Genesis (4 page)

Taylor laughed. “You have seen too many
movies. Uldran is one of the safest places on this planet.” When I
stared at him warily, he continued, “You will have to see it for
yourself.”

I shifted uncomfortably on my too
comfortable seat and inhaled slowly. One of my biggest fears is
drowning. Cassie helped me learn how to swim, but that was in the
safety of a pool no deeper than twelve feet. “How are we going to
get there?” I tried to laugh, but even to me, my voice sounded
strained. “I don’t suppose your carriages can morph into
submarines?”

He moved swiftly to my side, tucking a
finger under my chin. With a gentle force, he lifted my gaze to
his. “I have given up much to have a chance with you. I would
hardly let you drown.” He took my hands between his, which only
managed to make breathing harder than it already was. “You are
forgetting one very important point, my dear.”

I eyed him warily. “Yeah? What’s
that?”

“
You have the power to drain
the oceans if you wish. The elements are yours to
command.”

I kept my
yeah right
to myself and
said instead, “It doesn’t always work for me.”

“
That’s merely because you
have little experience. You lack the knowledge, but more
importantly, the faith. I will teach you as much as I am able given
the short time we have together.”

Despite my anxiety about being with him
for so long, I found him interesting. I was going to try to keep an
open mind because I knew I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors by
being pigheaded about him. He might just surprise me.

At last the carriages rolled to a stop,
so I chanced a peek into the everlasting daylight. We were nowhere
near water as far as I could see. A thick tree line hugged the
road, which, unfortunately, made it hard to tell exactly where we
were.

Taylor joined me at the window, his ear
nearly touching mine. The heat from his body warmed my arm, making
my unease at his closeness spike.

When I glanced at him, he gave me a
smile better suited to the devil. Charming was this guy’s middle
name. Once I got over my dislike of his formality, I decided he
wasn’t such a bad guy. He had been gracious enough to teach me how
to strengthen my mental barriers even if he hadn’t known he was
doing it at the time. I laughed thinking about how he had reacted
when I figured it out.

As it turned out, I had been trying too
hard, just like Heath had told me. Crap. I didn’t want to think
about him right now. What was I going to do if, in the end, he
didn’t want me and I was still stuck on him?

He seemed to be all I could think about
which annoyed me. Even though I was pretty sure Taylor couldn’t
hear my inner turmoil any longer, I needed to get my thoughts under
control.

We had just started on what turned out
to be not so long of a journey, only a few hours really, when he
let it slip that I had overcooked my barriers. I adjusted them and
just like that I felt an immediate difference. My mind felt like my
own again even though I hadn’t noticed the intrusion in the first
place. I know. It didn’t make sense to me either.

Taylor hadn’t let on that he knew what
I had done, but I felt safer with my thoughts. He shifted on the
seat beside me, his knee touching mine as if we were old
friends.

“
From here, we
drift.”

His matter of fact statement
caught me off guard. “But I haven’t ever been there before. How
will I know where it is?” My fears overtook me.
How will I not be swallowed up by the ocean when I go too
far?

He gave me a placid look. “I will guide
you.”

But I didn’t exactly trust him. Recent
events let me know I was a bit too gullible for my own good. Heath
had shown me the island before we drifted there to save Zach and
Luke. I grunted, why did all my thoughts have to return to
him?

I studied Taylor for his reaction. “I
want to see it.”

“
And ruin the surprise. I
don’t think so. You will have to put your faith in me. It is the
least you could do considering all you have been willing to do
while with my brothers.”

“
That’s not
fair.”

“
That’s not the point, my
lady. I wish to guide you…” His mouth turned in a frown.
“Please.”

For heaven’s sake. Why was I even
considering this? I took his outstretched hand, readying myself for
the trip.

Without another word I was floating on
a stream of matter. The movement sent my world teetering and my
equilibrium on vacation. It still amazed me I could think and feel
while disassembled or whatever happened to my body during this
process. What a way to travel. I supposed it was probably like
teleportation, but I really couldn’t say just how long my molecules
were freed. I was also amazed every time they seemed to be all in
place once we found our destination. The process couldn’t take more
than a few seconds, but it seemed so much longer.

Somehow, I figured I’d be soaked when
we landed in Uldran. To my surprise, I was completely dry. When I
opened my eyes, my mouth gaped.

“
Wait,” I said. “I thought
you told me we would be under water.”

“
We are,” was Taylor’s
helpful reply.

“
Bull crap.” We were in a
field full of flowers. The grass reached my armpits. I mean we were
supposed to be under the ocean.

He laughed. “Look closer.”

I nearly fell over tipping my head
back. No way. What I had initially taken as sky was undoubtedly
water above me. Swarms of glowing fish littered the space over us.
Taylor guided me out of the field and onto a dirt road. From where
I was standing, I could have been on any country lane with trees
and flowers and everything. The colors were vibrant like Lombarda,
but the air was different. It pushed at my skin, a bit like
humidity, yet it was more oppressive. I eyed the unending water
again questioning my sanity.

“
This is
impossible.”

Taylor squeezed my fingers, motioning
me forward. “I brought you here first to allow you ample time to
adjust to your surroundings. Up ahead is Escara, the capitol of
Uldran. My estate is not too far. It’s on the outskirts of the
city. Would you like to continue on foot?”

I nodded, not able to do much else at
the moment. In a funny way the schools of fish seemed like passing
clouds if I didn’t focus on them.

