Storm and Fury (The Harbinger 1)

Matthew opened the door and slipped into the hall. I heard him speak, and then a second later, Zayne was standing in my doorway. He’d changed into what I swore was a pair of Thierry’s nylon workout pants and white shirt. His hair was damp and shoved back from his face.

I suddenly remembered what he’d said to me before I passed out. I feel like we’ve met before. Had he really said that? Or was that the drugs Matthew had been pumping in my veins? I wasn’t sure, but as he walked forward, not once talking his eyes off me, I knew that was what I’d been feeling all along, too.

It was like I knew him.

Zayne stopped by the foot of my bed. “Glad to see you’re not dead.”

My lips twitched. “I’m hard to kill.”

“Good to know.” He turned to the chair Thierry had occupied. “May I?”

“Sure.” I ignored the nervous little buzz in my veins as he folded into the chair. I glanced at the door, still expecting Misha to appear.

“How are you feeling?”

I looked at Zayne, and my antsy restlessness returned with a vengeance. I’d been wrong about what it was. It wasn’t nervousness. It was like taking a shot of a really potent energy drink, like the jitters from too much caffeine.

“Trinity?” His head cocked.

“Sorry.” I blinked. “I feel okay. Just a little sore.”

His gaze moved to my shoulder, where I knew only the edges of the claw marks were visible. I also knew that in a day or so, those marks would be nearly healed. “What happened to you out there?”

“I really don’t know.” And that was the truth.

Rolling the chair closer to the bed, he tipped forward, resting his elbows on his knees. A strand of damp hair fell forward, brushing against his cheek. “Thierry and Matthew didn’t tell me much, but I’m under the impression that whoever attacked you is dead?”

“He is,” I admitted.

“Good.”

I jolted in surprise.

“He was trying to hurt you.” He gestured at my arm with his chin. “He did hurt you. He got what he deserved.”

Wow.

Zayne was a little bloodthirsty.

I kind of liked it.

“And you did it? Killed a Warden?” he continued, and I didn’t answer. “How?”

I slowly shook my head.

“The blades?” he asked, and then said, “Or you’re a Hell of lot more trained than you let on.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Time to change the subject. “Did you really wait in the hallway this whole time?”

“With the exception of getting changed and taking a shower? Yes.” He tucked the piece of hair back behind his ear, and I hoped that Peanut hadn’t spied on him again. “Your shadow wasn’t too thrilled about that.”

“You saw Misha?”

“Briefly.” He tugged at the collar of the shirt. “Is he your...boyfriend?”

“What?” I laughed. “He’s a Warden.”

“So?”

“So?” I repeated, eyes widening. “Wardens don’t date anyone other than other Wardens.”

His brows knitted together. “That’s not true.”

“You’ve dated humans?”

“I’ve dated outside of Wardens.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to do with that information other than cuddle it really close and fantasize over it later. “Misha and I kissed once. Well, actually, I kissed him, and it was really weird since he’s like my brother—it felt supergross.” I didn’t know why I was telling him this, but he was listening. “Anyway, he really is like my brother, minus the one kiss...that felt like incest.”

Zayne pressed his lips together.

“That was an overshare moment, wasn’t it?”

“A little. I’ll add that to your list of attributes.” The grin broke free. “He was really worried about you, though.”

I glanced at the door. Where was Misha?

“I was worried about you, too.”

My gaze shot back to his. “Why?”

His brows lifted as that grin disappeared. “Are you really asking me why?”

“Yeah. Thought you found me annoying and frustrating.”

“I do.” A quick smile appeared and then disappeared. “Doesn’t mean I can’t worry.”

“Well, you can see I’m just fine.”

“No one is just fine after bleeding that much,” he commented, and, well, I couldn’t argue that point. “Thierry and Matthew reacted a little oddly to the whole blood thing.”

Crap. They should’ve thought about that before flipping out over the blood. “They are...really squeamish about blood and stuff.”

“Uh-huh.”

There wasn’t a single part him of that believed me.

“I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff. I’ve told you that before.” He paused. “Been through a lot of weird stuff.”

