When Silver Moons Rise (Lost Immortals Saga #2) (27 page)

Stop kidding yourself, Prizeon? You let this happen.

He stalks toward me, stopping only a few feet in front of me. “Look around you, Chela. Where do you think this power comes from? How do you think you’re suddenly able to create your winds again?”

I hate that Seth’s points hit home better than mine. Somehow the bond with him has helped me to awaken my sleeping power too. What he did to me back in the library not only helped him to break Faris’s hold over his powers, but it also removed whatever thing has kept me from being able to use mine. I haven’t reduced my debt to Seth. I’ve probably increased it by a hundred times.

Closing the distance between us, Seth makes his way over to me and places his hands on my shoulders. The winds fade, and the honeysuckle scent lingers a short moment longer just before it dies down too. Sadness washes over me. Faris feels close and so far away at the same time. My emotions spin on a rollercoaster, and my exhausted body is tired of paying for the ride.

Seth lifts my chin and stares into my eyes. Life, a spark of existence swims behind those dead pools for the first time since I’ve known him. Life was the thing I noticed the last time I glanced into his face this way, the day we created our bond.

“I’m on your side, Lotus. Might not always seem like it, but I am. Always remember that.”

“Thought you told me not to trust you. That was you, right?”

He doesn’t get a chance to respond. A black blur of something bum rushes him from the side and almost knocks me over. Two bodies tangled together—one that looks human and the other an animal of some type tumble around and fight each other. The Beast.

I stand there unable to move as I watch Seth and the Beast shuffle over one another.

Did you hear what I said, Prizeon? It’s the Beast. Faris
.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I don’t want to trust my eyes. After all this time, against the odds and the crappy things I went through, we find each other this way.

I’m both smiling and screaming inside, torn between a flush of adrenaline racing through my body and the fluttery feeling inside my belly. Seth kicks the creature’s massive body. The Beast hurls backward, giving him time to release his octopus weapon. The Beast straightens up on all four legs and lets out a roar that rumbles through the trees around us, shaking them. I force myself to run and position myself between the two brothers.

“Stop, please!” I scream through raspy breaths.

“What are you, stupid? Get out of the way!” Seth hisses.

“No! I won’t let the two of you do this,” I snap back.

Holding one palm up toward the Beast and the other one at Seth, I’m surprised when both brothers back down.

Okay, so, now what?
The Beast slumps to the ground until he’s perched on all four of his knees. I’m still afraid to lower my trembling hands. Rolling over on its side, the Beast’s massive limbs slowly become thinner until each one resembles a human arm and a leg. Before long, a thin, naked body lies in the spot where the Beast collapsed.

Slowly the mythical creature finishes transforming back into my weakened lost prince. Faris.

Chapter Thirty

Sibling Rivalry (Chela)

I run toward Faris and drop down to my knees on the ground beside him, lifting his head and gently placing it in my lap.
To hell with being gentle.

This is the boy I love.

The main reason I set out on this crazy journey.

I crush my lips against his, and in return he wraps his arms around my neck, pulling me to him in a tight embrace. Warmth radiates through my body and my racing heartbeat drums inside my chest so hard I have to pull away just to catch my breath. My scattered thoughts keep me from thinking about anything else except for the way the fire in Faris’s eyes shows me some of what he’s feeling too. And then he says, “Jewel Face. It’s really you. Tell me this isn’t another damn memory.”

I shake my head, my eyes clouded by the tears I blink away at once. “I knew we’d find each other again,” I finally manage to say and move my lips back down to press against his.

“I knew it too. I lived for this moment, every day I fought for it,” he says while kissing me at the same time.

“Time out, lovers,” Seth’s voice says from somewhere behind me. I have forgotten he’s even standing back there. “This is all sweet and everything, but we have a few problems.” The sound of his voice causes every muscle in Faris’s body to tense up. 

“What the hell is he doing here with you?” Faris asks.

“It’s alright. He helped me find you,” I answer. Okay, so I’m probably changing the real story up a bit, but the important thing is that I avoid another fight between the two of them. In his weakened state, Faris is no match for Seth.

Slowly, Faris moves to a sitting position and a growl rumbles in his throat. He studies Seth with a murderous glare in his eyes. I instantly regret speaking my words.

