The whole place reminded me of the artwork in Theo's home. Greek colonnades, white marble stonework and sweeping, wide steps. I could picture the inhabitants wearing white, flowing robes. I sincerely hoped they didn't. I was freaked enough as it was.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," I admitted, as another guard came to open my door.
"You're probably right, but he's already sensed your presence. To leave now would mean your death."
"To stay might as well," I pointed out, as the door swung open and the guard offered a hand to help me step out.
Theo rounded the car in a flash and took my arm from the guard's grip. The guard bowed, like those at the gate had, and stepped backward until he was several feet away. It was unusual seeing the never show your back rule in practise. They must use it for all dignitaries or guests, I supposed.
"Ah, but Cassandra, here I can at least attempt to protect that beautiful neck," Theo said, leaning in to whisper the words in my ear as we ascended the stairs. "Out there, you would be alone."
"So, the arrangement doesn't stand if I run now?" I asked, lifting the skirt of my dress so I wouldn't trip.
"The desire to do so, Oraia, would still exist. The possibility wouldn't however." I didn't understand what he was saying, and chanced a glance at his face. It was set hard. He had fortified himself for whatever lay ahead. It didn't calm me in the slightest, his preparedness. It made my heart rate escalate and small panting breaths escape clenched teeth.
The ornate double doors to the building were opened then and we stepped through to another world.
Marble everywhere, in all manner of creams, golds and whites. Palms and ferns, that soothed my soul and made it possible to breathe without panting. Statues and sculptures that made Theo's house seem ordinary. High moulded ceilings, enormous gold framed paintings. And the smell of the Mediterranean Sea.
Time seemed stalled here for some reason. A pocket out of the modern day world. But it could never be considered stagnant. This was vibrant, alive. Life. Pyrkagia life. It pulsed with it. I could actually feel its presence. My body flushed with heat, as I swayed on my feet and gripped Theo's arm tighter. His free hand came over and covered mine, a gesture to calm me, or warn me, I wasn't sure. Something very unnatural was enveloping me right then, it was all I could do not turn on my new heels and run.
It wasn't evil, it wasn't even wrong. It was just so jarring in its blatant attempt to get me to react, that I panicked. The pot plants around the room began to sway. Theo stiffened.
Luckily, the butler who approached didn't notice. "Welcome back, sir," he said. "The Rigas is in a meeting, but asked for you to wait in the parlour. He shouldn't be too long."
"Of course," Theo said, pulling me almost frantically from the hallway and into a side room. He shut the door in the butler's surprised face as soon as we crossed the threshold and then turned angry eyes on me. "Control yourself. He will sense your energy. He will know you are calling on your Stoicheio."
I nodded, too freaked out to question what the hell a Stoicheio was right then. I walked over to another nearby plant and wrapped my sweaty palm around its leaves.
Please, don't react to me here. Stay hidden, help me hide.
Theo made a growling sound behind me and then two strong hands on my shoulders tugged me back from the plant, but not before I heard its whispered compliance. My back met his broad chest and his angry instruction was breathed in my ear from behind.
"Behave."
"I can't get enough air," I complained, the panic not evaporating under his reprimand.
"Casey, you must," Theo insisted, turning me in his arms and lifting his hands to cup my face. His head ducked down to look me in the eye. I frantically tried to look away, too scared he would see me when he looked there. "Oraia," he whispered across my lips. "Look at me."
I shook my head, my eyes still averted. Theo swore in his customary Greek, then ran an all too tender hand across my jaw until he wrapped it around the back of my neck. He pulled me closer, lay a soft kiss on my forehead, and then pressed my cheek to his chest.
"Just breathe," he instructed. And held me until breathing was all I could do.
I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it was long enough for the King to finish his meeting and storm into the room. We jumped apart, Theo as surprised as me, I think. Had he lost himself in that embrace too?
"What have you brought for me, Theodoros?" he boomed, his voice deeply accented and commanding. I wondered if they trained all Kings to sound like that from birth.
"Pateras," Theo said respectfully, bowing at the waist. I quickly curtseyed awkwardly. I think they both missed it entirely. I hoped they did anyway.
