Chapter Seventeen

He wore a gray suit, but he looked wrong. Something was off. Kai’s clothing was rarely so sloppy, especially when he wore suits. His hair was mussed—not in a sexy way, but in such a way that led me to believe he was being chased. His eyes were wide with panic, and his breathing was rapid. The stairs were a workout for a normal person but not for Malakai. Rebekah’s cathartic magic eased my suffering so much that I almost forgot why I holed up for two days―almost.

“What’s wrong?” I skipped the pleasantries. He walked up a few stairs to try to come closer. I held out both palms to stop him. The guilt I felt for Xander’s death was one thing, but every person I came into contact with being possessed with evil magic was another. Malakai wouldn’t be spared. I’d have been a fool to think otherwise.

“Samantha, please. Just listen to me. I’ve looked for you everywhere. I’m sorry for everything I may have said or done to you lately. It’s not what you think…just trust me. You have to trust me. It’s for your own good.” He did something like this in the past, and it infuriated me he was playing the game, again. The stairwell was empty and as good a place as any to have a discussion. Squinting my eyes, I folded my arms over my chest. I raised my chin without saying a word and urged him to go on.

“I heard about Xander. Are you okay? I mean, I’ve heard stories about matches that lose the other. I’ve been worried about you,” he said. He seemed distant, and his words were cautious. He thought I was a suicidal train wreck. It was the only explanation. I wasn’t sure how to tell him that I felt like my entire body had been turned inside out, cooked, and then placed back inside with pieces connected like a mismatched puzzle. I also wasn’t sure how to tell the man I loved that I finally gave into my feelings for Xander, after I saw a dream cast of Kai and Lucy. Xander is dead, the lucid part of my brain barked. Kai moved on. Choose light or dark magic.

“I’m not okay. Do you know how much information I’ve been dealing with while you were busy not giving a shit about me? Now, I have a mother who wants me to help her with Bruxa-knows-what, and Jade who wants to imprison me because of it.” Malakai opened his mouth to respond, but I shook my head and continued my tirade. I was furious. I understood why. I felt abandoned by him.

“My match―the only person who I think understood me in all this mess―was shot by my former best friend because of me. People die because of me, and you have the audacity to ask if I’m okay? Where have you been?” I felt the tears stinging my eyes. It surprised me it wasn’t tears for Xander. That pain corralled in a special place. The emotion that threatened was something I bottled up since the moment I walked out of Malakai’s apartment and into the night without rhyme or reason. I was heartbroken. Malakai stayed quiet, knowing full well I wasn’t done.

“I have a million questions. Which one do you want to answer first? Why you threw me out into the night without so much as good luck, or why you moved on to your brother’s girl so quickly? Both make me equally sick.” I swallowed down the ire and closed my eyes as I remembered the dream cast. His lips were on her neck.

He walked up to me hesitantly and shook his head in disbelief. He very gently and very slowly wiped a small tear resting on my cheek with his thumb. I opened my eyes after reliving the nightmare and met Malakai’s deep, blue eyes. He was pained.

“What did he do to you?” he whispered so softly that I almost didn’t hear. His gaze was sharp and assessing. He molded his hand to my face, and I got a small piece of me back. So much had been taken as I discovered new truths. Malakai was always my steady post in an apocalyptic storm. After preening over his desired touch, his question registered as odd.

“What did who do to me? What do you mean?” My words sounded jumbled through my tears. I watched intently, focused on his lips, surrounded by his two-day stubble. I was ready for whatever he had to say.

“Can you give me the benefit of the doubt when I tell you I haven’t been myself lately?” He tilted his brow, looking at me uncertainly. “There’s no time to explain, now,” he said in a hushed, rushed voice. He kept his hands resting on my shoulders as he turned around to glance down the stairs he came from. My sweet, kind Kai was replaced by the man I first ran into—the man on the run.

“I can’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt, anymore. I’ll end up dead.” I wanted to trust him, but too much evidence was stacked against him.

“We have to get out of here. I’ll talk as we go. Don’t douse me with rain, please.” He grabbed my hand, and with his last request, I knew it was truly Malakai—no possession or spells. He mentioned a memory from long ago. I smiled as I folded my hand into his. We ran to the nearest door and entered the hotel. Kai looked around wildly as he punched the down elevator button and waited for it to rise to our floor.

“The auditors weren’t in San Francisco for you. They were there to keep tabs on me and dig into my life,” he said. It was news to me. The elevator pinged open, and we got in.

“The Elders’ council found out about me. They found out about my lineage and Kellan’s dark magic,” he said. The elevator doors opened before our destination, and an older couple walked in with rolling suitcases. I tried my best to give them a polite smile, but I was sure it looked more like a grimace. They were interrupting a very important story. The doors opened to the lobby. Kai took my hand and pushed past the people in front of us. He broke out into a run as we exited the building.

“Get to the point,” I said. He was worrying me.

