Central by Raine Thomas Page B

washed through Olivia made her light-headed. When the doorway to the kitchen suddenly filled with Gabriel, James and Caleb, all of their eyes flashing a brilliant dark blue, she figured her sisters had each experienced similar reactions.
    Gabriel looked from Amber to Jabari and his eyes went wide with shock. Then, just as swiftly, they narrowed. Olivia didn’t think she had ever seen him look more dangerous.
    “James, Caleb,” he said in a cold and lethal tone, “we need to talk.”
     

Chapter Nine
     
    That night, as everyone else slept, James sat in the same chair he had taken possession of nearly six hours before. His own bed hadn’t been touched. The moon was already settling lower in the sky, telling him that it was nearing dawn. It didn’t matter. He didn’t think he could sleep if someone cast their power on him.
    The foul thought that archigos Gabriel had conveyed to him and Caleb earlier that day completely pervaded his mind. It was all too possible, this terrible act that Jabari had hypothesized. In fact, it was frighteningly logical, which was what had James awake and obsessing right now. If the Elphresti leader was right, then the sisters had escaped a fate far worse than death when they managed to evade Grolkinei’s commanders after the Becoming ceremony.
    That thought completely infuriated him. It was an emotion he hadn’t ever experienced before.
    Right in the middle of their Euchre game, without any Orculesti present to interpret perceived thoughts, he had felt Olivia’s intense emotions: fear, outrage, disgust, horror. He had lifted from his chair, completely forgetting about the game, thinking of nothing but getting to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that his leader and Caleb had both done the same. They moved swiftly as a unit to the doorway leading to the family room. He had instinctively allowed Gabriel to take the lead, but it had been a remarkable challenge to fight the urge to push past everyone and everything in an effort to get to Olivia at that moment. He had felt the vibrations in Caleb’s arm indicating the same level of restraint.
    When Gabriel’s demeanor had only grown more intense after he had paused in the doorway and looked at Amber and Jabari, James had nearly lost all of his control. He had wanted nothing more than to rush to Olivia’s side. Caleb’s tension also seemed to escalate as their leader’s fury washed over them. But when Gabriel announced firmly that he would speak with them, they had backed off, trusting he would tell them what was going on.
    Of course, when James and Caleb had listened to Gabriel reiterate what Jabari had said to the sisters, they had been anything but calm.
    “Is he suggesting that Grolkinei would force himself upon them?” James had asked, all but choking on the words as Olivia’s sweet and innocent face filled his mind.
    And when Gabriel had answered him in the affirmative, Caleb’s heated response had been beyond repeating in polite company. For some reason, however, their violent reactions— rather incongruent to Gloresti teachings about coolness in the face of peril—had actually calmed their leader. Rather than censure them, he had smiled. A very fierce smile.
    “It’s at this moment that I see why I selected each of you,” he said, holding their gazes as he spoke. “I will admit to only the two of you that there are some things about my existence on this plane before I transitioned that I don’t recall clearly. But I can say without humility that I made the right choices with each of you. Whether you fully understand it or not, you are now bound to the sisters you protect by more than just a typical Gloresti’s bond. And based on what we’ve just learned, they’ll need that extra connection to keep from falling victim to unimaginable harm. While they’re definitely powerful in their own rights, any of them would be vulnerable alone right now. We must all remain very focused on their protection.” And here,