“The blue lines,” she whispered.
“Blue lines?”
Anastasia sighed. Vincent was dead; what harm could come from telling him? “Dakota has blue lines climbing up his back.”
Vincent clenched his fists. He turned away from her for a moment before spinning back around. “Shit, Anastasia. Neither of you thought this should be public knowledge?”
“Dakota wanted to keep it a secret until we knew more.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Of course he did.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That maybe your precious Dakota is not to be trusted.”
Anastasia narrowed her eyes. Was this some kind of game? A way to separate her from Dakota? “If I had to choose one person to trust for the rest of my life, it would be him. How dare you try to come between us.”
Vincent glared at her. “You are so blinded by love that you cannot see what is right in front of your nose.” He disappeared, and Anastasia stared at the place he’d been for another moment.
“Ugh!” Anastasia clenched her fists at her sides. “Bastard,” she muttered. But a part of her wondered if maybe he had a point.
Dakota had seemed fine when they’d picked him up in the hospital, but the way he’d just acted in front of Orlaith and Nix had been uncharacteristic of him. Was it possible there was something else going on? Something she couldn’t quite see?
What if Vincent was right? What if something was wrong with Dakota?
26
Terrenia
Dakota
The night closed in around him, a familiar blanket beckoning him, begging him to wrap himself in it and sleep.
Dakota stared out at the sea of destruction, a chilling smile on his face. Smoke billowed up into the night air, carrying with it the stench of death. Bodies littered the ground, their eyes frozen open, their skin splattered with dark red blood.
He’d won, and now, the power would be his.
“This world was no match for us, Brother.”
Dakota looked up as a man came to stand beside him. His pale skin seemed brighter now, even in the dark.
“What world?”
The man looked down at him, amethyst eyes glowing with power. “Do you not remember?”
Dakota looked back out at where the man gestured. He stepped toward a body that lay in front of the others. Her dark hair was matted with blood, eyes that once were blue were nothing but empty sockets now, the power having eaten her from the inside.
Her mouth hung open on a scream that would never complete, and all Dakota felt when he looked at her was rage.
She’d made him do it.
Why hadn’t Ana joined him? Why hadn’t she seen the future they could’ve made together?
Dakota woke with a start. What the hell was that? His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding against his ribs.
He closed his eyes, but visions of Ana lying dead on the ground popped back into his mind. Jumping out of bed, Dakota splashed water on his face before leaving the bedroom.
When he stepped into the living room, he was surprised to see Ana lying on the couch. Her eyes were closed, and he could tell by her steady breathing she was asleep. Seeing her there—alive—had him relaxing.
“She’ll never let you be your own man. You will always live beneath the Sorceress’s thumb.” A voice inside his head begged for him to end her where she slept. “It would be so easy. You could slit her throat and be gone before anyone knew.
“Then you can live up to your potential, Dakota. Without her dragging you down for her own controlling amusement.”
Dakota shook his head. No. I don’t want that. But a dark part of him wondered just what her blood would feel like dripping onto his skin.
Dakota started to turn away when Ana opened her eyes. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.”
“Get some sleep?”
“Yeah.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck.
Her brow furrowed as she studied him. “You okay?”
“Yeah, how’s the queen doing?”
“Better. She’s still pretty shaken up—understandably. Shane, Tony, and I are going to portal over and check things out.”
“Shane.”
Anastasia cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, Shane and Tony.”
“Why aren’t I going?”
She got to her feet. “Because I think you need to stay in here, where you’re safe, until we figure out what’s going on with you.”
“I’m not a fucking kid who needs to be babysat, Ana.” Anger fueled him, but the rational side of him knew she was only trying to protect him.
“I never said you were, Dakota.” Ana folded her arms, and Dakota did the same. They stared at each other, two people who were closer than most, and yet now, he felt like they’d never been further apart.
Fuck, he was being an ass. Dakota unfolded his arms. “Sorry, Ana. I think I’m just tired.”
She stared at him a moment longer. “Can I see your back?”
“Why?”
“I want to look at those lines.”
“Why?”
“To see if they’ve spread.”
“Fine.” Dakota turned around and lifted the back of his shirt.
Ana sucked in a breath. “Dammit. We really need to show these to someone.”
He tugged his shirt back in place and turned to face her. “Why? What the hell is anyone else going to be able to do about it?”
“Something, Dakota. You aren’t… yourself right now.”
“Probably because I’m tired and everyone’s up my fucking ass about it.”
“Dakota.”
He shook his head and tried desperately to push the anger he was directing at her back down. “Look, I just need more sleep.” He disappeared back into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
Grateful she didn’t come after him, Dakota stared at the bed. He wasn’t tired anymore; what he really wanted was some fresh air. Why the hell should he be locked in this house like it was a fucking prison?
He lifted his boots and pulled them on, then pushed open the shutters that covered the window. After checking outside to make sure no one was nearby, Dakota slipped outside—a fact that pissed him off even more. He was a grown ass man who was sneaking out of his own house.
