When Silver Moons Rise (Lost Immortals Saga #2) (17 page)

I yell and pull at the metal bonds holding her arms. Wait. They actually move about an inch.
I can free Teulah!

I won’t stand for her being tossed out like an old rag. She opens her mouth one final time and inhales a long, ragged breath, her eyes moving to focus beside me.

“Behind you!” she yells.

I don’t even get a chance to react. Something raps the back of my skull; and then there’s no one to save from the darkness surrounding me.

* * *

Seth, Asa, and I go away together all of the time, now. No one questions us. I’m almost certain Father knows where we go. He never says anything; but I do wonder why he stares at Seth the way he does.

Our new friend comes and goes through the palace as he pleases. He’s the first vagabond that has ever found a way into Father’s heart. I’m jealous, even though I don’t understand why. Asa adores him. I suppose I should at least like him for that reason alone. As soon as Father nods his head, giving us permission to spend the day with our new friend, she squeals and grabs Seth’s hand.

Pulling him through the doorway, Asa steals a quick glance behind her to make sure I’m tagging along. I am. I’ll always be there for her. Even if I am about to be replaced by a boy I don’t trust anymore than I do Father’s stupid court jester.

Stopping at our secret circle inside the woods, Seth and I lean over on our knees, gasping for breath. Asa grins and pokes fun at us. “How can such strapping young men in the making be so weak,” she teases and spins around. “Are my two silver moons tired?” She has recently started referring to the three of us in this way. Yeah, it’s kind of silly and girlish, but I deal with the nickname for Asa’s sake.

“You weigh less than we do. Not fair,” Seth answers.

“And your excuse is?” she says to me. I scoff and frown.

“Whatever he said,” I say, plopping down in the grass so I can sulk. I don’t get why Father allows Seth to eat at the table along with Asa and me. The way he watches my sister bothers me.

Chills creep through me each time he stares at Asa that way. Something odd goes on behind those dark eyes of his, the ones that don’t show any reflection of anything at all.

“Today’s challenge will be for us to find the blue butterfly. The Ancients say that this particular one brings luck and love to the one who captures it,” Asa announces, her eyes wild and excited. She enjoys these trips into the woods.

Twirling around, her silver smock flows against her white pants and the large metal heart she wears rattles against the wire in the mesh fabric. Her role among the Sacred Dancers is an important one. The heart signifies her place as assistant to the lead dancer, an older girl named Desi.

I don’t fancy the way Seth is looking at her right now. Yeah, Asa’s beautiful. Guys gawk at her all the time. But the way Seth does it bothers me. The goofy smile, the way his eyes have taken on a drunken look tells me he thinks more of my sister than I realize—a lot more.

He stands and moves toward her. Asa giggles and stumbles around. She’s drunk from her own silliness. Yeah, my sister’s strange. She enjoys the way the world spins. The way she falls into Seth’s arms and just kind of stays that way tells me a lot about my sister’s feelings too. It still just doesn’t feel right.

I’m caught up in my thoughts, when a girl steps out of the bushes. She walks toward us, smiling the entire time.

All three of us sit there staring at this intruder. Everything about her seems so pure: her white clothing, her reddish-blonde hair, even her clear blue eyes. I’m almost captivated by her beauty; but something inside tells me I’ll be a dead prince if I allow myself to believe in this illusion standing before us.

I can tell that Asa is thrilled by the idea of another girl being in our presence. She stands up and gives Seth a playful shove as she starts walking toward her.

“Wait. You don’t know anything about her,” I warn.

She ignores me and says, “Hi, my name is Asa. This is my friend Seth, and that’s my smelly brother, Faris,” she says, giggling.

The girl looks from Asa to Seth and finally me. She gives us a bright smile, and says, “Such a handsome family, and friend. How nice to meet all of you. I’m Rabia.”

Chapter Twenty

In Your Dreams (Chela)

Faris and I meet inside our dream world, the field with the lovely red flowers. Sleeping has become just as pleasurable as being awake for me. We waste no time with words. Instead, he pulls me into his arms and kisses me with a passion that almost frightens me. I don’t pull back. I’m afraid if I do, this will be the time I can’t return to him in this secretly forbidden way. We fall down in the grass and roll around until Faris winds up on top of me. Not once does either of us let up on our kiss.

