Defiance Rising (20 page)

Aminah seems to read my mind, without actually digging through my devious thoughts, and loops her arm through mine to steer me toward Toren.
 

“Another ambush?” I eye Toren’s bowed head, deep in conversation with Eamon.
 

“You know Toren means well.”

The muffled snort behind me makes me grin.
 
Apparently, Bastien doesn’t think so highly of Toren’s methods either.

When Bastien and I arrive, Toren pats Eamon on the shoulder and rises to meet our gaze.
 
“Scouts reported back some activity last night off to the east.”

“What kind of activity?” I ask, leaning over his map.
 
The area is one that I’m vaguely familiar with, but haven’t spent enough time exploring because it run’s right up to the City.

“They’ve been moving some heavy machinery,” Eamon answers.

“And you want us to take a look at it?” Bastien asks from over my shoulder.

Eamon bristles but Toren places a warning hand on his forearm.
 
“That’s the plan.
 
It shouldn’t be too far out of your way.”
 
He points to a location less than a mile from where Bastien and I plan to infiltrate the City.
 

“Could be dangerous,” Bastien says, crossing his arms over his chest as he turns to look at me.

“I’m game if you are.”
 

Bastien nods.
 
“You know I’m in.”

Seventeen

I can hear Bastien panting heavily behind me as he leans into the steep incline that will lead us to ground level.
 
I’m used to this blind trek, but today I find my pace a bit sluggish, my mind riddled with a whirlwind of thoughts.

“Are you always this intense when you leave home?”

“No,” I call back over my shoulder as I lead us around a bend and lean forward to dig into the sharp slope.
 
We’re almost there.
 
I can see the light up ahead.
 
“I’m like this when I’m
in
the caves.
 
I don’t like tight spaces.”

“Or bickering among friends?”

I readjust my pack, tugging on the straps so that they fall more evenly over my shoulders.
 
“That too.”

“Can I ask you a question?”
 
His boots slap against the stone as he rushes to keep pace with me.

I grit my teeth and prepare myself for the worst.
 
“Do I have a choice?”

“No, not really.”

“Go on then.”
 
The instant I step into the sunlight I feel as if a heavy weight has lifted from my shoulders.
 
I lift my face and breathe deep the familiar scent of the forestdecaying leaves, dirt and pine.
 

Bastien waits until I stop soaking in my daily dose of vitamin D before speaking.
 
“What’s with you and Eamon?
 
You guys seem rather intense.”

I snort and turn my face into the wind.
 
The air has a bite to it this morning, but the temperature has already begun to rise above freezing.
 
Patches of blue sky peek through sagging gray clouds overhead, but there is a menacing storm system on the horizon.
 
“Looks like we might catch a brief break in the weather.
 
We should try to cover as much ground as we can while it’s nice.”

I turn before Bastien can protest and pound my steps into the mountain slope with a ferocity that slowly eases the burden in my mind.
 
He keeps pace with me, never complaining or asking for a break.
 
I plunge deeper into the woods, annoyed that Bastien’s watchful eye lands on me frequently over the next couple of hours.
 
When he realizes that his stares aren’t getting the expected response, he releases an obnoxiously loud sigh.
 
Annoyed, I whip around and slam into his broad chest.

Pushing off him to give myself some much needed personal space, I cross my arms over my chest.
 
“You might as well spill it.
 
I know you’ve been dying to say something since we left the cave.”

I slip my pack off my back and sink down onto a fallen tree.
 
The dampness of the bark seeps through my pants and onto my skin.
 
I dig into my bag and pull out a small leather pouch.
 
Tugging it open with my teeth, I close my eyes as the refreshing water flows down my parched throat.
 
We’ve been going hard for well over two hours.
 
Maybe it was a good idea to pause for a moment.

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, come on.
 
You’ve been giving me that look all morning.”

Bastien scratches his stubbled chin.
 
“Just trying to figure you out is all.”

I toss him the leather pouch and settle back into the crook of the tree branches that rise toward the sky, like fingers bent with age.
 
It’s not exactly comfortable but it will do for now.
 
Comfort in the forest is relative.
 

I watch as Bastien drinks deep from the pouch.
 
“I’m not that complicated, you know.”

“No?”
 
He leans over to hand me the canteen back.
 
“Then why is it you act like you’re running away from your friends?”

“It’s not them.”
 
I drop my gaze and fumble with the edge of my frayed sweater.
 
“It’s me.
 
I don’t want them to find out that I’m the reason they’ve become freaks.”

Bastien steps up to a tree, slides down the trunk and then throws out his legs before him.
 
“We aren’t freaks, Illyria, and it’s not your fault.”

I roll my eyes at him

“Ok, well maybe you did have
something
to do with it, but it’s not like you did it on purpose.
 
You can’t control this…whatever it is.”

“Exactly.”
 
I rip off a chunk of bark and hurl it into the underbrush, wishing I had something far more substantial to throw.
 
“I’m dangerous.
 
We’ve already established that, but what if I’ve endangered my friends too?
 
I can’t bear the thought of them getting hurt.”

I lean my head back and close my eyes.
 
I can hear him shift by the rustling of leaves, but I don’t open my eyes.
 
It feels good to be consumed by darkness. “It’s more than that, isn’t it?”

A groan escapes from my lips and I dig my fists into my eyes, fighting to block out my thoughts.
 
“Have you ever thought you were going crazy?”

His chuckle sends warmth flooding down to my toes.
 
