The Breaker's Resolution: (YA Paranormal Romance) (Fixed Points Book 4) (8 page)

“We have to warn her,” I said. “There’s no telling what he’s actually up to, and he’s obviously lying to her.”

“You don’t know that,” Merrin coughed out, nearly bowling over.

“I do,” I said, helping back upright. “Cresta would never do anything that would hurt Sevie. Even if it meant hurting herself. I…I know it.” And I did. She was faced with just that decision the day she broke through the Great Wall, and she chose to protect Sevie. That was who she was.

“And that’s not all,” I continued. “The things she’s doing, the destruction she’s caused; she doesn’t know about any of it. We have to warn her. Maybe she can find a way to stop it.”

“Alright. Then how do you suggest we get the message to her? I doubt a flare gun will do the job.”

“Sevie,” I answered. “His powers; he can get to her in his dreams. We send him back in and get him to warn her about everything.”

“And bring the Council right to her,” Merrin warned, rolling her eyes. “Do you really think your brother will go unobserved after this? Your family is less than trustworthy and, given the reaction Sevie had to the moon, I’d be very surprised if the Council didn’t have eyes on him at all times. Any transmissions would be piggybacked. If he so much as thought about Cresta, the Council would be aware of it. Be smarter.  You know these things, Owen.”

“Right,” I said, taking Merrin’s hand. “Which is why I need you.”

“I don’t understand,” her eyes narrowed.

“You said it yourself. The symbioses is more powerful than any bond the Council could have with us. Not only does it make our minds one thing, but it also effectively cuts the rest of the world out, assuming we want it to.” I swallowed hard. “All we have to do is get Sevie to run his frequency through our minds. It’ll link us to the dream and make it impossible for the Council to gleam what we’re doing.”

“But as soon as he leaves our mindscape-”

“Which is why he won’t,” I interrupted. He’ll stay here, with us, and send us along with the message.”

“Don’t you mean one of us?” She asked with raised brows.

“If this has a chance of working, then we need to keep the bond intact. It has to be both of us. I need you to go back into Cresta’s head with me, Merrin. I know it’s a lot to ask, and I know what you went through last time, what I put you through. But I wouldn’t ask if-”

“If your girlfriend wasn’t at stake. I know,” she sighed. “I suppose I asked for it.” She sighed. “Listen, it’s a lot of-”

A loud shriek came from inside the house, then a crashing sound big and loud enough that I was afraid it would shake the house. I turned, looking back toward the source of the noise.

“Come back here!” A woman’s voice-Mother’s voice- cut into me like a dagger piercing my ears. What was happening? What else could possibly be happening now?

I started toward the house, my heart in my throat.

Sevie came bounding out. His face was pale. His eyes darted back and forth, moving from me to Merrin and back again. Sweat plastered his blond hair to his head, and he panted loudly as his hands balled into fists.

“Sevie…” Merrin coughed. “Sweetie, are you-“

“Who?” He screamed, throwing himself back against the side of the house. Tears formed in his eyes as he finished. His voice cracked weakly. “Who are you people?”

“What just happened?!” My voice sounded shrill even to me as it rang through my ears. I tried to calm myself down, but how could I? I had just woken up next to a very naked and very pleased looking Royce. Had my memory conked out again? Had I just blacked out losing my virginity to the man I was supposedly supposed to spend the rest of my life with?

No. I wouldn’t do that, certainly not in some seedy motel room and-regardless of what the prophecy said- not with Royce. I still loved Owen. I belonged with him. That was my choice. That was my free will talking. I wouldn’t have given that up for a roll in the metaphorical hay with Royce. Even if he
did
look extra delicious laying here beside me.

“That depends on what you mean by ‘happen’,” he grinned devilishly.

My cheeks lit up like the fireworks the Crestview Methodist Gentlemen’s Association set off every 4
th
of July. “I don’t…” I stammered, trying to make sense of all this. “I can’t…” What had happened? How much time had passed? And, if what Jiqui did to me actually worked, then why weren’t my damn memories back already?

Royce threw the covers off of himself, revealing a tight fitting pair of gray boxer briefs. So he wasn’t actually naked, but he was still closer to it than I cared for (regardless of what my lingering eyes had to say about it). It also revealed that, in contrast to my initial thoughts, we
weren’t
under the same covers. He had left a sheet buffer between us.

“We didn’t sleep together?” I asked, sighing loudly in relief.

He didn’t look hurt as he took me in. Instead, a slim smirk danced across his smug (if tempting) lips. “Sweetheart, if we’d have had sex, there wouldn’t be enough shade in the whole damn world to make you forget it.”

