True Fate (28 page)

Rhea said, "Oh-kay. Anyways.” to break the
awkward silence that had built up.

"Let's order.” she waved over the waitress
and they ordered and had a great lunch. There was little talk and a lot of
eating keeping it light while they could.

Nia, Rhea, Aaron and Adam were all taking
pictures documenting this road trip. It was one of Nia's requirements. Rhea
grabbed match books, napkins and even stuffed a menu in her bag as Nia went and
bought t-shirts for herself, Rhea, Adam and Aaron. They all wrote on the napkin
what they thought of the place and Nia tucked it in the trip journal they'd
started on their Cali trip. She put the match books in the middle console in a
bag they had from that trip.

Aaron and Nia sat on the second to the last seat.
Eric drove with Avery by his side and Rhea played DJ with the MP3 player. So
far so good.

 
Chapter 15

Eric
was on edge with every mile they got closer up north. The closer north, the
closer they come to danger. It may be a long time since he was in his realm but
he knows exactly where the entrances to their hidden world are. Nia was
oblivious to this fact and he wasn't sure he was okay with it. He had to find a
way to talk to Aaron alone without him freaking out. Knowing they'd see Lilith
tonight he hoped she could give them an update of sorts, he just didn't trust
her fully.

She may be trying to help Nia but there had to be
a motive for her she didn't do things out of the kindness of her heart. He
would have to wait and see but you could never be too careful. His biggest
concern was Eliara. If she found out they'd found Nia she would put a price on
her head and that would definitely be bad.

"Avery,” he said quietly.

It was dark now and everyone was asleep even her.
They were supposed to get a hotel to get some real rest but they had a driving
goal for the night.

"Hey.", she said letting a mischievous
smile spread across her face.

The entire drive was around twenty hours but they
had to stop along the way a few times and Eric had been designated driver to
that point. Avery had grabbed his hand two hours ago and had yet to let go.

Swearing he had no doubt he loved her already he
was torn about letting his heart feel this deeply. What if he couldn't stay
with her? What the heck was fate thinking if that was the case? Eric hoped and
prayed he didn't end up hurting Avery, he cared more than he liked to admit.
Falling into being together from being friends was amazing and terrifying all
at the same time. He knew her very well and she knew him better than any other
person on this planet.

"I can't believe I fell asleep. Sorry...”
she said sheepishly. "Did you miss me?” Avery asked.

"I guess.” he said raising the hand he was
holding and kissed it nipping at her knuckles.

Avery blushed and her heart raced but she just
laughed. She felt so lucky to be his, it was a dream come true for her and she
felt the need to pinch herself often because her mind couldn't wrap around the
fact that he was finally hers. She had been wondering when they would bond but
she did know it will have to wait until they weren't so, on edge. What worried
her most was letting herself get used to having him if Lilith was just going to
take him away again.

Truly amazed by what passed between them with a
kiss, it was fate, Eric was pretty sure. It hurt that she was a part of him now
it wasn’t just his future Lilith was messing with. He could feel her pulse in
his veins, and he could feel her emotions strong through their bond. He
wouldn't get tired of this new feeling anytime soon either he just hoped they
would get the forever that Avery really deserved after all the crap she's been
through. He needed to talk to someone who knew their ways and laws but wasn't
under Lilith’s thumb. He'd make time to do that as soon as possible, he promised
himself, he owed it to himself and Avery.

'So I was thinking we need to talk to Aaron about
how dangerous this trip really is. I don't feel right knowing what we're
walking into and all of them being unaware. We also need to train them a little
better before we cross the lines. I don't even know what to say to Rhea and
Adam but they are involved now.’
he sent Avery
silently.
 
'I think you're right. I'm
with you on this. Whatever you need I'm there
.’ she sent back.

Just waking up Aaron had lost all the feeling in
his arm but he didn't care. Nia was starting to stir and she cuddled in closer
to his chest relieving his arm of its holding duties. His arm tingled where the
blood was returning to it. He'd been looking at their promise marks before he
fell asleep, they really were pretty awesome when you think about it.

Feeling her consciousness coming to her slowly
Nia smelled Aaron's spicy soap and cologne scent that she couldn't get enough
of. She blinked away the haze that wanted to cling to her and reluctantly
opened her eyes. The moment she was met with those oddly bright blues all of
her reluctance just fell away. How could she want to sleep instead of spend
time with him? They needed more time to get know each other better although she
had no doubt she could get used to waking up to that look in his eyes. He gave
her a slight squeeze and kissed her forehead gently, Nia relished the feel of
his soft lips brushing against her skin.

"We're about to get into a hotel so
everybody wake up." Avery said raising her voice a little.

Darragh hadn't slept a wink he was definitely on
high alert which wasn't exactly good as he was feeling some sort of disturbance
in the glamour. Since Eric was driving it was his responsibility and he wasn't
happy with what he was feeling. By no means did he think they were in immediate
danger, but someone was definitely searching for Nia or Aaron or maybe both.
He'd need to contact Savannah and he knew Lilith wasn't going to like it one
bit, but they did have room for one more and her skills would be extremely
beneficial to them all, especially Nia. Tonight he could disappear during or
after the meeting with Lilith. They may not get another overnight before
crossing the lines.

Adam and Rhea were out cold and Nia looked at her
friends with a smile. She pulled out her phone and took a picture. Rhea had her
head on Adam's shoulder and his head rested slightly back but close beside
Rhea's and she would be loving the closeness. She hadn't ever really talked a
whole lot about how she felt about Adam but Nia knew she had her crush and for
a long time too and he was oblivious to it. Maybe the time together would give
way to telling him or at least talking to Nia about it. If they got together it
would definitely make the trip memorable.

