Crimson Dahlia (11 page)

Lila
had just put the last item in her suitcase when a knock sounded at the door. “Come
in,” she called. With a grunt she tried to close the overstuffed suitcase, but
the zipper wouldn’t budge.

“Hey,
peanut,” Marcus said as he strolled through the doorway.

Lila
gave a little squeal and threw herself into his hug. Marcus had become like a
big brother to her while she’d been living with his clan in Louisiana. Especially
after their time in Maddox’s dungeons.

She
pulled back and appraised him, taking in his dark hair and eyes and noting that
nothing was visibly wrong with him. “You’re okay! I was so worried.”

He
gave her a wan smile, and Lila narrowed her eyes. “The others?”

“He
didn’t take anyone after you, so all of us who were left got out. But we didn’t
find anyone he’d already taken except you.”

Lila’s
eyes clouded with concern. “We’ll find them,” she assured him.

Marcus
nodded. “I’ll be talking with Selene and the High Council about it today.”

“Good.”
Lila turned back to her overstuffed suitcase. “She has some people she needs to
find, too. Pool your resources.”

 “That’s
the plan,” Marcus said. “Where are you going?”

Lila
sat on top of the case and managed to get it zipped up. “Apparently Maddox is
after me for a specific reason.”

“What
reason?” He helped her pull the suitcase off the bed.

 “Not
sure of why exactly, just that he wants me.”

“So
you’re leaving?”

Lila
shrugged. “People have been disappearing from the castle. And now that Maddox
has Sheila, the Vyusher’s tracker, Selene thinks I’ll be safer somewhere else.”

“On
your own?” Marcus frowned.

Lila
reached out and squeezed his hand, touched at his concern. “Ramsey’s coming
with me.”

Marcus’s
eyebrows shot up. “The guy you casually dropped into the conversation a hundred
times a day when you first came to live with us?”

Lila
crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a steely glare. Marcus held up his
hands. “Okay, okay. Not up for discussion, I see.”

“Nope.”

“When
do you leave?”

Lila
glanced at the clock. “About five more minutes. Charlotte and Ramsey should be
here any second.”

“Well…
give me a hug. And once we’re done with this mess and you can come out of
hiding, don’t be a stranger.”

Lila
gave him a giant bearhug. She would miss him.

“
Ahem
.”

Lila
looked up and saw Ramsey watching them. She tried to step back from Marcus, but
he held on tightly. “I’ll miss you, peanut,” he said. And then leaned down and
kissed her right on the lips.

Before
Lila could ask him what the hell that was about, Marcus pulled her in for
another hug and whispered in her ear, “Maybe that’ll give him something to
think about.”

Lila
choked back a laugh. “You goofball,” she whispered back.

With
a nod to Ramsey, Marcus left the room.

 “I
didn’t realize you and Marcus had gotten so close,” Ramsey said. Lila blinked.
Could that be jealousy in his voice?

She
turned away and grabbed her suitcase. “You ready to go?”

“You
didn’t tell him where we’re going, did you?”

Lila
rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”

“Cause
it looked like you would’ve told him something at least,” Ramsey continued.

“I
know the deal, Ramsey. Only family knows where we’ll be.”

“Are
you s—”

Lila’s
glare cut him off. He held up his hands much like Marcus had only a moment ago.
What was it with everyone today?

“Okay,
I believe you,” he muttered.

“You
ready?” Charlotte asked as she entered the room.

“Ready
as we’ll ever be,” Lila mumbled. Holding her suitcase in one hand, she took
Charlotte’s hand in the other. Ramsey did the same, and suddenly they were
standing in front of a little house.

“Wow,”
Lila breathed as she took in her surroundings.

The
house, more a cottage really, was charming in the way that so many English
cottages were, with grey stone and a slanting roof. Lila couldn’t wait to
snuggle down inside with a warm fire crackling in the fireplace. But it was the
location that was truly incredible.

“Where
are we again?” Ramsey asked. Lila could tell he was as impressed by the views
as she was.

