The Two Towers (31 page)

Whimpering slightly, she leaned into him and rested her head against his chest. She heard and felt the beating of his heart in sync with her own.

“When you’re ready, go ahead and take your energy threads away.”

Kayla shook her head, unwilling to break the connection. He said gently,
“You need to do it, Kayla. I know it’s hard, but I won’t go away. I promise. You can always reach for me and I’ll be here for you.”

She felt the truth in his thoughts. He felt the same way she did. She also knew he was worried about her. He was concerned he had taken her too far too quickly. Reluctantly, she pulled the energy threads away.

He released her and she stepped back, trembling slightly.

“Are you all right?” he asked her.

She looked up at him and blushed at the intimacy they'd shared. “Yeah. I, um, see what you mean now.”

He gave her an understanding smile. “I wasn’t expecting to show you quite that much.”

“So, is it going to be like that when we fry the bracelets?” she asked hesitantly.

He shook his head. “No. You’ll be the one sending your energy toward me. As long as the energy flows in one direction, it’s fine.”

“What happened just now?”

“Ahhh, well…” He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Mutually sharing energy is usually only done between two people who are seeking a stronger bond than a physical one.”

Kayla stared at him and asked, “Are you trying to tell me in your polite Omni way that we just mind-fucked each other?”

Alec’s mouth twisted into a grin. “I think that qualified more as mind-foreplay. That’s why you didn’t want to stop.”

“Holy shit.” She dropped down on the couch, completely stunned.

He nodded. “It’s a powerful thing. That’s one of the reasons why we tend to keep to our own kind. It’s not only our regular abilities. You could easily have a physical relationship with someone else, but you won’t find that complete connection outside of the Circle.”

“You mentioned bloodlines and our unique heritage before,” she recalled. “Why are we different?”

Alec smiled and sat down next to her. He took her hand in his and asked, “Do you remember the dragon statue you discovered in the ruins?”

“Of course. What about it?”

“The dragons have had countless names over the centuries. But here in the towers, we usually refer to them as the
Drac’kin
. Thousands of years ago, when our world was still linked to other worlds, the
Drac’kin
were a dominant force. They waged a war in the Otherworld which nearly destroyed this world and several others in the process.”

Kayla looked at him skeptically. “This sounds like a fairy tale.”

“I suppose it does,” he agreed. “But regardless, during this battle, one of the
Drac’kin
betrayed her kind. She gave others the knowledge to close the rifts between the worlds. They followed her instructions and some of the
Drac’kin
became trapped here on this world. Their descendants lived on. Some intermingled with the humans while others tried to keep their bloodlines pure.”

“You’re saying we’re related to these
Drac’kin
?”

He nodded. “The most powerful talents usually have the purest bloodlines. OmniLab was created to try and preserve as many of our kind as possible.”

“Our kind?” she repeated, and pulled her hand free. Standing up, she asked, “Do you know how crazy this sounds?”

He sighed and leaned back. Waving a hand casually in the air, he asked, “How would you explain what just happened between us, Kayla? How would you explain your talents and everything else you’ve seen here in the towers?”

She looked away. Drugs? Illness? Mental breakdown? She wasn't sure which of those was more attractive. “I don’t know.”

“I know this is probably difficult to accept,” he admitted. “It would have been easier if you had grown up here with other people like you.”

“Look,” Kayla began pacing back and forth within the small room. “I admit what happened between us was bizarre, but I don’t believe the rest of it. Dragons? Other worlds? It sounds crazy.” Hmm. It looked like she was leaning toward a mental breakdown. “And for the record, I can have a relationship with anyone I want. If I want to be with Carl, that’s my choice. I don’t care about this pure bloodline crap. I’ll be damned if someone’s going to tell me who I should or shouldn’t be involved with.”

The thought made her blood boil. She spun around to glare at Alec who was calmly watching her rant. His serene composure just pissed her off more. She was having a breakdown over here and he was completely unruffled.

“You can do what you’d like, Kayla. But it doesn’t change who or what we are.”

