Crimson Dahlia (Book #3 of the Svatura Series) Read online

He gave her a wan smile, and Lila narrowed her eyes. “The others?”

  “He didn’t take anyone after you, so all of us who were left got out. But we didn’t find anyone he’d already taken except you.”

  Lila’s eyes clouded with concern. “We’ll find them,” she assured him.

  Marcus nodded. “I’ll be talking with Selene and the High Council about it today.”

  “Good.” Lila turned back to her overstuffed suitcase. “She has some people she needs to find, too. Pool your resources.”

  “That’s the plan,” Marcus said. “Where are you going?”

  Lila sat on top of the case and managed to get it zipped up. “Apparently Maddox is after me for a specific reason.”

  “What reason?” He helped her pull the suitcase off the bed.

  “Not sure of why exactly, just that he wants me.”

  “So you’re leaving?”

  Lila shrugged. “People have been disappearing from the castle. And now that Maddox has Sheila, the Vyusher’s tracker, Selene thinks I’ll be safer somewhere else.”

  “On your own?” Marcus frowned.

  Lila reached out and squeezed his hand, touched at his concern. “Ramsey’s coming with me.”

  Marcus’s eyebrows shot up. “The guy you casually dropped into the conversation a hundred times a day when you first came to live with us?”

  Lila crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a steely glare. Marcus held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Not up for discussion, I see.”

  “Nope.”

  “When do you leave?”

  Lila glanced at the clock. “About five more minutes. Charlotte and Ramsey should be here any second.”

  “Well… give me a hug. And once we’re done with this mess and you can come out of hiding, don’t be a stranger.”

  Lila gave him a giant bearhug. She would miss him.

  “Ahem.”

  Lila looked up and saw Ramsey watching them. She tried to step back from Marcus, but he held on tightly. “I’ll miss you, peanut,” he said. And then leaned down and kissed her right on the lips.

  Before Lila could ask him what the hell that was about, Marcus pulled her in for another hug and whispered in her ear, “Maybe that’ll give him something to think about.”

  Lila choked back a laugh. “You goofball,” she whispered back.

  With a nod to Ramsey, Marcus left the room.

  “I didn’t realize you and Marcus had gotten so close,” Ramsey said. Lila blinked. Could that be jealousy in his voice?

  She turned away and grabbed her suitcase. “You ready to go?”

  “You didn’t tell him where we’re going, did you?”

  Lila rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”

  “Cause it looked like you would’ve told him something at least,” Ramsey continued.

  “I know the deal, Ramsey. Only family knows where we’ll be.”

  “Are you s—”

  Lila’s glare cut him off. He held up his hands much like Marcus had only a moment ago. What was it with everyone today?

  “Okay, I believe you,” he muttered.

  “You ready?” Charlotte asked as she entered the room.

  “Ready as we’ll ever be,” Lila mumbled. Holding her suitcase in one hand, she took Charlotte’s hand in the other. Ramsey did the same, and suddenly they were standing in front of a little house.

  “Wow,” Lila breathed as she took in her surroundings.

  The house, more a cottage really, was charming in the way that so many English cottages were, with grey stone and a slanting roof. Lila couldn’t wait to snuggle down inside with a warm fire crackling in the fireplace. But it was the location that was truly incredible.

  “Where are we again?” Ramsey asked. Lila could tell he was as impressed by the views as she was.

  “In the Lake District in northwest England,” she said.

  “I wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o'er vales and hills…” Ramsey murmured.

  Lila shifted her gaze from the gorgeous view to stare at him incredulously, eyebrows raised.

  Ramsey gave her a sideways glance. “What? Wordsworth got it right when he wrote about this place.… Don’t you think?”

  Stunned, Lila turned her attention back to the view. “You never cease to surprise me. But, yes. He got it right.”

  Their new home was situated on a hill overlooking a valley. The topography rose, craggy and tall, into a mountain up behind it. In front the land fell away into a lush green valley with a deep blue lake. Here and there, sweet little homes and cottages, similar to theirs, dotted the landscape.

