The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (109 page)

“Of course, Aziz,” she assured him. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good.” He gave her a smile that didn’t chill her bones this time. It was a real smile, like he actually believed she’d be a valuable asset against the High King and his armies. “Let’s go inform the boy’s friends that he is on his way.”

Aziz walked in front of her as she trailed behind, Elex bringing up the rear. Outside his office, he told them to stop and wait while he grabbed something. The electricity between Rain and Elex was extreme, even though he was only walking behind her. When Aziz left them alone it reached all new heights, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. She didn’t turn to look at him before his arms circled her waist, and his face was buried in her neck. She could feel him kissing and sucking at her skin, making her legs weak and shaky.

I missed you,
his voice whispered in her head.

A massive wave of relief washed over her.
I missed you to,
she confessed.

Did you think I wouldn’t?
His voice was chiding in tone. She shrugged her shoulders, suddenly feeling guilty for doubting him.

You should know better by now,
he reproached.
But since you don’t, I will just work harder at proving it to you.
There was a suggestive nature to his voice that caused her cheeks to heat from something entirely different than embarrassment.

You should step back,
she said, even as she let herself grow soft in his arms.
What if he comes out and sees you?

Ignoring her, he asked,
how was he when I was gone?

Fine,
she answered.

Did he try…anything with you?

She stiffened, answering him with just that and no words. His arms tightened around her waist, and she heard a soft growl emanate from his throat.

It was just a kiss,
she quickly clarified, hoping it would be reassuring. She doubted it.
There was nothing I could do, and I hated every second of it.

I know you did,
he answered, his face buried in her skin again.
Doesn’t mean I like it.

As suddenly as he had come, he was gone again, standing quietly a short distance behind her. A second later Aziz joined them back in the hall, none the wiser. They both followed him down the now familiar halls to where he kept his prisoners. Rain didn’t particularly want to go, knowing the forest girl was there, but she was doing her best not to do anything that would anger Aziz. Everything had to go smoothly if she and Elex were going to accomplish anything. What they were going to do was still a big mystery to her. She only hoped he had some sort of plan. Otherwise they would never be together. Not so long as Aziz was alive.

The footsteps approaching were louder than normal. Ethan was getting better at using his hearing to discern things, considering it was the only sense he had left. Vision was gone by the impenetrable darkness. Smell was useless. The damp stones and unwashed bodies in the small cell invaded his nose at all hours of the day. When he got out –
if he got out –
he was going to have the longest shower of his life. Sometimes, while he lay beside Melissa, trying his best to sleep and rest his mind, he would imagine himself under the blissful hot water. It was something he had always taken for granted. Never again.

Having Lily around made things slightly more interesting. She filled them in on everything that was happening in what she called Eden. Apparently it was a different “realm”. A world that coexisted alongside theirs. It didn’t make sense to him. Honestly, it sounded more like some fictional novel than anything. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were in a
dungeon
and had been at the Fair one moment, then inside their cell the next, he would have never believed it. It’s hard to not believe something that is slamming you in the face.

Melissa was actually showing some life again. Having the other girl around seemed to be helping. She still cowered in the corner, but at least she spoke often. She still insisted Ethan stay close by. Despite current circumstances, it made him happy that she wanted him near. For some reason he was a person she felt she could lean on and trust. It was more than he could have ever hoped for. Before they would occasionally talk in between classes, but that was as far as their relationship went. What Aiden didn’t know was that Ethan had liked Melissa since grade nine. He had never said anything since Aiden practically fell on his face anytime she walked by. They had just started to spark up a friendship when
this
happened. Now they were probably closer than they would have ever been back home. Being in life or death situations can do that to people, Ethan decided.

Lily also explained about a war that was taking place. Incredibly, Aiden was supposed to be some foretold warrior that was meant to save all of Eden. Ethan laughed at first. He couldn’t see Lily’s face very well, but he could practically feel her eyes burning him with disapproval when he had burst out laughing. She started to tell them all the things Aiden had apparently done, and Ethan shut right up. It was hard to believe, but everything she said had sounded like the truth. It was like there was something in her voice that you just couldn’t argue with.

Her voice.

It was something Ethan was having a hard time with. He didn’t understand it at first. She’d start talking to them, telling them everything that was happening, and why the armies would be heading to where they were. This was the best news out of everything she said. Aiden really was coming to them, and if he actually was some fierce warrior, it was highly possible they could be saved. Or at least that’s what Ethan continually told himself, and Melissa. Losing hope and faith in their situation would only kill them faster. If anything, he
had
to believe they’d get out of their prison.

As she spoke he’d find himself reaching out to her, or trying to lean in closer. Sometimes, without realizing it, he would find himself sitting right up beside her, his eyes trained on the dark spot where she sat. It would always take him a moment to clear his head and move back to Melissa, but then he’d find himself doing it again. It was embarrassing. Not to mention he didn’t want Melissa thinking he had some sort of crush on the tiny girl. As soon as she’d speak, it would feel like he was in some sort of trance and he’d start moving to be closer.

Finally, after a particularly humiliating moment when she had to stop talking because he was sitting
right
against her –
smelling her
, she explained what the problem might be.

“I’m a forest person,” she said, after he apologized what felt like the millionth time, and moved back to a chuckling Melissa. For once he had been glad it was so dark in their cell, because he knew his face would have been beet red.

