“Portaly openinga feylinga realmy!” Once those words left his mouth, yellow sparks began flying from his outstretched hands, and then within a minute, Nico was standing in front of Dom. Dom quickly stood and gave Nico one of those man hugs. Nico looked around the room, taking us all in, and then asked Dom.
“Why am I here brother?” I didn’t let Dom answer, I was too pissed and wanted to get this show on the road.
“Because I need answers from you, and I want to know why the so-called king fucking lied to me.” The sharp intake of breath from the others could be heard but I didn’t pay them any attention. Nico and I were in a staring match.
“What answers are you wanting, love? And I also don’t believe I have lied to you.” Smug prick…I swear I never wanted to hit anyone so much in my life.
“I want to know why you helped my father lock away my powers, and why you fucking lied to me about knowing my father.” His expression was unreadable.
“I never lied to you, love. You never asked me directly. We fae cannot lie; we may skirt around the truth, but if you ask us outright, we cannot lie.”
“So answer my fucking question then! Why did you not tell me you knew my father?” I didn’t realize I was crying until Nico walked over to me and wiped a tear from my cheek.
“I told you when I came to you in the cabin, as Simon that I knew your father.” Nico looked around the room at the others, and then said. “Perhaps you might want to have this conversation in private, love. I don’t believe it will be pleasant for you.”
“We are not going anywhere, Stone.” Trust Jax to be the first to speak; at least he wasn’t growling this time.
“I want to stay; watching Ryan get pissed is so hot.” Dom really needed to learn to filter his mouth. I could hear Tyler chuckling at Dom’s comment, but I chose to ignore it. Nico was standing so still you would swear he was actually made of stone.
“I just want answers, Nico. Please, I need to know why you kept this from me.” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice; I felt so betrayed by Nico once more. A look of anguish crossed his face before he quickly masked it.
“Fine, you might want to sit down, then, because it’s a long story.” if you wish for the others to stay then fine, but you all will remain quiet” Nico looked to everyone and gave them all a look that dared them to try defy him, no one did they all nodded and sat down, Nico and I both followed. I sat in the middle of Alex and Chase while Nico sat between Jax and Dom, Aurora sat on the single high back chair and Tyler stood behind her like a protector. Nico looked me right in the eyes before sighing; I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like how this story went.
“When you were younger, your father sought me out. I do not know how he came to find me or how he even knew who I was. I lived in a different realm, after all, but I did come here every so often to keep an eye on Jax and Kai, even though we did not speak. I needed to know they were okay.” I felt a sense of respect for Nico in that moment; he didn’t need to come and check on them, but he did it anyway. “One visit back here, I came alone without Dom for the first time. I decided to stop at the pub that we all used to go to and have a beer, for old times’ sake. Once I was seated at the bar, a man came up to me and said, ‘I’ve been waiting a long time for you.’”
“I had no idea who this brown-haired, green-eyed man was, but I knew he wasn’t human. I automatically went on alert; I thought he was there to ambush me. Before I could attack him, he raised his hands and said, “I’m not here to hurt you, son. I’m here to ask for your help. You may not know me, but I know who you are, your majesty, and I believe that I can help you get your sister back if you just listen to me.
“I was shocked, but then anger overtook me. I didn’t know how this man knew who I was or how he knew my sister was taken. I did the only thing I could think of—I told him to follow me outside, which he did. Once we were out front and around the corner where no one could see, I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. I’m sorry, Ryan, but I was going to kill your father.” I gasped; I couldn’t believe Nico openly admitted he was going to hurt my dad, but before I could yell or scream at him, he continued. “He raised his hand at me and sent a blast of magic so strong it knocked me back several feet. I was going to charge him again, but he raised his hands in surrender and said, “I told you I’m not going to hurt you and I meant it. I’m here to ask for your help. Please—my daughter is in danger, and I don’t know who else I can turn to.’”