“Damn you!” she shouted. “How can you sit there and say this to me? You don’t know anything about me.”

“Are you sure about that, Kayla? After what just happened between us?” he asked her, reminding her of their shared intimacy. She blanched, recalling the way she'd shamefully begged him not to sever their connection. Up until then, she'd never realized how alone she was and how different. It was just one more thing she could blame him for. Sometimes ignorance was better.

Alec's eyes glinted meaningfully. “I’d say I know you far better than anyone else ever has and far better than anyone else ever could. I can give you what you want, Kayla.”

How dare he dangle such a promise in front of her? She was a woman on the edge of going ballistic. He'd felt her emotions and the depth of her pain, even if she was reluctant to admit it out loud. Now he was exploiting those emotions, using them against her to get her to agree to his way of thinking.

Kayla glared at him for a moment before launching herself at him. Alec grabbed her easily and tossed her on the couch. Holding her down, he said quietly, “I see we’re going to have to work on your temper.”

“You bastard,” she hissed. He was doing this on purpose, trying to rile her up. She pushed a wave of energy toward him and he pulled back, eyeing her appreciatively. “You learn quickly. Good. When the High Council finds out you’re trying to deactivate those bracelets, they’re going to come after you to stop you. How well do you think you can you defend yourself or your friends?”

Better than he thought. She climbed off the couch and scowled at him. He might excel at mind manipulation, but she wasn't afraid to get physical. Grabbing a glass off the table, she threw it at him. He dodged and it shattered when it hit the floor.

At the noise, Carl and Rand came rushing back into the office, stopping when they saw the mess on the floor. “What’s going on? We heard a crash.”

“Kayla’s a little distressed,” Alec explained.

Alec's lackadaisical description infuriated her. In the span of a few minutes, he'd turned her entire world inside out. She'd laid her soul bare to a complete stranger, learned she was some sort of alien freak, and that OmniLab wanted to oversee the distribution of visitor passes to her ovaries.

“A little distressed? You drop these huge bombshells on me and say I’m a little distressed? You vomitus, slack-jawed, freakish cretin! You’re about as subtle as a well-thrown brick.”

Carl walked around the broken glass toward her and asked, “Kayla?”

“Stay out of this, Carl.” She couldn't explain. Not now. She was having trouble getting her head around it herself. Not only that, but the thought of Carl's reaction scared her. How do you tell the man you're sleeping with that your ancestors had wings?

Alec chuckled. “Good advice. It would be a shame for Carl to get involved with something he doesn’t understand.”

Carl looked back and forth between Alec and Kayla. Kayla scowled at Alec, wanting him to shut up. Snatching a computer tablet off the table, she threw it at him. He caught it easily and circled Kayla.

Furious, she glared at Alec. “You leave Carl out of this!”

“I intend to. I’m much more interested in finding out if that’s your intention as well.” His voice seemed casual but she caught the edge of challenge in it. The bond between them flared and understanding hit her. He was asking if she was willing to let Carl go now that she knew the truth.

She wasn't. She understood the reason Alec had been hunting her down in the towers wasn't because he was trying to turn her in to Edwin. He'd been trying to keep her away from Carl and corral her back to her own kind.

Sick and tired of people trying to control her, she said angrily, “I’d call you a parasite but that would be injurious and defamatory to the thousands of existing parasitic species.”

“You are truly a fascinating creature, Kayla Rath’Varein. I’ve never met anyone so completely ruled by their passions.”

She lunged for him again. He grabbed her this time and pinned her against the wall. She threw more energy in his direction, but he was expecting it and somehow wrapped it around her. Her anger evaporated, replaced with surprise and fear. Her voice came out as barely more than a whisper. “How did you do that?”

Alec's eyes widened. He immediately released her and stepped back a split second before Carl rushed forward to insert himself between them. Glaring at Alec, he said, “I don’t care if you’re an Inner Circle member or not. Keep your hands off her.”

Alec glanced at Carl in annoyance. “This doesn’t concern you.”

He turned back to her and his expression softened.
“I would never hurt you,”
Alec promised. “
But you need to learn to protect yourself.”

