The Ballad of Aramei (The Darkwoods Trilogy 3) - Page 13

“And Xavier,” Isaac says, “I think he’s pissed at me. The other day he wanted me and Adria to go swimming with him and this new girl he’s seeing, but I said no.”

I turn at the waist to see him behind me. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

He looks at me apologetically.

“Well, it’s odd for Xavier to invite anyone out with him and one of his girlfriends, anyway,” Daisy adds.

Isaac says, “Exactly. I don’t know, maybe I’m paranoid because of this whole traitor thing, but Xavier wanting anyone to tag along when he’s just trying to get laid is reason for suspicion if anything is.”

I’ve always known Xavier to be a man-slut, but I feel kind of bad for him, that his brother refused to hang out with him apparently the one time he asked. “Maybe he really likes this new girl,” I say, “and he just wanted you to meet her.”

Nathan and Daisy burst into laughter, while Isaac doesn’t laugh as hard probably for my benefit, but still he can’t keep that ginormous smile from spreading across his face.

Nathan jumps off the hood of the car and pats me on the shoulder. “You’ve got a lot to learn, doll.”

My face warms under an obvious blush.

“I think it’s safe to say that the only way we’re going to know who it is, is after you talk to this Minna,” Harry says and he is the only one of us not smiling.

His serious face brings the rest of us back to the matter at hand.

“We can sit here and talk about who’s acting weird, or who it might be and why we think they might be the one, but it won’t solve anything,” Harry adds and I’m getting the feeling he’s more worried about the traitor than he’s ever really led us to believe.

Daisy stands beside him and leans up on her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth. “You’re right, love,” she says and then looks back at us. “I say we leave as soon as possible.”

“Are you and Adria done with the babysitting job?” Nathan says to Isaac.

“For today, yes,” Isaac answers after letting out a deep breath. “But it looks like that will be an everyday job for a little while.”

Daisy shakes her head as if to pity me. “Sorry our father is already using you for his own needs. I thought he might at least wait a couple months.”

“No, really I don’t mind,” I say to the surprise of everyone but Isaac. “I want to stay with Aramei.”

Nathan and Daisy both look at me with equally disfigured expressions, but I don’t feel like explaining myself right now. Actually, some deep part of me feels that it’s best to keep this as much a secret as I can for now. I don’t know why, but I’ve adopted this burden for myself and feel that I don’t want to share it with anyone else.

“So when do leave for Providence?” I say, steering the topic before they start asking questions.

“I say we go back to the house, grab a few things and head out,” Isaac suggests, sliding off the hood now, too. He takes me by the hand.

“Daisy,” Harry says, “why don’t you stay with me?”

“No,” she refuses without question. “I want to see this Harvester for myself.”

“That’s why I don’t want you to go,” Harry says, taking her shoulders in both hands and leaning over to kiss her forehead. “These people may only be human but they have a way with getting under your skin. And Minna will probably sense it right away that you’re more involved with one of us than you’re letting on.” He turns to Isaac now and looks between him and me and Nathan. “It’s vital you all get the story straight and stick to it. They’re wicked smart and if for a second she thinks you’re lying to her she’ll follow you here.”

“I don’t like this, Harry,” Daisy says, pulling away from him.

“Harry’s got a point,” Isaac says. “Look at the way you’re acting now—It’s probably not a good idea.”

“I agree,” Nathan says, holding up his finger above his head.

Daisy growls under her breath and it shocks me a little. I’ve never once seen her lose it. I’ve never even see her lose her temper mildly. She’s always been sweet, caring, fun Daisy Mayfair. But right now, I can feel the angry heat coming off her rigid body and the resistance boiling in her blood.

“You will stay behind,” Isaac says sternly, stepping around me to get in front of Daisy. In this moment, he has let the Alpha come out so naturally that I can’t decide whether to be anxious or turned on by it. “Go back to the house with Harry.”

Daisy, although reeling about not being able to go, is always respectful. She bows her head without reluctance and moves her way past him toward Harry’s car.

Once she closes herself up inside, Isaac turns back to Harry and says, “So what’s the story we have to get straight?”

Nathan steps up next to Isaac.

Harry reaches up and scratches the side of his jaw where a little stubble is starting to grow. “Since Genevieve is already gone,” he begins, “you can use her as the scapegoat.” He notices the disapproving lines appearing around my eyes and says, “She won’t care. She’s long gone and if you try to make up some random name and pass it off as one of us, you’ll run the risk of getting caught in a lie easier. Minna will ask questions: names, past lives, anything she can think of to trip you up. It’s better to just go with what you all already know.”

“About Genna?” I say, still not comfortable with this tactic, which is only making me feel kind of like a traitor myself.

