Dangerous Lovers (10 page)

I kept getting the feeling that something was watching us, but I never spotted the source. These woods were completely foreign to me, and I couldn’t help but think they hid more than just forest creatures. Something told me this was a not great place to get lost.

By the time the trees finally thinned out, we all bled in various spots on our limbs from the fly bites. I would
not
be making that trip again without bug spray. We stopped to catch our breath, then the air in front of us shimmered, and something completely unexpected appeared in front of us.

We stood staring at a high stone wall that seemed to stretch on forever in both directions. That wasn’t the problem, however. The problem was that the wall was flanked by a large river.

We stood on the bank of the river, and I blew out a heavy breath. “Seriously, a moat? Is there a trapped princess and a dragon on the other side?” I checked the GPS. “Well, it says we’re right here. How are we going to get across the river?”

Jack and Nelly had no time to answer me, because seemingly out of nowhere, ten men suddenly surrounded us. They were big men too, and all of them were dressed in black. I was tempted to make a ninja joke, but thought better of it. Instead, I kicked into fighting mode, shoving Nelly behind me.

“What is your business here?” one of the men asked. He was a little shorter than the others but just as well built. His hair was shaved close to his head, and I noticed he had a long scar running from his left eyebrow down to his chin. He wasn’t ugly, but he certainly wasn’t handsome, and he scared the crap out of me. Not that I would admit it.

“We were attacked by the Accursed ones,” Nelly answered, her voice calm and authoritative. I was proud of her. “We lost our mother to them. We have nowhere else to go.”

Scar Face seemed to be considering this. “How exactly did you escape?” he asked. “Three teenagers are hardly any match for the Accursed.”

I snorted before I could stop myself, and he whipped his head toward me. He didn’t look happy. “You don’t agree, little girl? You think you could take down a Lamia?”

Little girl? Was this guy serious? He was lucky he had his buddies surrounding us. Otherwise, I might have punched him in the face. Then again, maybe
I
was the lucky one.

I could feel Nelly’s eyes on me, probably begging me not to do something stupid. I knew she was right. Though I knew I was good, we were seriously outnumbered. Also, these guys just screamed
dangerous
. I had a feeling they could kick some serious ass.

So I did what I always do when I get into bad situations. I laughed. I know it sounds stupid, but when I get nervous or uncomfortable, I laugh. Not always the most helpful impulse, let me tell you. “You think this is funny, little girl?” Scar Guy’s face was bright red now.

I laughed again. I couldn’t help it. I knew he was going to say that, and it just sounded funny hearing him actually say it. Watching his face turn beet-red didn’t help, either.

I stopped laughing when he lunged for me. I can’t say I was completely caught off-guard. I managed to step out of his reach as he grabbed for my arm. He did manage to snag the sleeve of my jacket, and I spun out of it, thankful I had left it unzipped.

I heard a collective gasp, but didn’t take the time to consider it as I tightened my grip on my sword, sending the blade shooting out. I waited for his second attack. Only, he didn’t attack again.

I stood waiting and was finally able to take in the scene around me. Every single one of the men stared at me like I’d just pulled an elephant from my rear end. Some even had their mouths hanging open, and I had to suppress the urge to laugh again. Looking at their faces, I realized that they weren’t staring at
me
, exactly; they were staring at my arm.

Glancing down, I saw that in removing my jacket, my right arm was completely exposed. I was wearing a black wife-beater and the silver in my tattoo shimmered brightly in the sun.

One of the men uttered, “Impossible,” and I rubbed my arm selfconsciously.

Turning back to Scar Face—he was one of the ones with his mouth hanging open—I gave a weak smile and said the first thing that came to mind. “Umm… We come in peace?”

Chapter Eighteen

My words seemed to snap Scar Face out of whatever trance the sight of my tattoo had put him in. He didn’t look angry so much anymore as he did skeptical and confused. He took his eyes off my arm long enough to ask, “Who are you?”

I gave the obvious answer. “I’m Alexa, and this is my sister, Nelly, and my friend, Jackson.”

I figured this wasn’t the answer he was looking for, and he confirmed this. “I’m not interested in your names,” he spat. “
Who
are you?”

I considered what to say, but everything that ran through my head seemed like a stupid answer. Luckily, Nelly spoke for me.

“I’m a Searcher,” she said. “Jackson is Wolf-born, and Alexa…” Everyone’s eyes swung back to me, and I cringed as she spoke her next words. “Alexa is a Sun Warrior.”

Everyone remained silent for what seemed like forever. Finally, Scar said, “That’s impossible, there are no more Warriors left.” He didn’t sound like he was certain.

“She’s the last,” Nelly replied.

He seemed to be considering this, though doubt still clouded his features like hot breath on cold glass. After a moment’s debate, he made his decision. “Take them back to the city,” he told his men. “We don’t have time to entertain the delusions of children.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but the deep voice of one of the men stopped me.

“Gavin,” he said.

Scar turned to his left, drawing my eyes along with him. The man who had spoken stepped forward, and I was amazed I hadn’t noticed him before. He was magnificent. I figured he must be about six feet tall, and even through his long-sleeved, black shirt I could tell he was all muscle. His hair was a dirty blond and he looked like he could use a haircut, because he pushed it out of his face as he spoke, revealing eyes as golden as daylight. He had a little more than a five-o-clock shadow on his face and spoke with a slight Scottish accent. I reached up and wiped the drool off my chin.

Much to my dismay, he didn’t even glance at me as he spoke. “Perhaps we should take them to the Council and let them decide what to do with them.” He gestured to where the sun had just sunk below the horizon. “We can’t leave them out here now that the sun has gone down. They’re just kids.”

