Burn

  “Yes.”

  Marshall gently cups my cheeks and indulges in a greedy lust-soaked kiss.

  In my mind, I see Logan speaking to me. He looks intent on something—sad. I see myself turn away and start to cry. He tries to comfort me, but I shake my head, bring my hands to my eyes and cover my face.

  I pull back and stare into Marshall. “What does it mean?” I say out of breath.

  “It means you’re one step closer to being my wife.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  This Kiss

  All night I ruminate over Gage in hell, and that vision Marshall gave me, until my sanity begins to erode.

  In the morning, I beg Drake to drive me over to the Oliver’s house. I tell Mom and Tad it’s mandatory cheer practice, and that afterwards, I’m starting my new job at the bowling alley.

  I ring the bell impatiently as Drake backs sloppily out of the driveway taking out an entire row of purple flowers that, moments ago, happily dotted the periphery.

  A storm is rolling in. The dark sky looms overhead heavy as a battleship. There’s something about the lavender afterglow inside the clouds that reminds me of that kiss from Marshall. A shiver runs through me. I don’t dare advertise the fact to either Logan or Gage that I let him near me for a hypothetical glimpse into the future.

  The door opens slowly. Dr. Oliver’s face brightens as he extends his hand for me to come inside.

  “Here to give another pint?”

  “Sure. Mostly I’m here to see Gage.” I leave out the part about him going to hell.

  “He’s having a late start today, still in bed. If you want I can take it now. I’m leaving in a few minutes for a meeting.”

  “OK.” I follow Dr. Oliver in the kitchen where he pulls his equipment out from a side pantry and begins to drain my blood into a soft plastic bag. “So this is number five or six?” I’m starting to lose count.

  “I believe it’s five. Are you feeling alright?” He presses the back of his hand to my forehead. “You look ghastly pale.”

  “I feel fine.” Truth is I’m beyond exhausted. Last night was more than my body could handle.

  “There.” He removes the needle and quickly replaces it with a band-aid. “Let’s remove the stitches shall we?”

  “Please.” I pluck off my scarf and roll it into a pile next to me.

  “What’s this?” He gently turns my head to the side and groans. “Which one of my boys assaulted you this way?”

  I’m assuming he’s looking at the purple hickey the size of Mount Rushmore just below my cut.

  “Actually…” God, how do I say neither? “It was an accident.”

  He rubs his finger gently against my neck and sighs before removing the stitches.

  “Skyla, tell the truth, what happened?” His eyes rove over my face deep with concern.

  “I thought it was Gage. It was some guy, he…it felt like—”

  “You have a puncture wound—several actually, right over your jugular.”

  “Are you saying I was bit…” I don’t believe in vampires, so I stop the thought midflight.

  “I’m saying someone, most likely someone who knows you’re a Celestra, punctured your neck. Did it feel like they were suckling blood from you?”

  I wince when he says the word suckling. Dr. Oliver reminds me of my own dad and it just sounds wrong even if it is in a quasi-medical context.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you looked pale. I wish I had known—I would never have taken more blood. Do you feel faint?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Suddenly I feel like shit, but I chalk it up to the thought of someone actually drinking my blood. “You mind if I go up and see Gage?”

  “Go right ahead.”

  I make my way towards the stairwell.

  “Skyla?”

  I turn around.

  “Whoever did this will undoubtedly be back. Prepare to defend yourself.”

  “I will.”

  I’m so weak it takes all my strength to make it up the stairs.

  ***

  I knock gently on his door before entering.

  “Morning,” Gage says, groggy, pulling a shirt from his dresser. His hair is slicked back, shiny and wet from the shower. He’s got on a pair of grey sweats with a small hole near his hip. I’m trying to remember whether or not I’ve seen Gage shirtless before because I’m perplexed by the hard outline of his abdominals. He tosses the shirt over his shoulder and groans. “I feel horrible.” He walks over to his bed and falls back against the pillow, covering his eyes with the back of his arm.

