What if she Marked one of these fools?
“Emma!” He yelled her name, but there was no response. He tried to reach her telepathically, but all that his mind perceived in response was scalding heat, as if even her thoughts were flames inside her brain.
By the gods, Katherine hadn’t been exaggerating. Emma was totally lost to the real world, completely consumed by the fire that poured through her small, human body.
These males had tasted enough of her.
Ajax pulled the first warrior free and the male landed with a solid thud on his ass. He pulled another from the line, and another, until he had a clear line to the next circle. He repeated his actions, tearing the young men from their grasp on each other and tossing them aside to land in the sand behind him. The outer edges of the circle began to dislodge on their own as the inner layer of connection was lost.
The forbidden sons murmured and regained awareness behind him as he fought his way to Emma’s side.
The little ones were last. Barely more than babies. He pulled on them gently, and when he turned around to place them in the sand he discovered the older boys that he’d already freed from the flames waiting to receive them. He handed them out one at a time until there was just Emma and one small boy. Emma was on her knees before the child and had her arms wrapped around him in a fierce hug.
And the two kept burning.
“Emma! Stop! That’s enough.” The female opened her eyes and Ajax staggered back. Emma did not look at him, there was no blue left in her irises. They were white, and fire rose from them as if they were kindling. She burned, inside and out.
Ajax had no gentleness left for the tiny body she held so tightly, for the small boy who would kill her.
He gripped the boy’s arms and yanked him from her arms, forcing the boy away from her.
The tiny male landed on his side and looked up at Ajax with terror-filled eyes. His small voice was adamant and controlled. So much control from such a young body. “You have to stop her. She can’t stop.”
Ajax reached deep within, to the dark shadows were his gift lived, the ability to draw the life force and will from another being, the power to kill and leave nothing but ash behind, the power that made him a forbidden son. He cradled Emma in his arms, lowered his lips to hers and unleashed his dark gift on her small frame. He kissed her and dared the fucking fire to come and get him.
<><><>
Something cold and dark touched her lips, and Emma grasped at the feeling, following it through the blazing white light that was all she could see or feel. She was lost, not in a black abyss of night or a deep ocean, she was lost in the light, a light so bright she couldn’t blink it away. She couldn’t see or hear or feel. It was like she was living at the center of a blazing star without a body of her own. She simply burned.
Until the darkness chilled her lips and pulled some of the radiance from her.
She drank in the darkness and wanted more, discovered that she was pressed to what felt like a wall of cool ice. She leaned into that cold, tried to get closer.
And then she felt her fire surrender her to that cold. It retreated somewhere deep within her and she began to chill, to hurt for a completely different reason. She tore her lips from the cold and opened her eyes, eager to see the one who held her and made her fire retreat.
“Ajax.” He looked down at her, anger and relief at war behind his green eyes. His body burned, the white fire leaping and dancing along his skin for several seconds as she watched, fascinated. Then it died, leaving Ajax standing unaffected. She smiled up at him even as her body began to shake. This was where she’d pass out, and hope he wasn’t so angry he killed her while she slept.
“Thanks.” She lifted her hands and wrapped them around his neck, burrowed as close to his strength as she could get, and gave in to the darkness as it rose to claim her.
When she came to, it was to the sound of raised voices outside her bedroom door. She smiled. Ajax had brought her home, to her own place, so she could wake to her own things. She listened for a minute and recognized the voices of Ajax, Bran and Nicodemus.
“No one sees her.” Ajax’s tone brooked no argument.
“She nearly died today. She needs a Marked Mate before she faces the Queen. You must let the Darkwalkers visit her, see if any of them are compatible.”
“No.”
Bran spoke. “You refused her Mark, Ajax. She’s vulnerable without a male to ground her. She’s going to kill herself.”
“Get out.” Ajax’s voice was low, nearly a whisper, but it carried the threat of death and Emma shivered under the covers.
She felt a shift in energy and assumed the two males Ajax argued with had summoned a portal and left. The door to her bedroom opened less than a minute later and Ajax stood before her, still pissed.
“Are they gone?”
“Yes.”
She shuddered and pulled her soft pillow more snugly beneath her chin. She felt weak and tired and just wanted to be left alone. By all of them…except she didn’t want Ajax to leave. His presence made her feel safer, more in control. But that didn’t mean she was prepared to talk to him, either. He was dangerous to her in a completely different, but no less painful way.
He walked over and sat next to her on the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You would have died today, Emma.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“It took Mari an hour to heal you.” He raised his hand to her face and ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. It was all she could do not to rub against the soft touch like a cat.
“What happened at Carhenge? With the Triscani?”
He continued to pet her. “The Archivers arrived with their crew, as Helene promised. We eliminated many, each warrior tracking their kills. We took care of over two hundred.”
“But Nicodemus said there would be double that.”
“And there were. They ran faster than we could follow them.”
She sighed. “The Darkwalkers are going to have their hands full.”
“And the humans. And the Triads. The Triscani presence on Earth will affect them all.”
