Lucid, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #2) Read online

  Ethan! I glanced down at my phone to see he’d sent another text. It was hard to resist looking at it, but I managed. Her question made me realize I hadn’t asked him how his online schoolwork was going. Lainey didn’t know his issues. Just that he was spending some needed time with family. “It’s fine.” Ethan was naturally smart. I was sure he’d aced all his tests.

  “I’d be bored out of my mind,” she said, then wrinkled her nose as she gestured toward the three ravens hanging out on top of my car. “It’s like they’ve adopted you since Ethan left.”

  “They’re just birds.” Lainey eyed them warily and started to say something else, but I cut in, “Fine, I’ll go with you. See you in an hour.”

  I waited until she drove off before I grabbed some kibble from a baggie in my backpack—the last thing Lainey needed to see was me feeding them—then scattered the hard bits on my car’s roof to occupy the birds. Once they began to chow down, I leaned against my door and read Ethan’s text.

  Ethan – 3:50 p.m. ~ You there? Don’t leave me hanging here, Sunshine. I need to know you’re okay.

  Me – 4:00 p.m. ~ Sorry! Lainey was in a chatty mood. Fate hasn’t shown up. Really, I’m good.

  Of course, I hadn’t had to butt into anyone’s life these past couple of weeks, either. Just because I’d outsmarted Fate to keep him from killing me in my dreams didn’t guarantee that he’d leave me alone while I was awake if I started interfering in people’s lives again. Thankfully things had settled into uneventful normalcy.

  I considered mentioning the oddness that had happened this morning since Ethan understood what it felt like to see things he couldn’t explain, but decided not to. It would be too hard to explain via text, and I hadn’t felt threatened in any way. I’d tell him about it once he got back.

  Ethan’s text came through at the same time the most dominant raven, Patch (I’d named him that because of the patch of white feathers around his right eye), walked right up behind me to lean around my shoulder, looking over it.

  “This is private,” I said, shooing him away before I opened Ethan’s message.

  Ethan – 4:01 p.m. ~ Glad to hear it. I’ve got to go for now. TTTWFO.

  The meaning behind that very special sign-off made me tingle all over. He rarely used it, but when he did, it felt as if the sun was rising inside me. Smiling, I texted back.

  Me – 4:02 p.m. ~ Cross my heart.

  While I drove home, I sighed with wistful longing as I recalled the first time Ethan had used that acronym.

  Chapter Two

  Two weeks ago

  “Are you kidnapping me?” I loved the fact I had no idea where Ethan was taking us. All I knew was we’d left our hometown of Blue Ridge behind and were heading north.

  His dark blue eyes slid my way as he laid his hand casually across the steering wheel. “It’s a surprise.”

  Instead of excitement, his gaze held something else. He’d looked at me the same way the last fifty times he’d stolen a glance—like he wanted to stamp my features in his memory.

  My chest tightened and I reached over to clasp his free hand. “What kind of surprise?” I asked, my voice sounding scratchy.

  He pointed our locked fingers toward the window, indicating the sunshine streaming across the dash. “It’s a beautiful day. I just want to spend it alone with you.” His smile was genuine, but his expression still seemed pensive.

  Twenty minutes later, the rumbling Mustang took a hairpin turn, gravel pinging the car’s fenders as we took what appeared to be a back access road. Sunlight dappled through the thick canopy of firs lining our path, warming the car’s interior to the point I’d cracked open the window. Somewhere far off in the distance, a grill billowed a delicious mesquite aroma. Looked like others were enjoying this rare warm November day too. When I turned my nose toward the window and inhaled, my stomach suddenly growled like a bear waking up from a long winter’s nap.

  Releasing my hand, Ethan laughed and patted my noisy belly. “Don’t worry. We’re going to eat.”

  The easy way he laughed set my questions about his mood aside, making me smile.

  I was pretty sure we were on Montpelier land, because I’d seen the “Home of James Madison” signs as we drove near the area. Montpelier was a historic landmark and private land, so I was surprised we were able to just drive in without being stopped by someone. “Um, don’t we need to like ask permission to be here?”

  He gave a sly half smile. “We’re not actually on Montpelier property, just near it, but if anyone asks, this is when having a brother with government connections comes in handy.”