Ouch. There went any romantic fantasies I might’ve had. I pushed aside those thoughts as we all waited for Gavin to make a decision.

After a moment, Gavin said, “Alright, take them to the guest houses and I’ll schedule them for an audience in the morning. Let’s get back over the river so we’re not sitting ducks.” He switched his gaze to me and his expression hardened. “And don’t try anything foolish. I’m not sure if you are what you say you are, but I can assure you that you will not like our methods for punishing traitors.”

I was two seconds away from giving a snippy remark when someone took my arm and gently pushed me forward. I looked up… and up to see Scottish-accent-guy was leading me toward where a bridge was being lowered over the river. The bridge seemed to be part of the huge wall and fit perfectly from bank to bank. That wasn’t what I was paying attention to, however.

His grip on my arm was light but firm, sending heat up my skin where we touched. It was strange; I felt like I wanted to hug him, to throw myself into his arms. I didn’t even know this guy but I felt drawn to him, and I figured it had something to do with his glorious appearance. Either that, or I really was losing my mind. At the same time, it pissed me off. I didn’t like being treated like a kid, especially by the person who had just called me one.

I jerked my arm, but he didn’t let go, instead he looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. “I know how to walk,” I said.

“I can see that,” he replied, his voice deep and rich. “I’m also sure you know how to
talk
, which is why I’m getting you away from Gavin before you say something stupid and he changes his mind.” He said this low enough so only I could hear him.

That pretty much shut me up, because as much as I didn’t like being led away like some kind of fugitive, I knew he was right. I looked back up at him to see that he was staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression on his gorgeous face.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling oddly grateful.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and raised his eyebrows in surprise, like he hadn’t thought me capable of being civil. After my stupid comments a few minutes ago, I couldn’t say I blamed him.

He was silent for a moment, then he gave a small nod and said, “You’re welcome.”

Just before we were led through the gates, he pulled me to a stop and looked me up and down. I felt heat flood my cheeks.

“If you take a picture, it’ll last longer,” I whispered.

He jerked his eyes away and held out my jacket. “You should put this back on,” he said, without looking at me.

I did as he said, then continued walking through the entrance, and if it weren’t for him urging me forward, I would have come to an abrupt stop at what I saw. There were houses and buildings everywhere; some looked like regular structures you could find in any suburb of America. Others looked like pieces of art. They were tall and short, colorful and well-kept. Every lawn had flowers and large trees and some of the houses were mosaic-like. All of the buildings had statues of people and large fountains in front of them, and paved roads with street names led off in every direction. Even the lampposts were elaborate; they were short and green and looked like something you’d find in an upper-class neighborhood of San Francisco. Medians split the streets and held cherry blossom trees and what seemed like thousands of multi-colored tulips. A light dusting of glitter wouldn’t have been at all out of place here. It felt oddly futuristic and ancient at the same time. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.

I gasped as I took it all in. I couldn’t help it. “Wow.” I glanced back up at my escort to see that he had a small smile on his face, but when he noticed me looking at him, it was quickly replaced by that inscrutable look of his.

A few people stopped and stared as we walked by, but I kept my face forward and pushed my chin up. It made me uncomfortable to be paraded around like a circus freak, but it’s not as if I had much choice. I was also grateful that I had put on my jacket. I didn’t need to be stared at any more than I already was.

We took a side street and followed it to an area with more of the same beautiful buildings. We came to one that I assumed was guest housing. It resembled an upscale apartment building. Sure enough, we climbed the stone steps to the building and entered a foyer.

To say it was opulent would be an understatement. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceilings, and more golden trim lined the walkway that led to two golden elevators. The floor was marble, covered with plush blood-red carpets. My escort released his hold on me and walked up to a young woman sitting behind a counter. When she saw him, a smile lit up her face, and I was surprised when I felt pang of jealousy. What was wrong with me? I didn’t even know this man.

He was courteous but very business-like, and I noticed her shooting looks at me and my companions as he signed us in. Then he walked back over to where I stood and led us over to the elevators. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t take hold of my arm again.

We rode the elevators to the sixth floor, and I glanced around and counted our escorts. There were three—one for each of us. I had a feeling they’d be guarding us until morning. Again, this pissed me off. It’s not like we could escape over the wall or anything. And I didn’t think my flippant behavior earlier was enough to be considered dangerous. Maybe I was wrong.

I was surprised when each of our escorts led us to separate rooms. Nelly shot me a look of alarm, and I turned to face Scottish-accent-guy.

I waved my hand toward Nelly. “We’re not staying together?”

He brought his deep, golden eyes down to mine, and I felt my heart do a little flip. Then, he shook his head. I blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, I know that you don’t owe me anything… In fact, I guess I kind of owe you, but”—I lowered my voice and glanced at Nelly—“will she be safe in there by herself? I mean, someone will be watching over her, right?”

He seemed a little shocked at my question, and for a moment I thought he wasn’t going to answer me. Then, he slowly nodded his head, as if coming to some sort of realization. “I assure you she’ll be fine. I’ve been instructed to keep watch over you all tonight, and I don’t take my duty lightly.” It was both a reassurance and a warning.

I looked him up and down as I considered his reply, and a slightly amused expression crossed his handsome face. I gave a slight nod, and he reached around me, slipping a key card into the room door and pushing it open. I stepped inside and caught the door before he closed it.

Before he could protest, I held up my hand. “I just… um… What’s your name?”

He hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to tell me. Then he said, “Kayden,” and shut the door.