“‘Who the hell are you?’ I asked him. ‘I am Ralph Knox, head warlock to the Knox coven. You are Nicholas Stone, king of the fae. I mean you no harm, your majesty. I just need your help please, I believe my daughter is the key to eternal power, and she has the blood to seal the fae realm from Earth.’” My dad knew I was the key, he spent his life trying to help me. I would forever live with regret if not saying goodbye to my father.
“I didn’t believe him at first, but the look on his face showed me he was genuinely scared for his child. I wanted to walk away and not help him, even if he was telling the truth that his daughter was the key to kill my people. Then I thought of Dom, Jax, and Kai, how we could be friends and trust each other, even though we were from different clans. Maybe this man could be trusted too. I agreed to meet with your father at a later time, as I had to get back to my realm. A week later I met your father at the same pub, but this time was different. I was keen to hear what he had to say, as I had done some research on what all the elders believed to be the key to power, and low and behold he was telling the truth—the blood of a witch-fae halfling with a pure heart is the key to seal the fae realm from Earth. Ralph and I spoke for hours about you, Ryan. God, he loved you so much he was willing to risk his life to find me just so you could live.” I couldn’t stay quiet anymore; I had to know.
“Why did my dad find you, though, and not someone else?” Nico gave me a sad smile, and I knew I wasn’t going to like his answer.
“Because I am the only one strong enough to remove any fae’s powers.” My mouth dropped open at that. I mean, what the actual fuck? Dom scoffed, clearly not impressed that Nico said his magic was the strongest.
“So you knew when you sent us back here that I could never learn how to control my powers, because I didn’t even have all of them!”
“It’s not that simple, love. Let me finish the story and you will understand why I did what I did, okay?” I gave him a curt nod to continue. “I told your father that before I was willing to strip someone—even a child—of their gifts, I needed to see for myself that this child did in fact have both witch and fae powers. I was there that day when your father took you to the park. You never saw me, but I was there.” Creepy, but okay. “I watched you and saw that you had no evil whatsoever in your body. I just saw light, and I was awestruck by your gentle and forgiving nature. You were abused so terribly by your mother, but you never let the darkness consume you.
“You are strong, Ryan. Do not ever forget that your strength grows within you every day. All I did was put a block on your powers—I never stripped them. I couldn’t strip them, if I’m being totally honest.”
“Why couldn’t you strip them?” Alex asked.
“Because she is too powerful. She possesses even more power than me and Dom.” Holy shit balls! I could tell by the look in Nico’s eyes that he was telling the truth—he really thought I was that powerful. “Also I didn’t even want to try, because there was a chance you might die, and I wasn’t willing to take that risk.”
“Why did you do it, though? I don’t understand why you would help my dad when you just said you didn’t trust him. Why not just kill me?” Nico started looking around the room, almost like he didn’t want the others to hear the answer to my question.
“Because I felt a connection to you that I can’t explain. I know that doesn’t make much sense to you, love, but I just knew one day our paths would cross again, and you would need my help. So I did the only thing I could think of, which was to block your powers, so
when the day came that you would need to access them, you would have to come find me. I could never hurt you, Ryan.” I don’t know why, but his admission had me swooning a bit, in spite of the fact that the look in his eyes told me there was more to this story. Nico was still hiding something from me, and I wanted to know what it was.
“Now that you’re done eye fucking my cousin your majesty, can we get back on track here” I couldn’t help but blush at Chases’ statement, everyone in the room just saw me melting all over the Fae King. To break the awkwardness I cleared my throat and asked.
“What happens now then?”
“That’s the tricky part, love; unlocking your powers is going to be painful.”
“Why would it hurt her?” Bless you, Jax, for asking the question I was too scared to say out loud.
“What I mean is that when I unlock the other half of Ryan’s powers, it will be like letting a caged animal run free for the first time. Her powers have been locked up since before she hit puberty, so it will burn through her, so to speak. We will have to manage it as best we can and try to help her control it, or she could seriously hurt someone or even herself.” I was sucking in huge amounts of air—I mean, it sounds like I was about to burn Jax’s whole compound to the ground, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt anyone. “Well, it’ll be best to do this outside, where no one is around, so maybe in the woods?” I don’t know who Nico was directing his question to, but Dom was the one to answer him.
