The Rise (19 page)

He hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. “You’re…vulnerable right now. I shouldn’t—”

My fist flew out and connected with his chest before I could stop it. Kayden rocked back a little, but didn’t stumble. His eyes went wide and his hand came up to his chest. “What was that for?” he asked.

I paused, looked down at my clenched fists. Miraculously, the towel I’d wrapped around me had stayed in place, so at least I wasn’t standing here punching him butt naked, but other than that, I was slightly mortified. I couldn’t tell you why I’d hit him. I just had.

“I don’t know,” I said, lifting my chin a fraction. “Felt like it, I guess…sorry.”

Kayden chuckled. “It’s okay, Warrior. I can take it.”

My Monster laughed in my head.
Oh, just go for it, Warrior. If you think you’re ready. You deserve a little fun. And I must admit, that
was
fun
.

I took a step toward Kayden and tossed my hair out of my face. “Wait, I know why I hit you,” I said.

Kayden raised an eyebrow, his lips turning up in a small smile, but the predator still present in his golden gaze, his voice low and almost threatening. “Why is that, Warrior?”

I walked around him and took a seat on the bed, the challenge clear on my face. “Because you called me weak,” I said. “I am not weak.”

Kayden came forward slowly, his fluid movements making my breath fall short again. “No,” he said, “I called you vulnerable.”

I shrugged and scooted back on the bed, the edges of the towel riding up my legs. “Same thing to me. And I didn’t like it.”

When he reached the bed he hesitated, but by the look in his eyes you would think that it hurt him to do so. I grabbed Kayden by the arm and yanked him down to the bed, before I could think twice about what I was doing, I crawled on top of him, pinning his arms above his head with my own. I leaned down over him, my long dark wet hair brushing against his skin. “See,” I whispered, “you’re trapped. You couldn’t escape me now if you wanted. You are no match for my Warrior strength.”

His laugh rumbled through his chest, and then he flipped me, hard, so that I was now the one trapped under him, his arms pinning mine to the mattress. His light hair fell forward, and his eyes burned like molten gold. “Is that what you think?” he asked.

I gave a crooked smile, nodded, wrapping my legs around his strong body. “You haven’t shown me otherwise,” I said, but my voice came out ragged and strained.

Kayden’s fangs slid out, and his hand moved down to the towel that was still between us, the
only
thing between us. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing.

Then, a knock sounded at the door.

Kayden and I froze, and another low growl issued from his throat, but he stood up and grabbed the t-shirt that had been discarded at some point earlier from the floor and tossed it to me, his muscles nearly quivering with tension. I caught the t-shirt out of the air and pulled it over my head, my own hands shaking, wondering at how the universe could hate me so much.

I ran my hands through my hair, though I knew it was no use. I would need longer than a few seconds to appear less, well, hot and bothered. Once I was as decent as I could be, I nodded to Kayden, and he opened the door.

It was Camillia. She strode into the room with the air of the Queen she was, glancing between me and Kayden as if she knew exactly what had been going on in here. I folded my arms over my chest, probably looking like a child having a temper tantrum in my oversized shirt. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, but I ignored it.

“Look, Camillia,” I said. “This better be good—”

“Oh, I would imagine so,” she said, cutting me short. Her eyes flicked between Kayden and me again, the ghost of her former smirk lifting her lips. Sadness was still written clearly in the lines of her face. I was just doing my best not to seem embarrassed or ashamed. I was an adult now, and with what was being asked of me, I felt entitled to do what I wished behind closed doors. Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself as Camillia’s gray eyes studied me.

“She was lying to you,” Camillia said, cutting into my thoughts.

My brow furrowed. “What? Who was lying to me?”

Camillia came over to the bed and flopped down beside me, then bounced back up, as if she’d touched something dirty. Now it was my turn to smirk. “Relax,” I said. “Nothing happened here.” Yet. I could feel the word hanging in the air, but pretended I didn’t notice.

Camillia sat down again, gathering her bedclothes around her. “My sister,” she said. “She was lying when she told you that there is no Seer here. There is one.”

I saw Kayden go tense again, just the slightest flex of his muscles that I don’t think anyone ever noticed but me. I studied Camillia for a moment, trying to decide whether or not I trusted her. The answer came quickly. I didn’t. “
You
lied to me,” I said. “You told me my Mother was dead. That you found her body ‘drained dry,’ if I remember correctly. And yet, I found her, didn’t I? And do you know where she was?”

My temper hit the roof like an explosion, the way it always did when I got really upset. My jagged fingernails dug into the raw skin of my palms and I pushed my fists into the bed, leaning forward now. Camillia was leaning back, her face calm, but her fear betraying her in the grays of her eyes. “You must understand—”

“What
must
I understand?” I growled, and Camillia’s hand flew up to her throat, as if she expected me to spring forward and tear open her neck. Actually, that idea didn’t sound half bad right now.

Easy, Warrior. Easy now,
my Monster crooned murderously in my head.
She came here with information that might help Nelly. I don’t know about you, but I’d say the chance is worth hearing her out. If she’s lying, then we ‘tear her throat open. ’
A laugh.
Very eloquently put, but the way.

