, I nodded my head anyway. I needed
something to take the edge off. Eli would be in a lot of trouble with the
school if they knew I was in his house or that he was offering me alcohol, but
I assumed he didn’t really care at this point.

I sat down on the couch and Eli handed me
my drink. He sat on the couch opposite me. He was still in his ‘on-duty’
uniform and I flushed at the sexiness of it all.

“I didn’t pick you as the drinking type.”

He smiled a genuine smile this time and I
relaxed. “I was quite the drinker a few years back, but I’ve changed. I do
appreciate a good glass of wine every now and then, though.”

Eli ran his finger across his bottom lip as
he eyed me curiously. I sat my wine glass down on the smooth dark wood of the coffee
table and adjusted myself in my seat. I bit my tongue against the flood of
questions that rose in my throat. It was a good time to get the answers I sought,
but I was feeling a little off by Eli’s mood. He seemed down about our
situation, I imagine.

“Mr Aleksandrov knows?” I asked.

Eli nodded and took a sip of his wine. I
assumed as much.

“Does he have a plan?”

“Somewhat. It’s still in the early stages.”

“Eli, are you okay? You still have a chance
to get out of this. I won’t be upset. This is my fault.”

“This isn’t about me,” he replied, leaning
forward in his chair. “This is about you. I couldn’t care less if it was me
that was chosen to kill vampires. I do that all the time. I’m angry that Lucian
would come for you when he has your —”

Eli cut his words off by slamming down what
was left of the wine in his glass. He rose to his feet and drifted back over to
the bar. I got up and followed him. I took a hold of the wine bottle as he
began to pour it, taking it from his grasp.

“You don’t need this. Talk to me.”

“If I tell you, will you promise to let me
help you?”

“Yes.”

“No matter what?”

“Yes.”

I had no idea what I was promising, but if
it helped Eli, then I was willing to honor any promise I made. He took me by the
hand and brought me back to the couches. We sat down next to each other.

“Where to begin?” He sighed.

“Let’s start with the real story. Why
wasn’t Hank able to turn me?”

“It wasn’t a charm.”

That much I gathered.

“Your father is a Heelian.”

I had no idea what that even meant. Surely
he didn’t mean another species? “Heelian?”

“They’re kind of like us. They’re against
vampires, but a long time ago, they disappeared. Most of them were killed by
vampires but the rest … exploded.”

“Exploded?”

“The thing about Heelians is that they’re
easily aggravated. When they get too angry, it’s like an overload for their
system.” Eli mimicked an explosion with his hands. “And most of the time it’s
unstoppable.”