All right! That’s it!
The dark-haired boy caught the swing and immediately swung into the water, trying to retaliate against his friend, a look of spirited determination on his face.
Ryder! I realized this was little baby Ryder. Awww.
Nick, aka baby Adonis (yes the Adonis that stole Cynthia away the other day), managed to get out of the lake and yell truce as Ryder surfaced out in the water. Nick grabbed a towel and wrapped up. He tossed one out to Ryder, who caught it as he came out of the water, shaking his dark hair out like a dog.
Any word yet? Ryder flung the towel around his neck as he asked his friend the question.
Going light-years away. It’s official. Nick’s youthful face had a mile-wide grin. What about you?
Ryder’s face took on a grim look. Yeah. I’m going.
I take it your dad’s mad?
Hands braced on his hips, Ryder nodded grimly. We got into an argument.
You knew that was coming. He doesn’t want to see you go.
I’ve been looking into being one of the high-court investigators, which I can do while getting my judiciary merit. He finally agreed to let me go because he thinks I’ll follow in his footsteps, from high-court council, like my mother, to high-court representative. And my mom convinced him it would be good for me.
After a thoughtful pause, Ryder continued, I’m still surprised he agreed. It was really strange. I’ve never seen my dad get this emotional. I mean, when Asily...you know, he went into a rage and punished the ones who killed her. Ryder stopped, as though he couldn’t talk about it anymore. He’s always so serious, holding it all in. He can face down a murderer in high court and not show any kind of emotion, but the thought of me completing higher studies elsewhere is troubling him.
You’re going far, Ryder, not just a few hundred miles.
I know. And my grandfather was one of “the lost.” It’s as though our family is being targeted.
He could be right.
I don’t think so. It’s her ghost. Asily’s. It’s like she’s always there, but we can’t talk about her. It’s like we have to pretend she never existed.
She died, Ryder, in this forsaken war. She was his child, your sister.
The spirits know I’m aware.
It was the fault of the Brausa. Brutish animals. Abominations. Scorn creased Nick’s fair features, disdain staining his voice as he said the name. We must remember who is at fault. Always.
There are times I question that. Ryder looked bleak as he stared down at the ground, his youthful face seeming to carry the weight of the world.
Rye—
Ryder ran a hand through his dark hair, seeming to shake off the somber tone of the conversation. He put on a friendly face. So I’ll be joining you on Earth.
It took a moment for Nick to switch gears, but seeing the resolute look on Ryder’s visage, Nick spontaneously gave a mischievous grin. He took on that high-pitched voice again. Please don’t go, Rye. I haven’t shown you my very round breasts yet!
You’re getting it this time. Ryder dumped his towel and the race was on. Nick took off up the slope and grabbed the rope swing.
Just as he jumped on it to swing, it snapped and broke. He went plunging down the hillside, crashing through the brush to smash against a tree. His shout was suddenly cut off, and Ryder, fear pouring over his face, called to his friend in a panicked voice. He rushed to where Nick lay gasping with pain near the water’s edge.
Oh, my God! I exclaimed and ran down the embankment. Ryder looked up as I came crashing through the bushes, and his young green eyes looked confused for a moment, as though he recognized me and was trying to place who I was. I could almost see his memory catching up, and then baby Adonis (Nick) faded away into mist, like a projection that was turned off, which was absolutely the most astounding thing I’d ever seen. One moment he was there, writhing in pain and holding his obviously broken leg, and the next he was gone. How the hell had that happened?
I looked to Ryder, unsure whether to be horrified or confused by the sight, either way hoping to be reassured. But then Ryder transformed before my eyes. If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. One moment he was his teenage self, his face youthful and more slender, and the next, he was the man I’d come to know. He grew tall, over six feet, and broad, with thick, ropey man muscles that ran through his torso and legs. His square jaw filled in, a few lines fanned out from his forest green eyes and across his forehead, and all I could do was stare in awe, until I looked up at his eyes.
They were frighteningly cold. Menacing. If I’d thought he looked untamed before, it was nothing compared to how savagely angry he looked now. Enraged, even. It was a look no one had ever leveled at me before. It was a killing look. Fear engulfed me. I gasped for air like a fish out of water. My heart beat a quick, frantic warning to escape. You have mylunate. His voice rumbled across the space between us, amplifying, enveloping me in its deep vibration until I felt it shake through my bones.
What’s that? I barely managed the whispered words. It was hard to think through gut-wrenching panic, especially as he started walking toward me. Stalking me. I stumbled back a few steps in reaction.
Don’t play fucking stupid with me. You’re dreamwalking. You can’t dreamwalk without continuous exposure to mylunate. What the fuck kind of game are you playing? His voice was a powerful, raspy growl that pounded the air between us.
I saw a merciless warrior looking at his enemy, not the tender, sensual man I’d locked lips with earlier that day. I barely kept a whimper of terror from slipping out. I backed away, one step at a time up the embankment, my legs feeling wobbly as rocks and gravel gave way, forcing me to catch myself.
I don’t know what dreamwalking is. I tried harder to scramble up the embankment. I needed space! More space between us, dammit! But the ground refused to give me purchase.
His eyes narrowed on my movements. His lip curled disdainfully.
How long have you been working for Grayson? Ryder moved deliberately, one step at a time, closing the distance between us. His eyes drilled holes into mine, and his steps ate up the space separating us. He had no trouble stepping through the soil, as though it were an even trail. He was catching up to me without having to work at it, and somehow that made my hair stand on end more than anything else.
Who’s Grayson? I—I work for Alliance, in Hollywood.
He ignored what I said. What’s in it for you? Were you offered money? Got tired of being trailer trash? He looked over me scornfully, as though he found me wanting. We could have offered you a better deal. You should have come to us first.