He had his elbow on the table, his fingers fumbling with the rim of his cup. “It doesn’t matter. Are you saying that you and him aren’t together? Rumor is the one with the rainbow eyes belongs to the Slayer.”
The whole barbarianism of the Heights was horseshit, and how did news travel so fast? There were no newspapers or broadcasters, but I guess when you had supernatural abilities, the unthinkable was possible. “I belong to myself.”
He gave me a disarming grin. “Just so we’re clear, I fully support feminism.”
I smiled in return, because Orion was infectious. “Good to know.” There was something charming about him, and if I weren’t hung up on another douchebag, I would have jumped at the chance to see if the spark I sensed between us could go somewhere.
Would I continue to compare every guy I met to Dash? If that was the case, I would never have the opportunity to get over him, and I found the prospect frightening. I didn’t want to end up alone, pining after a guy who hadn’t wanted me.
Depressing.
Too bad my visions hadn’t shown a future with Dash and me together. It might have given me the patience to let him sort this love triangle out. Gah! I didn’t do love triangles, and I wasn’t about to start. I was going to make the Slayer choose.
Orion scooped up a bite of his coffee cake. “The people of Eberus protect one another. If you decide you no longer want to run, I offer you our protection. You are always welcome here.”
Looking around, it was a damn tempting offer. Who would have imagined a civilization lived in the middle of such a mysterious and lonely place as Somber Mountain? And maybe I could be happy here, for a little while, but I wasn’t na?ve enough to think the Institute would just give up and stop looking for me. Eberus might be able to hold them at bay or hide me for a spell, but there would come a time when their defenses wouldn’t be enough.
I refused to let anyone else’s blood be shed because of me. If the Institute wanted my DNA that bad, then they were going to have to take it from me, and that only meant my fight had barely begun. “I appreciate it. And Eberus might be safe, but if I stay, you’ll have to fight to keep it that way. I couldn’t bear to see what you’ve built here destroyed.”
Disappointment flickered in his eyes. “If you change your mind, the offer stands.”
I nodded.
The following day we said our goodbyes to Orion and left Eberus. Dash was anxious to get back on the road, staying in one place too long made him agitated, and I understood this time around. That same sense of restlessness stirred inside me. It was a hot prickle at the back of my neck, urging me to get as far from Diamond Towers as I could manage on two legs.
I had hoped the tension between the three of us would have magically disappeared by now. With as much unexplained mystic energy as existed in the Heights, it didn’t seem implausible, and yet it lingered in the air.
“You and Orion seemed to hit it off,” Dash commented as we walked.
I shrugged. “I guess. He said I could stay if I wanted a place to settle.”
“Is that all he offered?”
My eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
“A guy like Orion doesn’t offer his protection freely.”
I shook my head, stepping up and over a larger rock. I wasn’t up for word battling with Dash. “You did,” I snappily reminded him. “What does it matter anyway? The entire Heights thinks I belong to you.”
Amusement crept into his eyes. “Good.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbing his arm. “What do you mean good? It is a total lie.”
“Your name associated with mine will put fear in those who hear that you have my protection.”
“Keep using your ego steroids. You might want to think about selling them on the black market. I bet you could make a fortune.” I don’t know how it happened, but I had somehow ended up on slightly higher ground, putting Dash and me nose to nose.
His eyes pierced mine. We were both breathing heavily. “My ego is going to be what keeps us alive.”
“You must really like a challenge.”
“Are you guys going to bicker the entire time?” Star interrupted.
“Yes!” Dash and I both said in unison.
Things got pretty silent after that.
Our exit from Somber Mountain less adventurous than escaping the Institute had been. The days drifted by, but keeping Star safe wasn’t going to be so easy, not with the Institute gunning for us and more determined than ever in their pursuit. No doubt they were hoping to get a two-fer—both Dash and me in one swoop.
As the sun sank over the western horizon, a tortured howl arose, echoing from the woods directly in front of our path.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
A shudder passed through the trees, and a sudden sharp wind stole the late afternoon warmth, just as I was looking forward to the balmy air of the forsaken woods.
“I’m thinking we need to move faster,” Dash said, stepping over a wild shrub.
The breeze smelled of pine and water but tinted with something else, something harsh and metallic—like blood.
“If we move faster, isn’t that going to bring us closer to whatever that was?” Star asked.
“Probably. But I’d rather find it before it finds us,” Dash said.
“My hero,” I replied, batting my eyes and putting my hand over my chest.
He scowled. “Are we going to start this again?”
“Depends if you’re going to start the macho thing again. I don’t need your protection.”
“So you keep saying, and yet I’ve saved your pretty little butt more times than I can count. Or have you already forgotten about the beast that chased you up a mountain?”
I wanted to kick him. “I was assessing the situation from higher ground.”
He tried to keep his lips turned down and failed, as I caught the hint of a curve. Amusing hadn’t been my goal. “Well, you’re going to get the chance to prove that you can handle yourself. If that thing is what I think it is, it’s going to take two of us to kill it.”
“Kill?” Star squeaked.
A cackle rang out again. It could have been behind us, in front us, running alongside; pinpointing its location was impossible. The beast seemed to be everywhere at once.
Adding speed to my strides, I cursed Dash and the Heights into seven different levels of hell.
Chapter Thirteen
We ran for what felt like an eternity, but it made no difference; the thing was still out there and closer than ever.
Star began to lag behind, and Dash and I slowed our pace, knowing that if we kept pushing her, she would end up as dead weight Dash and I couldn’t afford to carry.
“We need to rest for a little bit,” I panted, my chest rising and falling in quick gasps.
Dash’s gaze held mine. “Then we have no choice. We have to fight.”
I nodded in agreement. “Here’s your big chance, hotshot.”
“Oh no,” Star said, stepping between us. Her big brown eyes bounced from me to him. “We’re not going to start this again.”