“But not you.” His hand stopped moving. “You’ll be on Itara.”
He leaned over her, his lips so close all she needed to do was lift her head a fraction and she’d be in heaven. “No, I will not.”
“What?”
“I gave Aron a sealed order to present to the Itaran Queen and the ruling Circles. I relinquished any and all right to the Itaran throne.”
“You can’t do that.”
“It’s already done. Aron delivered it a few minutes ago. He sent me a text message when he returned to Earth.”
Her heart skipped a beat, then raced so fast she thought it was going to leap out of her chest. “Why? What are you doing?”
He kissed her, his touch softer, more tender than anything she’d ever felt. When he pulled back, she drowned in his eyes, in the emotion she saw there. “Give me your Mark, Emma.”
“But, what about Itara? About all the people there? You said the Queen was evil, that her entire line was evil. You said it was your duty and your destiny to defeat them. You can’t leave the Itarans unprotected.”
He nuzzled her nose with his. “They’ve survived that bitch for two thousand years. After you burn their Queen to ash, they’ll no doubt survive her successor as well. They can live without me.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips. “You, however, cannot.”
Her heart sank like lead weights thrown into an arctic lake, the pain was twice what it would have been a few minutes ago, before he’d made her stupid heart hope for more.
He didn’t love her. The sex was great, and he felt obligated to protect her from herself, but he didn’t love her. Ajax was a great male, a King in truth, a male ruled by honor and duty, by service to others. In her vulnerable position, she’d be the bait he couldn’t resist, the ultimate damsel in distress, a woman who would literally die without his
protection.
Whoop-de-do. She wanted the real deal, soul-stealing, mind-numbing, risk-everything you’ve-got true love. She didn’t want to be anyone’s duty. A job. A regret.
She rolled out from beneath him and scooted out from beneath the covers to stand on the other side of them bed. “Excuse me for a few minute, okay? I need to take a shower.”
He looked confused, unsure, but she couldn’t help him with that. And she didn’t wait for his response. She practically ran into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She started the water and stripped, made it under the spray before the first tear fell.
God, she was an idiot. She’d tried to convince herself she didn’t love that fool, but she did. She’d heard about him her entire life, and now? Now she knew it was all true. He was everything Bran had told her he would be. Brave. Strong. Fearless. Honorable.
And sexy as hell. Bran hadn’t told her that part, but God help her, every time Ajax touched her it was like he’d struck a match under her skin.
The hot water sluiced down her back and Emma pressed her forehead to the cool white tile as her silent tears mixed with the water. There was a small bench seat to her left, but she didn’t have the strength of will to move to it. She leaned, and cried, too emotionally spent to move.
The soft click of the shower door behind her made her moan. She knew he was there, her dark lover, waiting to take her apart and put her back together again.
When his strong hands landed on her hips she leaned back into his chest and relaxed against his strength. She would let him let him have her body. He already had her heart. But her Mark was her own, her last defense against a life of being second best, a life in which he’d eventually grow to resent her for the loss of his birthright, his throne. When the people of Itara suffered, she’d know it was her fault, know that she’d been too weak to stand on her own, and so would he.
She’d burn that damn Queen to the ground for him. She’d burn every bitch on that planet until she found the one who had accepted Ajax’s message, and then she’d make that Immortal female eat it. Ajax would have his throne back. She’d make sure of it. It was his destiny.
But this thing between them? This had to be the last time. She couldn’t keep doing this to either one of them. She didn’t want to be a Queen. And even if she did, even if she was willing to give it a shot, to be with him, she’d be a manacle around his neck, a political weakness, a burden, his Achilles’ heel. The Immortal race of Itara would never accept a human Queen. But the people of both Earth and Itara needed Ajax on the throne. He’d save lives. He’d be a good leader, both compassionate and fair, something the Itarans hadn’t had for a very long time, if ever.
This passion between them wasn’t right. It was the ultimate betrayal, because it felt like heaven, but would eventually lead to heartbreak for both of them. She’d realized, as the fire consumed her and the cold depths of his kiss brought her back from edge, that she loved him. Completely.
Which meant she’d have to love him enough to do what was best for him. He was meant to be the King of Itara. She’d have to love him enough to let him go.
When he turned her in his arms, she let him. And when he lowered his lips to hers, she kissed him like he was the only man she’d ever love, the only one she’d ever wanted, because he was both. He tested her and found her wet and ready, needy.
He moaned and settled her over his lap as he sat on the shower seat. She followed him down and took his body, slid his cock as deep into her core as she could get him, and rocked against him, never letting go of his mouth. She buried her hands in his hair and kept him prisoner to her kiss as their bodies moved and pleasure rippled through them both.
She was too scared to talk. He’d demand her Mark again, and she couldn’t give it to him, knowing what it would cost him in the end.
But she could love him with everything she had. She couldn’t say the words, but she could damn well let it fill her up. And it did, as she took his tongue into her mouth and his cock into her body. His hands roamed her back and ass, petting her and driving her wild. She loved him. And when she exploded in his arms, she kept the one thing that guaranteed his freedom, guaranteed him his destiny and his birthright. She made him a King.
