The Pairing: Book 1 of The Energy Series, Beginnings

Her door looked the same, as did the white walls and the floor authority scrutinizing anyone passing by.

  Everything was the same.

  But so completely different.

  Avery had taken one month to repair Lena and bring her back–longer than usual for a rebirth. That animal ruined her body. Avery had said as much when he demanded to know why so long after the first week. The overseer needed more time to repair the damage, and he could do nothing but accept it.

  So he waited.

  Thirty days without her, and it almost killed him. He rubbed his chest, the ache of their severed Pairing still a constant throb. But he made the right choice. Hopefully, she would see that. If she allowed him, he would give her everything he had ever promised. Be there for her while she battled the melancholy that came with living again. Get on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

  All he had to do was open the door.

  He smoothed back his hair, now longer. Straightened his shirt, tucked the edges into his breeches. Open the door! Another glance down the hall. Open it.

  "Right." He lifted his hand to the access panel.

  When the door opened, he had to clutch its frame. Avery sat next to Lena, holding her as she stared at nothing. So broken. His beautiful color broken and hurting because he couldn't protect her.

  "I..." For the first time, he had no idea what to say. So many things to tell her, but all of it stayed on the back of his tongue.

  Avery whispered in her ear while he gaped, and after Lena gave a slight nod, still focused on the wall in front of her, the overseer stood, coming to him. "May I speak to you a moment?"

  No, absolutely not. He shook his head, his gaze never leaving Lena's pale face.

  "Please, Protector." She touched his arm. "It will only take a moment."

  He tore his attention from the person who meant everything. He owed Avery so much, and the least he could do was listen to her. "One minute." He slipped into the hall, Avery close behind him.

  "Thank you," she said, her voice low and emotional. "I won't keep you long."

  He turned to her. "I should be thanking you. Whatever you did, whatever you said to the elders and Cassondra... How, Avery? How did you do it?"

  She made good on her word. Tarek had no idea how she'd managed it, but the elders banned any more Exemplian involvement in Andor. She had also ensured Cassondra would let the matter of her brother and Exemplian Wardens drop–as long as Tarek and Lena did the same.

  Avery glanced down the hallway, biting her bottom lip. "The less you know, the better, Protector."

  He'd accept that. Hell, did it really matter anyway? Lena was alive, that was more than enough. "Whatever you did, I'm eternally grateful."

  "As I've told you, we all need her." She faced him. "I've taken the liberty of giving her satellite access, my housewarming gift to you both."

  "You haven't told her, have you? About–"

  "No." Avery smiled. "That is your gift to give, not mine."

  A gift he damn sure wanted Lena to accept. "Again, thank you." He leaned in to kiss her cheek, and said, "No disrespect, but I'm through with talking."

  Avery laughed, her depression seemingly lifted. Tarek wasn't surprised. Lena had that effect on everyone. "Well, do not let me detain you any longer." She headed for the lift, and said over her shoulder, "Good luck, Protector."

  He'd need it. Deep breath.

  This time, he didn't stop at the doorway, tamping down his fear of rejection. She could reject him all she wanted, but he'd never leave her to suffer alone.

  Tarek sat next to her and covered the hands she had folded on her lap, saying nothing.

  As if she held her breath until his touch, her thin body now heaved as tears fell. She came to life, folding her body into his side, soaking his shirt with her misery.

  He held her close, his hands roaming her quaking body. "It's all right. Shhh, everything will be all right." Warm. Alive.

  "Why did you give me up, Tarek?" Her fist curled into his shirt, bunching the fabric. "Why did you sever our Pairing? I can't live here without you. I can't."

  His arms tightened around her. "No. No. I did it so we could be together. So you would always be safe. Please. Wilma's the strongest... She'll give you what I couldn't."

  She shook her head against his chest, and he couldn't help but revel in the feel of her movement, even in her sadness. Alive! "We were set up. We–" She stopped, her body going still. "How many people has she done this to already?"

  "I don't know, love." Not that she expected an answer, but he needed to give her one. Speak to her and hear her speak to him.

  They remained silent for a few moments as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. Finally, she said, "It hurts." She palmed her chest, over her heart. "Everything hurts so much."

