Set In Flames (Morningstars Book 1) (17 page)

Maya sat on the cold stone floor, raising her head when she heard commotion out in the hallway. Her hearing must’ve taken a turn for the better again because the cell walls were padded and she figured usually she wouldn’t be able to hear a single thing.

She didn’t know how long she had been at her mother’s house, but she didn’t have any hope that the warriors were looking for her. Jaden would stop them and since they had the bros-before-hoes-motto, they’d listen to them.

Plus, she wasn’t sure anyone knew where her mother lived, especially since she seemed to have moved since the last time Maya actually had been with her parents. She guessed that they moved each time one of their children was gone. After all, they could be prosecuted for having created more than one child. She had never understood how her father hadn’t seen Destra for what she was, but having met her mother’s personal slave Maya now had a pretty good idea how that came to be.

The noises in front of her door got louder and suddenly the metal that once was a door flew into the room, blinding her momentarily by allowing the hallway lights to filter into her prison. The shadow that stood in the door though she would have recognized everywhere: dark jacket, heavy boots, jeans…

“Jaden?” she mumbled and he stepped forwards, his presence filling the room as if the walls shrank with his every step.

“Cupcake! I was so worried! Seriously! I am sorry for everything that happened! You scared the fuck out of me, Maya!” He wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight, and she took a deep breath. He smelled of night, spice and him, exactly the way she enjoyed most.

“I haven’t been gone that long,” she said against his neck, unsure if she was still mad or not. Besides the relief she was feeling no other emotions could take a hold of her.

“More than twelve hours, but that was still enough. I was so worried we’d never find you, or that she had gotten you and already killed you… Ryder said there is no telling what your crazy mother decides. Seriously, as soon as we are out of here, I make you mine. With the blood bond I’ll always be able to tell where you are and that is all that matters. You are mine, and no one will ever be able to keep me from you again. Not even you yourself,” he promised, showering her with little kisses while Maya heard more feet moving above them. She looked up to the ceiling and he cupped her cheek in his hand.

“They are all here. They were worried about you,” Jaden explained and Maya stared at him.

“How did you find me?” she wanted to know and he just cuddled her close again. She wondered what she would be feeling if his blood would be flowing through her body now.

“Ryder keeps tabs on your mother. I mean, not constantly, but every twenty years or so he checks on her. After realizing you were there he did check a little closer until… You know, Matt supposedly had killed you…” He kissed her hair before continuing. “We figured the first thing we could try was their old address to see if anyone knew where they had moved to. It’s almost ironic, but since your father works for the Morningstar Officials, he left a forwarding address. It was that easy,” he explained, pulling back to frame her face.

Maya couldn’t help but drink in his presence. It was soothing the ache of her heart, making her feel whole and safe.

“Forgive me, Cupcake. I was stupid and scared. I just didn’t know what I had done to deserve an Origin, and especially one like you. You are perfect for me and I promise,” he knelt, “if you take me back and forgive me, I’ll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you!”

She looked at him, kneeling in front of her, his head bowed, waiting for her to say something. She wanted to say so much, but had no idea where best to start, so she opted for the one thing she knew would never change and always be the right thing to say. “I’m yours, handsome. Always.”

He hugged her around the hips, pressing his head against her body and she leaned down, kissing his head just as Lex peaked around the corner.

“The sick sucker is dead. Ryder tore her head off,” he reported and Maya shivered at the mental image.

“Sorry,” Lex instantly apologized, coming further into the room to take his turn to hug her. “Don’t ever scare us again,” he then added and she shook her head. If Jaden would be treating her right, she wouldn’t have any reason to leave any ways.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jaden mumbled, picking her up. She knew that with his speed they simply were much faster than if she’d walk on her own two feet.

“Happily,” she replied, embracing him tightly while walking towards the door. Maya then already had the feeling that something was very wrong. And indeed, with every step Jaden took, the door got smaller and smaller. Without being able to do anything, Maya’s head hit the doorframe.

The phantom pain made Maya sit up straight. She was still sitting in a fully dark room, still placed on the cold stone floor, and still caught.

Tears started to fall as she realized that her mind had played a cruel trick on her. She probably should have realized that the moment Jaden had told her he had been worried, but Maya knew that nothing, absolutely nothing would keep her heart from hoping. Considering that fact, she was sure that more of those dreams were lying in wait for her.

Pulling her knees close, she quietly sobbed, hoping that her mother would grant her the mercy of a quick death because everything was better than seeing Jaden over and over again.

Back at the Morningstar base everyone was gearing up, discussing the best course of action.

“We should stay in a group. We never know how many vampires Destra has looking for her. And I’m being serious here; word travels fast, but the wrath of my mother faster. She will know Maya’s gone. She has the weirdest spider sense,” Ryder explained and Jaden picked up a brow. He was glad that Ryder would be joining them, but he feared as well that with him and Ryder in one group they could walk by Maya and she’d never show herself. They seriously had screwed up.

