Despite all of the life threatening encounters we had just faced, Amelia still found a way to be humorous. I shook my head, holding back an inappropriate laugh.
"She wanted Amelia dead as badly as she wanted me dead. She's been trying to deliver me to them. She would have succeeded tonight if Amelia hadn't been able to stop her, and if you hadn't shown up when you did."
I stared directly into Tallis's eyes. He almost winced as I did so. He started to move toward me. I could feel gravity pulling us into each other as it had so many times before. I could feel the passion that had tried to abandon me as it started to resurface.
My breath caught when the pull became nearly overwhelming. His hand wrapped around my waist before settling on my back, and the forgotten fire surged through me, burning me. My whole body ached to be closer. The moment surprised us both, leaving us caught in a gaze we couldn't abandon on our own.
"Should we leave you two alone?" Amelia asked, amused.
Tallis backed up slightly, his bashful grin forming. The sound of footsteps snapped us out of it, putting us all on alert. Tallis took a defensive stance and then relaxed almost just as quickly.
Jay and Ayla walked in, crunching on glass as they stepped across the floor. Jay looked around the destroyed room, taking it all in with wide, quizzical eyes.
"Looks like someone had better start explaining—" His eyes landed on Taryn, and his curious expression turned to terror. "No! They killed her?!"
Tears filled his eyes as he dropped to his knees, his gaze still on the traitor.
Amelia stood to her feet, still shaky, and answered bitterly before anyone else could.
"No. I killed her."
Jay just gawked at her, shocked and lost for what to say. His accusatory glare burned when landed on me as he restrained his anger. Considering Amelia failed to elaborate, we were the ones looking like traitors.
"Jay, she was trying to kill us." He warily stood up, his knees trying to betray him as he shook his head, his disbelief almost tangible. I filled him in on Taryn's in-depth confession, watching his face go pale with each new truth.
Jay sat down in a chair, unable to stand any longer. Glass crunched beneath him as he did, but he didn't seem to notice. He was trying to take in all the information I had just unloaded, but it was a lot to process.
"I can't believe it." He rubbed his hands through his hair, pained and still stunned.
Tallis walked over to me and looked me over again, tilting my head from side to side as he checked for any damage that I had not reported to him. I smiled at his concern, and put my hand over his to bring it down, fighting to ignore the burn I felt from the chaste touch.
"No one ever even touched me. I'm perfectly fine, thanks to all of my heroes."
I winked at him, forcing him to grin for a second. Then I looked over at Jay who was still going through the messed up sordid details in his head. I knew he felt betrayed, possibly even more than I did. He'd known Taryn longer than I had.
"You could have told me about the enchanted pool. I would've moved my bed to the middle of it a long time ago," I said by way of lightening the intense situation.
Jay only barely smiled, still seeming distracted as he stared at Taryn's body. "Well, we usually keep it quiet. We thought it would only help you in your immortal state. They can just kill you any old way as a mortal. It's a family secret that you learn when you get your immortality."
My brow raised as I spoke with humor. "Or you learn about it when a crazy man tries to suck the life out of you while you're taking a swim, and suddenly the pool is fighting your battle for you."
I laughed instead of trembling, it seemed to make the truth less dramatic
.
I was still in my bikini, and due to the broken glass, a chill had spread throughout the room. Tallis saw my slight shivering, and pulled his shirt off and handed it to me. Personally, I preferred the freezing to the drooling. Suddenly my eyes were glued to his perfect body, feeling teased and taunted.
I pulled on his shirt while I mumbled, "That's not even fair."
Apparently it wasn't quiet enough. His throaty chuckle proved it.
"A soaking wet, black bikini wasn't too fair either. Let's consider it an even trade." He winked at me and pulled open the door to the main house. A breath of reluctance fell through his lips as he added, "Let's go tell Iris why I broke her house."
I put my head down and laughed. When his back was turned again, I pulled his shirt to my nose and smelled it. Sad, I know. But it smelled so amazing.
I stared at the perfect contours of his back as I pathetically continued sniffing his shirt and smiled to myself. Then I felt a harsh stab of pain when reality broke through the fantasy. He still wasn't mine. He still didn't want to be mine. He couldn't be mine.
I began fighting the overwhelming urge to cry as the painful knot tightened in my throat. He grabbed his side, like something was hurting him. He looked at me and his lips tightened, a fresh pain in his eyes.