Beautiful Secrets: The Complete Trilogy

by Marie Robinson

  It was a full face mask, with red feathers painted on it and embellished with gold paint and crystals. It was fitting, I thought, as I walked back towards them.

  “Almost ready?” I asked, taking my jacket from Romulus as he walked by me. I’d be taking my motorcycle, and Brom would be in his own sports car—a ridiculously sleek black Audi R8. The man had style in everything; I would never doubt that. Ella would be riding with Romulus, the Range Rover being the safest of vehicles in case Jupiter caught up to us. I’d be exposed on the motorcycle, but it’d be the easiest way for me to protect the SUV if it came to it. And if Beatrice’s warning was even moderately true, it might.

  “Are you sure you can’t come?” Ella asked, trailing her fingertips over the vampire’s face.

  Dammit, I hated that our world was doing this to her. To us. Forcing us to run, forcing us to fight. I wanted to tell them all to fuck off and leave us alone. Ella hadn’t even actively done anything other than protect her and her own. It was the fuckers, cowards in expensive clothing, who’d come after her.

  “There is a very bad and bloody history between my kind and the native people of this country,” he said, capturing her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. “I would risk your safety and any aid they may offer. But I can and will escort you until the boundaries. And I will see to your estate until you return to me, little bird.”

  I tugged on my jacket before opening the passenger door. Ella hugged Brom hard, and I decided in that moment I’d kill whoever I needed to in order to keep her from losing any of us. My hand drifted to the gun I had in a shoulder holster. Another thing I learned on the streets. Guns killed warlocks better than magic sometimes. Especially warlocks who never expected a non-magical attack.

  He let her go with a soft kiss to her head and gave me a hard look. I knew what he was saying, and I nodded. We’d keep her safe, no matter the cost.

  She was about to get into the car and she looked at me. Fuck, her eyes were so open. She was scared but there was courage there. Determination.

  “Ella.” I swallowed hard, clearing my throat. “Whatever happens, we’ll keep you safe.”

  “I know you will,” she said quietly, resting her hand over my chest. I grabbed it, holding tightly with my own.

  “I love you,” I whispered, and I could see the emotions welling in her eyes. “Just in case. I need you to know that.”

  “Don’t you fucking dare die, Merlin.” Her nails dug into my hand, her voice shaking. “I won’t allow it.”

  “Not planning on it,” I said with a huff. I nudged her towards the seat. Romulus was already in the driver’s seat, turning the SUV on. “Get in. Only two hours before the first stop.”

  She climbed in and I closed the door, the sound of it hitting me with the final brutality of a mausoleum’s gates. I looked past her to Romulus, whose eyes were shuttered. He’d keep her safe, and we trusted him to leave us behind if that’s what it took.

  Brom got into his Audi and I mounted my bike, my jacket flaring out behind me. I kicked the beast to life, its engine growling as if it knew we were heading towards danger.

  My phone buzzed and I pulled it out. My contact with Wild Crow had responded, and it filled me with dread.

  Wild Crow walks the ancestral fields. There is no help for you here.

  Fuck. I wanted to punch something. I didn’t respond; instead, I pulled up our group message.

  Change of plans, boys. Looks like we’re going to Ireland.

  Brom replied immediately.

  We head to the private airfield my Syndicate uses. I’ll make sure a plane is ready.

  Romulus sent a confirmation and I kicked the bike into gear and headed out. The lycan pulled out onto the road behind me, and I bit back a feral grimace as I led us, Brom right behind him.

  We were so fucking close. Twenty minutes, max, from the airstrip when three black SUVs careened down the off-ramp onto the highway, ignoring the blaring horns of the other cars. Traffic had been light, and I fucking hope it stayed that way or more people had the chance of getting hurt.

  I looked back over my shoulder to Romulus and nodded before kicking the bike into the next gear and opening the throttle. The wind whipped at me as we changed into the left lane, cars jerking into the middle with angry honks as they avoided us. I looked back and saw the damn SUVs had police lights, likely an illusion, but that’d get people out of their way as they chased us.