“We’ll go to the woods, when everyone is at dinner, and I’ll put a ward around us to try control the damage to the area.”
“Why would we need a ward? You’re making it sound like she’s going to blow up!” Alex snapped.
“There is a chance that there could be a huge blast. Like I said, Ryan is very powerful, and with me unlocking this side of her powers that she has never had to deal with, it could cause her to lash out to stop the pain. She won’t know how to control all the power coursing through her veins.” Well, Nico was shit at pep talks, wasn’t he?
“I will be there to help guide and train her to harness the energy,” Aurora chimed in. I was glad that no one had mentioned me getting married. I was really hoping that they had forgotten that bit; I didn’t want to marry anyone. I was too young for that, Nico never said I had to marry in order for him to release my powers. I was counting that as a win.
I tuned everyone out while they made plans for what was to happen this evening, I couldn’t take the pressure, so I walked out of the room and headed back to my temporary bedroom, somewhat amazed I found my way back there. Once inside, I plopped down on the bed and covered my eyes with my arm. I just needed to be alone and to think. But that wasn’t apparently an option, because almost as soon as I had the thought, there was a knock on my door.
“WHAT?” I bellowed.
“Do you mind if we come in?” At the sound of Jax’s voice, I quickly sat up. It wasn’t just Jax, though—he was followed in by Dom and Nico. They all stood awkwardly at the end of my bed, but given that I’d left them for peace and quiet, and they’re the ones who came to my room, I wasn’t going to be the one to talk first.
“I know this is a lot for you to take in, but we’re trying to help and make this as easy as possible for you,” said Dom.
“I know you guys are, it’s just hard to process the amount of mind-boggling information I’m getting hit with. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I sure as shit don’t want to hurt myself.”Or get married.
“We’re not asking you to hurt anyone, love— were just asking that you let Dom and Aurora train you to allow you to get some sort of control over your powers, so when the time comes, maybe the reality that your enemies know you know how to harm them will scare them enough to back down.” I wish what Jackson was arguing could happen, but we all knew that Randall Cane wouldn’t back down without a fight.
“Okay, I’ll agree to Dom and Aurora training me, but you all have to promise me that no matter what happens, none of you will harm my sister.” They all exchanged looks with one another and agreed. “I’ve also been wondering—Randall drank from me at the cabin. I guess that means he’s going to be strong and powerful now, right?”
“No, Randall will be the same strength as he normally is. Your fae side isn’t unlocked yet, so he only drank your witch blood, so to speak.” Nico’s answer made me feel slightly less fucked, which was a pleasant surprise.
“We must begin the training as soon as we can. I have a feeling Randall won’t sit by much longer; he’s chronically impatient, so something must be wrong if he is not attacking us already.” Dom sounded so sure, which made me worry even more for Kai. What if something happened to him? What if they knew he was helping us? Would they harm him?
“Do you think if Randall found out Kai was helping us, that he would kill him?” They all shared an ominous look, which gave me the answer to my question. “By the looks on your faces, I’m assuming that’s a big fat yes.” Dread filled my stomach. I couldn’t explain it, but I just knew Kai was in trouble and needed our help—I could feel it in my soul.
“Look, Kai is strong, and he is a great solider. The best there is, really. Randall has known for a while that Kai hasn’t been himself. Kai is loyal to a fault, and if Randall has sensed that his loyalties are shifting, he will try to take him out.” Nico wasn’t sugar-coating the truth.
“I can’t explain it, but I have the worst feeling that Kai is in trouble and needs our help. I feel like he’s trying to tell me something, but I don’t’ know what. I felt this pulling sensation, like I do in my dreams but nothing is happening. Could that be Kai?” Dom’s face went from calm to serious in half a second.
