Exaltation (17 page)

She heard a slow clap as one of the songs was ending and glanced over her shoulder, expecting Soren to skate up to her at any second but it was Rydell.

Her heart stopped. She had been less than innocent during her last dance, and now she was only wearing a sports bra and short shorts. Once again she’d managed to look like someone she wasn’t around him.

“You want some skates?” Raven quipped.

A boyish smile came to him as he looked away.

Rydell was still trying to figure out what to do with this girl, if he had a fever or mercy for her. She was innocent…killing her would not be easy. If it wasn’t for his people, if it was just him, the decision would be simple—let her do what she needed. Revelin was an evil bastard who needed to die—she was pure joy, bliss, salvation. What the world needed.

“Not scared are you?” Raven teased.

“Actually I am. I like a strong footing,” he said with a disarming smile.

Raven didn’t get him. One second he looked lethal and the next like a shy fun loving boy.

“It’s all about balance.” Raven rolled right up to the wall he was leaning over.

“What are you doing here?” Raven asked.

“Dagen and Kade are practicing out back. Took a chance on you being in here, though I didn’t see the Jeep.”

“Girls are studying.” Not quite a lie. “I’m waiting on Soren.”

His eyes narrowed. “Rumor has it that he’s into Ash. That true? Or do I have competition?”

“Are you competing?” she asked with an arched brow.

“Maybe. You’re the one that kissed me.”

“Yeah, but rumor has it you’re on the hot list, or untouchable one—I don’t track those. But I would guess if this were a thing I would have far more competition than you.”

“I’m on a list?” Rydell asked with a bemused look on his face.

Raven shrugged as she skated away. She rolled to the other end to get the large half cut T-shirt she had taken off before.

She had no idea how he did it but when she stood up he was right behind her.

“Can we say ninja?” Raven quipped.

“I thought you were running again.”

Raven glanced over her shoulder to the darkest side of the rink. Only a curved, carpeted wall was back there.

It was the wall Raven pushed couples off every weekend because it was a perfect place to hide from the crowd.

“I never ran from you.”

“No, you rolled away if I recall correctly.”

“Like this?” Raven said as she began to circle him. Those eyes of his followed her. He caught her on her second turn.

When she felt his warm hand on her bare back she was the one that sighed.
Push, pull.

“Just like that,” he said so quietly that Raven wasn’t sure he actually spoke the words.

“How do you keep doing this to me?” she asked as she let out a shuddering breath.
He smelled so good.

“What am I doing to you?” he asked, as his other hand reached for her waist.

His thumb gently traced her flesh, still marveling over the barrier he felt…it was nearly as intriguing as the provocative addiction he had for her.

“Manage to make me act and look like someone I’m not,” Raven said as she found the will to push back. She halted her wheels before she got too far away from him.
Breathe girl.

“Then who are you, Raven BellaRose?” Rydell asked, seriously wanting to hear her answer.

Well that was a loaded question,
Raven thought to herself. “You really want to know?”

His entire body tensed. “I want to know how real you are,” he said as his stare turned perilous in an instant.

“I’m not who you think I am.”

“And who do I think you are?” he asked in a dangerous tone.

Raven stared at the defensive anger she saw in his eyes. She didn’t understand it but it didn’t scare her either. Her father’s coven may have been peaceful for the most part, but some members had an ‘old soul’ look in their eyes…a look Rydell had, like they had seen too much to trust anything or anyone.

“Somewhere between easy and a tease. Trouble maker.”

“Easy?” He grinned at that.

“Tease isn’t much better,” her gaze glided over his taut body. “I regret that kiss.”

“Really?” Rydell said with a lifted brow, not understanding this girl at all.

“Well, yeah. I was too hyper to understand what I was doing. I thought it would be the same as when Soren and I act out dances.”

“You and Soren?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “It’s called Art. It may be just a few kids skating on Friday night to most but to me it’s art. I don’t care what emotion you’re fighting, when you dance they all fade and you find bliss. I live in mine and allow others to find theirs.” She skated a circle around him. “And all you heard out of that speech was that in one—just one—of those dances I kissed Soren.”

“I heard the part about bliss and I don’t believe it. You dance for exaltation. It’s your vice. Is it not?”

“Now, now. That statement alone is an oxymoron. A vice is something you have to have every day. It’s an addiction. Something you let control you. Exaltation is something that’s only felt in fleeting moments. Not really worth the bother if you ask me.”

“Not worth it? Now you have to explain that train of thought to me,” Rydell said, realizing why her energy felt the same but different from what he fed on, why it seemed more pure, lasting.

Raven shrugged. “I don’t really know much about that emotion in the first place. Cool word though. But, if I understand it right it’s like bliss on steroids. It’s putting every ounce of your energy into one moment. Then once you reach it nothing else matters. It’s the high of all highs. And once it fades, the fifteen minutes of fame are but a memory and you plummet into a dark place. Never satisfied. Always yearning. Never appreciating what you accomplished because you are striving for that next empty rush.”

Rydell tilted his head. “For someone who doesn’t know very much about the emotion you seem to have strong opinions about it.”

They were more like lessons than opinions. Ones Miss Thelma Ray among other people had taught Raven. “Have you ever been told not to put all your eggs in one basket, to not count them before they hatch? To live in the moment, that life is not about the next superficial level you’re told to reach, but about embracing the souls that cross your path? Enjoy laughing so hard that it hurts or loving so deeply that no wrong could sway your heart? That breathing in deeply and having gratitude that you have the ability to do so? That you were granted the honor of living and experiencing life in the first place, is what we should all do daily? Have you not ever been told that bliss is within you and should not be sought after but explored in the simplest moments of life?”

