Flame (Fireborn) (26 page)

Next Rhys's face drifts
into my mind. His glowing eyes are soft, and I remember his arms
pressed around my body. I recall his warmth, and the hot tingle of
his breath over mine. Instead of anger, I'm feeling bittersweet.

Every emotion crashes
together simultaneously, spinning, and boiling out of control. I cry,
wailing and sobbing in a way I've never done before.

Kenna.

The sigh is so sweet,
and it feels sad, too, and damn it every part of me is cheerless. I
scream at the top of my lungs. I do it over and over, and over again,
until my throat's as raw as my heart. I close my eyes, and pray for
numbness because it might be the only thing keeping me alive.

My outburst over, I
take a few shaky breaths and open my eyes. My dad's face flickers
into my mind again.

Don't let go.

I won't let go. I
can't leave him.
I wipe my tears, and trace small circles on the
floor to calm my breathing. Then I close my eyes and force things I
don't want to think about into my head. Who to trust?

With that thought Rhys
flickers into my mind again and I start bristling inside.
He
is the reason for this.
He
carried me to my doom.
He
trapped me in this hellhole! But even as I curse him my heart knows
it's a lie.
I'm
the one who followed him.
I'm
the one
who begged him to look at me every chance he could. I wanted to be
noticed, and he made me feel things I've never felt before. I shake
my head mournfully.
I'm
the villain of my own nightmare.

Hey now, cheer up.
Look at it this way: you're rocking a fabulous dress everyday.

I shoot up, motionless.
Silence.

Seconds tick by.
"H-hello?"

Kenna.

My name is a caress. I
scream when I feel it, physically jumping back. My heart is pounding
so hard I hear it in my throat.

"Who's there?"

Not
there.
In
here.

A flash of heat warms
my head.

Oh my god, oh my
god, oh my god.
I'm hyperventilating again, my whole body shaking
uncontrollably as I try to take in precious air. His voice is in my
head again. Is it real? It can't be.

Kenna.
Rhys
voice sounds amused.
Breathe, like this.

I can almost feel him
breathing with me, taking slow gulps of air, and exhaling them
softly.

I'm shaking my head
even as my whole body trembles with shock. How can this be possible?
His voice is as clear as my own, louder even. I can feel his presence
in my mind, and it's just as I remembered: pulsing, intense, and
completely glorious.

Glorious? No one has
ever said that about me before.
Instead of sounding arrogant, he
sounds modest and a little pleased.

I squeak with surprise
again. "Stop that!" My voice quivers a little. "Stop
doing whatever it is you're doing."

Stop
this?
And
this? He's sending me flashes of heat, and they send delicious
tingles down my body. Slowly my skin becomes less cold, and I can
actually wiggle my toes. I'm wondering how he's doing that, how he
can be in my head, controlling my body.

"
What
are
you?" It seems to be the theme question of my time here.

Saguinox,
he
answers as if I should know what that means.

"Do you- are you a
mind reader?"

He laughs, and the
sound is husky, tickling my senses.
No. I think those died out a
while ago.

"Then how can you
do this?"
Is this a dream?

I feel him shrug, but
he doesn't answer.

My mind is racing with
possibilities. "Is this… Hell? Have I died and gone to Hell?"
My voice is small, and a deep sorrow sprouts inside me.

I almost cry when he
doesn't reply immediately.

No,
he says,
before I can embarrass myself and start bawling.
It's real.
There's a catch to his voice, as if he's thinking about something
deep. I suddenly wish I could hear his thoughts too.

"Then everything
you told me was a lie," I whisper.

Kenna.
His voice
is a sigh but he says no more.

"You're not even
going to deny it?" I snap, thinking about how he saved me from
the fire only to throw me into a hotter one.

I wish there was
another way…

"Why are you so
hot and cold all the time?" I accuse, thinking back to his warm
smiles and cool indifference. Maybe that's how they lure their human
prey. Hurt, I fight back the sting of tears. "You saved me so
you can kill me?"

