Genesis (28 page)

The thing I couldn’t figure out was why
I felt connected to her, like I was looking at the tintype of an
ancestor.

Luke stepped out of the closet and came
closer. “What is that?”

I glanced at him over my shoulder and
made a face. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same
thing.”

I turned the picture around for him to
see and before I could comment, he snatched it out of my hands, his
eyes flying wide. “Where did you get this?”

I glanced down at the floor and back at
him in reply.

Luke’s skin had lost its glow and his
haunted eyes tore over the image before it just
disintegrated.

“
Wait!” I yelled.

Luke merely shrugged.

Anger crept up my neck. “Why did you do
that?”

His innocent tone irritated me. “I
didn’t.”

Really? What a convenient answer. “But,
it…what just happened?”

“
It must be the air.” Luke
gave me a casual smile. “Something that old cannot survive in a
normal environment.”

“
How old is—” I grunted.
“Was it?”

“
Old.”

Yeah that was an answer. “Who was that
girl?”

“
I’m not sure.”

I stiffened my spine. “You’re lying to
me. I can tell.”

He frowned. “Why would I lie about a
picture?”

“
You tell me.”

He tried for complete innocence again.
“Tell you what?”

I let out a huge breath. “You know
what, Luke; on second thought I’d like to be alone.” When his frown
deepened, I plodded forward. “I just need some sleep before the
show tonight.”

He didn’t argue which completely threw
me off. Instead, he hugged me then let himself out.

My heart still pounded, but fear had
replaced the heat of desire. Gibbit had been telling the truth:
Luke was being controlled and he didn’t even know it. The thought
sent a shiver through me. Should I talk to him about it? Maybe I
should tell Zach? But what if Zach had been compromised, as
well?

“
Gibbit?” I whispered into
the room, hoping he would come to me.

No answer came.

“
Creed?”

Silence.

I thought about calling Jett, but he
would make a scene. This was probably my only opportunity to figure
out what Ainessa was up to. Even though I was taking a risk, I
thought it was worth it. Pretending to let the lords decide which
of them I would bond with seemed a bad idea on a whole new level. I
had never intended for it to go that far. I just thought it would
buy me some time while allowing me to see the true nature of each
lord. I’d learned one thing at least.

I couldn’t bond with Luke without
taking too big of a risk. As if on a spin cycle my mind came back
to Zach. Was he tainted too? My head ached and my stomach rebelled
from all the food I had eaten.

I wanted to talk to Cassie so bad my
teeth ached. Wretched fae didn’t even have phones. Maybe I could
drift to see her without anyone finding out?

Not likely, but it might come to that.
Who cared about danger? I was already in plenty. Heath would be
only too pleased to help me, but that help would certainly come at
a price I wasn’t sure I was willing to give.

I couldn’t trust my mom to look out for
my best interests, and I couldn’t really trust the lords to be
unbiased. A horrible thought hit me. What if Cassie had an agenda
now too? After all, she was bound to Finn.

Man this sucked. I was alone in this
whether I liked it or not.

I kicked off my shoes and padded into
the closet. Of all the clothes I had to choose from, the only
appealing option were my PJ’s. I grabbed my suitcase and slid the
zipper open then snuggled the fabric to my face. In a couple of
minutes I was in bed and on my way to a peaceful sleep. Or so I
thought.

My next coherent realization was me
wondering why I was floating in space. An unending blanket of stars
stretched across my new horizon while the warmth of the sun
caressed me. I turned my face toward it, reveling in the feel of
the blinding light.

Wait a minute. Since when was the sun
oblong? I shuddered, or have hands? A man stood in front of me. One
glimpse of him brought acidic tears to my eyes that ran down my
cheeks in a searing hiss. This was worse than the first time I had
seen Faeresia. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my eyes
to open again. It didn’t really matter because his image flashed
into my mind.

If the pulsating light coming from him
wasn’t scary enough, his skin seemed to be the source.

Why was I having such a weird
dream?

The man laughed and the sound pierced
my body. I twisted away from it. If I thought the lords were bad,
this guy had taken perfection to an unimaginable height.

“
Rayla,” the being said with
the voice of thunder. “I bring news.”

I whimpered once but refused to let out
another sound. At least he hadn’t said he carried my death on his
back. With my hand shielding my eyes, I faced him again.

If I peeked through my fingers, it
wasn’t too bad. No words existed for the exquisiteness of this
creature. His beauty was magnificent and at the same time
horrifying. The weirdest thing was I didn’t think it was his looks
I was reacting to. Something about his soul made it impossible for
me to stare at him for long.

I straightened my shoulders and
swallowed hard. “I’m ready to hear what you have to
say.”

He gave me a smile that sent a tremor
through me. “Such a brave one. It is why you were
chosen.”

“
Thanks for that,” I said,
sounding a bit more snarky than I should have given who my current
companion was, not to mention that he could probably fry me where I
stood. I willed my voice to come out strong. “I would have been
happy with a job at the Smithsonian, but I guess this is
okay.”

He laughed again. The sound vibrated me
backwards, but I floated nearer to him without moving my
feet.

“
Some are chosen for a
higher calling.”

I nodded. “So the big guy sent
you?”

His simple reply startled me.
“No.”

“
Then who?”

“
I’m guessing by now you
have heard of Faine?”

The picture of that green eyed girl
that had disintegrated just a while before came to my mind. So
that’s who that was. Chicken, was all I could think, sending a
messenger instead of coming herself. If I could have managed it, I
would have shoved my hands at my hips. “Tell me. What does the girl
who ruined my life have to say to me?”

