Page 1 of Oleander
PROLOGUE
SKYLER
One Week Ago
The sound is deafening. A roaring cacophony of chaos swirling outside my little bubble of calm. Only it isn’t calm when my entire life force is shooting from my palms like my soul is being ripped from my body.
I would think this was a dream, or more accurately, a nightmare, if I couldn’t feel it so strongly. So vividly. The pain is immense, the energy too strong. It’s like a never-ending shock wave. Whatever is happening to me, it can’t go on much longer. I don’t think I’ll make it. Sweat drips down my temples, dampening my shaggy brown hair. My vision is darkening around the edges, narrowing in on the sight in front of me—my hands, the silvery blue energy pouring from them, and the swirling debris that was once my neighborhood.
I grit my teeth, the tendons in my neck straining and ready to burst as I continue to brace myself through this pandemonium. The electricity in the air is palpable, and a static buzz fills my ears and makes every little hair on my body stand on end. Lightning crackles around me. The energy is building, and Ifeel as if I’m on the verge of imploding into a million pieces. Vaporized without a trace.
“Ahhhh!” I tilt my head back, screaming at the top of my lungs until my throat is raw and my voice goes out.
I sink to my knees before one last pulse of energy blasts from the tips of my fingers, and I fall face-first to the ground.
My chest saws in and out while I struggle for breath, surrounded by the wreckage of my former home. I roll onto my back and stare up at the now blue sky full of fluffy white clouds as if nothing cataclysmic just happened. As if my entire life didn’t just explode around me.
I grasp my necklace tightly, feeling a slight bit of relief that it’s still there. Where italwaysis. The rough tourmaline digs into my palm, grounding me. My good luck charm. It’s the only thing I own that truly means anything to me.
Tears stream from my eyes, unbidden, and I start to shake uncontrollably. My whole being feels cold, sore, andsleepy.
If I could just close my eyes and rest for a moment?—
“Over here! Onyx! He’s right here!” a deep voice calls out in what sounds like relief and possibly excitement.
I sit up in alarm, too many unknowns swirling around in my head, mixing with panic and pure exhaustion. My vision is spotty, and I couldn’t get away even if my legs worked right now.
I squeeze my eyes shut as images of being strapped to a metal exam table and experimented on flash through my head. I have no idea what just happened to me. What I justdid. But it can’t be good. And I can only hope that all of my neighbors made it to their basements in time because I’m pretty sure I leveled the whole block. Maybe I deserve to be locked up.
Rough hands clutch my trembling shoulders, urging me to lie back down. I gasp, feeling as if I’m on the verge of having a major cardiac arrest at eighteen.
I’m once again lying on my back in the debris, staring at the sky.
“Relax. Take a deep breath. You’re safe now.” The voice is gruff, not at all reassuring, and I’m damn near hyperventilating. “You need to calm down,” he tries again, sounding frustrated and annoyed.
“Birch, let me talk to him.”
I can barely hear the soft, easy-going request over my heartbeat thrashing in my ears, drowning out everything except my terror.
Gentle fingers press against the artery in my neck, and I can feel my own pulse racing out of control.
“I got you. You’re okay, little Fae. We’re here now.”
“D-don’t hurt me,” I murmur through heaving breaths, nearing full-blown hysteria.Fuck.I sound as weak as I feel, but what else am I supposed to do?
“He doesn’t know what we are, Onyx. Look at him; he’s terrified,” the gravelly voice says in disbelief.
What does that mean, whatweare?
My pulse spikes, and I know he can feel it.
“I see that. Not helping though, are you, Birch?” Nimble fingers grasp my wrist and move my palm to press against a hard chest. “Breathe with me.” His musical voice entrances me, and I’m unable to do anything else except trust this strange man before me.
My lungs slow, the air flowing freely as if someone else is controlling the process. I continue taking deep breaths rich in oxygen, restoring my darkened vision for a split-second before my body gives in, and I finally pass out. But it was long enough.
I won’t forget the glowing purple eyes and tall, pointed ears on the face hovering above me.
CHAPTER ONE
