Diamond Sky (Love Lines Series) Page 12

  “And I really hope you know how to do that,” Evan said, following me downstairs.

  “I will try.”

  “Try your best, Eileen. I don’t want to be late for my date.”

  “You are having a date! With whom?”

  “No, I’m not telling you anything.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I want this date to take place tonight, and I don’t want any of you guys to ruin it.”

  “Why would we ruin it?”

  “No more questions, Eileen. I have a bad feeling about being in this illusion. Take us back to Dever. Now!”

  But I never did.

  Something heavy hit my back and I landed face down on the floor. My nose crunched.

  “Don’t move,” Evan whispered, and I realized that the something heavy was actually his body, pinning me to the cold surface of the tile.

  “You….”

  “And don’t say a word.” He closed my mouth with his hand. When I was about to kick him for everything he had done, I heard the sounds, coming from the living room: the clip-clopping against the wooden floor. Apparently our guest was a woman.

  “Cast the spell, Eileen,” Evan said quietly.

  “Get off me!” I hissed.

  “I can’t. If I move, we are dead.”

  I didn’t have a choice. So I whispered the words of the spell that was supposed to take us back to Dever and closed my eyes, hoping to get there as soon as possible.

  But nothing happened.

  “Just don’t tell me you’ve screwed up everything,” Evan said.

  “The spell isn’t working,” I whispered back.

  “Try again.”

  “Why don’t you help me?”

  “I don’t know the spell you are using! I thought you would use the one that took us back from Eric’s dream.”

  “But this one is much stronger!”

  “Then do something before anyone sees us!”

  “What if….”

  I never finished the sentence, because the spell that refused to obey just a minute ago, suddenly worked, and Evan and I sank into the darkness.

  When the fog around us disappeared, we found ourselves on the bank of the familiar lake. We were in Dever. And this time my landing wasn’t any different from the previous time. With the only exception — I wasn’t the only one to be hurt.

  Evan groaned, turning to his left side. “You seem to be truly in love with my butt, Honey. Because every time I’m trying to help you with anything, you tend to hit it as much as you can!”

  “Sorry about that,” I said, rising to my feet. “But we are here, and this is the only thing that matters.”

  “Yeah, right. Especially considering the fact that I never asked you to take me anywhere.”

  “And I didn’t take you anywhere. You followed me into the illusion, remember?”

  “Because I was the only one who knew how to do that! And you knew I would follow you, because I would never let you die!”

  “Okay, I knew you would follow me. And I actually wanted you to follow me. I needed your help.”

  “You always need my help.”

  “Not always!”

  Evan rolled his eyes, muttering something I couldn’t hear.

  I shook my head and headed for the gates.

  The moment we entered Evan’s room, I knew I was in big trouble. Christian looked at me angrily and left, shutting the door behind him. My father started shouting at me, reading me a lecture about the dangers I put myself into by being so silly. To make things worse, Evan told him about the stranger we almost ran into; about my bleeding shoulder and numerous scratches I got during our short trip.

  “You will never leave Dever without my permission, Eileen! Do you hear me?”

  “I do, and I’m sorry, Dad. But I didn’t have a choice! Let me show you something.”

  I came to Kevin, who seemed to be unconscious, and put a chain on his neck. The moment silver touched his skin, he gasped and sat up, trying to catch as much air as he could.

  “How do you feel?” I asked him.

  “What happened?” he asked in response.

  “Someone tried to manipulate your mind.”

  “The Dragons. They talked to me, trying to make me help them.”

  “Help them in what?” Evan asked.

  “They wanted me to bring some of them here. Through my mind.”

  “So we thought,” I said.

  “Where did you get this?” Kevin asked, touching the necklace.

  “We traveled to Paris,” Evan replied, smirking.

  “You what?”

  “Well, we used your mind to get into Evan’s house.”

  “Eileen’s trying to say that she has used you just the way the Dragons wanted to use you to get here.”

  I grimaced at his explanation. “Thanks, Evan. You always know how to make things easier.” Sometimes I wanted to kill him with my bare hands.

  “But unlike the Dragons, you’ve succeeded,” Kevin said, smiling slightly. “I guess I’m safe now.”

  “Yes, you are.” I nodded, smiling back.

  “Thank you,” he said, squeezing my hand.

  “Just for the record, I was there too,” Evan said.

  Kevin chuckled and shook his brother’s hand. “Thanks.”

  I turned to my father. His face was unreadable, but by the colors of his aura I could tell that he wasn’t angry anymore.

  “Dad, I’m sorry,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time already. He hugged me tightly.

  “No more tricks like this. Got it?” he said, looking into my eyes.

  “Got it.”

  “Good. Now, I think there’s one more person out there waiting for your apologies.”

  I sighed. I needed to talk to Christian, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Evan asked.

  “No, this time I need to do everything on my own.”

  “You sure? Call me if you need a back-up. And do something with your shoulder. The bleeding’s getting worse.”

  I forgot about my wound. I didn’t even feel the pain. Only fear. And I knew I had a reason to be nervous.