Bullshit.
Dakota crept into the tree line, but movement in the pond caught his attention. He looked down, seeing only his own reflection—or what should have been his reflection.
As he got closer, he saw the man from his dream staring back at him.
“Dive in, Brother.” The deep voice filled his head, and Dakota pressed his hands to his ears.
The man in the pond smiled. “Come see our kingdom; it’s waiting for you.”
Dakota leaned a little closer, ignoring his instincts, which were screaming at him to get away, to get back inside where Ana’s magic could shield him until they figured out just what the hell was going on.
“Are you going to allow her to control you forever? Control you, but not even be willing to fulfill your desire to become a father?”
Dakota’s hands clenched into fists as he stared at Ana’s reflection in the water.
“She is holding you back.”
“Dakota?” Ana called.
“Come to me, my love, I won’t hold you back. I will give you the family you desire.” Rosabel appeared in the water just below him, replacing the face of the man who’d called him brother.
She looked ethereal, almost beautiful, staring at him from beneath the surface. But that’s not right, he wasn’t attracted to her. Ana’s face came to mind, and Dakota shook his head, trying desperately to clear the fog that was steadily taking over his thoughts.
“Dakota!” Ana screamed.
Rosabel’s attention shifted, and she stepped up, separating herself from the water.
“Interrupting is rude,” Rosabel sneered.
Dakota turned his attention to the other side of the pond wh
ere Ana stood, sword drawn.
“Get the fuck away from him.”
“He came to me, Sorceress.”
Dakota tried to answer, but his mouth wouldn’t open. He shook his head frantically, but Ana didn’t seem to notice.
“Dakota, come here,” she pleaded.
He wanted to scream, to tell her he was trying, but his body stayed rooted where it was.
“Dakota is mine now. I told you he would be.” She stepped back toward him, and Dakota felt his hand grip hers, although it wasn’t him doing it. He tried like hell to rip himself away from her, but his body was no longer his to control.
“Dakota, please.” Ana’s eyes pleaded with him, tears shimmering in their depths. “Please come back.”
“It won’t work, you don’t want her anymore,” the voice inside his head told him.
“Yes, I do!” he screamed back, but no sound came out.
“I choose Rosabel.” He heard the words in his voice, but they were not his to say.
Ana’s face fell, her mouth flattening into a tight line, eyes shimmering with tears. Dakota could see the effect the words had on his love as she stared at him, completely and utterly broken.
Shane and Tony ran up beside her, swords drawn. Dakota felt his head turn, and he looked at Shane. “I don’t want her; you can have her now.”
“No!” Dakota screamed inside his head, but the deep voice just laughed at him.
“You are mine now, Brother.”
“Ana!” he screamed, battering at the hold this creature had on him.
“You don’t mean that, Dakota,” Shane said, taking a step closer.
“He does, and if you come any closer, Fighter, I will kill you where you stand,” Rosabel threatened.
“Watch your fucking mouth.” Ana stepped closer.
“Yes! Kick her ass!” Dakota screamed internally.
“Do you think I fear you? Your magic has no effect on me.”
“I swear to you, I will kill you. No matter what I have to do, I will break the hold you have on him, and I will drown you in your own blood or whatever the fuck runs through your veins.” Ana’s fingers sparked, and Rosabel just laughed.
“Shall we go, my love?” She looked up at Dakota.
“No!”
“Yes, we shall. I tire of this world.”
Rosabel stepped toward the water, dragging him with her. Dakota could see the helplessness in Ana’s eyes, and while he wanted to be free, it couldn’t be at the cost of her life.
He was the jackass who ventured outside her protection; it seemed he was going to pay for it with his life.
27
Terrenia
Anastasia
“Vincent! You get your sorry ass in here, now!” Anastasia screamed into the living room of her cottage.
She paced, still not fully believing what she’d seen. Dakota had left with Rosabel, had said he didn’t want her anymore. There had to be an explanation for it, some sort of reason for why he’d done that.
Because there was no way in hell Rosabel had actually gotten him to fall in love with her.
“Anastasia, you need to sit.” Shane touched her arm gently, and she looked up at him, tear-stained and heartbroken.
“I can’t fucking sit. Dakota is gone with that fish-tailed bitch, and I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”
“You know he didn’t leave of his own volition,” Tony said from the corner. “There is no force that could make that boy not love you. Something is up.”
Elizabeth stared at the corner of the room, not fully engaged in the conversation until now. “Anastasia, Dakota loves you and only you. She must have put some sort of spell on him.”
Anastasia couldn’t get the image of Dakota and Rosabel out of her head, or the way he’d looked at her with such cool detachment. His eyes had—his eyes.
“His eyes,” she repeated, looking up at the room.
“What?” Tony asked.
“Vincent!” she screamed again.
“You called,” Vincent said smugly from the corner of the room.
“You had better tell me what the fuck is going on, or I swear I will find a way to kill you again.”
“Where’s my son?”
