Five (Elemental Enmity Series Book I) (6 page)

My faltering will and terrible need collided violently. I had to get closer to him.

He was my world.

I was reborn.

I smiled at my redeemer.

He moistened his bottom lip, biting down invitingly. Ever so slowly, his hands moved to the edge of his hood. Purple light pulsated from his fingers, spiraling down his body.

That wasn’t normal.

The thought floated away before I could grasp it.

A new one needed my attention.

My heart beat frantically in my chest as if it might sprout wings. I was going to see him.

Did I look okay? I raised a self-conscious hand to smooth my saturated hair and wiped running mascara from under my eyes. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I took another step toward him.

He hesitate and my body convulsed from the distance between us, but right now I couldn’t make myself move at all. When he pulled his hood back into place I nearly screamed. The only part of his face I could see was those glorious lips that turned in a violent frown? Did I do something wrong?

Voices cut through my thoughts.

No.

Laughing.

Giggles to be more precise. I hadn’t seen it before, but another path shimmered into view between us.

The hold the man had on me shattered. Apprehension flooded through me in a relentless surge.

He moved closer.

What was I still doing here? Why hadn’t I run when I had the chance? I retreated a step, searching for the happy people that might just be my salvation. I could still scream.

He frowned as if reacting to my thoughts and spun toward the chatter.

His rugged jaw tightened before his head veered to the right and back at me. His fists clenched at his sides.

One heartbeat. Two.

A flash of white.

A predatory smile curved his mouth moments before he saluted me. Then he stepped off the path toward the forest, disappearing behind a thicket of trees.

I remembered how to breathe.

A group of girls stomping through puddles came barreling toward me. One of them gasped, breaking away from the others. “Are you okay,” she asked, genuine concern clear in her tone.

“I—I think I’m lost.” I glanced ahead. The man was gone. The tree line looked different, not so thick. I would have sworn I had been in the middle of a vast forest, but I was on a large path in a thinly wooded area. I even heard the sounds of campus now. Where was the shack that had been there moments before? I forced myself to turn toward the girl on trembling knees. “How do I get back to Le Mans Hall?” My smile took quite a lot of effort. I didn’t want her to know how freaked out I was.

She gazed at me through kind green eyes. “This trail is tricky. I’ll show you.” Holding her umbrella higher, she stood beside me. “Here”

“Thanks,” I said, ducking under it. I welcomed the cover even though the rain had turned to a drizzle.

She laughed. “Won’t do you much good now. You look like you’ve been swimming in the river.”

My lips twitched into a minute smile, but it I couldn’t hold it long. Was that man still lurking in the shadows waiting to strike until I was alone? Was he a fae lord? Aunt Grace said they ran in packs. I prayed he was just a figment of my overactive imagination, all the while knowing in the bottom of my soul that he wasn’t. With more effort than it should have taken, I tore my gaze from the trees. “I should have paid attention to the weather when I left my room.” I glanced at the woods again. I couldn’t help it.

“Wow.” The girl’s gaze roamed over me. “You’re really shaken up.” She placed a reassuring hand on my arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home and dry in no time.” She extended her hand toward me, grinning. “I’m Natalie Walker.”

She had an infectious smile, a short curvy frame, bright green eyes, fair freckled skin, and thick, bouncy auburn curls.

I gave her a curt nod and shoved my trembling hands into my pockets. “Rayla Tate.” I couldn’t say anything else. My throat was too tight with fear.

“Where are you from?” she asked, following my gaze over to the trees.

I ignored the intrepid call of the forest. I made myself look only at her. “Utah. You?”

“Arizona. Technically, we’re neighbors.” She smirked, cocking her head. “I can’t seem to get used to this place. There aren’t any landmarks to keep me grounded.”

Natalie Walker was a refreshing distraction. My fear slowly subsided with every normal word she uttered. I laughed. “I know, right? I feel lost without the mountains.”

She pointed toward her friends, who huddled together under cheery umbrellas, talking and giggling. Their bright rain-boots rebelled against the turbulent sky. “They keep telling me I’ll acclimate. I don’t know if that’s possible. Air is not supposed to be wet.”

I laughed. “You got that right.”

We walked toward the group. She introduced me. I was never going to remember all their names.

“Are you coming with us, Rayla?” asked one of the girls.

“I…” I should have been settling into my new life, making new friends, doing whatever college students normally do, not worrying that a pack of fae lords were going to come for me. Whatever that meant?

Having one man stalk me was bad enough, even if by some miracle he did turn out to be imaginary; more likely, a college student that was trying to be friendly. All I knew was nothing or no one could get me to go further down that path.

“I’m taking her back,” Natalie said, saving me. “She’ll catch a cold if she doesn’t get out of those clothes.”

I gave her a shy glance. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

Natalie took my elbow. “Couldn’t be if you tried.” She twisted toward the girls who were already skipping down the path in sets of two, arms linked. She shrugged. Her tone lowered. “See you guys later.”

I fought the temptation to tell those unaware girls, and campus police, about the man because I was probably either being paranoid or delusional. If I set aside the purple light I had seen, which I definitely could have imagined, that guy hadn’t actually done anything but walk toward me and smile—for all I knew he had been going for wolfish.

