by Tamara White
The room visibly relaxes and I turn to Nik with a confused look. “Not that I’m complaining, but if your soul-ties are severed, how is she still able to come back?”
Devin looks up at me, his surprised expression a match for my own and I can tell he’s just as perplexed as I am. Is Emerald stronger than we thought? Or are her soul-ties not completely severed as we assumed?
We never tested them because Em was in a pretty dark place after it happened. She’d only just come out of the abyss before Talon left, and none of us had wanted to say or do anything that would make her to spiral back in.
“I honestly don’t know,” Nik admits. “We know Dev’s and my ties are still fully connected, but without Tal, I thought she would die. I have no idea how this is possible.”
“Well, how about instead of focusing on why she didn’t die, just be glad she’ll be back?” Lincoln interjects angrily. “Or maybe you can do something useful and put the little killer in a nice comfortable place to wake up in, and then help me search for the source of the poison so she doesn’t kill herself... again.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Meron gives a determined nod, claps his hands together, and then starts mumbling under his breath.
I know he’s using his magic to search for poisons or anything in this room that might have been used to cause harm. It’s not a very effective spell out on the streets because there are thousands of things that could cause your death in everyday situations. But here in our hotel room, it should be enough for us to find any more traces of hemlock. Or other potential means of assassination. I just wish we had thought to check the room first.
Power seeps out of Meron and immediately, a blue cloud settles over Emerald, confirming what we already know. She was poisoned. His power then spreads out through the suite and the rest of us split up, following the tendrils as they spread through every room.
Finally, we are all drawn back to the bedroom where Devin has now laid Em on a white hotel bed.
Meron is still in the same spot we left him, but now his eyes are open and his chest is heaving from the amount of magic he used. “Nothing. The only deadly thing in the room is the poison that’s already in her. Which means she must have encountered the poison somewhere else.”
I had already come to that conclusion too. But where could she have encountered such a poison?
Twenty
End of the World
Emerald
My eyes snap open and I see Hunter hovering nervously above me. “Sorry about that. I forget sometimes what it can be like joining consciousnesses with someone for the first time. I do it so often now that it’s just second nature for me at this point.”
“Yeah, well, give a girl some warning next time, will ya?”
Hunter chuckles, holding out a hand to help me to my feet. “Sure thing, Emerald.”
Once I’m standing in what looks to be a forest of some sort, he lets go and then rubs his hand on his jeans with a grimace.
I give him a look that clearly shows how offended I am by his look of disgust.
He blushes and rushes to explain, “I’m sorry. It’s not you or anything. It just that it hurts to touch you. I can feel it even now on my fingertips, and every extra brush against your mind right now makes it hurt a little more.”
“Why?” I ask, even as I think back to the pain Britt experienced whenever her husbands would touch her.
He averts his gaze and looks off into the forest near where we’ve appeared. “Touching you hurts because you’re not mine. An Eternal Guardian can only touch the person or people they are meant to spend their lives with, otherwise it causes them pain. I’m not saying it’s not possible to push through the pain, but every time you touch another person, is a betrayal of the worst kind to our partner. Brittany is that for me, for all three of us.”
“I wonder why it hurts her when one of the others touches her but not when she touches them,” I murmur to myself, before focusing on the scenery around me.
Hunter’s gaze, however, snaps back to mine. He grabs me by the shoulders, spinning me to face him so fast that it almost gives me whiplash. “What do you mean by that? She feels pain from touch?” Then he starts shaking me with a wild look in his eyes.
I shrug his hands away and back up slowly, a little worried by the intensity in his eyes.
“Yeah, she started to hurt after that idiot kissed her while she was in the other dimension. My guess is it somehow triggered your old bonds and in turn, also made her want to steer clear of her husbands. Whenever one of them touched her, it would cause burn-like marks to appear on her skin.”
Hunter’s eyes flare angrily at that. “Goddamn it, Chase.” He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly before looking back at me, remorse clear in his expression. “Sorry, Emerald. It’s just frustrating as hell. We’ve been stuck in the Eternal dimensions, unable to return to Earth until one of our brethren allows it. And Chase started something he shouldn’t have. Brittany is in pain because of his stupid split-second decision.”
I grin at that, because Hunter’s behavior right now reminds me a little of Blaine. The strong, protective male who has such a worrying nature.
Suddenly, I make a connection I hadn’t before. “Wait, you said one of your brethren had to let you back into our dimension. So what do you need me for?” I question suspiciously.
Hunter’s eyes widen in what looks like a combination of shock and fear. “Uh... Um... Well...” He glances around nervously, doing everything he can to avoid my gaze.
“Hunter?” I demand, refusing to let him hide. “Why do you need me?” I ask once again when his gaze finally settles on mine with resignation.
He lets out a sigh, his eyes filled with worry. “Well, I can’t tell you precisely, but I did unwillingly let it slip when I told you one of our brethren can return us.”