“With Selena,” Elizabeth answered.
“Why were your eyes silver?” Anastasia asked, taking a step toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“Your eyes, they would flash silver. I thought it was because of your power, but now, I don’t think that was it.”
“Finally taking a closer look, are we?”
“Just answer the fucking question.”
“Where’s Dakota?” Vincent looked around the room, clearly not surprised to see Dakota missing.
“Rosabel took him,” Anastasia growled through clenched teeth.
“Regretting not telling anyone about those blue lines?”
“Blue lines?” Elizabeth got to her feet and stared at Anastasia. “What blue lines?”
“I noticed them when we picked him up from the hospital. There were blue, spider-web like lines climbing up his back and toward his neck. Today, they’d gone even higher, nearly to his shoulders.”
“And you didn’t think that was important information?” Elizabeth yelled, surprising everyone in the house. The woman’s eyes were wide now, and she stared at Anastasia with a mixture of anger and fear on her normally neutral face.
“What is it?” Tony asked.
“This is so bad, so damn bad.” Elizabeth began to pace. “I should have seen it coming, how did I not see it coming?”
Vincent took a seat on the couch. “This just got interesting,” he said as he crossed one leg over the other.
“Seen what coming?” Anastasia stared at Elizabeth, a woman she’d rarely seen get mad, who was fuming now. Rage and grief alike shining on her tear-stricken face.
“My son.”
“What about him?”
Elizabeth shook her head at Tony’s question. “Not Dakota,” she said sadly. “Thames.”
“Who the hell is Thames?”
“A long time ago, before George, I was married.”
“I didn’t know that,” Anastasia said.
Elizabeth looked at her. “No one did. My husband found me nearly starving to death and took me in to be his queen.”
“Queen?”
“I was born in a world called Luxe.”
“Wait a damn minute.” Anastasia raised her hand. “You mean to tell me you knew other worlds existed?”
“Yes.”
Anastasia’s jaw dropped. Her mind running a million miles a minute, and she clenched her fists. Talk about keeping a fucking secret.
“Go on, Lizzie,” Tony said, putting his hand on Anastasia’s arm.
“I was born to a poor farming family, and we barely scratched by with enough food to stay alive. One winter, that ended when the cold weather killed our crops. Amos came to visit with his family, a trip that was supposed to be strictly political, and we fell in love even though he was supposed to marry the princess. They rescued me, and I became his queen.”
“Why have we never heard of Luxe?” Shane asked.
“The Luxe world has been gone for nearly ten thousand years.”
Tony leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. “What happened?”
“Amos was a good man, and the Luxe people were kind to me even though I was not the princess they’d envisioned. We had two sons, Thames and Larynt.” She swallowed hard, and Anastasia noted the tension in her shoulders, the tears in her eyes when she spoke. “When a Luxe male heir is born, they are supposed to bear the mark of inheritance, but Thames did not receive it. His younger brother, Larynt, however, did.”
Elizabeth began to pace again, and no one interrupted the silence as she seemingly relived a past she’d worked hard to forget.
“We could see the difference in our boys as they grew up. Thames was hard, and had no compassion for anyone, whereas Larynt was kind and fair. The world’s magic chose him as
the royal successor, completely skipping over Thames. As you can imagine, he was less than happy about that.” Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose. “He attacked our world, slaughtered our people, and when he came for us, Amos sent me away. I landed in Seattle, in the year 1987.”
“Are you mortal?” Argento asked.
Elizabeth nodded. “The Luxe live just as humans do.”
“If the Luxe have been destroyed for ten thousand years, how the hell did you end up in Seattle in 1987?” Anastasia bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from adding a slew of curse words.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. My best guess is the portal Amos sent me through was not just space, but time as well. To keep Thames from hunting me down.”
“What of Thames?” Shane asked.
“I don’t know. I assumed they had all died.”
“And Dakota is this other son, this Larynt guy?” Anastasia asked, trying to force pieces of the puzzle into place within her mind.
“You didn’t think to stand beside your husband?” Vincent asked from the couch.
Elizabeth glared at him. “If anyone is going to give me a speech on loyalty, it is sure as hell not going to be you.”
He shrugged. “Fair point.”
“Why the fuck would you keep this from us?” Anastasia got to her feet and looked at Tony, who didn’t appear all that upset. Why the hell wasn’t he pissed off just as she was? Elizabeth lied to them. Shit, she’d lied to Dakota for his entire life!
“I didn’t think it was necessary.”
“You didn’t think to tell your son he comes from another world?”
“Dakota is human.”
“He’s half-human,” Anastasia clarified. “And you lied to him his entire life.”
“I was protecting him,” Elizabeth insisted.
“Protecting him? Or hiding from your own past?” Shane asked.
Elizabeth glared at him. “I don’t see how this is any of your concern.”
“Dakota is my friend, and he’s missing. That makes it my concern.”
Anastasia’s mind was moving a mile a minute. Dakota was only half-human and possibly the one standing in Thames’ way.
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