  I could get used this, Lila thought. With a deeply satisfied sigh, she turned to Charlotte and gave her a hug goodbye. She grabbed her suitcase and dragged it across the gravel road and paused at the little stone fence surrounding her new home.

  “Let’s go, Ramsey,” she called over her shoulder. She made it through the gate and up the walkway and then unlocked the front door with the keys Ellie had given her

  “Seriously could get used to this,” she muttered happily.

  The inside was quaint but homey with wooden beams and floors throughout. A little spiral staircase obviously led up to the bedrooms. To the left was a sitting area with comfy furniture and an entire wall lined with bookshelves full to the brim. Next to it was a cozy fireplace and a big screen TV. To the right was a kitchen with all the modern conveniences a person could want. It was a home one could come to every evening after a long day and just relax in tranquil bliss.

  “Man, those Aubreys know how to pick their locations,” Ramsey said as he came inside.

  Lila just nodded.

  “Here,” Ramsey grabbed both their suitcases. “I’ll take this up for you.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she followed him up the stairway. The ceiling was so low in the stairwell that Ramsey had to duck his head.

  Lila giggled. “Watch out for that in the middle of the night.”

  “Seriously,” he muttered.

  He dropped Lila’s case off in Ellie’s room and then left to get settled in Griffin’s room next door.

  Lila flopped back on the bed. “Ah,” she sighed as she sank into the plush bedding. She could hear Ramsey moving around in the room next door.

  Oh dear. I’m going to be able to hear every time he moves. How am I supposed to ignore him when he’s just on the other side of the wall every single night for the unforeseeable future?

  Lila shook her head. She forced herself up and began unpacking.

  Chapter 22

  “Hey, Delia,” Nate said as he plunked down beside her on the couch.

  Adelaide was sitting in one of the common rooms where the Vyusher hung out. She’d kind of hoped all the hustle and bustle would help her feel a little less lonely as she worked on a paper for her American Literature class. At least, she was supposed to be working on the paper. In reality she was staring blankly at her laptop while she worried about Lila… and her own newest power… and Maddox…and, well, lots of stuff.

  “Hi,” she said with small smile for her te’sorthene.

  Nate leaned over and gave her a quick kiss and then slouched back against the cushions. “You okay?”

  “Worried. Nothing new,” she answered.

  Nate nodded. “Dexter filled me in on everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Talia’s just such a lost kid right now.”

  “I understand,” Adelaide said.

  Although part of her really didn’t understand. Part of her was royally pissed that Nate had chosen to stay with a relative stranger at a time when Adelaide had truly needed him. But Nate had always supported her. He had never, ever let her down like that. So if he hadn’t shown up, it was for a good reason.

  Right?

  “Come’ere you,” Nate said. Adelaide scooted over and snuggled into his waiting arms. He rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there. Tell me about it?”

  “You already know,” she grumbled.


  “But not from your side.”

  Adelaide was quiet for a little bit. And Nate, who knew her better than anyone, just held her. She glanced around the crowded room, but no one was paying them any attention.

  After a little sigh, she finally spoke. “Maddox is after Lila.”

  Nate stiffened. “What does that mean?”

  “We don’t know yet. He visited her in a dream and tried to talk her into going to him.”

  “So she and Ramsey are off hiding?” he asked.

  Adelaide nodded glumly. “I barely got to talk to her, and she’s already gone.”

  “I’m sorry, babe.” Nate brushed a soothing hand over her hair. “So… where are they staying?”

  Adelaide hesitated. And she had never, ever hesitated sharing anything with Nate before. Ever. But something about the way he’d asked that felt off to her. Too casual… but not casual enough.

  So she just shrugged and, for the first time in their relationship, only told part of the truth. “They’re keeping it a secret for now. Ellie knows. And Selene.”

