Hyacinth (5 page)

“Very
interesting so far. I decided to major in history.”

“You always did
enjoy a good story,” Oren recalled fondly. “When you were a little girl, you
would beg me to tell you the story of
Sleeping Beauty
over and over
again.”

Selene chuckled
at the memory. “How is everything there?” she asked after a moment’s
hesitation.

Oren paused, an
earnest look on his time-wizened face. “There is unrest and confusion among the
Vyusher. I know you feel leaving was the right thing to do—”

“I
know
it was the right thing, Oren,” she insisted.
I may be more a danger to them
than a help
.

Oren had looked as
if he’d wanted to say more but had merely nodded, accepting that Selene knew what
was best. “There are rumors that you left because you are ashamed of the
Vyusher. And there is infighting among the Council about who should lead in
your place.”

Selene looked
down and tucked a strand of pale hair behind her ear. “You know my views on
that. As long as Xavier isn’t selected, the Vyusher should be fine.”

“How about Dez?”

Selene pursed
her lips. “Desmond’s smart. He knows how to handle political situations. He’s
highly ranked, so the Vyusher would accept him.”

“Yes, but is he
committed enough?”

Selene shrugged.
“I know it seems as if he takes nothing seriously.”

“That’s an
understatement,” Oren muttered.

“But I think
that’s not who he is. I think he would make an excellent king, actually.”

“And his father?”

“Gives weight to
his claim. But Desmond won’t give in to anyone, if that’s what you’re thinking.
He can stand on his own two feet,” Selene said, her chin tipping up.

“I know you two
have become… well… friendly. Especially over the last year or so. But are you
sure?” Oren asked, his skepticism clear.

Selene nodded.
“Positive. But if you’re unconvinced, ask Monica what she thinks.” Monica was a
Vyusher with the ability to determine if someone possessed a good innate
character or not, similar to the powers of the Jenner females, especially Adelaide’s.

Oren shook his
head. “No, My Lady, I am confident in your assessment. I still intend to try to
hold off an official replacement for you until after you’ve completed college. Four
years is a relatively short period of time. But if I can’t, I will back Desmond
with your permission.”

Selene’s eyes
warmed. “You have it. Thank you, my friend.”

The conversation
had ended shortly after, as Oren’s form wavered and then disappeared. But
Selene couldn’t get the exchange out of her mind. Although she’d endorsed
Desmond to Oren, a part of her didn’t want to give up her right to rule. She
absolutely despised politics, but she didn’t want to abandon her people,
either. She knew she needed to do something…. She just wasn’t sure what
exactly.

Selene pushed
aside the memory of her visit with Oren and tried to focus on her history book.
Only a few paragraphs into her reading, her cell phone rang.

Speak of the
devil,
she thought as she noticed the caller ID. “Hello, Desmond,” she greeted.

“So, you have my
phone number programmed in already,” he teased.

Selene chuckled.
“I believe all of the higher-ranked Vyusher are programmed in this phone,” she
said. “Oren gave it to me.”

“And here I
thought I was special.” He pretended to be hurt, and she could just picture his
hand over his heart. Selene rolled her eyes.

“Can I help you
with something, Desmond?”

“Dez,” he
automatically corrected. “So have you decided to come home yet?”

“I only just
started classes a few weeks ago,” she reminded him.

“Hmmm. Have you
spoken with Oren lately?”

Selene wasn’t
fooled by his attempted nonchalance. “Quite recently. Why?”

“So you know
about the bids to replace you?”

Selene sat up
straighter, her eyes narrowed. “He mentioned it.”

“And you still
refuse to come home?” For the first time, genuine concern and something like
disapproval sounded in Desmond’s voice.

“I have many
reasons for being where I am, Desmond.”

“I understand
that, Selene, but—”

“No, you
don’t
,”
she cut him off. “And I don’t intend to explain myself to you.”

“Of course not…Princess.”

Selene regretted
her harsh tone, but it’d been necessary. “I told Oren that if it came down to
it, he should endorse you as king.”

Shocked silence.

“Excuse me. You
told him
what
?” Dez finally barked.

“You heard me.” Selene
placed her hand over her mouth and stifled a giggle.

“Now why the
hell would you go and do a ridiculous thing like that?”

“You dare to
call your Princess ridiculous?” She couldn’t quite keep the amusement out of
her voice.

“Don’t change
the subject, Your Highness,” he snapped.

Selene sighed
and dropped her hand from her mouth. “I told him to endorse you because I
believe you’d make a wonderful leader for the Vyusher.”

Dez changed
tack. “What on
earth
gave you that crazy idea?” he answered with a lazy
drawl. But Selene could tell he was shaken.

“Just an
impression.” She quickly glanced at her watch, “Desmond, I really can’t talk. I
need to finish this reading assignment before my next class.”

“All right
college student. You go get’em,” he said. “But understand that I’m not
accepting anything while you’re gone.”

“Let’s just see
what happens, okay?”

Desmond grunted.

“Goodbye,
Desmond.”

“Bye, Princess.
I’ll check in again soon.”

Selene hung up,
shaking her head at his parting line. She put her phone away and once again tried
to concentrate on her reading. She’d completed about a chapter when a male
voice drew her attention.

“Excuse me.”

Selene sighed at
yet another interruption and raised her gaze to a see a boyishly handsome face
peering back at her.

“Can I help
you?” she asked politely.

He glanced over
his shoulder and then back at her. Selene leaned over to see what he was
looking at and discovered a group of his friends watching them closely. She
looked back at him.