"So everyone needs to room with someone so
no one is left alone.” Eric said getting off of the highway finally. Avery had
already mapped out the hotel and made sure it had rooms for the night.

"Let's go in and see what they've got.”
Avery said standing right outside the door and stretching. Everyone got off and
stretched, then went in to check into the rooms. Sorting it all out they were glad
all the rooms opened to the inside of the hotel. They were getting four rooms
even though Rhea was seriously a little freaked about being in a room with
Adam, but she knew she had to keep him occupied while the others took care of
official
business
. They got an adjoining room to Darragh's and there was also a door
linking Nia and Aaron's room to Eric and Avery's. They were all on the same
floor and right across the hall from each other. It was early still and the sun
had gone down about a half hour ago, so it would be dinner and down time then a
meeting with Lilith.

Avery suggested they order in and have their own
meeting though they told Rhea they needed Adam to stay out. She just had him
order pizza for their dinner. If it was important for Rhea to know Nia said she
would fill her in herself. They unloaded their bags and settled in while they
waited for the food. Thirty minutes later Eric texted, "Chinese food, my
room.", and they all headed over except of course Adam and Rhea. In Eric's
room there was plenty of space to sit and eat. That's where the ice chest had
ended up anyway
.

Avery extended out a bubble around all of them
and took a seat beside Eric. "Okay this is unofficial I guess, but there's
some things that we think you need to know.” Eric said looking at Avery.

Darragh cocked his head and wondered why they
hadn't informed him they were sharing information.

Eric sensed Darragh's apprehension and looked at
Avery.
'

They need to know the possible dangers if we're
supposed to keep them safe.’
he sent to Darragh while
Avery handed plates to Nia and Aaron.

"We are going to need you guys to really focus
on some training, both physically and mentally. Nia that means tapping into
your abilities if we can. At least what we can help you with.” Nia nodded
setting down the egg roll she had in her hand.

'I’m in full agreement. I will do
what I can to help as well.’
Darragh sent back to Eric with a nod as Nia eyed
them suspiciously.

"Every second we
have to spare we will have physical training and go over whatever we can with
you.” Eric said. "There's a reason we need to do this as soon as
possible....” he said trailing off wearing a grim expression.

"You know there's
hunters looking for you and this glamour Lilith provided is strong but someone
stronger is searching.” he said with an icy glare on his face. "We haven't
been assigned to protect you for nothing, Nia. We're the highest ranking
Guardians around, besides the Royal Guard, and we're here with you.” he added
slowly making sure she got the weight of his statement.

Nia nodded and tried to
shake the feeling of impending doom. She just needed answers or confirmation and
more information, it was all just too sketchy still. "If we're in danger I
have to tell Rhea and Adam something, they need to know to listen to whatever
we say for their safety.” Nia said softly.

"I know.” Eric
answered, "We will decide exactly what to tell them and then if you want,
we can all do it together. It's up to you.” he added.

###

Rhea and Adam sat in
their room flipping through channels on TV and eating. This was pretty awkward
and weird to be sharing a room, being alone together was new in general. Adam
was happier than he'd been in a long time, he was actually ecstatic about
coming along for the trip but baffled as to why he and Rhea were sharing a
room. He'd known Rhea and Nia forever and a day and he hadn't even noticed how
beautiful Rhea was. She was always around like a sister would be, her and Nia
both. He was oblivious to them as anything but his friends.

He on the other hand was
a triple threat in fifth grade. One, he was taller than everyone but skinnier
too. Two, he was a nerd but not the sharpest knife in the drawer and three, he
had a bad early onset of acne that did absolutely nothing for him. Rhea and Nia
tutored him like a tag team and he got all A's by the time they'd gone to high
school, he even graduated honors right alongside of them! He was forever
grateful to those two, they invited him to parties and every get together. They
all made pizza night at Spanky's a tradition. They were the three amigos or
musketeers their freshman year even after he moved to another school.

Adam had gone away for
the summer before senior year to finally spend time with his absentee dad and
that quickly turned into a disaster. He came back on a bus alone without
telling a soul.
 
Standing on the corner
of the Greyhound station downtown Adam couldn't believe his mom or her dumb
boyfriend weren't answering their phones. It'd be dark soon and the bus
terminal wasn't somewhere you wanted to be stuck at after hours.

About to get a cab he
heard a semi-familiar voice call out, "Hey baby! How much?" his face
reddened and to his bewilderment a woman was waving at him.

She pulled up to the curb
with her passenger side window down and he was shocked to say the least, see
Rhea may have gone through puberty early but she looked and dressed like she
hadn't. Before he'd left she'd said goodbye in a pair of overall shorts and a
pink hello kitty tee. Her white Adidas and not a stitch of makeup. Her freckles
made her look younger and her hair was forever in a ponytail.

The Rhea he was looking
at was a girl comfortable and well aware of the assets she now possessed. In a
black mini dress, black tights and high heeled boots she was a stunner, her
freckles were lightened behind makeup and her smoky eyes smoldered at him. Her blonde
hair hung in long ringlets and he was pretty sure his mouth had hung open.

Rhea took it as the shock
that it was, but didn't register the attraction that had started that very
second. He would spend the next year trying to summon the courage to ask her
out. Every time he did find the courage something would happen or he would just
get nervous. In all sincerity he was worried about getting rejected.

He was in awe at this
moment now that she sat across from him shy and beautiful, no makeup in shorts
and a tee. It was hard to believe they were going to be spending the next two
weeks together. He was happy but he didn't want to ruin anything by letting her
know how he felt, maybe they needed this time, he would figure out how to tell
her soon.