The Ultimate Sacrifice, Talia Jager [novels to read .TXT] 📗

the day. I can’t have that happen.”

“Okay.”

I was silent for a minute and twirled my earring. I had to push back all the feelings that were threatening to come to the front of my mind. “Kiss me.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me. Kiss me.”

He didn’t wait for me to say it again. He moved closer and leaned in, hesitating for a few seconds as he let his warm breath fall on my lips. Then he pressed his lips against mine. I leaned into the kiss and pressed back. His hands were around me now, holding me against his body. My body responded by heating up and getting all tingly. I pushed him back and sat in his lap, facing him. He smiled, obviously enjoying this side of me.

I took his head in my hands and pressed my lips to his. Then I kissed his cheek, his ear, and his neck before I made my way back to his mouth. My heart was racing, and I was breathing fast. I nibbled on his lip and tugged on it as I pulled away.

“Wow…” he whispered.

“Sorry,” I said, apologizing for getting carried away.

“Don’t be sorry. That was…amazing.”

“Hey, you two!” an adult yelled. “What are you doing back here? The bell rang, you are supposed to be in training!”

“Oops.”

We both giggled and hurried back to the courtyard. I crammed the rest of my sandwich in my mouth and threw away my garbage. Arian was watching. I bet she was the one who sent people after us. For some reason, even with Kassia gone, she still hated us. I thought about compelling her to do something that would get her in trouble, but I figured it would just backfire and get me in trouble instead.

Zane winked at me and went to his group. Auralee caught my eye. She went up to Arian and raised her voice, which was rare for Auralee. I got closer so I could listen. “Not only am I watching you, I’m also reading your mind. You try getting any of my friends in trouble again, you will be sorry.” The look on Arian’s face was priceless. She hadn’t seen that coming. I chuckled a little. She started to say something, but Auralee cut her off. “Don’t go there.” I chuckled again. That was a side of Auralee I didn’t see often.

A few days later, I saw Daxton sitting in the courtyard alone. I walked over and sat beside him. He smiled at me, but it was a forced smile. “Hey,” I managed to say. I liked Daxton, but when I was around him I felt Kassia more and that was hard. I wanted to be there for him, but sometimes seeing his hurt was like looking into a mirror. “How ya doing?”

He shrugged. “’Bout the same.”

“Wanna talk?”

His eyes were cast down. “I just miss her.”

“Me too.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t. I feel like everyone is waiting for me to pick up the pieces and move on, but I don’t want to.”

“That’s how I feel too. You loved her, and it’s okay to mourn for her. I do all the time.”

“You seem so together though.”

“Oh, Daxton.” I sighed. “Sometimes I look tough on the outside, I have to. But inside I guarantee you, I’m a mess. I cry every night. Every night,” I emphasized. “The pain won’t go away. She was a part of my life for six years. It doesn’t just disappear.”

“I only knew her for a short time, but I felt so drawn to her. I still do. I don’t know how to move on.”

“Daxton?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever use your gift to see her? Can you even do that?” I asked. He looked up at me, startled. “Oh my God, you do!”

“Mira…it’s…”

“You’ve been doing it. Oh, Daxton, you have to take me there. You have to!” I insisted.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“It’s addicting, and she’s not real. It’s hard to remember it’s not really her.”

“But to see her one more time…” My heart ached.

“And then what, Mira? What about the next time?”

“Just once,” I pleaded.

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”

“You’re being selfish! You’re keeping this all to yourself,” I accused him.

“It’s not like that. It’s just…a fantasy world, a dream world. It’s not real!”

“Then why do you do it? Why do you go there?”

He didn’t answer. I felt bad for him, but he had a way to see Kassia and I didn’t. Right now, I wanted to see her badly. Tears flowed down my cheeks. “Okay,” he said, giving in. “But only for a minute, and that’s only because I care about you, and I don’t want you to lose touch with reality.”

I nodded, agreeing to anything.

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be doing this.” He placed his hands on mine, and I was whisked away in a heartbeat. Daxton and I were standing on a white sand beach. The sun was shining down on us. The smell of the ocean tickled my nose.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“She loved this beach.” He smiled, looking toward the ocean.

I followed his gaze and gasped when I saw her. Kassia was sitting on the beach with her feet in the water. I knew she wasn’t real, but she sure looked it. My heart was racing, and I could feel the tears falling down my face.

As we walked closer to her, she turned and waved, looking more beautiful than I remembered. Her eyes lit up like we were the only two people in the world who mattered. Her face had color in it unlike the last time I had seen her. I had to laugh when I saw her perfect lip gloss sparkling in the sunlight. Her long, auburn hair blew in the ocean breeze. She looked so alive and happy.

