Exhale (16 page)

Giving one last wistful look to the ‘His and Hers’ robes, she bit her lip, slipped out of the room, and followed him to the parking garage.

This is for the best.

Really.

She strapped on the helmet he offered, and they rode the motorcycle to the airport in silence. Gavin parked the bike, took her bag, and accompanied her inside.

“I’m sorry for ruining your weekend. I reckon I suck at dating.” He rubbed the callus she’d noticed on his thumb last night. His thick, black lashes slammed down, hiding his eyes. “But maybe we could try one more time.”

Her resolve from the self-coaching shower session melted like an ice cube in the scalding hot Australian sun.

He shrugged without looking at her. “If you wanna give it a go.”

She exhaled hard. Man, did she ever. But there were a million reasons why she shouldn’t, and only a few why she should. And those were all selfish.

The whales needed her.

Still—

She licked her lips and slid her gaze down Gavin’s hot physique. The hard lines under the hypnotic Elemental tattoos, that gorgeous chest she’d drooled over after his shower last night…

“How old are you?” she asked.

His top lip twitched, then flattened, squeezing the life out of the bottom one. “Twenty-four.”

Her jaw dropped. She was eight years older? Subconsciously she knew it had to be at least that, but hearing him say it was a much stronger shot of reality than she was prepared to swallow.

“And a half,” he added quickly.

Twenty-four. And a half.

Wow.

She rolled her shoulders and straightened. His age was the perfect excuse she could hide behind to justify saying goodbye. “Yeah, this isn’t gonna work out. I’m a good bit older than you. And honestly, even when I’m not working, I’m working. I barely get to eat most days. My research is very time consuming.”

“I don’t care how old you are.” His features softened, reminding her of the boy she’d given the wooden bird to twenty years ago. She shut her eyes for a long moment. When she opened them, his stare brought goose bumps to her skin. He was so wrong for her.

Her finger and thumb took one of his shirt buttons into their care, rubbing the plastic and the black fabric surrounding it. His closeness soothed her frazzled nerves. Damn it, why couldn’t she be thoroughly put off by him? That would have made this so much easier.

Focusing on her mouth, the beautiful, strong Sentinel from her dreams stepped into her personal space.

She blinked. “Don’t look at me like that.”

A lopsided grin broke free of his lips, and he tilted his head. “How am I looking?”

“I don’t know. Like you want to kiss me or something.”

Way to go, dumb ass. Really endearing. Humble, even.

His gaze fell to the tiles beneath their feet. “I do.”

A fresh flood of heat in her belly put her resolve in critical condition. The button rubbing picked up speed. “I’m trying so hard to say goodbye to you.” She dropped her hand to her side.

He leaned in, and his foot shuffled forward awkwardly. His eyes trained on her lips again, but he said nothing.

She would have killed for a parting kiss, but she had to escape before she changed her mind.

Even if all the stuff about the Elementals was true, she had a job to do. There was no way in hell she’d get the VP promotion if she staggered into work zombified like this every day. Hell, after only one night with the guy, he’d managed to wear her completely out. And they hadn’t even had sex.

With each beat of her pulse, he zeroed in, lips on a collision course she pretended not to want.

Liar
.

But he detoured. Instead of kissing her lips, his mouth lighted on her cheek. The soft wisp of his breath against her hot skin electrified nerve endings she didn’t know she had.

A chipper female voice cracked through the airport intercom. “Qantas flight 2380 to Fraser Coast is now boarding. Passengers, please make your way to the gate.”

She tried on an awkward smile that felt two sizes too small. “I guess I’d better go.”

Unless he wanted to talk her out of this decision—

He bit his bottom lip and nodded.

Gulp.
Or not.

“Ring me if you change your mind.” His voice was so soft, she almost didn’t hear him.

So that was it.

She bent down and grabbed her bag. “Thanks for everything. And good luck with your new songs. They’re great. Really great.”

Shut up, Zoe, before you turn your mouth into a foot sandwich.

His dark face, masked and unreadable, seared into her memory as she turned away. The first step was a killer.

One foot in front of the other, she kept steady until a buxom blond passerby said, “Oh, my God, is that Gavin Cassidy?”