"Well, is this the trespassing Gi or not?" the Rigas demanded, walking over to a drinks trolley and pouring himself a glass full of Scotch. He grabbed a second glass and poured a couple of fingers in that, then turned and handed it to Theo.
I felt a part of me relax. How bad could it be, if the King was prepared to share a drink with Theo?
My eyes trailed over the Rigas' features. Again he looked related to Theo, but then every single one of the Pyrkagia I had met did too. Were they one big happy family?
"This is she," Theo said, nodding his thanks as he took the drink in his hand. "Compliant, as you can see."
I was too freaked to even contemplate the falseness of his words. I stood stock still, gaze cast to the floor, and watched the entire exchange from the corner of my eyes.
"I felt her Stoicheio before. Was she attacking one of my guards?"
I stopped breathing.
"I made the mistake of kissing her, Rigas," Theo boldly lied. "She cannot help her reaction to that." The last was said smugly. The King chuckled.
"You always did live life on the edge, Theo. Whatever possessed you to do that?"
"She intrigues me," Theo admitted and I watched, from my lowered lids, as the King straightened his back.
"Please don't tell me you have more than a passing interest in this creature," he said, his voice firm and harsh with disdain.
"I am sorry, Rigas, but I do." Theo didn't sound apologetic.
"Tell me why she is in our city unannounced and I may spare you the Bull."
The Bull? Theo sucked in a slow breath at the threat, which made no sense to me, but obviously was dire.
"She has been outcast from her Gi," Theo started, his fingers pressed so firmly into the glass he held, I thought it may shatter. "Wandered into our territory seeking asylum."
He hadn't warned me that this was the excuse he'd use. I wondered if it was chosen in the heat of the moment, due to the King's unusual threat. I had the impression Theo was floundering slightly and it made me, strangely, want to shake up the earth.
"You believe she poses no immediate threat?" The King asked, then downed the last of his whiskey.
"I do, Rigas. However, I would like to claim her as mine."
The whiskey the King had just swallowed caught in his throat. He coughed a few times, making gagging sounds that alerted a guard who ran into the room ready for battle. The King waved his hand regally, indicating he was all right, and the guard reluctantly backed out.
"Have you lost your mind?" the King ground out eventually. His voice was raspy from the alcohol burn. "This is not how you were raised."
"No, Pateras," Theo admitted. "But it has been many aeons since anyone has captured my attention so. I have been bored and disgruntled, you knew this. I require a distraction. She distracts nicely."
The King chuckled. It sounded so like Theo, I lifted my head.
"And here I thought more responsibility would do the trick. Your mother did warn me, you just needed to get laid." I choked out a sound and the King glared at me. "But really? A Gi? What will the elders say?"
"They can say what they like, she is already mine."
"You have claimed her?" the King asked, sounding half-shocked and half-revolted.
"Yes," Theo answered, straightening his spine.
"And it was goo
d?"
"I'd rather not divulge details, Rigas. If it does not offend."
"You always did have a strange sense of honour. But, son, a Gi?" I didn't even have it in me to suck in breath at the term, son. Was it just an endearment he'd use on any of those under his rule? Or was it actually real? "Please, tell me, she is not your Thisavros?"
There was that word again. The Norfolk Pine on Theo's property had called me that. Had said I was Theo's Thisavros. I had no idea what it meant, but I would find out. Theo had a hell of a lot to explain after all of this.
"No, of course not," Theo lied. I worked on keeping my face blank. Theo's eyes darted to mine briefly, as the King turned to pour another drink. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow in question.
Yeah, I'd recognised the word, but Theo didn't know I was still confused by it. His lips twitched at the edges, a slight flash of gold seeped into the hazel. I was mesmerized and that's why I didn't see the King move.
A knife appeared before my eyes, light glinting off the shiny blade, the sharp edge sinking into the flesh of my neck painfully. I screamed, the King's hand wrapped around my hair tightly and he jerked my head back.
And Theo sent a bolt of fire directly at his monarch's head.
