"You care about him, don"t you?"
I spun my head to find Ria beside me.
"I recognize that look," she continued. "There was someone that I once looked at the same way."
Was she talking about one of the beasts? Because I wasn"t sure how I felt about that. She noticed my expression and grinned. "He was humanoid, like us, appearing during my vision quests. One day he just stopped."
Her voice was low, hurt lacing each word.
"You never found out who he was?" I grasped her hand briefly, squeezing it.
She shook out her chestnut hair. "No."
We stood silently, until Brace started to make his way back to me.
"I"ll see you inside, Abbs." Ria left me then. I watched her for an extra moment, before Brace reached my side and distracted me.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I thought he"d been lost like my sister and mother. I"ve missed him."
It was amazing the life he"d lived, and I wondered if Cerberus had formed such a bond with me because of our mutual ties to Brace. Or if it was as Josian said: we needed to find the animals because of the impending war.
"Tell me what else happened in pixie land," Brace said.
And then, before I could stop myself, I ended up sitting on the gra.s.s, Brace next to me. I filled him in on everything that had happened. He was just so easy to talk to, and I missed sharing my life with him. Losing a loved one is not just the loss of their physical being, it"s also losing all the little moments. And knowing there won"t be any new memories. No new fragments of joy that make life worth living. Because let"s face it, there"s not much to get you through each day if you"re alone.
While we spoke the flowers had spilled out half on my lap and half on the ground in front of me. I never took my hands off them and Brace never took his eyes off me.
"So Colton said you needed me to fight on Nephilius." He switched to a new topic after we"d exhausted pixie land. "Just like old times, finding the half-Walker females."
It was strange the way Brace remembered the worlds and our journey through each one, but only bits and pieces. The lalunas seemed to have taken certain memories, and then it was as if his mind just kind of glossed over these gaps and joined everything together.
"Is going to Nephilius going to be a problem with your new princeps" duties?" I sat up straighter, waiting for his answer. I couldn"t stop thinking about him going back to the Abernath world and Magenta.
He grinned, the flash of white pearly teeth tantalizing. "Things are running as smoothly as I could hope, for now anyway. I"m looking forward to the distraction."
"I just hope it"s not too hard to find the half-Walker." I brought my knees up higher so I could rest my elbows on them. Flowers scattered further. "And that you don"t get hurt, of course." I s.h.i.+fted my eyes to the side.
He grinned even wider. "I"m not worried."
At least his confidence hadn"t gone anywhere.
"So, since we can"t leave until tomorrow, I was wondering ..."
I faced him as he trailed off.
"Well, maybe, you"d like to have dinner with me tonight?"
I coughed. "Like ... a date?"
He laughed. "Well, that"s very Earthling of you, but yes, that"s the general idea."
I opened my mouth to refuse. It wasn"t a good idea; he already owned my heart and soul. Spending too much time with him was going to end in trouble. But then I saw the worry in his eyes, the slight thought that maybe I didn"t want to go on a date with him, when there was nothing else in the world I wanted more. I couldn"t hurt Brace again. My heart was still raw from breaking the bond and I would never forget the anguish in his voice when he"d realized what I had done and that there was nothing he could do to fix it. I"d go on this date and I"d take the dual joy and agony of being near him. It was my duty to ensure that no more pain befell Brace.
"I"d love to go to dinner with you." I let the quiet words free. And the satisfied joy in his gaze was more than reward for my pain.
"I"ll be back at nightfall," he said, getting to his feet. He hesitated before leaning over and laying his lips briefly against my cheek.
I almost gasped, or screamed or cried. But thankfully I did none of those things. Instead I smiled and nodded. Brace left via a doorway.
I continued to sit there, staring down at my flowers, trying to sc.r.a.pe together the pieces of my heart.
Two huge heads dropped into my lap. Cerberus surrounded me in warmth and s...o...b..r. Like so many things in the Walker world, his scary and brutal outside hid the center of a softy.
With a sigh, I knew it was time to head inside. I needed to store my pixie book until I could find someone to translate it, and I needed to get ready.
"Come on," I said to Cerberus. "You can help me choose an outfit."
There was no way I was going on a date with the man of my dreams and not looking as hot as possible. No way.
Chapter 7.
The nerves were attacking me as I waited patiently in the white room. And by patiently I mean I"d chewed my nails off, stubbed my toe due to excessive stomping around the room, scared Cerberus off with my cursing, and had to run upstairs to change my outfit eight times.
Finally the sun started to sink in the indigo sky of First World. I took a deep breath, smoothing my palms down the front of my jeans. I"d decided against a dress, not knowing where we would be going that night.
