Genesis (8 page)

“
Not so easy is
it?”

“
Why does this have to be so
complicated?”

“
It isn’t for ordinary
Elementals. If you were like the rest, you would have one lord
devoting himself to you, and depending on how much of himself he
was willing to give, you would be overcome by his feelings for you.
Compulsion is our main weapon. You have to understand that by now,
but once the bond is made, compulsion no longer works. If the bond
is complete, it magnifies feelings to the point of
domination.”

Good to know. “So what happened to make
your bond with Lily fragile?”

“
I was attracted to
her.”

I did a double take, sure I had
misheard him. “I don’t get it. Aren’t you usually attracted to
Elementals you bond with?”

“
Yes and no. Once a
connection is established, we don’t have to work all that hard to
keep our bondmate happy. She is pleased to merely be with
us…usually.”

“
How very convenient for
you.” Stupid Faine. Why did she do this? I was back to wanting to
punch her.

“
It is interesting you bring
that up,” Taylor said, interrupting my thoughts. “Most of the ways
we are able to control an Elemental originated from her desire to
protect her children.”

Well that just sucked. Anger crept
through my body. Here I had everything most women could ever ask
for. Although, if they knew what they would be getting, I no longer
thought they would wish such a thing on themselves. I had five men
devoted to me. Five extraordinary men who all wanted me. The
question still remained. Why?

Power wasn’t a good enough motivation
for me. None of them knew me. It wasn’t as if we had been lifelong
friends. What could I hope to gain from having a relationship with
any of them if I would always question why they really wanted me?
It was like marrying for money or position. Civilized people just
don’t do that sort of thing. Okay, maybe they did, but they
shouldn’t.

I felt Taylor’s fingers on my arm.
“Things have gotten out of hand where Elementals are concerned. You
are right to be angry, but you could change it all. Remember
that.”

The burden of his words hit my
shoulders. I was already weighed down enough.

He frowned. “I am sorry to bring you
more to worry about. I merely seek to help you see what your
options are, my lady.”

I raised a brow. “So now we’re back to
my lady?” I captured his gaze. “What happened to you using my
name?”

He took an awkward step back. “I have
not been myself the last few days.”

“
Safe distance,
right?”

He nodded.

How could I blame him? It wasn’t as if
he was a frontrunner for becoming my bondmate.

He cringed.

“
Stay out of my head if you
don’t really want to know how I feel.”

“
You don’t even know how you
feel, Rayla.”

Without even realizing what
I was doing, I slammed my fist against the wall. “I know, and I
hate it! I can’t tell what’s real anymore. I can’t tell if someone
is manipulating me or if I have a
true
connection to anyone. My heart
tells me I love three men right now, Taylor. How. Is. That.
Possible?”

He attempted to touch my shoulder, but
I backed away from him. Compassion settled in his eyes. “The human
heart is capable of feeling for more than one person at
once.”

“
That’s
comforting.”

He laughed, giving me almost a shy
look. I would have bought it more if his smirk hadn’t been there.
“If you bonded with me, you wouldn’t have to worry about
it.”

Great. We were back to that
again.

“
You are not even willing to
try. I might surprise you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Go ahead then,
surprise me.”

I was up against the wall
instantly.

“
Taylor, what are you
do—”

His lips covered mine. At first, I
struggled to pull away, but then I just wanted to be sure. I
waited, letting his lips claim mine completely.

Nothing. Not even a twitch of
emotion.

He staggered backward, looking at me
like he had just seen me for the first time and wasn’t sure what to
think. “That was…unexpected.”

I pushed past him. “Not to me. Why did
you have to do that, anyway? Now I feel all icky, like I just
kissed my cousin.” Insanely attractive cousin, but
still.

He laughed. “Well, damn. This has never
happened to me before.”

“
You know what they say
about first times.”

His brows went up.

I cuffed his shoulder. “I
didn’t mean
that
!”
Men. It’s always about sex.

He began laughing. It was such a rich
sound, so vibrant. I wished I could bottle it. He slid down the
wall, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

I followed him down the opposite wall.
“So what now?”

“
Friendship?” The word
sounded foreign on his tongue.

I smiled. Maybe we were really getting
somewhere. “I’m fine with that.”

He frowned. “I should step down. There
is something wrong with me.”

“
Yeah. It’s called a broken
heart, Taylor.”

His expression fell even further. “You
are probably right. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that I am not
fit to lead my kingdom.”

I stiffened. “In who’s opinion?” Before
he could respond, I pressed on. “I’ve never seen someone so devoted
to their people.” The closest had been Luke. I flinched, thinking
about him. Was he okay?

Taylor pulled his knees toward his
chest, clasping his hands casually in front of them. “You do really
care about him.”

Was that a statement or a question? I
gave him a look, not wanting to have to ask him out loud to
explain.

“
It was a statement. You are
thinking about him without aid of a compulsion. None of us are
strong enough to influence you from another realm.”

I sat up straighter. He had a point. “I
need your help, Taylor.”

“
I know you want me to tell
you who is manipulating you—who you can trust when it is only you
that can ultimately decide that.”

Seriously? I was a mess. Couldn’t he
see that? “Then help me understand how to decipher these feelings.
Help me make the best choice.” I touched his leg.
“Please?”

His eyes lingered on my hand. “I really
shouldn’t.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he cut me off. “But
I see wisdom in doing so.” He stood, holding a hand out to me.
“Come. I want to show you something.”