Oh, who was I trying to kid. This was
just too weird for words. Here I was, on the bottom of the ocean,
and I didn’t feel a bit different, except for the usual
disorientation that comes when I drift. I hoped at some point my
body was going to get used to traveling this way. Until then I
would be left as disoriented as if I had ridden one too many
carnival rides.

A sudden flash of nausea hit me. My
stomach clamped into a fist. When I stopped abruptly, Taylor was
right by my side.

“
Are you unwell, my
lady?”

“
I…I don’t know what’s wrong
with me.”

“
It is most likely the
pressure. Your body will adjust soon.” When his arm snaked around
my waist, I’m ashamed to admit I leaned into him. It was only for
support, so I hoped he wouldn’t mistake it for
affection.

“
How far have we gone,
anyway?”

“
All the way,” he said,
grinning before he waggled his eyebrows at me playfully.

Like the idiot I was impersonating I
stumbled. His hand snaked out to right me.

Who was this man, and what had he done
with the stern, formal lord I had met at St. Mary’s College? Okay,
so maybe I should have worded my question better. I laughed,
cuffing him on the shoulder. “That’s not possible! I’d be dead
right now.”

He shook his head, laughter creasing
the corners of his eyes. “You are still thinking in human terms.
You are not human, Rayla. When are you going to accept this about
yourself?”

Not human. I didn’t know if I would
ever be able to accept that no matter how many weird things
happened to me. I raised a hand skyward. “But how does this work? I
don’t see any structures holding the water back.”

He shot me a speculative look. “What
would you do if I told you there isn’t any?”

I’d normally tell him to stop being so
ridiculous, but considering what I was seeing, I couldn’t do that.
“Then what is?”

“
Will.”

I pursed my lips together then pulled
in a long breath. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that
the minute you all stop concentrating on keeping the water at bay…”
I swept my arm sideways for emphasis. “All of this will be
swallowed up?”

A spark of something curious flickered
across his face as if I was missing some sort of inside joke. “It
will be easier for me to show you, but now, my lady, you have many
eager people waiting patiently in my courtyard to meet
you.”

I shook my head. Of course there were.
I wasn’t ready to be bombarded by people already. “Can’t I get
settled first?”

His expression hardened instantly.
“No.”

“
What if I
refuse?”

“
Go ahead. You will still
meet my followers.”

I glanced at him sidelong. His jaw was
set, but not as tight as his shoulders. I sighed. “Fine, but I want
to rest afterward.”

“
Agreed.”

He pulled me into motion. Before long
we were at a simple garden gate that led to fields overflowing with
flowers and grasses. Off in the distance a vast structure sat atop
a hill. Something just occurred to me. If we were really beneath
the ocean with so much water between us and the sun, where was the
light coming from? A soft glow enveloped everything it touched from
the trees to the grass to Taylor.

I might as well have been watching one
of those old time movies where women’s faces were filtered to look
more becoming. The strange effect intrigued me, but I was already a
bit overwhelmed to ask him about it at the moment. How could trees,
any ordinary plants, for that matter, grow on the bottom of the
ocean?

“
We don’t have much
farther,” Taylor said out of nowhere. “However, if you would like,
we could drift.”

Wait a minute. A statement like that
could only mean one thing. I whirled on him. “You’re still reading
my freaking mind, aren’t you?”

He shrugged sheepishly.

“
Seriously!” I had just lost
any amount of trust I had gained with him.

He stopped and placed a hand at my
elbow. “I merely seek to know you better, Rayla. I cannot give less
than my best effort to claim you. For my people.”

I looked him square in the eyes. “What
about for you?” The last thing I wanted was to tie myself to
someone I didn’t love, or worse yet, to someone who didn’t love
me.

“
Love!” he spat. “Do you
know the damage that has been done in the name of love? Could you
even understand the horrors I have witnessed—all committed
for
love
. I will
take friendship, loyalty…devotion before I would seek after
something so fragile.”

Now we were getting somewhere. “You
just admitted it. You don’t want me.”

“
That is not the
point.”

“
It is to me. Taylor…” I
took his fingers between mine. “Taveon—”

He stopped me with a raised hand.
Something dangerous lay within his expression. “Call me
Taylor.”

I frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I would prefer
it.”

Okay. That was weird. I
shook my head at him. “Let’s get this straight between us,
Taylor
. I will not give
myself freely to anyone for less than love. People are flawed, not
love. Love just is. If you let it into your heart, you might find
that you can’t live without it.”

He whirled away from me without
commenting. When I didn’t immediately follow him, he turned,
shoving a hand at me. “We are expected. Come.”

Great, another man treating me as if I
were his dog. I was just going to have to get through this. So much
for keeping an open mind. I couldn’t live with this man knowing I
could have more with someone else.

Before I could think anything else,
Taylor transported us into the middle of a multitude of people. He
smiled sweetly for the crowd, yet animosity pulsated from him like
an errant sun. No one else seemed to notice. How could he disguise
his feelings so well? If I hadn’t been part of our conversation, I
would have thought he had enjoyed our little stroll simply because
of the artful smile on his lips.

Deceit was something I couldn’t take.
I’d already had so much from every lord I had encountered. Even
with as open as Heath had been about his motives, I knew he was
hiding something from me. They all were.

Why couldn’t they just say what they
wanted? Why all the underhanded tactics? Besides, if this was
simply about power, Taylor should have his fair share
now.

Taylor cleared his throat loud enough
to startle me before his arm clamped around my shoulders.
“Everyone, allow me to introduce Rayla. She will be our guest for a
few weeks, and, creator willing, she will choose to become one of
us.”