  I threw my hand back behind me, warding Romulus and Ella from outright magical attacks. Not a moment too soon as the car almost fishtailed under the brunt of it. I looked to see who’d thrown the magical attack and reached for the handgun. The SUV passed behind a semi before reappearing, the warlock leaning stupidly out the back window. Two shots and blood was splattered against the door, the driver slamming on the brakes to get out of range.

  Traffic had left us behind, a stroke of luck that no one seemed to be in front of us on the highway. That luck proved to be planned as I saw the exits blocked off.

  Fucking shit, Madam Jupiter was going all out. How the fuck did she even know where we’d been planning on going?

  Romulus pulled out beside me and then ahead, racing towards the airstrip. Brom’s car sidled up next to me, flanking the SUV. We were all that stood between Ella and a fuckton of warlocks.

  So fucking be it.

  I looked at Brom, the vampire’s face contorted into a snarl. He looked over and I jerked my head towards his car. He rolled his eyes, the cheeky bugger, but nodded, matching my speed. This was going to hurt if I fucked this up.

  I moved closer, until I was just behind the driver’s seat. I took a deep breath, and moved before I could let myself think about what I was doing. I kicked off the motorcycle and flung myself towards the roof of Brom’s car. If it had been any other car than a ridiculous sports car, it’d have been too tall and never worked.

  As it was, I was very fucking thankful to find myself clinging to the top, pulling myself fully onto it and throwing a punch towards my bike with only a tinge of regret. It wobbled, no long under the guidance of a rider, before crashing towards the ground. It would have been easily avoidable had I not propelled the bike up into the windshield of one of the SUVs.

  I crouched, the wind whipping me and throwing me off-balance. I rooted myself to the top of the car with magic, really fucking hoping Brom wouldn’t crash. Then again, if he crashed, he’d never get to fuck me again. So at least I had that going for me.

  I spared one last look towards the retreating Range Rover before I turned back towards the two remaining SUVs.

  Scratch that, the now four SUVs chasing us.

  I raised both fists, orbs of magic surrounding them, and steadied myself. I was the most powerful fucking warlock in this city. Time to show them that fucking with Ella was the biggest mistake. One they’d pay for with their lives.

  Chapter 23

  Eleanora

  I gripped the seat so hard my knuckles were white. Romulus had to be getting close to one hundred miles per hour, and the last time I dared look behind us, I’d seen Merlin on top of Brom’s car.

  I closed my eyes, forcing the nausea and fear down. I could feel the rage building inside me, demanding to be let out. To burn everyone who was chasing us. I knew if I let myself, I could crawl through the back seat and kick out the back window before unleashing a literal hell on my pursuers.

  “Keep it reined in, love.” Romulus must have sensed my thoughts, or maybe he felt the anger too. “Merlin and Brom have us covered. We’re close to the airstrip.”

  That distracted me from the rage. “Airstrip?” I looked at him, the lycan keeping his eyes on the road ahead of us.

  “Plans changed last-minute,” he explained with a clipped tone. “Merlin’s option was no longer—fuck.”

  I didn’t have time to ask what he meant by options, because more SUVs raced towards us.

  “Okay, lass.” Romulus sounded full of regret. “I need you to stoke up that fire I felt from you just now. Think you
can do just enough to blaze a path?”

  “Happily.”

  I unbuckled my seatbelt and rolled the window down. I focused hard on the fire inside of me; I couldn’t let it out of control. Not when I was so close to Romulus. As I leaned towards the window, my right hand coiling with fire, warlocks leaned out of their windows. And one of them was easily recognizable.

  “Fucking Titania.” I looked up to the roof of the car and switched tactics. Romulus rolled back the sunroof and I climbed carefully onto my seat, half of me entirely exposed.

  “Don’t stop driving,” I called down, and his response was to accelerate.

