Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook) (13 page)

I guess I’d expected something more profound.

"That's it," confirmed Xander. "After we jump on the interstate we can pick up a phone, and then we’ll call her."

"Okay. Who is she?"

Xander cleared his throat before he spoke, but kept his eyes on the road.

"I don't know, actually."

"You don't
know
? Do you even know where we’re going?"

"Nope."

The urge to jerk the door open and throw myself out of the moving vehicle was overwhelming.

"Time to tell me the plan, Xander. I need to know now."

"I know. I told you I would fill you in, but I just wanted to be sure the number was in the glove box. You know at the diner, when you questioned how I was supposed to keep you safe for the rest of your life?"

I nodded in acknowledgment and he continued on. "It upset me, because I realized that you didn’t ‘get the picture’ yet..."

"What picture?"

"The one where you will
never
be safe Skye. Not here. Hell - maybe not even in Tyalbrook."

A million curses and questions hurtled over each other in a rush to make their way out of my mouth, but all I actually said was, "Why?"

"I told you. You are the rightful Princess – no, scratch that - you are the
Queen
of Tyalbrook, Skye. At least I think you're the Queen. Anyway, McClintock is never going to leave you alone until you go home to Tyalbrook. And then when you get there, he plans to use you for your power. For your prophecy and bloodline. Do you get my meaning so far?"

"You're saying that he wants me for his wife?"

"Him and every other power-hungry man in Tyalbrook. Skye, it's like I told you: You’re a ‘game changer’ in our world. You’re like a magic pill for whomever you marry. You’ll not only make them a King, but you’re also prophesized to bring peace and prosperity to the kingdom…as well as the fact that your heirs are supposed to for centuries."

"How? I don't understand, Xander! What is it that I’m supposed to do that’s going to do all that you’re saying? I'm just a nobody..."

I saw him glare at me for putting myself down again and I stopped quickly. "I don't mean that like you think. I just mean that I'm not a fighter like you, and I certainly don't know how to rule a country. What is it that I'm supposed to do that’s going to change everything?"

"Well, let's call this number and find out," he said as he pulled the SUV into a shopping center with a Wall-mart. "C'mon - we can go grab one of those pre-paid phones."

He turned into a parking space and pulled the keys out of the ignition before turning towards me.

"Skye, here's the deal. Ri and I were going to ask you to go back to Tyalbrook with us as soon as we found a portal to get us there. Rioden told me that the remaining Guardians went into hiding around the same time that McClintock started the coup and you came here. He wants to go back and find them, if they're still there. He thinks they can put a plan together to take the kingdom over and get your crown back."

"What if I don't
want
a crown, Xander?"

"Then..." He faltered for a moment and I wanted nothing more than to reach my hand out to hold his, but we needed to have this conversation, and I knew that touching him would derail me from what I was thinking.

"Then I would be disappointed, Skye," he admitted. "I want to go home. But, if you choose to stay here, then I’ll stay with you."

"You’re are asking for the impossible!" I told him as I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed at the handle to get out. "You’re tying my decision with your own life. You can't do that!" I screamed, as I jumped out and slammed the door of the SUV. Leaning back against the door I willed myself not to cry.

"Skye..." Xander's voice was filled with concern as he walked around the car.

"Xander, you're asking me to go to some strange land that I’d never even
heard
of two days ago, to be their Queen!" I choked out, as I stared down at the ground.

I mentally called myself a coward for not being able to look him in the eyes.

"Yes, every girl’s nightmare is to '
be the Queen'
, I know..," he teased, using air quotes which caused my lips to twitch.

I kicked him lightly in the shin and then finally looked up. Damn! My knees were weak at the sincerity I saw in his face as he studied me. His full lips were pulled into a slightly crooked smile at the joke he’d made, but his eyes reflected the seriousness of the conversation.

"I can't...I mean, how am I supposed to make a rational decision here? I don't want you to
not
go home just because I won't go. It's your home! And you can't tie your life to mine because that's just not fair."

"Why not, Skye? Why can't I?” he pushed at me with his voice. “Huh? Why don't you want me to stay with you?"

He stepped closer and almost eliminated all of the open space between us.

"Why would you
want
to?" I stuttered, as I pulled myself up and backed against the car door; the handle jabbing into my spine.

"Damn it, Skye! Because I love you!" he swore, and pressed the palms of his hands onto the glass window behind my head.

"What?! Why, Xander? You don't know me, you don't know the things I've...."

"Stop!" he threatened, and leaned even closer to me.

"I do know you, Skye. I've been watching you for almost two years now. Every day.
Every
damn day and night I've watched you. I saw you move into your friend’s house and I watched you cry on the front porch that very same night. I sat there wondering if it was because you wanted to go back to the group home. I've watched you drink yourself into oblivion until you blacked out, and I've even watched you make out with drunk bastards who will
never
deserve you. God Skye, I've been in love with you my whole life, I've known you my whole life. My life is yours, I belong to you, I always will."

His words trampled away the last of my resolve…just shattered it into a million little pieces. With tears streaming down my face and a million questions swirling in my head, I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into him; reaching up on my tip toes.

His eyes were on fire as he stared down at me, and then he lowered his head slowly as I lifted mine to his; both of us giving the other time to back out.

But there was no way in hell I was backing down from this.