“He doesn’t help anyone, Chela. If he’s been pretending to be assisting you, then it’s because he’ll ultimately hurt you in some way,” Faris says without breaking Seth’s gaze.

“It’s true,” I begin, “and he’s right, Faris. We need to move. Some really unfriendly gangs are on our trail. And there’s a bunch of people in those groups who aren’t too happy with us right now. I’ll explain all of this later on.”

The heat from the emotions flying between the two of them would probably burn me alive if they didn’t care so much about me.

“Seth, some clothes, please,” I say. He doesn’t move. I give him a hard look. “I know you have some extra clothes in those bags. We don’t have time for this, right now.”

“Why in my insanely demented mind would I ever do anything to help him?” Seth says in measured words.

“Because you need him to be free. To make the people who hurt your mother pay for what they did. And to find your sister,” I remind him. He blinks a few times, moves over to one of the bags, removes a long brown shirt, some shoes, and a pair of black pants, and tosses them at me. Faris stands and gets dressed in a flash, keeping his gaze locked on Seth a short while longer. He’s so thin and weak. None of that matters as long as we’re together. Finally, he looks at me again. I throw my arms around his neck, and he buries his face in my hair.

“I dreamed about you every single day,” he whispers against my ear. Shivers race through me. I squeeze him as tightly as I can. His body tenses. When I glance behind me, Seth is removing his octopus weapon. The forest around us comes alive when a different chorus of war noises sounds out around us this time.

“Get behind those rocks over there, Chela,” Faris orders. I open my mouth to speak. “No questions. Go, now!” I scurry away at once.

“Might need this, cat boy,” Seth says to Faris and tosses a schorl in his direction. I can tell Faris is both surprised by and suspicious of his generosity. So am I. A schorl is a demon slayer’s weapon and not something a Tainted would need to have. Faris forms the spiked staff. I hold my breath, feeling terrified of losing him again.

A strange man with a flat forehead rushes out of the trees on the opposite side of the cave and heads straight toward Seth. Dressed in all white armor, the man carries a weapon similar to an ax. The tip is made out of a strange type of blue metal. Without the ability to instantly create his knife wings, Seth becomes easy prey. It’s too soon after his last transformation. He doesn’t have the energy to make his wings again so soon. This problem affects all angel-bloods, not only the Tainted. But I feel fine. It’s time for Seth to pay up on his part of that 50-50 in this relationship.

Across the way, Faris stumbles more than he does anything else. He’s too weak to take on the flat headed guards who are running out of the trees and storming the area.

Why are there so many of them?

A girl with white hair sweeping across her butt steps onto the scene. She rips me back to a familiar place, but I can’t think of where I’ve seen her before. “Not even one day has barely passed, and you’re right back in the boiling chair, Prince Indrail,” she says to Faris. Three guards take him down with little effort. One of the taller ones manages to wrap a chain around Faris’s neck. She turns to Seth next. “Two prizes in one shot. I’m one lucky girl, aren’t I?”

“Yes, well, if you’ll have your men remove these chains, then I can turn you into a dead girl, if you like,” Seth says with a sneer on his lips.

“Oh, Seth Alton. I have a special treat for you. Don’t worry,” she says and turns back to Faris. “Take this one to the cage. Make sure you lock the door with the heavy chains this time.”  For the first time in days, my necklace sizzles to life, burning the skin underneath it. I don’t care. I do know there is no way I’m going to let anyone steal Faris away from me again.

Honeysuckle scented winds stir around us. The girl’s white hair blows forward and flaps over her navy blue pantsuit. She has no clue about what I’m doing. I stand and walk out of my hiding spot.

“Chela stay where you are, damn it!” Faris says in my head.
Okay, um, two guys with the ability to talk inside my mind is so not cool.

Our gazes lock, his silver eyes with my hazel ones. I can’t lose him again. I’ll die if we’re separated any longer. The girl spins around and looks me up and down. Her thin, but noble and long face gives her an otherworldly type of beauty. She has pale white skin that blends in perfectly with the snow covering the ground, and colorless eyes that make me think of the albinos in the history books Father showed me.

