ReAwakened Page 18

  Countless laps in, I noticed a long, muscular leg dangling from the ledge at the end of my lane. I slowed and slipped into the next lane, so that when I reached the wall, I surfaced away from whomever the leg belonged to.

  The last person I expected to see was Sebastian. Yet there he sat, one leg beneath him, the other skimming the surface of the water. He’d rolled up his pants so the fabric wouldn’t get wet, and more of his shirt buttons had come unfastened. His hair was unruly and his eyes dark, but an amused smile played across his lips.

  “What the heck are you doing here?” I asked in surprise, blinking the water out of my eyes.

  He followed my gaze as I glanced over at my discarded costume. I folded my arms across my chest, giving a silent thanks to my athletic choice of undergarments. Brooke could make fun of my boy shorts and sports bras all she wanted, but at a time like this, I was extremely grateful for their sensible appearance.

  “So?” I questioned, drawing his attention back to my face.

  He shrugged. “I was hanging out on the bleachers and saw you breaking and entering. I was curious to see what you were up to.”

  I groaned. “I suppose we can add stalker to your rap sheet. What’s one more title, after all?”

  “I have other titles?”

  “Emo is the latest one,” I informed him. “Coined lovingly by your brother. And I have to agree with him after that little scene you pulled by the campfire.”

  “That scene had nothing to do with my brother,” he muttered. “It was none of his business.”

  “When you leave a group so abruptly, it kind of becomes everyone’s business.”

  He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry if it came off as rude,” he said. “I’m not used to answering to so many people. Especially not him.” He said the word him like it was a curse word.

  “What’s the deal with you two?” I’d expected much more emotion from two brothers reuniting after a century apart, but watching Sebastian and Razor interact was like observing two strangers trying to be courteous to one another simply because custom mandated it. “Do you not like him?”

  Sebastian looked taken aback by the question. “Of course I like him.” He struggled with the subsequent words. “I just hate myself. For what I did to him.” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the reflection of the water against his silver irises tinted them a light blue. “He’s not the same brother I once knew.” Pain pulsated through his voice. “And I know that’s my fault.”

  “Don’t say that.” I wanted to reach out and hug the sorrow out of his words, but my position in the pool made that impossible.

  “When we were young, he used to be wild. Then life caught up with him and things changed. He became the responsible one. He had goals. He knew what he wanted and exactly how to achieve it. He was finally happy. Doing good things, helping people. Then I had to go and ruin it all.”

  “You didn’t ruin anything,” I reached out and gently touched his knee. “He still seems responsible,” I said. At least in regard to some things. “I wouldn’t have been able to save you and Lena without his help. Weren’t you the one who told me that everyone changes over time?”

  Sebastian scoffed. “Yes, but he’s lost his drive, his goals. He doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore. He acts like the world will come to an end tomorrow and he needs to make his way through as many girls and bottles of Blood Scotch as he can in the meantime. He also refers to himself by his old nickname, Razor. He even has the nerve to…” He looked away.

  “To what?” I pressed, curious as to why he’d suddenly shut down again.

  He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “What did he do?”

  “It’s doesn’t matter.” He refused to meet my eyes. “I just wish that it didn’t bother me as much as it does.” He fiddled with a broken tile by his foot. “What were you trying to get him to do by the campfire, anyway?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “How do you know I wasn’t really trying to get him to kiss me?” If Sebastian wanted to play aloof, it was only fair to serve him some of his own medicine.

  He was quiet for a while, then said, “Because glamour or no glamour, if you really wanted him to, you would have had no problem getting my brother to kiss you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “If you say so.”

  “So you’re not going to tell me why you stormed off?” I asked in an attempt to dispel some of the tension in the air.

  “It’s complicated.”

  I was starting to lose him again. Any second now, he would shut down. “Fine. How about I race you for it?”

  “What?”

  “Ten laps,” I challenged. “If I win, you have to tell me why you ran away.”

  “What if I win?” The corners of his lips twitched.

  Almost got him… “That won’t happen.”

  “Is that so?” A lively spark returned to his eyes.

  “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come in? Show me what you’ve got, York,” I teased, splashing him.

  Sebastian hesitated. “I’m more of a winter sports kind of guy. I’ll take snow and ice over water any day.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “You can’t swim?”

  “Oh, I can swim.”

  “So, what you’re really saying is that you’re scared of losing to a girl.” I splashed him again.

  That pushed him over the edge—literally. In a blink of an eye, his shirt was over his head and his jeans were dropping to the floor. In a half-hearted attempt to give him some privacy, I slowly peeled my eyes away from the lean muscles covering every inch of his body. He dove into the pool with hardly a splash, and when he reappeared, he was treading water next to me.

  Before inviting him into the pool, I had felt safe in the water’s cocoon, but with Sebastian inches away from me, all sense of security went down the drain. An unexpected electrical current was suddenly coursing through the water, and I had a feeling that, at any moment now, it would seize me. I had to get away. Without waiting for him to catch on to what was happening, I dashed toward the other side of the pool.

  “Ten laps. Go!” I yelled over my shoulder, hoping to put as much distance between us as possible.