  "It will pass. I promise you." He was powerless to do anything other than be there–and he would do that for all of his lives if she let him.

  Her tears still drenched his shirt and skin, burning him. "Where do we go from here?"

  For this, he had the answer. He stood, bringing her with him. "I'll show you."

  Alarm filled her eyes, and she tried to tug free of his hold. "I don't want to leave." She tugged again to no avail. "I... I don't want to leave my room."

  He brought her close and bent until their gazes met, her sherry eyes his home. "Will you ever be able to trust me again?"

  Shock filtered through her growing terror. "I'll always trust you. Always."

  "Even after...?" He swallowed, no able to say it, put her death into words.

  "It wasn't your fault."

  He hugged her then, wanting to shield her from the memory. "I love you, Lena. I love you so much."

  A sob escaped her lips. "I love you, too. More than anything."

  "Then come with me."

  She didn't answer right away, her body stiff.

  "Lena?"

  She breathed in deep as she pulled away. "Wherever you are is where I'll be, right?"

  Repeating the promise that he had made her almost had him falling to her feet. He didn't deserve her forgiveness, but he'd damn sure take it. "Exactly." He held out his hand, and she grasped it, her palm sweating.

  They didn't speak as they took the lift to the lower hanger. But he never took his gaze from her. She looked the same, only a few years younger. Her chin trembled even as she held it high, her heartache never getting in the way of her courage. The lift stopped, and she glanced up at him when the doors opened. "Shalen?"

  He brought their joined hands to his lips, kissing her knuckles as he led her to his shuttle, not answering.

  A smile hinted on her lips but then disappeared at the sight of Winston. The authority captain tipped his head in her direction, a knowing look in his eyes. When he slipped into the vacant lift, Lena said, "He knows something."

  Kendal's image flashed in his mind. Whatever information kept her in a depression, Winston knew.

  Tarek opened the passenger door for Lena, dread blackening the budding excitement. "Leave it alone, Lena. Please leave it alone."

  "Never." She glided into the shuttle without another word.

  He got in and started the engine, not wanting to argue with her, not today. But this conversation wasn't over. So many things she had never told him, things he would make her explain when her mind healed.

  After he drove through Cynosure's commotion, he set a course for Shalen. With heavy traffic behind them, he dimmed the windshield and all the windows after switching to autopilot.

  "What are you doing?" She shifted to meet his gaze.

  He smiled, reaching for her hand. "You'll know soon."

  Once they landed, he unbuckled his harness and leaned in to kiss her, savoring her heat. He moaned when she responded, her lips as eager as his. After he reluctantly lifted his mouth, he said, "Wait here."

  "Tar–"

  He jumped out, slamming the door before giving in and never leaving the shuttle. He met up with Farren and Wilma, who stood at the front door of the cab
in near Nan's stone. Lena's cabin. "Is everything ready?"

  "Yeah, brother, you're good to go." Farren crossed his arms over his chest with a grin. "You sure she's going to want to live all the way out here? I mean, this is out here."

  "I'm sure." Tarek grinned and clapped him on the back. "Thank you."

  Farren laughed. "Don't thank me. I only handed you the nails. When did you become master shack builder?"

  Tarek pulled away to take in his handy work. Not bad. The walls were sturdy, no leaks or cracks. A cottage he replicated from the little houses he remembered during a long-ago trip to Empyrean. They would have to check in with Mateusz every night, ensure they were in their home and not going against curfew, but this house would give an illusion of privacy at least. "I guess I'm a natural."

  "Yeah, sure." Farren headed to his shuttle. "I'm leaving. Don't want to intrude on the big reveal. Oh!" He stopped when he reached his shuttle. "Avery had some of her people out here, messing with the screens. They said you knew?"

  I've taken the liberty of giving her satellite access, my housewarming gift to you both...

  He didn't know how to feel about that. "Yes, thanks again."

  "Anytime, brother." Farren gave a half salute and took off, zipping out of there before Tarek turned to Wilma.

  He rubbed a hand over his jaw, now smooth after shaving this morning for the first time in a month. "So..."

