32. In Which Proximity has Many Flaws
Chapter 32
In Which Proximity has Many Flaws
I t took more willpower than Evander was willing to admit to push himself from the banister and take a step back from Ellie. He fought the desire to continue kissing her, to run his hands over her waist, down to the hem of her dress, and between her thighs. Clenching his teeth, he offered her his arm. She smiled up at him, her lips swollen from his kisses, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed. It squeezed his heart. Slipping her fingers into the bend of his arm, she allowed him to lead her back to her room.
They said little on their meander through the bowels of the ship, walking side by side in comfortable silence. They passed a steward folding towels into monkeys and kids up way past their bedtime, begging for five more minutes. As they approached her cabin, she slowed her steps. When she turned to face him, she was chewing on her bottom lip.
“Thank you for dinner. I’m glad you asked,” she mumbled to the floor.
Evander clenched his fists at his side, keeping his hands to himself. He wanted to lift her chin and force her to look at him.
“It’s better this way.”
“What is?”
She glanced away. “You and me. To end the trip like this.”
Baffled, he leaned against the wall, and waited for her to elaborate. She fiddled with her key card to her cabin, turning it over and over. Resting his head on the paneling, he studied her as her eyes shifted around the hallway.
“Penn was afraid of me.”
Asshole. A wave of protectiveness coursed through him, mixed with irritation.
“You don’t want to be with me, Evander.” She flipped the key card over and over in her hands. “It’s better we end this here and let tomorrow start fresh.”
The muscle in his jaw jerked against the argument that arose. Whatever she was thinking, whatever conclusion she was jumping to, he’d find out if he remained silent.
“I hurt people.”
He hadn’t expected that.
Ellie sighed and straightened her shoulders. Her fingers went to her ever-present sapphire pennant, slipping it through the chain. “There is something you don’t know. I’m dangerous. You’ve been right all along. I’m dangerous to you, to your vow, to myself. Penn was afraid of me. That’s why he tried so hard to control me. But I could hurt you, and that’s the last thing I want.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This,” she said with a loud sigh. Putting the key away, she flipped her palm up, and in the middle was a flame. Fire leapt and danced, tiny and controlled. She turned the other over, and a miniature tornado whipped into a funnel before his eyes. She snapped her fingers closed and grasped both hands together.
“Penn was right to be afraid. My parents. Everyone. I have always had these weird powers. No one could ever explain them. My parents sent me to doctors and specialists, but there was never an answer. Coupled with my blood, I ain’t good for anyone. Liam was right. Everyone was right. It’s better this way, Evander. You can leave tomorrow knowing you’re safe. You’re safe from me.”
His mind raced. She had the power of gaia coursing through her. He didn’t know how or why, but she did. The energy, the odd magic sensation he hadn’t felt before that surged when the daemons opened the portal, he assumed it was umbramortis, but it was her. The pull she had on him, drawing him like a magnet, hell even her scent that drove him wild, all this time was her magic calling to his. A chuckle rumbled out as understanding flooded in.
“You think a little fire and wind scares me?”
“Shouldn’t it?”
His mouth broke into a wide grin. “Is that why you checked my pulse?”
She nodded. “When I was eight, I set fire to a barn. I became angry and lost control. No one was hurt, thank god. I sent tornadoes flying through the woods during an argument. I’ve destroyed rooms. Hurt people. I learned to protect others from me. Learned to control myself. I was afraid I’d hurt you when I saw you sprawled out on the floor like you were.”
She had powers. The human who possessed the Book of Pandora was a gaiamancer. Athena wanted her dead because she had the book. If she knew Ellie could wield gaia, she would send an army after her. Ellie was a threat. Soft. Gentle. Human. But a threat. It was rare, but he knew of a few mortal humans who possessed powers. Ones they had long before they ever came to Olympus. But if Athena found out, Ellie was as good as dead. She’d not take any chances on this one being the Serathena. Evander couldn’t let that happen. The urge to protect her came on stronger than before, wave after wave. He knew what he had to do.