I looked him up and down. His chest was hard and hairless. His stomach was flat. Still, I could see the scar of where the knife had gone in, and it sent pangs of guilt through me.

“Then why are you naked??” I asked.

“Not totally,” he said, his shielded eyes dancing down toward his underwear. “Though if it would make you feel more comfortable-”

“No!” I said, raising my hand to stop him.

“I’m doing my laundry, Sweetheart. We all are. Or, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that Casper is; seeing as how he lost the coin toss and all. In case you forgot, we didn’t have a lot of time to pack when we up and left the Hourglass, and I guess we were sick of smelling each other.”

“Charming,” I murmured, shuffling uncomfortably in the bed.

“As charming as reality, I suppose,” he smirked and leaned against the wall, which totally showcased his almost naked form in the best possible way. Judging by the looks he was giving me, I doubted that was an accident.

“Why don’t you put something on?” I asked, my eyes flickering away from him and resting on the bedspread.

“The only clothes in here are the ones you’re wearing Sweetheart. Though, if you’re offering, I’d be more than happy to relieve you of a garment or two.” He winked.

“How long have I been out?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Couple of days. Feels like three,” he answered, biting his bottom lip. “We thought you were a goner. I swear, I came as close as man could to knocking a couple of your uncle’s teeth out that first night. But he kept telling us you were gonna be fine, that this was how it always happened. I suppose he was telling the truth, seeing as how you’re awake now.”

An idea flashed across my mind and I instinctively looked under the covers, at what I myself was wearing. To my surprise, I found that I was dressed in a set of the ugliest pajamas I had ever seen; white with multicolored cupcakes dotting the pants and shirt.

“Casper had six dollars. It was the best we could do,” Royce explained. “Don’t worry. Dahlia was the one who changed you. Not that I didn’t offer, seeing as it was the gentlemanly thing to do and all.”

“How did we get the room?” I asked, flattening my hair with my palms.

“Dahlia threw a little shade at the innkeeper. Not that she’d have needed to. That bastard was hornier than a brand new bull in a cow pasture. I bet she could have just batted her eyelashes a time or two and he’d have given her whatever she wanted.” His eyes narrowed. “Though it did seem like the entirety of his world possessions consisted of a No Fear keychain and a half eaten bag of Cheetos.”

“And I suppose she could ‘shade’ me up a decent pair of pajamas?” I asked.

“Never thought of that,” he chuckled. “See, this is why we need you, Sweetheart. You’re the idea girl.”

Rolling my eyes, I stood. Stretching, I found that my body ached and my head was foggy and uneven. It felt like I had been in space or underwater, and this was me getting used to gravity again.

“So, are you gonna do it?” Royce asked, striding over toward me with all the confidence of the aforementioned horny bull.

“Do what?” I asked, very aware that he was approaching me in just his underwear.

“Come on now. We both know you’ve been wanting to do a package check since the second I jumped out of bed. It’s all right. Sneak a peek. I don’t mind. I ain’t got nothing to be ashamed of.” A smile spread across his lips. “I promise, I won’t blush.”

“You’re disgusting,” I said, pulling a sheet off the bed, handing it to him, and making sure to keep my eyes squarely on his own.

Wrapping it around his waist, he answered. “And you’re a hell of a lot more fun than you let on. One of these days, I’m gonna dig it out of ya.”

“This is serious, Royce,” I said, shaking my head.

“You’re damn right. I wouldn’t joke about it if it wasn’t,” he said.

“The end of world is-”

“Right,” he cut me off, biting his lip again. “You know, for a second I thought you were talking about you and me.”

My heart slowed down and sped up all at the same time. It was like someone had sucked all the air out of my body and I couldn’t tell whether I liked it or not. “Royce, the thing about you and me is-”

“Don’t,” he shook his head. Moving closer, he placed a finger on my lips, as it to silence me. “Don’t call me that, not tonight. Not right now.”

‘What am I supposed to call you then?” I asked, my lips brushing up and down his finger with every word.

“I wasn’t Royce until I lost you,” he said, staring so intently into my eyes that I thought the weight of it would break me in half. “When we were kids, like in the picture in your locket, I was someone else. I was Poe and you were Crescent. And we were together, like we were always meant to be.” His jaw set. “I like to think that somewhere, on some level, there’s a me and you that never left each other. We grew up together. We fell in love like we were supposed to; easy and natural. And there ain’t a Dragon in sight. Not here.” He said, looking around the room we now stood in. “And damn sure not in here,” he said, placing a finger over my heart. “I bet they’re happy Sweetheart,” he said, clearing his throat. “Those two kids, I bet they’re real, real happy.”

