by Tessa Cole
People wore little clothing in Nikandra, it wasn’t necessary for most, and women only covered themselves if they were nurses, or to be alluring and mysterious. And the goddess had been all of that. Poor Aethan had been instantly aroused when she’d come from her room in that stunning covering, and I felt bad for the satyr. He seemed to have such little control over his emotions and his body.
Annie’s friend had arrived — not allowed to come in — and dropped off clothes for Rion. He’d looked very mysterious and uncomfortable once they’d been put on: dark pants, white shirt with buttons on the front, and a dark jacket. All of it just a little too tight on him, obviously made for a man of similar height, but with a lesser build.
Annie hadn’t said more than a dozen words to any of us, and I’d been able to sense her frustration and anger, her confusion and the desire she was trying desperately to hide, but this didn’t tell me more than what I already knew.
And I needed more if I was going to find out the true reason for the tension among us.
She and Rion had left and the rest of us had settled in.
I sighed, replaying the emotions I’d sense from her over and over again in my mind, hoping that I’d be able to see something I’d missed that would let me know what was really going on, when a tight, burning spark ignited in my chest.
It was small, but powerful and growing, something that had only happened a handful of times in my entire life and something I hadn’t felt in years.
I was about to have a vision.
I knew it was futile to resist or try to stop it, and in this moment I actually — for once — accepted it. Perhaps it would tell me more of what I’d need to know about Annie and what had happened between us.
The spike of pain in my chest grew, and lines of fire traced from my heart to my head. This was the process. It was always the same. Next it would explode behind my eyes and I’d be taken away, captured by the vision.
I sent a quick prayer to Hephaestus. I wasn’t one who believed much in the gods, but Hephaestus was the one who was supposed to have created the stone titans long ago, and when I was in dire need, I would sometimes whisper prayers to him.
“Help me see true,” I breathed.
Then the pain exploded in my head and the room before me vanished.
I floated in darkness, free and weightless — a very uncomfortable feeling for a stone titan.
Then light blossomed with another spike of pain. It was a diffuse illumination and nothing was clear. I hoped it would come into better focus, but the vague shapes, moving around and mingling, and the rumble of many voices talking, didn’t become clearer.
Then sharp cracks, like thunder, rang out for an instant and a single person snapped into focus. Annie. She was being carried by someone and vomiting, but the vision didn’t clarify who was carrying her, and everyone and everything else remained out of focus.
Then more sharp cracks of violent thunder and a great crash as a darkness burst onto the scene. People screamed, running from it as it broke through what seemed like a wall, charging into the midst of the people.
My heart skipped a beat. The darkness. It had found Annie.
The light around me flared, blinding me.
My vision cleared and I was back in my body in Annie’s residence, the pain in my head fading. Yet even as it faded, a secondary pain of knowing burst through me and I was given instant insight into where Annie and Rion were. It wasn’t far, perhaps a walk of a dozen minutes from here, a place called Silver Birch Hall.
“Hades,” I hissed and the other two stopped their pacing and stared at me.
“We need to go,” I said, carefully rising as quickly as I could without bumping and breaking anything. “Annie and Rion are in danger. The darkness has found her.”
Aethan nodded turning for the door and reaching for the latch.
Del frowned. “How do you know this?”
My visions were rare. I’d had perhaps five in my entire life and it wasn’t something I’d spoken to anyone about, only my parents. Now I had to tell my friends, and I wasn’t sure how they’d take knowing that I could see the future.
“I have visions. Not often. Sometimes I see things that haven’t happened yet.” I dropped my gaze to my large hands, afraid of their reaction. I was a stone titan, and my kind didn’t have mystic abilities. I was… unnatural. “I hope this doesn’t change your view of me.”
“Why would you say that?” Aethan asked. “It’s not like you’ve grown a second head or something.”
“Yeah,” Del agreed. “If anything, I’m sorry for you. Visions can’t be easy to live with.”
“They aren’t. But as I said, they’re rare.” I’d managed to fully stand now without breaking anything, but knew I needed to stay mindful of my surroundings.
“Which makes me grateful that you’ve had one and hopefully given us time to save Goddess Annie and Rion,” Aethan said opening the door.
“We should probably dress first,” Del said, as I made my way across the room to them.
Aethan glanced down his naked body then out the partially open door as if he was struggling with the idea of spending the few seconds it took to put clothes on.
“It’s cold out and everyone I saw outside wore clothes,” Del added.
“Right.” Aethan shut the door and zipped to the clothes the goddess had left for us piled on the seat of a large, cushioned couch.
Del and I joined him and we rooted through it.
The others found clothes quick enough, but there wasn’t much that fit me and in the end, I put on a pair of strange, gray pants made from a fabric that incredibly stretched to fit my large frame and a similarly stretchy pull-over shirt with a blue and red crest on the chest. Both items were skin-tight on me, near to bursting, but they held. The pants only covered me to mid-calf, but I wasn’t too worried about the cold. The deep caves where I lived were far underground and very chilly all year round and stone titans were used to the cold.
