Vital by Jamie Magee Read Free Book Online Page B

that our separation would cause was clear in my mind.
    “How am I acting different?” he asked.
    I looked up at him. “Dane, seriously – you’re asking me that? Clarissa is your life. Do you have any idea what she’s going through right now? She hates me because of you. Not to mention that you’re deliberately picking fights with everyone – with Landen.”
    I watched as he took in my words; it was as if they were all foreign to him.
    “I’m sorry Clarissa is mad at you. If she comes back, I’ll talk to her.”
    “You need to go to her.”
    “I’m not going to Chara.”
    “Why not?! It’s obvious that Esterious has messed with your head,” I argued.
    “I feel suffocated there. We tried going home yesterday, and I couldn’t breathe. I think someone somewhere is telling me that I need to stay in Esterious, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
    “Literally or figuratively suffocated you?” I asked, feeling the truth in his words but not understanding it.
    “Both, I think,” he answered, looking down.
    “Why are you so mad at Landen? That’s the line with me you know you can’t cross.”
    His expression turned cold, then washed away as he tried to look innocent. “I just don’t understand why he’s in an alliance with Drake. They’re supposed to be mortal enemies, and now all of a sudden they’re best friends? You of all people should find that odd.”
    I raised my eyebrows “I don’t know that I’d call them best friends. Mortal enemies? Where did you get that from? They’re not murderers. The only real enemy they have is the darkness.”
    “The darkness,” Dane mocked. “That’s a thing that can never be defeated. A man - you can defeat that.”
    I stopped and glared up at him. “If you believe the devil can’t be defeated, then you don’t belong at my side. My sole intent is stop him – and if you recall, I’ve fared well so far.”
    As his face blushed with the anger I felt from him, he gently put his hands on my shoulders. “I just want to see my enemies...I’m sorry. I will try desperately to act like myself, but you’ve got to at least take in my perspective before you make a rash decision again.”
    “Rash? Like I have time to think,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
    He shook his head in frustration, then reached for my hand as we walked on in silence. I could feel Landen just ahead. He’d already sent Beth into the passage, and he was waiting for me, growing less patient by the moment.
    “You know he can feel your intent and see your truth better than I can. You have a choice to make in the next few seconds: either walk away from me, or stand at my side with Landen and Drake.”
    His squeezed my hand and glared forward. “At your side,” he said shortly.
    I felt truth in his words, but something was off about him. Something told me to pull away, not to trust him, and I let his hand go before I could tell myself that that was an absurd thought. I thought about reaching for it again when I felt his eyes rain down on me, but by then Landen came into view and reached for my hand as he judged everything he was feeling coming from Dane. The resistance in Landen’s confident blue eyes led me to believe that he felt it, too; he knew something was off about Dane. I knew instantly I’d have to find a way to convince Landen that he was wrong – that I was wrong. Dane was fine; just confused.
    “Clean slate,” Dane said shortly.
    Landen nodded once, but didn’t smile.
    He’s not going home , Landen thought as he guided me through the passage.
    “No. I don’t know what to say to him.”
    The passage led us to the room in which Drake’s dreams of me were invoked. In an attempt not to remind me of my childhood nightmares, the staff had removed the bed and podium. The ceiling was now covered, and the room was brightly lit, painted in a beautiful ivory tone. What was once a bedroom now resembled a welcoming entry hall.
    Dane seemed surprised by the dramatic change that had