Chapter Twenty-One

Marley

“Shit,” Brae whispered as he raised his gaze to the sky.

I’d known Brae long enough—and by that, I meant barely three days—to know that he wasn’t the type of person to hide emotions very well. And there was fear written across his face and in his voice. I’d also come to know that if he feared something, I should be scared.

“What?” I whispered back. “What is—”

“You know that clan leader I just mentioned? He’s close. Very close.”

A terrible drop happened in my stomach. Kinda like riding the Tower of Terror at Disney World where you scream because you’re falling and the rest of your insides didn’t get the memo. “Like…here? How? How the heck did he find you?”

“Find us. He can sense the oculus. Like I can,” Brae clarified as he grabbed my wrist and started heading back to the car. Then he stopped in the middle of the clearing, as if he thought better of it, and reached down to pick me up, almost scooping me into his arms.

I managed to dance out of his reach. “Whoa. Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Marley, c’mon! I’ve got to get us out of here.”

My stomach jumped back up into my throat, making me even sicker. “How?! By flying? No thanks!”

Brae ran a hand through his black hair—a color where in this light it really did look dark purple—yanking at the roots. “Cars are too slow! He can’t find out you have it! What did I just tell you?”

“We’re standing right next to each other! How would he be able to tell the difference?” I countered. “Those other two enlil couldn’t.”

“Tifa and Cade aren’t oculus holders. They don’t feel it like Cassen and I can. Trust me. Short of you literally on top of me, he’ll know. It’s like an energy signature, it leaves traces of its power everywhere.”

In the near distance, there was the sound of a violent gust of wind through the grass and trees. It was so strong, it blew through our clearing, rustling leaves and pulling them off branches, tossing them into the air.

“He’s coming.” Suddenly Brae wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against his body. I was so surprised I practically fell on him. My legs tangled between his and I gripped his arms to prevent my face from pressing into his neck. That lovely scent of rain and dry earth enveloped me, and it didn’t help to steady me. Just made me dizzier.

“Please, let me save you,” he whispered.

The wind at our feet picked up around us, and I knew we were just short of taking off into the sky.

This couldn’t be the only option. Fleeing could make matters worse. If this clan leader could fly like Brae could, what was to stop him from coming after us? And I refused to be Lois Lane in this Superman reenactment, no matter how much I respected the intrepid, legendary reporter.

Actually, that gave me an idea. Maybe I should start making all my life-threatening decisions asking WWLD? What Would Lois Do?

Peeling myself away as much as he’d allow, I stuck my foot behind his heel and shoved his chest hard. His shock, more than my strength, was probably what ended up taking him down. Nevertheless, he fell back onto his elbows, landing in the dirt with a grunt, and I followed in a cloud of dust. Straddling him, to be exact, with my knees on either side of his waist.

“What’re you—”

I clapped my hand over his mouth, and, just as I heard footfalls behind us, I bent down and pressed my lips against the back of my hand. His purple eyes widened, pulsing with that white ethereal light. While his whole body went rigid under me, his hands flew to my sides. I could feel their heat through the thin cotton of my NASA T-shirt. That, and his overwhelming scent of petrichor, made this far more intimate than I’d anticipated.

Instantly, I wanted to roll off. This was the closest I’d been to a boy…ever. And my head was screaming, ABORT. ABORT. ABORT.

But it was more or less what I was going for. To any passerby we’d look like two hormonal teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. To the clan leader, I hoped me being on top of Brae would prevent him from picking the oculus out between our bodies.

Ugh, didn’t like the way that sounded.

Brae’s hands tightened on my sides, his fingers digging gently into my back, leaving fingerprints of heat. His brows furrowed and the light vanished from his eyes, replaced with a violet so rich and dark I could see his pupils only because we were nose to nose.

At that same moment, I felt a presence behind us. And I knew without question that it wasn’t my human instincts telling me that. The alien power inside me seemed to ring through my blood, not like a song, but more like an alarm.

Half a second later, a deep voice came from behind us. “Oh my, am I interrupting?”

Heart thundering, I pulled back, but Brae kept his hands where they were. The message was clear—he wouldn’t let me go far. Our gazes locked, and in that single look, I could see his warning. His panic. Don’t move.

I could only nod.

I’d forced his hand into this situation, the least I could do was follow his lead now.

Brae leaned slightly to the left, staring at someone over my shoulder. “Kinda, yeah. Go away, Cassen.”

Cassen. I’d heard that name before.

I couldn’t help it. I had to look over my shoulder and see for myself.

Down the path a short way stood a man in his mid-twenties.

He resembled Brae in the enlil sharp, angular facial features, but his skin tone was closer to Kai’s—fair, but sporting a Californian tan—and his hair was a dark silver chrome. His beard was neat and trimmed close to his face. His eyes were also a light gray, which made his black pupils stand out even more. He wore a black collared shirt rolled at the elbows and stylish maroon slacks with black Converse that you wouldn’t think would’ve gone well together, but somehow worked for him. I noticed a tattoo spiraling around his right arm and sunglasses hanging from the top button of his shirt.

Though I knew the term “silver fox” referred to sexy older gentlemen, I couldn’t help but think this man filled out that term much more accurately.