“Do we know where we’re going?” Del asked as he pulled on a pair of loose black pants.
“I do,” I said. “That was part of my vision.”
“Then it must be fated,” Aethan said. He looked like an anthousae, in vibrant green pants, a yellow shirt with a hood attached, and a bright blue and purple coat that was too small to properly close. He was a rainbow of color if you included his ruddy-red skin. “Let’s go.”
We rushed out into the street, and I could only hope that we wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter 15
Annie
Rion was rigid and cold sitting next to me in the wedding hall, and I tried to concentrate on the ceremony to distract me from the mess that had suddenly become my life.
By bringing Rion — who looked stunning in a suit, of course — everyone now thought I had a new boyfriend. A hot boyfriend. And I’d already fended off so many questions about him — mostly from other women while his back was turned — that I was even more frustrated and angry.
“Where’d he come from?”
“His name is what? Ryan?”
“Does he have a brother?”
“What’s he like in bed?”
And my personal favorite — for its ever-so-condescending tone, “How’d you managed to land him?”
Then there was the obvious, “What does Carter think of him?”
Carter was my ex, and the son of a friend of my father’s, our family’s lawyer. Carter and I had known each other since we were kids and everyone had thought I was so lucky to ‘land him’ once we were adults. He was a lawyer in his father’s firm, and doing well for himself.
I, of course, was the black sheep of my family, barely scraping by. My father was a doctor, my mother had been a nurse. My brother, Daniel — the one getting married — was an accountant, and my sister, Sheri, was a successful business owner, running her own flower shop. She’d supplied all the flowers for the wedding, of course.
Then there was me, an administrative assistant — even though my job
was so much more than that. My family and friends didn’t understand. I didn’t want what they wanted. I hated living in the city. My dream was to be a virtual assistant, living somewhere warm and working on the beach. A simple life. Yet my family thought that was a silly dream. They kept bringing up the same questions and concerns.
“How can you support yourself?”
“The tropics? Won’t you burn?”
“You’ll be all alone down there, why would you want to leave Chicago?”
“How will you get your clients? You won’t be able to meet in person. That’s very important.” As if they’d never heard of the internet.
“It will never work. You’ll be back living at dad’s place soon enough.”
Carter and I had broken up over the exact same thing. He wanted me to be a house wife, staying home and taking care of our future kids, as his job could easily support a wealthy lifestyle.
He’d taken me to Barbados, so I could ‘see what it was like.’ And I swear he’d let me get burned that day just to prove I wasn’t meant for a warm climate.
We’d come back and he’d thought he’d made his point. But I’d loved the sun and sand. Even after a burn so bad I’d been hospitalized, I wanted it more than ever.
So what if I had to reek of sunscreen? I’d slather on some one-hundred-and-ten SPF and be ready to go. But he’d never understood and I’d not been able to take his patronizing anymore. I’d known then that he didn’t understand me and didn’t want to try.
And when Carter had met Rion just before the wedding had started, he’d made a face and said, “I didn’t think Chicago had a rent-a-date service.”
That had boiled my blood, but I hadn’t known what to say. The woman on his arm was gorgeous of course, but I had more class than to suggest she was a working girl. So, I’d gritted my teeth, trying very hard not to make a scene and ruin my brother’s special day. I’d turned to walk away from him, but his voice had followed me. “Still want to be an admin assistant in the tropics? I hope this guy likes spending lots of time in the hospital!” And he’d laughed.
“He’s an ass,” Rion had said. Some of the few words he’d spoken to me since last night, and ones I actually agreed with.
Let everyone wonder about Rion. He wasn’t saying anything, which helped the mysterious air about him and peaked everyone else’s speculation.
And besides. I could have a man like him if I wanted.
At least that’s what I told myself.
I’d done my best to be a picture of perfection today. My dress was gorgeous, hugging my curves and cinched tight at the waist. I didn’t always love my hips, but give me a good form fitting dress, and I’d happily show off my hourglass figure. The neck was low cut, showing an abundance of cleavage, and I’d spent nearly an hour styling my hair in the one sexy up-do I knew how to do to accentuate my long neck. Most of my hair was pinned up, held aloft by dozens of pins, but I’d kept a few locks loose and curled them so they’d frame my face.
My freckles were covered up with foundation — well most of them — I’d made sure the freckles on my face, chest, and shoulders were covered up, but I didn’t wanted make-up all down my arms, so those ones were still showing, and anyone who knew me, knew I was just hiding the rest.
Actually, now that I thought about it. I hadn’t thought to cover the back of my neck and with my hair up… and this dress was mostly backless… everyone behind me could see all the freckles I’d missed back there. Well, fuck.
Still, I knew I was as hot as I could be and that made a small part of me feel sexy, even if the rest of me was feeling awkward.
I loved Rion and hated him.
Both emotions that shocked and infuriated me. I didn’t know what had happened between the guys last night and this morning, but suddenly everything was like pulling teeth with them, difficult and weird and frustrating.
