Ethereal Knights (15 page)

“All right.” I slip my fingers over hers and walk us back to the entry. “Expect me after midnight.” I can’t imagine why she felt the need to barricade me from her thoughts tonight. Although, if it’s good enough for me, I guess it’s good enough for her. I want to say,
I’m sorry, Skyla Messenger. I don’t want to hide a thing from you. I swear I would die to protect you
, but it’s the wrong venue. And with Gage watching my every move like a bouncer, it wouldn’t feel right.

Instead, I land a sweet kiss on her forehead and follow Gage into the cool, damp night.

It’s time to face the faction and see what in the hell the Counts might want with the latest and greatest object of my affection.

Gage glances back at the house, with his blue sirens burning through the night in hope of one last glimpse of Skyla.

He’s making it pretty clear she’s his latest and greatest obsession, too.

Gage drags himself to the truck with his shoulders sagging, his gaze stuck to the concrete like he’s just lost a war.

Right about now, I’m hating myself just a little more than I’m hating the Counts.

I wish I could fix this for Gage. I wish I could duplicate Skyla, but I can’t.

I’ll just have to keep Skyla and Gage away from one another to make sure no unnecessary sparks go off.

Gage might have destiny on his side, but I’m not going down without a fight.

Gage

Logan and I drive down dark stretches of Paragon highway through vats of low-lying fog that rises like ghosts to greet us.

To say there’s weirdness between us would be understating the obvious by a mile. A wall of distrust has erected itself. This is nothing but a breech of loyalty where the girl of my dreams is concerned—and apparently his, too.

I tried to play it cool. Hell, I didn’t even say
hello
to Skyla tonight. And honestly, that’s because I was half-afraid she wouldn’t know who I was. Instead, I clung to the walls and watched like a jackass as Logan sprayed her down with kisses. The sight of his hands swiveling up and down her T-shirt hurt like hell to witness.

“She’s up to something.” Logan gravels it out as he squints into the windshield. “She was trying to hide her thoughts.”

“Dissention, so soon?” Nothing pleases me more. Hell, maybe
I’m
what she’s up to. Maybe I’m the reason Skyla felt the need to erect the mental armor. Although, it’s probably just wishful thinking on my part. I saw the way she looked at him, the way her lips found his whenever they had the chance. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t damn jealous. My insides boil just thinking about it. “You think she’ll try coming to the faction meeting?” Skyla’s got a feisty side. She said herself that she wanted in on the meeting.

“No—she won’t show.” Logan twitches his hand over the wheel. “She doesn’t know the island well enough, and she can’t drive. Besides, she’s got half of Paragon at her house doing shots off the kitchen counter. She’s got her hands full for the next few hours.” He sinks in his seat, uneasy. “She mentioned something about Chloe the other night. She said she came to her in a dream.”

“Chloe, huh?” It’s strange how she’s seeping back into our lives. I know her work on this planet isn’t finished. I also know she was pretty threatened by Skyla before she ever passed away. That’s exactly why traveling into the future is a shitty idea. Chloe had her jealousy all riled up once she saw a gorgeous blonde taking up residence in her bedroom. “What’s the matter? Afraid she’s sabotaging your relationship from the great beyond?” I’d like to thank her personally if that were the case.

“Chloe never cared that much about me. The Counts, however—they can do anything. The can get a Fem to morph into Chloe and brainwash Skyla into thinking we’re the enemy.”

A dull laugh rattles through me. “Wouldn’t it be funny if we were.” I stare out the window as my smile dissipates. The way those fragments of the future have been coming at me, you’d think both Logan and I were capable of sinister deeds that far outweigh anything the Counts could ever do.

“I’m not the enemy, Gage.” He says it dry—drags out the words as if he were stoned. “Are you the enemy?”

Looks like our conversation just migrated back into Skyla territory.

“Depends which war I’m fighting.”

“Are you fighting a war?” His ears peak as if he were truly interested in where my allegiance lies. And there it is. I’ve put up such a lame fight that not even the enemy is aware of any impending danger. I need to sink into the trenches, pull out the weapons of mass destruction, and rain down all unholy hell on Logan and his “relationship” before I prove my dreams and visions were nothing but a lie.

