Genesis (2 page)

My shoulders relaxed a bit without me
having to think much about it. The only bonding I had seen or
experienced involved kissing. There’s that physical contact I
mentioned before. I found myself feeling almost disgusted at the
thought of having to seal my lips with each one of these guys while
the others watched. I now held a hope I wouldn’t have to sink that
low after all. I looked into Tabitha’s nearly white eyes even
though I knew she really couldn’t see me. “Mind giving me a better
idea what to expect then?” I hadn’t meant for frustration to set my
question on edge, but it was unmistakably there.

When Tabitha stepped closer, she placed
a gentle hand on my arm. Her earthy scent lingered around me. It
was lavender or lilac mixed with the deep scent of moistened
leaves. “I need to test your connection to each lord,
first.”

I yanked out of her grasp,
backing away instinctively. The first time she
tested
my connection with Jett nearly
knocked me out. It just got worse from there. Having no desire to
do such a thing again, I gave her a firm shake of the head. “Uh-uh,
I don’t think so.”

She sent me a shrug but inched nearer.
“I have to make sure you will not gravitate too strongly to one of
them.”

I clenched my jaw while still managing
to retreat a step. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her cheeks pinked up, but I doubted it
was from embarrassment. More likely, she was getting frustrated
with me. It was in the set of her hands. Her fingers were balled
into fists. Her breath whooshed out before she spoke. “The purpose
of using a lesser connection,” she said “is for you to have a
chance to choose who you will ultimately bond with.” As if I didn’t
already know that—she and Valen, the head of the fae council, had
made sure I understood this was not a permanent solution. She
smirked and it looked all wrong on her. “If you start the process
now without testing for anomalies, you could be bound to whomever
the elements choose for you.”

Oh.

Unpleasant as it sounded to be zapped
by that horrible electricity, it would be worse, if, after all my
fighting to keep my freedom, it was taken from me anyway. I
stretched my arm toward her knowing full well once she clamped her
fingers around my wrist, they would stay there until she was done
with me—no matter how loudly I complained.

Her cool skin might as well have been a
reflection of her unreadable expression. Without another word
spoken, she lifted her chin toward the sky. Her eyes moved rapidly
under the cover of shaded lids. My fingers curled, itching for a
brush and some paint. This was the first time in a long time I’d
thought about painting. I had been a bit distracted, but seeing her
like this brought back inclinations that lay near the surface. She
was a fascinating creature. I wouldn’t dare name her a mere woman.
She was so much more than that. It was as if I could see the span
of all time in her unnerving gaze.

After what was definitely an agonizing
few minutes, she opened her eyes and faced Heath. He stepped
forward without having to be asked then took her other hand. I
tensed, expecting the worst pain of my life to wrack my body, yet
nothing happened at all—not even a twinge.

When I opened my mouth to speak,
Tabitha beat me to it. “Your connection is strong but not complete.
This is still possible.”

That was it? Why wasn’t I writhing in
agony right now? Every other time she had tested my connection with
a lord had been excruciating. Heath nodded at her then stepped back
in line with the others. He hadn’t bothered to glance at me even
though I had stared at him hoping he would. I found myself
lingering on his angular features. No matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t tell what he was feeling.

Was he as dejected as I was about this
whole thing? Did he wonder, like I did, what would have happened if
he had bonded with me in the jungle before we went to find the
others? I had to stop myself from going further. I was projecting
my feelings onto him, and I should know better.

He was probably relieved that Luke
interrupted us. Now he wouldn’t be stuck with me. Hadn’t Zach said
that Heath had never given himself fully to a bonding? One thing
was certain: he could hurt me if I wasn’t careful. I didn’t want to
be as into him as I felt, but despite my efforts to convince myself
otherwise, he could make my pulse explode with just a glance. I
took another glimpse, telling myself it would be my last until this
was over.

He was studying me.

My stomach fell to my toes. I flicked
my eyes to Jett instead. His face was twisted into a deep
scowl.

Good. He deserved to be
upset. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t yelling his head off, letting
everyone know how I had been
promised
to him. I thought for sure
the next time he had me within Lombarda he would insist I fulfill
my mother’s contract.

I smiled smartly, preparing to move
onto someone else, but the change in his expression stopped me. His
scowl softened to a look of pure determination. He gave me a final
once over before he turned to Tabitha.

Uh-oh.

“
Your imminence, do you
think it wise to have Heath within the circle? You have said
yourself Rayla has a strong connection to him.” He lifted his
brows. “What if the ritual binds them further?”

Everyone except Heath frowned. Taylor
stepped forward, “For once, I agree with Jafan. What would be the
point in us participating if she will become his
anyway?”

To my surprise, Zach and Luke remained
quiet. What was up with those two? I tried to catch Zach’s
attention, but he was staring quite blatantly at his scuffed shoes.
Funny that he was the only lord here who hadn’t changed clothing,
which immediately made me wonder why.

“
I don’t mind staying out of
the circle,” said Heath.

What? I whipped my head toward him.
Really? He looked serious enough. Suppressed frustration burned my
eyes. He flinched when he glanced at me. “I thought we needed all
of you for this to work.” Leave it to him to try and ditch me now.
This just proved it. He didn’t really care about me. The fun was
officially over and so were we, it seemed.

“
Haven’t you been
listening?” asked Taylor.

I turned toward him, slowly, trying to
bite back my not so nice retort while racking my brain for an
acceptable one. Man, I would have preferred a stranger to him. He
was just so arrogant. It dripped off him like rain from a gutter. I
shoved my hands to my hips for emphasis. “Yeah, but you guys might
as well be speaking Swahili right now. In case that didn’t
translate—” I made sure to enunciate each word. “I. Don’t. Get.
It.”