  My muscles screamed as I pulled away, propelling myself into a front crawl. I was swimming faster than ever before—probably breaking a Vampolympics record—but Sebastian was hot on my trail. I could hear every stroke of his long, lean arms as he steadily closed the distance between us. I kicked harder, ignoring the burning in my legs, regretting having exerted myself so much during my earlier swim.

  I managed to hold the lead for nine laps, but during the final turn, Sebastian materialized next to me. I came up for air at the same time he did, and as he inhaled, he shot me a mischievous smirk. The smile caught me off-guard, and he gained an edge in the dash toward the finish line. As we neared the ledge, I reached out for his foot, and grabbed his ankle, tugging him backwards. He slowed ever so slightly, losing the lead at the very last moment. My hand hit the side of the pool, and a split second later, he surfaced behind me.

  “Dawn Fairchild! I never pegged you for a cheater!”

  “You cheated first!”

  “How so?”

  “By smiling at me.”

  “I cheated by smiling?”

  “It’s such a rare occurrence—I almost drowned from shock.”

  This made him smile again. His wet curls—loosened by the weight of the water—cascaded down the side of his face and neck. I had a sudden urge to run my hands through them. The electrical charge returned, and the entire pool crackled with intense energy. As Sebastian inched closer, the current seeped into my body, sending my senses into overdrive.

  “I’m sorry. I definitely wouldn’t want you to drown,” he whispered. Carefully, as if I were a bubble about to burst, he placed his hands on my hips, gently drawing me to him. Heat radiated from his fingertips, rippling through me. At any moment, I was sure I’d spon
taneously combust.

  “I know I promised I’d stay away from you…” he began hoarsely. His jaw tensed and his eyes dimmed as he seemed to fight a silent, internal battle. For a moment, I thought he was going to push me away—and I silently begged him not to—but instead, his grip on my hips tightened and he brought me closer.

  “Do you think that blood thing still has a hold over us?” I mumbled.

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” He entwined his hand in my wet hair as his other arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer. “Does it matter?”

  It mattered. It mattered in both the best and the worst way possible. If we were both experiencing these feelings just because we’d exchanged blood, then this wasn’t real. Once the connection weakened, all bets were off. Selfishly, I dreaded the colossal pain that severing our bond would bring about. At the same time, knowing that we were under a spell was a free pass to indulge in the desire raging through me, an opportunity to explore my cravings without worrying about the consequences. It was my chance to live in the now and everyone kept telling me that I should appreciate the present. And currently, a very handsome bare-chested present had his arms around me. It was hard not to appreciate him.

  When I failed to respond, Sebastian said, “Blood spell or not, what I feel for you is real.”

  “What do you feel?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Attraction?” I asked. Lust? Desire? I didn’t voice the other two, in fear of betraying my own feelings. “Because Razor said we would—”

  “Something much deeper than attraction.” He pulled me closer, cupping my chin with his hand. His fingers burned through my skin. “Something I’ve never felt before.”

  “Not even with Aurora?” I asked, biting my lip.

  Stupid, stupid…

  I knew the moment I pulled her into the pool with us that the tension between Sebastian and I would increase. Not to mention, I was dreading his answer.

  I contemplated sinking to the bottom of the pool, disappearing under the water to cool my blazing face, but what he said next, surprised me. “I told you before that what I felt for Aurora was much different than what I feel for you. It was only tonight that I began to understand exactly why that is.”

  “Tonight? What do you mean?”

  “When you were trying to glamour my brother, things began to shift into place. Things about Aurora. Things I hadn’t realized before.” He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “I think Aurora…her forta…” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I think she could glamour.”

  “Glamour?” I whispered. “Are you sure?”

  “I think so, but I can’t be sure,” he said. “When I think of my time with Aurora, things are a little hazy.” His face hardened and he took another deep breath. Tiny droplets of water slid down his neck, disappearing into the water around us. “All I know is that being with her was like being trapped in a dream. I was constantly living in a daze. I thought that was how love was supposed to make you feel.” He looked down, embarrassed by the admission. “Tonight, something just clicked.”

  “That’s why you ran off,” I realized.

  “I never questioned the feelings I had for Aurora nor the memories we shared until you came along,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Not because I was trying to compare you to her, but because with you, things never feel hazy. I’m always wide awake. Alive.” He pulled me closer, bringing his head to mine so that our foreheads were touching. “Nearly losing you has made me realize that I can’t keep holding back those feelings.”

  “I’m the one who nearly lost you,” I corrected him, trailing my finger between two large scars on his chest.

  “Technically. But the only reason I fought so hard to stay alive was to see you again.”

  “To apologize for ditching me, I hope,” I smiled and relaxed a little. Being in Sebastian’s arms was starting to feel right. So very right. All of my earlier reservations were trickling out of my body. They floated out of the open window, dissolving into the night sky. However, before I could fully let myself go, there was one question that was clamoring to get out. “If you’re right, and Aurora was capable of glamouring, then how come I don’t have the same forta?”

  What was wrong with me? Was I broken?