  “Oh.” Nate nodded. After a moment he added, “Anything else you want to talk about?”

  Adelaide sighed again. “Yeah… I can hear people’s thoughts.”

  Nate rubbed her arm. “Dexter told me. Was it scary?”

  Adelaide thought about that a moment. “It was loud. It happened when Selene was in the middle of defending her relationship with Griffin to the Vyusher. There was a lot of shouting. And then suddenly it was all in my head.”

  “Can you hear me now?”

  Adelaide shook her head. “It comes and goes. Griffin said it would do that for a while. Ellie showed me how to control it a little when it comes back on.”

  “Good. How are you holding up?”

  Adelaide rubbed a hand over her eyes. “I don’t know, really. I’m terrified for Lila. And we don’t know why this power suddenly cropped up.”

  “I heard Lila has a theory on that one,” Nate said.

  “Yeah. We’re going to talk to her tomorrow.”

  Adelaide hiccupped, and then the tears started in earnest. She buried her face in Nate’s shoulder so no one else in the room could see. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly and stroked her hair until she calmed down.

  When she finally lifted her face, Nate dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I should get back to Talia.”

  Adelaide sat straight up. “Are you kidding me?” she snapped.

  Nate looked surprised. “She needs me. I thought you understood that. It’s scary without any memory and being so overwhelmed by the emotions she can feel from everyone.”

  Adelaide hopped up and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Yeah. No kidding, Nate. Kinda like when voices suddenly started shouting in my head?”

  Nate’s lips thinned as he too stood up. “But you have your parents and Charlotte and Dexter, Griffin and Ellie… Talia doesn’t have anyone. She’ll only talk to me.”

  “I think she could wait just one night,” Adelaide insisted as she turned away from him.

  Nate grabbed her arm and spun her back to face him. The accusation reflected in his dark eyes made Adelaide pause. “You’re usually not this selfish. Why are you acting like this?” he said.

  Tears welled in Adelaide’s eyes. “I’d say the same to you.”

  And then Adelaide did something that she never did with Nate. She turned her ability to see relationships on him.

  A rush of relief shot through her. Their te’sorthene bond was still there.

  She could also see his bond with Talia, too. Adelaide frowned. She’d never seen a relationship line quite like it. Thin and a glittery gold color. She wasn’t really sure what it represented.

  But Nate was still her own te’sorthene. That hadn’t changed. And that’s what mattered most. Adelaide quickly turned the power back off and decided to give Nate some credit. Maybe Talia was just that needy. And maybe I’m just a jealous person. Self-doubt crept in.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I trust you to do what’s best. I just… I could’ve used a little time with you tonight. I feel as if I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  Nate gave her a sheepish smile and sat back down beside her. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. You’ve been through so much in just a few days. Of course, I’ll stay here with you.”

  “No really,” Adelaide insisted. “I’ll be fine. It would be boring for you anyway, watching me work on my paper. Just having you here now is enough.”

  “Well… only if you’re sure.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’m sure.”

  Nate leaned over her and planted a kiss on her lips. With a tender hand he dried the remaining tears on her face. “Okay. I’ll see you later, baby. Love ya.”

  “Back atchya.”

  Adelaide’s grin faded she watched Nate leave the room without a second glance.

  Chapter 23

  “Morning, sunshine,” Lila grinned as Ramsey shuffled into the kitchen.

  “How long have you been up?” he asked in a scratchy voice as he reached for the coffee pot.

  “A while.”

  Ramsey just grunted.

  She hadn’t slept well all night actually. Not that she’d tell him that. Every sound that came from his room had her wide awake. She’d given up around three a.m. and had come downstairs to read a novel.

  “I’ve got the new Ultrabook Selene gave us up and running with all the extra security stuff working. We should be good to go for our video conference this morning.”

  Ramsey buried his face in his coffee cup and just nodded.

  Lila raised an eyebrow. She was usually the grump in the morning. Ramsey was usually his version of cheerful.

