Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) (38 page)

Anita's forced cough grated
on her nerves.
Deal.
Raea didn't want to miss a second with Elis.

"Miss Cross." Debbie and
her firm mother voice. For once, Raea appreciated it. "Surely this
can wait until later. They have to get ready; it's almost ten, only
a few hours before graduation. And they've had a long week.
You
do
want them to
maintain a low profile as regular humans."

Thank you, Debbie!
She'd give her aunt a big kiss on the cheek for
stepping in like that, but it would have to wait.

Although her eyes were shut, Raea
could imagine Anita's face. After a couple seconds of silence, the
woman spoke. "I suppose it can wait…but I will need to speak with
you, Raea…and Elis."

Not if Raea could help it.

"She's not going anywhere," Debbie
said. "Except home. Come on, Raea. You have to get ready. Mom and
dad'll be here soon."

Raea lifted her head. "Grandma and
grandpa?" For a moment, her life was normal again, alighted by
memories of the love of her grandparents when she was younger. Like
Debbie, they never cared that she wasn't born into the family.
She'd been blessed to have them.

Debbie's smile warmed her as the door
shut behind Anita's back, leaving Debbie inside with
them.

"Go on. This is your day," Elis said.
"Crystal Keeper Shartrael Raea. You've earned more than a high
school diploma."

She hadn't thought about it like that.
He really knew how to put things in perspective. Man, she loved him
for that, and took the opportunity to let him know with a quick
kiss.

"All right, you two love birds. You
can do that later." Debbie's teasing made Raea smile and she
followed her aunt out, although her eyes didn't leave Elis, who
stood at the bottom of the steps in the foyer, until Nare closed
the door between them.

Her aunt led the way across the few
feet of lawn separating Evelyn's yellow house from their larger
blue house. Debbie stopped before opening the door, a smile on her
face. "And to think almost three months ago, you wouldn't give him
the time of day."

Yeah. Things sure had changed, and all
because of one little crystal. Without it, she could have lived a
normal life, but she wouldn't have Elis.

* * *

The ceremony couldn't go quickly
enough, but speaking was easier than she expected, especially while
focusing on Elis in his blue cap and gown in the front row of her
classmates before the stage. The words she had prepared meant far
more to her than she intended when she put them down two weeks ago.
The words came out with two messages—one for the audience and one
for her and Elis. Their future was uncertain, but they would always
have memories of the past and experiences that would guide them in
whatever came their way.

For a while, she forgot she was
anything but a normal teenager. Her friends posed with her for
pictures and pulled a somewhat miserable-looking Elis into the
shots. After all the commotion, the crowds dispersed and Raea stood
with only Josh and Elis.

"One final walk home?" Josh looked
from her to Elis and back.

She wore heels with her dress under
the blue gown, but it was a warm spring day and they weren't in any
hurry. "Why not?" She'd walked that path for many years with Josh.
This would be the last time they walked any path together. Her life
had changed. Although she didn't want to say good-bye to Josh and
her friends, it might be necessary for the security of the
Starfire.

Tree branches laden with new green
leaves swayed in the breeze. The cars that had lined the streets
not twenty minutes ago had departed, leaving it mostly deserted and
quiet, but the three of them had waited until they were almost the
last ones left at the school.

"It's so funny, you know, how it all
started here?"

Did Josh mean what she thought he
meant or something else? "What?"

"Us. You. You and Elis."

Yup. That's what she thought. Raea
looked up at Elis and tightened her fingers twined in his. "Yeah.
Strange how things work out."

"So…um…Everything did work out, right?
I mean, these Risaal aren't coming back for you or
anything?"

"They're gone, Josh." The thought of
Dar Lorel and the last of her group from Earth starting over as the
last of their race sobered her. When the Risaal had attacked
Inar'Ahben twelve thousand years ago, they could have wiped out the
Inari, but they failed.

"You didn't—"

"No. Not all of them. They fought
amongst themselves mostly. A few survived and I sent them
home."

"You did the right thing."

"I'd like to think so." She had Elis
back and the Risaal had a chance to start over. Maybe they would
accept help from the Inari this time. That was something she could
suggest next time she spoke with Saffir. This time, the Inari might
be welcomed. A fresh start for both.

"But let's not think about that. We're
here. We're alive. School is out. We survived it all!" Whatever
came next would be another matter, but in the present, Raea could
enjoy herself. Every moment was precious.

"Yeah. I don't know how you did it,
but I'm glad you both made it." Josh blew his tassel from his face
and came up behind them with an arm over each of their
shoulders.

"Me too."

Josh chuckled and let go, changing the
subject to the last week of school and the finals that just about
killed him, and what she had missed.

A crowd had already gathered at the
house at the end of the street, but Josh parted with them at the
usual place. "I better get home. Lots of family waiting. You know
how Mom is."

"Yeah." Raea let go of Elis to hug
Josh. "You're welcome over anytime. We'll always be
friends."

"Thanks." Josh let go, his lips
pressed into an awkward smile before he turned and walked down the
cross street.

Elis's hand found hers while she
stared at Josh's back. He'd always been there for her but they were
only friends. She hated to tell him, because he was a great person,
but her heart belonged to Elis.

"Ready?"

"Ah…Yeah." She hoped the day went
fast. The last thing she wanted was to smile and greet everyone. At
the end of it all, she only wanted a quiet snuggle with Elis. No
more people wanting something of her or aliens trying to kill her.
Just her and Elis alone.

* * *

At last!

They had evaded Anita all day, thanks
to Debbie.

