Touched by Allegra Skye Page A

sweet pudding, suddenly filled with pangs of great hunger. She saw rows and rows of crystal tables with Torches sitting at them, holding china bowls in their hands, eating from them.
      At the far end of the room, one table was overflowing, with an air of excitement around it. Keira walked in that direction, hoping to find a place to sit and a way to get some food.
    As she got closer to the overflowing table, her heart sank. She stopped cold. There was Cooper seated in the center of the table, glowing, everyone surrounding him with great joy. And – sitting next to him, gleaming, was a young, beautiful woman, with long red hair, huge blue eyes and a perfect aquiline face, like his. She was staring up at him with adoration, entirely enchanted.
    Keira couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her breath stopped and her mind fell into a dark spin. It was her worst fear - right in front of her eyes, more horrible than she could ever have imagined. Cooper with someone else!
    Keira never dreamed that Cooper would meet someone else so quickly. This young, gorgeous woman was part of his tribe. It seemed as if they’d been together forever. He wasn’t looking back at her, but she was staring at him.
     Keira’s heart broke into tiny pieces as she stood there watching. She realized immediately that no matter what she said or did, she would always be the outsider. Keira couldn’t stand it for another second. Her hands and feet grew icy cold as she spun around and fled out of the dining room, into the hallway. The moment she got outside the dining room doors, to her amazement, the two thin men who had greeted them, were standing there, waiting.
    “Ilyana would like to see you immediately,” one of them said quickly, lisping over his words.
    “Why?” Keira bristled in agony.
    They were startled by her harshness. “There is never a question here of why ,” they uttered. “Here, we just do as we are told.”
    “So, take me to her,” Keira muttered, giving them both dark glances.
    They just smiled to each other and led Keira down the hall, around a corner and up several steps into Ilyana’s room.
    *
    When Keira walked into her room, Ilyana was sitting in a yellow silk gown, on a golden chair, her long, auburn hair down over her shoulders, waiting. Keira was stunned to be in the presence of such great, timeless beauty. She’d never seen a woman like this before. Of course, Keira thought, she’s not human, she’s living in a different dimension. I’m no match for her.
    Ilyana seemed calmer today, more gracious. Why shouldn’t she be gracious, Keira thought? She’s won the battle already. Cooper belongs to her now. And for all I know, to that beautiful, young woman. Next to Ilyana, Keira felt small, ugly, human. She wanted to get out of there.
    “Please sit down,” said Ilyana in a smooth tone, pointing to a red chair that was placed in front of her.
    Keira went over and sat down on it.
    “I hope your stay has been pleasant,” Ilyana continued, “and that you slept well last night.”
    Keira wanted to tell her that she was famished, and hadn’t slept for a second, that her room was like a jail cell. But, instead, she summoned all her composure and held her silence. Keira knew that if she became rattled, she would give Ilyana even more fuel against her, and all would be lost.
    “Yes, thank you,” Keira answered in a calm manner.
    Ilyana smiled a strange smile. Perhaps she saw right through Keira, or perhaps she was just playing her own kind of game. Each tribe had its own rules, games, standards of procedure. Keira wasn’t yet part of any tribe. She’d been born part of a twin, but even that twin rejected her. The only thing she’d ever felt part of was Cooper, and the indigo light that came and guided her. Now, she could only depend on that.
    “In our tribe, we belong to each other, we all do everything together,” Ilyana said pointedly.
    Clearly, Ilyana was trying to make her feel even more like an outsider,