“I am not the least bit fearful of you. I have swords you can’t see, and you think I’m alarmed by a gaiamancer?”
“A what?”
“Someone who wields gaia magic. Earth magic.”
“Earth magic?” She wrinkled her nose.
“Magic that comes from the earth like fire and wind. You are special, Ellie, and I am not frightened by it. You wouldn’t hurt me.” He enveloped her in his arms and placed his forehead on hers.
It all made so much sense. He had been right to listen to Hypatia. But protecting her from Athena meant letting her go. Tomorrow, she would walk off this ship, never knowing what he would do to keep her safe.
“I accept all of you, just as you are. You don’t need to hide from me.”
He was doing his utmost to reassure her, to convey through actions that she could trust him. He felt the surge of her magic and let it course through him, tingling, mixing. It was intoxicating. As his lips found hers, she responded with her own kisses, her body pressing into his. Moaning, he pressed her into her cabin door, letting his lips speak the words he was unable to.
“Are you sure I can’t come in?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Ellie laughed, sliding her tongue across her bottom lip. “I think it’s best if we don’t.” She nodded her head as if trying to convince herself.
He kissed her cheek and then the corner of her lips. Tiny kisses bloomed against her soft lips. He didn’t want to stop, or go, or say goodnight. The powerful urge to keep by her side pulsed, warring with his rational self that knew she was never meant for him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Her touch seared him, igniting the growing fire coursing through him as her hands ran along his chest and shoulders. White-hot need burned through him. Gods, how he needed this woman. This wasn’t just lust like Liam had warned him it was. It wasn’t because he couldn’t have her. This was more than that. He wanted to see to her every happiness, to wake up to her every morning and have her in his bed every evening. He wanted to be hers. Afraid to let her go, he pulled her hips, holding her to him. When his mouth found hers, his lips moved in a dance only they knew. Losing himself for a moment, he pressed her against the door, making her escape impossible.
Ellie didn’t know when the mood changed. The air around them sizzled and sparked, as if coming alive. A rumble of a low moan from deep in his chest rippled through her. She clutched both lapels in her fists, forcefully keeping him against her.
Without warning, his head shot up. Evander’s face darkened, his lips pulling tight as his entire body stiffened.
“Get in your cabin, Ellie. Now!”
The lapels were still in her grip as she searched for a reason for his abrupt change. The hall was surprisingly quiet. No passengers, no slamming doors, just unbearable silence.
“Ellie,” he warned, pulling himself to his full height. The twitch in his jaw jumped. “Get in the cabin and lock the door. Do not open it, do you understand?” He scanned the hall out of the corner of his eye, his nostrils flared.
“Evander, you’re scaring me,” she breathed.
Compassionate eyes locked with hers briefly before hardness took over. “I’m protecting you.”
Heavy footsteps pounded towards them.
Whipping around, she fumbled with her card, her hands shaking. She tried once to get the card in the slot but missed. On her second attempt, it fell to the floor in her fury. Suddenly, her door gave way, and Evander shoved her inside, causing her to fall as the door slammed shut behind her without her touching it. Landing on her hands and knees, she was dazed, her head swirling. Holding her breath, she strained her ears, waiting to hear any sound from just beyond the door. Rising from the floor, she pressed her ear against the door. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered through the peephole into an empty hallway.
Total silence.
No sounds of fighting.
No grunting or thuds or slams against the walls.
Clutching the handle, she turned the lock and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. She pulled again. Turning the lock several times, she yanked on the handle, growing more panicked with each pull. Making a fist, she pounded on the door.
“Evander!”
