by K. G. Reuss
Amara was next. When her blood didn’t move to anyone, she moved back to her spot, her shoulders slumped forward. I knew deep down she’d been hoping for our connection. We went through the entire group, even Mason didn’t bond, before it was Ever’s turn.
She took a hesitant step to the center and glanced around at our masked faces, the knife poised in her hand.
This was it. This was the moment when all my secrets and lies would be revealed. I hauled in a deep breath as the blade kissed the palm of her hand, her blood falling at her feet.
Thirteen
Everly
I felt nuts standing beneath the moon at midnight and cutting myself with members of Conexus staring up at me in creepy faceless masks. A brief thought of home flashed through my mind. On a night like this, I’d be eating pizza in my kitchen with Nina while we gossiped about the latest high school drama. A pang shot through my heart at the memory. Mom would’ve made a batch of her famous, chocolate chip cookies. Their chocolatey goodness would waft through the air, fueling our giggles.
I missed home.
Shaking the thought out of my head, I focused at the task on hand. I had no idea who was who as I gazed out at them. All I knew was that this was an absolute nightmare I wanted to wake from.
With a deep breath, I made the cut deep into my flesh, whimpering at the burning bite of the blade against my skin. I stared down at the crimson liquid at my feet, wondering if I’d be bound to someone. The blood puddled at my feet. I winced at how deep I’d made the cut as the little pool sat motionless on the ground. Just when I thought nothing would happen, the blood trembled and raced down the dais to a tall member at the bottom. Everyone else stared at whoever was behind the mask. The veiled figure moved forward to the center and stood in front of me.
The cloak was pulled low over the person’s face, hiding his mask from view. It had to be a guy because of his sheer size. I watched as he removed his glove and cut his palm. His blood ran thick and red. He made no move to put it into the goblet like the others had. Instead, he took my bloody palm and pressed his hand to mine, our blood mingling, and did something none of the others had done.
“Mis soulé. Mis bludos. Mis essinnto. Mis yamora. Ta blavados fromme herros esé yousa aeturnum. Mi bindarios mis taos yousa ey dayo turnas. Aeturnum. Votum Aeturnum,” he whispered fiercely in a trembling voice.
Static rocketed through my body before I could comprehend what was happening, and I fell against him. Strong arms encircled me as blue flames popped up along my skin.
I stared up at him. Glowing red eyes behind a mask of white greeted me.
“What…” I whimpered as he took his free hand and removed his mask.
“Sh-Shadow?” I called out, my body quaking.
“Everly.” His voice was distorted. He leaned down and pressed his warm lips to my forehead. Tears raced down my cheeks. The blue flames licked at him for a moment before engulfing him with me.
Gasps from the other members rang out in the distance. But he held me tightly, his hot lips still pressed to my forehead. He pulled away, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
“Look at me,” Shadow commanded in his deep, distorted voice.
I pried my eyes open and looked into the aquamarine eyes of Raiden, his mask gone.
“R-Raiden?” I whimpered.
“I’m so sorry,” he choked out. “You have to drink.”
He pressed his wound to my mouth. I shook my head against it, but he reached his other hand out and held the back of my head as his blood drizzled into my mouth. It tasted like Nev’s. I swallowed it down through my tears before he lifted my hand to his mouth and drank from me, his stare locked on mine as I struggled to stand.
“It’s done,” he breathed out in a choked voice, pressing a kiss to my palm.
The flames raced over us, growing in strength.
“No. No!” I screamed, the flames rising higher.
He clung to my struggling form. I wanted to break away from him. I wanted to escape and run as far and as fast as I could, never bothering to look back,
“No! No! No!” I screamed the words over and over as I pounded my fists on Raiden’s chest while he held me tightly. I collapsed against him, sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Everly. I wanted to tell you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he rasped out, clutching me close. He brought me to the floor of the dais, rocking me against him. “Forgive me. Please forgive me.”
“I hate you,” I choked out, my voice hoarse, my throat sore from screaming. “I hate you. Te odio.”
“I love you,” he answered in a trembling voice. “Votum Aeturnum. I bind myself to thee for all of eternity.” He kissed my bleeding palm once more, tainting his plump lips crimson with our blood before he licked them. I had no idea what he was talking about and didn’t give a shit at that point.
He let out a hiss of pain. I didn’t know what was happening, only that I wanted to escape the moment.
“Raiden!” I wailed in pain. Agony ricocheted through me. I twisted my fingers in his robes as he gripped me tighter. The flames burned hot and bright.
“I’ve got you,” he hissed as thunder rumbled in the distance and lightening painted the sky in violent white streaks. “Always.”
“Why?” I wept. “Why did you do this?”
He didn’t get to answer me because lightening zipped through the sky before it cracked the small space between us, rocketing through both our bodies. Electricity zinged through my body, pinballing against every organ before slamming into my heart.
My chest tightened. Every ounce of energy I had left expelled from me, the world going black with it. Just before it happened, I felt Raiden let go, his body slumping to the ground. I collapsed on top of him, my head landing on his chest before the stars above us winked out and fat raindrops pelted us.