And she kept her Mark.
<><><>
They were drying off when both of their cell phones started ringing, beeping and generally going crazy. They exchanged a look and Ajax reached his phone first. What he read there was not a surprise to him.
“Holy shit.” Emma looked up at him and then raced past him to her living room. She scrambled for the video controls and turned on her television.
“What are you doing?”
“Turning on the news.”
“Why? You already know what is happening.”
Emma ignored him and sank to her knees on the soft rug wearing her towel. The news channel came up on her television and the human female on the screen was talking.
Washington has confirmed the presence of three ships hovering over the United States. The three ships are reported to be over Washington, D.C., Denver, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California. The ships seem to be inert and have made no move to attack or communicate with anyone on the ground. So far, no other countries have reported incidents. The President released a statement saying that the White House has been contacted by the ships’ inhabitants and they have requested a meeting within the hour. The President’s spokesman claims that the people on board the ships are humanoid and nonhostile. We go now to the White House Press Room where the President is scheduled to make an announcement in about thirty minutes…”
“Oh, my God.” Emma rocked back and forth on her knees as the giant warships came into view. Ajax shuddered. Each ship could hold up to a thousand warriors. “What the hell are they doing here?”
“Hunting.”
“The Triscani?” Emma looked up at him as the television reported droned on and on, filling the two minutes of airtime before the President’s speech by repeating everything she’d just said.
“That will be the Queen’s official task. That will be what she promises your politicians.” Ajax walked to her and knelt beside her, pulling her into his arms. “The video you showed me on your YouTube will make it very easy for her to convince your leaders. And when the Triscani begin to surface and feed, they will welcome her with open arms. But we both know that’s not who she will be after.”
“The Timewalkers.”
“Yes.” Unable to resist soothing her, he ran one hand up and down her bare arm. “She sent Raiden to hunt them so she could either kill the Timewalkers or use them in her personal army. A couple hundred Triscani are insignificant to her, as are the human lives they will claim.”
She wrapped her hands around his waist and squeezed him so tightly he could barely breathe. “We have to stop her.”
“Yes.” He held her and stared at the television screen, not seeing it. “The Triads will be up in arms as well. They have no love for the Queen and will not want her interfering here, on Earth, where they’ve been in control of everything for centuries.”
“You have to be King, Ajax. The whole world needs you.” She looked up and took his face in both of her small hands. “Both worlds need you.”
“But I need you, Emma.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll be a political weakness, Ajax. The Itarans would never accept me. I’d have assassins in my room every night.”
“I can protect you.”
“You couldn’t. Not from all of them.” She stood slowly and he knelt at her feet as understanding dawned.
“This is why you refuse me?”
“I love you, Ajax. But your people need you, now more than ever. Earth needs you. I’m going to fry that bitch so you can have your throne. But I can’t share it with you. I’d be a huge target. I’d make you vulnerable, and you have to be strong.”
The sound from the television changed as the news station replayed the video of himself and Emma and the Triscani in that Portland pa
rking lot. The news reporter and another human discussing the video and openly speculated that perhaps this was why the ships were here.
Then the screen jumped to a new post on an infamous conspiracy blog site and Emma gasped as video played of the Triscani coming through their Gate in Nebraska the night before. The Triscani were ugly, and plainly visible. The Immortals who battled them faceless, their features blurred to protect the people Zoey loved.
“She works fast.” Emma was a little in awe of the woman.
“Unfortunately, that video will play right into the Queen’s hands.”
“A ruse to make the Queen happy. That’s what Elijah said.”
“Yes. She wanted a legitimate cover so she could come here and hunt the Timewalkers.”
“I’m going to kill that bitch.”
“So you said.”
“Do you think she’ll tell the President about the Triads?”
Ajax considered. “No. I doubt it. That would require an explanation of how they got here in the first place. I do not believe she will want to admit to your leaders that she exiles her criminals here.”
“True.” Emma rose and tugged at his hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to Katherine’s house. We have to talk to the others and figure out what to do.”
He followed her, his heart breaking with every step. She loved him. She’d said the words, and refused him her Mark. Gods be damned, he wanted her forever, loved her enough to give up his throne. But she loved him too much to let him, and with the Queen’s arrival with thousands of soldiers, he had to admit that she was right. Itara and Earth would both suffer if he didn’t reclaim the throne. But both he and the female he loved would suffer if he did.
He and Emma were alike in one critical way. Duty before self. Neither one of them would be happy if they watched thousands, perhaps millions of people suffer on both worlds, just so they could be together. He’d considered asking her to be his consort, and not his Queen, but the Itaran people would never accept that, and it would leave Emma in an even weaker position. A Queen had certain rights and power. The human lover of an Itaran King would be considered nothing more than a prostitute. He couldn’t put her in that position, and he couldn’t ask her to risk her life to be with him. She was right about that as well. Should she be his Queen, there could very well be an assassin in their room every night.
White Fire: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 5 Page 18