Nathan doesn’t look all that accepting of it, either.

“Yes,” Harry says, getting a little aggravated with my doubt. “You can be honest about everything except me. And when it comes down to any questions about who her Charge is or was, that’s the only part you have to lie about.”

“We’ll just say we don’t know,” Isaac says.

Harry nods. “Yeah. One lie is easier than a hundred of them.”

“I never thought I’d be intimidated by a human,” Nathan says, smirking. He glances over at me it seems as if to say ‘no offense’, but at the last second he retracts it. I guess I’m still so new to this werewolf life that I’m easily forgotten. He turns back to Harry. “At least she can’t do anything to us.” He backtracks a bit, suddenly unsure of his brash theory. “Right?”

Harry grins. “For the most part, yes,” he says. “They’re not really a threat to anyone or anything but our kind—her house is probably rigged to catch someone like me as soon as I enter the door—but the most you have to worry about is pissing her off and becoming her next hex target.”

Nathan and Isaac both draw their chins inward, their faces riddled with distrust.

“Want to elaborate on that, man?” Isaac says.

Harry is grinning from ear to ear. “Just don’t piss her off,” he says just before Daisy leans out the passenger’s side window and shouts, “Harry, come on! Please.”

Just as Harry starts toward his car, he turns back and says, “Oh! And don’t let her get to you about my kind. She’ll say anything to make you believe it’s in your best interest to tell her everything you know.” And then he opens the car door and hops inside with Daisy who will probably look as bitter as she does now, for a while.

But she still manages to blow me a kiss as they speed off.

Chapter 8

NATHAN FOLLOWS US BACK to their house and while I’m up in Isaac’s room grabbing a few items of clothing to take, Zia comes running into the room, laughing hysterically. I jump when she squeals coming around the corner and slams the door behind her, pressing her back against it.

“What the hell?” I say, trying not to smile, but it’s kind of hard not to.

Her body jerks against the door when a loud bang hits the other side.

“Help me hold it!” she says to me, laughing.

The door jerks open an inch every few seconds as whoever is on the other side continuously bangs against it.

“Adria!” Zia shouts and finally I run over to help her hold it shut.

“Open the door, Z!” I hear Sebastian growl from the other side.

He doesn’t sound happy.

“What did you do?” I say, still trying to hold back my own laughter. My back jerks against the door and I’m wondering all of sudden why she didn’t just reach up and lock it.

I go to turn around, still bracing one hand against the door and just as my fingers pinch the flat cone-shaped lock to twist it locked, one more bang hits the other side and the door swings open, sending me and Zia onto the floor.

Sebastian storms in. Completely bald.

While I’m trying to register what I’m seeing, frozen in my spot on the floor, Zia is trying to scramble away in the other direction toward the window. Sebastian rushes her and grabs her around one ankle. She can’t stop laughing and it’s really the only thing keeping me from thinking Sebastian is here to literally kill her. There’s not an ounce of humor in his body or in his face, which has grown even more enraged over the past few seconds.

“I’m sooory!” Zia screeches, her eyes shooting tears from laughing so hard. “I swear I didn’t mean it!”

Sebastian rolls her over and sits on top of her, straddling her waist, both of his hands pinning her to the floor by her wrists. “So, it was an accident that you shaved my head while I was asleep?” Sebastian roars down at her. The rumble in his voice shakes me a little.

Finally, I get up from the floor, but I move around to the side, keeping my distance. I’m still not sure if I need to jump in and help Zia, or if I should just leave her to whatever punishment he has in store.

Oh my God…I can’t believe she shaved his hair off….

“No…it’s just that…,” Zia still can’t stop laughing even though I also see there’s obvious pain in her face maybe from how much pressure he’s putting on her body. But she can take it; this, I’m sure of.

I’ll start worrying when she stops smiling.

Her spiky white-blond hair bobs up and down, back and forth against the hardwood floor as she tries to break her way free from him.

“Adria! Help me!”

Sebastian barely turns his head to see me standing off to the side. His eyes are churning with anger and revenge, but they’re not black and this tells me that he’s not as enraged as he appears to be.

I put up my hands in a surrendering fashion. “Hey, don’t look at me. I can’t believe you shaved his hair off. Really.”

“Oh seriously!” she shouts and Sebastian releases one of her wrists and holds her face in his hand, squeezing her soft, creamy cheeks beneath his fingers. “Look me in the eye, Dria, and tell me he’s not f**king sexy with a shaved head!”

I look back and forth between them. A couple more times. Okay, so maybe she has a point. He does look hot.

“See!” she squeals with her cheeks still pressed between his fingers. “Even she thinks so! Now let me up!”

Tags: J.A. Redmerski The Darkwoods Trilogy Fantasy
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