Aflame (Apotheosis) (28 page)

“Well, Grayce realized then that you were describing her mom as well.” Nikolas paused, giving the boy a moment to respond. When he got nothing but a blank stare, he continued. “I’ve done blood tests on both of you. You know, when you were in the hospital downstairs?”

“Yes.” Stephen rubbed a worried look from his face.

“Come on, enough beating around the bush.” Grayce pushed her chair from the table and turned toward Stephen. “You are my little brother. Your mom is my mom. We’re family. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m your big sister.” Glancing at Zander and then Nikolas, she flashed a smug smile. “There, that was easy enough.”

Stephen stared at Grayce, blinked once, twice. She imagined giant gears in his brain ticking and grinding as he processed the information. He looked back to Marcus, then to Zander and back again to Grayce.

“Did my mom send you away too? Is that why you didn’t live with us?” Stephen looked anguished, but not for himself, for her. Her heart sunk.

“Well, yes, sort of,” Grayce lied. No need for Stephen to know the truth about why she left. That was her cross to bear, not his.

“Do you miss her?” Laying his hand on her forearm, his hazel eyes bore right through her hardened exterior and found a soft mushy spot dead center in her chest.

“Yes. I do,” she lied again.

Stephen slouched in his chair, strummed his fingers on his knees and swung his legs back and forth underneath him. Uncomfortable silence consumed the room. All eyes were on the boy.

With head lowered, he raised his gaze to Nikolas. “Why did you test our blood?”

Nikolas paused before answering and studied the boy’s face. He looked as awestricken as Grayce felt. What a smart child. “Well Stephen, I study blood. Mostly of people like us. When we found you outside and brought you here, I took some of yours to study. So I could learn more about you. I noticed you and Grayce had similar traits right away, but at that time, I wasn’t sure why. Now we know. It’s because she’s your sister.”

“But there’s more, isn’t there.” His tone and demeanor changed to that of a person well beyond the maturity of Stephen’s meager six years.

Nikolas folded his hands on the table and cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“There’s more about our blood. It’s different, right? We’re special. I’ve heard you talk about it.”

“Yes. We know that you both have healing qualities. We know that Grayce has a special affect on males. I would like to run more tests, if that’s all right with you and Grayce, of course.”

“Yes, I like the lab. Superheroes always have secret laboratories.” And with that, Stephen was back to the little boy with big dreams.

“Yes they do, don’t they?” Nikolas’ mouth twisted at the corner.

The boy continued his questioning. “Are there a lot more of us?”

“We know a few others.”

Stephen leaned toward Nikolas, to make sure he was paying attention. “You should call them. You should invite them over right now.”

“Stephen, why the urgency?”

Stephens eyes widened. “The bad guys are coming.”

At that comment, Chelsea stood to clear the dishes. “That’s enough for today. Help me clear this mess so you boys can head to the hospital.”

“Yes ma’am.” Marcus jumped up like a stick of dynamite was lit under his ass. “Hospital. It’s about freakin’ time.”

“Yes ma’am.” Stephen popped out of his chair, grabbed his plate and glass and plopped them in the double stainless steel sink. He ran to Grayce, threw himself into her lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. “I’m happy you’re my sister.” His cheeks flushed and he jumped down. “I’ll go put my shoes on. Don’t leave without me,” he shouted as he skidded down the hallway.

“I think that went well,” Chelsea declared after Stephen was clear of earshot. “Honey, you need to buy him some new clothes while you’re out today. He’s growing so fast.”

“What now?” Grayce whispered. “What about our mother? He’s hell bent on finding her.”

“Do you know where she is?” Zander rested his chin on his clasped hands.

“No. Honestly, with her lifestyle, I thought she’d be six feet under by now.” Grayce hadn’t given her mother any thought in years. She sure as shit wasn’t keen on the idea of starting now.

“Do you think we can find her?” Chelsea chimed in.

“I don’t want to find her,” Grayce snapped, folding her arms over her chest. She didn’t want Stephen to find her either. Stephen belonged with them.

“If we don’t, Stephen will. He’ll try on his own.” Zander was right. The boy was all about saving his Mom. He talked about it day and night. Like it was his sole purpose for being.

“I know, you’re right.” Grayce slouched. “I left her in California. We used to move. All the fucking time. She could be anywhere. Dead for all we know.” Shaking her head, she tried to imagine what her brother’s life must have been like, watching his mother jump from man to man, crappy home to crappy home. “It’s a miracle that Stephen found us. A boy his age left to fend for himself—”

Marcus interjected. “No not a miracle. He was drawn to us, just like we were drawn to you, Grayce. I think the little guy is right when he says the bad guys are coming. A storm is brewing. It’s drawing us together. You can feel it Chelsea, can’t you? That’s why you cut him off.”

Chelsea sighed deep and slow, her cheerful countenance morphing to a scowl. “Yes. I’ve sensed something. Something dark. It’s not just Tyr Collins. I have a feeling this is only the beginning.”

13

The grass was soft and wet under Grayce’s backside, the cool moisture a balm on her heated skin. She’d enjoyed her morning traipse near the newly relocated lake with Zander and Stephen. Would even venture to say she’d had fun. Upon their return, the boys, as usual, made a beeline for the kitchen. Grayce stole the opportunity to stretch in her favorite patch of lawn and enjoy some testosterone free time.

Emotion churned through her in rolling waves of contradiction as she pondered the past few weeks. Rage. Contentment. Fear. Apathy. Lust.

