Wilde's Fire (Darkness Falls #1) (40 page)

“Are you ready to return to your home?” Arland asks Brad.

The politeness infuriates me. Containing my disappointment in Brad, my resentment from his years of continuous betrayal, is impossible.

My hand shakes; Arland squeezes it. I’m almost positive the squeeze means
control your emotions
.

Brad meets my eyes. He quickly narrows his gaze and sets it on Arland. “Yes, I’d like that.”

Hearing Brad speak makes my heart ache for the guy I thought I knew, for the friend I’ve always thought was the best, for a comforting hug from the arms I’ve felt around me a million times.

My muscles tense. No. I will not allow him to upset me.

Arland squeezes my hand again, sensing my emotions so well. I wonder if he knows what I’m thinking, or if my thoughts are that obvious.

“Then you must come with us, now.”

Brit peeks around the wall from the kitchen; she raises her eyebrows, giving me her best
get over it
look.

I shrug.

Flanna stands and grabs Arland’s forearm. “I thought we were leaving at three.”

“Plan’s changed.” I answer for him.

She nods, then darts off toward her room.

Brad follows Arland and me through the corridor. I run up the stairs leading to the stables, with them behind me. I don’t want to look at Brad, or think about him, ever again. I want to get this over with. Reaching the top, I push through the door then run to the horses’ stalls.

Arland has Brad wait by the straw bay while he helps me gather the horses. I lead two of the stallions and one mare out to join Mirain and Bowen, as Mom walks in with Cadman.

“Sir, we should take four horses, so we do not have an extra on the ride back,” Cadman says.

Arland nods. “Brad, would you mind riding with Cadman?”

I lead one of the stallions back to his stall.

“He can ride with me,” I call over my shoulder, then close the gate.

Arland scowls at me.

If Brad ever gets his memory back, I want him to know how much I wanted him gone. I want him to suffer. Acting on revenge is nasty, but right now, it makes me feel somewhat better.

Mom watches Arland. “Kate, I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

Brad looks between us. His blue eyes are big, round. Rubbing his hands together, he looks confused, scared

Arland glares as though he wants to hurt Brad the way he’s hurt me, then Arland glares at me. I’m sure he wants to yell at me for offering a spot on my horse to Brad.

Handing the reins to Mom, I walk next to Arland and stare up into his angry eyes. “It’s okay. I’m not doing this for him; I’m doing it for me.”

His shoulders slump, and his anger fades. Arland puts his arms around my waist. “Kate, he does not deserve your kindness,” he says, just as quietly.

“I’m not doing it to be kind.”

Arland takes me by the arm to lead me inside Bowen’s stall.

Before we step behind the wall, I look over my shoulder.

Brad eyes us curiously.

Mom begins a conversation with him, but Cadman stays close to her.

Everyone seems to be afraid of Brad.

“He will ride with me or Cadman, but not with you.”

“Why did you bring me in here to say that?”

Arland’s face is hard, nothing like the emotionless mask he normally puts on. “Kate, before, when I told you Brad was thinking murderous thoughts, he was not planning to hurt me. It was you he wanted to kill.”

He balls my shirt in his fists.

My heart has already missed beats because of Brad, multiple times, actually. This news should hurt, should scare me, should make me hate him more, but it doesn’t; this new information only makes me anxious to leave, ready to say goodbye forever.

Arland relaxes his hands. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just want to get this over with.”

His forehead creases. “Do you still want him to ride with you?”

“Yes. I want him to hurt, if he ever remembers.”

He tucks my hair behind my ears. “I do not think it is wise for you to be spiteful, Kate. It is not your nature.”

“Arland—”

“Stay close to me. I do not trust him,” Arland says before I can finish saying I’ve never been spiteful in my life, so this one time, I think everyone could excuse me.

“Thank you. I’m so sorry you had to see all of his horrible thoughts.”

Arland hugs me, then brushes his lips against mine. His gesture is not nearly what I need from him—not nearly what I want.

We walk out to join the others, then mount our horses. Mom and Cadman mount theirs.

Brad looks between us all. “Who am I riding with?”

“Me,” I say.

He quickly looks up to Arland.