If he takes away Skyla, the girl I’ve been yearning for, he might as well rip the beating heart right from my chest. I’ve poured so much into her already—into
us.
I’ve bought into the fantasy because the prophecies never lie. They never even hint at half-truths. Skyla and I will be together in that hotel room, we’ll stand before a judge one day and seal our covenant before God and man—I know this is true. But, convincing Logan and unfortunately, Skyla, seems to be another story.

I glance over at Logan with his cut features, his chest as wide as a wall. It’s not a big mystery as to why she’s drooling at his feet, but I can’t figure out why the hell I’m having such a hard time getting her to give me a second glance if I’m the one she’s truly going to be with.

Right now, Logan is kicking the shit out me in the “get the girl” department. He’s snatched my future wife away before she ever hit my bed.

I touch my finger to the cool glass. After all these years of wanting—
waiting
, she’s finally here and she’s less mine than ever before. I feel empty without her, just skin over bone—nothing more, nothing less.

If I want Skyla, I need to sound the battle cry—better yet, take down the enemy when he least expects it.

I think it’s time for a little covert ops.

***

Nicholas Havar’s house is monolithic, and from what I’ve heard, pretty damn nice. But I wouldn’t know. We’re shuffled around the back, in the dark, like a couple of burglars over to an overgrown pool house that’s set up like an AA meeting. Rows and rows of metal chairs fan out in a semi-circle, while a buffet of donuts and coffee sits off to the side. Logan and I take seats in the front near the entrance and wait as the last-minute stragglers wander in—an equal mix of both men and women. It looks like Mom and Dad decided to ditch. I heard them saying something about dinner and a movie, and neither Logan nor I mentioned that we would be here.

Logan leans in. “Recognize any of these people?”

“Hardly. You?”

He shakes his head.

Nicholas Haver is as round as a barrel. He polishes off a pink-frosted donut before seating himself at a table that faces the audience. Him, I know. He’s been around as long as I can remember. He has a niece that came to the island one summer. Ellis swears she was his first conquest.

I’d like a first conquest—Skyla of course.

“Minutes?” He looks up at the crowd for a volunteer. A thin man with bushy brows and glasses raises his hand. “Dr. Booth.” He nods.

Haver opens in prayer before discussing odd news regarding parking permits and building codes. I had a feeling the faction meeting would bore me to tears.

I glance over to the doctor who’s busy taking copious notes. Dad’s a doctor—a PhD, to be exact. Mom says he’s overeducated. He got into the morgue right out of school, taking it over from some heir of the previous owner who couldn’t figure out how to run it.

The meeting drones on, and Logan shares the pictures of the morons trying to run us off the road.

“We’ll look into this.” Nicholas nods from over his glasses.

“So that’s it?” I whisper as Logan falls back in his seat.

“That’s it.” Logan shakes his head.

Nicholas Haver segues right back into the minutia of everyday life, discussing the potholes on Saddle Drive, and my mind goes numb from listening. If you ask me, the Faction Council is in need of new leadership. For all practical purposes, this could be a
city
council meeting, because not a thing about the factions has been brought up once.

I’m so fucking bored. I wish I were back at the party. Hell, I wish I could rewind the night and have it all work out differently. Now there’s a “super power” I’d love to have.

I imagine the house with all of its haunted memories of Chloe—those paper butterflies that I’m not even sure Skyla is aware of yet, lurking in the attic room. I picture Logan and me walking in and starting the night anew.

“Hi!”
Skyla would be eager to greet me. She wouldn’t even notice Logan and his pretty boy smile.

I’d try to say something, and she’d place her finger over my mouth.
“Don’t talk. Just kiss me.”

I’d plunge my lips over hers, and we’d kiss right there in front of every person I know.

It would be me that Skyla wanted to make a public proclamation with, not Logan. It would be me peppering her head with kisses, me with my arm secured around her waist—but it wasn’t.

I don’t know if it ever will be.

A dog barks wildly outside. I glance out the door and note a pair of shadowed figures stretching over the yard.

