Foretold

  “Why don’t you go back to the rooms while I discuss this a bit more with James.” He left no room in the statement for argument.

  With another brief hesitation, Caleb nodded again and got to his feet. His brothers watched his retreating back with troubled expressions.

  “He’s really blowing it,” James said when Caleb was safely in the rooms.

  Gabriel sighed. “Maybe I was wrong. I thought he and Skye were meant for each other, but now…”

  “I wouldn’t doubt that. He just isn’t ready to admit it.”

  “By the time he’s ready, Skye will be avowed to someone else,” Gabriel said dryly. He drummed his fingers on his knee as he considered it. Then the corners of his mouth lifted. “And perhaps that’s just the thing that will make him finally acknowledge how he feels.”

  James looked confused. “You, mean…pairing Skye with someone else?”

  “Yep.” Gabriel sat back with a gleam in his eye. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  Caleb lay awake in his bed that night, staring into the darkness and thinking about the day’s events.

  He couldn’t understand why Skye’s reaction to the Foretelling had so bothered him. He only knew that he thought she should very well know by now that she wasn’t just some fulfillment to a prophecy to him. He was highly insulted that she could even hint at such a thing. And he also considered her use of tears to try and twist his emotions hitting below the belt. She knew by now how seeing her cry made him feel. Just how much was he supposed to take?

  But then, he hadn’t been able to answer her when she put the big question to him: if it wasn’t because of the prophecy, why did he care about her?

  He knew what answer she was seeking. She wanted to hear that he loved her.

  Well, how was he supposed to know? He saw how moony-eyed James and Gabriel got when they were watching their wives and they thought they were unobserved. He wasn’t the type to go moony-eyed over anyone. It was a foolish way to lose your focus and a great way to get your avowed killed, in his opinion.

  Did he want anything to happen to Skye? Of course he didn’t. But he felt the same about Amber, Olivia, Gabriel and James, the rest of his adopted family. Did that mean he wanted to avow himself to Skye for the rest of his existence? Share every thought and emotion with her?

  It was a lot to consider after only a few months, especially in light of the fact that he hadn’t known a thing about any of these emotions before meeting the sisters.

  He listened to Skye toss and turn. She had done so for the past two hours. He knew the noises were coming from her, even with the sliding doors between them. After these past weeks of sleeping in the same room with her, he was as attuned to her nighttime noises as just about everything else about her. He knew she was probably afraid to sleep, thinking that there was a possibility, however slim, that Grolkinei could get into her dreams again since they hadn’t yet enhanced the protections around the Wymzesti homeland.

  In truth, he was worried about the same possibility.

  If she didn’t get her rest, she would be placing herself at risk during the ritual tomorrow. He knew it, and it bothered him more than he cared to admit, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up from his bed and go to her. He didn’t want her to imply something more significant than intended through his actions.

  He lasted another hour.

  Then, giving in to the inevitable, he opened his door with a near-silent whoosh and walked barefoot the few feet over to Skye’s bed. Her door opened just as quietly as his had the moment he stepped in front of it. He found himself frowning and thinking that it was about the least secure sleeping arrangement ever conceived.

  She looked at him, not even pretending to have been asleep. She watched as he stepped beyond her door and settled onto her mattress, dragging her up against him so she was on her side, as she preferred, with her head on his chest. Since her right arm came up and around him, he held her wrist so that he was in contact with her mark.

  “Sleep,” he ordered gruffly.

  And for once without uttering a word, she did.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Caleb was up and out of Skye’s “room” before anyone else stirred the following morning. He had slept for about three hours, which was plenty of time to replenish his energy. Skye hadn’t so much as stirred throughout the night once he joined her. And if he stayed with her for a few extra minutes so he could enjoy the feel of her against his side, so what?

  That didn’t mean he was in love with her.