  “Samson got permission? Wow, that was nice of him. What’s the catch?”

  “Catch?”

  “Yeah. Why’d he do this? Your birthday is already past and mine’s not for a few weeks. Seems like a lot of trouble…”

  Ethan shrugged. “I asked and he found us a way in.”

  I squinted in suspicion. “Just because?”

  With a resigned sigh, Ethan slowed his car until we rolled to a stop in the middle of the road. “You’re not going to let me surprise you, are you?”

  His steady gaze made me squirm. All it took was that look to remind me I still had a hard time not knowing every step of my life before it happened.

  I gave a sheepish smile and laced our fingers together once more, setting our hands on my thigh. “Surprise away.”

  Relief rolled through his features and his grip on my hand relaxed. Why was he so tense? I wondered, but then brushed aside my anxious musing. Today was about spending quality time alone. Ethan and I really hadn’t had much of that since I’d faced off with Fate a couple of weeks before. As soon as my mom got home from her trip and found out about Lainey’s car accident, she’d taken me on two back-to-back girls’ weekend trips.

  I was glad Mom and I were finally starting to reconnect, but the trips had eaten into my time with Ethan. I was definitely ready for some alone time.

  I tensed when Ethan turned off the dirt road, driving straight through a narrow pathway between a group of trees. It looked so overgrown, I wondered if we were going into uncharted territory and would unknowingly plunge into a ravine. Before I had a chance to ask, the Mustang emerged from the thicket into a clearing.

  A patchwork blanket of fall-colored leaves completely covered the secluded quarter acre of land surrounding a gorgeous pond. Several geese quietly maneuvered around maple leaves the size of dinner plates, while the sun sparkled off the rippling water. The idyllic scenery could have been plucked right out of a Kinkade painting.

  “It’s gorgeous!” I whipped out my phone, but after a couple of attempts, I frowned that my phone couldn’t come close to capturing the breathtaking colors. “Cheap camera,” I grumbled and tucked my phone away.

  While Ethan carried the basket he’d hidden in the trunk of his car, I grabbed the huge blanket he’d brought along. The noon sun shined, making me giddy as it warmed me from cheek to toe. As soon as I laid the blanket out, I slipped out of my jacket and shoes, then plopped onto the middle of the blanket, throwing myself back to stare into the crystal blue sky. If I didn’t know it was November, I would have sworn it was early September, where only the mornings were brisk and cool.

  “You couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for this.” I sighed happily, resisting the urge to make a “snow angel” against the blanket’s soft lamb’s-wool lining.

  Ethan nudged my foot with his black army boot. “Scooch over and give me some room, blanket hogger.”

  I snickered and rolled onto my belly. “What’s in the basket?”

  “Something I slaved over.” Ethan set the basket down with anticipation lighting his eyes.

  “Ooh, you cooked?” I sat up, reaching for the basket to see what kind of meal he’d put together.

  Ethan swatted my hand away. “A fine meal like this should be savored.”

  I waited with barely controlled patience as he made a show of first pulling plastic plates, cups, and napkins from the
basket. My mouth watered when he finally reached in. What would it be? BBQ chicken? Grilled steaks? When he pulled out a cracker and cheese tray, a small fruit tray, then a couple of candy bars—all courtesy of our local grocery store—we both laughed.

  I shook my head and smiled. “Slaved over, huh?”

  Ethan shot me a cheeky grin as he opened the food containers. “It’s the thought that counts.”

  Leaning over, I kissed him on the jaw and whispered, “It counts for a lot. And so does bringing me here.”

  Before I could pull away, Ethan pressed his mouth to mine. I smiled against his lips and kissed him back. When he cupped my face to pull me closer, tiny shivers rippled through me. I melted into him, wanting to drown in the closeness we’d both missed lately. While I’d been out of town with my mom for a long weekend, Ethan had been working on a home project with Samson. If Ethan spent time away from me, his power’s effect on me faded and he no longer continued to absorb my dreams. They’d returned to me last night, but since Ethan never appeared in my dreams, I’d only dreamed that I spent this afternoon reading at home.

