“Did you read it?”
“Yes,” he replied.
My heart began to race.
“Are you going to tell Marcus?”
“No. We’re here for you, Cheyenne, no one else.”
I pressed my eyes closed for a moment. For all of Colt’s stupidity, thinking he could defeat Marcus, I couldn’t have him die on me now. I headed for the garden.
Colt was waiting, hiding in the shadows of a tree. He immediately pulled me beside him, hiding us from sight.
His fingers began to stroke my cheek.
“We can leave right now, Cheyenne. I’ve got it all worked out.”
I didn’t reply, unsure how to tell him the decision I’d come to. His icy blue eyes searched mine in the dimming light. The sun was setting. He’d planned our escape, waiting for nightfall.
“What?” he questioned. “I know where Callon and the others are. We’ll be able to escape before Marcus knows what’s going on.”
I shook my head and saw his eyes narrow.
“No,” I whispered, knowing what I was admitting. “It’s not your battle. It’s not your burden. It was always mine—mine alone.”
He pressed closer placing a kiss on my lips. My lower lip trembled. I had to push him away.
“It’s not yours to bear alone,” he protested. “Come with me. I can get us out of here right now.” He pulled me closer, and I pushed back.
“No, Colt. I’m not going anywhere.”
The moonlight hit his face, and I saw the confusion wash over him.
“You don’t know what you’re saying, Cheyenne. I can get you out of here. We can leave together…”
“And run again? Marcus won’t stop, Colt, ever. You’re fighting a losing battle. It’s time I stepped up and did what my mother should have.”
His fingers balled into fist at his side, then suddenly he reached out to grab me, but I stepped back.
“No,” I repeated. “I won’t leave Callon powerless. I won’t leave the Consilador clan weakened. I will fix this mess.” I’ll marry Marcus.
“If you want to fix this mess, then you need to finish your vows to Callon!” He lunged for me again, but I was faster.
“With what, Colt? Marcus has the Braid. It contains my powers and Callon’s.” I knew that if I married Marcus, Callon’s powers would be restored, and I could give the clans the freedoms I’d never had. They’d have freedoms, and I’d forever live in a cage…but I couldn’t tell him that now. He wouldn’t understand, and he’d still try to drag me out of here. I had to stay.
“You don’t know what you’re saying!”
Gravel crunched, and Colt’s glare hardened. We weren’t alone anymore. He made one last attempt to snare me.
“Just go!” I barked.
Colt’s face twisted. He backed away, as I felt Marcus step up behind me. They exchanged hard glares.
“I’m coming back for you, Cheyenne,” he warned. “I promise!” He turned and ran towards the side gate, disappearing from sight.
I remained still, listening to Marcus’s breathing behind me. He came forward, and his gray eyes caught mine in the moonlight. I was sure he’d heard the whole conversation. Yet he said nothing. He just stood there, silently taking me in.
My heart should have been racing. I should have been frightened at what he would do to me, but I wasn’t. Fear had disappeared just as the rest of me had.
“You didn’t go?” Marcus asked quietly.
“No, I didn’t,” I whispered. I didn’t need to explain myself. We both knew why.
“I think this is the first time in my life I’m speechless, Cheyenne.” He turned on his heels, facing a group of Trackers and Conall. “Find him and kill him.” He waved the Trackers off, but Conall didn’t leave. He only stepped back.
“You’ve made a wise choice,” Marcus said.
More footsteps neared, but I didn’t look over my shoulder. I knew who was there, who was always there with me, watching me every moment of every hour of every day…Jahlem and Darrien.
Marcus began circling me slowly, deliberately—like he were stalking his prey.
“You continue to surprise and amaze me.”
“If I am to marry you, I have three things to ask of you,” I asked boldly.
He waited, wearing a faint smirk.
There was no more anxiety, no more worry. I would ask and he would give. Simple.
He extended his hand and nodded wordlessly, giving me his attention.