Zoe’s pace stalled for three steps, but she didn’t turn around. Because if she had, she would have done something really stupid.

Swallowing the barbed wire ball of guilt and regret slicing up her throat, she lifted her head, clutched her bag tighter, and kicked her thoughts back to Hervey Bay and the whales she’d neglected for the last two days.

Goodbye, Gavin Cassidy.

Chapter Fourteen

Fucking great. Zoe had refused another date.

On top of that, Gavin had to lead his first Sentinel Council meeting in a few hours, there was a strong chance he’d misplaced his trust in a total nutcase of a trainer, and Fyre Elementals were murdering people in New South Wales.

Gavin cursed Yileen for putting him in this situation.

Blurry scenery smeared his vision, and he glanced at the Harley’s speedometer. A hundred and forty-five kilometers per hour. The Hog didn’t seem to mind, but his head was starting to quake a bit.

A road sign indicated the next turn-off led to a park. Perfect. He needed to ground himself and balance his Elements before the council meeting. The councilors couldn’t see him in this state of Elemental disarray. Some time alone with Mother Nature would help him think without distractions and settle his wildly shifting aura.

He veered off the highway and followed the quiet stretch of bush, the dying sun beating on his back. It was hard to care about the heat with the world crumbling around him.

Minutes later, he parked the motorbike next to a smattering of cars and headed for a grove of trees. There were few people around at this hour on a Sunday, so he didn’t worry about anyone following him. Trudging through the bush, he kept an eye out for snakes. He spotted an opening in the trees, ensured he was alone, and sat on the ground.

He turned his face to the sky and sifted through his Elements until he found some Air to give him mental focus. Then closing his eyes, he lay on the Earth and let his consciousness slip into the Dreaming.

His mind wandered through the other realm, slinking past zombie-like human dreamers. Though the Dreaming was still hot, he didn’t sense any Fyres nearby. Where had they gone? The eerie quiet bugged him. He preferred having a clear view of his enemies. The silence reminded him of the snakes he knew were in the park where his body lay on the ground—there, but unseen. Lurking. Perhaps watching.

Man, he could use some advice. If only Yileen were still around.

“Yileen, if you’re here, I need to talk.” He didn’t really expect an answer. The bloke was dead, for fuck’s sake, but a one-sided conversation with his Sentinel mentor was better than none at all.

Red mists curled and caressed his skin. He turned in a circle, looking for a sign that wouldn’t come—an eagle flying to the right, a rift in the sky, anything. “I don’t know who to trust. I don’t know what I’m doing. People are dying in Realis. The Fyres are still burning.”

No answer.

He faced the direction of the distant ocean, pictured feathered wings and taloned feet, and transformed his dream body into a falcon. He climbed the air currents, flapping his wings every once in a while, and lighted on the back of a whale lolling at the surface of Zoe’s favorite beach.

He’d become quite fond of humpbacks since she’d introduced him to whales in her dreams. Such peaceful, majestic creatures.

Zoe.

Seemed it was his job in life to piss her off. Tonight he’d be back to watching over her from a distance since she clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

After Scarlet’s stunt last night, he really had to perfect that being-in-two-places-at-once technique. Like
now
.

Don’t worry ‘bout Zoe. She come ‘round.
It was just Yileen’s voice—no physical sign of him—but Gavin’s heart sprinted into a full gallop.

He opened his beak in an attempt at a smile, then squawked and beat his wings against his chest. Hopping in a circle, he craned his bird neck around and chirped in avian-accented English, “Yileen? Where are you?”

Gavin scanned the sky and water. Then it dawned on him. Yileen’s body was dead, but his memory—his soul—lived on in the Dreaming. Made sense that Gavin would hear only echoes of his mentor’s voice.

The Wæters on the council choose a mama whale for Archelemental, but summa them others not like it. They want a human, so they do humbug to get their way. Now them Wæters divided. Fyres take advantage and rebuild army.
Yileen’s voice sounded different, hurried.

The whale under Gavin’s clawed feet blew suddenly. Gavin flew away as his ride rolled forward to dive.

“Two factions? Human and whale? Who’s the better candidate? Which one should I help?”

You not stupid, boy. Your heart know.
Gavin almost felt the crack of Yileen’s hand on the back of his head. He’d have given anything for Yileen to pop him as he used to when Gavin acted like an idiot.

