Blakeshire (Insight #9)(10)
“You hate water,” he bit out, choosing not to press me on the actions I’d taken or the results of those actions.
I stared at him, trying to evaluate how damaged my insights were. Normally, I would see something like a movie playing out around him; now I could only see flashes of what he went through in The Realm. It didn’t seem like he’d had any more fun than I did. I kinda like this new way of seeing. I’m a deep analyzer; the more information, the more I analyzed. Flashes were good; less food for thought. They gave me just enough to get a grip on what was going on and not enough to distract me from the moment I was in.
I smirked. It was no secret that I hated water, but no one knew why. Charlie would go off to meet Aden and Draven at random beaches for the summer. I rarely went, and when I did I kept at least two hundred feet between me and the ocean.
Yesterday was the first time I had been on a boat ever, and when I agreed to play the role of a girl who was courting Drake to help fool the court he was at war with, I didn’t know there was a boat involved. When I figured that part out, it was too late to back out. Every time I tried, they all thought I was just scared of Drake, which was true, too, but I would have moved in with the boy just to avoid the boat. Lesser of two evils, if you will.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad fear of Drake, it’s a good one. Just imagine having a crush on someone for nearly two decades, and then all of a sudden they know your name and show a vague interest. Now, that is petrifying. I clenched my waist again as I thought of him, as I thought of that burn he gave my soul; it was a good burn, one that even now, as damaged as I may be, I ached to feel more deeply. But I would be damned if I let him or anyone else know that.
“The question is why do I hate it. Maybe it’s because something dark and twisted knows that the weapon I need to end it is in saltwater.”
Aden moved his head from side to side as his eyes rained down on me. “Considering the planet is seventy percent water and we have recently been made aware of countless alternate dimensions, I would say that you need to let that thought go and fight what is in front of you. Work on healing.”
“I’m not sick.”
He clenched his fist as he leaned forward on his knees. “Emotions are your gift, your weapon. If you don’t have them, then you are sick on some supernatural level. We need to fix that.”
“I have emotions. I’m just lacking a few that seem to have gotten in my way.”
“Like?” he said with a firm stare.
“Fear, shock, anguish…grief.”
He nodded once, and I could swear I saw flashes of Drake in his mind. Aden wasn’t the matchmaker type, and he would not let anyone near me without harsh judgment, but he, like everyone else, thought that there was a reason I was drawn into Drake’s life, that I had a twin. That in some way that dark dimension was waiting for me. Right now, Aden was relieved that I was still capable of feeling compassion, maybe even love.
“Well, I guess that might be an improvement. Hours ago, we could not sit in traffic without you doubling over in pain.”
“And that sucked.”
“No doubt,” he said as he massaged his temples.
“You’re the one that is sick, with the wall knocked down in your head.”
Apparently, we have all had a lot of past lives, and some evil little Escort thought it would be best for Aden to remember his. I’m sure it was so that he and his brother would fight over Charlie, but evil underestimated the four of us. We don’t do love triangles or squares or any other twisted amorous deal. Aden’s twin may be a jealous soul, but he knows where Charlie’s devotion lies. So the knockdown in Aden’s mind didn’t do anything but give Aden more to think about.
“It wasn’t knocked down—barely a crack really, one that was supposed to twist us,” he said as anger flared in his eyes and I felt his energy stabbing my skin. It was no secret that my cousins were easy on the eyes, but their anger seemed to amplify everything that was addictive about them. God help anyone that stood between them and something they wanted or cared about.
“Aden, this is a crossroads. This is the point where we all go fight our own demons.”
“You’ve lost your mind,” he said under his breath, making it clear that he was not going anywhere.
“No, I haven’t. I know you’ve seen that light that is following Draven and Charlie around. They have protection now.”
He nodded once.
Both of us had been waiting for either Charlie or Draven to explain the ghost we could see following them, but they kept silent, which told me they knew what I was saying now to be true. “You’re haunted by something, too. All of us have something we need to fight,” I pushed.
“Maybe so, but whatever is tormenting me has not shown its face, so you are stuck with me, Maddie.”
“Madison.”
“Whatever.”
“Aden, you don’t need to be near me. I have no fear. That makes me dangerous. I plan to face my ultimate mystery, and that is going to lead me to hell’s gates.”
“I thought you figured out Britain was a loser?”
That should have hurt. I should be defensive or mad, but I’m not. I’m not because as far as I’m concerned, Britain is dead to me. In other words, Britain is my ex. We were seeing each other before I was coaxed into that search and rescue. I was gone for all of two days. I popped in on him because Charlie wanted to figure out what he knew about Bianca, the Escort that tried to hurt Aden, had taken Drake and Landen, and dared to seduce Draven, Aden’s twin. Yeah, we hate her.