The emotions I feel when I’m around him are both foreign and surprisingly pleasing.
 
“Can’t say that I have.
 
Why do you ask?”

Slowly, I lower my hands and focus on him.
 
He rolls his shoulders, rubbing out his tired muscles.
 
When he notices my direct gaze, he lets his hand fall free.
 

“I hear things,” I say.
 
“Whispers in my mind.”

His brow furrows as he sinks back against the tree to watch me.
 
“What do they say?”

A chill creeps down my spine.
 
“Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
 
They are usually a jumble in my mind, but sometimes, late at night I can hear them when I’m trying to sleep.”

“Any other time?”

I tuck my legs up into my chest and rest my cheek against my knee.
 
“I hear them when I’m about to lose control.
 
They cheer for me.”

A slight tremble in my fingers betrays me and doesn’t get past Bastien’s watchful gaze.
 
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

I don’t trust my voice so I nod.
 
A single tear slips down my cheek and falls to the ground below.
 
It’s mortifying but I can’t hold up a cool façade any more.

Bastien leaps to his feet and kneels beside me.
 
I watch him as he wavers between reaching out to comfort me and holding back.
 
I laugh and wipe my cheek.
 
“I’m not going to bite.”

“I have my doubts about that.”
 
His fingers twine through mine and gently pull me down off the log.
 
I sink into his embrace, comforted as he wraps his arms firmly around my back and pulls my head down onto his chest.
 
The steady thrumming of his heart is calming.

“How is it that you can be so thoughtful one minute and so completely infuriating the next?” I whisper, curling my fingers around the soft fabric of his borrowed shirt.
 

I feel his smile against the crown of my head.
 
“It’s a gift.”

I close my eyes and focus on the feel of his hands as he runs his fingers over my hair, soothing me like a little child just woken from a terrible nightmare.
 
“I don’t normally cry like this.”

“One tear hardly counts in my books.”

“Are you keeping track?”

He is silent for a moment.
 
My head rises and falls with his chest.
 
“I kinda like it.”

I lift my head to stare up into his eyes.
 
They are darker than usual, no longer the flickering blue of a flame.
 
“Like what?”

“Keeping track of you.”
 
His breath unsettles the flyaway strands of hair across my face.
 
I blink, shocked by the tender caress of his words.
 

“Is that a joke?” I whisper.

His hands tighten around my back.
 
“Afraid not, Princess.”

I’m suddenly all too aware of how close he is, how full his lips are and how tight his embrace has become.
 
I place my hand on his chest.
 
“Your heart”

He leans in and brushes his lips against mine, his touch light and gentle.
 
He reaches up to cup my cheek, his eyes wide and searching as he pulls back.
 
My lower lip tingles as I run my fingertip across it, pausing to process his first touch.
 

“Are you ok?”

I nod, although my head is swimming at his nearness.
 
The scent of his skin turns my thoughts into chaos.
 
Without stopping to consider the consequences, I wrap my hand around his neck and crush my lips against his.
 
My lips muffle his cry of surprise as I curl my fingers around the soft hair that drapes down to his neck.

As his hands curve around my back, I raise up into him, locking my hands together around his neck.
 
The heat of his body pressed against mine is exciting, the movement of his lips sinfully intoxicating.

My breath comes fast and hard as I lean in closer, my knees digging into the dirt beside his thighs.
 
I let my head fall to the side and Bastien’s lips trace a line down my jaw, his fingers digging into my sides.
 
The irrational urge to laugh bubbles up within me as I realize I’ve never done anything so completely reckless before.

I’ve gone head-to-head with a wolf while hunting, dove off the Cascades to satisfy a teenage dare and entered the forbidden City alone, but I’ve never let a guy get this close.
 
If I had known kissing would be this intense, I would have done it a lot sooner.

I lean into Bastien, pressing him back to the ground.
 
He goes willingly, his eyes searching mine as I lean down, hovering less than an inch over his lips.
 
His fingers pull at my waist, silently begging me, but I smile and shake my head.
 
He groans, arching up to meet my lips and I give in to his need.

The soil under my hands begins to shift as small tremors ripple out from me.
 
There are no barriers between us, no sarcastic cracks or awkward banter.
 
I realize that I want this, him, more than I want air to breathe.
 
I feel rooted in place, as if my very existence was meant to bring us here, to this very moment.
 

Bastien pushes me up and rolls me onto my back, placing himself beside me.
 
The coolness of the ground eases the scorching heart bearing down on me from above.
 
Each time his fingers caress my bare skin, I feel drawn into him.
 

His chiseled body presses against the length of mine while his arm cradles my head.
 
His lips leave a slow, blazing trail down my neck.
 
I lean my head back to allow him access to the hollow of my throat and a shiver of pleasure washes over me as his breath tickles my delicate skin.

I react to every touch, every breath, and every pounding heartbeat.
 
The smallest touch is torture and yet more satisfying than I could have ever imagined.
 
I open my eyes and watch the trees tremble overhead as I dig my fingers deep into the dirt.

I feel alive, connected not only with Bastien but the world around me: the trees, the soil, the earth.
 
Energy courses through my body, making my skin tingle with overwhelming sensitivity.

Bastien chuckles when I gasp, his lips pressing against the tender flesh just behind my ear.
 
A thousand tiny goosebumps spread along my skin as he shifts to caress just above my waistline, moving slowly around from my back to my stomach.

He dips his head, softly tugging on my bottom lip with his teeth before pulling back.
 
He teases me, taunts me.