Solaris

“You’re alive?”

The tall dark stranger’s eyes traveled the length of my body, lingering on my neck. The hair on my nape stood on end. I clutched the rifle and trained it at his chest.

He laughed, his lips twisting into a snarl. “You’re going to try to kill me after I saved your life?”

I didn’t move. “Who are you? Where am I? What happened?”

Faster than humanly possible, he grabbed the muzzle of the rifle and yanked it out of my hands. “So many questions…” He barreled past me, his towering form shadowing mine, and slammed the door shut. “Get back inside before someone sees you, and we both wind up dead.”

His movements were smooth and fluid as if he were gliding through the air. He was fast yet graceful and unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I couldn’t take my eyes off his body. The blood in my veins thrummed as if drawn to him somehow. It also didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous. Black wavy hair framed prominent cheekbones and a perfectly sculpted jaw. His smoky navy eyes blazed, penetrating and all-consuming. And deadly. Focus, Solaris.

Nocturnes lived off of synthetic human blood. If the myths were true, it would be nothing for him to sink his fangs into my neck and suck me dry. I stepped back and hit the wood-paneled wall. I clutched the broom in my right hand now that I had the wall to support me. I may not have been as strong as he was, but I was not going down without a fight.

He moved toward me, and I thrust the broomstick at him.

“Stop that!” He batted at the stick, throwing me off balance. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just put that damn thing down.”

I staggered and weight bore down on my bad leg. It was like hot pokers stabbing into my bone. Holy hell! I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming.

His sharp gaze scanned over my leg. “Sit down. It’s probably still broken.”

I didn’t want to sit. I was scared I wouldn’t be able to get back up, and I’d be cornered. My leg began to tremble and sweat dampened my brow. I sucked in a sharp breath and hobbled over to the bed. I sagged down onto the soft mattress, the throbbing pain finally relenting.

I glanced up, and his dark gaze locked onto mine. His irises weren’t navy anymore; instead they swirled a metallic silver. His lip curled, and his hands were clenched into tight fists. I eyed the door as heat raged inside me. Every nerve in my body told me to run.

He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled. When they opened again, they were back to normal. “I need to ask you some questions.” His words were clipped as if he were short of breath.

“Answer mine first.”

His eyes widened like he’d never been told no before. He scrutinized me with the oddest expression, and then his jaw softened. “Fine.” He crouched down in front of me with his back against the wall.

“Where am I?” I figured that was most important, even though I was pretty sure I knew.

“You’re in Draconis. We’re a few hundred yards from the border with the Shadow Lands.”

My head spun, making my stomach flip-flop like a fish. Thinking you were in a forbidden land and actually having it confirmed were two entirely different things. “You saved me after the plane crashed?”

He nodded, his lips pressed in a straight line.

“Why?”

“I saw a plane go down. I had to be sure it wasn’t one of ours.” He shrugged and averted his gaze. “When I got close, I saw the Imera emblem and had to know more. Which leads to my question—”

“No.” I held up my hand shushing him. “I’m not done. You still haven’t told me who you are.”

Again he stared at me like I was an alien. Although, I guessed to him I was, just as he was to me. A creature of legend and myth.

“I’m Kaige, and I’m the guy that saved your life.”

I didn’t know much about the society of Draconis. From what I’d learned from our textbooks, they were ruled by royals. The monarchy had been in place since our countries split. The taranoi were the peasants, not much more than servants for the ruling class. The boy in front of me didn’t look like a peasant. Even from a distance, his black t-shirt and jeans looked expensive. But what did I know? We didn’t have any servants in Imera. We were all equal.

“How about my plane?” I cringed as I thought about the magnificent Cessna.

“It’s destroyed. It was almost completely engulfed in flames by the time I pulled you out.”

I opened my mouth to argue, suddenly remembering the fire repellant foam all AirComm planes were equipped with, but I snapped it shut. It would be better if he thought the Cessna was destroyed. If I ever got the chance, I could try to sneak out of here and find it.

I glanced down at my tattered clothes and ran my hand through my tangled hair. The bump was still sore, but it wasn’t pounding anymore. “How did I survive an airplane crash?”