  Dates like this—surrounded by nature and Ethan’s own heady smell of outdoors and spicy deodorant—oh, yeah, I was already addicted. Ethan’s warm fingers slid under my shirt, splaying wide across my bare skin. He pressed me to him as if he couldn’t get close enough. My heart thumped and I started to tug him back onto the blanket when my stomach had the nerve to growl, ruining the moment.

  As I murmured my embarrassment, Ethan kissed my chin and then my nose. “Guess we’d better eat before your stomach gives away our super-secret location to anyone within a ten-mile radius.”

  While we made ourselves plates, Ethan asked, “Have you heard from your dad yet?”

  “Aunt Sage hasn’t heard anything new beyond what his office said when she called. Guess he’s still out of the country on ‘extended’ business. You’d think he would have an international phone that worked, but apparently not,” I said, frustrated. Popping a cheese square in my mouth, I glanced at the slight sunburn across his nose. “How’s the deck coming?”

  Ethan exhaled a sigh, then launched into the woes of his deck-building project with Samson. “I came pretty close to punching him yesterday.”

  I snickered. “I can see it now…you two scuffling in your backyard.”

  He snorted. “It would’ve turned into a brawl. We’d gotten on each other’s last nerve.”

  “Ah, but you would eventually have to forgive each other. I wish I knew what a sibling bond felt like.” In my mind, Samson was extra special. Not all older brothers would raise their younger siblings.

  “Yeah, well…yesterday I’d have traded places with you for some peace and quiet.” He crunched on a cracker and tilted his head. “Speaking of family keeping us busy, has your mom planned any more weekend trips?”

  “None that I’m aware of,” I said, biting into a strawberry. “At least until after Christmas. When we got home last night, I was so happy to crawl into my own bed after the awful hotel beds in Williamsburg.”

  “Your bed is pretty comfy.” A wicked smile crooked his lips as he ran his finger along my lower lip, swiping away strawberry juice before I could lick it. I stared in mesmerized fascination when he sucked the sweet liquid off his finger, murmuring in a deep rumble, “Mmmm, Strawberry Nara.”

  While hundreds of butterflies exploded inside my belly, Ethan glanced down and lifted a half loaf of stale bread from the basket. “Want to feed the geese? It’ll probably involve fast reflexes if we want to keep our fingers, but we’ve never shied from danger, have we?” he finished with an ironic chuckle.

  I grinned. “Let’s see how far we can make them swim for it.”

  We took turns tossing the hard bits of bread to the group of geese in the pond. After our food was gone, and I’d tossed the last of the bread into the water, a quiet settled between us. At first it was nice, but then the silence thickened, like there was a sudden edge in the air. I glanced sideways at Ethan, but he seemed to be intently watching the geese.

  Shaking off the feeling that Ethan was too quiet, I tried to focus on the peacefulness of nature all around us, but apparently, the geese had other plans. I guess they weren’t happy we’d stopped being their food source, because a couple of them paddled up to the embankment, then began to waddle closer, honking in obnoxious bursts that sounded strangely close to moremoremoremoremore.

  As soon as the biggest goose moved within five feet of us, something dark swooped down in my peripheral vision, landing with a light thump in the crunchy leaves to my right.

  A raven, sporting a white patch around one of his eyes, let out a deep, throaty, kaugh, kaugh, kaugh. He hissed at the approaching birds and raised his wings, stalking toward them as he rocked back and forth.

  Ethan snorted, amusement sparking in his eyes. “Look at that crazy bird. He’s trying to make himself look just as big as these fat geese.”

  The moment the lead goose charged after the black bird, honking in his direction, three more ravens landed beside their buddy, hopping around and flapping their wings. They made all kinds of racket as they dove toward the goose, snapping their thick, hard beaks.

  Ethan and I exchanged surprised glances before he tossed the last few grapes toward the ravens, saying in a calm tone, “It’s okay. We’re fine.”

  The other birds instantly calmed at his voice. Once they swooped up the grapes, they flew back to their perches in the trees. The first raven remained, eyeing the geese with an unwavering, wary stare. I snickered. “He looks like he’s ready to take them out if they so much as fluff a wing.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” Ethan leaned over my lap to shoo the bird away. “I said, ‘Go,’ bird!”

