Part 17 (1/2)
A nagging thought teased at Marco's mind, one that gained substance the longer he observed Kelsey. She sat exactly where she had for most of the past thirty minutes: leaning against the wall opposite him, her face lowered. And deathly still. When at first her questions had ceased and she'd buried her face against her knees, he'd a.s.sumed she was simply crying. But now his suspicions grew rampant.
She and Jared weren't married yet, so he didn't know if their bond was anything like it became in the later years of their relations.h.i.+p-or if they had even discovered their unique gift for communicating over vast distances yet. But what if they had? And what if she were trying to make that connection right now?
”Kelsey, what's going on?” he demanded.
”N-nothing,” she stammered, face still buried in her crumpled jacket.
And he knew. He was across the room in a breath, and with a rough jerk of her arm he yanked her to an upright position. ”You were trying to reach Jared.”
She shook her head in denial, but he recognized that dazed look; he'd seen it on both their faces too many times over the years not to recognize it.
”Kelsey, I know exactly what you were doing.” Answering fear flickered in her intelligent eyes.
G.o.d, she thought he might actually hurt her. That he could ever hurt her-even if he tried. No matter what had happened between them all in the past eight years, wounding her in any way was something he remained incapable of doing.
In the chamber a week ago, he'd nearly aborted his entire plan after accidentally crus.h.i.+ng her future self's hand beneath his boot. She'd cried out in sharp, undisguised pain, and the mission had all but ended before it had even started. For five full minutes he'd struggled to recover his stupefied senses enough to sift through her thoughts. He'd been gentle with the woman, as gentle as he could be; even so, she'd believed he might kill her at any moment. She, the only woman he had ever loved. But by the time he'd left her behind, shaken and dazed, he hoped she understood the truth: that even with all their painful, twisted history, he would never willingly harm her.
However, Jared Bennett was another story entirely.
”What happened to make you turn from us?” this Kelsey whispered, strong as steel-yet delicate as a newly budded flower. There it was: that dichotomous beauty he had always found so fascinating in the human. And, yes, she was human, although her story was as complicated as he'd indicated; he'd been honest about that much. Still, he'd twisted things somewhat in an effort to keep her under his control; he'd done it, and begged her forgiveness in silence the entire time.
Closing his protector's eyes, Marco willed himself to regain his composure. Thinking too much about his past never led to any good end these days. He had to stay focused, had to accomplish his mission, and he refused to yield power by dredging up things that should remain long-forgotten.
When he looked again, he found Kelsey studying him, waiting for some kind of answer. Her gaze more than any other had always had the capacity to unsettle him. So of course it had that exact effect right now; against his will, his cheeks burned hot beneath her examination. After so long, just one look from her could still cause his heart to lodge solidly in his throat, and his mind to play wayward tricks; he moved to block the impressions he kept reading off of her. Better to seal off his intuition. Better to fall back on uncomplicated warrior's strengths right now.
”So, now that you and Jared have shared communion-is he on the way?” he asked with forced coolness, brus.h.i.+ng past her. She remained silent, until at last he began to laugh. Of course Jared was on the way-that was how connected they'd always been. No one needed to remind him of that fact.
”Well, at least that will save me a phone call,” he said, and felt something like a s.h.i.+ver of antic.i.p.ation run through him.
He hadn't stood face-to-face with Jared Bennett-any version of him-in more than four years.
Kelsey wasn't entirely sure what she'd just seen in Marco's eyes, but she would've sworn she sensed some kind of fondness for her. Maybe she had more to do with this situation than she'd initially guessed. And if so, then maybe she could get a few answers from Marco: answers that might help Jared. She rose slowly from the cold floor and felt her knee throb from sitting in one place for the past hour-she had an old skiing injury, and when she kept still for too long, it always began to ache.
He moved his large frame to block her. ”Where do you think you're going?”
She didn't flinch. ”I just want to stretch my legs. Is that okay?”
At last he gave a nod of agreement, stepping backward from her.
