Enflame (Insight #6)(80)

I have no idea when our shared dream took over reality or when I fell into a silent bliss. The next thing I felt was the sensation of falling. Gripping the blankets around me, I sat up with a gasp, finding the bed rocking from side to side, the sun peering down on us. The movement had woken Landen up, too, and a quick glance told him that we were not alone. Brady was standing on the other side of the room with his back to us. Turning crimson, I reached for my clothes and rushed to put them on, gritting my teeth, struggling for control. The taste of blood was seconds away.

“Just a few hours of privacy,” Landen muttered, squinting his eyes, trying to avoid the sun, which had added to the invasion of our privacy.

“Sorry, man. We have an emergency.”

“What now?” Landen said, pulling his shirt on and handing me my shoes.

“Drake and Madison are M.I.A.”

“You’re joking!” I exclaimed, pulling on my hoodie, frantically searching the pockets for my lemon drops.

“I wish I was. Alamos went to make sure Drake was ready for some meeting he had, and he wasn’t there.”

We walked up behind him. Once Landen touched his shoulder, ensuring Brady we were decent, he turned to face us.

“It took me a while to get here. There are crazy surges of energy bolting through the string. You can feel it coming, but there is nothing you can do to avoid them. Dad thinks Xavier is trying to slow us down.”

“You have no idea where they are?” Landen asked.

“My job was to find you. Aden is at the palace. Others are gathering to search.”

“Where is Aden in the palace?”

“The study. Do you want me to get Draven?” he asked as Landen pulled me against him and reached his arm through Brady’s.

“What are you doing?” Brady asked, clearly not comfortable with being embraced.

“Hold on,” Landen said to him.

At that second, warm energy surrounded the three of us and the study came into view.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Brady said with wide eyes. “What the hell!” he said as he patted his chest, assuring himself that he was whole and in one place.

Landen ignored him. Aden was on the center couch. His eyes were focused but dark. Marc was pacing in front of him, already dressed like Drake, prepared to play role of a king.

“Well...?” Landen asked Marc.

Marc seemed caught off guard that we were already there. “I don’t think they were taken,” he answered. “Stella watched Chrispin leave with them and we fell asleep after that, assuming they would be back shortly.”

“They’re home,” I heard Aden say.

Landen was in front of him in the blink of an eye. “Where at home?”

“Her house,” he answered as green flooded his eyes and he focused on Landen.

Landen was staring deeply into him, clearly sharing a mass of silent information.

“I’ll get them,” Landen said to him.

“You see it?” Aden asked in a mystified tone.

“Yeah,” Landen said, focusing once more on him.

Perodine, followed by Austin and August, came in the study door at that moment.

“Mock whatever you have to. I’ll bring them back,” Landen ordered. He glanced at Brady. “Get Draven. If they’re going with us to Infante, we only have a few hours before we have to leave.” He walked back over to me. “Hold on,” he said under his breath as his arms tightened around my waist.

The warm rush surrounded me once more. Maybe it was because I’d only been awake for a few minutes, but it made me dizzy this time. When I felt the warm air leave, I leaned forward, bracing myself on my knees, fighting breathlessly for control.

“OK?” he asked, leaning down with me, caressing my face with is warm hands.

“Can we go back the regular way?” I asked with a gasp.

“It just felt like that because it was so far,” he assured me, sending a calm, humming sensation through his touch.

“Where are we?”

“Madison’s house.”

I stood up to find myself at the doorway to what looked like a bonus room. There was a large TV, over grown couches, and recliners. It was still dark here, peaceful. Only the glow of the muted TV lit the room. The only sounds were the short breaths of my panic, my tell that I was losing it. I reached for another lemon drop, then unfocused my eyes so I could see my energy. I had to make sure my gold shield was still in place.

It was, but I was no fool; there were cracks in it as well. I had no idea how much longer I could stand this internal battle. I yearned for a numb feeling, for peace and the right to feel what I wanted to when I wanted to.

Landen glanced forward into the dark room, then down the hall to the next doorway. “Chrispin and Olivia are behind that door. Wake them up.”

I didn’t get why he was sending me away, and I thought the worst, but then I realized that more than likely Drake and Madison were in each other’s arms, and he didn’t want me to see that.

I acted like I didn’t care and turned to find Olivia. I really don’t think I would care. It would just be eerie to see my image in his embrace. I knew it would surely mess with my subconscious, maybe even my control.

I knocked gently on the door I knew Chrispin was behind. When no one answered, I opened it. They were lying in the center of the bed. They’d changed out of the clothes they’d worn to the ball and were dressed like normal teens: jeans, T-shirts.