Chapter Thirteen

I’m Me. Who are You?

On the drive – correction, speed race – home, Eden filled Stellan in. He hadn’t said anything back to her, just gripped the wheel tighter. She could tell he was mad at her for using him in the first place, but he hadn’t accused her or spewed recriminations at her. In fact, when they got out of the car, he squeezed her shoulder and told her he was just glad she was alright.

Stellan had a beautiful way of making her feel two inches tall.

The goons wanted to know what the hell happened but Stellan refused to say anything until they had spoken with Ryan.

Celine was flustered by their harried entrance. “Ryan is in his office,” Celine hissed at them, her eyes flicking pointedly to the goons. In other words Ryan was in the basement.

Stellan glared at her. “Then get him. We were just attacked, Mother, I think he might want to be updated on that.”

Her eyes widened, her elegant hand fluttering up to her hairline to brush back an imaginary stray hair. “Attacked?”

“Attacked. Warriors.”

She was silent a moment, her eyes flaring almost white with fury. She jerked a brittle nod in their direction and then turned on her heel, heading towards the curving stairs that led down to the basement. “Gentleman, take a seat in the parlor,” she threw over her shoulder, and the goons immediately followed her order.

Eden clasped Stellan’s hand and turned him to face her. “I am so sorry, Stel. So sorry.” She bit down on her lip, trying to hold back the tears. “I thought I could trust him.”

He betrayed me. He betrayed me. The words echoed in her head over and over, the pain seizing her body not lessening any the more she tried to come to grips with Noah’s treachery. “Six months,” she whispered in disbelief. “How sick do you have to be…?”

“Don’t think about him, Paradise. He’s not worth it.”

Eden flinched at the look in her brother’s eye. Hellfire and brimstone. Noah better watch his back, she thought bitterly, the rush of fury biting into the pain.

Reluctantly, they followed the goons into the parlor to wait for Ryan. Five minutes later he was striding into the parlor, not a hair out of place, with Teagan and Celine at his back.

“What happened?” he barked.

Stellan twisted his lips into a grimace. “Eden’s friend, Noah, was at the movies. He said he needed to talk to Eden for a minute, I didn’t think it was a problem. They were out back and Neith attacked. Noah told Eden he was Ankh.”

Eden watched her brother in amazement as he lied for her, covering for her as usual. She was so grateful she didn’t even hear his emphasis on the word Ankh.

“Ankh?” Ryan looked discomfited.

Eden frowned. “What’s Ankh.”

“Just another word for Neith.” Ryan shook his head, his face turning dark with anger. “I knew there was something wrong with that little shit. I can’t believe this.”

“Well we got away.” Eden shrugged, suddenly nervous. Her father’s whole body was trembling with emotion. Now she understood the phrase ‘looked ready to explode’.

He scoffed at her, his eyes flashing. “You were lucky.”

“Very lucky,” Teagan murmured, eyeing her with a twisted grin.

“So, what do we do?” Celine asked in hushed tones. “They know we’re here, Ryan.”

Ryan nodded. “Yes. I’m going to tighten security until the move. And you two.” He pointed at Stellan and Eden. “No more school. I’ll take care of everything, but you are both under house arrest until the move. We leave the day after the Awakening Ceremony.”

“The day after…” Celine gaped. “But that gives me very little time to organize.”

“Make time,” Ryan hissed. “This is non-negotiable.”

It took her a while to fall asleep that night. Everything was changing so fast. Salton hadn’t been much but it had been an anchor of sorts. Somehow, despite her worst efforts, she’d remained somewhat human in Salton. Eden guessed she’d never really worried much about it until Noah walked into her life. Suddenly there was this person who got her, who liked her, who cared about her. How could it be possible to have imagined the connection between them? But imagine it she must have. She would have done anything for him, she’d tried to be a better person for him, she had worried herself raw thinking about his reaction if he ever knew what she was. And all this time he had known. All this time he’d been planning on… what? Had he been leading her to her death? He had fought those other Neith, but how could she begin to figure it out when all along he’d lied to her?

He’d lied. And the pain of that betrayal… it fed the hunger.

Eden didn’t want to ever see Noah again. She was afraid of what she’d do to him if she did. She couldn’t shake the hurt and the emptiness his betrayal had carved into and out of her.

