Touching Fire (Touch Saga) (27 page)

“
Something just big enough for us and maybe a—”

My gut sank at the direction of his thoughts. The hurt was a physical twang in my chest.
I captured the hand he used to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “You know we can’t … we can’t ever…”

“A guestroom,” he murmured
and I gritted my teeth, knowing full well that wasn’t what he’d meant to say. “Hey.” He captured my chin and forced my teary gaze to his. “We’ll figure it out, right?”

Blinking back the hurt, I nodded. “Keep going.”

He combed long fingers through my hair, his gaze going back to the ceiling as though he could see it all up there.

“S
omewhere close to the beach.”

Clearing my throat, I rested my chin on his chest and watched him. “I’ve never been to the beach.”

He grinned. “Me neither, but I’ve seen pictures. I’m thinking Alter do Chao, or Praia da Fazenda. Just you and me on the sand all day. I could get work at the docks or a garage and you can do whatever you want to do.”

“No working weekends,” I put in.

He shook his head. “No weekends. That’ll be just for us. We’ll go exploring and—”

“Snorkeling.”

He laughed. “Sure.” He lowered his eyes and met mine. “The only thing we’ll worry about is what we’ll do that day.”

“No more looking over our shoulders.”

“No more running.”

I smiled. “I like that.”

His fingers framed my face. “I’ll make it happen, Fallon. I promise.”

C
hapter 16

I knew it was time to get up the moment I felt the warm trail of Isaiah’s hands down my back. I smiled into the taut flesh of his chest.

“Morning.”

A tender kiss was pressed into the top of my head. “Morning.”

I raised my head enough to peer down into his face. “Did you sleep?”

“Like a rock.”

I snorted. “Liar.”

With a chuckle, he pulled me under him and pressed his lips into the side of my face, leaving a hot trail downward to the curve of my neck. His hands splayed across my back, curving me into the front of his body as he stole every ounce of breath from my lungs. My eyes closed as my will succumbed to his. I felt the shift of my perspective as everything else faded but that moment and him.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” he confessed in a husky breath into my skin. “I can’t stop touching you. All I want is to touch you. I feel you under my hands even when you’re not there
and I feel half mad with the need to find you and hold you. I am powerless to resist you.”

My fingers curled into
his shoulders. “Don’t resist me.”

He pulled away
only a fraction to peer down into my eyes. His nose grazed the side of mine as our brows touched. I drew him closer, closing every gap between us but one, our lips.

His heart drummed against mi
ne in a hard tattoo of longing as he tempted my lips a little more with his next words. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

I smiled, slowly melting on the inside. “Prove it.” My arms went around his neck. I felt his quiet chuckle vibrating between us just before his mouth touched mine.

It was light, soft and sweet and so perfect first thing in the morning. I felt it pour into my system like a quick shot of espresso. Every nerve ending blistered awake. My toes curled. If I hadn’t been already hopelessly in love with him before, that moment would have sealed it for me. But like all good moments, that one shattered with the hard bang of the doors flying open and Archer charging in like he owned the place. Knocking was clearly not something he was taught.

“Not to interr
upt this beautiful moment, but we’re ready to get you two on the road.”

No!
I wanted to whine.
Just a minute longer
. I didn’t want to stop, but Isaiah was already pulling away.

He smiled
at my scowl and took my hand. “Later,” he vowed, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I nodded and watched as he climbed out of bed. Together, the two left my room, closing the doors behind them.

Grumbling, I threw back the sheets and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Who knew when I would get th
e chance again, in a clean tub? I double checked my bag, which was kind of useless. It was an age-old habit to return everything I used back to the duffle after I was finished, so there was really no need to do a walkthrough of the room. But I did and wished I hadn’t.

I didn’t want to leave the room. It was mine. It was
my
room. My first ever. It was ridiculous how attached I’d gotten to four walls, but part of me wanted to weep. Served me right for letting myself think this would be my final resting place.