He cocked his pretty face at me. “You
already have a connection with Heath. For this to work as it
should, the connection you have to all of us has to be balanced.
Anything less would put you in danger, and I, for one, am not
willing to take that risk for fear of hurting you.”

Tabitha raised a dainty hand, waiving
him off. “That will be enough, Taveon.” She turned her attention to
me. “It is very simple, Rayla. If you are too attached to one lord,
the others will not be able to protect you if the need
arises.”

Heath faced Tabitha. “I’ll just wait in
my chambers. Let me know if you need me.”

I watched him walk away—his back rigid,
his fists bunched up. That was the most emotion I had seen from him
since we got here.

Tabitha caught my attention.
“Ready?”

Didn’t really matter anymore. I nodded,
swallowing down my fear all the while hoping I wasn’t making the
worst mistake of my life.

Without another word, she proceeded to
test my connection with the remaining lords. By the time she was
done, I was sucking wind, straining to keep myself upright. One
thing kept cycling through my mind. Why was Heath the only lord
that didn’t cause me severe pain?

Once she was done turning my bones to
jelly, each of the lords surrounded me. Luke faced me, and I made
myself focus on the depth of his haunted blue eyes. Tabitha removed
herself from the circle, but I could still feel her hovering. My
body shook in anticipation that just kept gearing up. Protection, I
reminded myself. I was doing this for protection.

“
All mighty Creator,”
Tabitha said. The sound echoed, taking on a layered quality. “Hear
thy servant. We, the fallen, beseech thee to grant our petition
this day. We seek to protect your chosen, Rayla Tate. Bind this
circle in thy wisdom that she may fulfill thy divine
purposes.”

Silence fell over our ragged group. I
waited as long as I could stand it. Really I did. Before long,
though, I had to know what was going on. “What are we waiting for?”
I whispered to Luke.

“
Shhh!” he hissed, bowing
his head lower as if his show of respect could make up for my lack
of manners.

I let out a heavy sigh and forced
myself to close my eyes.

Just then the tiniest of sensations
caught my attention, as if a butterfly had disturbed the air by my
right ear. I looked around…nothing.

But—what was that? Pressure at my
nape…no at the base of my spine…no everywhere—pushing in on my
skin. The sensation wasn’t exactly painful, but it wasn’t like when
I was with Heath. With him, bonding was seamless, enjoyable,
amazing even. At that moment I noticed my arm was glowing. I
followed the stream of purple light to the source. Zach.

He smiled at me just as I gave him a
questioning glance. His face softened, showing me how much he cared
for me. My heart leapt at the realization. I felt humbled and
afraid realizing what he had already done to protect me. I had told
him frivolously that I would go to hell and back for him, yet he
was the one that had done it for me.

I turned away from him, not able to
take the connection any more. I decided it would be best if I just
let this happen without thinking too much about it. Allowing the
flow of energy to enter my body I closed my eyes again. The
pressure grew into tight anticipation that zinged through
me.

This was it. My body tingled with
change, morphing into something I wasn’t sure I would recognize
when this was all over. Electricity bubbled under my skin, amping
me up, reminding me of a moment I would rather forget: Back at the
Order compound, May, the local bully, shattering into tiny specs of
light at a mere touch from Ainessa. If the tension within me
expanded much more, I would meet a similar fate.

When I was sure I couldn’t
take this one more second, I heard them…indistinct thoughts
mingling with my own:
Will she really give
me a chance? I must find a way. I would die for this woman. Why
can’t she see that?
The one that confused
me the most shot through my mind so fast, I almost missed
it.
Will she ever be able to forgive
me?

Then they stopped. My mind was my own
again. I opened my eyes, swaying on my feet.

That was the most intense experience I
had ever had. I glanced around, wondering which lord belonged to
the thoughts I had captured.

Taylor stared boldly at me, but the
rest looked away as if they knew I had been in their heads for that
brief time.

Luke set a hand at my elbow to steady
me. Memories of meeting him for the first time flashed through my
head. He had been cocky beyond belief with his too sure smile and
blazing blue eyes, but more than that, he had been distant. What
had made him trust me enough to confide in me? Was it trust or
merely the knowledge that he had no other choice if he was to have
a chance with me?

Man, I wished I could trust my
feelings. But I couldn’t. When this was over, I was going to insist
on spending time individually with each lord, just to make sure I
was making the right choice for me.

Tabitha cleared her throat. Something
bad lay behind that sound.

Steeling my insides, I faced her.
“What?”

She gave me a placid grin. “You will
not be waiting to get to know these men better. You shall accompany
Taveon to Uldran momentarily.”

It took less than a second
for that to sink in. “What!” I marched up to her and placed my nose
an inch from hers. “That was not part of this bargain. My family
could be killed. I will
not
waste time while they are at risk!”

She didn’t budge. Her grin didn’t
waiver, either. “Rayla. We can’t send you to face the Order now. We
need to strategize, gather intel, train you.”

I stiffened. “But I thought you said
training wouldn’t work.”

“
I said no such thing,
child. You hear what you want to hear.”

Gritting my teeth, I shook my head.
“You tricked me.”

Her expression softened. “That was not
my intention. I only wish to protect you.” I opened my mouth, but
she rushed forward before I could get another word out, giving me a
reproachful tone. “Not so long ago, you asked for
training.”

“
Yes, but…my
family—”

“
Are fine.”

I gasped, hope blossoming in my chest.
“You know where they are?”