  I brought my hands up, letting flames erupt from them. I had to grit my teeth as the flames tried to race up my arms, unleashing themselves, but I pressed back, forcing them to obey.

  Blues and golds and reds raced towards us, magical attacks catapulted from the warlocks in the SUVs getting closer. I screamed, the rage burning through me as I raised my hands, creating a wall of fire in front of us. I felt the magic hit the flames, changing my fire from a pure orange to a symphony of colors as the magics reacted. They kept attacking, trying to overwhelm my power.

  But I was a phoenix, and I refused to be extinguished.

  I could feel it, deep within me, wanting to be unleashed. It whispered its promises to me. I could destroy these warlocks and more. I could burn them to ash, erase them from this world until they were nothing but dust on the wind. And I wanted to. Badly.

  We burst through the wall of fire, the flames gentle against me as we passed. A mess of SUVs were on the other side, having slammed to a halt to prevent driving into their deaths. Many of the warlocks stared at me, stupefied or in horror, as we raced through their line.

  But my stepsister was there, mirroring my position in the SUV farthest back. Her face was twisted in anger, her perfect hair whipping around her, and she raised her hands, magical shards raining down around the SUV.

  I punched one hand up, an umbrella of flame above us, the shards melting against my power. Titania had always thought she was more powerful, even secretly more powerful than her mother. She had always lauded that power over me, dismissing me and treating me like filth staining her shoe. She mocked my scars, declaring my worth as nothing to this world.

  She had taken fucking everything she wanted.

  Not anymore.

  Romulus drove us head-on towards her SUV, growing closer by the second. Our faces must have mirrored each other with our rage. Except I would never bow to her again.

  Her magical attack was nothing compared the torrent of flames shot towards her with both hands, the phoenix inside of me screaming with joy.

  The driver must have failed in his courage, or perhaps wisdom overpowered his commands, as he jerked their car out of our path. We flew through the space where they’d been, the flames burning out in the air. I turned back to see her, and smiled when I saw her limp against the roof of her SUV. I hope, if she lived, I had given her scars.

  I looked back behind us, searching for Brom and Merlin, but all I saw was a wall of inferno. I had trapped them on the other side.

  I dropped back down into my seat.

  “The others—”

  “Will meet us there or they won’t,” Romulus said, reaching for my hand. He hissed at the heat still there. He looked at me quickly. “You got it under control.”

  I swallowed hard, my skin feeling like it was stretching, trying to contain the phoenix. I was getting too close to the edge.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. He deserved that.

  He cursed and took the next exit, watching the mirrors closely. We could hear the sirens screaming around us as emergency responders raced towards the wall of fire. At a stop light, Romulus reached towards the glove box and pulled out a thin black box and handed it to me.

  “What’s this?”

  “A contingency plan courtesy of my aunt,” he explained as the light turned green.

  I flipped it open to see a medical syringe filled with a clear liquid. I looked at him in question.

  He met my eyes. “I won’t force it on you,” he said. “It’ll knock you out, that’s all. For about seven to twelve hours, depending on how fast your magic burns through it.”

  I breathed out, looking at it. The translucent liquid promised a respite from the rage, a break from the attack. But I would be helpless, and useless to Romulus.

  “How much farther to the airstrip?” I looked around us. There was no sign of pursuit. But there also wasn’t any sign of Brom or Merlin.

  “Not far,” he said, taking a left turn. We were leaving the town behind. “Plane should be almost ready. Brom called.”

  “Plane?”

  He ran his hand through his hair and I realized his face was covered in sweat. He’d felt the heat much more than I’d realized. I looked back at the syringe in the box. I would be helpless and useless, but I also wouldn’t be a danger.

  “Ireland,” he said at last. “It’s about an eight-hour flight. Your mother might be our only chance right now.”

  He took a right and I realized we were in a rural area. I could see a large building ahead of us, a white plane beside it. The airstrip. He pulled to a stop outside the hangar, and I could see people hurrying to prep the plane. I looked back towards the main road, my heart in my throat, but there was no sign of them.