“In
the Lake District in northwest England,” she said.

“I
wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o'er vales and hills…” Ramsey
murmured.

Lila
shifted her gaze from the gorgeous view to stare at him incredulously, eyebrows
raised.

Ramsey
gave her a sideways glance. “What? Wordsworth got it right when he wrote about
this place.… Don’t you think?”

Stunned,
Lila turned her attention back to the view. “You never cease to surprise me.
But, yes. He got it right.”

Their
new home was situated on a hill overlooking a valley. The topography rose,
craggy and tall, into a mountain up behind it. In front the land fell away into
a lush green valley with a deep blue lake. Here and there, sweet little homes
and cottages, similar to theirs, dotted the landscape.

I
could get used this,
Lila thought. With a deeply satisfied sigh, she turned to Charlotte and gave
her a hug goodbye. She grabbed her suitcase and dragged it across the gravel
road and paused at the little stone fence surrounding her new home.

“Let’s
go, Ramsey,” she called over her shoulder. She made it through the gate and up
the walkway and then unlocked the front door with the keys Ellie had given her

“Seriously
could get used to this,” she muttered happily.

The
inside was quaint but homey with wooden beams and floors throughout. A little
spiral staircase obviously led up to the bedrooms. To the left was a sitting
area with comfy furniture and an entire wall lined with bookshelves full to the
brim. Next to it was a cozy fireplace and a big screen TV.  To the right was a
kitchen with all the modern conveniences a person could want. It was a home one
could come to every evening after a long day and just relax in tranquil bliss.

“Man,
those Aubreys know how to pick their locations,” Ramsey said as he came inside.

Lila
just nodded.

“Here,”
Ramsey grabbed both their suitcases. “I’ll take this up for you.”

“Thanks,”
she said as she followed him up the stairway. The ceiling was so low in the
stairwell that Ramsey had to duck his head.

Lila
giggled. “Watch out for that in the middle of the night.”

“Seriously,”
he muttered.

He
dropped Lila’s case off in Ellie’s room and then left to get settled in
Griffin’s room next door.

Lila
flopped back on the bed. “Ah,” she sighed as she sank into the plush bedding.
She could hear Ramsey moving around in the room next door.

Oh
dear. I’m going to be able to hear every time he moves. How am I supposed to
ignore him when he’s just on the other side of the wall every single night for
the unforeseeable future?

Lila
shook her head. She forced herself up and began unpacking.

“Hey,
Delia,” Nate said as he plunked down beside her on the couch.

Adelaide
was sitting in one of the common rooms where the Vyusher hung out. She’d kind
of hoped all the hustle and bustle would help her feel a little less lonely as
she worked on a paper for her American Literature class. At least, she was
supposed to be working on the paper. In reality she was staring blankly at her
laptop while she worried about Lila… and her own newest power… and Maddox…and,
well, lots of stuff.

“Hi,”
she said with small smile for her
te’sorthene
.

Nate
leaned over and gave her a quick kiss and then slouched back against the
cushions. “You okay?”

“Worried.
Nothing new,” she answered.

Nate
nodded. “Dexter filled me in on everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.
Talia’s just such a lost kid right now.”

“I
understand,” Adelaide said.

Although
part of her really
didn’t
understand. Part of her was royally
pissed
that Nate had chosen to stay with a relative stranger at a time when Adelaide
had truly needed him. But Nate had always supported her. He had never, ever let
her down like that. So if he hadn’t shown up, it was for a good reason.

Right?

“Come’ere
you,” Nate said. Adelaide scooted over and snuggled into his waiting arms. He
rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there.
Tell me about it?”

“You
already know,” she grumbled.

“But
not from your side.”

Adelaide
was quiet for a little bit. And Nate, who knew her better than anyone, just
held her. She glanced around the crowded room, but no one was paying them any
attention.

After
a little sigh, she finally spoke. “Maddox is after Lila.”

Nate
stiffened. “What does that mean?”

“We
don’t know yet. He visited her in a dream and tried to talk her into going to
him.”