Heartbroken, I threw the strap of my duffle over my head
and headed for the door. I didn’t look back when I stepped through and went in search of Isaiah.

I didn’t have to go far. He and Archer were waiting for me at the end of the corridor. They glanced up when I joined them.

“Ready?” Isaiah asked.

I nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

Together, we made our way to the foyer and a waiting Ashton. Next to him was Celia with a disgruntled Lally clinging to her hand. The girl glowered at me when I reached the trio.

“What do you have to say?” Celia said, nudging Lally over to me.

Lally huffed, folding her arms over her thin chest. “She deserved it.”

“Lally!”

Her small lips pinched and unpinched as she glowered down at my feet. “I am sorry I locked you in the closet.”

I blinked. “What? You didn’t—”

“Lally has the ability to manipulate the thoughts of others,” Celia said, staring hard at her daughter. “Apparently she overheard me asking Delphi to show you to the dining room and took the task upon herself to get into Delphi’s mind. She only told me this morning or I would have made her apologize sooner.” Her feline eyes met mine. “I am truly sorry for her atrocious behavior, Fallon.”

I stared down at the pint-sized brat and grimaced. “
So Delphi had nothing to do with what happened?”

Celia shook her head. “She had no knowledge of what she was doing, and probably still doesn’t.”

“I need to apologize to her then,” I said, feeling horrible. “I wasn’t very nice to her.”

“That is all right,” Celia said.
“Lally will apologize for you, right after she finishes cleaning the mess she made in that broom closet. Conjuring demons and fire. Really.”

“What?” The girl spun around. “Mom—”

Celia put up one finger, halting her mid rant. “Not another word or you will be sent to stay with your grandmother.” I was shocked how quickly Lally’s mouth snapped shut. “I am so disappointed in your behavior.”

“Conjuring demons?” I broke in. “You mean those things that were in there with me?”

“They weren’t
really
there,” Lally muttered grudgingly. “You just thought they were.”

“No,” Celia corrected. “
You
made her think they were. What have I told you about using your powers like that, Lally?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “To not to.
But I didn’t make the fire happen.”

“
Do not lie to me, Lally!” Celia warned. “You are already on very thin ice.”

“But I didn’t—”

“That is enough.”

I hated that I felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. She was only five after all.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said. “No harm done.”

Then, Lally did something that surprised even me. She threw her arms open wide and lunged for my legs. I nearly toppled over when they locked around my knees.

“I will miss you,” she said loudly.

Not sure what to do, I patted her lightly on the back. “Yeah, me too.”

She tipped back her pixie-face and her eyes met mine, the chill in them sending shards of ice through me. “You are still going to die,” she said quietly for my ears only. “And your blood will kill everything it touches.”

Before I could react, she pushed away and scampered back to her mother, who put an arm around her shoulders.

“You okay?” Isaiah touched my back.

I dampened my lips, my gaze fixed on Lally, who stared back with that cutting glare. “Yeah. Fine.”

It was still dark when we left the enormous doors. I stared up at the smear of blue and black and wondered how that was possible when the sun had been breaking over the horizon through my bedroom terrace only minutes before.

Thalious and Thanos were waiting for us when we descended the steps. They threw back their enormous heads and reared. Their manes of flames snapped and flickered. Their tails swished. I was still not a big fan.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Fallon.” Celia joined us at the bottom of the steps, her pale hands clasped delicately in front of her.

I nodded. “It was nice meeting you, too. Thank you for everything.”

Celia smiled. “I hope you know that you will always have a home here.”

Not sure what to say to that, I
inclined my head before turning away.

Ashton helped me in while Isaiah took our
duffles to the wooden box at the back of the carriage. We sat in silence until Isaiah joined us, shutting the door behind him. The carriage rattled as Archer hopped onto the bench at the front. I braced myself just as he shouted
ha!
And the carriage gave a jolt.

“You can still change your mind,” Ashton said, speaking for the first time.

I shook my head. “It’s better this way.” I glanced down at my hands. “Thank you for everything.”

