Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(99)

"We could talk here," he said in a husky voice.

She rolled her eyes. "Nice try."

He laughed. Then he pulled up the sheet and glanced beneath it. "At least they don't have smiley faces on them," he said, referring to the time she'd dressed him in another dreamscape.

She concentrated and moved the dream to behind the office where they often went to talk.

He looked around, and then back at her. The night was dark; only a few stars brightened the sky. "I think I liked the lake dream better," he said, talking about the dreamscape they'd shared of them skinnydipping.

Reaching out, he caught her shoulders and pulled her against him. His chest was so warm. So inviting.

She would have loved to stay there. To explore all the things she wanted to explore between them. But not yet.

"Behave," she said, and pulled loose.

His smiled faded. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Well, yes, it's wrong. Everything's wrong." She inhaled. "You have to get on that Council, Lucas."

"I'm not marrying Monique," he growled.

"Not by marrying Monique. You have to find another way."

"I need my father to vouch for me, Kylie. He's not going to do that now."

She gritted her teeth. "Talk to him. You said he's protective of you. He obviously cares. Maybe if you -"

"You don't know him," he said.Fury rose in her chest. "Then find another way. Find someone else to vouch for you. Or talk to the Council yourself. You've told me all the young people want change. Make the elders see this. They were young once. Can't you make them remember what it was like? I mean ... who was it that said if the door is locked, find a window. If the window's locked, well ... break it. If it won't break then find a freaking sledgehammer and make a new one."

He shook his head. "You don't how they are."

"Yes, I do! The elders of the chameleons are just like your elders. They want to arrange marriages and tell all the young chameleons what to do. I don't know how I'm going to change things, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to try."

"It's not the same," he said, as if taking offense to her accusation.

"Maybe it's not exactly the same. But you're still giving up."

"I'm not giving up on us," he said. "That's what matters."

She shook her head. "But you are giving up on us. If you don't get on the Council, Lucas, there is no us."

"You don't mean that!" he said, his anger thickening in his voice.

"Don't think I want it," she said. "But I know if you lose who you are and all you ever wanted, you will resent me for it. Maybe not now, but someday you will. And I can't go into this knowing that you'll hate me someday. I can't."

In a flash, Kylie ended the dreamscape and shot up in her bed. Then she cried herself asleep. But right before she did, she heard her father one more time.

Soon. Soon we will be together.

She couldn't help but wonder if, when she was dead, would she still ache for Lucas?

* * *

The next morning, Kylie, running on only an hour of sleep, stood with the crowd waiting for Chris to do his dog and pony show and get Campmate hour under way. Perry, her official morning shadow, stood beside her, with Miranda leaning against him. Della had a vampire meeting and was going to miss out.

Lucas wasn't here. But she'd gotten a text from him that read: I think I found a window. Hope gave her energy. Energy to reminisce over how good Lucas had looked in the bed last night and how tempted she'd been to curl up with him and let things just happen. Pushing the sexy were from her mind, she searched for something else to think about-like figuring out how to proceed with Lucinda, who was standing in the crowd as if she belonged but wasn't speaking to Kylie. Was Kylie's fighting Mario honestly what the spirit needed Kylie to do to pass over? Pass over to hell?

It was one thing to encourage the souls destined for the pearly gates to leave their lonely existence on earth and move on. But how could she encourage someone to head off to hell?

Kylie shivered at the thought.

"You're quiet," Miranda said. "Everything okay?"

Kylie nodded and spotted Derek moving into the crowd. Her thoughts shot to Jenny and how she was going to deal with that. Her gut told her the right thing to do was to confront Hayden.

She knew Jenny was frightened he would insist she return home, but Kylie wasn't so sure Hayden would do that.The chatter in the circle of students quieted. Kylie looked up. Chris moved into the front of the crowd, drawing Kylie's attention from her own woes. "Today we have..." He looked down into his hat and then glanced up. Up right at Kylie.

Oh, hell, Kylie thought, who was it this time?

"Kylie Galen." Chris smiled. "The girl who happens to be the person who has brought us more blood than any camper in the past." He hesitated. "You, my friend, get the pleasure of..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Of Steve's company."

Kylie saw Steve, the shape-shifter with the cute ass, the one who'd given Della a hickey, start strolling over. Not for one minute did Kylie assume Steve had an interest in her. She knew he was merely looking for some romantic advice.

Advice Kylie didn't have. What the hell could she tell him? Her normal reply to someone trying to gain someone's attention was to be patient. But Della was the most adamant and stubborn person Kylie knew and it would take the patience of a saint to wear the vampire down.