  “You say the word, Ella,” Romulus said, reaching for my hand, “and we won’t go. We’ll charge back into that fucking firestorm and deal with the consequences later.”

  Tears stung at my eyes. What did I do? The plane meant a chance at hope, a chance to control this power building inside of me. But it meant leaving Merlin and Brom behind.

  If I stayed, we’d find them, but I knew, instinctively, that if I fought once more, the phoenix would take over and it would be more catastrophic than back at the Bediver estate.

  A ping came over the speakers and Romulus pulled out his phone. He snorted, and turned the phone to me. It was a text message from Merlin.

  Get her ass on the plane.

  He was all right. Or at least, fine enough to text.

  I let out a watery laugh and nodded. “How long does this take to work?” I held up the sedative.

  “Only a couple minutes,” Romulus said and got out of the car. A man ran over and Romulus opened the back before coming to get me. He opened my door, holding a hand out for me.

  “I think—” I swallowed hard. “I think I need to take it now. If I pass out, don’t let me hit my head?”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I pulled out the syringe and I realized I had no real idea of where to inject myself. Romulus tapped the bend of my arm and I took a steadying breath as I pressed the needle against my skin. Instinct and the phoenix fought back against me, telling me this was a trick. Genevieve had outright told me she’d kill me if she thought it necessary. She admitted she’d supported the murder of my mother.

  I hesitated and looked up at Romulus. “Promise I’ll wake up?”

  He cupped my face, pulling back my mask. He kissed me as I pushed the plunger, the liquid cold in my veins.

  I pulled the needle out, my hands shaking. “Okay, let’s go.” I stepped out of the Range Rover, my legs going weak underneath me. “I think it’s faster than a couple minutes.”

  He swept me into his arms as my limbs grew heavy.

  “Fuck,” I heard him bite out, and I tried to look and see what had made him so angry. I blinked and suddenly he was running, barking orders as he bounded up the plane. As he turned, I finally saw what he meant.

  Two SUVs were barreling down the road towards us, dust being kicked up behind them. Romulus set me down on one of the leather couches. He was yelling but I couldn’t understand him. My mind was foggy, and I could hardly move.

  The last thing I saw was Romulus shifting into his lycan form before I was lost to the dark.

  To be continued...

  Continue Ella’s story in book three, Throne of Embers
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  Part III

  Throne of Embers

  I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.

  Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

  Chapter 1

  Romulus

  The engines of the plane roared to life around me as the crew slid past to close the door. The warlocks in the two SUVs stopped near my Range Rover and just . . . watched us.

  Even in my lycan form, I shuddered, the cold stares unnerving.

  The flight attendants were nonplussed at me in my larger form, as one tapped on my shoulder, not even flinching when I turned to stare at them.

  “You need to sit for takeoff,” she instructed, pointing towards the seat across from Ella.

  I shifted back as I stepped towards the sedated woman, the airplane beginning to taxi. I looked out the window, the warlocks still watching our retreat. Something had changed, and I wasn’t exactly sure if that was in our favor. I spared a quick thought that they were waiting until we were air-bound before striking us down.

  A small ping alerted me to the suggestion of a seat belt and I crouched before my lover, seeking out the hidden belt I knew the couch was fitted with. Her safety assured, at least from sliding to the floor, I sat across from her and glared out the window as the plane lifted off the tarmac.

  We were without Brom and Merlin, but she was safe. We should have waited for the sedative; I should have known it would have affected her faster than a lycan. Even with the powers of a phoenix, she didn’t have the constitution of a shifter. It was a mistake we wouldn’t be making again.

  Even if it meant Ella going nuclear and the phoenix unleashed without control.

  Another ping let me know that we’d reached cruising altitude, and I finally let out a shudder of relief. If they hadn’t struck us down yet, they weren’t going to. Now the most dangerous thing we had to worry about was the turbulence over the Atlantic.