Chapter Eighteen
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brIA WAS STILL REELING from being injured, then Urzra turning up like an avenging angel.
He’d killed the man who’d shot her, then took down the two who’d been running towards her in mere seconds.
She couldn’t deny that some part of her had been thrilled by his actions.
The rational part of her mind warned her that it was a sign he was just like her ex.
Her shoulder was still throbbing from having the bullet removed, but it would heal without a trace quickly enough. She didn’t know how the warrior could sit across from her so calmly after such a vicious battle. Then again, it was nothing compared to the countless wars he’d fought in the past.
Urzra lifted an eyebrow, reminding her he was waiting for her to tell him her story. Bria grimaced internally and wished she hadn’t mentioned it. He wasn’t leaving until he got what he wanted, so she decided to get it over with.
“You probably need to hear about my background first,” Bria said. “My mom was a junkie and so were her friends. I had to look after myself from a young age or I would have starved to death. I went to and from school on my own and had to wear whatever clothes I could find in charity stores.”
The knight’s dark blue eyes flared, but he kept his comments to himself. She could sense Urzra’s disapproval of her mom’s inability to care for her only child.
“Mom’s boyfriends were all sleazy losers,” Bria continued.
“One of them hit on me when I was sixteen. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and I had to use my power on him.
Something went wrong and he ended up killing himself.
Mom blamed me and told me I was evil. She kicked me out and told me not to come back. ”
She’d just relived that memory in a dream, but her bottom lip almost trembled anyway. Shoving her emotions back down, she felt his sympathy for her, but looked down at her hands rather than at his face.
“I lived in an empty building for a few days, then I saw an old woman fall over in a parking lot. I helped Ethel up and she invited me to her home. Her soul was white, so I knew I could trust her. She took me in and I became her carer. I’d been living with her for a year when I met Kale at the grocery store.
He was my age and cute. He asked me out and we started dating. ”
Jealousy spiked in the knight and she glanced up to see his square jaw was now set. “Did this human harm you, Bria Janke?” he asked, voice almost a growl.
“Not physically,” she said. “I didn’t let it get to that stage.”
“What happened, female?” he queried, trying to make his voice gentler and failing.
Bria took a breath before continuing her tale.
“Kale was sweet at first,” she said. “I’d never dated a guy before and he was really attentive in bed.
” Urzra’s jealousy felt white hot for a second before he mastered himself.
She glanced at him to see him nod for her to go on.
“He wanted to be with me all the time,” Bria said.
“But I needed to stay home and look after Ethel. Kale started to get clingy and needy. He wanted to know where I was at all times. He stalked me whenever I left the house to go to the grocery store or to the drugstore.”
Urzra’s eyes had turned stormy. His expression was foreboding and his huge biceps bulged when he clenched his fists. “Keep going, female,” he said.
“I only dated Kale for a few months, but he acted like I belonged to him,” Bria said.
“I broke things off with him and he turned nasty. He kept following me and called me horrible names. He left threatening notes in the letterbox and I had to change my phone number so he couldn’t harass me through my cell phone.
” Her throat felt dry, but all of her supplies were in the cart, so she didn’t have any water on hand.
“It got to the stage where I knew I had to take steps,” she went on.
“So I agreed to meet him in a park near Ethel’s house one night.
Kale begged me to take him back and said he’d kill himself if I didn’t.
I let my magic build up until I felt like I was going to burst, then I unleashed it on him.
I told him he didn’t feel anything for me and that he never wanted to see me again.
It worked and he left me alone after that, but it also damaged his mind.
Using too much of my magic on humans is dangerous. ”
Urzra looked away and she felt his understanding that he’d been acting a lot like Kale.
“I can see why you’re so concerned, female,” he said in a disturbed tone.
“I’ve been acting in a similar fashion to your old boyfriend.
I feel as if Fate intends for us to be together, which is why I’ve followed my instincts.
How else was I able to find you after you sent me away yesterday? ”
“We have a strange link that I can’t explain,” Bria admitted. “What would your commander and brothers do if I decided to go with you?” she asked.
“They would find a way to use your talents against our enemies to assist us to win our war,” he said.
“Exactly,” Bria said. “I don’t want to be involved in your war and I won’t allow myself to be used like that. It isn’t fair for you to ask me to put myself at risk of death with the aliens you’ve spent an eternity killing and being killed by over and over.”
The knight met her eyes and she flinched from the raw pain he didn’t try to hide. “So, you’re rejecting me again, female?” he asked in a soft voice. “I can’t convince you that we’re supposed to be together?”
“No,” she said, then braced herself against his sheer sorrow and dejection. “Go and find your brothers, Urzra. You need to be with them, not with me. Fate made a mistake when she tried to pair us together. I’m not a tool to be used however she sees fit and neither are you.”
Urzra gave her a pained smile. “That’s where you’re wrong, female,” he said.
“I’ve never been anything more than just a tool.
I’d hoped things could be different this time and that I might have a small glimpse of what a normal life might be like.
” Guilt slammed into her that she’d caused this huge, strong man to feel so small and insignificant.
“I’ll leave now,” he said and rose to his feet.
“Have no fear, Bria Janke, I won’t bother you again.
” He spoke with quiet dignity that made her wish she would fall into a hole without a bottom.
She clenched her teeth together to stop herself from calling out to him. She told herself this was for the best and ignored the tears that were welling in her eyes.
The knight paused in the doorway, but he didn’t look at her this time. “You should have let the sharks take me,” he said in a raw voice. “That would have been less painful than this.”
He strode outside and she felt him rapidly receding, then vanish from her radar.
She let out a sob and her tears spilled over.
She’d felt every emotion he’d just gone through like it had been her own, thanks to her special talent.
She knew she’d just torn his heart apart even though they were virtually strangers.
Bria cried for the lonely knight who just wanted someone to love. She also cried for herself as well. All she’d ever wanted was a life of solitude that no longer seemed quite as appealing to her anymore.