I wondered if I could talk to her and hug her, but I knew I’d be happy if I could just sit next to her and be with her. There was no place I’d rather be. Suddenly, I was pulled from the dream and found myself back in reality.

“What the hell?”

It wasn’t just Daxton and me anymore. Noe was standing next to us. Her eyes were wild. She was searching for something.

Auralee was running up to us. She shot us disapproving looks. “You two shouldn’t be doing this. We’ll get to that later. What is it, Noe?”

She put her finger up and made us wait a minute. “It’s almost time.”

“Time for?”

“The battle to start.” Her words were hushed. “I can’t see everything, but it looks like they’re coming here. We have to tell Eaton.”

Jumping up, we all hurried to Eaton’s office, where Noe filled him in.

“Here?” he asked.

“From what I can tell, Kern wants to get rid of the gifted and faeries first, then move on to the rest of the world. He’s going to attack the schools. He personally holds a grudge toward our school because of Kassia. He wants to see the demons bring us down,” Noe said, talking fast, pacing around the room. “We have to prepare everyone.”

Mr. Eaton looked out of his window. “Noe, how bad will it be?”

“We will lose some, sir. I can’t see the ending yet, too many demons in the way.”

He nodded somberly. “How long do we have?”

“Two weeks…give or take. As soon as I know, I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll step up the training,” Mr. Eaton said.

We were excused and walked back outside. Auralee turned to Daxton and me and started pointing her finger and yelling at us. “What were you two thinking? That’s a dream, it’s not real! Why would you do that to yourselves?”

“I had to see her again,” I defended myself.

“Not like that.”

“Why not? She was alive and happy!”

“It’s not real, Mira!” Noe chimed in. “I know you’re both hurting tremendously, and I would love to see her again, but that isn’t her. You’re just prolonging your healing.”

Daxton and I looked down, feeling ashamed.

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” Auralee said. “I’m just worried about you. Please let your hearts heal now.”

I thought about seeing Kassia on the beach. It was a pleasant thought. Maybe that was all I needed. Thinking of her somewhere happy and safe made me smile, and that was better than remembering her dead and colorless.

Auralee nodded. “You’re right. Remember her like that.” She reached over and hugged me. “She’s always going to be here with us.” She put her hand over my heart. “She’ll always be with you.”

I looked over at Daxton. “She’s right. You’ve got to let her go. We have to prepare for this battle. We need to be ready.”

“I’ll try. It’s hard because it’s something I can do anytime.”

“I know. Try for us,” I said, knowing that I’d have to talk to Zane and have him keep an eye on Daxton.

“I will.”

I gave him a big hug before walking away. I pulled out my cell phone and called Zane. “I need you to meet me in the courtyard,” I told him.

“Be right there.”

I waited for him by the door of his building. When he stepped out, I threw my arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. I led him to a nearby bench, and we sat down. “There’s a couple things going on.”

“Okay…?” He looked concerned.

“First, Noe said the battle will be soon. In the next two weeks.”

“Really?”

“That’s what she says.” I let out a short laugh. “You don’t question what she says.”

“Okay, what do we do?”

“We talked to Eaton. He’s going to step up the training. I guess that’s all we can do. The other thing is about Daxton. He’s been seeing Kassia—”

“What?” he interrupted me. “How?”

“He’s been using his gift and seeing her that way. He…uh…I talked him into letting me see her today.”

“Oh, Mira…”

“I know, but I had to. It was quick…just for a minute or two, and she was so happy Zane…she was on a beach and full of life. Seeing her like that made me happy,” I said, letting the tears fall down my face.

He took my hands. “I get it. I do. The last time you saw her she was dead. Seeing her alive like that made you think she was in a good place. Closure.”

I nodded. “Yeah, sort of.”

“But?”

“Daxton. It’s like he’s addicted to seeing her. He can’t stop because he can see her as much as he wants. It’s hurting him. It’s keeping him from healing. He promised today that he’d try and stop, but he needs a friend…you. You need to help him. Please.”

“Of course I will,” he responded.

“Thank you.”

He put his arm around me, and we sat there until the sun went down. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, you will.” I smiled and we kissed again before I went back to my room. When I got there, I picked up the picture of Kassia and me and sat down on her bed. I ran my finger over her picture. “I miss you so much. So incredibly much. I don’t want you to think I’m forgetting you because I’m really not. I will never, ever forget you. I know it wasn’t you that I saw today, but seeing you like that made me hope that you are happy somewhere. And that means I can start to heal…” I clutched the picture to my chest and lay down on her bed. This was the one place I could still smell her. I cried until I could cry no