His forehead met mine and an audible sigh left his lips. Cupping my cheeks, his long fingers splayed out and wrapped down over my jaw line and onto my neck. His thumbs stroked my face softly. He held us there for an eternity, our breath mingling, and I closed my eyes so that I could savor his touch, his smell.

"Skye," he breathed, his deep voice full of need. "Look at me, beautiful."

I dug my fingers into his back and slowly opened my eyes, as he pulled his head back slightly so that we were no longer touching. It felt like time had stood still. The sun was beginning to set. Cars and people were passing us by.

But all I saw was Xander, five inches from my face.

I heard myself whimper. It was low and needy, and I wasn't even sure if he’d heard it. Just when I thought for sure that he hadn't, his hands tightened on my face and he pulled me closer again...foreheads touched, noses skimmed, lips met.

My world exploded when his soft lips touched mine, and we both gasped. His lips immediately took ownership of mine; his tongue running lightly across my bottom lip. My fists tangled into his shirt to hold me up.

I wanted to melt into him.

Xander

Nothing, and I mean
nothing
had prepared me for the moment when my lips touched Skye's. Her fingers were digging into my back, pulling me closer to her. I wanted to make her mine, to mark her as my territory.

I had intended to kiss her slowly, but the moment we made contact I lost all control. I felt her gasp as I ran my tongue over her bottom lip. A smile crossed my lips as I heard that small sound, and I immediately swept my tongue into her mouth to take possession of it.

Keeping hold of her face with one hand, I let the other one run down her neck, her arm and finally rested it on her hip. I gripped her belt loop and tightened my hold on her, pulling her as close to my body as I could.

Her tongue teased me as she alternated between playing with mine and pulling away, and then flicking forward like a snake.

"Skye," I groaned, and pulled back reluctantly as her flushed face looked up at mine.

I stood there watching as her tongue darted out and licked her swollen lips. It took every ounce of my strength to not lean down and capture that tongue one more time.

Grumbling again, I released her face and hip and moved my hands around her shoulders to pull her into a hug.

"We've got to go," I sighed.

Her cheek rested on my chest and I felt her arms tighten reflexively, as if she didn't want to let go of me. I squeezed her to me one more time before I stepped back and held out my hand to her. She grasped it immediately.

"Xander," her voice sounded soft, tentative as she spoke. "We’ll go, but we’re going to have to talk about this."

"I know. We will."

ELEVEN - THERE’S MORE

Xander

We made our way to the pre-paid phones quickly. Rioden had told me to head to the mountains, so I grabbed a phone with GPS capabilities. I had a feeling we would need a map to get to wherever this ‘Selene’ was.

"You know what? We should grab a few essentials," I said, looking at Skye. "I don't know where we’re going, but obviously we can't go get our stuff tonight."

"I don't have any money."

"I've got it covered. What do we need?"

Skye looked up at me, her hand still in mine, and I wanted to kiss her again. God, she looked so small and lost standing in that large Wal-Mart. After staring at each other for a moment, she finally spoke up.

"Well, I guess we’ll need toothbrushes at the very least!"

"Toothbrushes it is."

We grabbed a shopping cart and raced through the large store, snagging a change of clothes, a large duffle bag, some snacks and several travel-size toiletries. By the time we checked out and made a pit stop in the restroom, we had been there for almost an hour.

Itching to get back on the road and put more space between McClintock’s people and Skye, I insisted that we grab some drinks and a sub at the in-store Subway shop. Ten short minutes later we were in Rioden's SUV, pulling onto the interstate and making our way towards the mountains.

I handed Skye the phone for her to open and activate. Of all the things I had anticipated might happen to us right then, the call with Selene was the one thing that scared the hell out of me. Ri had never spoken to me of another person here in this dimension who knew anything about us. Telling me to run to this woman was so foreign to everything he had ever told me before.

"You want me to dial it for you?" questioned Skye, as she held the phone up.

I dug into my pocket, removed the piece of paper with Selene’s name and number on it and passed it over. As each digital beep of the number being entered echoed in the car, my pulse sped up. My hands had started to sweat, and I gripped the steering wheel tightly with one while I held out the other, palm up, waiting for Skye to hand me the phone.

She placed the cell in my palm once it started to ring, and swallowing down the urge to hit the End button, I put it to my ear. One ring, two rings three rings...

"Hello?"

The voice that picked up was clear; very feminine and pretty, like the sound of bells chiming, it was so light. I thought then that I probably should have decided what I would say before I called. Shoot!

"Hello?" she asked again.

"Um, yeah, sorry. Is this Selene?"

"Who is this?" Her voice was still light, but sounded a bit steelier now.

"I'm, um...I'm a friend of Rioden's," I threw out quickly.

I didn't want to tell this person my name, or even that Skye was with me until I had to.

I heard her breath hitch slightly when I said Rioden’s name.

"Xander?" she asked.

There was a tension, fear maybe, present in her voice now.

"Yeah, this is Xander. Rioden told me to call you."

"Is he alright? Are you alright?" she cried urgently. "How is Skye?"

What the hell? Confusion swept through me at her reaction. It must have been how Skye had felt when I’d told her that I knew her. Selene didn’t sound like someone who didn't know us; she sounded like someone with a vested interest. She sounded like I did when I spoke about Skye.

"Hold up, Selene. I don't know you, so here's the deal. Rioden told me to call you, and said you would give me directions," I barked out, harsher than I had intended.