Dark Widow’s Blessing (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 25)

by I. T. Lucas

  “Thank you.”

  Ella took out a T-shirt and put it against her body. “This can work as a dress.” She reached into the bag again and pulled out a hoodie. “Can I take this too?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “In that case.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of boxer briefs. “Can I borrow these too?”

  Julian arched a brow. “If it doesn't gross you out to wear my underwear, then by all means.”

  She brought them to her nose and sniffed. “They smell of laundry detergent. Nothing gross about that.”

  He thought that was it, but then she reached into the bag again and pulled out a pair of white socks. “Is that okay?”

  He glanced at her elegant pumps. “I don’t think socks go with those.”

  She waved a hand. “I told you that I don’t want anything of his. That includes the shoes.”

  Walking like that through the airport’s lobby was going to be weird, and there were no shops in the small private one they were using. Ella was going to arrive at the village looking like a hobo.

  Still, it seemed extremely important to her not to bring anything of Gorchenco’s with her.

  Crap; he slapped a hand over his forehand. The girl was smarter than all of them put together. How come Turner hadn’t thought of that? After what had happened with Vivian, it should have crossed someone’s mind that Ella might be bugged.

  “Are you afraid the Russian put trackers in your clothing?”

  Her eyes widened. “No, I’m not. I just don’t want any reminders of him. Can you check?”

  As the image of him running his hands all over her popped into his head, Julian swallowed. “Maybe you should take them off first. It will make it easier.”

  “Right.” Ella collected the bundle of clothing she’d taken from him and ducked into the bathroom.

  Pulling out his phone, Julian dialed Turner. “Can you come to my room?”

  “Why?”

  “We didn’t check Ella’s clothing for bugs, and I don’t know what to look for. She’s in the bathroom changing into some of mine. Can you come and check them?”

  Turner chuckled. “What do you take me for, an amateur? Of course I checked her for bugs.”

  “When?”

  “In the ambulance.”

  Julian was right there with him, and he hadn’t seen Turner touch Ella, let alone pat her down for trackers. “How?”

  “A little device that checks for transmissions. I didn’t want to make her even more nervous, so I kept it in my pocket.”

  Letting out a breath, Julian sat on the bed. “You should’ve told me.”

  “If I told you every little detail that went into this mission, we would be still talking, and Ella would be having dinner at Gorchenco’s estate.”

  55

  Vivian

  “Your phone is ringing,” Magnus called out from the kitchen.

  Vivian rushed out of the bathroom with her hands still dripping water. She wiped them on her pants before pulling the phone off the charger and glancing at the caller’s ID.

  “It’s Julian.” Vivian took the call. “What’s up? Is Ella okay?”

  “Everything is fine,” he whispered. “We are on the plane, and I’m calling you from the bathroom so I can talk to you privately.”

  Vivian frowned. “Go on.”

  “We didn’t discuss it before, but do you want me to tell Ella the whole story? Or do you want us to keep up the charade so you can fill her in when she gets to the village?”

  She hadn’t thought about it. The only thing occupying her mind was whether Ella was going to be okay. Other than that all Vivian wanted was to hold her daughter in her arms and never let go.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Julian. Do you think she is ready for more traumatic news? Maybe it’s better to let her rest a little and tell her tomorrow. What’s your impression?”

  After all, he was a doctor. He should be able to assess Ella’s emotional state.

  “She is putting on a brave act, like she’s perfectly fine, but I’m not buying it. She borrowed some of my clothes because she didn’t want to keep anything Gorchenco has given her. Even the shoes. I had to take her down to the basement of the hotel so she could drop everything into the furnace. She just stood there and watched it burn.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Maybe it is. Perhaps it’s her way of shedding the past. You should talk to Vanessa.”

  “I’ll wait with that until Ella is here.”

  “Yeah, about that. She is wearing my T-shirt, my boxer briefs, and my socks with no shoes. Could you get her something decent to wear by the time we get there and meet us at the parking garage? I think it’s important that she takes her first steps into the village with her head held high.”

  “You’re absolutely right. Magnus and I got her some things already. We can bring them with us.”

  Their Wednesday stop at the mall had been mostly about buying a starter wardrobe for Ella, and a few knick-knacks for her room, so she would feel at home when she arrived.

  “Good thinking. I’m glad you did.”

  “We are going to hitch a ride with Okidu and come get you from the airstrip. Ella can change there.”

  “I’m sure she will love to see you. Should I tell her, or is it a surprise?”

  “That’s a surprise. But about telling her the full story, I think you should at least tell her some of it. Unless she is too distraught for news of that magnitude. It’s your call. I just don’t want her to be lied to if it can be avoided.”

  “I’m going to start slow and lead her into it. If she seems reluctant, I’ll stop and save the rest for later.”

  “I’m here if she needs me. She can contact me and ask anything she wants to know.”

  Magnus arched a brow and mouthed, “Anything?”

  Vivian smiled and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “At least I’ll try to. I still don’t know the whole story. But what I know should be enough.”