  I make my way over and lie beside him.

  “What happened?” I pull his arm off his face, and he drapes it over my shoulders instead.

  “I was just standing out front, and the next thing I knew I was in this dirt pit at least ten feet under. It felt like I fell in an oven. I kept thinking I was going to combust.” He grips his hair. “And there was all this moaning and screaming…anyway, there was this iron grate up over me and I couldn’t get out. I woke up in my bed this morning. When I looked out the window, sure enough my mom’s car was in the driveway.”

  “I bet Marshall wants you to think it was a dream. Remember, he’s not a Sector to you, he’s just your Algebra Two teacher,” I pause. “I’m so sorry. Did you try teleporting yourself out of there?”

  “All night. It was useless. Don’t worry it’s not your fault.” He surprises me with a sudden burst of energy and pulls me over on top of him. “You know what I thought of?” There’s a seductive quality to his voice. His eyes look a deep indigo in this dull morning light as they warm over me.

  “What?” My breathing grows erratic. Something about Gage, something powerfully attractive about the way he seduces me with those barely there dimples, with that hidden beneath the surface smile he refuses to give so freely.

  “What you said the other day. That you loved me.”

  Everything in me clinches. It’s true I had said it and I meant it—still do.

  I dip down and kiss him ever so slightly. His chest beats under mine in a series of merciless thumps.

  “Do you love me, Skyla?”

  “Yes,” it comes out an inaudible whisper.

  His hand pushes in softly against the back of my neck. Gage gives a deep heated kiss that accentuates our feelings. I may be afraid to say it, hesitant to repeat those words, but I feel it, and I know with everything in me that it’s true. I really do love Gage.

  We lose ourselves in a series of lingering kisses. Gage runs his hands through my hair, down my back, over my jeans. I pull my lips down along his neck and across his chest. He lets out a soft groan and pulls me up until we’re sitting. The room spins slightly, and he stops me from falling backwards.

  “You OK?”

  “Yeah.” I pull him into another explosive kiss. I’m more than OK.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Prophesy

  Gage and me arrive at the bowling alley where, evidently, Logan is busy creating a dust cloud with a dust mop.

  It’s strange to be here so early. The lanes are lit up, and music echoes throughout the establishment, but there’s not a patron in sight.

  “Morning.” I go over and give him a brief hug. I feel so damn guilty about what just happened, I can’t look him in the eye. It’s like my feelings for Gage just took over. I’d love to blame it on the fact I was worried sick that Marshall had him roasting on a spit, but I’m not sure I could. I’m not sure about anything anymore.

  “I’ve got something for you.” Logan gives a soft smile and plucks a nametag off his clipboard. “Ready to work?” Something about Logan feels different this morning. He’s melancholy—the spark in his eyes has dissipated.

  “Yes! Is the pay decent?” I’d work here for free if wanted.

  “Minimum wage.” He presses right into me with those expressive amber eyes, reaches in and wrenches me with a look of infinite sadness.

  “Minimum wage is totally fine.” I’m just glad to be ou
t of the house. I pick up the gold embossed tag that reads Skyla Messenger. “It feels official,” I say pinning it up on my shirt.

  “What are you still doing here?” His voice hardens over at Gage.

  Gage doesn’t say anything, just keeps his hands folded tight across his chest.

  “Pick you up at seven?” Gage comes over and drops a kiss on the top of my head.

  Everything in me freezes. I can’t have Gage kissing me in front of Logan. I can’t be kissing Gage behind Logan’s back. Suddenly, I feel like a giant bag of crap because apparently I am one.

  “I’ll bring her home.” There’s a marked aggression in Logan’s tone and it racks up the tension in the room immeasurably.

  The two of them stand there, staring one another down like they’re about to have some high noon showdown, until Gage says goodbye and leaves.

  “That was awkward,” I whisper.