  Since he had showered the evening before, he went into the bathroom to take care of his usual routine…brushing his teeth, washing his face, combing and pulling back his hair. The rooms were still quiet when he stepped back out of the bathroom. The Lekwuesti had sent all of their things up the day before, so he walked silently over to the large room they were sharing as a storage closet and glanced briefly at the small section reserved for his things. It took him all of thirty seconds to decide on a royal blue tank and black pants that Skye described as “cargo” style because of the many pockets lining the legs. Grabbing socks and his combat boots, he walked into the central sitting area and sat on a couch to put them on.

  When everyone else started stirring, he connected with the Lekwuesti paired with him and requested orange juice for Amber, tea for Olivia and the blended fruit juice that Skye liked. He and his brothers would all drink water. Since he was hungry and they hadn’t eaten the day before, he also requested a full breakfast for everyone. Fresh fruit, baked bread and omelets.

  The door to Gabriel and Amber’s bed opened. Amber staggered blearily from the chamber. He held up a glass of orange juice as she passed and she took it with a grunt of thanks as she made her way into the bathroom. Her hair looked like it was exploding from her head.

  They all went through their morning routines. Skye got up between James and Gabriel taking their turns in the bathroom. She sat with Amber and Olivia and ate her breakfast, then took her turn in the bathroom. After she had disappeared behind the door to the sound of her off-key singing, Gabriel pulled Caleb and James out of the room to discuss the day’s plan.

  “I have to meet with the other elders before the ritual,” he said after they had discussed all of the day’s protection protocols for the girls. “I’m a bit concerned about the quick turnaround we’re attempting here. I want to be sure everyone’s ready to act if something goes wrong.”

  “What do you think could go wrong?” Caleb asked.

  Gabriel shrugged one shoulder. “Who knows? We’ve never done this before. But I’m particularly concerned about the drain on the girls. I just want to be ready.”

  Caleb and James nodded, determined to be just as ready if needed.

  When they returned to their accommodations, the bathroom door was open. Olivia was standing at the sink pulling her hair back into a braid, but she otherwise looked ready for the day. Amber was dressed and eating some fruit. Not sensing movement behind the sliding door to Skye’s bed, he turned right when he entered the hub and headed toward the storage closet.

  Skye was on her hands and knees on the closet floor with her back to him. She was muttering to herself and apparently searching for shoes, since her bare toes peeked at him from beneath her colorful skirt. He realized she was wearing yet another new outfit. He was convinced that nearly every member of the Lekwuesti class had offered to design her something to wear. He guessed the fact that she loved a variety of colors, fabrics, clothing styles and accessories allowed them to exercise their creative skills.

  Today’s outfit consisted of a shimmering, dark pink top that tied around her neck in lieu of having sleeves. Since her unbound hair had fallen over her right shoulder as she bent over the shoes, he saw that her top dipped into a deep V in the back and ended shorter than her usual tanks, exposing several inches of bare skin on her lower back. As though to compensate for the lesser amount of fabric, the designer had attached thin, light pink discs about one inch in diameter all along the bottom edge. T
he discs chimed and caught the light as she moved. And when she got to her feet and planted her hands on her hips as she glanced up at the rear shelf in continuance of her search, he saw that her flowing purple, orange and pink ankle-length skirt also sat low on her hips.

  She pivoted slightly to her right, her eyes still on the shelf, and then let out a soft cry of triumph. When she reached up to retrieve her goal from the shelf, his gaze latched onto the bare expanse of waist exposed to him.

  There was no denying the fact that Skye was a sensual creature. But when you combined that with the fact that she was in exceptional physical condition, her abdominal muscles remarkably toned after months of intensive training…well, he was pretty sure his eyes nearly fell right out of his head.

  Then he realized she was impatiently attempting to wrench the shoes free. Sighing, he stepped up behind her and dug out the pink slippers she had been trying to retrieve.

  She turned in the tight quarters, her outfit chiming with the movement. He felt the softness of her hair brushing against his bare arms and saw that she wore her blue streak swept up on the side of her head and captured with a jeweled comb. Large silver hoops swung at her ears and thin bands matching her skirt encircled her upper arms. When she moved, she released the scent of a woodland in her wake.