He straightens on Bowen. “It is okay. Kate is the best rider and is the strongest of all of us.”

Brad considers my offered hand. He takes it; I pull him onto Mirain with me. Keeping his palms on his thighs, he maintains a distance between us. Arland, Mom, and Cadman all stare, but if Brad tries to hurt me, Arland is close … and magic is on my side.

“You do realize you’re going to fall off if you don’t hold on to me, right?”

Brad circles his arms around my waist but doesn’t hold on tight. He’s trembling as if by touching me, he’ll spontaneously combust.

The familiar closeness of his touch, of his warmth, everything about this reminds me of a time I took Brad riding bareback on the farm. He was never fond of riding without a saddle, not like I am. He kept his arms tightly around me; he was so scared, he didn’t dare release them. He kept saying, “Saddles aren’t that bad once you get used to them.”

The doors swing open.

Arland gives me a pointed look. “Stay close.”

Our group speeds through the dark woods like lightning through the sky on a stormy night. We bolt through the forest in a straight line, making sharp turns along the path, moving so fast that if we were glowing, there would surely be a trail of light behind us.

Mom and Cadman ride my flanks, Arland rides in front, forming a triangle of protection around me.

He stays two paces ahead, continuously looking over his shoulder at me and Brad. I’m positive Arland wants to make sure the one person I’ve entrusted almost everything to for my entire life, including my first kiss, doesn’t kill me. The memory of that first kiss—when I thought my best friend was going to die, when I thought I was going to die—pierces my heart.

Life has changed so quickly, since my world turned upside down.

We pass the trees so fast they appear like brown blurs against the Darkness; it’s like riding in a car. As a child, I used to stare straight ahead while at the same time watching the trees zip past out of the corners of my eyes.

Now, the trees zipping by don’t have the same nostalgic feeling. Instead, riding with Brad is thrilling and frightening all at once. I’m happy he’ll no longer be around to hurt me, to confuse me, to lie to me, but I’m scared to death he’ll suddenly remember everything and try to kill me while we ride.

I pray our plan to get him home will work.

We reach the Watchers at the perimeter and bring the horses to a halt. None of the soldiers approach or ask questions, and Arland doesn’t give them any orders.

Ogilvie and Dunn are on watch tonight. They stand at attention as we wait near the spot where, not that long ago, Arland and I fought a forest full of daemons, together. Where we discovered that our love for each other makes us stronger.

He turns to look at me, and smiles.

Returning his smile, my heart melts in my chest; a flash of our
alone
time in the straw speeds through my head. I wish Flanna hadn’t interrupted us. I wish it was Arland’s arms wrapped around my waist right now, not Brad’s.

“Something about him bothers me,” he whispers, bringing me from my thoughts with a jolt.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you. Did he do that to your eye?”

We’re at the edge of the forest, waiting for Arland to give the command to proceed. I know who Brad is speaking of, but I ask anyway. “Who?”

“Arland.”

Brad thinks Arland hurt me? This, coming from the guy who beat up any guy who ever showed an interest in me, who thought about murdering me when he saw me in someone else’s arms? I laugh, then stare at Arland. He has his eyes closed, listening for danger, whispering magic to the wind. “He’s a good man.
He
would never hurt me.”

Brad doesn’t respond. He turns toward Arland. Because of the shift in body weight, Mirain strays to the left a bit.

I wonder what Brad’s thinking? Does he believe I’m a girl with an abusive boyfriend?

“It seems clear. Ride fast.” Arland speaks low but sternly.

We leave the cover of the surrounding forest and enter the endless sea of Darkness. Sending requests out to the magic, I try to wake it ahead of our arrival. Having the portal open and ready seems better than having everyone wait for me to do it in front of Brad; plus, he’d never understand.

We approach the spot that holds so many strange memories for me. I wonder if the area will spark any stray ones in Brad.

His blank expression doesn’t change when we bring the horses to a stop in front of the portal, so I imagine the memory spell they’ve cast over him has worked the way it’s supposed to.

We slide from the horses.

Brad stands next to me, eyebrows raised as he looks around. He probably thinks this is some kind of joke.

I point toward the glistening edges of the portal. “This might sound strange, Brad, but you just have to step through that.”

