by Shania Tyler
Piper took his lap and leaned into him. His arms went immediately around her, and she settled her head against his shoulder.
Theo continued, “That is why we need the Mum. They can work where money is of no use.”
“You mean, you wish them to steal the elves?”
“Yes, that it the plan, but even that is not enough. We must work to change laws.”
She sat up and looked at him. “Like you could if you joined the Evaness.” Her words were a statement.
Theo nodded. “If I joined, I would have some influence.” He shook his head. “But I do not trust the council.”
“Neither do I,” Piper said quickly, placing her hands on his chest. Something flashed in her eyes, and he felt the tension roll off her.
He settled his hands on her hips and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Piper’s brown eyes looked hesitant, but then she said, “I feel as though joining them might be the right thing to do, yet at the same time, I fear losing you.”
He grabbed her cheeks and brought her nose to his. Their foreheads rested together, and he said, “You will never lose me.”
She looked away and said, “We had a conversation a few weeks ago. Kelly, Meg, Fedora, and I. Meg believes people shouldn’t get in the way of destiny. What if it’s your destiny to—”
“No,” Theo said with a force that cut through the room.
Piper’s eyes returned to his.
He leaned away so he could study her face. “That is something you will never have to worry about, because destiny wants us together. You are my destiny, Piper. I was always meant to love you.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.
Piper’s eyes began to fill, and she whispered in a broken voice, “I don’t think I could survive losing you. I’ve lost so much.” The tears finally fell and slashed through Theo’s heart. She shook her head. “I love you so much, Theo. I’ve never felt this way before.”
He leaned forward and kissed her tearstained cheeks and lips. “There’s no need to worry.”
“I would kill for you,” she whispered with closed eyes. “Does that make me crazy?”
He chuckled. “No, it simply means you’re a true pava, for I would lay low armies in your honor.”
She smiled, but then it fell.
Theo’s fingers played in her hair and he said, “Perhaps there is something I can do to make you feel better.”
Another smile returned to her lips. This one was naughty. Her eyes opened, full of desire.
Theo chuckled. “Not that.” At least, he hadn’t been thinking about it, but he slowly rose to like the idea. “I could take you to the Temple of Orry.”
Her smile left her face again. “Why?”
“Because, Piper, you are most definitely a daughter of Orry. I’d thought so at first only because of your looks, but after I heard you sing in the forest, you confirmed it. If you wish to unlock your power’s full potential, you must visit the temple.”
Piper went still, except for her eyes, which roamed his face. Then she gave a single nod.
“We are destined, my love,” Theo whispered. “You shall see.”
* * *
22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
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Since they’d come at such a late hour, Theo had thought they’d be alone. He should have known that would not be the case. The Sleepy Gala always brought questionable characters to Ucrary. There were many people littered around the open field around the temple, talking and laughing amongst themselves. A few were playing music. Some were singing. The music was all different, yet shared something that managed to make the chaos of it all sound beautiful.
Piper stayed close to Theo as they worked their way down the path to the temple. She looked around, studying everyone. Her head swinging, causing her high ponytail to follow. Many people caught Piper’s eyes, smiled, and waved at her as though they’d known her all their life. Ucracians were like that. Friendly without cause.
Piper seemed more cautious. She waved back and gave a quick smile, but turned her head away quick enough to not encourage people to approach. However, she didn’t shy away from anyone. Instead, she held her head up as though she knew exactly who she was and where she was going. His Piper. He wondered who she would have been if life hadn’t been so hard for her.
“Most of these people are your relatives,” he told her. “Some distant and others not so distant.”
Piper’s eyes widened at him. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “To be part of Orry’s bloodline means to have come from his seed.”
She stopped walking and said, “Wait. Seed? So, the gods had sex with the vampires and elves?”
He nodded and smiled. “How else do you think we got the bloodlines?”
She shrugged, shook her head, and started forward again. “At first, I thought it was transferred through biting, but then I heard about Simen. So, I guess I never put everything together again. Why would the gods…”
Theo tightened his hold on her hand. “They mated with the elves and the vampires so that they could do as they pleased where they please with little responsibility. Their children, us, are to take care of Asea.”
Piper sighed. “So, everyone who’s related to Orry is related to me?”
Theo nodded.
She sighed even heavier and said, “I’ve gone from being alone to having a husband to having all this?” She looked over at him. “It’s overwhelming.”
He smiled.
“What do you think my ability will be?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It depends on your nature.”
She looked over at him and grinned. “That makes sense.”
He lifted a brow. “Why do you say that?”
‘Because, your ability, invisibility, fits you.”
“How so?”
She touched the gold chain. “You hid this underneath your clothes.”
“To make sure Ben never made it completely disappear.”
“Did you hide anything else?” she asked.