“I’m wanted in Cadiza for treason. The price for what I did is my life. The Bruxa Patrol is after me.” I sensed it then, even through my weak state—magic was everywhere around us, and it was broad daylight. Usually, the Bruxa Patrol only came out at night. They wore midnight-black suits that would stand out too easily during the day, but the magic was unmistakable. My inherent senses kicked in as I scanned the busy streets of downtown San Francisco for anything threatening. I couldn’t pick out exactly where the magic came from, and it frustrated me. Kai picked up on my irritation.

“They’ve brought out the big guns. They aren’t in uniform, and they are everywhere. You won’t be able to find them,” he said through his perfect half-smile. Something struck me as odd.

“Why did you drag me into this? You broke up with me. I have enough issues of my own without being charged with accompanying a fugitive.” It was ironic, because not so long ago, Malakai helped hide me from Jade and Cadiza for being on the run. He grabbed me around the waist and showed me to his motorcycle. He hid in a dark corner next to a bakery.

“I didn’t break up with you. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I haven’t even been in San Francisco until today. I needed to see you when I heard what happened.” He turned on the engine, and his words drowned in the roar. I shook my head, pissed off that he couldn’t explain specifics, but I knew I needed to hang out until he was able to do so. I jumped on the back of the bike and held onto him for dear life. As he took off down the busy street and made light work of weaving in and out of cars, I knew how much trouble we were in. The whole world was in trouble.

Magic flooded my senses. It was everywhere. It wasn’t just Bruxa magic I sensed. It was dark and malevolent—not anything I recognized from the dark magic I borrowed from time to time. It was laced with destruction. The war that threatened wouldn’t just affect the Bruxas and the dark witches. It would affect the entire world. The seams of our carefully guarded life were oozing over into the human world. Once the seed of information was planted, humans were pretty quick to come to correct conclusions. They’d know about witches―dark and light―and the human government would be infuriated. It wouldn’t be a war of dark and light. It would be a world war spanning different dimensions and realms. I didn’t see Blythe giving in to anyone, humans included, nor could I see Jade tossing up her hands and throwing in the towel. Everyone had something to fight for. It wasn’t about me and the other undefined magic users. It was much, much bigger than that. I hugged Malakai tighter as we finally passed the city traffic and rode down a long, narrow street. I wondered how long I had before the possessed Madison started looking for me. How long would it take for the information to get back to Jade that I disappeared into the daylight with the man charged with treason? The Patrol would have surely seen us together.

I pressed my face against Kai’s back and breathed in his scent. I didn’t have on a second layer of clothing and felt small chills racking my body. I concentrated on the only good news I’d had in weeks. “I didn’t break up with you.” I wasn’t sure how that explained the horrible dream cast with Lucy, but I had a feeling it would all eventually come into place. For the first time since Xander’s death, I felt some promise that everything would make sense. I knew we were trying to get out of the city, but I had no idea where Kai was taking me. He had no packed bags, and I had only what I wore. When he finally pulled over in a large, dusty parking lot, I had no idea how much time passed.

The field across the street was vast and green. I smelled salt water in the air. When I looked to the sky and saw seagulls, I knew we were close to the beach. I still sensed magic around, but it wasn’t nearly as suffocating as it was in the city. The rickety, barely-standing motel was the first one I saw in a long time. I hopped off the back of the bike and stretched my arms and legs. Kai pushed the bike to the side of the motel and then around to the back, presumably to hide it. Like the bike will give us away, I thought sarcastically. The Bruxa Patrol would be able to put a locater spell on me and track us very easily. I was more of a liability than anything else to him. I sat down on the dirty, front step and waited for him to return. Putting my head between my knees, I squeezed my eyes shut. My chest still felt like it was on fire, and I wondered how long I’d have to live with the pain. I didn’t want Malakai to know how weak I was, but I knew better. He’d figure it out right away. While my head was still down and my eyes still closed, Malakai sat down next to me.

“I’ve been in the dark realm the entire time. Kellan has been posing as me to gain information about the auditors and what Emily was digging for. It was safer if I stayed away.” He sounded wistful and angry at the same time. I didn’t dare raise my head. My face was hot, and my painful heart picked up its pace, thumping out in protest. Everything Kai said made sense. It angered me I didn’t pick up on the subtle clues. How could you? He is his twin, the sane part of my brain told me. You kissed Kellan, and he’s the one who broke up with you.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t know specifics about what Kellan did while parading around as me, but I can only imagine. I know I’ll probably be caught, but I wanted you to know the truth, because you deserve it. You’ll be able to escape easily enough. I owed you this.” His voice shook as he spoke. I looked up at him while he ran his hands through his windblown, blonde hair and waited for me to respond. He shrugged off his gray suit coat and put it around my shoulders. I wasn’t shaking from the cold, anymore. I was shaking with fury. I responded with the only thing my brain could comprehend at that moment.

“Kellan fucking kissed me,” I hissed, my words laced with venom more powerful than any magic.