  “Thanks,” she said, giving him a hesitant smile. “I probably would have brought the shelf down on my head.”

  As he had no doubt about that whatsoever, he didn’t respond. Instead, he watched her bounce from the closet and tried to figure out how he would ever avoid gaping at her like an idiot for the rest of the day.

  Gabriel sat in a chair in the common area with Amber, Olivia and James, finishing a glass of water and pretending not to notice Caleb’s expression as he stared after Skye. His youngest sister-in-law was certainly making his plans easier, and all she was doing was being herself. She paused outside the door of the bathroom, glancing idly into the mirror and reaching up to pull her hair into a kind of twist, probably considering the idea of putting it up instead of leaving it down. Gabriel hid a smile when he saw Caleb’s eyes hone in sharply on the curve of her bared back and midsection.

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door to their accommodations. Getting swiftly to his feet, he held a hand briefly in front of the door, scanned the mind of the Estilorian on the other side and then opened the door.

  “Good morning, archigos Gabriel,” said the Wymzesti male, bowing deeply and bringing his right hand up and across his chest as a sign of respect. “I am Xavier. I have been sent by archigos Knorbis with the request that I escort Skylar—that is, Skye—to meet with him before the ritual this afternoon.”

  Knorbis had really outdone himself with this one, Gabriel thought as he stood aside and allowed Xavier to enter the common area. The guy actually looked like one of the princes from Skye’s favored fairytales. Appearing to be about eighteen or nineteen human years old, he had gilded hair, Wymzesti-purple eyes and chiseled features. He wore a flowing white shirt and a fitted purple vest etched with silver detailing paired with black pants and boots. Even his accent, sounding like some European dialect, added to the princely resemblance.

  And when Skye piped up, “Me?” from her position in front of the bathroom, forgetting in her surprise to lower her hands from her head, the Wymzesti looked at her and smiled—a rarity, that. It told Gabriel that the Estilorian in front of him was probably quite young.

  “You are Skye?” he asked.

  His smile brought forth dimples. Dimples, by all holy sake. Gabriel saw Caleb’s answering glower out of the corner of his eye and fought his own smile.

  “Yep,” she said, finally remembering to move. She dropped her hair and stepped closer to the door. “Knorbis wants to meet with us?”

  “Just you, my lady,” Xavier replied. “And it would be my pleasure to escort you.”

  “Actually,” Gabriel said when he sensed Caleb about to speak, “I’m headed that way myself to meet with the other elders. I’ll walk with you two.” He turned and saw Caleb blink in surprise. “You can stay here with Amber and I’ll send word to you when it’s time to come out for the ritual.” After a deliberate pause, he added by thought, I’ll keep our connection open until we reach the elders.

  He didn’t add that he wanted his brother to observe Skye interacting with the other male.

  Finally, Caleb nodded. His face was once again without expression, but his gaze moved between Skye and Xavier with obvious wariness.

  “Well, okay,” she said, blinking in confusion over the change in pattern. She moved forward and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Xavier.”

  He took her hand and bent over it, stopping just short of touching her with his lips. Her eyes widened. “The pleasure is entirely mine, my lady,” he said.

  She glanced over her shoulder toward Olivia and mouthed, “OMG.” Gabriel walked over to the couch and gave Amber a quick kiss, then stepped forward to open the door and waited for Skye to pass.

  “You carry a lovely scent,” Xavier said as he followed her out. “Like a sunlit glade.”

  Gabriel pulled the door closed as she giggled her thanks, but not before he saw Caleb’s glare.

  Skye was out of sorts. She was the first to admit that spontaneity certainly suited her. But she had come to realize that there was also comfort in routine and the familiar. While Xavier was a nice guy, and undeniably dreamy to boot, Skye couldn’t help but feel as though she was partially undressed or something without Caleb nearby. Even knowing Gabriel was with her didn’t ease her angst much.

  “It has been very nice getting to know you a bit more, Skye,” Xavier said when they reached their destination.