“So
she and Ramsey are off hiding?” he asked.

Adelaide
nodded glumly. “I barely got to talk to her, and she’s already gone.”

“I’m
sorry, babe.” Nate brushed a soothing hand over her hair. “So… where are they
staying?”

Adelaide
hesitated. And she had never, ever hesitated sharing anything with Nate before.
Ever. But something about the way he’d asked that felt off to her. Too casual… but
not casual enough.

So
she just shrugged and, for the first time in their relationship, only told part
of the truth. “They’re keeping it a secret for now. Ellie knows. And Selene.”

“Oh.”
Nate nodded. After a moment he added, “Anything else you want to talk about?”

Adelaide
sighed again. “Yeah… I can hear people’s thoughts.”

Nate
rubbed her arm. “Dexter told me. Was it scary?”

Adelaide
thought about that a moment. “It was loud. It happened when Selene was in the
middle of defending her relationship with Griffin to the Vyusher. There was a
lot of shouting. And then suddenly it was all in my head.”

“Can
you hear me now?”

Adelaide
shook her head. “It comes and goes. Griffin said it would do that for a while.
Ellie showed me how to control it a little when it comes back on.”

“Good.
How are you holding up?”

Adelaide
rubbed a hand over her eyes. “I don’t know, really. I’m terrified for Lila. And
we don’t know why this power suddenly cropped up.”

“I
heard Lila has a theory on that one,” Nate said.

“Yeah.
We’re going to talk to her tomorrow.”

Adelaide
hiccupped, and then the tears started in earnest. She buried her face in Nate’s
shoulder so no one else in the room could see. He wrapped his arms around her
more tightly and stroked her hair until she calmed down.

When
she finally lifted her face, Nate dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I should get
back to Talia.”

Adelaide
sat straight up. “Are you kidding me?” she snapped.

Nate
looked surprised. “She needs me. I thought you understood that. It’s scary
without any memory and being so overwhelmed by the emotions she can feel from
everyone.”

Adelaide
hopped up and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn’t believe what she
was hearing. “Yeah. No kidding, Nate. Kinda like when voices suddenly started
shouting in
my
head?”

Nate’s
lips thinned as he too stood up. “But you have your parents and Charlotte and
Dexter, Griffin and Ellie… Talia doesn’t have anyone. She’ll only talk to me.”

“I
think she could wait just one night,” Adelaide insisted as she turned away from
him.

Nate
grabbed her arm and spun her back to face him. The accusation reflected in his
dark eyes made Adelaide pause. “You’re usually not this selfish. Why are you
acting like this?” he said.

Tears
welled in Adelaide’s eyes. “I’d say the same to you.”

And
then Adelaide did something that she never did with Nate. She turned her
ability to see relationships on him.

A
rush of relief shot through her. Their
te’sorthene
bond was still there.

She
could also see his bond with Talia, too. Adelaide frowned. She’d never seen a
relationship line quite like it. Thin and a glittery gold color. She wasn’t
really sure what it represented.

But
Nate was still her own
te’sorthene
. That hadn’t changed. And that’s what
mattered most. Adelaide quickly turned the power back off and decided to give
Nate some credit. Maybe Talia was just that needy.
And maybe I’m just a
jealous person.
Self-doubt crept in.

“I’m
sorry,” she said. “I trust you to do what’s best. I just… I could’ve used a
little time with you tonight. I feel as if I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Nate
gave her a sheepish smile and sat back down beside her. “No, I’m the one who
should be sorry. You’ve been through so much in just a few days. Of course,
I’ll stay here with you.”

“No
really,” Adelaide insisted. “I’ll be fine. It would be boring for you anyway,
watching me work on my paper. Just having you here now is enough.”

“Well…
only if you’re sure.”

She
smiled up at him. “I’m sure.”

Nate
leaned over her and planted a kiss on her lips. With a tender hand he dried the
remaining tears on her face. “Okay. I’ll see you later, baby. Love ya.”

“Back
atchya.”

Adelaide’s
grin faded she watched Nate leave the room without a second glance.