“Many things,” he confessed. “Though I suppose I could take those things out now that Ben is gone.”
She stared at him and said, “You also ran away from me after we first met and planned to hide during my entire trip.”
He stopped walked. “That was for your safety.”
She shrugged. “And yet, you would have still been there even if I couldn’t see you.” She touched the chain again. “It suits you.”
She was right, he supposed. He’d never put any of it together, but she had.
He looked at her and said, “You already have the gift of music, so I believe it will be something along those lines.”
She made a devious face as he got closer to the temple. “Do you think I’ll end up like Noel? I could sing to him and make him do things as payback for making me sing.”
Theo laughed. “You can try, but Noel’s mind is very strong.”
She frowned.
“Besides, you should probably forgive your cousin for his antics.”
She gasped. “Noel is my cousin?” She looked so surprised.
Theo laughed, but then he stopped and whispered to Piper, “When we get to the door, allow me to do all the talking. Do not utter a word.” He’d told her that there was a possibility that they would get turned away from the door if the guards suspected her of being elf. Elves were not allowed to get blessed unless given permission by the Evaness. The Evaness, after all, did enjoy their music for balls and parties and whatever musicians that gifted musical elves?
Theo planned to see if the guards would just let them in, believing them both to be vampires, which was why he’d had Piper pull her hair back. She didn’t have elf ears.
They approached the door and Theo opened his mouth, but the guard, after staring at Piper for a long time, simply moved out of the way. And then he bowed.
“Go,” he told Piper.
She didn’t’ stop to ask questions. She simply went in.
Piper moved back the white gossamer curtains, passed the people who were hanging by the entrance, and was amazed at how bright and warm the interior was. In the middle of the temple was a heated pool. Steam rose from it, filling the temple, opening Piper’s pores, sending a shiver down her arms. A flute player played in the corner of the room and people spoke in whispers to one another. A few were even lounging in the pool. Naked.
She looked around for Theo and his hand grabbed hers. She smiled. “I didn’t know they’d let you in.”
Theo lifted a dark brow. “I’m Theo, son of Heron. I go anywhere I please.”
She rolled her eyes.
He chuckled. “And it is not forbidden for vampires of other bloodlines to enter temples. I simply cannot receive the blessings that lay here.”
“And how do I receive mine?” she asked.
He shrugged and said, “How do you think?”
Piper looked at the pool and walked closer to it and her eyes widened. At the bottom of the pool, laid in tile, was a man with flowing dark hair and brown eyes. It was mosaic, vibrant, but made Piper extremely nervous. She didn’t want to go in, but knew she had to.
She lifted the hem of her shirt, pulled it over her head, and handed it to Theo, who took it without question. Then she removed her jeans and her ponytail holder and stood in her underwear at the edge of the pool. Stairs led from the edge.
She took a step in and then another.
The water roped around her ankles and began to tug at her, almost pulling her in. She looked back at Theo to find him to not be the only one watching her. She turned and found that a hush had fallen over the room, even the music had stopped, and she was alone in the pool.
She took another step into the water and the tug became more forceful, dragging her in. She finished the stairs and reached the pool floor. The water stopped at her shoulders, but still seemed to call her farther down. Piper looked at Theo, or where he’d been standing, but he was gone. She spun around.
“I’m right here.”
She turned around and found him only feet away from her. He was crouched at the edge of the pool and had moved closer when she’d walked farther into the water.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised with gentle eyes.
“Why is everyone watching me?” she asked him in a low voice.
“Look at his eyes.” His eyes. She knew exactly what eyes Theo was referring to. Orry.
Piper turned and glanced at the pool bottom and had to fight the urge to scramble out at what she was seeing. The eyes of the mosaic god had changed to white and were shining, lighting up the pool.
They jerked her forward, and Piper’s foot landed on Orry’s gown.
The water pulled her down. Hard. And Piper gulped air right before she was taken under.
The eyes shined brighter, and the water pushed her closer to Orry until her body lay on top of his. He was larger up close. Piper’s body was not even the length of his face and his eyes nearly blinded her. But then the pupils returned and those tilted pupils turned to her.
Piper screamed. Water filled her lungs, and she felt strangled by the water. She fought the water’s hold on her, trying to return to the surface, but she couldn’t. Orry’s eyes held hers, the whites of the tiles still shining brightly.
She was vaguely aware of a splash and then the world went black.
* * *
A soft murmur made Meg turn her head toward Piper as she started to stir. When her friend’s brown eyes met hers, she greeted her with a smile.
“Hey,” Meg whispered softly.
Piper grinned up at her and settled her hands on the blanket. “Hey.” The lanterns in the room had been turned low to encourage Piper to sleep, but Meg could still make out her friend’s gentle smile. “What happened?”