“Chela, the infamous goddess girl, the unintentional savior of the human world,” the girl purrs and locks her icy, clear-eyed gaze on me. “Oh no, no, no. This is too freaking much. It’s so good, I don’t even think sex can touch what I’m feeling, right now. The love of Prince Indrail’s life stands before me. Do you know who I am?”

“No. I don’t wanna know, either,” I answer truthfully.

“I’m Olivia, the girl who was promised to Prince Indrail. He was to be my husband. But he jilted me, for a gig in Gabriel’s army of all things. He’ll do the same thing to you one day, little goddess,” she says, smiling.

“I don’t think so. We love each other. I didn’t have to tie him up and torture him to make it happen either.”

Her smile fades. “Good for you. Too bad I won’t get an invite to the wedding. By taking you down, I’ll be tearing his heart out in a different way. And I won’t even need to touch him. That’s the fantastic part. With that lovely attitude you’ve given me, I’m going to enjoy every second of this,” she says and forms a ball of ice in between her cupped hands. In response, I clench mine and give in to the raging anger coursing through my veins, burning me.

I refuse to let anyone else I love get hurt. And then I feel it: the quickening breaths, the heat that stings the inside of my body, the tearing against the skin on my shoulder blades. It’s the Grace! I know it. Something about the rush is different this time, though. My body trembles and my heart thuds with an adrenaline like I’ve never felt before.

The wind starts to blow harder. Seth and Faris glance at each other, but the guards don’t have a clue about what’s happening. The prison warden’s men continue to storm onto the scene even after the temperature around us begins to melt the ice on the outside of the cave and in the trees.

A few of them adjust their collars. These are ice guards, a group of people who live inside the Ice Mountains. Being exposed to any type of extreme heat can take them out. Father’s Historian friends are always talking about how the ice guards fascinate them. The man holding on to Faris’s chain releases it and falls to the ground, writhing along with the other men.

Yeah, that’s right! You won’t be taking him anywhere today.

Closing my eyes, I focus on the anger I’m feeling the way Seth told me to do when we destroyed the blobs. I think of Micah, Mother, my family, and friends. Most of all, I think of Mrs. Needlemeyer and the way our former nanny suffered before she died. Tears form in my eyes, and my pulse pounds so hard that the forest thuds along with it. The rest of the guards suddenly drop their weapons and fall down, gagging and gasping for air. Horror fills Olivia’s face, and her ice ball turns to water flowing out of her hands. Seth’s lesson on how to control the fire elemental inside the Grace pays off.

A couple of trees burst into flames. My arms and legs, my entire body feels as though it’s on fire. There’s no coppery colored light shooting out of me the way it did with Rabia back in Oceania; but the Grace inside me has changed in some way, more powerful and easier to focus on a target.

Olivia drops to her knees and slams her hands over her ears. “Make her stop this. Make it stop!” she screams.

My eyes roll back in my head, and I feel as though I’m floating through the air. This ability, this glorious gift from an ancient creature mixed together with the forbidden power of the fallen angels fills me with joy, hate, love, and pain, overwhelming me. Out of nowhere, the tears begin to fall.

I’m losing my mind and burning alive. Wonderful.

Faris’s voice calls to me, calming me. My body lowers, but the tears still stream down my face. Arms circle around my shoulders, holding me tight.

“Don’t be a love-sick fool. She’ll burn you alive!” I hear Seth’s voice saying to the person embracing me.

I know who holds on to me before I even open my eyes. We haven’t needed words for months. And now that we’ve found each other again, we don’t have to use our dreams to understand what the other one is feeling. Faris. He’s holding on to me, taking my pain into his body, balancing me. He shivers. I shake. “Look at me, Chela,” he mutters. I open my eyes and stare deep into his. A single tear falls from his right eye. Even though he’s weak, he still manages to use his memory wiping ability to ease the rage inside me. I don’t want him to take this feeling. The anger feels good. Better than I thought it would.

I should hate Seth for showing it to me; but I don’t
.

“Reel it in. Hold on to who you are. Balance it out, Jewel Face,” Faris whispers furiously, his face now buried in my hair, his lips gently grazing the top of my ear. I pull the thing inside me back into whatever place it came from. My muscles tingle in the places after the power eases out of them.