Instead I wore tight fitted black jeans tucked into ankle-high black heels. I had on an emerald green top. It was low cut across my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, displaying my visible marks. My blood-red curls hung freely down my back, and the only jewelry I wore was my locket and the emerald earrings Lucy had given me for my eighteenth birthday.
I had no bag, because I had no need for one. There was no identification I needed besides my Walker marks, and they were always there.
I knew Brace would not be late, and sure enough I could see through the windows a doorway appear down near the sand.
"Are you sure about this, Aribella?" Josian appeared at the room entrance. He"d been as annoyingly nervous as me all afternoon. "I can make up an excuse."
I shook my head. "No, in a strange way I"m kind of looking forward to it. Brace and I never got to do the dating, get-to-know-each-other thing. I want this moment."
"You must be careful not to touch him under the light of the moonstale." Josian seemed excessively agitated. "Remember the lalunas" warning."
"I remember," I said. How could I forget?
"You look beautiful." Lallielle"s teary voice interrupted us.
I turned, grateful to be ending the current conversation. I didn"t want to be reminded any more of the reasons I couldn"t be with Brace. The world already sucked enough.
"Are you ready? Brace is at the front door."
I nodded, stepping around my father who"d decided now of all times to act like a loony and took Lallielle"s hand. She gave me a kiss on the cheek before ushering me over to the huge double front doors. My parents faded off, but Cerberus was suddenly next to me. Either he was worried too, or he wanted to see Brace as much as I did.
I opened the door.
He was just standing there, the setting sun at his back. And he was beautiful. I"d said it a million times. Brace was almost too perfect looking, but in that moment he"d never been more devastatingly gorgeous. He was clean shaven. His black hair had just enough length on top to be stylish. He was wearing black pants, his standard st.u.r.dy a.s.s-kicking boots, and a simple fitted, long-sleeved white s.h.i.+rt. It was more Earth modern fas.h.i.+on than he normally wore. And for a moment we were just two ordinary people. No responsibilities, no energy powers.
Of course, then a two-headed dog shoved me aside to jump onto Brace and knock him straight off the porch and onto the gra.s.s. He landed on his back.
"s.h.i.+t!" I said, following them off. "Are you okay?" I couldn"t help but laugh.
Brace was attempting to ward off Cerberus" enthusiastic greeting.
"Cere," I said, snorting out my laughter. "Give Brace a moment here."
Finally I managed to drag the thousand-pound puppy away. Luckily he wasn"t even in his largest form. Brace pulled himself up. His white s.h.i.+rt was crumpled and gra.s.s-stained. He looked down and then back at me. And we both lost it. Our laughter brought my parents out, but Lallielle dragged Josian back in as soon as she realized it was us. Josian shouted for Cerberus and the big black beast took off into the house.
Brace and I were sprawled on the ground. It seemed natural to simply lie back, side by side. And before I could move he reached out and took my hand. Such a simple gesture as he threaded his fingers through mine. I should have pulled away, but lying there on the silky gra.s.s and staring up into the darkening sky, watching the stars and planets appear, it was a perfect little moment.
"You take my breath away." His words were low. "And it"s not just your beauty, but the strength with which you face every single day."
I turned my head on the side to see him better. He had done the same, so now we were practically face to face. Our lips just an inch away from the other.
"I feel like I"ve had lifetimes with you already, Abby. Do you know what I"m talking about?"
His chocolate eyes held countless questions. He was confused, not understanding why the bond between us still existed. The lalunas might have cut the cord, but what we had went so much deeper than that.
I used my free hand to rub my temple, and cover my eyes a little. My emotions were almost on overload. I knew it was stupid, but it hurt that he didn"t remember that he loved me. Brace was only just discovering me; I, on the other hand, was a million miles in front of him. I remembered every second of our love; the memories were a burned imprint.
"Let"s just go on our date," I finally said, removing my hand from my face. "I"d love one care-free night before Nephilius tomorrow."
His eyes held mine, but with a nod he let me get away with my deflection, something he"d never have done when we were melded.
"Just so you know." Brace lifted his free hand and with slow, deliberate precision placed it on my cheek. His hand was huge. It covered half my face, before he traced it down to grip me gently on the chin. "You"re not deterring me. I like a bossy, complicated woman."
He lowered his face, but I couldn"t let him kiss me. Not right now. The wounds were too raw. Before he moved closer I s.h.i.+fted our position and broke the moment. Brace"s confidence wasn"t affected at all. In fact his grin turned so s.e.xy I almost lost my mind and dragged him to me. But in the end I didn"t.
