Blakeshire (22 page)

I glanced around the table, wondering how many of these cleavage ink waves were making eyes at Drake. The fact that I saw Drake nod and smile darkly at one of them was not helping me at all. What was that about? Who was she? And why did Drake’s gesture make Xavier grin? And speaking of Xavier, a man that I knew was evil, why was his face not covered in ink?

Needing to force my gaze in another direction, I glanced at the seat next to me. Britain. Oh my God, he was seated next to me. Just to stifle my rage, I breathed in, and when I did I found a relief to that awful smell. The scent of vanilla laced with cinnamon was strong, and as if Britain knew I was suffering he casually moved his chair closer to me and leaned in my direction. For spite, I held my breath once more, deciding that I hated vanilla, and cinnamon for that matter—especially since the last time it was that strong around him was when Anna was in his bed.

On the inside, I smiled when I saw the red line at the base of his collar; his tie barely covered the mark I’d left on him. That was one risk about The Realm: if you died there or were seriously hurt, that came back with you, too.

Aden ignored him, but I felt the rage rippling off him as he stared down the table in Drake’s direction. I was almost sure I saw Aden tilt his head in Britain’s direction to offer a warning to Drake, but he didn’t see that warning; he was too busy staring at the ink cleavage—well, not the cleavage, but the girls’ faces which were masked with ink. I would have been furious if I didn’t see him glance at Xavier a time or two so that he could ensure that Xavier saw where his attention was going.

Drake looked far more relaxed than anyone else at the table. He was leaned back in his massive throne. His elbow was perched on the arm of the chair as his hand covered his strong profile, highlighting each of his dominant features and those entrancing eyes. It was like anger and power intensified his magnetism. So hot. And he was mine. At least I thought he was.

When Xavier and the others lowered their head in a silent prayer, Drake’s eyes met mine. He winked once and moved his hand so I could see that ghostly smile lingering on the corners of his lips. When I told myself to ‘see’ him, I saw myself, I saw him staring at me as I took in the landmarks of that town, my expression when I saw the waterfall and the willow trees; he was thinking of our day together.

He was forgiven for the glances he gave those girls at that instant. Even if he were playing me right now, I didn’t care. He gave me a day that would take eternities to forget—and if the price for that day was not breathing through one meal, then so be it. It was a fair price that I would gladly pay.

When I saw images of him holding me in his mind, that fire in my core intensified. I casually adjusted the way I was sitting as I felt that burn and let out a silent sigh.

At least I thought it was silent. Britain seemed to notice and gave me one of his ‘watch your back’ glances as his scent was amplified, almost as if he were silently staking a claim on me with his energy. I immediately noticed how Xavier’s attention turned to the pair of us. He grinned wickedly as he nodded once at Britain.

I wasn’t sure if Drake realized Britain was there or not. Even if he did, he may not recognize him. When I took Drake to my home dimension, he knew I was furious at my recent ex. I pointed out who Anna was, but by the time Britain showed up we were deep into the act that stated I was not grieving for any ex of mine.

The silence was screaming at all of us as the soundless prayer ended and Drake’s glare moved around the table. When his eyes met mine once again, I saw a small, enticing smile threaten his lips. Flashes came to my mind as I appraised him once again. This time, I saw the gentle way he always seemed to caress my bottom lip. I could feel his desire to do that right now, and that made me feel invincible.

My heart thundered as I struggled to hold an uncaring expression on my face and not breathe at the same time.

Moments later, the doors opened again and servants slowly wheeled in the first course, along with wine.

Drake was served first. After tasting the wine, he covered his cup with his napkin. The servant seemed petrified. She moved down the table, serving the other guests. When she reached
Aden and me, she covered our wine glasses in the same way Drake had.

Another servant approached Drake and served him soup. I doubted he even tried it; his spoon looked empty from where I was sitting. He took his spoon and crossed his bowl with it.

Once again, fear emerged in the servant as she served everyone else. Once she reached us, she crossed our spoons over our bowls like Drake had.

As the others ate, that cold stare of Drake’s met each one. I kept my eyes peeled on him; not only was he causing that fire to burn inside of me with nothing more than his presence, but the power and mystery he was portraying was seducing my mind, causing me to question how much of a stage he was on. He was really good at this king stuff.

Each course, the same action was taken. He refused the food, terrified the servant, and then our plates were covered.

More than once over the course of this meal, I felt Britain’s hand on my knee. I had backed away from him, gave him glares, and was seconds away from tossing him away from me with one strong push of my energy.

Aden had picked up on what he was doing to me just before the main course. As dessert was served, Aden lost his cool. He stood, held his arm out to me, bowed to Drake, glared at Britain, then walked us right out of that room like we owned the place. What made it seem so dramatic was the fact that the royal guards left at that moment, too.

As soon as we reached the hall, I took a deep, lasting breath, thankful for fresh air and wishing that my sense of smell would go on hiatus. Monroe must be behind this—these ink waves and bad odors. Obviously, she not only wanted me not to have fear, but also to see my enemies.

Right as I thought that, I tensed; a flash of diamond eyes passed through my mind’s eye, along with that haunting aroma of peppermint.

I was losing my mind. I was sure of it.

My heart was pumping—not out of fear, but excitement. I knew we had left them confused and insulted. I was sure that Britain would be put in the uncomfortable position of explaining our exit before long. That would teach him to toy with me.

Chrispin passed an amused grin to Aden. “Didn’t think you were going to make it that long.”

“He wants me to kill him,” Aden fumed.

