Burned

Chapter Twelve

     Crazy. They were all crazy. That was the only thing I could think—it was the only thing that actually made sense out of everything they had said. There was no possible way Valin was…it just didn’t make sense. It wasn’t possible.

     But I wouldn’t put it past the Icen Queen to get an Airen in bed, I thought sardonically.

     “No,” I said finally, tuning my back on them. “There is no way he’s Airen. He doesn’t even qualify as one of them. He isn’t like any of them.”

     “Are you so sure?” the former Spiriten Queen asked gently. “What do you know about the Airen people? Don’t even try, Jack. You know very little to nothing.”

     My jaw set and I attempted to quell the slight anger that began pulsing through my veins. My eyes narrowed and I leaned against the banister, looking down at the library floor.

     “I think you’ll find a lot in common with them, Jack,” my mother said softly, her hands touching my shoulders gently. “You have no idea.”

     I grimaced as her hands disappeared.

     “There’s one problem,” I said slowly. “Valin’s gone. He left a while ago. I know you all noticed.”

     “He didn’t leave,” Tidal stated bluntly. “He’s been here the entire time, listening in. Haven’t you Valin?”

     My head turned towards the staircase in confusion. If this was turning into one of those really bad human movies, I was not about to be pleased.

     A hand appeared on the railing, tugging sharply and Valin soared lithely over it, clearing the bar easily before his feet landed. His eyes were closed but when he opened them…even I didn’t expect what was there.

     His eyes were yellow and not a cats yellow or a form of amber or gold but they looked like the color of the sun. It was as if the sun’s light was reflected in his eyes yet somehow blazed with the sun itself inside. It was a strange twist that caused a flicker that I had only seen among the Kashi.

     “What the Hell,” I growled, recoiling from him. “Your eyes are…”

     He blinked and the color was gone, returned to the frosty Icen blue. When he blinked once more, I tensed a bit as I thought the color would keep changing. It was completely…I couldn’t find a word for it. “Freaky” or “strange” came close but they didn’t cover the strange sensation in my stomach.

     The pit of my stomach swirled with darkness, my blood going cold as I shifted towards the stairs uneasily. And when I finally did figure out what it was, I wasn’t happy. It was an uncomfortable feeling that set me on edge.

     It was fear.

     “I knew there was always something different,” he said softly, crossing his arms carefully and I caught the briefest movement from Clarity as she cringed from him. “My mother never told me who my father was and Veritas and I weren’t like the others. Our eyes used to change often when we were little. But this…I never dreamed.”

     “Valin,” Clarity said softly, edging closer to him slowly before she was finally at his side. Her hand touched his arm and jealousy flared like a wild fire inside of my body. “This doesn’t change anything. We still needed you with us. Please come.”

     His gaze fell to hers and held there a moment, the expression softening to one of longing and it took every ounce of my control not to snap his neck for looking at her like that. She was mine—and I wasn’t going to let him take her from me.

     “I intended to go,” he replied, offering her a smile.

     “Good.” She grinned. “I didn’t want to have to kick your ass again just to talk you into going.”

     “You never kicked my ass in the first place.”

     She glared at him, crossing her arms and my anger and jealousy shot through the roof at their little play. The Kashi and Tidal only smiled, girlish grins on their face and I felt my spirit fall a little.

     She was mine, goddammit. Not his. I wasn’t about to stand by and let them just have it. That wasn’t my style and standing by was severely pissing me off.

     “Okay enough,” I growled, my eyes sharpening on Valin. “So we have someone able to get us up there. What the Hell are we waiting around for?”

     “Jack is right,” Light said softly. “We have been out far longer than we should and every moment that passes, the darkness manifests and infects a bit more. You must hurry. Don’t waste time.”

     “My thoughts exactly,” I replied thinly. “Who’s up for a road trip?”