Somehow he feels my
pain. He knows how deep it goes. He does something in my mind, and
for a second it almost feels like he's holding my hand. I clasp my
fingers together, but they're cold. Another shift ripples in my head,
and there's something pleasant coming over my body, humming as it
gently spreads over me.

I buzz with pleasure. I
can feel his smile. My aches and pains from the last couple of days
are being massaged out, which isn't possible, but the sensations he's
creating in my head make everything feel pleasant.

"Why are you doing
this?" I stretch to feel more.

I like it when you
feel good,
he says. Another hot blush instantly fans through my
face, and I look away.

He laughs.
You're
adorable, Kenna.
Which only makes me feel
less
adorable,
and acutely embarrassed. I tell myself he's a cold- blooded human
kidnapper, but the warm tingles inside my body make it hard to
remember that.

Unexpectedly, I'm
bombarded with sights, and feelings, and sounds. At first it's coming
so fast I feel like I'm right in the middle of a twister. I see
colors, and they're so intense I want to shield my eyes.

Sorry,
he
apologizes.

The images come again,
but this time they're muted so I can see without hurting. He shows me
a door opening, then a flash of light. A thunderous roar is heard,
and it sounds like waves crashing. He blinks, and I realize what I
think are waves are actually a sea of human faces applauding. He's
sharing his first memory of landing in Hugo. The adoration from the
crowd is so potent he can still feel the vibrations from it weeks
later.

Abruptly, I draw back.
Why are you doing this to us when you feel something like that?
I ask bitterly.
They love you, Rhys. And you turn us into slaves.

It's complicated,
Kenna.

No,
you're
making it complicated!
I retort back.
Fix it. Help us get out
of here.

He sighs.
You'll
survive, Kenna.

Maybe.
I doubt
it.

You will,
he
insists.

"How?"
Will
you
save me?

Silence.

No.
His voice
sounds raspy.

Didn't think so.
"Then it's going to be pretty damn impossible, isn't it?"

Another silence.
Do
you want me to leave?

No.
"Yes."

Kenna.
Rhys's
voice is a whisper, and it's filled with a hint of longing.

Hot and cold,
I
think angrily.

When he leaves I cover
my face with my hands, knowing I'm truly alone in my prison, and in
my head.

I haven't been able to
sleep for days so I'm not surprised when, hours after being brought
back to my cell I'm still up staring into darkness. Sometimes I'm
afraid of the stillness, and when that happens I curl myself into a
ball and imagine the person I love most.

For the thousandth time
I think about my father, and how abandoned he must be feeling. Is he
looking for me? Has he stopped? Is he drinking more to fill the void?
I can guess the answer to the last question, and it only fills me
with more sadness.

I want to cry, but I
don't let myself break down entirely because I'm afraid I won't be
able to put myself back together. I allow sniveling sobs to come
through, hating how weak I sound, but craving the release
desperately. I permit myself to think about the idea I might not make
it out of here alive. In the real world I have no one to count on,
but unlike the real world, aliens and supernatural creatures that
aren't supposed to exist surround me. For the first time I find
myself wishing I had stayed invisible and unnoticed. What had made me
stand out to Rhys? Why had he taken me?

I'm exhausted,
physically and mentally.
What if I stop?
What if I simply let
go and surrender? Give myself to whatever they want, even the
crystal, and let myself fade the way I already was before all this
started?

Surrender can be a
form of release,
a dark part of me whispers.
If I submit maybe
I can see my mom again…

The floodgates open,
and I see her as clearly as if she's across from me. When I close my
eyes, she's in my memories, and her laughter trickles, linking one
image to the next. I see her face, pinched in worry, waiting
anxiously after my first day of school. I smell her skin when she
hugs me good night, and I can almost feel her hair brushing against
my forehead. I remember holding her hands as we walk through grass,
the sun creating drops of light that seem to center around the woman
who saved me from death eighteen years ago.