“It took all I had, too, man.” Chrispin elbowed me. “I figured she would toss him across the room if he was too forward. I couldn’t see his hands, I just knew they were too close.” He pulled his shoulders back.

“Creator help him if Drake figures out what that boy was doing,” Zander said in a low, mischievous tone.

“Seemed busy with the female company,” I mumbled, half on stage, halfway putting a wall around my heart.

“Amusing, Xavier,” Aden said so quietly that I doubted anyone else heard him. “Looking glass,” he said to Chrispin.

Chrispin offered a confused glance before nodding to the men around us, telling them to lead the way.

Three hallways later, I saw two young guys standing guard in front of a rather modest doorway. I recognized them from Chara; they were on the boat that we traveled on when we played that courting night out. Their purpose was to give Drake balance in the palace, for him to bring in outside sources to help protect us all.

The authority that each guard seemed to give Chrispin led me to believe that Drake had exercised that confluence and placed Chrispin in charge of all those that were selected to protect not only us, but also Drake. Authority and power must come natural to each of Drake’s brothers. Even though I knew Chrispin could be as innocent and playful as Preston, right now he was all business and clearly let off the vibe that crossing him would be a bad idea.

“Let them pass,” Chrispin said to them. The guards glanced warily at each other before they finally allowed us in.

“Stella and Marc are at dinner,” Chrispin said to us. “Make it kind of quick. Stella is a bit protective of this room.”

Marc was Drake’s brother, too, the one that looked almost too much like him. Stella was his girl. I had gathered that she was from this dimension originally. Willow had brought her home to Chara.

After the doors were closed behind us, the only light in this stone room was coming from a pool of water. I glanced at Aden with questioning eyes.

“I told you before, this is not saltwater. And now I’m a hundred percent sure that your dream did not take place here. I just want you to see the rings, see if the sight of them sparks a memory or different aspect to any past dreams. There has to be a reason this is within both you and Charlie,” he said as he urged me closer.

Before I even reached the edge of the pool, I could see rings moving slowly in the water; three were solid, one was weak, faded.

I didn’t feel any odd energy or memories surfacing, but I did sense that nagging obsession that I had. I wanted to know where that water came from, how or if it connected to other areas of the palace that may still have water within them…that, or a pet octopus lingering.

“They are calling this a looking glass?”

“Apparently. It was something that Donalt had built. He had a part of a necklace Willow wears inside of it. They think the force of this caused the storms in the string that Austin always talked about. It moved under water after a few of their trials. It was called that because Donalt had led everyone to believe that whoever stood within those rings and held Willow’s heart would be able to see across all dimensions, set the intent for each.”

“Well, that
’s a bunch of crap.” My statement was based on nothing less than a gut feeling. I was pretty sure that as powerful as that Donalt guy seemed to have been, he would not need something like this to do such a thing—especially if he used The Realm; that place connected all worlds. This was something else, a distraction or piece to a puzzle—definitely not the whole truth.

“Figured you’d say that. They kinda freaked out when I went to see if it was saltwater. I was assured that it wasn’t by Stella; she knows this looking glass better than anyone.”

“Does she,” I murmured as I started to unbutton my dress. I had spotted what I thought was a passageway under the water. It reminded me far too much of what I had seen that octopus lingering near.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Going for a swim. I want to see what’s under it, why it’s spinning.”

“Are you mad? You haven’t swum since you were, like, nine.”

“True,” I said with a smirk.

That’s what sucks about fear: it robs you of the things you love. I was obsessed with swimming when I was girl. It was the only sport I’d ever participated in. I was good at it. Fish in the water, as my mother would say. After seeing that vision, showers were as close as I got to depth when it came to water.

“But some things you never forget.”

“This is not what you are looking for—both places I think we were in are in different wings, and you have no idea what’s in that water,” he argued as my dress fell and I tucked the locket into my tank top.

“I’m hoping there is an octopus that is guarding something.”

“You’re insane.” He glanced at the water, then at me. Knowing that there was no way to talk me out of it, he fell back on his classic words of caution. “Stay clear of the rings; we don’t want anyone in the string to get hurt because you are experiencing a current lack of fear.”

“Sure thing,” I said with a wink before I rolled my shoulders and positioned my body for a dive.

I was in the water within the next breath. It was like bath water. I could feel the waves the rings were creating flow over me. It felt good to swim, really good. I kept to the edge of the pool, far from the rotation, but the deeper I went the more the pool narrowed.

I thought about turning back, but just as I reached the bottom of the rings I found my dark passageway. I kicked as hard as I could and swam through it.

I felt the water rushing over me and knew without a doubt that something was feeding this pool of water. Seconds later, I emerged in another pool. Needing air, I struggled to find the surface. When the surface finally broke, I found that I was in nothing more than another stone room, one that was tightly closed in. I pulled myself up on the ledge so I could catch my breath.

There was a dim light in here, but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. When I looked up, I saw that some of the square stones above were illuminated.

There were other passageways that led out of this room, four that I could see through the darkness. There were stairs leading into the water, which made no sense at all.

I wasn’t sure that I wanted to explore those other passages just yet. I knew Aden thought I was still under water. I wanted to go back for him, for his peace of mind, not mine. But I had to catch my breath first.

At least I had found one answer: Aden and I could easily find passages like this and follow them to where we needed to go without the watchful eye
s of the evil souls that walked this palace.

A rush of icy air moved past me. I could swear the dark shadows of the room had shifted. A deep growl emerged as an echo in the room.

So much for not being alone anymore. Time for a face-to-face with the evil man that had tormented the man I love.