Fourteen
Raiden
“Shit,” I groaned, opening my eyes. My bedroom ceiling greeted me. I winced as my head gave a throb. Abruptly, I sat up.
“Everly,” I croaked.
I was on my feet, stumbling around, trying to get a clean shirt on.
“Easy, brother,” Damien called out.
I snapped my head in the direction of his voice as he walked into my room.
“Is she OK? Where is she?” I tugged a white t-shirt over my head and pushed my silver hair away from my face.
“She’s still sleeping.”
I let out a sigh and sank back onto my bed. Agitatedly, I ran my fingers through my hair. “What happened?”
“You want the long story or the short story?”
“I want to know what happened after I passed out. Everything.”
“Well…” Damien sat in the overstuffed chair in the corner of my room. “She passed out right after you did when that lightning struck you two. We quickly got you untangled from one another and brought you upstairs after those flames died out. Luckily, you guys were the last at the dais, so it didn’t totally ruin the induction.”
I grunted and rubbed my chest. A dull burn ached over my skin beneath my shirt. I pushed some healing out at it, but only a throb greeted me. It was another matter that would require my attention.
“So?” Damien asked after the brief silence.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Come on, man. What’s the deal? You were doing some weird shit on that dais. Flames? Lightening? What the actual hell was that about? You two looked like starlight up there, clinging to one another.”
“Being as I’ve never been a reever before and connected to a mancer, I’d have to say I really have no idea other than it was simply our bonding.”
“Sure. I’ll buy that. It’s the other shit I’m calling bullshit on.” Damien leveled his gaze on me. “You were spitting out a spell. Sloane, Adam, and Jared were talking about it. What did you do?”
I looked down at my clasped hands and blew out a breath. Damien
was one of my best friends. I didn’t keep secrets from him and Eric. If the entire ordeal with Ever had taught me anything, it was that trying to hold back the truth for too long only ruined things. Now was the time to come clean.
Damien’s dark eyes fixed on me as I rose to my feet and walked to my window where I peered out at the grounds. The sunshine warmed my skin, but despite it, I still shivered before hauling in a deep breath.
“Votum Aeternum,” I whispered. “I took the Vow of Eternity.”
I glanced back to see the horror on Damien’s face.
“Are you fuc… Raiden, are you serious?”
I nodded and looked back out the window. “I am.”
“How? Why? That’s a life sentence, man! I don’t get it—”
“Sangrey came to me with a solution to keep me from having to marry Amara. It was a way for me to be free and with Ever if she chooses me. If she doesn’t—”
“You’ll be a shallow shell of the man you once were. It means you could never love another. You couldn’t produce an heir. You’ll never marry or find happiness anywhere. Hell, you couldn’t. There’d be no reason for it.”
“I know. But it doesn’t matter to me if it’s not her. I only love her. I knew it the moment I saw her again.” I moved back to my bed and perched on the edge of it, raking my fingers through my hair in frustration. “That’s where my heart is. She has it. Always has. Always will.” I gave a shrug and looked back down to my hands.
“Raiden,” Damien sighed. “You’re insane. Your heart’s in the right place. She knows who you are now. Watching all that shit go down had me terrified. Seeing you two burst into flames was enough to nearly give us all a heart attack. Then the lightening? And now this?” He gestured to me. “What happens now?”
“My arranged marriage is over. I need to announce to my father what I’ve done. And Amara needs to know. But before any of that, I need to see Ever.”
“I’d wait, man. She did not look happy last night. Give her some time to come to terms with everything. If you push too much too fast, I think it’ll put you farther in the hole. She needs space.”
I nodded glumly. He was right. I hated it.
“If she doesn’t want you, you’re screwed, you know that right?”
“I’m aware,” I answered dryly. “But it doesn’t matter. She’s my main concern. As long as I draw breath, she’s got me.”
“Helluva devotion.” Damien got to his feet. “I admire your crazy ass.”
I gave him a shaky smile. “Just being the best role model I can be. But hey, you and Sloane. . .”
A wide grin spread over Damien’s face. “Yeah. Honestly, I’ve been hoping for it to happen. She just makes me. . . better,” he finished with a shrug.
I smiled at him.
“Don’t get any ideas though. It’s just a bond for Conexus.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Damien.”
He chuckled. “Dinner will be ready soon. The girls are going to make a massive spread in honor of our new members tonight since you guys have been knocked the hell out since the induction last night. I’m kind of curious about what powers Mason and Ever brought to the table for us.”
“Me too,” I muttered, rubbing the burning ache on my chest again. “I’ll be down after I get cleaned up.”
Damien nodded and left the room after bidding me goodbye. I got up and went into my attached bathroom. Hastily, I tugged my shirt off, letting it fall to the floor. I stared at myself in the mirror, confused. On my chest, a spiderweb of intricate black lines snaked across my flesh. They were woven together with seemingly no end. Beautiful in their own right, they shook me to my core.
“What the hell?” I murmured, my hand trembling as I traced the thick, black design over my heart. It resembled the infinity symbol on my wrist, only more jagged. The lines didn’t break off. Everything connected to another line, creating a circle around the rune of a sideways figure eight before spiderwebbing across my chest then disappearing into the tattoos on both my arms.
