Emanare (Destined, #1) (9 page)

Like at Evrik’s, Sam gasped back to consciousness, but this time her trembling was more violent. She blinked repeatedly, pinching herself to make sure she had woken. Droplets of sweat hit her comforter. She felt her head, but her hair was just damp with sweat, not wet enough to be dripping. Her fingers traveled down to her eyes. They were wet with tears. Had what she dreamt been real? It seemed more like a horror movie, but all of the actors were the people she loved, or used to love when she remembered them fully. Sam knew there was only one thing to do and only one person she had to see.

She glanced over to Lauren’s side of the room. Lauren wasn’t there. It was one in the morning. If Lauren had gone uptown, she wouldn’t be home until after two, unless she decided to stay at Ryan’s dorm.

The walls around her curved, bowing in to meet her, then jutted back out like the illusions in a carnival fun house. She needed air. She gripped at her throat; it felt like her windpipe was collapsing.

Sam crawled out of bed, wearing her flannel PJ bottoms and a T-shirt. Not bothering to change, she threw on her UGGs and an old gray sweatshirt she had taken from her dad when she was in high school. It said “The Bear” across the front in large, bold, navy print. She twisted her hair into a messy bun and left the room.

There weren’t many students outside the dorms. Students would shortly come stumbling home from a night of drinking. The air was chilly and dry. A faint glow highlighted the large oak tree outside her dorm. Its long, jagged branches appeared to be reaching for her. Sam shakily pulled out her phone. She needed to see him. She had so many questions after what had happened today. Things had been left so open-ended. And her dream. Now more than ever, she needed answers. Suddenly, Sam dropped her phone onto the stone pavers. Her heart jumped into her throat and her blood ran cold.

“So we meet again,” Cale said. He walked out of the shadow of the domineering oak.

“You’ve got to stop doing that. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Sam picked up her phone, first checking to see if it still worked, then inspecting it for cracks and scratches.

“Sorry. Did I interrupt a call?” He moved closer to her until he stood only inches away.

“I—I can call him later,” she said.

“You seem frightened. Is everything okay?” Cale reached up and touched her neck with the back of his fiery hand, his face hard and unreadable.

“I’m okay. You just startled me, that’s all.” Sam’s eyes darted around, too nervous to meet his stare. She forced a smile.

“You’re dressed for bed. Did you have a nightmare?” he said.

Instinctively, she stood up straighter and a something’s-not-right-feeling inched slowly up her spine. “No.” Her voice only came out as a whisper.

“Do you want me to leave?” Cale used his index finger to lift her chin. She met his icy black gaze. Somehow he pulled her back in, made her feel more comfortable with him. The hard lines on his face softened and his black irises looked more brown than black. Warmth coursed through her bloodstream. Her chin was on fire at his touch. “I’d like you to stay with me,” he said persuasively. Cale lifted her chin even higher. His head slanted down until she could feel his hot breath on her face. “Sam, you’re so beautiful.”

Sam turned her head, breaking his grasp. “Why do you always seem to know when I’m alone?”

“I guess I just get lucky. I get to have you all to myself.” He smiled, but the stubble on his cheeks didn’t rise. Even when he smiled, his face resembled stone, no longer warm and inviting like mere seconds ago. “Would you like to go for a walk with me?”

Sam blinked rapidly. “I—I’m not really dressed to go anywhere.”

“It’s dark. No one will see you.” Cale placed his hand on hers. Never leaving her eyes, he lifted her hand to his mouth very slowly and kissed the inside of her wrist. The veins under the sensitive part of her skin started to burn. “Come with me, Sam.” His words were so hypnotic she felt she had to go with him, that she belonged to him. For some reason, she had the overwhelming urge to please him.

He led her down the pathway toward campus, making a turn into the trees, and proceeded deep into the woods. He held her hand in his. Sam noticed he still wore his dark wool coat, and his jeans were almost as dark. It was hard to see him underneath the trees. The branches blocked the only light from the partially obstructed moon.

Cale placed her at the base of a large tree trunk. Sam’s body trembled. She didn’t know whether she was cold or afraid. Probably both. “Have you talked with Evrik today?” he asked. He joined her, tracing the lines on her face with his hot finger, scorching her. Sam swore she saw steam rise from her skin.

“Yes. Earlier today.” Her voice sounded robotic.

“What did you talk about?”

“Evrik said he would help me get my memory back.”

“How?” he asked firmly.

“Alea. She can create magical elixirs.” Sam no longer had control of her words. What he wanted, she gave him.

“Interesting. Are you getting your memory back?”

“A little. I dream at night, and during the day I see parts of my life.”

“But you don’t remember Evrik?” His black eyes squinted tightly.

“N—Not really.” Sam’s voice trembled. “Just disconnected memories.” She blinked rapidly, trying to force his influence out of her mind, but her insides were on fire. He burned her from the inside out. Her blood boiled within her veins. At any moment she could burst.

“Can Evrik do anything like Alea?” Cale’s fingers found the back of Sam’s head. He gently gripped her hair, making her efforts to resist him useless. He tilted her head backward, exposing the tender skin on her neck.