  Christian was going to kill me.

  Chapter 18. Breaking Up

  I was right. My boyfriend was furious. And though he didn’t say a word when I came to his room, I could feel his emotions.

  “Can we talk?” I asked, taking a seat next to him.

  He shut the book he was reading and looked at me, crossing his arms. “Do we still have anything to talk about?”

  My heart sank from the pain and anger I heard in his words.

  “We do,” I replied, swallowing. “I wanted to apologize.”

  “Uh, please, Eileen. Don’t start that again.” He rose and started pacing the room. I was watching him wordlessly. There were so many things I wanted to say. But he was right. I had already said them all. Many times.

  But still, I wanted to try to explain the reasons for my actions. “Can you hear me out at least?”

  Christian stopped in front of me, his hands on his hips. “Only if you want to say something I don’t know.”

  Okay. I took a deep breath. “Kevin is safe now.”

  “Good for him.” Christian wasn’t going to make it easy for me.

  “Evan and I found a chain that Tara gave him many years ago. It will protect him from those people who tried to control his mind.”

  Silence.

  “Listen, Christian … I know that you are upset.”

  “Upset?” He laughed aloud. “This is not the word, Eileen!” I had never seen him so angry. “Do you know how sick and tired I am of your stubbornness?! You are not the only person in the world who can help others. But you always seem to forget about that! You always want to save someone else, but you never think about your own safety.”

  “It’s not true.” Even my father’s anger felt easier to deal with than Christian’s.

  “It is true, Eileen. And I … I�
�m not sure I can stand it anymore.”

  “What are you saying?” A very bad feeling formed in my chest.

  “Every time you risk your life, you put everyone you love and care about in danger. Because every one of us will risk his life for you. Today it was Evan to follow you. Next time it can be Amanda, or Darcy, or any other person who’s not as experienced as Evan is. Who’s weaker than he is. Who will die, watching your stupid attempts to save the world. And if anything happens to you, I will never be able to forgive myself for losing you. I will live with that loss forever. And I don’t want any of that! If you want to die, go ahead! You don’t need my help to find another reason to put yourself in danger. You can do it pretty well on your own.” He turned around and walked to the door.

  “Are you breaking up with me?”

  “No, Eileen. I’m giving you carte blanch for everything you want to do.” Then he opened the door and left. Just like that.

  I sat on a couch and stared at the clock on the opposite wall. It was almost midnight. Where did Christian go? Was he going to come back to his room? What was I supposed to do now? And why the hell had his words sounded so right?!

  Tears burned my eyes. But I never let them flow. There was no way Christian and I could break up. We were bound, and we both knew that we would never be able to be apart. But he wasn’t there with me now. And I didn’t know what to do to right the wrong.

  I fell asleep around two in the morning, but Christian never came back. Nightmares had been torturing me till the morning, and in every one of them I heard the sound of the door, shutting loudly behind Christian. I woke up a few times, hoping to see him, sleeping on the couch. But when the dawn came, I realized I was still alone.

  Someone knocked at the door. I went to open it and saw a white envelope, left on the threshold. There was no one in the hall. I returned to the room and started reading the letter, written in the very beautiful handwriting of the only man I ever loved.

  “I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what else to say. I think we need some time to think about what has happened. I never thought I would say it, but I need a few days to be alone. I’m going to Gloster. Tara let me stay at her place. I’ll be back on Evan’s birthday. Take care. C.”

  Not a word about love….

  I put the letter on the coffee table and hid my face in my hands. I couldn’t pretend anymore. I was broken; tears rolled down my cheeks.

  I never expected this moment to come. The moment when I had to face the consequences of being so impossibly assertive. I always thought that being strong and able to make decisions on my own was good. But not today. Today I finally realized that I was just a girl, who needed love and protection that no magic could replace. I needed to let people take care about me. I needed to stop trying to control everything.

  When did it happen? When did my life turn upside down, turning me into a robot who was programmed to fight and win? When did I lose a fragile part of my soul? It wasn’t made of iron after all. I knew it. But I needed to find it under the shell I hid it just in case someone would steal it together with my powers.

  My powers … I laughed through the tears. This is what they gave me: pain and a broken heart.

  Could people live with a broken heart? Of course they could. But I couldn’t. Because Christian was my heart. And he was gone. And there was only one way to survive — I needed him back.

  I was just about to leave the room, when I felt the vibrations outside my door.

  “Will? What are you doing here?”

  “Just wanted to know how our prisoner was doing.”

  “I’m not a prisoner anymore.” I smiled sadly.

  “You don’t sound happy about that.”

  “Maybe because happiness is the last thing I can feel now.” “What happened?”

  “Why don’t you come inside? I’m sure no one will kick you out of here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I closed the door behind Will, and asked if he wanted some coffee. It was the only thing that could make me feel any better that morning.

  “Have you ever been to the local horse barn?”