He shrugs. “I don’t see anything.”

Brad couldn’t see the portal above the water when we were on the other side, either. Ready to lead him to it, I take his hand in mine.

Before I can move forward, Arland reaches out and catches my other hand.

“You do not need to see it. Walk in the direction Kate showed you,” he says, keeping a firm hold on me. “This is where we stop.”

Arland thinks Brad is lying.

“I’m sorry, but I feel strange walking into something I cannot see.” Darkness flashes in his eyes, reminding me of the Brad from my earlier vision.

I shudder. Gripping Arland’s hand even tighter, I shake free from Brad’s hold, then step back.

Responding to fear as it spreads through us, Arland and I ignite in flames.

Brad stands with his hands clasped behind his back, unfazed by our burning bodies. I don’t doubt Brad cannot see the portal, but I know he has never been honest with me.

Something deep inside tells me he’s not being honest right now, either.

“Do you want to go home?” My fire glows brighter, stronger.

The sweet, blue eyes of my best friend return. “Yes, but I want you to come with me.”

Maybe the spell didn’t work, after all? “I-I’m sorry?”

Brad brings his face within inches of mine.

Arland tugs me away.

“I know you. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why you act as though we’ve just met, but something tells me I know you very well. Why would you want to stay here—wherever the hell we are—when you can come and be free?”

Arland backs us away further. Pushing me behind him, he maintains a protective stance.

Brad watches us closely, envy on his face.

Every time I innocently fell asleep next to him, it meant something different to both of us. All those years in the dark with him—he makes me feel dirty, betrayed, and most of all, furious. Now, even after his memory has been wiped clean, he somehow still holds onto a fascination for me. I’m going to scream at him, tell him just to get the hell out of here … .

“Brad, it is time for you to go home. Kate will not be coming with you,” Arland yells.

Mom and Cadman stare at the flames dancing over Arland and me.

I catch Mom’s eyes.

She’s whispering things, probably trying to protect us with her own magic.

Brad takes five steps in the direction of the portal, stops, then turns back to us. “I remember you now. I helped you off the playground after you scraped your knee.”

Arland braces himself and pushes me back further behind him.

Cadman takes up Arland’s left side, Mom his right.

This is my mess. If Arland expects a fight, I’m fighting with him. I step from behind him and stand on his left, next to Cadman.

I don’t think anyone was prepared for Brad to get his memory back so soon.

Watching as he shakes his head, we don’t speak.

His memories must be flooding in. Brad grits his teeth, pinches his nose between his finger and thumb, and closes his eyes. “It’s not just that day I remember. There are other things too, like sleeping in your bed before we went on the hike that led us here.”

He lifts his head and runs to me.

“Brad, you—”

“Why are you sending me away? After everything we’ve been through together, why?” He looks at Arland.

“For him?” Brad cups my cheeks. “I love you! It’s always been about you, Kate. You have to see that!”

I hold onto Arland so hard, I’m worried I might break the bones in his hand. My feet lose feeling. I feel like I’m floating and have no control of myself or my emotions, but I have to speak. I cannot stand here, with Brad in front of me, and not say anything.

Trying to regain some control, I take a deep breath. It’s no use. I’m mad. “You lied to me for years. You fought off guys who showed an interest in me. You punched
me
when you saw Arland and me kissing. You may not ever understand why I’m staying here, but this—” I release Arland’s hand, and spread my arms out wide. Almost impossibly, the blue flames become even brighter, making me feel confident. “This is my home.”

Brad’s expression instantly darkens. Instead of begging me to rethink my decision, he lunges. His baby blue eyes turn black, and his face contorts with rage.

Arland jumps in front of me and pushes me back.

Cadman and Mom grab my hands and pull me away, near the horses.

A wave of blue flames extends from Arland, knocking Brad to the ground. “Go through the portal, now, or we will force you through.”

He scrambles to his feet. “No!”

Arland marches toward Brad—about to make good on his threat—when my ears fill with sounds of huge wings flapping in the wind. Thousands of squeaking noises fill the air, sending chills up my spine. I can’t put my finger on what the shrill noises remind me of, but they come repeatedly, and from all directions. I cannot see anything over us. I know this can’t be good.