“First, I ask that you let Colt live. I stayed, he left. The threat is gone. Along with letting Colt live, you leave my family alone. You have what you came for, and I want reconciliation. You’ll live with me peacefully. No more hunting down Timeless, no more senseless deaths, no more war.”
He ran his fingers over his stubbled chin and stared at the ground for a few moments. I straightened my back. He would give or he wouldn’t receive.
“Secondly?” He tilted his head and eyed me carefully.
“Secondly,” I continued, not sure where all the demands were suddenly coming from. It wasn’t like I’d thought them out. “I won’t live with you here in this dreary, life draining, gray stoned compound.” I paused for a moment as hardness set into his stone cold eyes. “You’ll provide a home for us in the French countryside. I want gardens, graveled paths, manicured lawns, trees, a lake, pond or stream. I want acres for me to wander, horses to ride and a stone wall surrounding it so I know where my boundaries are…” so I’d be reminded of the cage that I’d built for myself. The cage I’d have to endure to end this war.
“No home on this estate?”
“A home that is bright and cheery, a library and a music room.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“And the third?”
“To marry at the mountain lake just outside the compound.”
He studied me for a few moments before he spoke.
“Then I have requests as well,” he said.
My jaw tightened. I should have known he’d have his own agenda.
“First?” I asked and tilted my head.
“First,” he said and began to circle me again. “You’ll allow me to romance you. You’ll willingly dine with me. You’ll willingly spend time with me, and you’ll give me the opportunity to show you who I am and what I am capable of.”
I squared my shoulders, but didn’t answer. How much worse could it be?
“Secondly,” he continued. “You’ll wear what I lay out for you.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand.
“You are a beautiful woman, Cheyenne, and I want to see you as such. I’ve provided you with a closet full of striking outfits, and you won’t wear them. You are to be my wife, and my wife will look the part.”
My jaw clenched. It was a control thing and we both knew it.
“Third?” I said between my teeth.
“Third.” A glint formed in his eyes. “I’ll give you the third when I think you’re ready for it.”
I’d gotten cocky, and he took advantage of it. I made for my bedroom when he grabbed my arm.
“I’ll take you to your room. We’re having dinner tonight, and I want to see you in an evening gown.” His crooked smile grew, and I lowered my head. I’d do what I had to do to keep my family safe. I’d bear this burden alone and always be the betrayer.
Conall’s gold-rimmed eyes stared at me in curiosity. Apparently I’d surprised him too.
Marcus took me to my room and I changed into what he wanted for the evening. A silky black gown with a scooped neck and back. Darrien and Jahlem waited while I prepared both mentally and physically for Marcus’s onslaught. I hadn’t had a choice in the path I had to follow. I just had to survive.
They escorted me to a rear terrace, one I hadn’t been to in the past, one I didn’t know existed. A small bistro table was dressed with a bright white tablecloth and covered silver serving trays sat at each chair. Candlelight illuminated the terrace and soft music played in the background.
The hidden terrace overlooked my garden…he’d watched me from here when I thought I was alone. How had I not seen this before?
A warm hand touched my back, and I startled. Marcus was beside me, dressed in a black tuxedo. Apparently he was taking this dinner seriously.
“I can watch you from here without you seeing me,” he confirmed, speaking low in my ear.
“Why? I thought the garden was supposed to be my private space.” I turned to face him.
His soft finger slid across my cheek and stopped at my neck. “Because I like watching you. You’re completely different than anyone I’ve ever met. There’s a complexity to you that I want to understand. You shouldn’t intrigue me, but you do.”
I fought the urge to push him away. I was the one who agreed to this, and I’d have to deal with this after the wedding. My jaw firmed. If he could touch me, then I could touch him. I lifted my hand as he tilted his head in curiosity. I traced the scar on his forehead. I had a good idea where it’d come from.
“I did this to you?”
His gray gaze remained focused on me. “Yes.”
“I was angry.” He’d just electrocuted Colt.
“You were.”
“Don’t make me angry.”
“I’ll try not to,” he said with a smirk.
He pointed towards the table. “Shall we?”