“I don’t think she’ll have big groups looking. Destra never was scared of Maya, if I read that in her thoughts correctly. Maya always was sure that Destra considered her a bug that could easily be squashed. If she had gotten word of her being gone, she’ll send out little groups of twos or threes. They can easily subdue her without creating suspicion,” Lex threw in and Colbin nodded in agreement.

“He’s right. The big group would only be out if Destra thought Maya to be with Jaden or any other warrior. She knows that we can take them without a second thought. We can cover a lot more ground if we spilt up. We will have two teams searching premises that have nothing to do with Destra. Maya eluded her for months at a time; we have to think about that, too. There’s a tiny chance that she just ran, so train stations, cab stations, hotels, motels, anything renting for a day should be checked, too. We don’t know if she has money or not. She didn’t take much from here, but still there can be a hidden safety deposit box she has. “The other two teams comb through the streets. Lex, you’ll
not
read all thoughts out there, you’ll focus on vampires you meet. Chances are someone noticed her because she does have a particular smell. Anything you can pick up on you can report back. Instructions are the following: Keep your cell close; don’t engage in fights unless absolutely necessary; this is no hunting mission. The main goal is finding Maya.”

Jaden gave Colbin a grateful look. Sometimes it was just too obvious why he was the leader because Jaden knew that none of them would have had thought about checking the train stations.

“Return before sunrise. I want everyone here except for maybe Jaden and Kaden. She has been at your house before. Maybe she gets scared or too weak to really stay on the run and she’ll show up at your door. I know you all would go through fire for her, but we can’t save her if we are dead. Understood?” Colbin wanted to know and everyone nodded.

“Understood?” he repeated and Jaden grinned, seeing others smirk as well. It had been a while since Colbin actually went out in the field with them, coordinating missions.

“Understood,” all present warriors said, making Jaden feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This was the male equivalent of a love declaration.

“If we find her, I want the first turn to hug her,” Devon said, surprising a laugh out of all of them. Tension eased a tiny bit and Jaden was glad about that. He knew better than anyone that focus was necessary, but too much focus would make you miss little things. Things like a certain vanilla-raspberry smell.

They moved out, Jaden being with Kaden in a mission that wouldn’t lead him into the suburbs to confront Outcasts. Ryder had been pulled from his side after all, and Jaden was glad. He was opting for motels as a starting point.

“If her body is behaving the way it had the last few days, she’ll most likely have a point of weakness ahead. She’s smart; she knows she needs a place to hide and a motel rents by the hour. She would not need to stay somewhere longer than that,” Kaden remarked, proving that they still thought a lot alike.

“Just what I thought. I can’t believe everyone felt the need to hang out with her, but no one ever bothered to ask how she paid for the expenses she had while being on the run,” he growled and Kaden gave him an accusing glance. Jaden knew what that meant, but he couldn’t change the fact that he had tried to stay away from her as much as possible.

“You try guessing her moves,” Kaden snapped and Jaden froze on the spot. His twin was actually right. They had considered what they thought she
should
best do in her condition, not what she most likely
would
do. And he had a pretty good idea what that was.

“Actually, she’d try to get away as far and as fast as possible. She wouldn’t want to be here with me or her mother. She would opt for a new beginning somewhere else. Something that wouldn’t remind her of me,” he remarked and Kaden’s face turned serious.

“Not a motel then. Cab?” he wanted to know and Jaden shook his head.

“No, a girl traveling alone long-distance in a cab would first cost too much and second cause a scene. Someone would remember and that could lead other people to her. Running is almost second nature to her.”

And what a scary thought that was each time he thought about it. They knew nothing of her methods or preferences. They just knew she wanted to stop hurting.

“I don’t think she’d take a bus though,” Kaden whispered, looking around them as if he was hoping that she’d simply appear.

“No, bus would be too much like a cab. You spend hours with the same people and once you get out, someone remembers. Maya especially draws attention. She’s beautiful after all,” Jaden agreed, already starting to walk again. Kaden instantly was by his side. “Train station it is, then,” they said in unison, hoping they’d find something.

“Nothing. Either those Outcasts really had no idea or someone tampered with their minds until they didn’t remember,” Lex announced as the twins met the rest of the group just before sunrise. They had cut it so close that Jaden already felt the heat that the rising sun had been throwing off.

“They had no idea. According to the ticket guy at the station, the girl with the unique purple eyes and the saddest expression ever left with her boyfriend. Tall, blond and weird eyes,” Kaden reported while Jaden closed his eyes. Nothing had been worse than hearing the dude refer to a stranger as Maya’s boyfriend. He was supposed to be her boyfriend, her mate, her everything.

“Seriously? I don’t think she had one,” Matt growled and Jaden nodded in agreement.

“She doesn’t. The dude, too, said that she was about to cry when her boyfriend came. They talked a while, him just kneeling next to her before a woman had a heart attack. Maya supposedly watched in utter horror, just before a child threw a fit, then the couple left,” he went on, finishing the rest of the twin’s story.