With a sympathetic smile, Hunter"s eyes raked me. "Nice dress."
I glanced down at the light purple dress I was wearing. Mr. Aleksandrov and Eli suggested I keep my guardian uniform at home. While we were in the presence of the council, I would have to act like a G.o.ddess. Funny, considering I don"t think I"ve ever acted like a G.o.ddess. "Thanks."
Hunter"s gaze drifted over my shoulder. "Who"s the elite guard?"
I rolled my eyes. "That is Faith."
"She"s cute," Hunter added, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Lyric slammed the back of the car shut and leaned in to me. "Told you."
I shoved him out of the way, my chest hiccupping with a giggle. "What is wrong with you two? She"s a total pain in my a.s.s."
"C"mon, Ruby, you don"t like her because she called you out on your unpredictable behavior." Lyric chuckled.
"That"s not tru-"
"And because she has her sights on Eli."
I frowned, my lips straightening into a line and Hunter"s eyes widened as a mischievous smile spread across his lips.
"Ruby Moore has compet.i.tion?" He laughed. "This trip should be interesting."
I rolled my eyes as a figure behind Hunter caught my attention. I glanced over his shoulder, spotting Eli as he approached. His eyes squared in on the back of Hunter"s head before flicking onto me. Oh boy...this was going to be awkward. Eli and Hunter hadn"t spoken to each other since G.o.d knows when, and I"m pretty sure the last words they exchanged were anything but pleasant.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Faith greeted Eli and I clenched my jaw as she strolled up beside me like we were old friends.
Lyric took his leave and climbed into the car to wait for Mr. Aleksandrov and the others. Hunter looked at me, highly amused by Faith"s greeting, and I narrowed my eyes at him as Eli slowed to a stop beside Hunter, giving me a tight smile.
"Good morning," he replied, glancing at the ground.
Faith looked around the circle, eyeing us all like we were some strange form of entertainment.
"Tense..." She chuckled and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again. "You must be Hunter," she said, stepping toward him. "I"ve heard so much about you..."
Faith"s brown eyes flicked between Hunter and I. "You know, you two could be brother and sister-the black hair and blue eyes...it"s kind of creepy actually, considering you two are...whatever you are."
Frowning, I glanced at Eli. His lips twitched at the corners as he fought a smile. Of course he"d find the obvious incest comment humorous.
"What do you want, Faith?" I sighed, shifting my weight onto my left leg.
She raised her hands, exposing her palms to me in some sarcastic gesture. "I"m just trying to get to know the crew."
"You"re not going to be around long, so don"t bother."
She smiled. "Neither are you if you keep breaking the rules."
I turned my body toward her and Hunter abruptly shuffled between us.
"I wouldn"t push her," he told her. "She has anger issues."
I shoved him, slightly. "I do not have anger issues."
Since when did I have anger issues? I"d come a long way since my first year at Sage and the unfortunate events of Mount Kuuce. I liked to think of myself as more...grown up. I was level headed now and I made appropriate decisions, or at least I did until Faith showed up. I hadn"t been in a girl fight since Raina-not my proudest moment, I"ll be the first to admit.
Faith"s eyes brightened. "A lover"s quarrel, how sweet." She beamed at Eli. "There"s a lot of built up s.e.xual tension over here. You might want to step up your game before Mr. Handsome steals your girl."
Eli"s jaw tensed imperceptibly and suddenly, keeping my composure became difficult. What a G.o.dd.a.m.n pot stirrer!
Eli cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. His black shirt clung tightly to him, accentuating the strong, muscled ridges of his bare forearms.
"You"ve mistaken my casual relationship with Ruby for romance. We are friends and colleagues. Nothing more, nothing less."
Even though it wasn"t true, it still hurt hearing those words fall from his lips. Hunter chuckled once under his breath as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his body. I bit my tongue against a scowl. Could this morning get any worse? I dropped my gaze to the ground, looking everywhere but at Eli"s face.
"You heard the angel. She"s not his."
I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and let Hunter hold me. I had to play along. Although a lot of people knew about Eli and I, no one had acknowledged it out loud. It was still against our laws and we weren"t above them. Faith"s amused smirk widened into a wolfish grin.
"My mistake," she said, stepping closer to Eli.
I gritted my teeth and dragged my eyes to his face. He wasn"t looking at me-only at Hunter. I didn"t know if anyone else could see the way his green eyes burned darkly behind his lids...but I could and it hurt me to make him feel that way.
"I was under the impression you two were...nevermind." Her face almost brightened. "This trip just got a lot more fun."
I watched her hand glide over his forearm before she turned on her heel and walked to his car. When she climbed into the pa.s.senger side and closed the door, Hunter removed his arm and stepped away from me.
"I"ll let you two talk...or whatever."He opened the door and climbed into Lyric"s SUV, leaving Eli and I alone.
Choosing not to comment on the strange things that just happened, I said, "Please tell me you have some vodka stashed in one of your pockets for me. Or something equally as potent."
Surprisingly, he smiled at me. All traces of the previous conversation gone. "No, sorry, I don"t."
I slumped against Lyric"s car. "Then this really is the suckiest day ever."
"It"ll all be over soon."
"But we don"t know if that means for better or worse..."
His alluring green eyes dulled and his smile faded. "I"m sure we"ll figure something out, regardless of the outcome."