  “Yeah.” Logan motions for me to take a seat at the table with him. “Things are getting a bit awkward.” He pulls a face.

  “So you guys aren’t really getting along.” As evidenced by every single time they’re together.

  He shakes his head. “No, but that’s not important. I got off the phone with my uncle a few minutes ago.” Logan wears a sobering expression. He looks lonely and distant and it badly makes me want to touch him. “He told me about your neck.” He presses out a sad smile. “Any idea who it could have been?”

  “So I’m guessing, it wasn’t you,” I say, in a lame attempt to put a cute spin on it.

  “My uncle thought maybe a Fem.”

  “A Fem?” I’m almost amused. “What does that mean?”

  “Counts still want them tormenting you—us.” He reaches over and brushes his hand over mine for a moment. “What happened to you last night? Michelle said she hurt you.”

  “She thought it’d be entertaining if she made me eat worms.” I can just picture her running around telling everybody she kicked my ass. If she wasn’t with child, I would have beat the crap out of her.

  An abrupt wave of nausea rolls through me. The room starts to feel like it’s spinning as a heavy feeling settles over my bones. I hang onto the edge of the table in order to catch my breath.

  “You OK?” He helps steady me.

  “I’m fine.” I try to shake the feeling away.

  Logan rushes and gets me a glass of ice water.

  “Skyla, my uncle said he discovered the puncture on your neck after he drew more blood for Chloe. He says your blood levels are way too low, that you’re running off minimal reserves. Let me take you home.”

  “No. It’s my first day. Besides, I need the money for insurance and I want to pay for the car.”

  An easy grin glides across his face.

  “Monetarily,” I add.

  “Of course.”

  “So did you find out how to bind a Fem?” The thought of Logan hanging out with Lexy makes me sick. “Did she kiss you?”

  The smile melts off his face. Something in him darkens before he answers. “No. I wouldn’t let her. And no, she didn’t tell me, but I made progress.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said there is a way. It was made known to her by her dad. I guess they’re part Nephilim.” He shakes his head. “She said she would tell me if…” He looks away briefly. “Anyway, I’m not going to find out. We’re back to square one.”

  “If what?” I think I know, but I want to hear it from him.

  The table starts in on a violent rattle.

  “What the heck?” Logan struggles to press it down before he stops its erratic quaking.

  “Holden Kragger’s ghost,” I say.

  I tell him what Marshall said about my new spiritual attachment and share my theory on the crash.

  He lets out a hard breath.

  “Marshall said he could get rid of him if I wanted.”

  “I think I know what he wants in return.” Logan doesn’t look impressed with Marshall’s tactics.

  “Is it the same thing Lexy wants?”

  “Yes, but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want a race of Celestra, Deorsum children running around.”

  I twist my lips at the thought. “So Lexy is Deorsum. She never said anything before?”

  “She didn’t know I was Celestra until after we weren’t together anymore.”

  My stomach sinks when he says it. Lexy and Logan were together once. It’s probably only natural for him to still have feelings for her.

  “The reason my uncle called was to let me know there’s an emergency faction meeting scheduled at Nicholas Havar’s tomorrow night.n> tomor

  “What’s the emergency?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

  “Something tells me you are.”

  ***

  I hang out for three hours after my shift ends and help Logan close up the bowling alley. I’m beyond exhausted—my arms and legs feel like they’re going to fall off, and my head feels as heavy as a bowling ball itself.

  Logan locks the main exit and turns off the florescent ceiling lights, leaving the alleyways glowing in soft purples and blues.

  “You should always keep it like this.” I wrap my arms around his neck and peck a quick kiss on his cheek.

  He leans in and relaxes into me. His face dims and his brows rise as though he were getting ready to ask me something.

  “Well?” A small laugh rumbles from his chest.

  “Well what?”

  He looks intensely from one eye to the next. “You can’t hear me, can you?”