He dropped back against the bench with a disgruntle
d huff. “Don’t thank me. Not when I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

“You risked a lot to
get us here,” I argued. “I know you tried to help Mom, although she was too stubborn to accept it, and you took me in without question. I could have been some lunatic for all you knew.”

He leaned ever so slightly forward. “
There are a lot of things I wish I could have done differently, but we learn to deal with the hand we’re given. I will always be there when you need me.”

No one said another
word the rest of the way to the massive iron gates. The carriage stopped and we tumbled out.

“Why
was it still night time beyond the gates, but midafternoon here?” I asked as we made our way through the sunny meadow.

“
Ashton was keeping everyone indoors until we reach the nexus,” Archer said. “It would make things awkward if someone were to see you.”

“You can do that?
Stop the sun from coming out?” I hurried to keep up with the group who all seemed to have much longer legs than me.

“This is his domain,” Archer replied simply. “He can do whatever he wants.”

“When we reach the nexus, we will need to move quickly,” Ashton said. “I don’t want the guard to get wind of us.”

We didn’t run into any
of the guards through the funhouse of doors. But then again, it didn’t take us as long to reach the gateway we needed either. The door in question was made of bark and was cut in a long oblong shape. The doorknob was made of twisted twigs and the keys were made of leaves.

“There
’s a car waiting for you in the parking area,” Ashton said, his words rapid and hurried. “Drive east, do you understand? Don’t stop for anything. Don’t go to the border. When you reach Quebec, I have a friend waiting for you. His name is Galeen Proil. He will fly you anywhere in the world you want to go.”

He fished into his pocket and removed a handful of items. There was a set of keys,
a piece of square plastic, a pen, a folded piece of paper and a black cell phone. He gave Isaiah the keys and the piece of paper.

“His address and number
are on here,” he told Isaiah. “Keep it close.” He turned to me and held up the phone. “Hold down one and I will be there in minutes. I don’t care what the reason. Use it.” He pushed the device into my hand. Next he held up the piece of plastic, which I recognized now that I was looking at it directly. “You know what this is?”

Swallowing audibly, I nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.” He shoved the debit card into my hand. “Do not be like your mother do you understand me? This money is for you. Use as much of it as you want. There is no limit.”

I was still staring at the card when he held up the pen. I
gaped. “A rawel?”

Ashton nodded. “This one is yours. Archer will show you how to use it. Should you ever find yourself wanting to come home…” he trailed off as he placed
it on top of the others. “The door is always open.”

“You said only
a Sire or heir can have one of these,” I said, staring down at the small pile in my cupped palm. “And that it needed to be voted on by the Guild.”

“
I will deal with them,” he said evenly. “I’m making you my next in line.”

My head snapped up, my jaw slackened. “
Whoa! Wait. What? Can you do that?”

“Just say you accept.”

Feeling rushed, afraid and a little excited, I said the first thing that jumped into my head. “Yeah. I accept.”

It blazed white hot. The burst of light lit up the entire corridor around us. I hissed as the full force of its heat slapped me across the face. My skin tingled and I thrust the thing away from me, holding it out at arm’s length.

Intricate coils of orange and yellow light twisted up my arm. It seeped beneath my skin to fill my veins. I felt the burn as though my blood was set on fire. I nearly cried out in pain as smoke rose off my skin. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Although I was still steaming.

“Did I break it?” I
gave the device a slight shake.

I rapped it against my palm the way one would a faulty flashlight.

Great. I had the thing for two seconds and I broke it.

Ashton chuckled. “No, you didn’t break it.
The process is complete. It’s part of you now.”

I opened my mouth to ask
what that meant, only to be interrupted by Archer.

“We need to go.
It’s only a matter of time before we’re sensed.”

Ashton took a step forward and I found myself engulfed in his arms. He held me so tight.

“I love you, Fallon,” he murmured into my shoulder. His hand closed in my hair, tearing strands from their roots. “Don’t ever forget how much.”