Chrysalis: The Emergence of Emery (The Gifted Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Bring her!” Marvin commands with a shout, and as the remaining dark beings move to his back creating a space between us all, like a divide. Light on one side, dark on the other. The contrast is stark and permeates the air around us. Shuffling comes from behind the group of twenty or so dark beings that are left, and it looks like someone is transported in at the back of the group. A gap forms as two figures move through the tunnel.

“Sicily…” I gasp as I spot her, but my body stills when I see Elodie next to her.

“This is what I can do to you, little girl. I will take everyone you love and I will kill them…” he shouts then smirks as he continues, speaking low, “…or I will turn them.”

“No!” Elijah yells and my body jolts, coming out of the freeze I was suspended in.

Sicily laughs and spreads her arms wide, red power runs down her arms, zapping above the skin, waiting to pounce on something. I can see more dark beings arriving behind the group already here, quickly their army builds.

Emery, you need to use my powers and get out of here. Now.
Kade tells me.

No. No way am I leaving without you.
I reply, knowing that no matter what he says I’m not going anywhere.

Dammit, Emery. We can’t win this. There are too many of them. Tess is out. Tristan doesn’t have much left. You, me and Elijah cannot overcome them all.

Yes, we can.
I tell him with certainty.

Before we have an option to talk, decide or make a plan, Elijah screams and runs toward the group. I take in the kiss between Sicily and Marvin and rush after my brother. Kade is a few steps in front of me in the two seconds it takes to reach Elijah.

Suddenly the war erupts.

There’s screaming and shouting, fists thrown, bodies flying, and powers used. I take down at least six when they rush at me, and hit a wall of my Revive power. It prickles across me and they break into shards before disappearing forever.

As I continue fighting, throwing power out of my fingers and battling hand to hand, I notice that we’re winning. I glance over my right shoulder and quickly scan the field, there are a lot more people now. I catch Kade’s eyes and he must see my confusion.

Verum Novum. They came to help us
. He tells me and my eyes zone in on a woman fighting close to his side. I let out an involuntary growl.

Only you, princess. It’s always been you.
Kade soothes sending a quick smile my way before turning back to the fight.

For one delightful moment I know we’re going to win, we’re going to survive and it’s bliss.

Then my world is rocked.

I didn’t see it coming.

“Elijah,” I scream suddenly, surprising even me. Dropping to my knees as I feel his pain and anguish, but mainly his hate. I’ve never felt that from him it’s almost—
dark.

I look up to Kade. The fighters are backing away, receding. We’ve won. Yet somehow I know we haven’t. My eyes find Elijah. His arm is around Sicily. His eyes are low and an evil grin dances on his face.

“I guess it’s time to be with my other sister now,” he tells me laughing.

Elijah.
I plead for him to hear me.
Elijah.

Em… I…
His voice fades away and he says no more.

Elijah!
I scream as I feel Kade lift me into his arms.

We turn and so do they, all retreating to fight another day. I feel my body slump in Kade’s arms and I allow my head to fall back. As I do my eyes catch Elijah’s, he’s the last to turn, and for a split second I see something beautiful in his eyes, something loving, something regretful. Then Sicily grabs his hand and pulls him away.

Elijah.

I get no reply.

“Emery, it’s been three days,” I hear Kade say, but I ignore him, my focus is on Sid as I punch him once, then kick twice.

Punch. Kick, kick. Punch. Kick, kick.
Sid is the man shaped punch bag that lives in the gym, which is actually the basement of the new house we’re holed up in. For the last three days the body opponent bag—who I lovingly call Sid—has been my only friend. I know Kade’s worried, but I need to breathe.

A month ago I was alone, I could only rely on myself, then I got given a family and slowly they’re being taken away—one by one. It’s cruel and heartbreaking, and if I stop for even a second, I’m afraid I’ll break. I keep going because I have to focus, and right now Sid is what I need. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I came back down to the gym. The last straw for Kade it seems was finding me asleep on the mats this morning. Now he won’t leave me alone.