We dined in silence, but I felt his gaze upon me. Was this what it was going to be like for the rest of my life? There’d be no conversation, only plotting when I could do what I was born to do? In haste I’d made demands. I’d given him the idea that we could live together far away from everyone…and maybe I was right. I’d take this burden and not have to destroy him. He’d agreed to live in peace with me, or at least I thought he had.
“Will you dance with me?” He stood beside me. I hadn’t even seen him move.
I took his hand and moved around the terrace with him, my mind still wandering, contemplating my next move.
His hand moved lower across my back, and he gently tugged me closer. I knew he felt my body quiver because a satisfied grin emerged.
“I think you’re ready for my third request,” he said. His warm breath passed over my cheek as he leaned in closer. “We’ll marry tomorrow at sunset, at the lake like you requested.”
I stiffened, and we paused in the dance.
I calculated the date.
“It’s not the fall solstice.” I looked at him blankly.
He shook his head and laughed. “You believed everything they told you, did you?” He leaned in and abruptly kissed me.
I gaped at him wide-eyed.
“What do you mean, Marcus?”
“They’ve been feeding you a pack of lies from the start, all of them. They didn’t bother to tell you that I could marry you at anytime, or Callon for that matter.”
“No,” I pushed him back. “No, Dex said that we had to have the counterbalance of the sun and the moon on the solstice so I wouldn’t kill Callon.”
He shook his head again. “Callon would have been fine. He was strong enough to handle it. It was their mistake in being overly cautious.”
“What about you then?” I spoke the words already knowing his answer.
“Because I’ve got more powers than all of them combined, I don’t need anything to counterbalance me, or you for that matter. You could’ve been married six months ago, but Callon’s predictable. I knew he’d plan the ceremony for the summer solstice.”
I couldn’t move. I could only stare in disbelief.
“That’s why you want to marry tomorrow, to prove a point,” I murmured.
He pulled me in closer, his voice dangerously low. “It’s more than to prove a point, my angel. I’ve waited a long time for you, and I won’t wait any longer.”
His thumb brushed my lower lip and a shiver escaped me. I’d been avoiding him, and he hadn’t pushed me, but now, everything was different. The gray in his eyes darkened to reveal the predator he was, his hunger clear, and I was the prey snared in his trap…with no means of escape.
His lids lowered, and I had nowhere to go as his mouth touched mine. It was soft, gentle, and not what I expected.
“I’ll make you happy,” he murmured over my lips. “Just give me a chance. That’s all I ask. You promised to give me a chance.”
His kiss suddenly deepened and caught me off guard. It took sheer willpower to not fight back. His hold tightened, crushing me to his chest, when his thumb pressed on my lower lip, forcing my mouth open.
He surged forward, pushing for a response out of me. He tilted my head back, reaching deeper. And a duel began as each breath I took, he stole from me. He suddenly drew back, and I gasped for air. In the next moment, my back was up against the cold stones, and he’d twisted my right hand in front of me as he locked our rings together.
Instantly my arm began to tingle. A power built beneath the surface that spread through my limbs so fast I could hardly breathe. He wasn’t gentle this time as he crushed his lips to mine again. He was using the rings to have power over me, to force me to submit like Callon had.
I began shaking, losing myself in the sensation reeling throughout my body. The power, raw and untamed, wanted to push me over the edge, and I couldn’t fight his kiss anymore.
I gave back what he’d been seeking; I fought back with my mouth, dueling to regain control. He wasn’t going to win this battle; he’d only brought my task back to the forefront. He’d wielded his powers over me for the last time.
His hold over my ring loosened, and his kiss slowed. He drew back, releasing my hand, leaving me breathless. A wicked smile gleamed in his eyes. He thought he’d won.
“Tomorrow, Cheyenne, tomorrow you’re mine.”
I sat on my bed, waiting for Darrien and Jahlem to come and take me to Marcus. In just under an hour, I was going to walk down the aisle, for the second time.