I trailed my gaze down my arms to my hands where the intricate lines faded away at my fingertips. These runes were Votum Aeturnum, forever etched into my skin, marking me as Everly’s. I let out a shaky breath.
I truly did belong to her.
And I had zero regrets. But I did need a peace offering, no matter how small. I knew where to get one too.
Fifteen
Everly
I’d been awake for hours, staring at the mauve-colored walls of my new bedroom. I knew I had to be in Conexus house. My things had been brought over and were put away. The comforter was a rumpled mess on my bed where I’d apparently tossed and turned after passing out with Shadow.
Shadow.
Raiden.
Raiden is Shadow. Shadow is Raiden.
It had been on repeat in my mind since I’d awakened. I’d sat thinking about how it all made sense. Finally. It pissed me off more that I’d been lied to, not only by him, but by Eric and everyone else. Not that they owed me shit, but Eric should’ve had the balls to say something to me about it instead of lying to me when I’d asked. And God knew, I’d asked a lot.
I stared at my door as someone knocked. I remained quiet, glaring at it. A moment later, it cracked open, and Eric stuck his head in.
“Hey—”
“Get the hell out of my room. Isn’t there a rule if you knock and no one answers, you don’t go in?”
His cheeks reddened, and he cleared his throat. “You’re mad.”
“No. I don’t think mad even touches my feelings right now,” I snapped at him. “Furious. Angry. Perturbed. Pissed the hell off? Maybe they touch the subject, but honestly, mostly I feel betrayed. You lied to me. You all did. Right from the start.”
“Ever, it was to keep you safe—”
“From who? You guys? We all know who the enemy here is. Conexus. The Order. I don’t want to be one of the monsters I’m running from, Eric!”
“Why do you think you would be? Conexus was created to keep our people safe—”
“Maybe a thousand years ago. Now it’s a tool to harm the innocent. I don’t want to be a part of that.” I folded my arms over my chest and hardened my glare at him.
He stepped cautiously into my room.
“Look, I know things look bad, but give us a chance. I promise you, we aren’t the bad guys.”
“Why would I believe that? After everything you guys did? After everything you did? I asked you so many times, Eric. You lied each and every time. I can’t even look at you, let alone trust you.”
“Ever, I’m sorry. You have no idea how many times I tried to get Raiden to tell you. He was worried sick about you. He didn’t want you to connect with him. He thought you’d become a target—”
“And here I am! A really big freaking target now!”
“A rotwraith was sent to kill you. Even under his watch. His father chained him in the dungeons that night. He fought with everything he had to get to you, Ever. I’ve only ever seen him broken one time before, and I begged that night he held your dying body on the pavement to never see it again.” He let out a deep breath and approached me slowly like I was a wild animal who might attack.
“I didn’t know you were being brought into Conexus. Raiden never told anyone his plans. It was a complete shock. But I think he did it because he knew the danger you’d be in if anyone knew ahead of time. If the Order knew. Within our ranks, you’re untouchable to even the Order. Even by his father. There’s a mole in their ranks, Ever.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Of course there is.”
He knelt in front of me, his blue eyes bright.
“I’m sorry for everything. I truly am. Had there been another way, I would’ve sought it. You’re one of my best friends, Everly Torres. Hell, I even wanted you for myself at one point.” He let out a soft laugh as my heart clenched. “But you belong to Raiden. You always have. You always will.”
“I belong to no one. Besides, he’s getting married.”
/> Eric chuckled softly again. “You really need to talk to him, Everly. It’s not my place to reveal his secrets. Give him a chance to explain, OK? He did something huge bringing you in. He had his reasons. Raiden doesn’t do anything without having a damn good reason. Let him tell you his reason. Maybe you’ll understand and not hold it against him.”
I ground my teeth and gave him a tight nod. That seemed to be good enough for him because he stood up and turned to go.
“Eric?”
“Yeah?” He looked at me over his shoulder.
“Did you really want me?”
Once more, he laughed. This time it was a sad sound. “So much that I nearly went for it. But if there’s one thing I am, Ever, it’s loyal. I’d never want to hurt either of you by getting between what you are destined to have.”
I nodded, my throat tight.
“The girls are making a feast to celebrate you and Mason. You should come down in a few hours when you’re feeling up to it. Raiden usually goes over everything with new members after dinner, and we have a bit of a party. We work on figuring out our new gifts.”
He opened my door and stepped out.
“Is he here? Is Raiden here?” I choked out.
Eric shook his head. “No, he left a few hours ago. I expect him home for dinner though. He knows how Sloane gets about people not showing up for food.”
Eric cast me a sad smile. “See you at dinner?”
I nodded wordlessly, and he closed the door, leaving me to my morose thoughts.
Conexus members were packed in the living room as I stepped off the last stair awkwardly later that evening. Eric’s face lit up as I wrung my hands in front of me. I was still pissed at him, but at least I’d cooled down to the point of not wanting to set him on fire.