Yileen was right. Of course the whale was the right candidate. Zoe wouldn’t be involved otherwise. It made complete sense.

“What should I do?” he asked the air. “I have a Sentinel Council meeting in a couple of hours. Jack gave me some pointers, but…”

Jack understand how them Fyres work. Trust him. Trust your gut.

Gavin exhaled. What a relief. He had practiced chasing Songlines last night when he couldn’t find Zoe in the Dreaming and managed to trace Jack’s history back a few months. The little information he gathered revealed Jack as an upstanding Sentinel and highly regarded member of the Librus Group, an organization with which Gavin was unfamiliar. Zoe had punched him in the nuts before he could find out more about Jack’s affiliation.

Tracking Songlines required a lot of time, which Gavin didn’t have. Yileen’s endorsement of Jack was a golden seal of approval. Looked like Gavin could now scratch off at least one task from his mounting To Do list.

“Do the Fyres know about the whale slated to be Archelemental?” Gavin asked.

They searching for the whale now.

Shit. “Then I really
do
need Zoe’s help. She’s familiar with the whales in Hervey Bay. Maybe she has some equipment or something that can help me find the one I’m looking for. How will I know—”

I must go.
The voice sounded urgent.
Beware the council.

“Wait, which council? The Sentinels? The Wæters…? Yileen!” Gavin flew in a circle over the ocean, searching for a sign of his friend, but he found only waves.

Fuck.

Without knowing who was on his side, how would he get anything accomplished as the new Sentinel leader?

He’d have to do as Yileen said. Trust himself and trust Jack. And hope Zoe would come back.

Gavin shook himself awake. A cool breeze slipped across his cheeks. It was dark. He sat up and checked his watch. Two hours until the meeting. The Elements within his aura shone in equal amounts—only a few wobbles here and there. Good.

He dusted himself off and headed back to the Harley. With nothing better to do, he spent the last hour of his ride home trying to divide his consciousness between Realis and the Dreaming as Jack had shown him.

Glimpses into the Dreaming overlapped the dark road before him, fading in and out of focus. He switched his brain to autopilot mode while listening for Zoe’s song in the Dreaming. He caught the tune and held on, his mind teetering between two places. Flashes of black asphalt and yellow lines mingled with his dream lover’s beautiful, tired face.

She was speaking to a man…tall with brown skin. He touched her arm and stepped closer. She stared at him as if mesmerized. He tilted his head and caressed her cheek. The intimacy between them shot bolts of lightning-hot jealousy up Gavin’s spine.

Who
was
that bloke?

His fury interrupted the transmission of images.

Ejected from the Dreaming, his consciousness awoke in Realis to oncoming trees. Traveling at high speed, he’d veered off the highway. He hit the brakes on the bike and skidded to a shaky stop. A cloud of dirt billowed around him. He dropped his feet to the ground.

Shit, maybe he shouldn’t turn off half of his brain while driving a motorcycle anymore. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and continued toward Hervey Bay, keeping his head in Realis.

Who the fuck was with Zoe? It wasn’t the other man he’d seen before. This was someone new.

A flare of red rumbled through his aura. No. Right now he needed clear thoughts. He had to keep up a strong, balanced appearance for the council, or they’d never respect him.

For the remainder of the ride home, he rid his mind of everything except the Elements around and inside him. Earth brought physical strength and mental grounding. Tempered Fire provided motivation. Water kept him empathetic to the needs of the Wyldlings. Air helped him organize and sharpen his strategy. By the time he made it to his house, he was oddly refreshed and focused.

After dragging his duffel inside, he lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and slipped through the Veil into the Dreaming. He entered the Sentinels’ castle through a huge drawbridge spanning a moat, then quickly navigated the gray flagstone hallways to the council chambers.

The six other council members—Ellie, Wyland, Camira, Seth, Erin, and Kai—rose to greet him. Their white robes whispered as they stood in unison. Shit. He hadn’t dressed properly, and it was too late to conjure a change of clothes. First mistake.

He took the only empty seat at the massive jarrah wood stump that served as a table. He avoided their scowls of disapproval and fake smiles by pretending to get comfortable in the chair.