He swallowed and lowered his gaze again. “I don’t know. Just lucky I guess.” His fingers brushed against his wrist, rubbing the area.

Something didn’t feel right. He wasn’t telling me the whole story. “If you’re not going to hurt me, then why did you cuff me to the bed?”

“It was for your own safety. I didn’t want you wandering into the woods and getting caught.” He ran his hand through his jet-black hair, messing it up in an unbelievably sexy way. “You humans are familiar with the prophecy right?”

“Of course.” Some vague terrible disaster would be the end of both of our kinds.

“So you understand how much I risked bringing you here?”

I nodded. Why had he brought me here if he hadn’t intended to kill me? I’d always been told nocturnes were nothing but bloodthirsty savages. But besides the pale skin and catlike moves, he didn’t seem that different from me.

“Can I ask my questions now?” A smirk pulled at his lips.

“Okay, but I’ll probably have some follow-up questions.”

“Of course you will,” he growled. He stood and paced in front of the bed, shoving his hands in his pockets. Finally, he stopped and faced me. “What were you doing flying over The Shadow Lands in a Collective plane?”

I fidgeted with my hands in my lap. I wasn’t sure if I should go spilling my guts to this guy. What if this was all some elaborate set-up orchestrated by Turstan? I glanced up and matching pools of navy bored into me. There was a storm raging in those eyes, like the ocean on the darkest night, and I didn’t understand why. His nostrils flared, and he clapped his hand over his mouth. He whirled around before I could blink.

“What’s wrong?” I scooted to the edge of the mattress, my nerves tingling.

“Nothing.” He answered while keeping his back to me. “Just answer my question, as I answered yours.”

If this was some sort of trap, I was screwed anyway. Although I was fairly certain it wasn’t; this guy didn’t act like a slick government spy. “I stole it.”

He spun back to me and laughter bubbled out of his mouth. “You, a teenage girl, stole a valuable airplane from the Collective?”

My blood boiled. I hated it when men assumed I couldn’t fly just because I was a girl. It happened all the time at home, and it drove me crazy. “Listen here, Kaige, or whoever you are, I’m an excellent pilot. I’ve been flying since I was thirteen, and I’m at the top of my class. I’m going to join AirComm in a few months as soon as I graduate.”

He huffed. “I’ll pretend I care what that means and congratulate you. But nonetheless, you did crash that plane.”

“It wasn’t my fault. There was a system malfunction. Everything shut down; I was flying blind.”

He opened his mouth then snapped it shut.

“What?”

“That was probably the Draconis force field along the border. It’s a deterrent for unwanted visitors.”

I knew it. I was an awesome pilot, and there was no way that crash had been my fault. I glanced his way, and he was staring at me again. Goose bumps shot up along my arms. I was forced to look down, unable to hold his disarming gaze.

He began pacing again. “Did you check the cargo hold of the plane before you stole it?”

I crossed my arms across my chest. A pang shot through my shoulder, and I winced. I gritted my teeth to fight through the pain. “No,” I finally answered once the ache subsided. “I was kind of in a hurry.” I rubbed at my sore arm wishing for some painkillers.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! I only had a couple minutes to get it out of the hangar and into the air before the soldiers circled back around. I didn’t really care about anything else.” Maybe I should’ve thought this whole thing out more. If I had known my little joy ride was going to land me in Draconis, I wouldn’t have been so reckless. “Why are you asking anyway?”

His eyes narrowed, and I could almost see the wheels grinding in his head. I guessed I wasn’t the only one trying to figure out whom to trust. “I saw something when I pulled you out of the plane.”

“What?”

His gaze flicked from me to the door and back. “It was an entire pallet of crates stamped with the Draconis emblem.”

I shook my head. “It can’t be. The jet is Turstan’s, I mean the Head Minister’s. Why would he have anything of yours?”

“That’s what I was hoping to find out.”

Realization hit me like a cold bucket of water. That’s why I was still alive. He was trying to get information out of me. Now he had it. I eyed the rifle leaning up against the wall. I reached for it, but Kaige’s hand shot out and ripped it out of my grasp. Damn, he was fast.