“I’m fine, Kade,” I grind out between punches.

“Emery, stop! I know you’re not fine.”

I spin around and advance on him. “You know
nothing
,” I shout, slamming my closed fists against Kade’s chest. He doesn’t move, not even an inch. “All my life I’ve had nobody.
No one,”
I continue on my rampage, yelling in Kade’s face, but he still doesn’t move, taking what I throw his way, all my anger, all my fear… all my pain. “Then I find out that this whole time I had a brother. And that he
loved
me.” I waiver, sadness coupled with worry is unfurling in my stomach, and I’m not sure I can hold it in anymore. “He watched over me. He
wanted
to be my big brother.” The fight seeps out of me, replaced entirely by grief, as I hang my head. “I had no one,” I whisper, as my voice hitches, the emotion finally bubbles up my throat and I try desperately to swallow it back down.

Suddenly, I’m in Kade’s arms, and I’m not sure if I fell forward or if he pulled me into his protective embrace. I close my eyes and smell him, taking in the soft fabric detergent. The tears that were forming now freely travel down my cheeks, dripping off my chin and onto Kade. I feel like I’m never going to stop crying, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Kade just stands with me the whole time, holding me, supporting me, loving me. It’s when I open my eyes fully and see my skin has a blue glow that I try to jump back, away from Kade, but he holds me still.

“Shhh… princess, it seems your powers mean me no harm.” He breathes the words across my cheek, and I let my eyes flutter closed once again, lying my face against his chest. For that one moment, I allow him to be my strength.

I stand still for long minutes until Kade lifts me up in his arms. “I’m taking you to bed, you need to rest.” He looks down at me with such love in his eyes that it feels like my heart is smiling when it misses a beat.

I breathe in and slowly blow the breath back out. “He’s my brother, and now he’s gone. What am I supposed to do with that?” I ask him, my voice gravelly.

“Know that he’s not gone. Know that when all is said and done, we will do everything we can to get him back. And
know
Emery, that he loves you. Dark or light, Elijah has never loved anyone as much as he loves you. I don’t care that Elodie is your twin, she is not, and never will be you. Elijah will be disappointed with what he finds and he’ll come back to you. For now, though, we have to let him go. He needs to do what he feels he must, and we have other things to attend too.” He carries me into the bedroom that we now share and lays me down. “For now my princess, sleep.” He strokes the hair away from my face and lays on the bed next to me.

“Don’t you have important leader-type things to be doing?” I ask him, my voice strained.

“Nothing’s more important to me than you, Emery. Nothing. Now, sleep.”

I turn toward him and lay in his outstretched arms, relishing the warmth of his chest and I finally allow myself to sleep, without thought.

Elijah!
I scream in my head as I bolt up from the bed. For a moment upon waking, everything was good, everything was as it should be, all was right with the world. Then I remembered.

“Shhh… it’s okay.” Kade sits up next to me and pulls my body into his.

I rub my eyes, holding my hands over them for a second longer than necessary, using them as a shield so I don’t have to face reality. Kade gently pries them away. He leans forward and kisses me.

“Ewww, don’t kiss me, I have morning breath,” I tell him.

He smiles and claims my lips again. “I don’t care.” Kade threads his fingers into my hair at the back of my neck. “I love your taste, no matter the time of day.” I sink into him and let his power alight mine. Kade pulls back and smiles. “It seems your powers can’t stay dormant around me anymore.” I glance down and see that my skin is once again lit up like a Christmas tree.

“How…” The words die in my throat as I look back to Kade, and his eyes are golden, they look like they’re on fire and I know it’s the make-out session we just had.

“I’m not sure, but I know it’s all you because you’re glowing blue,” he answers my unspoken question.

“Red is when you tap into the dark side. I’ve never seen you do that, but have been told you did when you revived me from death.”

His words elicit an involuntary shiver as I remember Kade’s lifeless body that day. Everything inside me clenches as I strain not to vomit.

