grass swallowed her up. “Beware.”
I sat straight up in bed and gripped my head between my hands to stop the room from spinning. I still felt dizzy from turning in circles, and dreams weren’t supposed to carry over into wakefulness.
The sun sat at the cusp of the horizon. I sensed its rising as a tingling of my skin, and its scent came to me as warm and smelling of earth after a long rain. As I lay in bed, the gray hour of dawn faded into bright morning, and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t banish the disturbing dream from my mind. Her energy had felt so real, rippling across my skin like satiny shadows, and the faint luminescence of her eyes confirmed that she was a Shaede. I’d never seen a Shaede child, let alone dreamt of one for that matter. But a Shaede she was, and her warning stirred a moment of disquiet in me I’d been trying very hard to ignore. It seemed I just couldn’t leave danger in my wake.
Slipping out from between the sheets, I padded toward the kitchen. I looked around the small space, took in the clean, polished concrete countertops, the soft white leather of the sofa. I breathed in the aroma of hardwood and carpeting. Cold air seemed to circulate through my studio apartment, twining around my ankles upward-or, at least, I thought it felt that way. Since my transformation, I had to recognize my senses in an entirely different way. And every day since then, I’d been relearning how to feel comfortable in my own skin-not an easy task.
Time ticked away inside my chest like a separate heartbeat; another souvenir I’d taken away from my Enphigmale Island excursion. I’d changed during my time there, an evolution of my being that had come to completion under the black skies of a solar eclipse-a single moment in time when night became day and day became night. I tried for a moment to expel the sensation of time slipping through my body as I focused on the remembrance of quiet. How I longed for silence. But, like a cruel joke, the sound of seconds passing echoed in my soul, reminding me that I’d never have that kind of peace again. Yep, I was a lucky girl.
My phone rang, a pleasant distraction from time’s steady cadence. I checked the caller ID.
“Xander wants to see you,” a bitchy female voice on the other end said. “Now.”
I didn’t need to check the phone to know she’d already disconnected the call. Anya liked me about as much as oil liked water. I didn’t exactly harbor any warm fuzzies for her either. It could have been natural female adversity that pitted us against each other, but I suspected that deep down, Anya hated me because I didn’t regard her with the same level of fear and respect the rest of Xander’s subjects exhibited. Or maybe she just didn’t like my taste in clothes. I certainly didn’t care for hers.
The early-morning sun peeked out from the remnants of last night’s storm clouds and glittered through the skylights above me. I ran my hand through the yellow rays, my skin quivering like a mirage against desert sand. I watched in wonder as my arm began to fade into the light; then I sharply pulled away, rubbing my skin as if I’d been burned. It didn’t hurt, not really. I just wasn’t used to the sensation yet. My shoulders slumped, and with a sigh, I faded, becoming nothing more than a whisper on the air.
I traveled like a breath of wind through Xander’s too-large mansion and found the High King seated at a table in the solarium, watching the eastern horizon and sipping from a porcelain cup.
As I stepped from nothingness into my solid form beside the chair, Xander’s eyes drifted shut and the corners of his mouth lifted, hinting at a smile.
“Good morning,” he said.
“You wanted to see me?” I allowed the aggravation to seep through my voice.
“Mmm,” he answered with a sigh. “Yes, I did.”
His voice reached out to touch me in a velvet caress. Xander had the most alluring voice I’d ever heard, smooth and seductive, and he tried to use it to his advantage.
“Well,” I said, tapping my foot, “what the hell do you want?”
“Sit.”
“Excuse me? Last time I checked, I wasn’t yours to command.”
“Sit.”
He motioned to the chair opposite him just before a Shaede with bright platinum hair walked in, carrying a tray laden with a breakfast spread that would have put any of Seattle’s best eateries to shame. Fruit, fresh-baked croissants, eggs Benedict, and a couple of other baked goods that looked like fancy breakfast Hot Pockets. She plunked down two plates, and I stifled a groan. The High King must have been pretty confident that I’d show up at just the right time. Xander was such a count-his-chickens sort of guy.
“I like your outfit, by the way,” he said as he watched the platinum-haired Shaede leave. “I don’t often see you in white.”
I shrugged as I lowered myself into the chair, conveying my displeasure through the slits of my eyes. I hated his small talk. He didn’t give two shits what color I wore. In fact, I was willing to bet he’d prefer to see me wear nothing at all. I didn’t wear white-much-but since my transformation, I’d been wearing the color more often. He’d known I’d come straight over after Anya’s call. And the fact that he’d maneuvered me with aplomb raised my hackles.
I ignored his smile and sparkling gaze and poured myself a cup of ultradark coffee. I added a splash of cream, paying more attention to my actions than they warranted. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Xander sitting very still, disregarding his meal the way I disregarded him. He watched me with hungry eyes.
“What does it feel like?” he almost whispered.
“What does
“The light.”
I shrugged and popped a melon ball in my mouth. His curiosity about my
Xander looked to his plate as if embarrassed by his question. I’d never known him to be anything but unapologetic, though, and I reveled in his awkward moment before changing the subject. “Are you going to tell me why I’m here?”
“Do I need a reason to see you?” he asked, the epitome of innocence. “Can’t I just bask in the glow of your company?”
I rolled my eyes so hard, I thought they might fall right out of my head. I’d never been charming company by any standards. Plus, Xander didn’t do anything without an ulterior motive, and I knew he hadn’t asked me over just so he could “bask in the glow of my company.”
A flash of canary yellow crossed the open doorway, followed by the creak of leather, and I rolled my eyes again, adding a disgusted snort. Anya, one of Xander’s favorite attendants, had a leather fetish. I couldn’t imagine what about it made her want to wear it every. Single. Day. But since I’d met her, I’d never seen her in anything else. I also knew that neither one of us was going to head up the other’s fan club anytime soon.
“Xander, does Anya have to hover like that?” I asked, just a little on the loud side. “I’m developing an allergy to leather.”
Xander gave another wan smile. I wondered if he was trying to play hard to get. “She’s doing her job,” he said.
“What job is that?”
“Protecting me.”
I raised a dubious brow. “I thought that was my job.”
Xander’s smirk widened into an all-out seductive smile. Shit. He’d been fishing and pulled out the heavy gear. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he murmured in a voice that put my temper over the top. “Very glad.”
Oh man, was I an idiot. He’d kept Anya close just to get a reaction. He knew how to play me, and I let him- every time. “But it looks like I’ve been replaced,” I said, parrying his words like a sword thrust. “I guess I’m officially unemployed.”
“Not quite,” Xander said, and my stomach constricted into a tight, anxious ball. “I have other tasks set out for you.”
“Other tasks,” I repeated in a monotone. “I don’t think so, Xander. You can’t just order me around like one of
