Veiled Innocence (Book One, The Soul Cycle) (17 page)

“Gabriel,” she moaned.

At first
his kisses were tender, almost hesitan
t, but the longer they embraced
the more intense his mouth became as it explored hers. His hand wound itself into her hair while the other lifted her blouse to caress the bare skin of her back. A soft sigh escaped her lips, which he responded to with a low, almost feral sound in his throat before tilting her head back and kissing her hard once more. Slowly, he planted kisses along her chin, then her jaw, and then down her neck until his lips came to the hollow of her throat. She felt hot all over, like she might explode, and she realized that her body was firmly pressed all the way against his.
An exact fit, l
ike
we’re made for each other. We f
it together so perfectly…
just like Ursa and Gabriel had.

She
gasped and broke the kiss, wriggling free of his hands as she did. It surprised her how out of breath she was, like surfacing for the first time after holding one’s breath underwater, and it took a few minutes for her breathing to return to normal. All the while she stared at him, transfixed by his flushed cheeks and the fact he was breathing as heavily as she was. The look they exchanged was long and hard, as if they could read the secrets of the heart and mind with nothing but their eyes. 

Slowly, his fingers unwound themselves from her hair while his other hand gently tugged her blouse back into place. He stared at her, breathless. Then he blinked, suddenly looking
like a child waiting
to be scolded. “F
orgive me,” he half-whispered. “That was highly inappropriate.”

Maybe so, but I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long.

The words were on her tongue, but when her lips parted to speak
,
she found she had no voice. She tried again; nothing.
Her vocal cords might as well have not existed.
Her brows furrowed
,
and her breath paused. She shook her head as
the ache deep within her gut grew and
a wave of
nausea hit her
, followed by an aftertaste of something darker, a feeling of such rage and hatred that she thought she would be consumed by it
.

These f
eelings… they aren’t mine. Whose
are they?

She blinked slowly, trying to cle
ar her head of the imposing fog
and
the alien feelings that weren’t hers.
It’s the illness. I must be relapsing.
Her heart spiked with fear.
Is it contagious? No one has been wearing masks, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility.
Gabriel
must leave before –

“Lianora?” Gabriel took a step toward her, searching her face, but she ducked her head, hoping he couldn’t s
ee the panic in her eyes
.

“I can’t do this. N
ot now
,” she whispered.
“You have to leave.” The room reeled around her.
Gods
, she was going to be sick.

She took a step back, but he held onto her.
Without meaning to, she found his gaze.

Gabriel swallowed hard, never removing his eyes from hers. “I thought – that is, I thought you…”

For a minute, he was the wonderful, gentle man she had fallen in love with. His expression fluttered to hope as he searched
her eyes, and without thinking
she reached up and cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

He closed his eyes and leaned against her hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. He chuckled above her, and his laughter rumbled through her hand, down her arm, and into her chest. It should have comf
orted her, and on any other day
,
it probably would have. But all she could think about as his laughter danced through her was his suggestive smile and careless banter as he flirted with the servi
ng girl at her father’s dinner.
The serving girl’s face morphed into Ursa’s, right before she leaned forward and kissed Gabriel. The images swirled, faster and faster. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth; her head felt like it was going to explode. Gabriel said her
name, but he sounded fa
rther away.
The sleeping thing inside her stirred, lacing her memories with dark wisps and pulling feelings of anger
and resentment to the surface while
lighting a fire beneath all the
emotions she had fought so hard to keep buried all these years.

The se
nsation of falling consumed her, though her body remained perfectly still; it was all inside her head, as if she was living a waking nightmare.
D
arkness closed in on her vision.
S
he stretched out one white hand toward that window of light
,
but it was too far away.
Her limbs felt loose
r
as she tumbled into that dark abyss.
She
frown
ed and tried to clench her teeth together, but it was as if she was no longer in full control of her own body, like she was losing sensation in her limbs and something – or someone – else was stepping into her soul’s place.

What’s happening?

Terror filled her head. Her soul fought, kicking and screaming and biting, but it was powerless against whatever force was holding her down. Black bars sharp as knives formed around her, caging her in the prison of her mind. For some reason, she could still see through her body’s eyes. Gabriel was gazing at her with growing concern.

She felt it inside her core, this dark thing that had claimed her body. It was wicked with glee.

“Gabriel, run!”
her soul screamed, but he made no indication that he had heard her. Straining, she reached out through the bars, slicing her arms up on the sharp metal, and dug her fingers into the inky darkness around her, feeling for her lost limbs. With great effort, she searched the network of her body until she found her mouth.