It was no wonder when she finally fell asleep, Noah was still there…

It was cold here. Too cold. She squirmed. Too dark.

Open your eyes, idiot.

Her eyes refused to open with ease. She had to concentrate, had to pry them open with all her strength. She was so tired.

Slowly, her blurry vision began to focus. White. Jeez, there was just so much white. Groaning, Eden sat up, her fingers sliding through air as the bed underneath her disappeared. She found her feet though. She was standing now.

“Eden?”

She flinched at the familiar voice and turned to face him.

Noah stood before her in his background of blaring white. He was wearing the Biffy Clyro shirt she loved. She frowned. There was blood on it. “Can you turn off the white?” She screwed up her face, her hands shielding her eyes.

The white dimmed but didn’t disappear.

“Better?” He smirked at her.

That familiar expression ripped through her in a fury and she flew at him, beating her fists against any part of his body she could. “You betrayed me! You betrayed me!” she shrieked over and over again.

Noah took a couple of the blows before he grew impatient and snapped his hands around her wrists. Suddenly she was nothing more than a puppy wriggling in his arms. “I’m sorry, Eden. I’m sorry I lied.” His violet eyes pleaded with her. “But I didn’t betray you.”

“Liar.”

“I didn’t betray you. I’m trying to help you.”

She shook her head. “Help me, you can’t help me. You’re sick. You’re a liar.”

Noah’s face fell, his eyes sad. “I’m not. I’m trying to help. We all are.”

“What?”

He nodded behind her and Eden twisted her neck to peer over her shoulder. She gasped. A giant circle was etched on the floor of the white. Ten men and women sat crossed legged around it. A dark man, with skin the color of mocha, gazed at her fiercely.

“Who are they?” She turned back to Noah.

His reply was a soft smile. He reached out to her tentatively, his fingers taking hold of the hem of her shirt. She frowned as he slid it slowly upwards, stopping at the first bone of her ribs. A shiver rippled down her spine as Noah brushed his thumb across the strange birthmark on her lower belly. “The more important question is… who are you?”

“Noah?” Eden felt the tears slip down her cheeks. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything. How could you hurt me?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He sighed and drew his head down towards her. Her eyes drifted shut as she felt the soft tingle of his lips on hers. The sensation never left, even though he leaned back.

Eden reached for him, her hands sliding around his neck. His arms encircled her waist so they were embracing. “I’m going to hurt you back,” she told him mournfully. “I’m going to punish you for what you’ve done to me.”

Noah nodded, his expression accepting. “I know.”

With tears flowing freely now, she pulled him towards her and kissed him. It was a deep kiss, full of need and pain and loneliness. She felt his hands fist in her shirt and squeeze her tighter, his tongue stroking hers softly, pulling her under, drugging her.

The hunger grinned and began to feed.

… the kiss felt so real. But it was changing. It had been sweet in the dream, full and right. And then the hunger had yawned wide open, pulling Noah in with an utter feeling of euphoria, a euphoria almost as wonderful as his lips on hers. They had been so soft…but now… the kiss… it had grown hard and wet and… choking.

Eden gagged, her eyes flying open, panic gripping her entire body.

Teagan! She barely registered the weight of his body on top of hers, his hands stroking and bruising wherever they touched, his mouth and tongue fused to hers, she just registered the fury.

The strength of her abhorrent disbelief rushed through her, blasting through her muscles as she unpinned herself from Teagan and threw him up and off of her. He landed on her bedroom floor with a thump, wincing as he just as quickly regained his footing.

Eden trembled, her nerves shot to hell as she struggled to her feet, putting the bed between them.

Her cousin grinned at her, his muscular bare chest moving up and down with exertion. At least he was wearing pyjama bottoms. She thanked God for small mercies. “That was fun.”

Rage bled her eyes of their cool color.

One minute she was standing across from him, the next he was sprawled across the floor and Eden was straddling him, a letter opener biting into his neck. “You come near me again and I will gut you. Do you understand?”

He merely grinned up at her, jerking his hips up crudely. “I took you by surprise, I apologize. But you should get used to intimacy with me, Eden. You’re eighteen next year. We’ll be married, and touching you will not only be my want, it will be my right.”

Eden pressed the letter opener harder, blood bubbling up under its point. She took satisfaction in Teagan’s wince. “It will be a cold day in hell when I let that happen.”