Page 64 of Commanding Flame and Shield
I suppose not. They believe you?
They seem to.
Shrugging in acknowledgement, I accepted Sam’s outstretched hand. His life swirled in circles around my mind, fast and brief. Younger than August, his life had been turbulent. Loyal to the death, he loved his best friend—the man that had pushed him through school and given him a place in his company, equipping him to grow and thrive in the corporate world. His heart was honest. A shallow pool of crystal water on a sunny day.
I pulled my hand back and could feel the smile in my cheeks as I locked onto his dark denim eyes. He scratched his head through short blonde hair, a nervous grin on his face.
“See anything I should know about?”
I pursed my lips in a tight smile and shook my head. “Nice to finally meet you, Samuel.”
“It’s Sam.”
“Then nice to meet you, Sam.” Shifting out of the way, I motioned to our companions. “This is my brother, of sorts, Alec, and his wife, Aphaea.”
Sam reached his hand forward to shake with Alec, whose palm engulfed his. Even through the amulet, I could see Sam’s complete and total fascination with Alec as he shook his hand. He had been the kind of child that obsessed with the paranormal, so in a bizarre way, this was an affirmation of all his childhood fantasies. Like he had just been waiting for a supernatural being to enter his life and shake it up a bit.
“Call me Fae.” She danced forward and his cheeks flushed. He eyed Alec apologetically, and shook his head, like he could shake away the influence of the siren that had just presented herself to him.
James, however...while his heart was essentially good, this time he reeked of guilt. He stared at his feet through the introductions with Sam, and had my interest thoroughly peaked with his inability to meet my gaze. Additionally, he was diligently picturing a mountain lake. Clever.
I studied him a moment before slowly reaching out my hand. He stared for a beat, and then eyed August warily before looking back to me. Shame pulled his eyebrows together in the center. For fear of being rude, he took it. His skin was rougher than Sam’s—a woodsman, like August—but his mind, even more so. He focused on their childhood, on playing with August and their adventures, but it only took a fraction of a second to see through his flimsy human guard to a beautiful woman, golden with a love of the sun, laying naked on his bed, her curves small, but appealing. His outstretched hand brushed golden hair off her slight shoulder, and she turned to face him, smile tentative.
I yanked my hand away, and our eyes snapped to each other. The scowl that came to my face was probably harsher than intended, but there was no point in hiding the emotion that crawled up my skin. I spun through the visions immediately ahead of us—winding and unwinding the different threads—and realized without a doubt, the best chances of a peaceful resolution were an immediate confrontation.Well, shit.
“How long?” My voice was steel, over the sound of the room. August’s eyes were wide on me, and I wasn’t sure how much he’d caught with my amulet and Alec’s shield over me.
James looked to his feet. “Not before…if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Maybe not in a physical way,” I corrected, and he looked up to me, horrified.
“Y-years,” he stammered. “But I swear, never before—”
Sam shuffled out of the circle, moving to stand at August’s back, his expression glum.
August, eyes wary, stared at me for a minute before glancing back to his brother.
“No,” his tone was disbelieving, and he took a step back, shaking his head. He glanced again between us. “No. You wouldn’t…”
James gathered his courage now, puffing his chest up and bringing his eyes to meet his brother’s.
“Layla?!” August demanded, his voice somewhere between rage and shock.
James’ eyes fell to his feet before he could meet August’s again. “Never before, August. I swear.”
“Layla?!” August demanded again.
“She came tome, and I know it doesn’t justify it, but you just…vanished. She was hurting, and I was angry, and one drink turned into three, and—”
“And you were just bringing her comfort? Am I right?” August’s glare was the warrior that helped me bring down the coven of Renown. Fierce and unyielding, a demi-God among men. The lights above us flickered. I eyed them nervously, wondering if I could counter the fluctuation of rage coming off him now. But as they calmed, I realized Alec could, and must have been.
“No,” James countered. The admission seemed to stop August in his tracks and suddenly everything around us felt louder. The lights evened for the time being, and he jammed his eyes shut. Concentrating on not blowing the place up, I hoped.
“I—I love her August. I have foryears, but I stuffed it away because she was always your girl. Your...There was no point in ever saying anything.” He shook his head. “I would never have touched her, if you hadn’t left her. You have to believe that.”
August’s desperate gaze found mine, and I nodded. He was telling the truth. No wonder he’d looked at me like a viper as we came in the door. James had anticipated this moment was coming, and he was bracing for it.
“He could have rejected my touch, August. He didn’t have to let it be known. He was going to tell you when he summoned the courage. Weren’t you, James?” I narrowed my eyes at him once August’s gaze had turned. The young man gave a slow nod.