  I raised my eyebrows, surprised. It wasn’t the usual question I expected to hear from someone like Will. “Yes, I’ve been there a few times, why? You want to take a ride?”

  “Yep, I don’t know what else to do here. I can’t wait for the classes to start.”

  “Wow, I wish someone else could hear you now. I’m pretty sure you are the only student dreaming about that.” I handed him a cup and took a sip of my own drink.

  “Would you like to join me for a ride?”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” And it sure as hell wouldn’t help me to sort out things with Christian. Not that I was going to tell Will about our quarrel.

  “Okay, no worries. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me. Horses always bring peace.”

  “I wish everything was so simple.”

  “It is simple, Eileen. Don’t complicate things.”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what William meant by that, but I never got a chance to ask. Because Amanda burst through the door.

  “He went on a date with Darcy!”

  “Excuse me?” I asked my friend. She seemed to be too busy dealing with her anger, because she didn’t notice Will, standing just a few steps away from her.

  “Last night Evan went on a date with Darcy!”

  “He did what?” Yes, there was a moment when I thought it could be Darcy he wanted to ask out, but I never thought that my assumption was correct.

  “You heard me.” Amanda crossed her arms and sat on a couch. “He will ruin everything!”

  “I’m sorry, Dear. But I don’t understand why you are so angry. What’s wrong with him and Darcy dating?”

  Will chuckled behind my back, but Amanda didn’t pay any attention to him.

  “Don’t be so silly, Eileen! He will break her heart, and she will leave Dever, and we will never see her again! But she’s our friend! I don’t want her to leave us because of Evan!”

  “Wait. Who says he’s going to break her heart?”

  “Uh, come on! You know him even better than I do!”

  “Did you read something in his mind?”

  “No.” Amanda lowered her head.

  “Then what’s the panic about?”

  “Darcy loves him.”

  I looked at Will who was still standing there, leaning against my table. He didn’t say a word.

  “How do you know that?” I asked Amanda.

  “She told me. God, she was so excited about that stupid date! She couldn’t stop talking about Evan. And I couldn’t read anything in his mind, because the smart-ass learned how to block me!” Well, that was probably the only good news. “Please, Eileen, talk to him! Tell him not to hurt Darcy, please!”

  “Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

  Amanda hugged me, smiling slightly. “You are the only person who can stop him from making a huge mistake.”

  Personally I didn’t think that dating Darcy was a mistake. But I decided to keep my opinion to myself. Amanda wasn’t ready to hear that.

  “Why were you so moody this morning?” she suddenly asked.

  I looked at Will again. I didn’t want to discuss my relationship with Christian in his presence.

  “Why don’t we talk about it later?”

  “Okay. See you at breakfast.”

  I nodded, and my friend left.

  “What a temper,” Will said, smirking.

  “You didn’t say a word to each other. What happened between you two?”

  “Nothing. Apparently your friend woke up at the wrong side of the bed. Okay, never mind. I’d better go and find that horse barn. You sure you don’t want to go with me?”

  “Maybe next time.”

  Will shrugged and left, closing the door behind him.

  My thoughts switched back to Christian. First I wanted to call him, but then my eyes found th
e letter, left on the coffee table, and I changed my mind. He needs some time alone? Fine, I will give him that time.

  I took a shower, got dressed and went to the dining room, where Amanda and Tara had already been waiting for me.

  “Morning,” I said, taking a seat facing them. Both pairs of eyes stared at me. “What? Do I have toothpaste on my face?”

  “Did you know that Christian left?” Amanda asked.

  Tara smiled guiltily. “Sorry, she made me tell her what happened last night. And there was no way I could lie, because he called her, saying he was leaving Dever for a few days.”

  “I see.” I sighed. “Well, he … kind of broke up with me.” No matter how hard I tried to reassure myself that everything was going to be okay between us, my last words hurt like hell.

  “What do you mean kind of broke up with you?”

  I was sure Amanda had already planned her nephews’ birthdays, so I knew she wouldn’t let it ago.

  “He said he’s tired of my constant escapes and stupid attempts to save everyone in this world.”

  “He’s right,” Tara said. “You risk your life too much, Eileen. If you stop at least for a second and look around, you will see how many people you hurt, trying to be independent and strong. But you are just a girl. Powerful, but not almighty and not immortal. You don’t have to do everything on your own. It’s not your fault that you are so gifted. But trust me, the greatest gift you have is the love that Christian and you share. And nothing and no one will ever make you happier than this. Give him as much time as he needs, but don’t give up. Fight for what you have. I’m sure it’s not the end.”

  “You can’t even imagine how much I wish you were right,” I said, sighing.

  Chapter 19. Revenge

  When the third day of my pointless existence started, I realized that I needed to do something to change the situation. Christian never called, but Amanda told me that he was okay.

  I didn’t like the word ‘okay’. It could mean anything, from ‘okay with being alone’ to ‘okay to keep drinking’. Neither of the variants was acceptable.

  “He said he would come back on Evan’s birthday,” Amanda said. “Don’t rush things; give him some time to realize his mistake.”