  “You okay?” she asked, but only received a shrug as a reply. She’d expected nothing less.

  Before long it was time for their call.

  “Can you see us?” Lila asked, as she waved her hand back and forth in front of the camera.

  “Yup. We’ve got you,” Selene’s voice came across loud and clear. On the screen, the entire family appeared in what looked like a conference room.

  Lila spotted her sister. “How are you feelin’, Delia?”

  Adelaide smiled. “Much better now. Griffin and Ellie gave me a crash course in controlling telepathy so that I only hear things when I want to. It still comes and goes. Apparently Griffin had months of those voices in his head before he figured it out.”

  Griffin shrugged sheepishly.

  “So you have a theory about why Adelaide now has telepathy?” Ellie asked, getting straight to the point.

  “Oh! Yeah… I have a couple of things to run by you guys actually. For that one… you remember when we all helped Selene heal that scarred part inside her and all of our colors got tangled up?”

  “Wait, what?” Griffin asked.

  Selene took his hand. “Because of all those years of suppression under Gideon, Lila could see what was sort of like a scar on my soul. The four of us worked together to fix it, but when we did, all of our powers sort of… tangled up. You know how Ellie and I see colors for people’s powers? I see it when I’m trying to turn off their powers, and she sees it when she’s taking over their power?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, all of our colors twisted up inside me.”

  “We got all that unraveled though,” Ellie said.

  Lila stood and paced a bit. “But what if we each ended up with a little something from the others inside us? It would explain my sudden power over dreams like Selene. And Adelaide’s sudden telepathy, like Ellie. Only I guess she doesn’t have to tap into Griffin for it. Not sure how that works.”

  Everyone was quiet for a few moments, lost in thought.

  “Griffin, have you felt Adelaide drawing on your telepathy?” Hugh asked.

  Griffin shook his head.

  Dexter pushed his face in front of the camera. “What made you think of this?”

  “I think the reas
on Selene was able to pull me out of my stasis was because I got her dream control. Hard to explain, but I think I was able to help out from the inside. Sort of,” Lila explained.

  Adelaide’s bounced a little in her seat. “How great would that be if we all shared each other’s abilities?”

  “Very cool if we can handle all that power,” Lila agreed. “One thing still bothers me, though. We still can’t explain that pulse of energy or whatever it was that came out of me when Maddox attacked last year.”

  “Yeah. None of us has anything remotely like that as an ability,” Ellie said. She frowned, thinking.

  Lila glanced at a stoic Ramsey. “It happened again the other night,” she murmured.

  “What? When? What happened?” Adelaide asked.

  Lila peeped again at Ramsey, who raised his eyebrows like ‘you brought it up’.

  “Well… it was the night we were in the woods. I was… irritated with Ramsey—”

  “What about?” Ellie asked.

  Lila just shrugged. “The usual stuff… Anyway. I meant to send a pulse of calm at him, and instead a pulse of power sort of…” She wrinkled her nose.

  “Sort of what?” Alex asked.

  “Sort of felled a tree,” Ramsey said dryly.

  The entire room burst out laughing. “I would really love to have seen his expression when that happened,” Adelaide giggled.

  Lila grinned.

  “So what did it feel like?” Ellie asked, once they’d all sobered.

  “Like static electricity all in and under my skin that gathered in my core and then blasted away from me,” Lila said.

  “No idea what that’s about. For the powers mix up.” Ellie looked at Selene. “I can only see our own individual colors inside our lights right now. What about you?”

  Selene frowned. “You’d have to be using your powers for me to see it.” She looked at Adelaide who obliged. Selene watched her for a moment. “Your yellow light is shining, so I’m guessing you’re using one of your original abilities?” Adelaide nodded. “And now there are traces of purple in there.”

  “I tried to add the telepathy,” Adelaide confirmed. “Though not very well.”

  “I see it too,” Ellie agreed. “I wonder if all of us will end up with something a little more.”