Elis threw his shoes into the closet
and she slipped out of hers. Evelyn was at the gathering next door
in deep conversation with Raea's grandparents. They had the house
to themselves, and they would take advantage of it.

Raea hurried up the stairs ahead of
Elis, turning around the banister along the top to reach his room.
There, she flopped down on the bed and let out a heavy sigh. Her
whole body welcomed the softness and calm. It felt so good. No
noise. No people. No one threatening to kill them. Just them and
the quiet of the old house.

Finally.

At the snick of the door lock, she
smiled at Elis. "I'll bet you're glad to be out of
there."

He stepped to the bed and stood over
her while removing the black fingerless gloves hiding his Starburst
marks. "You know me too well."

"Maybe. You surprised me with your
survival." Curiosity prompted her to stand up next to him. "You
were dead, Elis. I saw you die."

Purple eyes held her suspended on the
memory haunting her. She would never forget his blood on her hands
and dissolving of their future together.

His hand warmed her cheek. "I was
close…You saved me. The Risaal might have healed me, but they could
never have given me a chance without what you did."

Dear God. Don't
stop.
His caress on her cheek touched deep
inside so her insides quivered with anticipation. She'd missed that
tender touch, their time alone together learning about each other
and growing closer. And she'd almost lost it.

"But you were dead."

"No. You stopped that. You used the
Starfire to heal me. I felt it and I connected to you through it to
share where the Eye was…because I thought I would die. Obviously,
it worked, both ways."

That's what she thought. "One
problem—now Nare guards it."

"That can't be helped. You did what
you had to do."

True. And Nare hadn't said anything
more at the party next door. In fact, she'd come to their rescue to
divert Anita's attention while they slipped away. Still, the shard
should have been his.

"She can be useful."

A smile curved up his face,
brightening his whole demeanor. "Maybe."

While facing him, another thought
struck her. "How is the injury?" She pulled his shirt
up.

Elis lifted his arms and slipped it
off all the way, standing bare-chested before her. That's what some
part of her wanted. Her pulse quickened as it did the nights she'd
stayed with him, snuggling because she didn't want to be alone.
She'd wanted more on many occasions, but he'd never asked or he had
backed off, and then she'd thought they'd had all the time in the
world. Obviously, they didn't.

The wound had healed
completely but left a scar smaller than a quarter and slightly off
center to his left.
Exactly
where…

Raea put a hand to her chest. She
hadn't thought about it since last night; she'd been too focused on
the fact that he was alive. "That was it. Wasn't it?"

"What?"

"The bonding. I was feeling your pain.
Right here." She patted her chest, which corresponded to the exact
place of the wound on him. In the bonding process, they would share
each other's pain and pleasure. She had realized it when his leg
had been injured last night, but not before. Of course that was
it—the pain in her chest. It was his pain, but their shared pain.
"You were alive and I…I didn't even realize."

His cheeks twitched with the clamping
of his jaw, his face grim. "It's progressed more quickly than I
expected. I'm sorry."

"No. Don't apologize." He always
apologized for nothing, but she had been the one to want to be
close, the reason it had progressed so quickly.

She put a hand to his cheek. "I'm
sorry I didn't understand, but I'm not afraid, Elis."

His brows pinched. "You're
not?"

"Not with you. I told you three weeks
ago." When she'd returned from Inar'Ahben. Had he forgotten so
soon, her dear sweet Elis? "I don't care what anyone thinks should
be. I know what's right for me."

His hands tightened at her waist,
stealing her breath in a wave of excitement.

"I thought…" He leaned over her, his
body pressing closer. Oh, God. Her heart raced to catch up with her
breath he stole. "I mean I…I didn't think it was what you wanted,
so fast."

"I was never afraid with you." The
words came out in what breath she could catch. It all happened so
fast, but she had to make him understand—she didn't want him to
stop.

"After all that happened, I thought
you needed time."

"Time is so precious," she
whispered.

"You're not afraid?"

Silly boy. Didn't she already say
that? "No."

His warm breath invited her to close
the gap in a sweet kiss intended to make things clear. For a few
fleeting seconds, he held her tight, his mouth pressed hard to hers
in a kiss that banished all doubts. But this was Elis and he
restrained himself, despite the clear physical desire to be
close.

He breathed hard but didn't fully pull
away. "I was afraid. After what happened when you learned about
bonding and what he did to you, I wasn't sure..."

"Is that what it was all about? Is
that what you were trying to tell me?" That night here in his room,
before they went out flying and the Risaal caught them.

"Yes."

She almost laughed, but the confusion
on his face tugged at her sympathy. "Elis…Don't be." While her
pulse raced, she slid a hand down the hard muscles of his body,
down to the thin scar on his lower side from Pallin's knife.
"Don't…hold back." Man, she felt the desire inside her, but was it
her or him? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but giving in to the
overwhelming need to be close spreading like a wild fire from
within her.

His arms pulling her against him drew
her eyes up. She gently brushed aside the black hairs from his face
and the reflection of her desires burning in his eyes. "I said I'd
let it happen. However much time we have or not, I will never waste
another second loving you." The last came out in a whisper before
he kissed her.

Reprisal

Prime Commander Alshouan Valdas pulled
her dark brown wings tight to her back in agitation and tapped her
fingers on her black sleeve. Her eyes focused on the image
projected into her optical nerve of Prime Commander Loran Tarolis
in his dark blue suit, the uniform of a human business man. On
Earth, he was the owner of the privately held NeoGen Laboratories.
In reality, he was there to finish the genetics research ordered by
Empress Shirat Marin.