Kayla felt the sincerity of his thought and nodded at Alec. She put her hand on Carl’s arm to let him know she was okay. “It’s okay. He just surprised me.”

Carl looked at her curiously, but made no move to step out of the line of fire. She crossed her arms and asked Alec, “So what happens now?”

“You can either wear the bracelet or we can try to upset the balance of power. It’s up to you. You know the risks and consequences of both.”

She blinked, surprised he would even bother to ask. “Gee, let me think. I’m going to go with kicking some High Council ass.”

* * * *

While Kayla changed into the clothing Director Borshin had retrieved, Carl waited in the living area with the other men. Alec was on his comlink, looking out of place in the trader applicant's surroundings.

Rand poured everyone a drink while Alec spoke with Seara and asked her to meet him at his office. When he disconnected from the call, he accepted the drink Rand offered.

Carl looked at Alec. “I don’t get it. Why the change of heart? You were ready to put a bracelet on Kayla and now you’re going to take on the entire High Council?”

Alec took a drink and regarded him. Carl had the feeling Alec was weighing the merit in answering his questions. “My motivations are my own business. However, I never intended to allow Kayla to wear a bracelet.”

“Then why did you hunt her down? Why didn’t you let her escape?”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “She belongs here. You may believe you understand her, Trader Carl Grayson, but you would be sorely mistaken.”

Carl’s expression darkened. “I understand her far better than you think.”

Alec chuckled. “Go ahead and enjoy her while you can. But she belongs to me. That’s something you won’t ever be able to change.” He put his glass down. “I’ll be waiting outside. I need to make a few more calls.”

Carl's jaw tightened. He made a move to go after him, but Rand's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Rand shook his head, letting him know it was a bad idea. “You know, I’ve been called cocky and arrogant in my life, but I don’t come anywhere close to that.”

Carl's voice came out as a low growl. “I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t have to trust him. It’s whether or not Kayla does that matters. From all appearances, there’s something going on between them.”

“Going on between who?” Kayla asked and stepped into the room. She wore a simple white dress that stopped just above her knee. The light fabric moved with her as she walked and enhanced her femininity. The sight of her completely distracted him from his thoughts.

“It’s nothing,” Carl replied, not wanting to discuss Alec. “You look absolutely beautiful, Kayla.”

She looked down at the dress and asked, “Why the hell don’t Omni women wear any practical clothing?”

Carl admired her figure. “From my point of view, I’m glad they don’t.”

Rand held up his drink in salute and added, “You won’t hear me complaining either.”

Kayla sighed and asked, “Where’s Alec?”

“He’s waiting outside to take you to his office to meet with Seara. We should get going. Thanks for your help, Rand.”

Kayla kissed Rand lightly on the cheek. “Yeah, thanks for letting me crash here. You’ve been great.”

Rand's eyes lit up and he smiled at her. Carl chuckled, realizing she'd just charmed another soon-to-be-trader.

“You’re definitely the most memorable Inner Circle member I’ve ever met, Kayla. If you two don’t mind, I think it would be best if I stayed here. Getting involved in Inner Circle business tends to have long-lasting repercussions.”

She grinned at him and headed toward the door. Carl stopped her and asked her quietly, “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t trust Alec.”

Kayla looked up at him, determination in her gaze. “I need to do this. Alec is the only one who can help me get those bracelets off.”

Carl frowned. “I’m going with you then. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I was hoping you'd say that.” She smiled at him, slipped her hand in his, and they headed outside.

* * * *

Alec looked up when they emerged. “Seara will be meeting us in my office in about an hour. That gives us a little bit of time to discuss our options.”

Kayla and Carl followed Alec toward one of the priority elevators. They filed inside and Alec pressed the button.

“Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t Edwin going to be pissed off when he finds out you’re not sending me back to that little room?”

“I’m sure he will,” Alec replied, clasping his hands behind his back and watching the numbers increase on the screen above them. “However, he considered you a flight risk at the time. You’re accompanying me willingly and he gave me permission to train you. That’s what I intend to do.”