It was amazing her head hadn’t exploded yet. Yeah, super glue and duct tape had nothing on her when it came to holding shit together, the few bouts of nearly burning everyone alive excluded.

In the past week, no more women had been found dead or reported missing. John Houghton was no longer making national headlines. Maybe Zander scared Tyr off.

Okay. So she wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that was the case. Too easy.

Regardless, she’d had more time to process the turn of events in her life. First, there was her power, which would be freaking awesome if she could control the urge to incinerate everyone who pissed her off. And hey, she could be helpful if they ever ran out of matches in the house. Then there was Stephen. An innocent child who escaped an incapable mother only to land in the hands of an unqualified sister. Thank God for Chelsea. She was like the mother of all mothers. Stern when she needed to be, adoring and encouraging every other second of the day. Third, a new home filled with every amenity imaginable and came stocked with an instant family. That was still blowing her mind.

Last, and definitely not least, Zander.

What would she do about Zander? He was a good man. He loved her. At least he thought he did.

Was she even capable of that emotion? Zander was getting the raw end of the deal in that department. He needed to be with someone who could love him back, right?

Soul mates—there was that too. Eternity was a long fucking time to be stuck with someone. Seemed a bit unfair. What if her un-repairable, screwed up psyche wasn’t capable of hanging with a man for that long? Would she die from withdrawals if she left? Would it kill Zander?

She uprooted a fistful of grass and tossed it in the air. Maybe she should leave and never look back. Disappear for Zander’s sake. He needed, no deserved, so much more than she could offer. Surrounded by friends and family, he beamed with genuine happiness. And he was so amazing with Stephen, a natural father.

The man was born to breed.

Tyr made sure that Grayce would never bear children. That alone should be enough to make Zander reconsider their eternity together.

No, he was far too honorable to let her infertility be an issue.

Tyr wasn’t gone. He lurked in the dark shadows and bided his time.

Zander wouldn’t let her kill the black beast, but she sure as hell wouldn’t let the burden fall on his shoulders. She’d have to disappear. It was the best option. Tyr would follow her, then everyone in Chastain would be out of danger. With her new found power, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind she could take him down.

Could she put Zander through that kind of pain? Not just emotional, but physical? She could bear the withdrawals. They had nothing on the pain she’d suffered. But was it fair to inflict that pain on Zander?

If it meant no more Tyr, hell yeah, it was fair.

Stephen? Everyone loved the hell out of him and would lay down their own lives for his safety. The funny little brat completed their makeshift family, like he’d been part of it all along.

Was she capable of offering him all he needed?

No.

Besides, if he stayed, he’d grow up learning how to be a decent man like Zander. Grayce couldn’t teach him how to be a man. Hell, chances were she’d screw up his brain with her fuckedupness. Her hatred of men would, without doubt, have an effect on their relationship. Food on the table? Safe place to sleep? Nah, wasn’t gonna happen. The boy was far better off without her.

There had to be a way around this.

What was Nikolas’ theory on the mated connection? Blood? Yes, that was it.
It has something to do with our blood, although we haven’t been able to pin it down.
He had explained in dummied-down terms for her one day in the lab when she had complained about the withdrawals.

Oh shit. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

Her blood.

That settled it. Grayce jumped from the spongy grass and headed back inside.

* * * *

After clearing the lunch mess, Stephen challenged Zander to some Mario Kart Racing. With his devilish, sexy grin, Zander invited Grayce to join them. Pretending to be put off, she rolled her eyes and waved them off. “Go have fun. I’m going to take a nap.”

“I’m taking you down this time, little man.” Zander threw Stephen over his shoulder and jogged toward the game room. “I’ll see you soon, Firecracker,” he shouted. Stephen giggled and waved as he bounced away.

Well, that was easy.

Grayce waited until they were out of sight, then snuck down the back stairs to the lab. Thank God she’d been programmed into the security system last week. She searched the stark white walls trying to remember which panel held the vials of blood.

Bingo.

Four was the magic number.

Keeping one eye on the door, she searched the labels for her name and grabbed the vial with the most recent date. She tucked the little glass bottle into her pocket with a shaky hand. A bead of sweat tickled her brow. Heat and electricity pounded against her insides. Begged to be released. Fuck. This had to be quick.

The distance to the bedroom seemed like miles. Heart pounding, throat tight, she dug through Zander’s drawers. Because of the ferocious tremble in her hands, it took eons to find what she was looking for.

A gold, heart-shaped locket. Zander showed it to Grayce a few days ago after a marathon sex session. He must have been feeling sentimental. Inside was a picture of Zander’s parents taken on their wedding day. His father had given it to his mother on their tenth anniversary. The one item of his mother’s he’d kept after they were killed.

Grayce had told him it was sappy, but deep down she was jealous of his cherished memories. She removed the photo and tucked it in the back of the drawer. It was the picture he held dear, not the jewelry.

The bathroom shrunk around her as she locked herself in. “Please forgive me,” she whispered under her breath. It took a tender touch to pry the vial open without breaking it. The blood dripped slow and thick into one half of the heart shape. After it was filled to her satisfaction, she closed the locket and laid it on the tile.

The red energy took several long moments to conjure. When it boiled through her veins and churned in anticipation, she took a practice run and traced the outer edge of the locket. She traced the rim again, allowing a zap of heat to escape through her fingertip. Slow and steady she dragged it around the seam, melting the gold and sealing it tight.