“Don’t even think about it, little human.”

I sighed and sat back on the bed. “What does a vampire need a gun for anyway?

“Hunting.”

“Why don’t you just kill it with your fangs or whatever?”

His lips twitched. “It’s for sport, not just for feeding.” He took a step closer. “Now back to my questions.”

I blinked, and his face appeared just an inch away from mine, his muscled arms caging me in against the wall.

“Do you know what was in the crates on the plane?” Silver swirled in his irises, and his voice was silky smooth.

For a second, my head spun, like I’d just gotten off a rollercoaster. Then it cleared. I pushed him back and his eyes widened, returning to their deep navy color. “Look, I don’t know anything about those crates. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you so you don’t have to get all up in my face.”

He stared at me again like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. It was starting to creep me out. “You said you didn’t want to hurt me. Is that still true?”

His dark brows furrowed as he repositioned himself at the end of the bed. “Yes. I won’t hurt you.”

For some reason, it sounded like he was saying it to assure himself more than me. I swallowed down the fear crawling up my belly and plastered a smile on my face. “So can you help me get home?”

He exhaled a long breath, and his gaze moved to my leg. “You’re not going anywhere like that.”

He was right. If the Cessna was too damaged to fly, the only way back to Imera was across the Shadow Lands by vehicle or foot. There was no way I could do either with a broken leg.

“I don’t suppose nocturnes have a magical healing serum of some kind?” A humorless laugh slipped out.

Kaige’s face was unreadable, but something was happening behind those smoky navy orbs. His thumb skimmed over his wrist again, his jaw clenching. “No.” That one word was gruff and riddled with hostility as if I’d just asked him to chop off one of his limbs for me.

This was a complete nightmare.

I buried my face in my hands and willed the hot tears prickling at my eyes to go away. I couldn’t cry in front of this nocturne. Who knew what he thought of humans? I wouldn’t let him think I was weak.

“I gave you my blood.” He spat out the words like they’d been choking him.

I lifted my head to meet his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“Garridan, my serv—my friend, he’s really old. He told me that vampire blood could heal humans. That’s how you survived. You were almost dead when I found you.” He veered his gaze to the small window. “I guess it doesn’t work as well as it used to now that we don’t drink human blood.”

I gasped. Of all the myths I’d heard about nocturnes, how could I not know the most important one? Nocturne blood healed humans. The implications were huge. “You’re serious?”

He nodded grimly.

I tried to move my ankle and pain shot up my entire leg. I screamed, unable to hold it back this time.

“Maybe I can get you something from the apothecary.” He leaned in as if he were going to touch me, but at the last minute pulled back.

“The apothecary?”

“Yes, you know, where the alchemists create healing potions.”

I arched a skeptical brow. In Imera, each family was allotted a supply of pharmaceuticals for the month. That was all we got. “If it’ll help with the pain, I’m all for it.”

“I’ll go find something.” He moved to the door as gracefully as a ballerina.

“Wait.” The idea of staying by myself in this cabin had my stomach in knots. “Can’t you just give me more of your blood?” Bleh. I couldn’t believe I’d uttered those words.

His nostrils flared and silver swirled in his irises. “No. I can’t.”

“But why not? You already did it once.”

The silver blazed and anger flashed across his eyes. “I said no.” He whipped the door open and sped out of the cabin.

Ugh. Kaige’s mood swings made my head spin. That was something they failed to mention in school about nocturnes. I added it to my mental list of new things I was learning.

My heart sank as I glanced around the empty room. I thought back to our conversation and wondered if I was the first human that had been in contact with a nocturne in a hundred years. Gavin and Isla would never believe me. He seemed pretty normal too, except for the weird eye thing. Kaige was an interesting name—and ironic given my current situation. It occurred to me he had never asked for my name in return. Maybe that was a nocturne thing, or maybe he was still thinking about killing me and didn’t want to get too personal.

I slouched back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. How the heck did I get myself into this mess? I turned my head to the side and came nose-to-nose with the handcuffs. Hmm… I wasn’t restrained anymore. There was nothing stopping me from hauling butt out of there.