He helped me to my feet and I expected him to open a doorway, but instead we started to walk into Angelisian. I was surprised but kept it to myself. I thought I knew his mind pretty well, but he still had his secrets. Angelisian, the small city on the ocean where we had made our home base, was more alive than I"d ever seen it. So maybe there was something special on in the town tonight.
Brace still held my hand; he had not let go of it for even a moment. And if I was honest, I might have been desperately clinging to him.
"I wasn"t sure what you wanted to do tonight," he said as we entered the main center of the town. "I know that we can walk to any of the worlds, but I think it would be nice if we spent tonight closer to your home. I want a chance to get to know you. We can have adventures later."
"I"ve had more than enough adventures for a long time, close to home sounds ... perfect."
He was perfect.
We ended up in a tiny little restaurant, or whatever they called the equivalent on First World. A woman around my height led us into a back alcove area. I rubbed my free hand over my face, trying to hide my delight at the scene. It was open-roofed, the stars visible, and just below this were these floating lights, suspended somehow above the entire outdoor s.p.a.ce. Soft music played in the background. I so rarely heard music anymore. It was soft and melodic, no words, but it created a surge of emotions within me.
"My name is Larissa," the woman said. "My partner is gifted with the ability of song weaving." She spun around, her golden hair s.h.i.+ning in the light.
"This music is just so beautiful." My voice cracked and to my horror a few tears welled in my eyes.
Brace"s jaw hardened as he turned and spoke quietly to the woman. "Could you ask him to tone down the emotions a little?"
With a nod and half-smile, Larissa left.
Brace reached over and, as he had done many times before, wiped away the sadness from my face. Of course, he didn"t remember he"d done it before. But I would never forget. I swallowed and, as the music tempo changed to something a little more upbeat, joy replaced the sorrow. Song weaving was starting to look a lot like emotional manipulation.
We moved into the room. There were no tables, just a rug and huge cus.h.i.+ons surrounding a low table on the floor. Brace led me across and we made ourselves comfortable. I settled back on the cus.h.i.+ons before opening my eyes wide and leaning forward. White, pink and yellow flower petals had suddenly started to drift down from the sky. I must have looked confused as heck, my head swiveling to find the source.
"I wasn"t sure what Earth customs you"d expect," Brace said, his eyes locked on me. "I brought you flowers earlier, so for something different I thought maybe a shower of fragrant petals from my world."
Their scent was divine, like vanilla, lavender and something exotic and spicy. None of the petals landed on us or the table. Instead they formed a circle around us.
Brace was still speaking. I turned my wide eyes toward him.
"And I"m guessing chocolate is a must, the way Lucy raves on about sweets." He grinned.
I sat up straighter. Chocolate got me every time. I"d never had it much on Earth, but I remembered the bitter sweetness with absolute clarity.
Brace"s grin turned into a laugh. I was about to demand my chocolate when Larissa reappeared. In her hands were two large pots. They seemed to have flames beneath them. She set them down.
"Let them heat for a few minutes," she said, before departing.
The arrival of food distracted me from chocolate. I leaned further forward, my hands drifting toward the lids. Brace laughed again, his straight white teeth flas.h.i.+ng at me across the pots. Delicious smells were wafting from them. My hands hovered close by.
"Is it a few minutes yet?" I asked.
Brace reached out and captured my twitching fingers.
"Why do I sense Abernath energy in you?" his question distracted me again.
I froze. What was the best way to answer that? And why had the lalunas not removed the Abernath energy within me? When Brace had taken his mantle as Princeps of Abernath, I"d been there. The energy of his people had blasted into both of us, and a part of me had ties to Abernath now. I knew the only reason it wasn"t more obvious was that half-Walkers had some sort of inbuilt protection that muted our energy. But still he was sensing it.
"I"m not sure why that would be," I finally mumbled. "Maybe there"s some Abernath in my Walker family tree." That might not even be a lie.
Brace leaned back, his eyes a.s.sessing me. Calculating. Sizing me up.
"I know Josian"s history pretty well, and I don"t think there"s any Abernath." His jaw locked then. He breathed in heavily through his nose. "You don"t have a mate already, do you?"
s.h.i.+t. He was wondering if that energy was from another Abernath male.
I shook my head. "Do you think I would go to dinner with you, if there was another man waiting at home for me?"
"I"d hope not." His tone was serious, although his eyes sparkled. "If you were mine, I wouldn"t be able to stop myself from killing him and probably locking you up for fifty years until you realized I was the only one for you."