  Wilma gave him a bored glare. "So?" She gestured at the cabin. "This what you wanted me to see? Don't think I'm coming out here to live with you. I'm no damn barbarian."

  He hugged her as he did yesterday, and a surprised gasp left her mouth. "What you're doing... You won't regret it."

  She patted his back for all of a millisecond before heaving him off her–again. "Dammit, boy! No need for all the dramatics." She pushed past him on her way to his shuttle. "I only came here to see her, and I'll tell you what, if she pulls any shit, I'll knock her on her ass."

  Tarek followed, laughing. "I'm counting on it."

  Wilma opened the passenger door without touching the metal. Only a simple flick of her wrist and objects did exactly what she wanted. She then pointed at Lena. "You got thirty days to get your head right, and then you and I are gonna be buddies for a few hundred years. That good with you?"

  Lena's eyes went wide, her rebirth no match for her Wilma-admiration. "I... Y-yes?"

  "Again with the stuttering. Stop it." Wilma blocked Lena's sight of the cabin when she tried to tilt her head toward him. "Oh, no. Don't look at him. This is between you and me."

  "O-okay."

  Wilma palmed her forehead. "Really? Is it a medical issue?" She shook her head. "Just get one thing straight: I'm not indulgent like that big, blond bastard. I won't tolerate any of your shenanigans, got it?"

  Lena nodded with her mouth open and color blooming on her face. Her color... Who wouldn't be affected by Wilma? The woman's beacon was almost as bright as Lena's.

  "Good. Now," she said, smoothing back her unruly curls. "You're brave. I like that. But you're impulsive. That I don't like. With me, you'll either mature or I'll make your life miserable." She held her hand in the air, and a hole opened. Who knew which world she was going to, and she probably wouldn't share anyway. "You can do good things without being a dumbass, you hear? One month." Then she was gone.

  Tarek went to Lena as soon as Wilma's portal closed. "She's the best Protector for you."

  "Are you sure this will work? With her and I?"

  "Her being your Protector is one of only two things I am sure about."

  "What's the other?"

  He held out his hand, and when she grasped it, he said, "You."

  Even more of her color returned, and she gave him her first genuine smile as she stood. "You always say the right things."

  "You think so?" Tarek grinned and brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. "I hope I build the right things, too." He trembled as he moved to give her a clear view of the cabin. "For you, love."

  Her gaze fell on their home's shuttered windows and thatched roof, and she covered her mouth with a soft cry.

  "Do you like it?"

  If she didn't, no matter. He'd tear it down and rebuild until she did.

  "It's not done yet. I have to finish the fireplace." His sweating intensified. "You'll need to collect more stones. I made you a bookshelf and desk." He guided her inside, the smell of recently cut wood and new furniture hitting them in the face.

  She remained silent, her eyes wide as she took everything in.

  "I...ah...put all your books there." He pointed to the shelves–and continued to vomit words. "We don't have a hydrator, but I'll hunt, maybe plant a garden. We have power, though, the fridge and bathroom in working order. I...I've been researching other worlds, learning. We can live off this land easily enough, no need for much technology."

  Say something!

  "And Avery... She had people come fidget with the screens." He shifted her attention to a wall of six screens, all of them off. "She gave you full satellite access. Illegal, but I assume she–"

  "You did all this? While I...?"

  He stopped talking and looked down at her. Tears glimmered in her sherry eyes, turning them into the jewels they always were. No, death couldn't take her color away. "I promised you, Lena."

  She studied their cabin again while he waited silently. She went to the bookshelf and slid her hands across the books' spines. Moved to the desk, her fingertips tracing the rough wood he had yet to sand. Glided to the unfinished fireplace made of her collection, the rocks a bright, vibrant splash.

  Finally, she came back to him and pressed a hand to his heart. "So this is real? This is ours?"

  He lowered, never taking his gaze off hers, and brushed his lips against the side of her mouth. "We don't have to pretend anymore."

  A smile curved her lips. “You were wrong, Tarek.”

  He pulled back a little. “About what?”

  She kissed him, then whispered, “You are invincible.”

  Read on for Chapter 1 of Tainted Energy,

  Book 1 of the Energy Series.

  Lena