  I straighten. I try my hardest to hear him telepathically, but nothing. I study his face intently and shake my head.

  “What does this mean?” I’m panicked.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask my uncle.” A look of worry slowly dissipates. Logan draws me in and holds me, rocking me safe in his arms. “It’ll be OK.” He sighs into me and presses a kiss against the top of my head. “You ready to start our date?” A seductive half-smile plays on his lips.

  Logan busies himself setting up a picnic right there on lane number five. The music is soft, and the lighting is perfectly enchanting as we take a seat Indian style across from one another with our knees touching.

  “Since we had dinner a few hours ago, I thought maybe we could skip right to dessert.”

  “Was dinner the pizza you catered in and sold to your customers for five dollars extra a box?” I tease.

  “That’s how I stay in business.” He winks. “Kitchen opens near the end of the month.”

  “Just in time for my birthday.”

  “And what’s the date again?” He brightens as he pulls a mini chocolate éclair from out of the basket.

  “Twenty-second.”

  “Really?” He deflates a little. “I guess you know Gage is the twenty-third.”

  “No, I didn’t know that.” I’m surprised, actually. “When’s yours?”

  “It was the week before you came.” He takes up my hand and gently traces my fingers. “You were the perfect present.” There’s a familiar looking sadness in his eyes. “So you and Gage seem to have a lot in common. How are you getting along?” He massages my hands with his thumbs, staring down at them intently.

  Logan is perfect—he glows from the inside with his own special light. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as majestic as Logan.

  “Gage is fine.” I don’t like where this might be going.

  “I don’t want to ruin our time together, but I want to let you know…” His eyes shimmer with moisture as he looks over at me. “Um, I walked into his room this morning and saw you with Gage.” His features smooth over as he depresses out a sigh.

  A visual of what he must have seen runs through my mind, me kissing Gage, me on top of Gage. “I…” Shit. “I thought he was hurt. He said he was tired, and he went to lay down, so I—”

  “It’s OK.” He presses his fingers to his lips. “There’s nobody to blame, but me.”

  A spring of tears comes up unexpectedly and I blink them
away. I want to say that nothing happened, that it didn’t mean anything, but my vocal chords clamp shut, forcing me to swallow the lies.

  “I’m not being fair to you or Gage,” he starts. “I threw you together and this is something that I’m going to have to live with.” Logan nods into this as though he’s already considered it.

  “You don’t have to live with anything. I won’t kiss him, I won’t be with him.”

  He tilts his head a little. “I’m not asking you to do that. You need Gage to protect you. I’m not going to give the Counts any extra excuse to hurt you.” He swallows hard. “I’ve been thinking.” His eyes light up like sorrowful embers. “I don’t think you need the added pressure of me hanging around.”

  “What are you talking about? Everything is about us. That’s why I’m with Gage, so we can be together in private—that’s why there’s a faction war, so we can knock the Counts off their pedestal and be free to be together. It’s going to be you and me, Logan.” It comes out more of a question.

  “I know that’s what we planned and I really do believe you still want that,” he pauses pushing into me with an unwavering look of despair. “But I think Gage and I have confused you. I should’ve known Gage would fall in love with you. It’s hard not to.” He gives a short-lived smile. “I can’t have you with the both of us—it’s not right. I’m the one that suggested you be with him, and I think I should be the one to step away, remove myself from the situation. I don’t think it’s OK for the both of us to pursue you.”

  “Yes it is.” It speeds out of me.

  “No.” He tugs at my fingers playfully and gives a slow smile. “I love you, but I think your feelings for Gage…” He shrugs. “I think maybe they blossomed unexpectedly.” He floats his thumbs over the back of my hands in an even sweeping motion. “It’s me you need to keep away from, Skyla, not him. I’m the one who could cost you everything.” His eyes glitter with tears as he offers a hesitant smile. “I think maybe for now—we should just be friends.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Heartbreak