It’s probably Fems or Counts, trying to eavesdrop on the meeting. Bet they’re as disappointed as I am that they ever bothered to show.

Nicholas clears his throat. “Onto the matter of continuing debate—the fate of our brothers and sisters in the Nephil kingdom—Celestra. The global factions are conducting a tally on who should side with the dying breed. As you’re all aware, their numbers have dwindled significantly. It’s difficult to tell, but it appears Countenance is continuing with their eradication efforts. Of course, they deny it. They suggest it’s simply mathematics, not enough inbreeding within the faction.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath for an entire faction to save Celestra.” Logan doesn’t waste any time sharing his opinion. “I think we should form a band of people who’d like to do this on their own.”

Nicholas points his pencil in Logan’s direction. “Go it alone, and you’ll be thrown in the face of the Justice Alliance. They’re known for making examples of people like you who look past their rules. Rumor has it there’s a heartless Caelestis at the helm. I’d watch my step if I were you.”  

Dr. Booth, the “minute man,” clears his throat. “I hear Noster is thinking about unifying with them.”

“Noster can’t afford to side with Celestra,” someone shouts from the back. 

Logan pumps his leg like he’s stomping out a fire before raising his hand.

“So Celestra’s on its own?” He bounces with both feet like he’s about to launch out of the chair. “Then don’t threaten me with a trial by Justice Alliance when I take things into my own hands.”

Crap.

Doesn’t he see there’s no point in announcing stupid shit in front of people who obviously couldn’t care less about his race? Save the hero crap for later, dude.

The dog goes off in a barking fit again as shadows elongate over the silver lawn, long as ladders.

Nicholas holds up a finger and listens to the viral riot going on outside. He gets up and bolts to the door, and I follow suit.

Finally, some action.

The night air is chilled as the fog lifts its skirt against the woods in the distance.

A large, black pincher snarls in the shadowed portion of the yard. He stretches his neck as far as the chain will allow while two bodies crouch on the lawn. Nicholas speeds over and yanks them up like common street criminals.

“Skyla?” Knew it.

“What in the…” Nicholas gags as he looks the two of them over—Skyla and Ellis of all people. 

“She’s here for me,” I say, jogging over. I
wish
she were here for me, anywhere for me.

Logan shoulders up besides me, out of breath and shocked as hell from the sight. I tried telling him she wanted to be here, but he didn’t think she was capable. If he keeps underestimating her, then for sure I’ve found a crack in the armor.

“All of you, out!” Nicholas herds us off the property with a sweep of his arms.

Skyla tosses her shoulders back and shakes her head in defiance.

“I’m not here for them.” Her voice shrills loud like the cry of a peacock.

Nicholas examines her as if she were the least of his worries, but I bet he’s underestimating her, too.  

“I’m here because I belong here.” She adds before shooting Ellis a look.

Logan leans in and whispers, “Distract Nick. I’ll get Skyla the hell out of Dodge.”

I watch as he threads his arm around her waist, and a flame of envy lances my heart wide open. In the short time she’s been here, I’ve turned into a festering wound, aching over a girl I’ve waited a lifetime for.

And it sucks.

12

Logan

The Truth in Pieces

The fog unfurls in bolts as I help move Skyla across Nicholas Haver’s yard in an effort to avoid any more drama for the evening.

“Come on.” I bury my lips in her hair for a moment.

I’m more than a little shocked that she made her way to the faction meeting. Lesson learned. I won’t belittle her determination again anytime soon.

I take up her hand.
What the hell are you doing here?

Skyla looks hotter than hell on her covert mission and gives a crooked smile.

I didn’t mean for it to sound so demanding. The last thing I want her to think is that I’m some control freak who needs to monitor her every move.

I need more answers than you’re willing to give me.
Her lips twist in a cute bow, and it takes everything in me not to kiss her.

And you bring Ellis?
I shoot Harrison a look of annoyance. I’m sure he had no intention of escorting Skyla anywhere but his bedroom.

I needed to get behind the gates. Besides, he’s stoned. He won’t remember half this tomorrow.