Veins of Ice Read online

  “I couldn’t help it. Would you consider having dinner with me, as a welcome-back-to-the-team sort of dinner?”

  “Will Tristan and Amarine be there?”

  “I could invite them.”

  Eager to ditch him, she stood up and said, “Invite them and I’ll come along.”

  Karena left him and his suggestions about what restaurant they could go to. He attempted to follow her into the Fire area of the Warren room, but was tripped on his way over. People laughed. She didn’t turn around to help him. It sickened her that it had come to this with Tristan, where she couldn’t be there for him or else he would read into it as something more than what it was. She didn’t want to play heroine around him because it would take his imaginary scriptwriting to another level.

  At Asher’s table, she sat by herself. The rest of the team had yet to emerge from the locker rooms. It saddened her that this would be her last day with Asher’s team. She had grown fond of Jinx and Blade, and of course, Asher.

  A gentle, heated touch on the base of her neck informed her of Asher’s presence. He took the seat next to her. Now more at ease around her than ever, he leaned over a little and put his hand on the back of her chair. His thumb rubbed her back. It was discreet enough not to be noticed by the others around them. It felt so good that she closed her eyes, and tilted her head towards him.

  “How was your afternoon and evening after work yesterday?” he asked, his velvety voice almost in her ear.

  “It was pleasant. I went over to my parents’ house to visit them and have dinner. We listened to the radio afterwards, and then I went home. You?”

  “I worked on my rock garden some more.”

  Karena snickered.

  He said, “Whether you want to believe it or not, it’s an art. It’s all about the arrangement of certain rocks, their color and shape and what plants we fit into it.”

  “It sounds like our water gardens. The water has to flow a certain way, and everything has to coordinate just so.”

  “What about for an Earth?”

  “All bets are off when it comes to that. The more plants the better, and if it looks like they’ve grown with wild abandonment, then its perfection at its worst, if that makes any sense.”

  He laughed.

  When more people came out of the locker room to await their assignments, he straightened up and withdrew from her. She softly sighed, wishing to be alone with him, away from judgmental eyes.

  Chapter 17

  At the theatre, Karena showed the attendant her ticket. Asher had paid for them in advance, and consequently, she didn’t know what seats he had picked.

  “Left stairs, all the way up, take a right at the hallway, balcony two,” the attendant said with a smile.

  She thanked him. Asher had picked good seats. They would be able to see and hear everything, but be away from everyone in their own private booth. She entered the lobby area of the theatre. Crowds of people milled around, having come from a play that had just ended. Everyone was dressed in their best, tailored suits for the men, and evening gowns for the women. They drifted towards the exits, a step at a time as they laughed and discussed the play, which seemed to have been a comedy, judging from their mirth. Some of the young men viewed her with interest, but she didn’t meet their gaze for long, and continued to the stairs.

  When she came to the stairs, she held up part of her gown so that she didn’t step on its hem. The slinky material was smooth in her hands. Her silvery, light blue dress shimmered like moonlight on a lake. Though simple with its halter style and open back design, her dress made her feel like a goddess that had just stepped down from the stars. She was wearing the necklace Asher had given her, and a simple cuff bracelet on her right wrist. She clutched a beaded, evening purse.

  At the top, Karena walked down the hallway, seeing a familiar figure at the end. Her breathing quickened. Euphoria took over. It was Asher. He saw her and walked towards her. His godly physique, barely contained under his ruby-red suit and white shirt, radiated raw, muscular power. His eyes, keen and intelligent like a hawk’s, softened and melted into her gaze. Joyful from seeing her, his lips parted and tugged upwards into a divine crescent shape. His handsome face, which was warrior-like with its strong jawline, defined cheekbone, and a pronounced nose, sent her heart into a race with her hormones.

  Before she knew it, he was standing before her. He held out his hand, and she set hers on the wide stretch of his palm. He raised her hand and kissed it with his plush lips.

  “You look stunning,” he said, his eyes wide and unable to leave hers.

  Asher guided her to their booth, and held open the curtain. She glided in. He closed the curtain behind them, making sure there weren’t any gaps in it. He motioned to one of the chairs, and made sure she was seated and comfortable before sitting down himself. He took out drinks, and set an appetizer tray of cheese cubes, small morsels of meat, and grapes down on the table in front of them.

  “I brought this just in case you became thirsty or hungry,” he said, and bit his lip. Embers sizzled across his hand, and he hastily clasped his hands together to extinguish them.

  It took her by surprise that he was nervous, but then again, so had she when she had arrived at the theatre. This was their third time being together outside of work, and the dynamics of their relationship had changed. It had transformed into something wonderful and real.

  She laid her hand on his arm, and said, “Thank you. This is wonderful.”

  He opened his hand, and she slid hers down his forearm and onto his palm. He closed his hand, and caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.

  “You’re wearing the necklace,” Asher noted, tipping his head towards her.

  Karena smiled. “It goes with the dress,” she said.

  They gazed past the balcony railing and at the stage below. The theatre was still filling up, so it would be awhile until the heavy, red curtains were pulled back to start the play.