“Gabriel,
go now
.” It was not a statem
ent as
much as it was a demand; the words were forced through her lips, as she no longer had control over her mouth.
S
he
– or whatever dark presence had replaced her –
narrowed her eyes.

Her soul had just enough time to blink before two massive hands forced her back inside the cage. She cried out as her back slammed against the
bars
,
and she slumped forward. Vines of black thread oozed up out of the floor, wrapping around her wrists and holding her captive. She struggled, yanking and pulling, but to no avail. She was helpless.

“No, leave Gabriel alone, you beast!”

The dark chuckle was all around.
“It will be easier if you don’t resist.”

“Who are you?”
she demanded.

She heard the smile in his voice.
“Your greatest ally
or your most fatal of enemies. You choose.”

“Lian? Are you all right?” C
onfusion
swept
over
Gabriel’s
wear
y, handsome face.
Heavy, d
ark
tidal waves
of jealousy and rage
rolled
through her, emanating from
the fingertips of the hand that had held the feather.
The
feeling
slithered through her veins, claiming dominio
n over her tendons and muscles until there was nothing left of her but an empty shell filled by a sinister
spirit
.

Her soul screamed in rage until her throat burned. The sound echoed through the cavern of her mind, reminding her of
how alone she was.

The room was still visible through the window of her body’s eyes. Gabriel
opened his mouth to speak
,
but
she
held up a
hand, silencing
hi
m.
She felt the imposter’s intent
,
and her blood froze.

“Don’t.
You. Dare. Hurt. Him,”
she hissed.

Her body trembled as she fought to regain control, but the harder she fought
,
the stronger the darkness b
ecame. The binds around her wrists tightened, cutting so deeply into her flesh she thought it would slice straight through. More ropes rose up, looping around her waist, shou
lders, and throat, choking her.

The air that had been so hot only moments before turned icy, and at last
Gabriel’s
hands dropped
to his sides with a deep sigh.

Inside the darkness
of
he
r
mind
, she tried to move
,
but nothing happened. She was
completely immobile
, and no matter how hard she
tried to scream
Gabriel’s name
,
he could not hear her.

The imposter
stared at his boots,
still caked in mud from g
ods-knew-where, but still
Gabriel
did not move. His lips parted and his voice was monotone when he spoke. “I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you, but if you will, let me say –”

The imposter’s
gaze snapped up
,
and she felt
its eyes –
her eyes
–
narrow into a glare
. “
Gabriel, w
ho was it you were holding
in your arms about an hour ago?” The timbre of the voice was hers, an
d she knew her lips were moving
,
but it didn’t sound
like her. This voice was icier, with a sinister edge
.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure
. “What are you talking about?”

The imposter’s
fingers
squeezed
into fists
so tightly that her fingernails painfully dug into her s
weaty palms
.
Though
her soul
could feel it, she was powerless to stop it. Dread washed through her as her mouth opened once more
,
and words that weren’t hers poured off her tongue.
“
Secrets
and lies, deceit and deception.” Every
syllable
was
over-
enunciated
and cut of
f, giving it a staccato rhythm
, like the imposter hadn’t used a body to produce speech in a long while and was remembering how to talk
.
“I always thought love
was a useless emotion. It weakens us.” It spit out the last sentence in harshly enunciated words, hissing on the “s” of “us.”

“You’re wrong,”
Lian choked out.
“It makes us stronger.”

Reaching outward
with her mind
, s
he
forced the imposter to bit
e
her lip to prevent it from
speaking
further. The strain of maintaining that ounce of control weighed heavily on her. I
t was a small gesture that felt like it required the strength of ten men
because the
bars
around her soul was strong
and threatened
to crush her back down at any second.

The imposter
might as well have slapped Gabriel. His initial shock faded into anguish and regret as he watched her take another step away from him, and another.

“
Yes. Rip him apart
.
”

She searched the darkness of her mind for the source of the voice but saw nothing
.

There was no stopping it, no controlling the voice’s will
.
Her body
spoke with each step;
her words jarred from the broken, stiff movements of her
legs.
“I
must say, for an acclaimed knight
,
you are utterly useless, aren’t you? I don’t know what I saw in you to begin with.
I
do
know
, however,
that I can’t stand the sight of you
,
and I want you out of here. Ri
ght. Now.”

“
No!
”
her soul
rasped
.
“
No, stop it!
”

He took a staggering step toward the door
, staring at her as if she was a stranger
. “Lianora…”