I felt a twitch curve my lips. Knowing that Eli was in this for the long haul made everything seem more bearable.
"Promise?"
He stepped closer, giving me a rea.s.suring smile. "Do you even have to ask?"
I inched closer to him and my fingers itched to reach out and touch him. Just one little touch, that was all I wanted- "I put you two in separate cars for a reason," Mr. Aleksandrov snapped, startling both Eli and I. He stalked around the car, his grey robe flailing out behind him. "Go. Now. We"re running late."
He opened the pa.s.senger side door, climbed in, and slammed it behind him. Soon after, Mila and Xavier appeared out of nowhere.
"Jeez," I said to Mila. "What"s his problem?"
She shrugged, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears. She looked a little green in the face today, but I kept the observation to myself. "He"s a little on edge today. He"s not a big flyer."
Poor guy, I couldn"t blame him. "Me either."
"You"ll be okay," Eli said, reaching out and squeezing my arm briefly. "I"ll see you two when we get to the runway."
Xavier and Eli marched in their identical uniforms over to Eli"s car. They climbed in without a glance over their shoulders and the car soon hummed to life.
"This is going to be a long trip..." Mila sighed.
I nodded. "Yep."
She angled her body towards me. "At least we"re all going through it together."
I managed a smile. For once, I was about to go through something life changing with all of my friends. I wasn"t alone, not anymore.
We drove for an hour before I got sick of the same old sights whipping past my window. According to everyone, the runway is another hour from here. My stomach churned and I patted it soothingly. I decided to skip out on breakfast this morning. After my dream, I wasn"t up for food.
I adjusted my position, shuffling lower in my seat, and peered sideways at Hunter. His face was pale and he nervously pursed his lips together.
"You okay?" I asked him, letting my gaze drop down to his fingers that fidgeted with the silver b.u.t.ton of his checkered shirt.
"Yeah," he replied without looking at me.
"Nervous?"
He angled his head, smiling minutely. "Anxious, mostly. It"s been a while since I"ve done normal things."
"You"ll get the hang of it..."
He shrugged. "Eventually, but right now my main focus is not puking everywhere."
I cringed, shuffling closer to my door. Hunter smiled widely at me, clearly pleased by my sudden discomfort.
"Lyric, maybe we should stop and stretch our legs," I suggested, calling over the back of the driver"s seat.
I was not getting puked on today, especially not in this dress.
"All right, it looks like Eli is pulling into this service station, anyway."
"Ten minutes and then we"re back on the road," Mr. Aleksandrov added, crossing his arms.
When the car rolled to a stop, I couldn"t get out quick enough. Hunter followed, and when his feet were planted firmly on the ground, he closed his eyes, taking deep, slow breaths and his pale/green hue faded.
"Much better." He sighed, leaning back against the car.
"I"m going to get a bag of chips, you want anything?"
He shook his head, causing his now longish hair to tumble into his eyes. He swatted it away as I turned towards the entrance. Being a guardian angel was good. Aleksandrov paid me weekly, and although it wasn"t as much as the other guardians, it was nice to have.
As I stepped through the door, my sandal caught on the mat and I stumbled into the store. The annoying bell rattled louder than it should have, drawing a few pairs of unfamiliar eyes. Heat flared through my cheeks as I straightened myself. I gave them all an uncomfortable smile before abruptly turning down an aisle. I ran my fingers through my hair and inhaled deeply.
"Okay." I exhaled. "Food time."
I pulled my dark hair over one of my shoulders and leaned down to grab a packet of cheese and onion chips.
"Potato chips for breakfast?"
The deep, smooth tenor startled me and I jumped, knocking a few random things off the shelf above me. d.a.m.n it, this morning just wasn"t working in my favor. Eli and I bent down to pick up the objects at the same time-thankfully it wasn"t anything breakable, only a few packets of traveler"s tissues.
"I"m hungry. I didn"t eat before we left," I told him as he took a packet of tissues from my hand. I rose to my feet and Eli put the items back on the shelf. I turned on my heel, making my way over to the chocolate section.
"They sell sandwiches, you know."
I smiled. Look at him being all concerned about my health.
"I"m exhausted." I said, picking up a Snickers bar. "I need sugar."
Eli stepped past me and straight over to the large coffee machine. I strolled up beside him. I forgot he liked coffee...My mind reeled back to the days when he"d take me to the cute little bakery in Sage town. G.o.d, we"ve come such a long way since then.
I watched him prepare his coffee. He made it black, skipping the milk altogether.
"Wow, you must be as exhausted as I am." I laughed, nudging him.
His lips curled with a small smile.
"I"m stuck in a car with Faith." He grasped a packet of sugar and ripped off the top. The crystal-like specks scattered across the black liquid before dissolving. "I need all the coffee and sugar I can get."
"She"s that bad, huh?"
"No." He sucked a speckle of sugar off his thumb.
I tried hard not to stare at his lips and the way they wrapped around his thumb, but my eyes darted of their own accord.
"She"s worse," he added, drawing my attention back to his eyes.
I couldn"t help the smile on my lips as he attached the lid to his cup and brought it to his mouth for a sip.
"I"d much rather have you in the car with me, h.e.l.l, I"d even switch her out with Hunter at this point."
I laughed once. "Be careful what you wish for. Hunter is so close to puking everywhere it"s not even funny."
"Is he sick?" Eli asked as we rounded the corner to the counter.