  They chatted about trivial things, like work, friends, and their current projects at home, until the lights dimmed, and a spotlight was shone onto the curtains below. The stage show host came onto the floor, and greeted the crowds before giving his introductory speech about the play.

  Soon after, the curtains withdrew. Painted street and city boards showed a fiery, downtrodden city, in which actors and actresses in tattered clothing scurried about, not knowing what to do. It was supposed to represent the moments after the Vampire Regime had ended five hundred years ago. Everyone rushed around in a state of shock and confusion. The oppression was gone, which was something they hadn’t ever experienced before in their lifetimes.

  The play continued. The actors and actresses twirled around the stage, invigorated with new health and optimism. They helped people move off of the streets and into homes. Backdrop replaced backdrop as they cleaned up trash, tore down electricity poles, invented new gadgets to make life better, restructured their government, and in general, rebuilt everything.

  Then darkness befell them in the form of famine. People came together with baskets of food, and worked together to overcome the hardship. The new city looked like it might not survive, but humanity endured despite all the trials.

  At the end of the play, the miserable city was a bygone memory, but as an ominous message that Karena was now sensitive to, all the represented elementals stood in their own separate groups on stage in muted colors of blue, green, red, and yellow. Now that she had feelings for Asher, she hated this separation of elementals. It rose up in her in untethered rage. Rather than mingling together, they stood apart.

  Karena said, “The past may be gone, but I think we’re making a grievous mistake, and quite possibly, repeating some of the mistakes from those times. We’re allowing ourselves to be divided by blind hatred for one another. The Vampire Regime might be over, but it feels like a different kind of regime has taken hold.”

  “It does feel like that more and more. There’s an increased level of oppression and violence.
It’s been escalating worse than it ever has over the recent decades. My grandparents can attest to that, and many others who are of a similar age.”

  “Did we really learn our lesson?”

  “This is utopia compared to other places.”

  “I know, but still. We’ve become stronger and better as a whole, but we’re divided here in this city and have alienated each other according to elemental powers and association with a district. How will it all end?”

  “I wish I knew. It’s still not too late to correct our course, but if this continues, there could be civil war, which won’t be isolated to just Archelm City. It could spread like wildfire. For now, our fighting and aggression is contained. I just worry that this hatred of each other might jump from this city into the rest of Sundarin.”

  She agreed with him. “Anyways, shall we take a walk?” she said.

  “Of course.”

  Karena stepped out of the booth. At a distance, he followed her down the stairs. Once outside, he drew close to her, and offered his arm, which she took. The stars above winkled at them. A crescent moon framed the sky. Cars honking brought her out of her bliss, and back down to reality. There were people around, and she was walking together with Asher. She let go of his arm, and veered away from the sidewalk and onto a narrow path that meandered into a nearby public garden. She led the way, and he shadowed her on the dirt pathway.

  The chestnut trees, flowering lilac bushes, and blue ferns swallowed them into seclusion. The garden became so dense, she couldn’t see the road or the twinkle of house lights. A creek gurgled next to the path, and they soon came to the pond that it spilled out of. Tiny fairies skated across its surface.

  Under an archway, Asher put a hand on her waist, and gently pivoted her around. His hands met in the middle of her back. He leaned his head down, and she didn’t hesitate to tilt her head up and lock her lips against his. Her arms went up and around his neck. She massaged her fingers into his hair, pushing him harder against her lips. She slid her lips against his, and took his bottom one in her teeth, pulled, and let go.

  Asher panted, and dipped his head further down. He sucked on her neck, kissing and licking it, inhaling her perfume. Her blood raced, and mist formed around her, which met his heat waves. His sweltering touch cooled on her skin. Her skin sparkled where he touched her. His hands curled around her back, kneading her skin, wishing to go lower, but not yet daring too. Her cool breath met his warm one. She pressed herself against him. He held onto her hips, clutching them over and over again, his hands traveling higher and then lower in a feverish lust that couldn’t be satisfied.

  Knowing that they were at that teetering point, where she was going to take off his clothing and he would take off hers, Karena put on the brakes. There was nothing wrong with their intimacy, but he was to be savored, not consumed. He matched her rhythm, forcing himself to slow down. They kissed, and then held onto each other, their faces against each other’s as they soaked in that still moment and each other’s presence.

  They withdrew, safe in knowing what they both wanted and needed. They walked a little further down the path in silence until they found a cushioned bench under a small, pitched roof to sit on. Instead of sitting down on it, she sat on his lap with her left side against his chest. She draped her left arm over his shoulder and around his neck. He stroked her back, while she ran her fingers through his hair. He gave a soft purr for her amusement.

  “That feels good, just like everything else did,” he said, nuzzling his head against her shoulder.

  She giggled, and kissed the side of his head.

  “What are you thinking?” Asher asked, suddenly reflective.

  “I’m thinking about how I don’t want this to end, and how much I’m enjoying myself and your company. What about you?”

  He gave a half-shrug, and said, “The usual. I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life. You like me for who I am.”

  Her hand went to his chest where she knew the jagged scar from a previous lover’s attempt to kill him crossed from one side to the other. “You’re not worried, are you?” Karena asked.