Next to me, Rion was stiff and I didn’t know what I’d done to upset him, and the more I tried to think about it, the more confused and upset I got. I didn’t really know, nor did I want to know, what had happened. We’d had mind-blowing sex and then…
Then I’d been loopy as hell for some reason and didn’t remember much except talking to Del and feeling horny all over again and nothing coming of it.
Now Rion seemed to have the possessiveness of a guy who didn’t want his girl around other men, but he was still giving me the cold shoulder. Which didn’t make sense because all of the guys had seemed perfectly willing to share me when we’d been in their world. Yet now he was acting like that wasn’t an option. Apparently, he’d done a hard one-eighty in how he saw things sometime between having sex with me and now.
A part of me wondered if sex with me had somehow changed his mind and made him want me even more, to the point of possessiveness. But the rest of me thought that was crazy.
No man had ever fallen that hard for me, and he certainly didn’t seem to want me now. As possessive as he was, he was also pushing me away, as if I’d done something wrong, but I had no clue what that was.
So there I was, mocked by friends and family for my dreams, with a gorgeous man who hadn’t said more than a few words to me because I’d somehow blown it with him.
I couldn’t quite fathom how the man who’d been so tender and passionate in bed with me had turned into this cold, unfeeling statue. It brought back all the anger I’d felt that morning with the abrupt wakeup call from the fire alarm and reminded me that I was sending the guys back as soon as the wedding was done.
Except I was conflicted.
They’d caused trouble for me, but they’d also been trying to help. Apparently, I needed protecting from something, and up until that morning, they’d all been desperate to pleasure me.
Except that seemed to have gone away now too.
I bit back a sigh.
I just didn’t know anymore.
All I knew was that I was done with this fantasy. It wasn’t even much of a fantasy anymore, and I should have known things wouldn’t have worked out for me. My life would be simpler and back to normal with them gone.
And right now, that was what I wanted… really.
“Do you, Lisa, take Daniel to be your lawfully wedded husband…” I pulled my attention back to the wedding. This was the important part, and I let myself be swept away by the fairytale wedding.
Lisa was gorgeous in a white, very modern, form-fitting dress, that was simple and elegant, while my brother was dashing — as dashing as an accountant could get — in his tux, hair coifed to within an inch of its life. And the way they looked at each other…
I sighed.
That sort of caring and love…
I’d seen a hint of it in Rion’s eyes last night, but nothing like what these two had. Theirs seemed enduring and solid, and I could only wish for such a love.
Which brought me right back to Rion.
Who I didn’t want to think about, damn it.
So, I concentrated on this magical moment in front of me and tried to live vicariously through my soon to be sister-in-law.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the officiant announced and the two leaned in for a chaste kiss.
“Gods!” Rion breathed next to me, his eyes wide with shock. “I—”
He jerked up to his feet and swiftly walked out of the row of chairs.
Luckily that coincided with everyone else standing and cheering for the couple at the front, but it was that very same cheering that made it harder for me to follow along behind Rion and ask him what was so offensive about the ceremony.
I got to the end of our row in time to see him reach a door at the side of the hall, and I hurried after him as fast as I could in my best red stilettos, before he stepped out of sight. I’d miss the receiving line, but that wasn’t too big a deal. Making sure Rion didn’t do anything stupid was more important.
He marched out the door, and I caught it just before it clicked closed and rushed after him to find him just on the other side, leaning head-first against the wall,
half-heartedly punching the wall, again and again. We were in a narrow hall, thankfully void of people, with chairs stacked against the wall.
“Rion, what is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong with you?”
He spun on me, his long-blond hair flying out at the sudden movement about him. His sky-blue eyes were rimmed in red — had he been crying? — were somehow cold and burning hot at the same time.
“What’s wrong with me?” he demanded, his anger shocking me and making me take a hesitant step away from him. “What’s wrong with you? You kiss me and I accept your bond only to have you throw it away and ask Del to join you? Was I nothing to you? We were bonded, united, hearts locked, and you threw it away as if it were nothing!”
“What?” I stumbled back another step.
What was he talking about? What was this about bonds and locked hearts? It didn’t make sense.
“Then you bring me here.” Rion jerked his hand toward the door behind me. “To witness the bonding of your brother and his beloved. To witness their bonding kiss when you so flagrantly denied ours.”
“Ours?” My eyes went wide. These guys were from some primitive culture. Did they think I’d married Rion because we’d had sex?
“Wait, do you think we’re… bonded because we had sex?”
He blinked and frowned in confusion. “What? No. Sex is nothing. A pleasure, fun. No, we were bonded by our kiss.”
“Kiss? Which one?” There’d been a lot of… lip work last night.
“Your kiss on my lips.” His confusion deepened, overwhelming more of his rage. Now he seemed as confused as I was. “You pressed your lips to mine. Lips are sacred. The lips speak of promises and a kiss upon the lips is a true kiss, a bonding kiss. It signifies—”
“Oh, fuck,” I groaned as realization hit me.
Somehow all the other kisses hadn’t meant anything, but my kissing him on the lips — which I’d instigated — had meant something to him. And just now my brother’s marriage had been sealed with a kiss.