Oh, how wild and crazy he makes me feel. His lips are so soft, and his breaths seem so real. How can this be a dream?

He moves his mouth along my chin, his warm breath tickling the sensitive area between my earlobe and the base of my throat. This wild side of Faris and the needy thing inside me, fires my soul in a way I never thought possible. I realize how much I miss him, how badly I want him. And it hurts.

I gently grasp his head and smooth the hair back away from his face.

Glancing up at me, he whispers, “I should stop.”

“I will kill you if you do,” I say through gasps. In return, I get a mischievous smile highlighted by the gleam in his silvery gray eyes. Parting my shirt, he lowers his head and runs his lips across my collarbone. His kiss travels even lower. I think I’ll just go ahead and die now, so I can get that part over with; that’s how happy he makes me feel. But I sense his hesitation, even though we’re inside a dream.

As usual, Fate’s cruel humor comes into play. The room darkens, and the feel of Faris’s kiss begins to fade. I can now hear the sound of rushing water. The scene changes from a field covered in grass and flowers to an area beside a river. The Beast stands in front of a waterfall, its foaming sprays crashing behind us. We’re back in Oceania again. The Beast glances at me as something pulls me forward. Taking a couple of steps toward me, he opens his massive jaws wide.

Is Faris going to kill me?

I grasp at the air, but there’s nothing to hold onto.

He won’t hurt you, Chela. Faris loves you.

He’s still your silver-eyed warrior. Believe in him.

Inside my right hand, I hold Uriel’s dagger, the one and only weapon that can kill an Immortal creature.
I can’t do this. I won’t hurt Faris this way.
Nothing can force my hand and make me do something I’ll forever regret.

At once, my body lifts. I move forward, the mystery power pulling me directly toward him. My entire body warms up the closer I get to his, a tease of the heated way I felt only moments before we were torn apart. Instead of Faris biting me or breaking my neck the way everyone says he can, he pulls me against his chest.

Burying my face inside his warm fur, I soon begin to feel my body lighten and change. My bones snap and my arms and legs twist in several directions.

I should feel pain, but I don’t.

What’s happening to me?

Okay, somebody wake me up now.

The area around us flashes in and out of focus just before everything goes dark. The shade only lasts a few seconds. When the world comes back into view, I find myself down on the ground, straddling my hands and knees that have turned into paws as though I’m a cat, a really big one.

The Beast and I have merged together, a single being. Our heartbeats are the same. My thoughts belong to him. His willpower belongs to me. Faris and I will always be a part of each other. This isn’t only about some ancient bond. This is love. Tried, true, and tested by the time we’ve spent apart, months stolen by a war that our ancestors started.

Up ahead, the trees shuffle. I snap my massive jaws toward them. A group of Outcasts steps out of the bushes. My roar startles this strangely dressed group of rebels, but it doesn’t keep them from advancing toward me.

“Wake up, Chela! They’re coming for you!” Faris’s panicked voice calls out. My eyelids flutter open.

I attempt to sit up and glance around me, subconsciously rubbing my arms and feeling for signs of fur. I’m not the Beast. Faris is gone; and I’m no longer standing in front of a waterfall, preparing to tear apart a group of hunters. The sound comes from Seth. I’m lying inside of an old subway car. He’s shushing me as he strokes my hair.

But when my eyes meet his, he stops touching me and sits up. The look on his face reminds me of those times when Micah used to get caught trying to bring frogs and lizards into the house. “You were crying again. You’re always weeping in your sleep. It’s annoying,” he says and moves further away from me. Feeling frazzled and a lot of other unmentionable things, I sit up, wondering if I talked in my sleep the way Micah says I used to do when I was a little girl.

“You were also moaning,” he says, the mischievous grin creeping onto his lips.
Crap! I knew it.
“I’d kill a thousand fire bulls to know what you were doing in that dream.”

“Too bad, I’m not telling you anything,” I say, gathering my blanket.