  “I don’t know, Dawn,” Sebastian said, pressing his lips against my forehead. “Maybe it’s because you’re not Aurora.”

  “But I’m her…” The word clone stuck in my throat.

  “You’re not her.” There was a sharp edge to his deep, velvety voice. “You didn’t pick up any of her traits. Even your eye color is different. Your fortas could be too.”

  “Or maybe I don’t have a forta. Because I—”

  Sebastian’s lips were firmly on mine before I could finish the sentence. Every thought I had of Aurora escaped me. All I could think about—all I could feel —was him. Tender and hard at the same time, the kiss was meant to still my mind, but it had the opposite effect. It engulfed me entirely, setting each tiny molecule of every cell in my body on fire.

  He shifted me so that my back was pressed firmly against the deep-end wall, his own body molding tightly against mine. Instinctively, my legs floated up, forming a tight circle around his waist, locking him into me. The muscles on his stomach rippled as he fought to stay afloat, and, somehow, amidst the tangle of wet hair, bare skin, and entwined tongues, he managed to keep us both from submerging.

  As he made his way from my lips, down to my neck, I arched my head back, fully giving into his touch. Even the powerful smell of chlorine couldn’t drown out his familiar, stormy scent. Before I knew it, I was sinking into an ocean of ecstasy, trusting him to hold me up.

  A low growl escaped his throat. “What have you done to me, Dawn?” he breathed into my neck. The real question was: What had he done to me? But I didn’t want to think about that now. I just wanted to let go and savor the sensation of his lips, his hands, his entire body. I was coming undone from the inside out, no longer fully connected to my physical body.

  A red “Danger! No Diving!” sign flashed from somewhere across the room.

  Too late—I’m already drowning, I thought as his cool lips, once again, found mine.

  And then she attacked. Like a python out of the darkness, Aurora slithered her way into my mind, wrapping herself tightly around my skull. With every fiber of my being, I struggled to keep her out, but every barrier I built was quickly torn down.

  Soon, there was no Sebastian, no pool, just a high-pitched vibration, ripping me apart from the inside. I tried to pull myself back to the present, to focus on Sebastian's lips, his hands—anything that could keep me grounded—but she'd dug deep into me, refusing to let go. Enduring shockwave after shockwave of torment pulsating through my head, I tried to force her out of my mind. Slowly, painfully, her grasp loosened.

  Just when I thought I’d won, my vision blanked. My surroundings disappeared and a hot shock of white light rocked my body. Images of Sebastian’s lifeless body, submerged at the bottom of the pool, flashed through my mind. His blood trickled down from my hands, dripping all around me. The thick red liquid seeped into the water, swirling around like a piece of silk fabric, slowly forming words.

  “Last warning...” The sentence floated on the surface of the water like a thin red ribbon.

  Another blinding flash of light shook me. The world around me disappeared, once again, submerging me in painful darkness.

  I regained consciousness on an extremely soft cloud. Nestled within the comfort of a fluffy duvet, I wanted nothing more than to sink further into the safe haven it provided. But I couldn't. A nagging thought pounded against my skull, compelling me to wake.

  Ignoring the desire for more sleep, I forced my eyes to open, revealing the wooden ceiling of my bedroom. I slowly slid out from underneath the covers, startled by the sight of two familiar faces. Sebastian and Razor were sitting by my bed; silver and charcoal eyes focused intensely on me.

  Disoriented, I sat up, then sank back down upon realizi
ng that someone—and I’d bet my money on Brooke—had dressed me in a lacy pink negligee. I pulled the comforter all the way up to my nose, then turned back to the guys.

  “What happened?” I asked as I tried to make some sense of the thoughts bouncing around my mind.

  “You fainted while we were…uhh…at the pool,” Sebastian said. He ignored the coy look Razor shot him, sitting down beside me on the bed.

  Slowly, it all came back. Sebastian’s kisses. His touch. Aurora’s fury. My inability to block her out. Her threat of hurting Sebastian.

  “How long was I out?” I asked.

  “Just overnight,” Razor said. “It’s only nine in the morning.”

  It didn't feel like just overnight. Aurora had managed to knock me out for almost twelve hours. Not to mention she had succeeded in infecting me with terrifying images of Sebastian's death. I clenched my fists, cursing myself for being so helpless. I despised the chaos that she had created within my head; the very same mayhem which was now transferring into my body. For the first time in my life, I felt completely powerless, devoid of the ability to protect myself and those I cared about.

  After all, how do you combat a ghost living in your mind?

  “Dawn, what’s going on?” Sebastian asked, moving closer.

  “Nothing.” I tried my best to sound composed. “I must’ve forgotten to eat and got a little dizzy.” It was a lame excuse, but it was the best I could come up with.

  “You screamed her name before you passed out,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “Aurora’s?” As if I even had to ask.

  He nodded. “I know that you didn’t black out because of hunger. Something happened to you.”

  I shook my head, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

  What else could I say?

  Sebastian, I saw you die and I’m pretty sure that I was the one who killed you.

  “I can tell when you’re lying, Dawn,” Sebastian said, taking my hand. “Please tell me what’s wrong. Whatever it is, we’ll take it on together.”