“I’m sorry to ruin your fun,” I said. I should have insisted she go with her friends, but I couldn’t get the words to come out.

She nudged my shoulder. “I hardly think pounding through puddles is enjoyable. You just got me out of an entire afternoon of wet misery. I should be thanking you.”

My mind stuttered momentarily. Was I actually having a real conversation? I blurted out the first thing that came to me. “Well, when you put it that way, why aren’t you?”

She laughed and I smiled. She showed me around campus a little bit before depositing me in front of my dorm.

Most of the buildings had a similar gothic charm, but some, like Regina Hall, were decidedly minimalistic boxes. Who knew the two styles could mesh so well.

She walked part way up the steps with me then smiled. “See you around, Rayla. Thanks again.” Without giving me a chance to reply, Natalie headed for her dorm.

She couldn’t know how grateful I was to her. I was going to have to be more careful from now on. Aunt Grace had been right about one thing, at least. I needed to stay around people.

“I was worried about you,” Cassie said when I walked through the door.

Water from my clothes dripped all over her shaggy, hot-pink rug. Amazingly enough, she had transformed the blank room into a miniature reflection of home. She opened a drawer and handed me a soft, white towel.

“Thanks,” I said, making good use of her offering.

I peeled my shirt off first. An unopened banana would have been more comfortable than me with my clothes clinging uncomfortably to my skin like this.

She sat solemnly on her bed, her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry, Rayla. I just don’t know how to deal with what happened. I know you think that you saw a p-p…”

“Pegasus,” I finished for her. I locked my knees and waited for her to confess that she had been too afraid to talk about it.

“Yes, well, I think it was just a trick of the light. That guy was trying to scare us.”

I narrowed my eyes, claiming her gaze. No matter how much I had tried to convince myself otherwise, the man in the woods had not been normal. I had already had enough time to be sure he was the motorcyclist. Even with all my doubts, I couldn’t deny the effect he had on me. “I know what I saw.” She could deny it all she wanted, but what that guy had done couldn’t have been smoke and mirrors.

At least she was admitting she had seen him now. It was a start.

Her expression didn’t change. She still had that mechanical smile on when she climbed down the ladder. “You’ll realize I’m right over time. It was an isolated incident.” Her solid tone made me wonder if she was trying to convince herself. “There isn’t anything to worry about.”

Not believing how lame she was being, I stood rigidly in front of her. She thought this was simply going to go away. I wished she was right, but it wasn’t likely that man would leave me alone. He followed us here for heaven’s sake. “That’s just it. It might not be an isolated incident.”

She scowled. “What are you saying, Rayla?”

I motioned toward the window. “I had a guy just about accost me in the woods.” I might have been exaggerating slightly. Who knew what he would have done if he had gotten his hands on me, but I needed her to tell me what she knew about this whole mess. I shuddered, thinking about what might have happened if Natalie hadn’t come along when she did.

Cassie leaned against the door-jam to the bathroom, crossing her arms. “What were you doing out in the woods?”

I grunted in disgust. She was avoiding the obvious. “Can’t you think of a better question than that?” The last thing I wanted was for Cassie to leave, but I had to have answers. If Aunt Grace was right, Cassie had some information to share.

Instead of answering me, she ducked into the bathroom for a minute and came out with a tissue. Pointing to my nose, she handed it to me. I wiped and blew. What, now she was my mother? Despite my irritation, I nodded my thanks. She climbed back up to the top bunk.

With conflicting thoughts almost visible in her eyes, she turned toward me. “It was probably—”

“Sure,” I said. “I know what you’re going to say. He was probably some Notre Dame student that got caught in the rain.” Hadn’t that been what I had first thought about him? But he was more than an ordinary man. No guy had ever caused such emotion in me, as if he was meant for me. No, that wasn’t right—it was more like I was meant for him.

Cassie’s justification attempts bubbled my insides to a slow boil. I continued without giving her a chance to butt in, “Or maybe my nerves are frazzled right now? This one is even better. I’m imagining things.” I poised my hand in front of me and motioned as I said, “Blah. Blah. Blah!”

“Rayla!”

Her gaze on me might as well have been a laser beam. I hadn’t meant to be so rude, but she was making me crazy with her denial. I worked on toweling my hair while I raised a questioning look to her. “You know something more about this.” I tried to swallow the hurt choking my throat. How could she betray the unspoken rules of our friendship like this? “Why won’t you help me?”

She cringed, splaying her hands wide. “It’s going to be okay,” she said in a rush. “We don’t need to worry about it. You’ll see. They will go away.” Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. With shaking fingers she ran her other hand through her midnight ringlets. She looked as guilty as a dog caught tipping over the garbage.

“Say too much, did you?”

Keeping her eyes downcast, she played with the edge of her new quilt. “I should just go home. I can’t get involved in this stuff again.”

“What stuff? Tell me what’s going on!”

Her expression scrunched in clear pain. “I can’t.” Her deadly quiet voice chilled me.

“More like, won’t. I thought you were my best friend. I need the truth! Am I in danger?”

Without so much as a sound, she leapt from the top bunk and bolted out the door.