”You'll never be able to fight them all, you know.” Kelsey smoothed her hands across the front of her rumpled sweater. ”They're too powerful. And you're just one man.”
He looked at her and laughed softly. ”I think it's really quite the opposite, my dear.”
She stepped closer to him, and suddenly felt incredibly small next to his towering frame. ”What does that mean?”
”I'm a full-blooded Refarian.” He cast his eyes down for a moment and seemed to struggle with something. Then he looked back up at her, his expression completely unreadable. ”And that's what makes all of you weak. Jared, the others, are corrupted by their human interactions. Weakened.”
”Well, then I must be the weakest of all-and I still don't believe what you told me earlier.”
He arched an eyebrow. ”Why not?”
”A change like you're describing, on a cellular level, isn't possible. I don't even have to be a scientist to know that.”
”Would you have said it was possible for one person to leave complicated designs and coding within another's mind?”
”I don't know that he did that,” she argued. Although she had only Jared's word, she did believe he'd actually done what he claimed.
Marco shook his head slowly. ”Kelsey, you are just more human than the others. That's all. But you are one of them. It was part of why the people rallied...” Marco's voice trailed off, and he began shaking his head as he stared at her. ”My G.o.d. You really don't know any of this, do you?”
She met Marco's cold eyes with determination. ”Tell me what you were going to say.”
”Okay.” He pulled his face within mere inches of hers. ”You were his bride,” he whispered, his eyes raking over her face heatedly.
”I already know we were married,” she stated impatiently. ”You told me that earlier. You showed me the ring!”
”No, Kelsey, I mean you were his bride. You are the beloved of Refaria-more valuable to the revolution than even the king. You are the one the rebels rise to follow. Because of your humanity. Because you are both human and Refarian, as a result of your change. You were prophesied to him years ago-hasn't he told you? You were foretold by the mystics. In every way possible, you are their queen, and they are pledged to you.”
And with that simple statement, Kelsey felt her entire universe s.h.i.+ft on its axis, and she collapsed to her knees.
Marco watched Kelsey slide to the floor and shook, his head in disbelief. How was it possible that she didn't know any of this? He thought they'd learned about her hybrid dna long before she and Jared were married. The mitres data wasn't simply within her mind; it was permanently fused inside her brain, making her not only the queen- but the revolution's true weapon. It had been why she alone could operate the mitres ten years in the future. This ignorance of hers gave him a distinct advantage; he wasn't going to spend this time before Veckus arrived educating her.
But when she slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and he saw the wild look in them, he felt something s.h.i.+ft and come alive within his chest. Her eyes had always been like two deep pools that he could lose himself in. Find himself in.
She continued to stare up, begging him with those same lovely eyes. ”Tell me the rest,” she breathed at last.
The urge to guide her, to make her understand her purpose, was compelling-he'd spent too many years fulfilling his duty as their royal protector not to feel it. Obviously, she and Jared didn't know their true destiny. And he was painfully aware of just how vulnerable it left them all.
Did they know about Veckus? Valyre? Thea?
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He could not do this-he had a mission to complete.
He coughed into his hand, furrowing his brow. ”The rest?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
”How can I be the one they follow? I saw Jared in the slipstream, when you took me through the time portal! He was alive-I saw him. He was alive and leading his people. Leading me!”
”Yes, that's true,” he agreed with a sigh. ”I never said the people didn't follow him. But the one who drew humans and Refarians together and bound them as one...” He shook his head slowly, fighting a wave of melancholy as he recalled the way their future had gone. ”Trust me, Kelsey, it was you.”
”Trust you?” she cried incredulously, raking fingers through her hair. ”Trust you? Please!”
He hadn't even noticed his choice of words. How could he ever expect her to trust him? Trust had departed between the three of them so long ago. Well, not the three of them; between the two of them and himself.
”What purpose would it serve me to he about such things?”
He extended his hand to her, intending to help her to her feet, but she ignored it. He wasn't sure how to read the look on her face. She dropped her head, bowed it almost, and remained on her knees. He tried to see her expression, but her long auburn curls formed a curtain, hiding her face from him.