“I’m John. I’ve
noticed you here studying the last few days.” He paused briefly to think of his
next line. “You’re really hot, you know that?”

“Thanks,” she
said, resisting the urge to answer with something more sarcastic.

“Would you like
to go out Friday night?” John asked.

Selene maintained
her polite facade. “That’s really nice of you to ask me. But I already have a
boyfriend.”

“Ah, come on…”
John took a step closer. “My bros are watching. You don’t really have a
boyfriend. Give me a chance?”

Selene hid an
impatient sigh. “No, really. I do have a boyfriend.”

“I’m calling
bullshit,” he said.

Selene shifted
in her seat uncomfortably. No one in the Vyusher had
ever
spoken to her quite
like that. Not even Gideon. She was trying to decide how to respond when voice from
behind her drawled, “Wow, what a gentleman.”

The tiny hairs
on the back of her neck stood up. Selene recognized that deep voice, dripping
in sarcasm.

“Who are you,
man?” John puffed out his chest, posturing arrogantly.

“I’m not your
man, dude.” Griffin was now standing directly behind her. Selene just barely
stopped herself from jumping when his hands landed softly on her shoulders and
gently squeezed. “I’m hers.”

Selene’s stomach
clenched and her heart pounded triple-time at hearing that claim of connection
coming from Griffin’s lips. Even if it was a lie.

John glared at
Griffin for a moment, contemplating his next move. Finally, he glanced back at
Selene. She simply shrugged, both communicating an
I told you so
to the
boy in front of her and also effectively removing Griffin’s hands. They disturbed
her equilibrium too much.

With one last
glare at both of them, John stalked off to his friends. Selene held her breath,
her eyes firmly focused on the book in her lap, but she couldn’t see the words
on the pages. All of her senses were tuned to the man who was making his way
around to the front of the bench.

Griffin silently
cursed himself as all kinds of foolish as he moved to sit beside Selene. He paused,
mentally debating his next move. Selene didn’t lift her eyes from the book in
her lap. He caught her slight flinch as he’d raised his arm to drape it
casually along the back of the bench behind her.

It’d been just a
tiny movement. Miniscule really. And he would’ve put it down to their strained
relationship if he also hadn’t managed to catch a stray thought that escaped her
mental blocks, allowing him to briefly read her mind.

Someone had hit
her,
screamed through his head. Selene had been struck frequently enough to
unconsciously recoil from physical contact as well as lose a small amount of
her incredible control. Griffin was unprepared for the instant rage that
pounded through him at the thought of anyone hurting her. As angry as he was
with her, the thought of harming Selene had never crossed his mind.

“You sure seem
to attract jerks,” Griffin muttered. What he’d wanted to do was put his arm
over her shoulders and ask if she was all right. But that was just a bad idea
for so many reasons.

Selene shrugged.
“Guess so,” she replied, grimly. “Why are you talking to me, anyway? You didn’t
want to let me into your dreams, so clearly you decided you’re too angry to
talk. So what do you want?”

Griffin ran a
frustrated hand through his hair. He hadn’t meant to come over. He’d been
watching her as she studied. And for the last two days, he’d been watching John
and his friends ogle her. She’d been oblivious to the attention. In fact, she appeared
to be oblivious to everyone around her.

“It looked as if
you needed some help with that guy,” he mumbled.

Selene raised a
perfectly arched eyebrow. “Well, thanks, but I was just about to handle him. No
damsel in distress here.”

Griffin glanced
away and felt his cheeks redden. He knew she could take care of herself. She
was a stunning woman… obviously men would be interested. But he didn’t realize
how much it would bother him until he saw it in play out in front of his eyes.
Then, like a moron, he had rushed over and tried acting all protective.

“Sorry,” Griffin
muttered, staring at his shoelaces.

Selene studied
him for a moment and allowed a small smile. “That’s quite a new skill you’ve
developed,” she said, changing the subject. “You’ve managed to make your shield
hide you entirely, huh? Invisibility is certainly a handy power to have. I’m
jealous.”

How had he
managed to forget, even for a second, exactly who and what she was? He tried
reading her mind, but got nowhere.

“Stop trying to
read my mind,” she suddenly interrupted his mental dialogue.

“Wait. Are
you
reading
my
mind?” Griffin’s voice was serious. He leaned closer, his
eyes narrowed. “Are you using my power against me, Selene? Because if you are…”

She held up a
hand, stopping him mid-sentence. “I can’t read minds or use your powers,” she
said, shaking her head. “It didn’t take those skills to figure out exactly what
you were thinking, though. You were staring at me as if you could burn a hole
right into my brain.”

Griffin was
furious. Mostly with himself for being so easy to read. He abruptly stood up.

“Just stay away
from me and my family.”

“
I’ll stay
away from them if they stay away from me
.” Selene lowered her blocks for a
moment, allowing him to hear the thought as he stalked away.

Griffin ignored her
and kept walking.

*****

Selene had mixed
feelings as she watched Griffin leave. She’d intentionally baited him, knowing
that it would drive him away. As much as she’d wanted to reach out to him, she
knew that Griffin would
never
accept her…. That much was obvious. And
she just couldn’t handle that rejection again. Not now. What she needed was
unconditional love and support. Something he was clearly incapable of giving
her
—
not
after what she’d done to him. So she’d deliberately
taunted him, pushed him farther away. But as he left, an achy loneliness had set
in, and she’d wanted to bring him right back. But it was hopeless. She knew
that in her head. Now she just needed to convince her heart.