Imperial (Insight #8)(42)

That was the hall I found Vade. It was the only one that had a spring at the end and on each side. When you stepped down it, a wall behind you would form. You could literally stand in the center and watch all of your creation bloom.

I couldn’t clearly see what he was gazing at through the mass of souls that the springs were producing, but it didn’t matter anyway; the second he sensed me, the water he was gazing at turned black as he turned to face me.

“You called?” I said, raising one brow, ensuring that each step I took reflected the power and supremacy that I had used around him for quite some time.

“I was thinking of you. Did you sense that?” he asked as his eyes slowly moved across me.

I was a bit relieved by that. I’d thought he’d heard how insubordinate Silas had been and I was about to get one of his carefully plotted lessons on how to control and lead my line.

“Must have been some powerful thoughts...your energy moved the air, and your scent was intense.”

The boyish smile I adored so much consumed his alluring image as I reached his side and his powerful hands gripped my waist and he leaned his forehead against mine. “They were of our past…and the future I ache for.”

“Do tell,” I whispered, falling into the gentle sway his hands were guiding me into. I hoped that the Creator had released His words, that Vade was finding the strength to finally tell me what secrets he was protecting.

“I’d rather show you,” he murmured.

At that moment, his regal suit vanished. Now, dark stone washed jeans that hung just right off his hips dressed him, along with a deep crimson shirt. My clothes had changed, too. Now I was wearing a simple summer dress; the blue was so deep that it was nearly as black as the sandals on my feet.

I took in a sharp breath as I remembered the last time I’d worn this.

In the next instant, I was sitting in the passenger seat of a 1967 Chevy Impala. It was painted a deep red and had black flames across the hood, a hood that had the powerful motor protruding out of it.

Vade was in the driver’s seat, sinfully smiling at me. When he turned the key, the roar of the engine vibrated the seat I was on and sent a shocking hum through my core, followed by an addictive rush of adrenaline.

It was dark outside, and a long, straight road was in front of us. He hit the gas, and the engine not only obeyed the command but also roared in agreement, as we thrust forward.

This was one of our firsts.

I had lived a very sheltered and abused life before Vade and the Creator had come for me. And even though the Creator had spent a great deal of time with me, I was still childlike. I was constantly tense and tried aimlessly to be everything both Vade and the Creator thought I was. I tried to hide the timid girl that knew without a doubt that she would wake from the dream I was in and find myself in my mother’s hell.

Any other king would have expected me to come to his side and take in his lessons and move forward with the undeserved role I was chosen to play.

But Vade was not any other king. He asked me very tenderly if he could hold me through all my firsts. I thought he wanted us to consummate our relationship, that he was gracefully asking if he could touch me. Timidly, I offered him a shy nod as I kept my eyes down, but consummation was not what he was speaking of, at least not at our beginning.

Instead, he asked me to meet him at dusk, to wear something that made me feel comfortable, that it was warm where we were going.

This simple dress on me was the only thing I could manage to manifest back then. I’d never worn anything more than rags, dirty ones at that, and I had no idea how to dress for a first anything with a king. I hoped against all hope that the dress I’d chosen was not only sensual, but also managed to capitalize on my youth and inexperience.

Vade told me I was breathtaking, and I thought the same of him. I thought that in those jeans of his he looked younger, more approachable and most definitely more playful.

I didn’t even know what a car was and was apprehensive when he opened the door for me and shut me in. I was relieved when he climbed in but still didn’t understand what we were doing. “This car is a powerful one, one that makes me feel free when I drive it,” he’d said gently to me as he turned the key and the engine roared to life. I jumped back in my seat as my soul pulsed out of control.

I will never forget that smile on his face, the wonder in his eyes when he gazed at me. “You make me appreciate everything when you let me stand at your side,” he’d said when he leaned over me and my skin blushed. He held my stare as he carefully strapped the belt around me. “You do not need this in the form you are in now, but I want you to feel safe.” I nodded nervously, still not understanding how this had anything to do with what I thought he had planned for that night.

That night, and several after it, all we did was go on wild joy rides. The windows were down, letting in the balmy summer air, and enticing music was blaring through the speakers in sync with the song of nature in the tall fields that framed the road we always traveled on. I could still remember the spike of fever he gave me when he gently reached to hold my hand for the first time. It was so innocent, yet sensual.

Tonight, though, time stood between us. Nights that had not only consummated our rush but capitalized on it were between us. So sitting here now, I shouldn’t feel like the timid girl I was then. I shouldn’t feel these butterflies in my core. But I did. I suppose the memory was strong enough to pull me back.