Well, if he’d lost a part of his soul, that would definitely be considered weird. Probably would be on the top of the list of weird stuff.

Zayne wasn’t done. “You, this clan and every damn thing that’s happened since I arrived is competing for the top spot of weirdness. We didn’t come here for the Accolade. We came for reinforcements, and Thierry demanded that we stay, which is bizarre because it’s rare that anyone is even given permission to come here, let alone stay for a while. And then there’s you.”

“Me?” I squeaked.

“You’re a human living in the regional seat of power—a human who can kill a Warden. And the whole blood thing? Yeah. This shit is bizarre to the max.”

“I have no idea what to say to that.”

“Well, get ready, because I know something else about you,” he said, and I tensed up so badly a dull burst of pain radiated down my arm. “Nicolai said you can see ghosts.”

My mouth opened and then closed. It took me a moment to speak. “He wasn’t supposed to repeat that.”

“There’s very little Nicolai doesn’t share with me,” he replied, tilting his head. “So, it’s true?”

I gave a little shake of my head as I said what Matthew had said to me. “I’m not the only person out there who can see ghosts and spirits, Zayne. A lot of people can. It’s not a big deal.”

He chuckled softly as he let his hands hang between his knees. “Only you would think that’s not a big deal. It is. I don’t know anyone else who can do that.”

“Maybe you do and they just haven’t told you.”

“Doubtful,” he murmured. “You’ve always been able to see them?”

“Yeah,” I admitted, and it was odd but nice to be talking to Zayne about what I could see. “Always.”

“What’s it like?” he asked, curiosity threading his voice.

I lifted my brows. “It’s hard to explain. I mean, ghosts and spirits are different. Did you know that?”

He shook his head.

“Yeah, ghosts haven’t moved on. They either don’t know they’re dead or refuse to accept it. They’re usually in their death states, so sometimes they can be kind of gross. Spirits have passed on, gone wherever they’re supposed to go, but are back either to check on loved ones or deliver a message.”

“And that’s what you do? Give people messages?”

“When I see spirits, yes, but I haven’t see one in ages,” I admitted, fiddling with my blanket. “When I see ghosts, I...I help them move into the light. So they can find peace.”

“That’s sounds difficult, but also...amazing,” he said, and when I lifted my gaze, I found that he was staring at me intently. “Some people would probably choose to ignore them or be afraid.”

“I couldn’t do that. They need help, and if you saw them, especially the ghosts...they’re so confused. They shouldn’t be left like that,” I told him, falling quiet as I dragged my teeth over my lower lip. “There are other things, though, that I won’t interact with.”

“Wraiths?”

Surprise shot me through me. “How did you know?”

“Unfortunately, I have experience with them.”

Wraiths were humans who’d had their souls stripped from them before they died. They couldn’t pass on, either to Heaven or Hell. They were stuck, and the longer they were stuck, the farther from human they became. “There are also...shadow people,” I said, curling my fingers around the edge of the blanket. “Have you heard of them?”

“Lower level demons,” he said, and I nodded. “They’re not ghosts or spirits.”

“I know, but they’re often mistaken for them. I’ve only seen one once. It was superfreaky.” I paused. “How do you have experience with the wraiths?”

Zayne sighed heavily and stared down at his hands. “In all the snooping you do, you didn’t hear about this?”

“I don’t snoop,” I muttered. “That much.”

His lashes lifted and a ghost of smile touched his lips. “It’s a long story.”

“We have time.”

“It’s late and you should be resting.”

“I am resting.” I gestured at myself with a flick of the wrists. “I’m in bed.” When he said nothing, my eyes narrowed. “Or is it a story you don’t think I should hear because I’m not a Warden? Because you don’t know me?”

Zayne was stubbornly quiet.

Irritation pulsed. “You ask me a ton of questions and yet refuse to answer ninety percent of mine. That’s not cool.”

He dragged his bottom lip through his teeth. “We had a Lilin in DC.”

If I had been sitting up, I would’ve toppled over. “You’re for real?”

He nodded. “There was a demon who wanted to free Lilith,” he explained, and I immediately thought of the half demon his clan had raised. Lilith’s daughter, supposedly.