“A lot,” Meg said as she went and laid on Piper’s arm just as they’d done as children. And as expected, Piper’s hand curled around her. Meg had always known that Piper had felt more comfortable whenever she was at Meg’s house while growing up, but she didn’t suspect that her friend knew just how much the friendship meant to Meg. Piper was so strong and many times in life, Meg had needed Piper’s strength to get through situations. She couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. “You almost drowned,” Meg said. “Theo, too.”
“Really?” Piper’s hand stilled. “Where is Theo?”
Meg stared at the ceiling overhead, following the lines of the molding. “Downstairs. He’s fine. He didn’t take in as much water as you did. He carried you into the inn when you returned. You woke up a few hours ago. He wouldn’t leave until you did.”
“Why is he downstairs?”
“They’re having a meeting with the Mum.”
“The Mum is here?” Piper asked.
Meg sat up and pushed her red curls out of way to stare at Piper. “Yes.”
Piper sat up as well. She was dressed in a cream silk sleeping gown that went up to her neck. She narrowed her eyes. “How long have I been out?”
“Only a few hours. Six, maybe seven,” Meg said. She crossed her legs on top of the bed. “It was the Mum who rescued you and Theo. From what I’ve heard, the temple started to glow when you entered the water and the Mum saw it from the mountains and went to investigate. They formed a chain in the pool and pulled you out. I don’t think Mason and the men were ready to speak with the Mum about their proposal, but since the Mum came to the inn with you, it was decided that they would speak now.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “And why aren’t you there?”
Meg shrugged. “Didn’t care to be there.”
Piper smiled and then took Meg’s hand. “I’m sure,” she said sarcastically.
Meg ducked her head and hid her smile. Then she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and looked back up. “Okay, I was worried about you. Theo asked someone to stay and inform him when you woke up. I volunteered. Kelly wanted to stay, too, but since she’s a goddess, I thought she should be at the meeting.”
Piper narrowed her eyes. “Hey, you’re important, too. You built the temple that gave Theo his abilities.”
Meg shrugged and said, “Yes, but I have no purpose here. I should have stayed back in Morwen and worked on the other temples.”
Piper studied her silently and said, “Then why didn’t you?”
She shrugged. “Vivi told me to come, but I don’t know why. I should be fulfilling my destiny. I should be doing something to help the cause, finding my destiny—”
Piper tightened her hold on Meg’s hand. “Hey, slow down, Meg.”
“I can’t,” Meg said, coming out of her grip. She scrambled off the bed so she could pace. “I’m not doing anything here. I’m wasting time. Wasting days. Wasting my life.” And it was torture. Torture to see everyone else doing what they were supposed to be doing while she wasn’t. Piper was making pools glow, Kelly was healing people, and what was she doing?
Hands grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Meg’s green eyes collided with Piper’s.
“Breathe,” Piper said. “If Vivi told you to come, then you’re supposed to be here.”
“Why?” Meg asked. “Why? She didn’t say. She only said I should come. It was more like a suggestion than anything. She didn’t say my destiny awaited me in Ucrary. She didn’t say I’d have some vision or even if she saw me in the vision. She just sort of looked at me and said, ‘You should come.’ Maybe she just wanted to be friendly. People can just be be friendly, you know? Not everything has to be some great prophecy. Not every word whispered is the greatest advice ever. Why did I listen?”
Piper smiled.
“Why are you grinning?”
Piper sighed. “Because, you’ve gone mad.”
Piper nodded. “Yes, you’re losing it.” She shook her gently. “It reminds me of that time you tried to save that dog.”
Meg groaned as she remembered that day. “The poor thing. I thought it would do so well at Mr. Anders’ house.” They’d found a dog wandering around in Meg’s neighborhood one day and tried to find its owner, but no one claimed it and Meg was loath to take it to the pound.
Piper said, “Your mother tried to get you to take it to the pound for days.”
Meg hung her head. “But the pound just sounded like such an awful place. I gave it to Mr. Anders because he seemed to really want it.”
“And then what happened?”
Meg narrowed her eyes. “Mr. Anders tried to train it to fight. I should have taken it to the pound.”
Piper shook her head. “Or just left it alone.”
Meg’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t do that. It needed a home. It needed a place to stay. It could have been hungry.”
“It didn’t look hungry. It was actually a very happy dog.”
When she remembered the dog, she had to say that it did look mightily content. It was healthy looking and clean. “But what if it got hurt?”
“Or maybe the dog knew where it was going, and we interrupted its path.”
Meg gasped. “What if you’re right?” She covered her mouth. “I never thought of that.”
“Look,” Piper said. “You can’t make everything fit the way you want it to fit. You have to calm down. Breathe. You’ll finish the temples.”
Meg took a breath. It didn’t calm her. “Easy for you to say. You’re make pools glow and have a fated partner.” Meg shut her mouth.