  “Good deal. Thank you for allowing me to do it.”

  “You’re welcome. After all, you’re the reason we have a happy ending to this story.”

  “It was fated,” Julian murmured, sounding not at all convinced. “I’ll talk to you later.” He disconnected the call.

  Didn’t he like Ella? Was he disappointed?

  Vivian shook her head. Impossible.

  As Magnus had said, fate would’ve not orchestrated this elaborate scenario only for Julian and Ella to discover that they weren’t each other's fated mates.

  Except, the story already had one happily ever after. Maybe that was it?

  If so, Vivian would feel forever guilty that her happiness had been earned by Ella’s suffering.

  “What got you so upset, love?” Magnus pulled her into his arms.

  “Julian sounded off, like he was disappointed.”

  “No, he didn’t. He sounded confused, which is a natural state for a male in the presence of a beautiful woman.”

  She lifted her face to look into his smiling eyes. “Really? Were you confused when you met me?”

  “Completely.”

  “How so? You looked so confident.”

  “I faked it.” He winked. “I’m older and more experienced than Julian. I know how to hide it well.”

  “So what was it? I’m curious.”

  He laughed. “I thought that you were beautiful and brave, but that it would be totally wrong to hit on you when you were distraught because your daughter was missing. So I decided to be supportive and offer you a shoulder to cry on. But then the fantasy continued into stroking your back, or massaging your shoulders, and then kissing you. You get the picture. I had to rein it in and appear professional, supportive, and not at all horny as hell.”

  “You said hell!” Parker yelled from his room.

  Magnus’s forehead furrowed. “Is hell a bad word?”

  “Not as bad as horny,” Vivian whispered. “I think his hearing is improvin
g.”

  “I’m certain of it.”

  “We need to be careful what we say around here.”

  “Or make sure that his door is closed.”

  56

  Ella

  When Turner had said private jet, Ella had imagined it would be like the Russian’s.

  It was so not in the same league. It was a small executive jet with eight seats and a tiny bathroom that didn’t have a shower.

  Julian had been in there for a long time, and she needed to pee again. But it was probably going to be so stinky in there when he got out that she decided to wait a little longer before braving it.

  The door to the cockpit was open, and Yamanu, who was sitting up front, was chatting up a storm with the pilot about the latest Marvel movie and how it was the best so far.

  The guy was the most handsome and at the same time the weirdest man she’d ever met. Basketball player tall, with long straight hair that reached all the way to the small of his back, and pale blue eyes that looked almost white against his dark skin.

  If someone had described Yamanu to her, Ella would’ve imagined him as intimidating, but the opposite was true. Listening to him talk, she felt the tension that had been her constant companion ever since she’d left home gradually subside.

  Was it his voice?

  Or maybe the fact that he sounded cheerful and smiled a lot?

  Or maybe it was the realization that she was finally free, for real, and in just a few hours, she was going to leap into her mother’s outstretched arms and let her hold her for as long as she could keep those arms up.

  Turner was sitting next to Yamanu, but there was nothing calm or relaxed about him. His laptop was open, he had headphones over his ears, and he looked like he was managing the world from the plane.

  Ella looked away.

  Although he was younger and way more handsome, Turner’s stern expression, his all about business attitude, and his smart eyes reminded her too much of the Russian.

  She felt bad thinking of her rescue’s mastermind that way. Not only did she owe Turner her freedom, but he’d also taken the ring from her, helping her get rid of the last symbol of her captivity.

  Hopefully, it was indeed the last.

  A pregnancy test was needed to determine that. She was going to buy one at the first opportunity.

  “Finally,” she said as Julian emerged from the bathroom.

  “Sorry about taking so long.”

  Unable to hold it in anymore, Ella rushed in, but it was not at all stinky inside. What had he been doing in there the entire time?

  Probably talking to his girlfriend.

  Yeah, no way the good-looking young doctor didn’t have one.

  For some reason, the thought upset her. It wasn’t like she was interested in him. Julian was gorgeous, and he seemed like a really nice guy, but her mother’s matchmaking attempt had been silly in the extreme.

  They had nothing in common.

  In the real world, where people met and got to know each other before getting involved, a guy like Julian wouldn’t be interested in an eighteen-year-old high school graduate.

  Besides, it would be a long time before she was interested in male company. Maybe never.

  Was it too late to join a convent?

  Except, to do that she needed to be a true believer, and she wasn’t.

  Done with her business, Ella washed her hands and got out without checking out her reflection in the mirror the way she used to do in her previous life. She didn’t care how she looked. Her beauty was a curse. From now on she wasn’t going to even comb her hair.

  “Can you sit next to me?” Julian asked. “There are some things I need to tell you.”

  Her gut clenched uncomfortably. “What is it?”

  “Nothing bad. Only good stuff.”

  Up front, Yamanu started humming a tune, and Ella felt her body relax in the comfortable seat. She cast Julian a reassuring smile. “Okay, shoot.”