Kade ignores my reaction. “White is the light side. Blue comes from you. They’re your own gifts, from your House, whether you were light or dark that would be your power and that means you don’t need to draw power from either side. Then you have green, which is the Convergence. I have also seen gold used by you. That’s when you use my powers.”

My eyes widen, and I tuck that little piece of information away. I need to make sure if the power that comes out of me is ever gold, I switch it off immediately.

“So… my power… it doesn’t hurt you because I love you?” I murmur.

He nods and his eyes let me in, all his love flows through me, filling the gaps, the crevices of pain.

He grips my chin in his fingers and pulls my face to his. “I love you, as my Pith, my muse, my friend, my love… my forever. And I promise I
will
do everything in my power to make everything right in your life.” I’m able to stare into his golden, determined eyes for a second before his lips crash into mine again.

You chase all the bad thoughts away, and no matter what the future holds, as long as I have you, I know I’ll be living my life exactly how I always dreamed. You’re the answer to all my questions, Kade.
I open my feelings to him as our mouths dance and caress.

Kade lays me down without moving his lips from mine and his hand slips onto untouched places of my body. As his hands massage me, heat infuses my pores and I can feel a buzzing in my core, right under my belly button. It’s like having a thousand grains of sand swishing around causing tiny scrapes and cuts but in the most beautiful way. It’s telling me I’m alive, and that right now I don’t want to be anywhere else, but here with Kade. The only way to douse the sharp grains of sand is if he takes me, finally. Allowing him to break my seal would mean that I’m truly his, it’s what I’ve wanted since he became mine.

I’m ready, Kade. Please, I need you. Love me.

All at once Kade pulls back so he’s sitting up.

“W-what?” My brain is struggling to catch up with the speed at which he pulled away from me.

“I’m sorry, Emery, I shouldn’t have let it get that far.” His words are pushing through his teeth and his chest rises and falls with such speed, I worry he’s about to hyperventilate.

“Kade, w-what’s wrong with me?” I sit up to face him, finally asking the question that’s been playing on my mind every time he pulls away.

His head jerks up and he locks into place for a moment. I blink a couple of times trying to clear my thoughts and my eyes before he relaxes. His shoulders hunch forward slightly and his black hair which has grown a little over the last month drops into his eye. I push it back and he captures my hand, holding my palm to his cheek. “I want you,” he whispers. “God… I want you so bad it’s painful. But I can’t. I won’t risk you, not with the way things are right now. I can’t.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Kade.” The tremble in my voice is unmistakable, and his eyes soften on me.

“If we take it to that next step, Emery, I will then be able to claim all your powers, like you can use mine. I would be able to take them at will. That’s how it works for you, the female Head of the House.” His eyes bore into mine, pleading with me to understand.

“But, I’d be happy for you to use my powers, then I know you’d be even safer.”

“No.” He pulls away, shaking his head.

“Kade?” I whimper.

“If I were in a fight, I might take your power without realizing it. Then you would be helpless. Could you imagine if I fought and won, only to find out that you hadn’t survived because you had no protection… that I took your powers from you?” He grabs my head, a hand on each side and once again lowers me down onto the bed, but this time he hovers above, staring at me like I’m
his
answer. “No, if I lost you I’d give up. I’d let them take me, kill me, turn me… do whatever they want.”

“Kade, don’t say that.” My reply is weak as I try to rein in the pain currently stomping on all the sand grains that were in my stomach.

“It’s true, princess. There’s no world for me if you aren’t alive in it. I need you by my side, and if that means we need to wait a while to physically love each other, then that’s no hardship for me, as long as I get to kiss your beautiful full lips,” he says, his voice barely there before he kisses me again.

I keep my eyes open this time and so does he for a few seconds, allowing his gold to pin me before I watch them close. His long lashes stroking the top of his cheekbone. Then I follow suit and close mine, and I know, this right here would always be enough for me. If this was how I was going to live the rest of my life, whether it be minutes or centuries, not a second of being in Kade’s arms would ever be a waste.