Silver - By Kailin Gow Page 0,58

to wear not only jeans, but black jeans that seemed to have seen their share of battle.

Instead of a shirt, he wore a dark leather tunic that added to his mystique and aura of danger.

I was drawn to him in a way I’d never thought possible. It was magnetic. I felt my heart quicken and my pulse race. He was like a warrior straight out of those romantic fantasy novels I’d heard about. Extremely handsome, a bit exotic with his tan skin and jet-black hair.

But his sapphire eyes held mine in a gaze that spoke lifetimes.

Kama, the desired one.

My fork stopped midway to my mouth. I froze as the strange and dark voice entered my mind. I glanced at Sarah. Happily chomping on her burger, she had not heard a thing.

Glancing sidelong at Liam, I could see he had not heard anything either.

I have found you, yet again…

What? Me? Who are you? What is this? Where was that voice coming from?

Him.

I forced the coleslaw into my mouth before the others noticed my sudden odd behavior, but I almost choked on it.

When I final y managed to swal ow it down, I turned to Liam.

“I think I just saw Tula across the street,” I said as I laid down my fork and prepared to rise. “I owe her two dol ars, so I’l run out to give it back to her.”

He stood, and while he looked completely perplexed by my sudden need to leave the diner, he said nothing.

I hurried out and headed in the direction of the mysterious man with raven hair. Breathless before I even began to run across the street, I felt an urgent need to meet this man. But I could see before hitting the curb that he’d already disappeared.

My disappointment surprised me, as if I’d missed something important, something that could change my life.

My heart felt heavy as I looked up and down the street.

There wasn’t even a trace of him until I arrived at the very spot I’d seen him.

A perfect deep purple orchid. It had to come from him. No orchid of such color grew in Arcadia. It was the only proof I was not completely going nuts. He had been here. I had seen him. This mysterious man with the burning blue eyes was here and knew my name. Who was he?

Chapter 1

There was something rather self-indulgent about passing out invitations to my own birthday party, so I let Sarah do most of the talking and handing out as we strol ed through the school hal s. She was great at getting people together and she had a way of making any event seem grand.

“Here you go, Heidi. This is a special invitation to Kama’s eighteenth birthday. Liam was nice enough to al ow us to throw this great bash at his house, that’s right, the Governor’s Manor. We sure do hope you can be there.”

I’d known Heidi since the third grade and while we weren’t close friends, I did enjoy her quiet and reserved company.

“Hey, isn’t that the gang from your old neighborhood?” Sarah said as we moved on.

At the far end of the hal , I saw Jocelyn and Matthew.They’d both lived in the Ruby District their whole lives.

With al of our parents working in industries other than the Committee, we had a lot in common and it brought us closer.

However, as Sarah reached out to hand them their invitation, I could’ve sworn they both cringed. Was the thought of attending my birthday bash so unappealing?

“I’l see if I can make it,” Jocelyn said.

I immediately knew it meant she’d do anything to ensure she had something else to do.

“Me, too,” Matthew added. He carelessly shoved the invitation into his pocket.

Part of me wanted to question their lack of interest, but I also didn’t want to dwel on it. I was in a good mood, it was a beautiful day and my birthday was just around the corner. I turned to fol ow Sarah to the cafeteria, putting them out of my mind.

“There’s Liam,” Sarah shouted as we entered the cafeteria. “I’l go grab a slice of pizza and come meet you guys.”

I stood there for a moment, taking in al of Liam – his blond hair, smooth skin, earnest green eyes, ful lips, and his tal muscular physique. Physical y, he was beautiful, but everything else about him made me love him more. He’d already taken his seat at the table reserved for the children of Committee workers. I glanced sidelong