Next Rhys's face drifts
into my mind. His glowing eyes are soft, and I remember his arms
pressed around my body. I recall his warmth, and the hot tingle of
his breath over mine. Instead of anger, I'm feeling bittersweet.

Every emotion crashes
together simultaneously, spinning, and boiling out of control. I cry,
wailing and sobbing in a way I've never done before.

Kenna.

The sigh is so sweet,
and it feels sad, too, and damn it every part of me is cheerless. I
scream at the top of my lungs. I do it over and over, and over again,
until my throat's as raw as my heart. I close my eyes, and pray for
numbness because it might be the only thing keeping me alive.

My outburst over, I
take a few shaky breaths and open my eyes. My dad's face flickers
into my mind again.

Don't let go.

I won't let go. I
can't leave him.
I wipe my tears, and trace small circles on the
floor to calm my breathing. Then I close my eyes and force things I
don't want to think about into my head. Who to trust?

With that thought Rhys
flickers into my mind again and I start bristling inside.
He
is the reason for this.
He
carried me to my doom.
He
trapped me in this hellhole! But even as I curse him my heart knows
it's a lie.
I'm
the one who followed him.
I'm
the one
who begged him to look at me every chance he could. I wanted to be
noticed, and he made me feel things I've never felt before. I shake
my head mournfully.
I'm
the villain of my own nightmare.

Hey now, cheer up.
Look at it this way: you're rocking a fabulous dress everyday.

I shoot up, motionless.
Silence.

Seconds tick by.
"H-hello?"

Kenna.

My name is a caress. I
scream when I feel it, physically jumping back. My heart is pounding
so hard I hear it in my throat.

"Who's there?"

Not
there.
In
here.

A flash of heat warms
my head.

Oh my god, oh my
god, oh my god.
I'm hyperventilating again, my whole body shaking
uncontrollably as I try to take in precious air. His voice is in my
head again. Is it real? It can't be.

Kenna.
Rhys
voice sounds amused.
Breathe, like this.

I can almost feel him
breathing with me, taking slow gulps of air, and exhaling them
softly.

I'm shaking my head
even as my whole body trembles with shock. How can this be possible?
His voice is as clear as my own, louder even. I can feel his presence
in my mind, and it's just as I remembered: pulsing, intense, and
completely glorious.

Glorious? No one has
ever said that about me before.
Instead of sounding arrogant, he
sounds modest and a little pleased.

I squeak with surprise
again. "Stop that!" My voice quivers a little. "Stop
doing whatever it is you're doing."

Stop
this?
And
this? He's sending me flashes of heat, and they send delicious
tingles down my body. Slowly my skin becomes less cold, and I can
actually wiggle my toes. I'm wondering how he's doing that, how he
can be in my head, controlling my body.

"
What
are
you?" It seems to be the theme question of my time here.

Saguinox,
he
answers as if I should know what that means.

"Do you- are you a
mind reader?"

He laughs, and the
sound is husky, tickling my senses.
No. I think those died out a
while ago.

"Then how can you
do this?"
Is this a dream?

I feel him shrug, but
he doesn't answer.

My mind is racing with
possibilities. "Is this… Hell? Have I died and gone to Hell?"
My voice is small, and a deep sorrow sprouts inside me.

I almost cry when he
doesn't reply immediately.

No,
he says,
before I can embarrass myself and start bawling.
It's real.
There's a catch to his voice, as if he's thinking about something
deep. I suddenly wish I could hear his thoughts too.

"Then everything
you told me was a lie," I whisper.

Kenna.
His voice
is a sigh but he says no more.

"You're not even
going to deny it?" I snap, thinking about how he saved me from
the fire only to throw me into a hotter one.

I wish there was
another way…

"Why are you so
hot and cold all the time?" I accuse, thinking back to his warm
smiles and cool indifference. Maybe that's how they lure their human
prey. Hurt, I fight back the sting of tears. "You saved me so
you can kill me?"