“Brae,” the man said with a smile. His eerie gaze slid over to me. “Strange place to…stop.”

Brae sat up and smoothly guided me into his lap, snaking one arm around my waist and pulling my back tight to fit snugly against his chest. I would’ve objected if it hadn’t been for the feel of his pounding heart against my shoulder blade. No, not pounding, racing.

He was scared.

“Well, when the mood strikes you…” Brae said charmingly, a smirk in his voice.

I resisted the urge to elbow him in the face. This had been my idea, after all.

“I spoke to Cade and Tifa yesterday,” the silver-haired man continued, as if this was as casual as meeting us at a coffee shop. “They said you seemed very”—he glanced to me— “energetic. And not very long after our last talk.”

Knowing their little alien secrets, I was easily able to pick up on his censorship. “Energetic” meant that Brae had used his powers and “talk”…with the way the two enlil were glaring at each other, I was pretty sure was his code word for “fight.”

I swallowed hard. This man had to be connected to the two enlil Brae had faced outside Jensen’s Coffee. Cade and Tifa.

“I could say the same about you,” Brae replied calmly, “but we don’t have to do this here. Now. If you can’t tell, I’m on a date. I’ll meet you some other time.”

“Ah yes,” Cassen’s eyes flashed with amusement. “How rude I’m being.” In just a few strides of his long legs, he came to stand much too close for comfort. As I was still on the ground in Brae’s lap, he bent down and held out his hand. This close, I could see that he wore two different amethyst crystal earrings in his right ear. One was a stud in his cartilage and another dangled from his lobe. “My name is Cassen. It’s so nice to meet you…”

I glanced back at Brae, but he was glaring at Cassen as if he was thinking about how best to dismember him. Unsure of what to do, I figured it would be better to answer him and not leave him hanging.

“I’m Marley,” I said. With a warning squeeze from Brae, I held up my hands and gave Cassen a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I would, but my hands are kinda dirty.”

Cassen dropped his hand, but his pleasant expression didn’t change. “Thoughtful of you.”

“Cassen, really, now is not a good time.” Brae’s tone turned even harsher, angrier. His breath came close to my neck and, even though it was warm, it sent chills cascading down my spine.

Cassen chuckled, entirely unruffled. Instead, he looked like he was very much enjoying himself. “Really, Brae, jealousy is unbecoming of you. I simply want to meet the girl who’s miraculously caught your eye.” He tilted his head at me, giving me a smile that didn’t quite meet those light gray eyes. “You see, Marley, as long as I’ve known Brae he’s never taken an interest in anyone. You must be quite the”—he glanced up and down, and his smile widened—“female.”

It was like Cassen was sharing an inside joke. A joke he knew I couldn’t be party to. Except that I was. Every one of his words seemed to possess a double meaning. By female he meant in animal terms. Like humans were mere animals to them.

I had to play along. And make it convincing. I had no doubt that this enlil was incredibly dangerous, and I believed Brae when he said they’d kill me if they knew I possessed the oculus. It wasn’t just his word that I believed, the power inside kept ringing out an alarm. It incited a strong instinct to run away.

With the cheesiest smile I could manage, I moved my hand to pat Brae on the cheek. I figured it was a thing a girlfriend would do. “Aww. I’ve been trying to get Brae to introduce me to his friends. I was beginning to think he was embarrassed of me.”

Cassen smirked, glancing at Brae and then back to me. “Embarrassed? Absolutely not. There’s no way he’d be embarrassed by such a pretty treat like yourself.”

Ugh. It was becoming increasingly apparent how these other enlil viewed humans like some subpar species. Either that, or he was being a misogynist asshole. Or both, actually.

I fought to keep disgust off my face. Meanwhile, an energy seemed to zip through my bloodstream, heating up my skin and creating friction. I tried to ignore the sensation, but knowing the oculus was somehow reacting to the presence of this other enlil was distracting. Or maybe it was the fact that I was still on Brae’s lap and our bodies seemed to be melded together. It was impossible to tell.

“Cassen—” Brae began, his voice darker and more dangerous than I’d ever heard it. It made me shiver although I was actually quite hot.

“I’m leaving.” Cassen’s sharp silver gaze cut to Brae and his mouth pulled into a thin line. “But we do need to talk. I’m still waiting for your answer.”

I couldn’t help myself. “Answer?”

Brae squeezed my hip in warning, but it was too late. Cassen turned to look at me and for the first time, it felt like he was x-raying me. Before, he’d merely looked at me like I was something of amusement. Like a clumsy kitten in an internet video. But this time his gaze felt so penetrating that it gave me goose bumps.

Showing me just how deadly he could be.

The next instant, the moment was gone and so was his piercing look. He flicked his wrist dismissively and replied, “Oh, I’m simply putting together a very special team, and Brae has talents I’ve been after for years.”

My mouth was dry and I tried to swallow but my tongue ended up stuck to the roof of my mouth. Be clueless. “Oh, like a football team? Brae would be good at that. Or lacrosse.”

Cassen smiled wryly. “Something like that. It was a delight meeting you, Marley. Brae, I’m sure I’ll get your answer soon.” His gaze cut back to me. “The game is about to begin, and you won’t want to be on the sidelines.”