Evanescent - By Addison Moore Page 0,86
that last part for my benefit.
“You’re going to be powerful after our visit, Laken.” The muscles in his jaw pop as if he means business. “This place, it’s called the Tenebrous Woods. It’s where the Countenance holds its prisoners of war.” He shoots a nervous glance behind me. “Laken, the only way to get this power is to take it from them physically.”
I stare at Wes a very long time. I’m boarding up the windows and doors to my thoughts, so he’ll never get inside and see what a monster my eyes convey to me at this very moment.
“What will this power do for me? What in the hell kind of benefit will it ever yield?”
“You could read thoughts.” He rattles my hand as if he’s calling me out on it. “The Celestra that reside in the tunnels are far more potent than the Celestra running around up here. They’re a select group. The ones with heavily infused blood are usually captured for breeding.”
A chill races up my spine and sends every hair on my body standing at attention.
“So mindreading? That’s the power?” Honestly, I have no clue how beneficial it really is. Overall it seems impractical, something more of a dime store novelty trick. “I remember you telling me they could time travel.”
“You remember.” He blows it out with a smile of relief. Wes is thrilled that I’m receptive to this on some level. “If you and I both take this power, we could travel through time together. One of us isn’t enough. One of us could get us there, and the other could get us back. I could never do it alone, Laken, but with you—together we’re the perfect team.”
“The perfect team.” I wrap my arms around him, careful not to touch his skin. I’m not sure if we’re the perfect team anymore. Coop has already taken his place, so efficiently. I would have never guessed that Wes and I could ever grow apart, and here we are so physically close and yet miles away in every other capacity.
Maybe our love had its chance, and we lost, or maybe I’m just not trying hard enough. Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure puncturing my teeth into an imprisoned stranger isn’t going to bring us closer as a couple. I’m almost certain it’s going to move us the hell away from each other pretty damn quick. I can see now the spiritual terrain on which we’ve arrived for what it is—a landslide. I’m not sure we’re ever going to recover. And with Wesley’s strange enthusiasm for all things wicked, I’m not sure I want to.
“Mindreading and time travel,” I whisper it low. “I’m going to have these abilities after this?”
“You will. Don’t be afraid. There’s blood involved. You need to take it in to get it to work on a cellular level, but you don’t need a lot.” Wesley holds me out by the shoulders, looking remorseful over this very thing. I knew Wes wasn’t a monster. He knows deep down inside it’s wrong to do this. “It’s not just the mindreading and time travel, Laken, there’s one other thing. It’s a power that the Celestra haven’t even discovered yet.”
My chest thumps wild at what this might be.
“What is it, Wes?” My breath plumes around us in thick, silver feathers.
He digs a proud smile deep into his cheek.
“I won’t tell you. I’ll show you one day soon. But right now, I want to take you to Tenebrous.” Wes crashes his lips against mine and starts in on the most aggressive erotic kiss I have ever known.
The ground melts under my feet. My lids flutter as an unnatural heat surrounds us.
Wes and I are falling down a never-ending tornado of fire.
We’re off to the Tenebrous Woods, and nothing will ever be the same.
A deep welt of purple opens in an arid expanse beneath our feet. Twisted branches claw from below, luring us in like crooked fingers.
The ground comes up quickly, and Wes tightens his grip around my waist. We land with a thump, with him breathing into my neck like he was trying to syphon oxygen from my body.
“Are you all right?” He pulls back and takes me in, his eyes wild with panic as if there’s a good chance I’m anything but that.
A breath escapes me in lieu of an answer as I try to absorb this new horror. A sky of crushed amethyst, a night so thick you could inhale it. You could feel it becoming a part of