Page 31 of Kiss the Dawn
Quinn and Nyx were frozen now, smiles on their faces as they stared out at the storm.
“This was a happy place for you?” he asked.
“The best.” I turned from the storm outside to face the tempest that was Ezekiel Tepes, and a flutter filled my chest because he was even more beautiful in my dreams.
His golden eyes darkened as he leaned in to brace his hand on the brick above my head, effectively caging me in with his body. “Where are you now?” he asked in a tone that was more suited to sweet nothings.
“Somewhere on the Gateway Road.”
“I can feel the distance.” He lightly caressed my cheek with his free hand. “I don’t like it.”
I turned my cheek to his palm and closed my eyes for a beat. “Will it be a problem for us communicating like this?”
“I believe it might.” His breath coasted across my lips, and mine parted in anticipation of his kiss, but it never arrived. In fact, I could no longer feel him.
I opened my eyes to find him gone.
“Five days.” His voice echoed in my head. “Be back…”
“Orina?” Lorenzo called. “It’s time to wake up.”
The Ministry melted away, but it would always be there when I needed it. A safe haven in the deep recesses of my mind.
The townof Rayloft was a small settlement on the coast dotted with whitewashed buildings that looked tiny from the rise we’d parked on.
The crisp air, wet with the scent of the sea, filled my lungs with vitality.
“Thanks for the ride,” Levi said. “Maybe we’ll see you again someday.”
“Yes, maybe,” Lorenzo said.
“You’re not heading into town, then?” Curi asked.
“In a little while,” Lorenzo said.
“Okay, bye.” Levi set off, and after a moment, Curi followed, headed down the road that dipped toward the town.
I stood with my back against the motorhome. “You don’t think they’re going into town, do you?”
“Oh, they’ll go into town, but they might not stay there.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
The guard house was to the east of the town, set on a cliffside that could only be accessed on foot. Rodney drove us as close as he could before saying his goodbyes. He’d wait for us in town.
Lorenzo loaned me his coat, a fleece-lined affair that came down to my knees, and we trudged up the hill and onto a winding rocky path.
“So no one knows this place is here?”
“People know it’s here,” Lorenzo said. “But the owner is an eccentric old man who likes to be left alone. At least that’s what they’re led to believe. But Ian is a witch, and he works for the Circle.”
I stopped asking questions after that because the climb was brutal, and I needed to focus on it. Lorenzo shielded me from the worst of the gusty wind; still, by the time we reached the top, my face was frozen and my lungs ached, but it was over. We were here, at the small cottage that sat atop this cliff. It even had a white picket fence.
A heavyset fellow wearing a raincoat and wellington boots walked out to meet us at the gate. Hard eyes glared at us from beneath a hood, but the scowl on his surly mouth melted at the sight of Lorenzo.
“Crescent. Been a long time,” he said.
“It has.”
They shook hands.