Rydell was sure this girl was a born sovereign, that her outlook would change lives. Which made his dilemma all the more fucked up. Kill her to save the millions behind him or fall and save the universe.

“And who taught Raven these pivotal lessons?”

“Blessed childhood. Blessed soul. I’ve always felt that way. And I realize I’m in the minority. Either you think I am superficial and trying to hide it or you think I’m some tree hugging hippy that wants everyone to find their happy place.”

“You like to guess what I’m thinking don’t you?”

“Actually, I have no idea what you’re thinking. The fact that almost everything I say, you respond with a question is not making it very easy on me.”

He laughed.

“What?” Raven asked.

“You’re just not what I thought you’d be like,” he said, as he continued to stare at her as if she were from another world.

“For instance?” Raven winked. “Not fun when someone responds with a question, now is it?”

“For instance, I’m having a hard time believing that you’re a young soul.”

Odd thing for a boy to say
, Raven thought. The only kids her age that spoke like that were ones she
knew
were witches.

“Why is that?” Raven pursed her lips as she tried to hide a smile.

“You think deeply.”

“Does that scare you?” she asked as she circled him, just so she could smile behind his back.

“It’s refreshing. Even though I don’t agree with some of your points.”

“And those are?” Raven stopped in front of him and raised one brow.

“People
need
exaltation.”

“Because?”

He smirked. A downright disarming gesture. “It’s a drive forward. It’s a reward. It’s an emotion that aligns you with your life plan.”

“Have you ever felt the emotion?” Raven asked.

He raised his brow and a sinful smile emerged as he glanced away from her.

“Have you?” he asked.

“Obviously. I kissed you.”

His eyes met hers that instant.

“Meaning?” he breathed.
She knows who I am—I’ve been played.

“Meaning that yeah, skating is a vice to me. It’s a release. It’s what I do when I want to think. And yes sometimes it elevates me to a point where I brush against exaltation. But I leave it on the floor. I walk away feeling empowered. Invincible. Every sense is elevated. It allows me to cross lines that fear would have held me back from. It builds my confidence. Enough so that I can find the courage to put a senior boy in his place.”

Her stare held his. “Now if I was obsessed with this vice. With that emotion. I would have stayed inside. I would have wanted to be showered in praise and acceptance. I would have been plotting my next dance, my next way to wow the crowd and feel that emotion. But instead I breathed in the emotion. I let it take me higher and saw the rest of my life in a new light.” She winked at him. “I never said it was a bad emotion. I just said that too much of anything can be a bad thing.”

The wonder in his eyes, the way he was looking at her was the sexiest thing Raven had ever witnessed.

“How come you’ve never been serious with anyone?” Rydell asked, falling back to his original assumption—she had no idea who she was.

Britain had caused Rydell to look at this dilemma differently. He said two souls would rise as one. Rydell knew where one was. The other, now that was a mystery. Rydell sure as hell had not sensed his birth. The idea of keeping Raven away from whomever for a while, long enough to figure more of this out, might be the answer Rydell needed.

At the same time it could be his doom. There was something about this girl’s vim that was drawing him closer.

There were times in Rydell’s existence when he would meet someone and know instantly the soul would always be in his life—he’d feel an unbreakable bond. It happened when he met Dagen, others who’d followed him…it was happening now with Raven…which was more than a conundrum.

“You’ve been asking around about me,” Raven said, as she impishly glared at him. “I can count the times I’ve been asked out on one hand without using my thumbs. I’m pretty sure I set off a vibe that says I’m not a player.”

“I didn’t get that vibe.”

“I bet not,” she said with a blush.

He reached for her blonde streak. “You want to tell me what happened here?” Rydell was concerned about that. Benjamin had emerged a few days ago, but he didn’t come to Rydell or Dagen. In fact, he vanished the second he sensed them. Rydell had people looking for him now, but he was hiding well. Rydell wanted to know what went down with her and him. Why Benjamin would defy a direct order to stay away.

“Don’t remember.” Not completely a lie.

“Nothing about it? You said a boy hurt you.”

“I was in a car wreck. One I’m sure came because he lost control of his hands once again. I really don’t recall the details enough to tell you anything.”

Raven could see anger wave across his eyes, a protective, claiming anger. “I suppose someone needs to teach the boy a lesson. Considering his crime, turning you against dating boys in general, I hope it’s a harsh one.”

Half the reason Raven let things go so easily was because of Miss Thelma Ray. She wouldn’t let the girls focus on grudges. She told them to protect themselves then move on and laugh.
Being happy always gets your foes panties in a wad.

Rydell was quick to establish grudges, even with people he’d never met—that much Raven was sure of.

“You need a Thelma Ray in your life.”

“A who?” Rydell said with an arched brow.

“Neighbor, family friend. She has a way of putting me at ease. What makes you feel at ease, Rydell?”

He pursed his lips, lips that Raven would swear she could still taste. “I haven’t felt at ease for a long time…”

“Why is that?”

His ice blue stare grazed across her searching for an answer he was still blind to.

“Family issues.”

“Is that why you’re new to the school this year?”

He furrowed his brow. “How do you know I’m new if you are, too?”

“Lucky guess. Most kids have already hooked up with someone or have a past. I haven’t heard your name attached with anyone’s.”