“He didn’t tell me, but I think so. I know he’s very strong and he can do something with his mind.” Cale’s lips touched Sam’s neck. With each kiss her pulse sped, causing her breathing to become more rapid and shallow. His hand left her neck and traced down her sternum to her waist, leaving a trail of hot flesh under her shirt. She let him move her back so she lay in front of him on the cold ground. He appraised her with his eyes and leaned into her. His kiss was rough and intense. Cale moved his lips to her neck again. She stared blankly up through the trees. His stubble felt like razor blades slicing into her skin. Above her, she noticed the same floating light she had seen when she had been alone with Cale that morning on campus. The light bounced and flashed like a flickering ball of sunshine, illuminating the tenebrous winter’s evening. Then, in a blink of an eye, it disappeared.

He traveled back to her lips.   

She became languid, giving into the heat.

Sam woke and grabbed at her body, remembering—Cale and her together, and the horrible nightmare before she went outside. She started to cry uncontrollably.
What have I done?
Sam grappled for her phone. Her fingers fumbled over the keys. She tried to dial, but she was too frantic; she had to take a moment to breathe. Finally she got her fingers to punch the right keys. She needed to speak to him. Now.

***

Everything had gone perfectly—well, almost perfectly. Cale Ember sauntered down the hallway of his temporary apartment building, stepping over a mumbling drunk wearing filthy clothes with holes and stains. And the drunk’s smell. Stale urine. The human made the demon want to vomit. Most of the demons he knew were cleaner than the filth occupying the building.

 And Evrik, her boyfriend—where was he? He sure was making it much easier for Cale to be alone with her. He was just never around. Maybe he had mistaken Evrik’s abilities; maybe Evrik wasn’t the great warrior Cale had previously thought. But his eyes. . .he had seen Evrik’s eyes outside the bar. It didn’t matter now. He had been successful. She would go with him willingly now.

Cale slammed the door to the apartment, not bothering to lock the door. Why would he? Anyone who dared to enter would get quite the surprise, and never make it out alive to tell.

Cale balled his hands into fists. So what if Evrik’s friend could create elixirs? It didn’t sound like Evrik himself could do anything extraordinary. Cale’s task was going to be less challenging than he’d thought, and it was somewhat disappointing. He had hardly earned the prestige he’d be granted once she was delivered. But, at least it would get him back to the Infernus sooner.

Sam opened her door for him.

 “I came as fast as I could.” Evrik touched Sam’s face. “You’ve been crying. Are you okay? What happened?”

“Come in out of the hallway,” she said. She motioned him in, shut the door and staggered back to her bed, sitting down, pulling her knees back up to her chest, and hugging her legs tightly. Evrik sat next to her on the edge of the bed.

“What happened, Sam? You’re scaring me.” Evrik’s words shook.

“There’s so much I have to talk to you about. So much happened tonight—Cale and my dream.” Her words tumbled out of her mouth. She didn’t even know if she made any sense. “The monster chased me, it almost killed me, and Chase, he was a bear! Then Cale, he made me do it. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop.” Sam cried even harder and slobbered unattractively all over herself.

Evrik slid up to her and touched her knee calmly with one hand. She could tell he wasn’t really calm; he was only faking it for her. Evrik’s other hand clutched her sheets so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Slow down. Who is Cale?”

“His name is Cale Ember. The guy from the bar—” She barely finished her sentence. Evrik’s eyes shot to the ground. She could see the veins in his face and neck protrude. His jaw line clenched so tightly even the fine veins in his head outlined every muscle on his face.

“When did you see him? Was it in your dream, or did he seek you out?” He met her frantic gaze. His forehead lined with worry, and his eyes were the scariest silver she’d ever seen—practically glowing.

Sam almost didn’t want to answer him. She’d never had to tell any of her boyfriends she’d cheated on them before. She didn’t consider herself a cheater. In her defense, she didn’t remember Evrik, and Cale had put her under some hypnotic spell. So in this case, it shouldn’t even count if she wasn’t able to control her own actions. Truth be told, Chase was the one she’d actually cheated with. She was in her right mind when she kissed Chase, just not thinking too clearly at the time.
Ugh
—how had her life become such a mess?

“No, he wasn’t in my dream. I was with him. He took advantage of me. It was like I didn’t have any control over my actions.” Sam held her breath, waiting for Evrik’s reaction.

Evrik’s face turned a deep shade of plum and he let out a deep growl, shaking the room.

Sam recoiled in her bed, hiding her face in her white down pillow. Evrik touched her back. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m not angry with you. He got to you. I didn’t protect you the way I should have. I thought he was going to leave Baltimore. That was our deal. If anything had happened to you,” he stopped briefly to take a deep breath, “I couldn’t live with myself.”

Sam allowed him to hold her in his arms. “Everything will be okay,” he assured her, but she didn’t believe him. His reaction to Cale made her believe she was in much deeper than she could ever imagine.

A loud banging at the door jolted her from her temporary sense of relief and safety. “Samantha, are you okay? Let me in!” Chase shouted. She peeled herself out of Evrik’s embrace and ran to the door.

“Shh! You’re going to wake the whole dorm,” she snapped, opening the door.

“I heard Evrik. What’s going on?” He spotted Evrik on her bed and stormed by her to approach him. Evrik stood to meet him.

“Did you do something to her?” Chase accused.