  With what sounded like a huff of anger, the raven instantly took flight. Unlike the other three birds, he landed on the driver’s side mirror of Ethan’s car, then began to preen his feathers, as if we’d been a waste of his time.

  “Temperamental bird,” Ethan muttered.

  I’d leaned back to give him access to the bird, and as I moved to sit up, that’s when I saw a black feather had landed near my hand. I smiled and picked up the feather, turning to hand it to Ethan. “He left you a present.”

  Ethan pulled away without taking it, his expression shuttered. I set the feather on the blanket and studied his profile. He looked uncomfortable and tense. “What’s wrong? Don’t you think it’s a good idea to learn as much as you can about ravens? They helped tell me when Fate was coming after me, then they showed up in my dream when I confronted Fate, and not only were you in my dream, but you seemed to know why the ravens interfered when he attacked me.”

  Ethan shook his head, frustration pulling his brow down. “Go figure, the one dream of yours I finally star in, and I don’t remember any of it.”

  I waved to the birds observing us from afar. “Obviously they have some connection or attachment to you beyond the raven sword tattoo across your back.” Ethan hadn’t said much about the mysterious raven’s feather tattoo that had magically appeared on his shoulder. Later the tattoo morphed into a sword featuring a raven yin-yang symbol near the hilt with the original raven’s feather decorating the sword’s blade. That change in his tattoo had happened after Ethan had helped me face Fate in my dreams.

  The way he’d just acted about the feather made me believe he hadn’t been researching raven tattoos like he’d told me he planned to. Still, I had a hard time believing he’d accepted a full-length sword tattoo slicing across his back from shoulder to hip like some kind of ancient gladiator gear. He’d been pretty upset that morning in my room when he woke up with it on his back. “Are you okay with the tattoo now?”

  Ethan’s lips thinned as he stared across the pond’s smooth surface. When he glanced back at me, his eyes finally reflected the turbulence I’d been sensing. He reached up and slid his fingers down my ponytail. “I have to make my life whole, Nara.”

  My stomach dipped that he’d avoided answering my question. I scoo
ted closer until our thighs touched. “I’m here for you. You know that.”

  Ethan folded his elbow around my thigh, locking our legs together as he set his chin on my bent knee to stare at me. “It’s like, my engine revs, ready to move forward, but all I hear is the rattle.”

  By the look in his eyes, he wasn’t talking about the tattoo any more. Ice seized my lungs, and this time it wasn’t due to Fate’s interference. Nor did I feel a single spark of static electricity like I always had when Fate lurked. This was all me, reacting to Ethan’s somber mood. I tried hard not to let him see the panic in my eyes. “I—I don’t understand. What are you saying?”

  He straightened and tilted my chin so the sun’s warm rays shined across my face. “Even in bright sunlight, your eyes are crystal clear. There isn’t a flicker of uncertainty. You know who you are and never apologize for it. I want clarity too.”

  Turbulent blue eyes sought my understanding. It’s not like I didn’t feel uncertainty. I was still waiting to hear from my dad so I could learn more about my powers. Why hadn’t my dad called my aunt now that she’d let him know I was finally ready to talk to him? The wait was driving me nuts. I gave a self-deprecating snort. “I have my murky moments too.”

  A smirk of amusement tilted his lips before resolution tightened his jaw. “You mean everything to me. That’s why I have to do this.”

  “Do what?” I gripped his arm, my muscles a bundle of knots.

  Fierce determination reflected back at me. “I’m going home.”

  “You’re leaving?” I couldn’t help the crack in my voice as fear set in.

  Ethan winced, then rubbed his hand over mine, where my nails had dug into his forearm. “Just until I can set things straight with my parents. I’m leaving first thing tomorrow morning. I hope to be back after Thanksgiving break.”

  I was speechless. I wanted to scream “No!” and do something extreme like slash his tires so he couldn’t leave. Yet another part of me wanted to hug him for trying to reconcile with his parents. Samson had wanted to tell their parents that Ethan had gotten his act together a while back, but Ethan had been too resentful to let him. Ethan’s brother would support Ethan’s decision to speak to his parents alone and in person. And now I knew why Samson had helped get Ethan access to this private land today. I swallowed, wanting to say the right thing, but my heart and mind had shifted way beyond torn; they were in full-on, down-and-dirty combat.