Marcus had laid out a dress, a surprisingly simple white silk gown that hugged my shape well. The neckline and plunge in the back were lower than I’d have liked, but I wasn’t doing this for me. I was doing this for every single Timeless that existed, both now and in the future. I was doing it to ensure they lived.
My hand curled over the note from Colt one last time. Darrien had delivered it this morning. I was to expect Skylar at the lake. He was going to pull me to safety before the vows were said. I crumpled it and threw it in the trash. It didn’t matter if Marcus found it. I’d be marrying him anyway.
A soft knock at the door drew my attention.
“Come in,” I said.
The door opened, but where I expected to see Jahlem and Darrien, Marcus stood, wearing a black tux again. He eyed me carefully as he neared and motioned for me to turn around. With great care, he gently placed a necklace around my neck. I glanced down. It was my mother’s necklace, the one he’d taken from me.
“It’s only fitting,” he said, “that you wear this, as it was destiny that brought you to me.” He placed a soft kiss on my shoulder.
He looped his arm in mine, and we headed for what I knew would be the end of my life. There was no more hoping for a rescue, no more plotting our battle tactics…this was me showing my betrayal and marrying the man they’d all fought to keep me from.
There’d be no understanding, no mercy shown. Only hatred at what I’d done…with them never knowing the sacrifice made that could never be undone.
We stopped at the main gate, but though I’d thought Marcus would bring his Trackers and Tresezes, there were none. Only Darrien, Jahlem, Conall and another man was there…Michael! The man Colt had threatened, the one who’d betrayed his father.
Michael watched me closely as I stared back. His leathery skin was showing his age. He’d been around for a long time. His blue and brown mismatched eyes were probing, questioning my allegiance…and they should have been. We passed him, and I looked up one last time. There was nothing trustworthy about him. He’d betray just about anybody in a heartbeat. His cold calculating stare told me all I neede
d to know.
We stopped at the lake. The sun sat lower in the sky. It glistened off the water despite the ripples the breeze created. Michael moved in front of us. He carried the silver etched box, still glowing with my and Callon’s powers, and a small leather journal. He motioned for Conall to hold the silver box as he tucked the journal beneath his arm.
Marcus turned me to face him and captured my wrist so the Braid could be wrapped around us. The blue hue remained as Michael wrapped the Braid around our wrists. My power pulsed in the leather, waiting for its return.
There was no delay, no chance for me to be fearful, no opportunity to contemplate what Colt’s note said. I had to complete this. I had no other choice, and Marcus was watching too closely. I sighed and listened to Michael as he began the vows. There was no special message like Dex had given. It was short and to the point. Michael read them, and then Marcus repeated.
“I, Marcus Guerry, of the Sarac clan, pledge my love and my life to you. To forever be your partner in life and your one love. I will cherish each moment I have with you more each day than the day before. I will trust you and rule with you, I will laugh and cry with you. I will love you faithfully no matter the outcome, regardless of the trials we shall face. I give you my heart and my soul from this day forward as long as we both shall live and until in death we should break our bond.”
Love…what did Marcus know of love? I’d say the words, but I knew in my heart I’d never mean them. I could never love the man who’d murdered so many I’d loved. And yet I felt sorry for him. He wouldn’t know until it was too late that by marrying me it would be the end for him.
“Your vows, Cheyenne,” Michael said.
I nodded. I looked down at the Braid, watching it glow even brighter than before. Marcus’s powers had transferred. Now it was up to me to seal his fate.
“I, Cheyenne Alexis Wilson, of the Servak and Kvech clans, pledge my love and life to you. I will forever be your partner in life, your one love.” I hesitated, guilt rising. “I will cherish each moment more each day than the day before. I will trust you and rule with you. I will laugh and cry with you. I will love you no matter the outcome, regardless of trials. I give you my heart…” My throat tightened as I said the final words, knowing I’d never give him my heart. “And my soul from this day forward as long as we both shall live and until in death we should break our bond.”
Daylight, a Timeless Series Novel Page 41