“What’s a forest person?” Melissa asked.

“We are similar to the fae in your world,” she explained. “I’m not sure how else to explain it.”

“Uh, fairies aren’t real in
our
world,” Ethan corrected. It felt weird to say “your” world and “our” world when they spoke. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the whole idea of there being other realms. Lily said there were a lot more than just the two, which just freaked him out. The universe was already immense as it was, he didn’t want to think of it being so much more complicated than the one in his reality.

“Of course they are,” she said. “Perhaps you’ve just never seen them.” Ethan decided not to argue. “We are not quite human.”

“Elaborate on not quite human,” said Ethan.

“We are stronger and our senses are heightened. We live longer, and are linked with the world we live in.”

“What does that mean?” Melissa asked. Her voice sounded in awe of the girl. Ethan realized Melissa wasn’t having any trouble believing what was being told to them. He didn’t know if she was just so starved for answers after all this time that something as fantastical as what Lily was saying seemed more believable, or if she just always believed in these sorts of things. It wasn’t like they’d had any privacy to really discuss it since the other girl had been literally dropped into their cell.

“Our spirits are linked to Eden itself. The worlds are like living, breathing creatures. Eden’s land has a spirit of its own. The war injures Eden just as much as it does the people. We can connect with the essence that is Eden. It’s hard to explain. It is something unique to my kind…” she stopped, drifting off into silence before adding, “or at least I thought it was.”

“What does
that
mean?” he had asked, but she hadn’t answered. Instead she continued to explain that their voices could be used to trick and enchant humans. It was why he had been having such a strange reaction to her. She figured because he wasn’t of “their” world, he was even more susceptible. She promised to tone it down, and it worked. He no longer found himself pressed up against her, although her voice still seemed to affect him. It was soothing, and he found himself lulled by whatever stories she was telling.

They were up to speed on everything that had happened while they’d been locked up, and from even earlier. According to Lily, Aiden had already been to the world before, and then back again. They’d argued about this for a while, since Ethan knew for a fact Aiden hadn’t gone missing for weeks during the summer, or before. That was when she told them that time didn’t move the same, and Ethan had breathed a sigh of relief. It meant his parents wouldn’t be freaking out and thinking he was dead. It meant
when
they got to go back home, they wouldn’t have missed any time, and things could go back to normal. Or so he hoped. It occurred to him that “normal” might never happen again after this. No matter what they did when they got back home, this experience was going to stick with both of them for the rest of their lives.

The key scraped in the lock a second before the door to their cell was pushed open. Lily sat in one corner while they sat in the opposite. Framed in the doorway was Aziz, who was the greatest sorcerer in Eden. It didn’t bode well for them, Ethan realized. It was the first and only time he wished he was Harry Potter. He could totally bring down this sorcerer if he was. Behind him was the winged man, whom Lily didn’t even know, and the girl named Rain. Lily had been sad when she talked about her. Ethan didn’t feel bad for her. He remembered clearly the look in the girl’s eyes when Aziz had brought her to see them. She knew who they were, and what Aziz was doing, and she couldn’t have cared less. She had even tried to intimidate them. Okay, maybe she had succeeded, Ethan admitted. The whole fire thing had freaked him right out. If there was one way he
really
didn’t want to die, it would be from burning in a fire.

“Hello my pets,” Aziz said stepping into the cell. He looked around in disgust. Ethan had to blink a few times before he could see him clearly. The sconces out in the hall weren’t very bright, considering they were only lit torches, but being in pitch black for twenty-four hours a day tended to make his eyes extra sensitive. Melissa was burying her face in his back. She hated Aziz, and shook every time he came in to see them. Lily was watching him impassively. He admired her bravery. “I hope you three have been getting along. It looks like you might not be together for much longer. We have news.” He stopped, letting it sink in, keeping them in suspense. Lily sat up straighter.

Aziz turned to smile knowingly at her. “I wouldn’t look so eager, forest brat,” he hissed. He crouched down in front of her. “Do you fancy yourself in love with him? Does the fact that he is different interest your quizzical mind?” She didn’t respond. His voice dropped to a whisper, but all of them could still hear what he said. “I bet you’re dying to know what he is, aren’t you? I bet it kills you that you just can’t figure it out.”

“He is the prophesized warrior,” Lily answered as if that explained why Aziz just called Aiden “different”.

“But
why
is he the prophesized warrior?” Aziz countered. “I know you must have seen things about him that didn’t add up. It must drive you crazy. I know how much your kind loves to know the answers to everything.” He stood up, a smug smile plastered on his face.

“What is happening out there?” Lily asked, ignoring his taunting.

Aziz laughed coldly. It set Ethan’s teeth on edge.
A man like him shouldn’t laugh
, he thought. “You should be more concerned about what might be happening in here, not out there,” Aziz replied. “My Queen is itching to get her hands on you. She has a grievance with you that she’d greatly like to address. The only thing stopping her is me. Remember that. Otherwise you won’t be alive long enough to see your warrior come to your rescue.”

Ethan watched as Lily’s eyes flickered between Rain and Aziz. Ethan hadn’t looked in that direction, mostly because the winged man scared him more than any of them. He was the only person he had ever met in his entire life that had eyes completely void of
life.
The man could probably kill a newborn child and not bat an eyelash.