  She realized they had actually approached and reached one of the purple and gold buildings. It looked to her like it was carved out of purple quartz and sprinkled with gold dust. The base of the building was circular and expanded out in a series of connecting circles. The roof was pitched up into a series of cones. There were windows without any glass in them and doorways without any doors, but she couldn’t see anything beyond them. She imagined that there were barriers in place that just weren’t perceptible to the eye.

  “I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to speak with you again later,” Xavier said to her.

  Feeling a blush creeping into her cheeks, she said, “Oh, gee, that’s awfully nice. But I’ll be, well, sleeping later.”

  “Oh. Of course.” He nodded in understanding.

  “But I’m sure we’ll be here for another day or two, anyway. So, you never know,” she said, unwilling to possibly hurt his feelings.

  He smiled. “Certainly.”

  She gave him a wave as Gabriel led her inside the purple building. At first, the space was entirely white. She realized then that she was growing accustomed to this oddity. Gabriel paused and sent out a thought. Scenery emerged.

  Much to her surprise, they were standing on a beach, one of her favorite places. The sun rested just above the horizon, dappling the nearby turquoise water in glistening light. Gentle waves surged toward the shore and a relaxing breeze caressed her hair. There was a long, blonde-wood table set right in the sand, just out of the reach of the tide. Around the table were nine different-colored wood chairs, four down each side and one at the head. Seven of those chairs were filled by the class elders.

  “Will you join us?” Gabriel asked her, pulling the light blue chair out from the head of the table.

  Raising an eyebrow as realization hit, she gave him a chastising look.

  He grinned. “You look just like Amber when you do that.”

  She smiled at that, unable to resist his charm. Shaking her head, she swept her skirts beneath her and took the seat, allowing him to push it closer to the table for her. As he took the empty seat to her right, she waved a hand and commented, “Nice touch with the beach.”

  “Glad you like it,” he said easily.

  To her left was Knorbis. Beside him sat Jabari, Malukali and Sebastian. Next to Gabriel was
Ini-herit, Zayna and Uriel. Her gaze swept over all of them and the smile she had shared with Gabriel quickly faded. It was very disconcerting being the object of the attention of such powerful beings.

  “Thank you for coming, Skye,” Knorbis began. She guessed he was the spokesperson since they were in his homeland. “We wanted to speak with you separately regarding yesterday’s recitation.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. She had thought they wanted to discuss the day’s ritual since she would be playing such a big part in it. Now, she started fiddling with her skirt beneath the table. “Oh,” she said at last, fighting her discomfort and embarrassment. “Gosh. Well, about that…I’m really sorry if I offended you, Knorbis. Or Meda or Leoma, for that matter.”

  There was silence around the table. Then Knorbis shook his head. “I am constantly amazed by you and your sisters. Here I am, trying to apologize for offending you, and you beat me to it.” When her brows drew together, he continued, “Skye, I am highly attuned to every thought conveyed within my homeland. While I am quite capable of filtering those thoughts, I confess that I remained joined to yours yesterday when you and your sisters left the welcome area. And because I know this confession is likely to upset you, I will qualify that to explain that I merely connected long enough to find out what we had done to so upset you.”

  She could feel heat in her cheeks at having had her thoughts monitored, but she nodded.

  “You are the most perceptive of your sisters,” he further explained. “I knew I would get the complete range of reactions to the welcome from your thoughts. I sincerely apologize for intruding on your privacy in this way. I wanted only to understand what we had done to cause you such distress.”

  She wanted to protest on principle, but decided it did little good now. Besides, she had to admit she would probably have done the same if their roles were reversed. So she just nodded again.

  Now, he looked along both sides of the table before again catching her gaze. “When I first read your reaction to the Great Foretelling, I was caught completely off-guard. I did not see how something that to us has been heralded as the greatest event of our entire existence could possibly be interpreted as a slight. But then I considered it more closely from your perspective. And I realized that you are absolutely right.”