  He raked his fingers through his longish hair. “You know where your mother and I met, right?”

  “At the psychic convention.”

  “Yes. She had her reasons for being there, and I had mine. You know hers. What I’m going to reveal is why I was there.”

  “Go on.”

  He took in a big fortifying breath. “I was searching for people with paranormal talents.”

  Ella’s gut twisted again. “Why?”

  Was this whole thing another trap? This one designed to catch her mother and her?

  “Because I wanted to find more people like my family and me.”

  Ella let out a breath. That was another thing altogether. “Are you psychic as well?”

  “No. I’m immortal. And somewhat overly empathic, but only with humans.”

  Ella glanced at the two men sitting up front, waiting for the snorts and laughter that should’ve followed Julian’s bad joke. But that didn’t happen. Yamanu kept humming a tune, and Turner didn’t lift his head from the laptop. But then he had headphones on and probably hadn’t heard Julian’s pathetic attempt at humor.

  “You’re good.” She pointed her finger at him. “You can deliver a joke with a straight face. Your problem is that the joke isn’t funny.”

  “It’s not a joke. I am immortal, and so is Turner, and Yamanu, and the pilot of this plane, and every person on the rescue team.”

  When she glanced at Yamanu again, he smiled and nodded. “It’s true. I’m over one thousand years old.”

  She couldn’t explain it, but something in his voice convinced her that he was telling her the truth.

  The guy was probably a hypnotist.

  But whatever. She could let Julian explain.

  “Okay. Let’s pretend that I believe you. Go on.”

  “You can check with your mother. I was in the bathroom because I wanted to ask her permission before telling you the story. I thought she might want to be the one to tell you. She said that the sooner you know the truth, the better.”

  “So what you’re trying to tell me is that she knew all along that your organization is made up of immortals, and she failed to mention it to me in all of our mental talks?”

  “She’s only found out recently, and we had asked her not to tell you. Keeping our existence secret is crucial to our survival, and you were in enemy territory so to speak. I’m sure you can understand the need for secrecy after a lifetime of hiding what you can do.”

  His arguments were valid, and he was so serious that she was inclined to believe him.

  “So if keeping your existence a secret is so important, why are you telling me this? Why did you tell my mother?”

  He smiled. “Because of what I said in the beginning about going to the psychic convention to find others like us. Some humans carry our immortal genes, but they are dormant. Some of them exhibit paranormal abilities. When we find them, we can activate those dormant genes and turn them into immortals like us.”

  “And you think I have those genes?”

  “I know you do.”

  “Because I can communicate telepathically?”

  “That too. But that’s not proof positive. The reason I know for sure that you do is that your little brother Parker went through the transition and is on his way to becoming an immortal, which means that you as well as your mother can do that too.”

  Ella gaped. “No way! Parker is an immortal?”

  “Almost. The transition takes a long time, but he’s started the process. Which, by the way, was very brave of him. He did it to prove that you are all Dormants, and so you and your mother wouldn't have to rush into it.”

  “Why not? What needs to be done in order to activate our immortal genes?”

  Looking embarrassed, Julian looked away. “It’s a long explanation. Maybe I’ll let your mother do that.”

  “We have plenty of time.”

  Julian cleared his throat. “Right. Let me start at the beginning. You know the mythical gods?”

  “What about them?”

 
“They were real, and just as the myths tell it, they took human partners, and a race of immortals was born—”

  57

  Magnus

  “Here it comes.” Parker pointed at the sky.

  Vivian shielded her eyes with her hand even though she was wearing sunglasses. “I can’t see anything.”

  Magnus didn’t bother to look. “I can hear it. It’s coming.”

  Sensing the excitement, Scarlet started jumping around like a goat, her tongue lolling, and her tail wagging.

  “Easy, girl.” Magnus tugged on her leash. “You’re going to hyperventilate.”

  Parker scrunched his nose. “Can dogs even do that?”

  “I’m not sure. But if they can, she’s going to.”

  “I feel naked without the wig,” Vivian said. “I know this place is secure, but I still have this uneasy feeling in my stomach.”

  Transferring the bag with Ella’s things to the hand he was holding the leash with, Magnus wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You’re just excited. I’m excited too.” He leaned and kissed the top of her head. “And a little scared. I’m about to meet my future daughter for the first time. What if she doesn't like me?”

  “She’s gonna like you,” Parker said. “And if not, I’m going to make her.” He lifted his fist and made a mean face, then laughed. “Just joking.”

  “Now I see it,” Vivian said a few moments later.

  Everyone tensed as the jet aligned with the airstrip, waiting for the landing gear to touch down.

  The pilot executed a perfect landing, which probably meant that Charlie was flying the jet. The guy prided himself on his soft landings.

  The plane taxied for a few moments and then stopped on the runway. There was no point in taking it inside the hangar since it was refueling and going back to New York.

  As the door flipped open, Vivian sucked in a breath, but the first one to emerge wasn’t Ella, it was Turner, followed by Yamanu.

  Ella was next and then Julian.