I stood there for a moment, looking into his eyes and trying to make sense of all he had just said. Was he right? And, if he was, did it even matter? We had already lived the lives he was lamenting. And for my part, I wasn’t sure I thought that was a bad thing.

Sure, I had had pain. But who got this far in life without pain? The way I had lived, the forced separation he had alluded to, afforded me a life with my mother and father. It gave me Casper and a childhood that had way more good times than bad. And, regardless of the way Royce felt about it, it gave me Owen too.

But what did I know about Royce’s life? He considered Renner to be his uncle, he thought of Laurel Luna as a hero, and-at least back in the Hourglass when I caught him on the phone- he had at least a speaking relationship with his mother. Perhaps life had been hard for him. Perhaps things had been lacking, and Royce had spent his entire existence yearning for something more, for the something only I could give him.

It was strange, to feel this close to him and yet know next to nothing about who he was and where he came from.

“Royce,” I breathed. “Poe,” I amended. “I just want to-”

He moved even closer to me, his fingers dancing across my flushed cheek. “Tell me Sweetheart,” his breath fell soft against my lips. “Tell me what you want.”

And the thing was, I didn’t know. For so long, I had wanted Owen, only Owen. He had been the sun in my sky. He was everything to me, and that was how I wanted it. But Owen was gone now; married and forcibly kept away from me. And Royce was here. He was strong and assertive. He pushed me in ways I never considered before, and believed in me without whitewashing who I was or what I might become.

And God, he was sexy.

His eyes peering into me, and I saw them for what they were. Quicksand. I was dangerously close to falling into them. And if I did that, if I let myself drift into the comfort that came with his touch, then I knew I might never recover.

But was that what I wanted?

The door flew open and I jumped backward. Frustration flashed through Royce’s eyes as he huffed. “What do you want?!” He growled, turning to the door.

“To give you your clothes, flat butt,” Casper answered. There was a small pile of fabric folded in Casper’s hands, which he promptly tossed at Royce.

“It’s not flat…” Royce muttered, looking back to make sure.

But Casper didn’t care too much about that. He had already caught sight of me. A huge smile spread across his goofy, beautiful face, and he darted toward.

“Cress! I thought you were gonna pull a Van Winkle. It’s been forever,” he said, scooping me off the floor and giving me a giant bear hug. “I had already prepared my overly emotional yet appropriately masculine goodbye. I guess I’ll have to save it for next time.”

“How many times are we going to have to say goodbye to each other?” I answered, much more seriously than he was probably looking for.

“Never again,” he answered, plopping my back on the floor and matching my tone. “From now on, you don’t go anywhere unless I’m right beside you. Even if that place is in your own head. Cars and roads, me and you. You jump, I jump. And we’ll share that big ass wooden door.”

“There really was plenty of room,” I chuckled, brushing moisture off my cheek.

“Don’t look so down, Charlie Brown. Don’t you know where we are?” He asked, smiling widely.

I blanched a bit because, as it turned out, I didn’t know where we were. For all the questions that had jumped to the forefront of my mind as I woke-how long I had been out, why Royce was lying near naked next to me- the very pertinent question of
where
I had woken up never crossed my mind.

Reading my face, Casper answered my unspoken question. “We’re in Greenburg!” He exclaimed, as if that was supposed to mean something to me. “Well, we’re actually thirty miles outside of Greenburg.” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t look excited.”

“It’s because she doesn’t know where Greenburg is, dumbass,” Royce said, sliding a shirt over his toned chest.

“Oh!” Casper’s eyes got big. “Greenburg is the seventeenth largest town in Maryland.” His smile grew even larger. “And it’s also twenty miles outside of a little town I used to call home.”

“Clarity,” I murmured.

“That’s right, little Ms. Bloodmoon,” he said, grabbing my shoulders and squeezing. “We made it! We’re an hour out of Clarity.”

A bit of something, like tempered hope, dripped into my chest. How fast had they been driving? They must have been taking turns and, even going twenty four-seven, that was very impressive driving. But we were here. In the time that I had darted through mindscapes with Sevie and Wendy (something I was going to have to unpack later) Dahlia, Casper, and the gang had made good on their word.

Clarity was in striking distance. And with it, so was the Damnatus, Casper’s kid, and my last best shot at saving the world.

For the first time in a long time I began to feel confident. Maybe we could actually win this. Or, at the very least, survive it.

I should have known  better.