The tension in the room seemed to me to be about as thick as cold honey, as if the air had stopped moving altogether. I forced myself to take a deep breath and rolled my shoulders. “Okay,” I said, half a growl still carrying my tone. It couldn’t be helped. “Tell me what you want to tell me.”

Camillia took so long in answering that I wasn’t sure she was even going to. Just as my patience was wearing out, she said, “First, I want to tell you I’m sorry about your mother, Diana. I’m sure that means nothing coming from me, but I do mean it. I told you that she was dead because I was ordered to do so. I think you can guess by whom. Two Rivers has been under the King’s watch from the moment you arrived there. I did the things I did, told you the things I told you to protect you and your sister, though I don’t expect you to believe that.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I don’t.” I waved my hand. “But get on with it. What about this Seer?”

Kayden had been so silent, leaning against the wall in the corner of the room, that I had almost forgotten he was there. Now he moved in that impossibly fast way of his to stand beside the bed, and was glaring down at Camillia. Whether it was because she knew that Kayden wouldn’t hit her, or that she was just genuinely more afraid of me, Camillia didn’t even flinch.

“Yes, your Majesty,” he said, “What about a Seer?”

Camillia met his gaze steadily, and some sort of silent message seemed to be passing between the two of them. My anger raised the roof again. “Seriously?” I said. “What the hell aren’t you telling me?” I looked at Kayden. “Why do you keep tensing all up every time someone says Seer?” My eyes flipped to Camillia. “And why do you have a look on your face that whatever he’s upset about you agree with?”

I wasn’t even sure that made sense. If I couldn’t punch or kick something when I was angry, I usually ended up jumbling my words with frustration. But looking at them, I saw that they understood me
perfectly
, and that I was right.

“Yes,” Kayden said. “Tell Alexa why going to a Seer for help is one of the worst decisions anyone—
especially
someone like her—can make.”

Camillia sighed. “Oh, don’t act as though you think I wasn’t going to,” she said. “But she has the right to make the decision for herself.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, thanks for finally hopping onto the same page as me. Now, tell me about the damn Seer.”

Kayden had returned to his spot against the wall, his foot braced against it as he leaned back with his arms folded over his chest, golden eyes staring out of his lowered head. He was glowering like a giant-sized toddler. If the situation weren’t so serious, I might have laughed. Camillia just seemed to ignore him. “Seers don’t concern themselves with the matters of our world,” she said. “What they can do is considered Divine power. They are said to know the secrets of the universe, though because no Seer will ever reveal such things that is more an assumption than actual fact. They are blind and deaf and dumb, but they can move from place to place without ever entering a room. You ask of them an answer to any question, and if they do not want to share the solution to your problem, they don’t.”

I sat silently, trying to take this all in, but Camillia continued. “There is one other thing.” She paused. “It’s a matter of superstition really, but then, most superstitions have some factual basis. Do you consider yourself superstitious, Alexa? Do you…believe in God?”

That was an odd question, and I didn’t really like the way it made me feel. I had never given much thought to God, but then, I had never given too much thought to vampires or werewolves, either. I avoided the question with one of my own. “Why does it matter?”

Camillia bit her lip the way one does when they are about to drop a bomb. I felt my stomach clench. “Well,” she said, “because Seers do not just
give
you the answers you seek, there is always a trade of some sort. They could ask you for anything, a lock of hair or the button from your shirt or your first born child, and if you refuse, you don’t get what you came for.”

I sat back. “That all?” I asked.

Camillia shook her head. “Not exactly. Some people believe that when you make a trade with a Seer you make a trade with the Powers Beyond.” She paused, letting this sink in. “Like selling your soul for all of eternity.”

My eyebrows shot up and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. “But that’s just what
some
people believe, right? It’s not necessarily true. I could at least go and see what the Seer would ask me for. That’s not so bad.” I looked to Kayden, who looked madder than a taunted bull, and back to Camillia.

Her eyes flicked briefly to Kayden. “I wouldn’t imagine that that’s what has your Libra over there so upset,” she said, as if Kayden couldn’t hear us. “If you were just going to
see
what the Seer would ask of you, I don’t think he’d have a problem.”

I looked at Kayden. “Then what’s the problem?”

Camillia placed her dry, cold hand over mine, making me jump. Her eyes were full of sympathy when she spoke. “Because we all know that no matter what the Seer asks of you, you will agree to it if you think it will help you to save your sister. And I, on one hand, am willing to let you do that. I know firsthand how important Nelliana is. Wallace knows this too, but he, on the other hand, does
not
want you to do it.”

Kayden’s expression confirmed this, and as I looked at him I could see that he was not simply angry, but afraid, for
me
. It made my heart hurt. His eyes seemed to beg me to say that what Camillia claimed wasn’t true, to tell him that I would be here with him forever, no matter what happened. But I couldn’t say those things. I couldn’t
do
those things. Camillia was right, and we all knew it. If I thought it would save Nelly, I would gladly sell my soul to the devil for the rest of eternity. That, if nothing else, was and has always been the one thing in my life that was of no question. Nelly came first.