  He shook his head, but she could tell there might be more.

  “Tell me,” she said.

  “I…. I do get a little worried, that’s all, when I know I shouldn’t. Can fire and ice really interact harmoniously? And not only that, we’re Chaos elementals.”

  “It’s okay to be concerned. I get like that too. Our powers make us both dangerous, and equals. Neither one of us has the advantage or the disadvantage.”

  Asher squeezed her against him in an assuring way. He said, “I’ll be fine. I just wish that I could forget about what happened when I was a teenager.”

  “All you have to do is remember my birthday party, and how you wore a mask. I didn’t know who you were.”

  “I know your feelings are true.”

  “This feud is going to test us. I have a feeling that it’s going to in the near future. I think it’s important to know where we stand in regards to our feelings for each other before that happens.”

  “I hope it doesn’t try to tear us apart. I’m not going to let it.”

  “I’m not going to let it either, but we will have to be ready for whatever does happen. What if they say things about me that aren’t true, will you believe them?”

  “No.”

  “Those are the kinds of things we have to think about if we are found out.”

  He kissed the bare skin of her shoulder.

  Just as he was about to say something, laughter and loud steps pounding on the dirt path startled them. A couple holding hands came into view, laughing so hard they were gasping for breath and almost unable to stay upright. The couple spotted them sitting there, but didn’t linger and ran down the path to give them privacy and to find their own spot to have some alone time together. Her heart hammered from the temporary alarm.

  They were quiet as they listened to the breeze rustle the leaves of the trees and the fronds of the ferns.

  “Karena.”

  “Yeah?”

  He looked her in the eyes, and said, “I want to be with you, forever if I can, if you’ll let me. I know it’s early to say that, but I care about you with all of my heart, and I want you to know that. We’ll find a way to be together when things get more serious between us, when we decide to take those next steps in our relationship. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you.”

  “As am I for you. I’ve never felt this way about someone. I used to wonder if love would ever find me, and now it has. I’m not about to let it slip through my fingers or let it get taken from me because of this feud. I care about you too.”

  They sat there for a while longer until the night grew late and they had to part ways. Asher wrote down his address for her, so that she knew where to find him. She kissed him again before she got into her car to go home. She didn’t want to leave him, but she had to. He stood in the parking lot, and watched her back out her car and exit the theatre’s parking lot.

  Her head buzzed, and she was filled with ecstasy, but also a tinge of sadness that he wasn’t in the passenger seat, headed home with her. Karena reminded herself that everything would happen in its own time. As she thought about their kiss, and the way they steamed when their skin rubbed against each other’s, she smiled.

  Chapter 18

  Karena looked at her cards. She had a knife, a ranger’s suit, a troll, and a stable boy card. Her hand was a disaster, but primarily because she hadn’t been able to think straight after the previous night. She had made mistake after mistake in the holographic card game with her friends. Her mind was on Asher and replaying their date in her head.

  She glanced at Sean on her right, whose cards were dueling both Leo’s and Violet’s. Seated at a low table, they sat cross-legged on cushions on the wooden floor of Sean’s treehouse. Sean gritted his teeth because it looked like he might win. When it was over, Leo had won, and Sean’s archer, dressed in a sorceress’s robes, limped aw
ay, alive, but badly drained of health. The archer phased back into the card.

  “Your turn, Karena. Come on, put down something good,” Leo said. He sat across from her, and he had a defensive layout in front of him. He waited. His round face was like a cub’s.

  “I’ve got nothing,” Karena said, glaring at her cards. She discarded the stable boy in order to take a card from the pick-up pile. This time she received a farmer, which wasn’t any better than the stable boy.

  She had no choice but to set her cards down onto the table. The troll card glimmered, and a holographic image of a troll stood up to fight Leo’s scimitar wielding hunter with his maul. Her farmer’s card did the same, but he had the knife in his hand. Karena watched the exchange. Though her farmer wore the ranger’s suit, it did little to protect him, and his knife was useless against Violet’s swordswoman who brandished a two-handed, long sword. Her farmer was decapitated within seconds, and her troll received grievous, slash wounds. Violet’s swordswoman had won. The holographic images jumped back into their cards.

  “Argh! I give up. I can’t even win one round,” Karena said, and threw up her hands.

  “You shouldn’t be having a bad day,” Leo said, smoothing back his frizzy hair from his face.

  Feeling unexpectedly defensive, Karena asked, “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re finally out of that Fire’s team. You should be celebrating and enjoying good luck,” Leo said, to which Violet and Sean agreed.

  “I was hoping you would freeze Asher again, and leave him floating like an iceberg on top of a pool,” Violet said.

  Leo said, “All we would need are penguins to complete the scene.”

  They laughed, and Sean added his own opinion to compliment the picture Violent had created in their heads.

  Karena looked at them. They were unaware of what their words truly meant, and the weight they carried. She too had shared a similar mindset, but she didn’t now. Their attitudes felt hostile, even though it wasn’t directed towards her. But if they found out, she would be lumped together with the Fires and Airs, and be the target of their malice, despite the fact that they had been friends for a long time.