The thought of me making sounds of pleasure in front of Seth Alton brings a heated blush into my cheeks. I need a distraction, and I know just the right thing. I’ll get him all worked up. Seth being angry will help take my mind off the botched up intimate moment I just experienced with Faris. Well, maybe it will, anyway. “I’m sorry that Camden hurt you the way he did,” I say and wait for the smart remark or the temper.

I don’t get anything: not a blink or even a sarcastic remark. I would thank him for saving me from the leeches, but Faris has already explained to me how the people of Bardonia don’t appreciate kind words like “please” and “thank you.”

Instead, he scoots further away and gives me a side glance. “Is that right? What makes you think I didn’t deserve a good lashing? I am a murderer, as you say. Think you know me like that, now?”

“No, but I do think you should stop trying to be someone you’re not,” I say and wait for the tantrum.

“Are you my mother? And does it look like I need one? Stop telling me what to feel.”

“I don’t think I could ever be your mother, Seth. It’s a good thing, too. If I were your parent, I’d probably beat you to a pulp for being such a…a mean person.”

“That’s weak. If you can’t come up with better insults, then just shut-up.” He stands up and stalks off toward one of the cracked windows. “You’re still making the mistake of thinking that a nice guy is tucked away somewhere in this body,” he says without looking at me. Something outside the window has caught his eye.

I shuffle to my feet, feeling a bit odd because I’m fully dressed in fresh clothing. Which means Seth cleaned me up at some point. “I do think there’s some good in you. In fact, I know there is.”

He turns around and stalks toward me, the gold flashes zipping inside his eyes. I step back. The freaky way his eyes light up make me nervous each time I see it happen. “Why is that? You think now we’ve shared a few bonding memories, I’ll suddenly turn into a shepherd boy? Still fooling yourself, Baby Lotus, aren’t you?”

“You’re hiding who you truly are. I can see that.”

“Hm. Haven’t we had this conversation before?” He moves closer to me. I can see the confidence in his eyes, his belief in whatever crazy Seth thing he’s about to say. My back moves against the subway wall. Seth hovers over me now, his hands on either side of my head. I’m not the frightened little girl I was months ago. So, having him stand over me with that incredibly smoldering presence of his doesn’t intimidate me as much this time.

“I remind you of him, my little brother, don’t I? I see the way you look at me, those times when you think I’m not paying attention,” he says and gives me a crooked smile.

“You are so full of yourself,” I say and carefully form my next thoughts. “You really want to know why I believe there’s any good in you?”

“My ears are all yours, at the moment, anyway.”

“Because of Faris. He’s good, brave, willing to fight for the people he loves. From what he told me about Asa,
your
sister, she’s the same kind of person.” I inhale a shaky breath. Talking about Faris stirs an ache inside me. “I’m willing to bet you didn’t fall as far from that same tree as you think you did. You just need someone to care enough to notice.”

He stares at me the longest time, before he says, “Careful, Lotus. I promise, if you’re kind enough to give me any part of your mind or your heart, then I will rip it apart. That’s what I do, by default. Consider yourself warned.”

I look him straight in the eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“It’s your coffin. Design it however you like.” He scoffs and turns away. It’s too late, though. I see the war going on behind his empty eyes, the ones he shields to keep anyone from getting too close to the boy I saw in his dream. “We need to move.” He glances around as though he senses something, or someone.

“What is it?” I ask, unease creeping into me. I glance around and see nothing but old buildings and more detached carts piled up around the one that we stand inside.

“Not sure. We can’t stay here,” he says with a straight face, but every muscle in his body has tensed up. I move to pick up my bag and sword. I sense the danger around us too.

Something hits the side of the car we’re in. “Get down!” he yells and pushes me over to the side of the train.

Something metallic starts crashing all around us. I crouch down, tucking my head between my knees, trying to calm my thudding heart. Small metal balls fly through the windows and the sides of our cart. I cry out. Seth moves over to me and hovers over my body, shielding mine with his.

At once, the flimsy door on the front of our cart flies open. Three men dressed in strangely colored uniforms that remind me of a forest step into the car with us. Seth hops to his feet in a flash. War yells sound out all around us. Even though the metal balls have stopped crashing against the cart, the sound of people yelling this way unnerves me even more than those noises did.