Nothing but deafening silence. Turning in a circle, Ellie returned to the door, pulling hard, her fingernails scraping against the metal. Tears welled in her eyes as panic crawled through her, taking over. Her hands shook as she gripped the handle. Heat coursed through her, pushing, pulling; she was trapped. Trapped behind a door that wouldn’t open, just like before. When Penn kept her locked up for days. She tried to breathe past the rock-hard lump that formed in her throat. Ellie called his name again, but it came out in a croak. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she turned once more like a caged animal, fighting the utter panic that clawed at her tight control. A sound from behind her caused her to spin again. As she did, she looked at her room for the first time since Evander shoved her inside. Her cabin was in shambles. Her mattress flipped, half on its frame. Most of her clothing was torn and strewn in pieces all over. Drawers were open; their contents spilled. It was a disaster.
Standing amid the disorder was a man, tall like Evander but dressed like a Greek warrior. A metal helmet covered most of the face, coming down between his eyes. A breastplate on his chest had an inverted sword engulfed in flames, and a red tunic flashed from underneath. Greaves covered his shins up to his knees. Massive, mangled wings stretched high overhead at his back. The horns at the junction of the folded wings scraped her cabin’s ceiling. Under him, dark shadows snaked out around his feet like the tentacles of an octopus.
A scream tore through her, so high-pitched and terror-filled that the lights in the room blazed brightly and then burst, throwing them into darkness. A sliver of moonlight came from outside, bathing a swatch of silver in the center of the room. The creature advanced wordlessly, stalking her.
Fear snaked through her, turning her blood to ice, freezing it in her veins. Losing control of her terror, her grip on her magic slipped like sand through the tight grasp of her resolve. Wind whipped around her ankles, gathering her disheveled things as it passed. The storm surrounded her, gaining strength and creating a vortex of objects and clothing as it swirled. Power strained against her, her palms tingling as she tried to clutch to reality. No one was coming to save her from her nightmare, just like all the times before when Penn locked her up. A surge of lightning shot from her palms, flying straight for the winged creature. It slammed into him, his armor glowing red and gold as he absorbed the impact. The thing grunted in response.
A shield appeared in his hand as he continued his steady approach, slithering across the floor on shadows as his head cocked to the side like a bird. Another scream erupted from her, and closing her eyes, she shot more lightning at him. This time, it struck him over his shield on the shoulder. The thing hissed at the impact, jerking back.
She tried to think, tried to keep her magic from consuming her because once it did, she’d be helpless, blacked out, unable to keep from harming the passengers on board. Unable to keep it contained. Remembering something Evander said about striking the heart, she clung to that with white knuckles. He meant it for the black-winged daemons, but it might work with this winged creature.
The thing circled her, pushing her back from the door. A spear appearing from thin air, lowered, swinging in a slow arc; Ellie did the only thing she could think of: she ducked. It smashed into the wall, leaving a hole as plaster spilled onto the floor. She tried to make a rush for the door when his weapon lodged, but he freed it, turned, and smacked her in the chest with the other end of the pole.
Stumbling backward, her hand slammed into her nightstand, sending everything on top toppling off. Her feet caught on the disarray of items, and she tripped, bumping into the corner of the bed. Without thinking, she cursed and opened her hand, sending a bolt of magic aimed at the heart of the thing. It raised its shield and blocked her, magic whizzing past her head to crash into the glass sliding doors, sending shards of glass flying.
She was running out of room. Unable to move, wild panic overtook her, consuming her. Ellie let out a scream once more and closed her eyes, shooting a bolt at the creature but missing and hitting the full-length mirror just beyond. The magic fractured as it hit, shattering it into pieces. One fractal slammed into him, and he grunted as the armor on his chest glowed gold. Leaving charred marks in their wake, the others raced along the ceiling and floor. Light spread through him, gold turning red as it ran out from his center in lines of destruction before he burst into dust. The spear and shield fell to the ground in a heap on top.
Ellie stood frozen. The storm she created swirled around her. Her powers groaned, pulsing, waiting for release as her control snapped, pulling her further into chaos. Lightning and fire pulsed from her fingers, shooting across the room, destroying furniture and carpet in its wake. A portion of her curtain caught fire, and ash burst into the room resembling snow, falling silently around her.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”