What the hell does that mean? He continues to stare intensely at me as I try to figure out what he’s getting at. Wait, is he saying I am an Eternal Guardian? Or am I somehow related to one? Ugh!
I reach up and squeeze the bridge of my nose in an attempt to ease the building tension. Apparently, there is only so much Hunter can tell me. Either that, or he’s being evasive for an entirely different reason. Either way, though, there was a reason I allowed him to take me on this spirit journey, and I can’t let myself get distracted from that.
“I’ll drop this for now, Hunter. But I will get answers from you, one way or another.”
He nods briskly and takes my hand. “Sorry, but I need to touch you in order to show you everything. I could have just let you view my memories, but you need to see this from the eyes of Fate, not from me. Besides, being in my head might drain you more, so this is better anyway.”
I nod, and then our surroundings start to shimmer hazily, before disappearing entirely. A moment later, a small log house comes into to view. “This is the house Britt grew up in. The one we moved into as children when we came to live with her and Melanie.”
Right after Hunter finishes speaking, a small child comes running from the house—a girl I recognize immediately as a young Britt. I watch as three boys come bolting out of the front door after her and she squeals in delight. I smile at the playful grin she throws over her shoulder at them. Damn, she was a minx, even as a child.
“Before coming to stay with Brittany and Melanie, we had lost our home in a great fire and our families had already ascended. The only reason the three of us survived was because of Chase. He shimmered us into his home dimension just long enough for us to escape the fire. When we came back to earth, the house was nothing but smoldering embers.”
My heart aches for Hunter, but then I remind myself he’s trying to separate my best friend and her husbands. Him and his two friends.
Hunter squeezes my hand gently. “Time is going to speed up because this all played out how Fate had planned. It will slow down as we approach the time when Fate’s design was interrupted.”
As he says that, the scene starts to change aro
und us. I get a front row seat to Britt’s early life, watching as she grows up with the three men I recently met. I can see Melanie was right. Britt really does love them. Well, at least she did in this life.
I watch enraptured with Hunter by my side, who’s letting me see the movie that is Britt’s life. I get to witness her first kiss with Chase, then with Alistair, as well as the sneaky moment with Hunter. I see her turn sixteen, which is how old she was when I first met her, and then time starts to slow down. I pay close attention, not wanting to miss anything.
Britt is leaning against the side of the house with a small smile on her face, most likely hiding from her men for some reason. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of red light. When I turn, I see a man standing where the light had been. He comes rushing toward Britt, all with her still oblivious to his presence. When he gets closer, I realize he looks remarkably like her. Just as Britt notices him, the man grabs her.
“This is when it all changed,” Hunter murmurs ominously. Then he holds his hand up and waves it around, his white aura pulsing as he does.
When his hand stops, the scene starts to play out as if I was witnessing it in real time. Sound filters in and I struggle to remain still when I hear the sound of Britt’s screams. I watch helplessly as the man tries to drag her away to the bright red light he appeared from. Then Hunter, Chase, and Alistair come running from the side of the building with the weapons I saw them carrying in the in-between place.
A moment later, strange men with red skin jump out from the portal made of crimson light. I can’t hold back the gasp when I see these red-skinned creatures. With their appearance, the man holding Britt lets go of whatever glamor he had that made him look human, revealing a red-skinned man with horns and violet eyes so dark they almost look black.
The creatures battle against Chase, Alistair, and Hunter as the three men try in vain to rescue Britt, who’s getting dragged closer to the portal with each passing second.
But then out of nowhere, Melanie appears with a ferocious expression on her face.
She lets out a scream of pure rage and magic fills her body, making her glow brightly.
Britt smiles in relief at the sight of her mother and manages to use the distraction of her arrival to free herself. But the horned man snags her by the hair and tries even harder to pull her through the portal.
“The one holding Britt right now is her birth father,” Hunter explains.
My eyes widen in shock, but I can’t speak, too enthralled by the scene unfolding in front of us.
Britt’s father smirks evilly and is about to drag her through the red, glowing portal. But before he gets a chance, Melanie flings blue magic their way. The power of it forces the two of them apart, sending both Britt and her father flying.
Her father gets to his feet quickly, malice in his every move. He lifts his hands menacingly and that’s when the real battle begins. Red flames shoot from his palms, hitting Melanie square in the chest. The crimson fire spreads out from the point of impact, encasing her whole body.
Melanie cries out, but manages to push through the pain and keep fighting. I see the determination in her eyes as she overcomes the magic that encapsulated her. Then Melanie clasps her hands in front of her heart, pulling magic from deep within her to form a blue orb so bright and powerful that I can feel the echo of its energy, even in this vision.
When the ball of magical energy is bigger than her hands, Melanie flings it at Britt’s father. The force of it is enough to push him into the portal, and somehow all his followers are sucked in after him.
“Unfortunately, everything changed after this. We had to leave Brittany because we were the reason her father found her in the first place,” Hunter murmurs sadly. “Our energy drew hers out and made her shine like a beacon to her father.”