“Ryan, sweetheart, I need you to lie down, okay? The only way Kai can come to you from a distance and without touch is if you are asleep.” I did as Dom asked without question and shuffled up to the top of the bed. “Okay, I’m going to do a sleeping spell, love, which will take you to Kai and—”
“I’m going under with her, in case it’s a trap.” Nico was looking me straight in the eye, and I knew by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so I just nodded. He climbed on the other side of the bed, linking his fingers through mine, and I felt like a zap of electricity had shot through my arm just from that small contact. I always felt a spark when Nico touched me.
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll be putting you both under then, Jax, and I will stand watch to make sure you’re both fine. If anything happens, pull her out straight away, Nico.” Nico gave Dom a firm nod and closed his eyes, I leaned back and closed my eyes as well and listened to Dom chanting in another language. I didn’t feel anything happening for a while, and then all of a sudden everything went dark.
Chapter 29
Being here at the lake with Nico felt wrong; this was my and Kai’s place—well, one of them. We would meet in the forest or at this lake. It was beautiful, with serene water that mirrored the surrounding forest and mountains. The silence here is what made this my favorite place on Earth.
Never have both men been in my dream at the same time. I knew I loved Kai; I’ve always known that, at least subconsciously. The more I am around Nico, the more I’m starting to feel things for him. I love Kai, but I love Nico too. My heart needs to stay out of this. I have no right falling for either of them. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I call out for him.
“Kai?”
He always came when I called. This time it felt different, like something was off. I can’t explain it but, I just felt it. I heard a branch break, only to find Nico, not Kai, which was slightly worrying.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He’s always here, Nico—he never makes me wait.”
Nico came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I appreciated the gesture; I didn’t feel so alone in his embrace. I was thankful to have him here with me, now. I was scared for Kai, I just knew something was wrong, I could feel it.
“Kai, please come out! Nico and I are here.”
My bad feeling about Kai was getting worse. I felt cold, and I never felt uncomfortable in my dreams. I always felt warm, like in springtime. I heard some branches snapping and quickly spun toward the noise. Nico and I both gasped at the sight, my heart sank.
Kai limped towards us, only to stumble, and grab a tree trunk before he could fall to the ground. Nico rushed over and caught him, then eased him down carefully on the ground by the side of the lake. I rushed over and knelt down beside him. His face was covered in blood, with black bruises marring his beautiful face. He only wore a pair of shorts, and his legs were covered in wounds. I noticed his fingers and toes had no nails.
“Oh my God, they’re torturing you, aren’t they?” I started to cry. Kai was in so much pain, and I could tell he was trying to mask it for my benefit. He tried to lift his hand to wipe away my tears, but he didn’t have the strength to even do that. He turned away from me and looked to Nico.
“I have fulfilled my vow to you, my brother. Your sister is free and making her way to Jackson’s camp as we speak.” Nico jerked back, obviously shocked by the revelation. “You must warn Jackson that his second in command is a traitor. Randall knew I was coming and that I was helping Ryan.”
“How?” Nico snapped.
“Tyler and Stevie are working together, and he has been feeding her information.” Kai turned toward me then. “You must not come for me, mi amor, no matter what. “ I started to protest, but Kai cut me off. “It is a trap. Randall knows you will come for me, and by the time you get to me, I will already be dead.” I started sobbing in earnest now, holding onto his face and smoothing back his hair. “I don’t have long left—I can feel my life force fading now.”
“Don’t cry, mi amor, I am grateful I got to have any time with you at all. I need you to listen to me now.” I nodded so he could continue.
“Your sister is not coming back from this, Ryan” I started to shake my head; I had to believe I could save Stevie. “She is the one torturing me with Randall, and she enjoys it so much more because she knows that hurting me will hurt you.” Rage like I had never known surged within me. How could she do this to Kai? I could hear Kai’s breathing start to shorten, and I knew deep down he was dying.
A Beautiful Dream: The Dream Trilogy Page 17