The fire blasted into a wall of fire from the King. It crackled and expanded around us, I felt the hair on my skin begin to singe. Heat washed my body, threatened to rush down my throat. I firmly held my lips shut, so as not to inhale it. This wasn't the heat Theo could use to evoke such delicious sensations from me though. This heat was designed to kill. It licked the ceiling and curved over the top of us. I was unsure if it was doing the same to Theo on the other side of the wall of flames. I wanted to shout out to him. To make sure he was all right. But it wasn't as though I could stop this. One potted plant in the corner of the room was hardly an arsenal, was it? I just had to trust that Theo had this and considering this was the King he was battling, someone I assumed was all powerful, Theo was impressively holding his own.
There was no shout of pain or agony from his side of the room. All that sounded out was the crackle of fire, all I could feel was the heat of flames and all I could smell was the scent of burnt carpet as the fires evaporated as quickly as they came.
"So, my son has fallen for a Gi," the King said slowly, removing the knife at my neck. My hand came up and wrapped around my throat. I felt the warm trickle of blood seep between my fingers. My eyes raised to look at Theo.
He looked devastated, crushed and a little scared. He held out his hand to me, and said one word, "Come."
I didn't need to be asked twice. Stand by the crazy knife wielding Rigas, or next to the Pyrkagia who'd just exposed his feelings towards me by saving my life.
"This will not end well," the King said, throwing the knife across the room so it landed with a twang, hilt deep in an expensive piece of artwork hanging on the wall. "Mark my words! You have no idea of what you have done."
"She is mine," Theo whispered, unable to speak at full volume, I was guessing, out of true anger. The earth trembled, but I was the only one who noticed it. Theo's complete attention was on the King, even as his arm wrapped around my shoulder protectively.
"I could have you exiled for this," the King pointed out, fingering the bottle of Scotch before him. I think he was contemplating drinking from the bottle. Only his upbringing held him back now.
"I ask for this not as a subject, but as your son," Theo said and I guess that answered that question. Theo Peters was a Prince.
"Four weeks," the King whispered. "Play with her, feed from her, enjoy her. Then she must go, or you both do."
With those words Theo's father, the Rigas of Pyrkagia, left the room in the same fashion he had entered. In a storm full of rage.
Chapter Seven
Leaving Me Panting For Breath
I didn't say a word as Theo ushered me outside and helped me into his car. I was too shocked to open my mouth, to form a sentence in my head. To think at all. The King, the Rigas, was scary. And he was Theo's father. How did I get myself into this situation? What had I done in my life to deserve this mess?
Theo slid behind the steering wheel with fluid grace and started the car. He looked remarkably relaxed. Completely unfazed by what had just happened. Not even a thread on his expensive suit was scorched. I stared at him, dumbfounded. He had been out of sorts in there, rightly so, but now he seemed... pleased.
"Seatbelt, Cassandra," Theo chided, not even looking in my direction at all. I fumbled with the buckle, but managed to secure it before he hit the gas.
The car smoothly glided down the driveway, but I couldn't shift my gaze from Theo's content mask to take in the immaculate scenery around us. I'd missed something in that room. I tried to play the scene over and over in my head, but all I could come up with was fire, the King's rage, and Theo's distress.
"OK," I said, "why are you so happy?" Happy may have been a stretch of the word. I mean, he wasn't even smiling, but he did look at ease. And he shouldn't have.
"That went remarkably well," Theo replied easily.
"If that was what you call 'remarkably well' then I'd hate to see bad," I pointed out.
"I dare say, you would," Theo said softly. "But we achieved what we desired, did we not, Cassandra? You have been given leave to remain in the city for four weeks. In that time, I am sure, you will remember your history and know where to go when you leave."
When I leave. He expected me to work this all out, as though I'm suffering from an inconvenient bout of amnesia, and then go on my merry way.
"And did you get what you desired?" I asked, a little numbed by his callous suggestion.
"Absolutely. For four weeks you are mine." And obviously four weeks was sufficient.