I don’t respond, my attention on Britt as she runs to her mother, her eyes streaming with tears.
Melanie gets up slowly and hugs her daughter tight with a hard resolve in her eyes. Then she leans down and whispers something into Britt’s ear, words I can’t make out.
Britt backs up a step, her eyes wide with horror. “No! I won’t leave them! I love them!”
“You must, though, Brittany. Their connection to you is how he found you. And he can never be allowed find you again. If he comes back, I won’t be able to stop him.”
“Then we’ll all go into hiding together. You can train me. Teach me to send him back just as you did.”
Melanie just looks at her with a heartbroken expression. “I can’t.” Then she waves her hands in front of her. I watch as Britt’s eyes go blank. Then she starts to fall to the ground, but Chase is there to catch her and guide her down softly.
“Why?” Alistair demands angrily. He turns to young Hunter. The present version of Hunter is still holding my hands and says the next words in time with his past self.
“Because Melanie was cursed by the devil and will die in the next three months.”
My eyes feel like they will pop out of my head at this point. I turn to Hunter in complete shock. “Didn’t her sister curse her? Britt thought it was Dastian so how can this be true?”
“Dastian did curse her. Britt’s father is Dastian, essentially. Since he can’t be in his normal form for long periods of time, the red-skinned man started possessing Dastian. Her mother conceived Britt when the devil was in possession of Dastian’s body. Melanie had suspected evil magic was in the world, but it wasn’t until Britt was born when she began to search for answers. When we started forming bonds with Britt, her father felt her power through the realms. When Melanie realized that Dastian and the devil were the same person, it was already too late.”
Holy hell...
Melanie stares at young Hunter, giving him a tight smile. “You’re right. My time on this world will end soon. I will train her as best as I can in the time I have left though. She will be lost when I leave this world but she will find hope. Until a time comes when she is stronger, you three must leave her. I will have to break your bonds to keep her hidden.”
“Break our bonds?” Chase exclaims, sounding furious about the idea. “Like fucking hell! I will find that bastard and kill him myself rather than let you separate us!”
Past Hunter’s eyes glaze over and a second later, he starts saying, “Brittany will be safe. She will find someone filled with power, an Eternal Guardian in both heart and soul. They will bond as friends and their fate will decide all of ours.”
Melanie and Alistair are both looking at young Hunter, but Chase refuses to look anywhere but at Britt.
The Hunter from the present looks away from the scene and smiles warmly down at me. “That was the first time I saw you.”
This shit is unreal...
My gaze goes back to the memory unfolding in front of us, and I watch as Alistair lets out a ragged breath. “Fine. If you say our bonds need to be broken in order to protect her, I will allow it.”
Past Hunter nods determinedly. “We will meet her again one day, of that I am absolutely sure.”
Melanie looks down at Chase, who presses a gentle kiss to Britt’s head before getting to his feet. “I agree that she needs to be protected above all else, and if this is the only way to keep her safe, then so be it.”
Melanie smiles sadly. “I’m so sorry, boys. Since you won’t have a bond with my daughter anymore, you will be sent to the world your parents are in. You won’t be able to return until her soul calls to yours, or one of your own kind frees you.”
All three of them nod gravely in understanding, but I have to wonder why they agreed to this. Did they really love her so much that they were willing to sacrifice everything for her?
“Why didn’t you fight harder to stay?” I ask curiously.
Hunter smiles down at me, but the expression is devoid of any happiness. It’s more a look of resignation than anything. “We knew because we were part guardian that we would always call to Britt’s second nature. We had to leave so she could focus on training and
then find you. But neither my powers nor my mother’s showed you and Britt bonding with blood. If we had foreseen such a thing, we would have proceeded differently.”
“And why’s that? Just who is your mother?” I inquire suspiciously.
He grins like a child about to reveal the biggest secret he’s ever held. “My mother is Fate. She sent me to your dimension as a child because the three of us are part of one of the prophecies. A war is coming and we’re all gonna have to fight to protect the humans from things they never even dreamed of.”
Then Hunter pauses and waves his hand in front of him. I watch as three doors appear before us, seemingly out of nowhere. “Each of these doors represents your choices. This one,” he says, pointing at the first door, “is what will happen if you don’t take us back and reveal Britt’s memories to her. Go ahead, open it, and see what consequences your decision will have.”
Fuck, this feels like some kind of trick. But I pull up my big girl panties anyway and open up the door, gasping in surprise at what I find on the other side.
It’s St. Louis, but the sky is a deep red, and people run screaming through the streets as deformed red creatures chase after them. Vampires, wolves, and witches all attempt to fight off the beasts, but are cut down one by one.
I just stand there in complete shock as the world burns around me. Me not bringing them back and telling Britt the truth would cause this?
I take a step back and slam the door shut behind me.
“What’s behind the second one?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking, but I don’t quite succeed. Even just seeing that version of the world was enough to make me want to throw up.
Hunter moves to stand in front of the second door, smiling back at me warmly. “This is what will happen if you take us back with you.”
