Pinks. Reds. Blues. Purples. They all flashed as a buzzing built in my body, my blood roared to life.
“He looks like a unicorn.” Genesis said in awe.
“Quick, a saddle!” Mason snapped his fingers at Cassius.
Vision blurring, I fell to my knees, in a desperate attempt to control my emotions. I didn’t want to kill my friends.
But it felt like a good idea.
It felt necessary.
Yes. Necessary.
Reach your full potential! A voice screamed in my head.
End them all! Just as I taught you! The pain only goes away when you lose control, Alex.
“No.” Cassius pulled the word into existence and then placed a hand on my head. “Alex you must learn to control yourself.”
“Don’t. Want. To.” I snarled. “Let me kill them!”
“They healed her when you did not.” Cassius leaned down to my eye level; his irises were a bright white. “Is that not friendship?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Bullshit,” came Mason’s reply.
“Downstairs,” Cassius whispered. “All of you.”
For once, nobody argued.
And I was left alone with the stupid angel.
The last person I wanted to be left with. Cassius saw too much. Because he saw everything, and thanks to his good ol’ angelic dad — the blood that ran through his veins was so pure it was a miracle he was able to even exist on the human plane without destroying everything in his path.
“You withhold yourself from her.” Cassius tilted his head. “Why?”
“Elf,” I managed to get out. “She is an elf.”
Cassius was quiet and then stood. “I see.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.” His tone was damned irritating, so calm, so rational. All of the things I wasn’t and would never be.
“I am her death.”
“No.” Cassius shuddered as he lifted his eyes heavenward, an icy mist began to fall from the ceiling. “I cannot see the future, you know this, only possibilities.”
“Mine is death.”
“You’re wrong.” Cassius’s eyes flashed white before the mist fell to the ground coating my room like an ice skating rink. “I see… Hope.”
Hope
DIRT CAKED MY fingernails as I dug into the new flowerbed and planted more of the purple tulips that the immortals found spellbinding.
Sweat poured down my back, creating a really nice stream as it made its way down my legs and into my flip-flops.
And technically — my shift ended hours ago.
But I wasn’t sure where to go.
Home?
To my apartment?
To Ethan’s house?
Where was home anyway?
Home.
Home.
Home.
I mulled the word around and was met with a solid wall of steel in my brain, like a door I couldn’t break through.
What the heck was wrong with me lately?
To make matters worse, just as promised, the numbing effects of whatever Ethan had done, had worn off hours ago, leaving me in a state of constant pain every time I tried to breathe like a normal human being.
Add that to the fact that it was already viciously hot in the compound, and I was a pile of gross.
A small part of me cheered at the thought of going back to Ethan’s, running up the stairs, and rubbing my sweaty body all over Alex’s pristine sheets.
But the smile only lasted for so long, because that certain daydream almost always ended up with me naked.
And him licking.
Always licking.
Like I was his personal lollipop.
I shuddered and walked down the dark empty hallway, my footsteps echoing squeaks across the marble floor.
I was about ten feet away from the main entrance when the door opened and clicked shut.
It was too dark to see.
Then again, I didn’t need my eyes to know who was standing mere feet from me in all his godlike glory.
“Is our time up?” I asked, hating that my hands shook at my sides waiting for his answer.
“No.” His voice was so soft, it was like he’d reached out and caressed my cheek with his words. “I was worried.”
I laughed.
He didn’t.
“I’ve been on my own a long time.” It wasn’t technically a lie since I couldn’t remember, right? “I promise, you have nothing to worry about. It’s not like anything’s going to happen to me.”
“Humans aren’t known for their intellect,” he said with an air of condescension.
“You need to work on your compliments.”
“You smell.”
I rolled my eyes. Seriously? This guy? Was I getting punished? “Alex.” I was exhausted. Gross. And feeling pretty rejected. The last thing I needed was the most beautiful man in the world telling me I smelled. “Can you please just tell me what you need so I can go? I’m not in the mood for you right now.”
That was a lie. I was always in the mood for him since he had first touched me, claimed me. At least physically.
Mentally and emotionally, he exhausted every last nerve.
“You didn’t let me finish,” he whispered. Was he closer? I couldn’t tell. My feet were basically nailed to the ground. And then he inched out of the shadows. His purple and black hair danced with every movement. Did he just snap his fingers and change colors? His amber eyes danced with lust and with a blink turned an icy purple as he inhaled. “You smell like air.”