The being held out a hand, and I was
pulled closer. The stars whizzed by like a whole universe lay
between us. My heart exploded as if trying to beat a hole out my
back. The second before I reached him, I threw my hands over my
face.

His voice came softer but still made my
insides tremble…kind of like Jett did when he spoke, only on a
scale a thousand times more intense. “I am not here to harm you,
but to strengthen you.”

That sounded nice yet suspicious.
“How?”

His hand extended again and he placed
it at eye level. When his fingers opened a tiny fragment of light
pulsated an inch over his palm. “Take it,” he said.

“
What is it?”

“
The only thing you need to
know is that it was hard won.”

What was that supposed to mean? I
gulped and reached for the spec. My hand shook the closer I came to
it. It was like fighting gravity, but I managed to snatch it from
him without touching his skin.

He laughed. I wished he’d stop doing
that, but that just made him laugh again. “This gift comes with a
message.”

Before I could ask, he raised his
fingers to my temple. His blazing touch seared my skin to ashes. I
screamed as my head exploded in unimaginable pain.

I shot out of bed and made it to the
door before I realized what I was doing. Only a second passed
before the door flew open and Heath had my shoulders between his
hands. He studied my face then let out a ragged sigh. “I thought
you were being murdered.”

I sneered. “It felt like I
was.”

He ran his hands over my arms but
stepped away from me moments before the other lords
arrived.

Taylor scanned the room then frowned at
me. “What is wrong?”

“
Nightmare,” I
admitted.

Luke yawned. “Must have been one hell
of a bad dream. I heard you from three floors away.” Here he was
acting like nothing had happened between us earlier. Did he even
remember what he had done?

Zach stepped toward me. “Luke has
assured us you will be safe in your room due to the security
measures on this ship, but are you certain you will be okay to
sleep alone tonight?”

A mischievous grin slid along my lips.
“You offering to join me?”

He gave me a serious expression. “You
inviting me?”

Um…that went too far already. I didn’t
know what to say, so I shook my head.

He chuckled. “Let me know if you change
your mind, lass. I’d love to keep you company tonight. If I’m not
mistaken you still owe me a date. Sunrise, remember?” When he
winked at me, my stomach fluttered in that delicious way only he
could cause.

“
If anyone will be sleeping
with Rayla, it will be me.”

Four lords glowered at Luke.

“
What?” he said.
“This
is
my
house.”

Heath scoffed and punched Jett in the
arm. “Seems you missed out on some major benefits while Rayla was
in your realm.”

“
Indeed,” said
Jett.

I grumbled curses under my breath.
Yeah. Way too far. “No one is sleeping with me, okay.” I got a few
shrugs, but more pouts. “I’m sorry for disturbing you guys. I’ll
try not to do it again. Now, will you please leave so I can get
ready for the show?”

Heath stepped closer, making my blood
pump faster. He moved in close enough for me to be the only one to
know what he said. “If you let me guard you tonight, I guarantee to
give you the show of your life.” Dark brows waggled over smoky eyes
when I blushed.

I herded him toward the door while he
smirked at me over his shoulder. I pushed his face away from me and
said, “Get out.” Clenching my teeth, I shook my head and motioned
toward the rest of them. “All of you.”

One by one they walked into the
hallway. Zach lingered at the threshold and turned back to me. “Are
you sure you’re okay, Rayla?”

Leave it to him to see through my
bluster. I swallowed and nodded, doing my best to put a convincing
smile on my face. “I’m fine. I’ll see you in a little
while.”

His stare bored through my eyes. “You
know you can tell me anything, right?”

I smiled at Zach. “Right,” I said,
giving him what I hoped was a believable grin. I wanted to tell him
about Luke, but what if I was wrong? What if I had merely placed
blame on him because I didn’t want to see my own part in what had
happened?

He gave me a nod then headed for his
room. I shut the door softly and leaned against the cool surface.
No dream had ever felt so real. My left temple still burned from
the Angel’s touch. At least, I thought he was an angel. Man, my
mind had to be working overtime to come up with something like
him.

That was just it. I didn’t think I was
capable of creating that level of perfection. It hurt my head to
even think about him, so I made my way to the shower hoping the
water would wash the experience down the drain. It didn’t take long
for me to get ready though because as nice as my shower was, I
couldn’t stop the unwanted questions about Luke from swamping my
thoughts.

When I walked into the great hall the
noisy room fell to a mere buzz of whispers. I scanned the crowd
looking for the lords. Somehow being without them was like being
naked. I pulled at my neckline again, hating this dress for the
fiftieth time. Amazing since I had only been wearing it for a few
minutes. No matter what I did, my cleavage heaped out of the
thing.

Luke was going to get more than an
earful when I saw him. Maybe this was what he was used to seeing
women in, but I didn’t like being so exposed. Sure, I fit in with
the locals, but this was once in my life when I wished I didn’t. I
just shook my head and started for the corner.

Luke intercepted me before any of the
other lords could make it to me. Man, he looked good. He wore a
grey suit that had clearly been made for him, hugging him with each
stride that carried him nearer. His hair had grown out a bit more
and skimmed his shoulders, but I didn’t comment because I didn’t
want to make a big deal of it. He was nearly back to his glorious
self. Unsurprisingly, his face lit up with his smile.

“
Rayla, you are
exquisite.”

I brushed my hands against my powder
blue satin skirt. How could I be mad at him when he had been
through so much on my behalf? “Thank you,” I said, actually meaning
it. “You look good too.” His immediate frown told me my reply
hadn’t been what he was hoping for, so I improvised. “I mean, wow,
Luke, you look amazing.”