What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I even upset by this? I now had four weeks without Theo or anyone else threatening to take my head, so I could prove I belong in my city. Then, when the King realised I was a victim he'd let me stay. Or, and this is by far the preferred option, I could find a way to become human again, to get myself extricated from Theo's bizarre world. In none of those scenarios did it include falling for Theo Peters.
Just an arrangement. It's just an arrangement. And every little reaction, every little crumble in his façade, in that room, was Theo acting out a role to conclude that arrangement. It meant nothing. He was fooling his father the only way he knew how, by acting besotted with me.
Oh, I was the fool. An incredibly naive and gullible fool. I needed to slap myself awake. This was not a fairytale. It was a nightmare.
"I'm tired, Theo. Just take me home," I said, sounding way too defeated. But I couldn't even be alarmed at that. Once I got home, I'd refortify myself. I'd strengthen my resolve, so tomorrow I could face Theo and get some answers. Right now, I just needed a little distance and solitude.
"Of course," Theo said reasonably. "The guest room has been prepared for you."
The what? "Um, no. My home. I meant my home," I said, now sounding nothing like defeated, more like frantic with fear.
"Casey," he said, sounding frustrated and a little angry. "Do you even have a bed to sleep on?"
I made a sound. It was filled with frustration and anger and incredulity. It was stunningly good. I felt infinitely better having made it. So I did it again.
Theo turned his head slowly to look at me, one imperious eyebrow lifted in question.
"You are the most infuriating man I have ever met!" I announced. He smiled. "Do all Pyrkagia carry out threats to the nth degree? Is that why you know my bedroom has been destroyed as well?"
"It was a guess," he replied, evenly. "I gather it's accurate."
I made a growling sound at the back of my throat. "Did it not occur to you, though, that I could just move in with Sonya?"
"Do you really wish to involve her in this?" Oh, no. He knew my worst fear. "Until now, you were considered a human, even by those Pyrkagia who have seen you with me. It will be all over the city now. You are Gi. I am with a Gi. M
y father may have given you four weeks, but that does not mean all of his subjects will."
What? Did the Rigas have so little control? I wouldn't have considered that, what with the way he ruled with rage in that parlour alone.
"They will, at the very least, come calling to view you," Theo continued. "I cannot protect you at Sonya's. I cannot protect Sonya. But the sooner I show you off publicly, the sooner their curiosity will be met. Perhaps then you can return to your flat."
I put my head in my hands and just breathed. It felt painful, as though my lungs were straining, or I was drowning in water. I couldn't inflate them fully. A pressure existed on my chest I simply couldn't budge.
This was truly a nightmare. Not only was I a freak now. But I escaped one executioner's axe for a mob lynching instead.
My head buzzed with so many fears. My heart fluttered in my chest like a dying moth. So many unanswered questions left me reeling. Left me feeling wanting, lacking. I wasn't sure what I needed to fill that void, but I needed something. I searched my brain for the answer to my unquenchable desire. No, it wasn't just a desire, it was a necessity. If I didn't figure out what I needed soon, I was going to die.
I heard Theo call my name, it sounded so far away. I think he swore again. In Greek. I liked that, it sounded so musical, so beautiful. So him. But even that couldn't fill the emptiness that suddenly existed inside my soul. And it was my soul crying. I don't know how I knew this, but it was. My very essence was calling out for what it needed to be complete.
Sitting here, in Theo's car, I couldn't find it. I was strangely bemused by that fact. Theo had, inadvertently, given me so much before now. Attention. Belief in myself. Encouragement. Joy. Excitement. Life. Thrills. Challenge. Adventure. Sweet happiness. Protection. Why was he not giving me what I needed now?
"I have you," I heard him say in my ear. I was out of the car and he was carrying me. I don't remember that. How had I got here? Where was I?
Darkness enveloped us, blocking out the city’s lights. Cocooning us entirely within welcoming walls. Maybe I was blacking out, but I felt better, not worse. Theo shifted to his knees, me securely held in his arms still, but quickly that sense of safety disappeared. The scent of earth surrounded me instead, enveloped me, wrapped me up and welcomed me home. Letting me know the hard surface I'd been placed on was grass.
Elemental Awakening Book Bundle Page 8