Now what? He led me outside once again.
The air no longer held the glow of what I now thought of as
morning. It was more like dusk. “What’s with the light?” I
asked.

“
We do our best to simulate
a normal environment, including sunrise and sunset.”

Hmm, that would be interesting to see.
I still couldn’t identify the light source, but I was almost
certain it had to do with the air itself.

We reached the top of a hill that
overlooked the city. Shimmering lights played on the horizon. Now
this was more of what I had expected. Sprawling buildings, massive
highways, full of life. Taylor lowered to the grass, pulling me
with him. “This is my favorite spot to watch a sunset.”

I raised my brows at him
surprised so much time had passed. The term
sunset
seemed rather odd considering
we had an entire ocean between us and the
actual
sky.

Taylor laughed. “Just watch then
judge.”

I shut up. Mentally was a bit harder,
yet I managed to focus on the trees off in the distance. Who knew
evergreens could grow here? They were decidedly shorter than the
trees in the mortal realm. He was going to have to explain all of
this to me someday…soon.

As subtle as a slanting mist, the air
grew brighter. Unlike a true sunset, this enveloped me, making me
part of the process, a cocoon of light wrapping around my body,
sending me into a frenzy of emotions. The ambers soothed, the
russets seduced, the violets lulled. I had never experienced
something so tangible yet indescribable in my life. The only thing
that had come close was when I had nearly bonded with
Heath.

Uh-oh, at the mere thought of him, my
heart raced. What was it with him anyway? He wasn’t anymore
handsome than the other lords. He didn’t exactly have the best
personality, either. But something within me responded to him on a
level I wasn’t comfortable with.

Taylor cleared his throat. “Do you want
to know what I think, my lady?”

I nodded, not able to use my vocal
cords at the moment.

His hand found mine. “He has been able
to accomplish what the rest of us only wish.”

I squeezed his fingers. “What’s
that?”

“
Somehow he managed to truly
compel you.”

I considered that for a moment before
answering him. On one hand, Heath had been blatant about
compulsion. At first he used it on me every minute he could, but
after our encounter with Ainessa, he stopped. He hadn’t compelled
me once since then. That I knew of anyway.

Taylor ignored my inner musings. “I
have heard of how you explained compulsion to the Elementals at the
Order compound. You were close in your assumptions. Where love is
concerned, compulsion takes you to the end possibility. It
eliminates the need for getting to know your companion by speeding
up the process. Essentially your body knows how you would feel if
you were able to learn everything about the other person. Usually,
the mind follows the body, but not in your case.”

“
Lucky me.”

“
Yes, well. There is more.
Once a lord establishes a connection with an Elemental, it is
nearly impossible to sever. This makes the bonding process
easier.”

My mind sped through so many thoughts
they were a blur. “Are you telling me I really do feel this way
about Heath?”

He took my shoulders between his hands,
eying me steadily. “You are experiencing what you are capable of
feeling for Heath.”

Oh. Capable. For so many months now I
thought I may actually be what Aunt Grace would label a
hussy.

Taylor laughed. “If I am certain of
anything, you are not capable of being that. You have been at a
disadvantage throughout this process. Normally, Elementals are only
subjected to compulsion by one man at a time.” He began pacing, his
arms casually tucked behind his back. “My brothers and I acted
inappropriately where you are concerned.”

Geez. I couldn’t believe it. He was
actually admitting it. “You’re telling me.”

His unyielding stare slithered around
me. “Unfortunately with so many of us attempting to woo you, the
result for each of us was watered down.” He gave me a shrug. “If I
had known what was to come, I may have tried harder, but I doubt it
would have made a difference.”

I looked away from him. “I think we’ve
already discovered it wouldn’t have helped.”

“
No.” The soft brush of his
fingers tickled my cheek. “It would have. I tried to be honorable
when my brothers sought other means of luring you. If I had only
been paying more attention, I would have seen the
signs.”

I gave him a look. Who was he trying to
fool? A soft pfft came out of my mouth before I set him straight.
“I think you were a little too focused on the fact that the love of
your eternity was nearby.”

“
I see you
understand.”

I glanced at him, not able to meet his
gaze. “So what do I do about this?”

“
Just because something is
possible doesn’t mean it will happen, Rayla. Now that you know what
your feelings truly mean, you are better equipped to deal with
them. Even though you have let them overwhelm you at times, you now
have a distinct advantage you didn’t before: you should be able to
discern intent with the bond in place.”

I had wanted to comment on something he
had said before, but he’d distracted me. “Did I hear you correctly?
Are you all incapable of compelling me now?”

He stared at me, not giving anything
away. “I am honestly not sure. This has never been done before. The
lesser bond is dangerous to say the least, and being connected to
five men at once will certainly have its disadvantages.”

“
Try it,” I
blurted.

Confusion claimed his eyes.
“What?”

I nodded, feeling more confident in
this. “Compel me.”

His eyes went huge. “My lady, I do not
think that is wise.”

I squared my shoulders. “Do it. I have
to know.”

He nodded, but only slightly. Somehow
it didn’t quite seem like a yes. “For it to be a true test, we need
to wait for a time you are not expecting it.”

I let out a frustrated breath. “I would
rather get it over with.”

He laughed at me, and I didn’t mind so
much until I heard what he had to say. “I’m sure you would, but if
I have a chance at compelling you, I want it to count.”