by Jamie Magee
Heads turned when they stepped through one of the entrances of the Dome Room. They usually got that reaction. River’s mom always told them it was because their energy was so high everyone could feel it. In River’s opinion, it was because at a distance they looked like triplets, and Soren was more than easy on the eyes.
River clutched Soren’s arm as soon as she felt an icy stare bore into her. It wasn’t from a supernatural being. Nope, worse. It was from her would-be mother-in-law.
She was Soren’s aunt. River wanted him to shield her and her siblings. The woman’s mouth was gaping, her eyes glaring. Whoever she was talking to looked like they were worth a pretty penny. She left that man behind and stalked towards River and the others, obviously prepared to give River a piece of her mind.
River’s stomach started to flip. The woman always had that effect on her. Always made her feel unworthy of her son. And it wasn’t because of Braxton, she hated River when he was her friend, too.
Out of nowhere, River’s line of sight was blocked by pure heaven. Searing lips were on hers. Mason, the man, had appeared out of thin air, and seized River in his arms, kissing her as if she were his life force. It was so powerful that she heard whistles and felt people part around them.
He pulled away ever so slowly, cradling her face in his hands, looking at her like she was the most precious soul in the world.
“You and I need to plan out our career paths a little more clearly. That killed me, woman.”
River clasped his lapels. “You’re already dead.”
“No. I reside here,” he said as his hand landed on her chest. “Umbra was not chosen until a second before you walked in that door.”
“I wasn’t all that forthcoming with you either, Mason.”
Before he could argue River heard Indie say her name. She had appeared with Mason, all of them had, they were shielding River from Mason’s mother.
“Is she not ravishing?” River heard Indie say to Mason’s mom. “The Falcon family has respected her work and reputation for years, she’s not only gorgeous, but she’s an absolute genius,” Indie winked at Mason, who pulled River against him. His mother held a fake smile, one that told River she respected the Falcon’s enough not to show her true side right about then.
“It was divine fate,” Indie went on, grinning at River. “River was selected to come here to receive a prestigious award, and when she arrived Mason told me how special she was to him. Though he didn’t need to, any fool could see he was and always has been in love with her. I’m just thrilled the Falcon name was able to weave them together once again.”
Mason’s mother was speechless. In her mind, River was a redneck. That or a backwoods witch, one of the two. “So good to you see you again. I see you left the Quarter far behind, that was a sensible move on your part.” Her eyes moved across the girls and Soren. You could see the hate and the defeat in her expression. She couldn’t keep Mason from them anymore. She couldn’t blind him to his heritage. That heritage claimed him, in some way, long before River fell back into his life.
“I certainly hope not,” Indie said. “That history is what sparked her genius, what the Falcon’s look for when we bring others into our flock. I can’t say that I admire many cities above New Orleans.”
Before River could get a word in edgewise Mason pulled her into the crowd, then vanished with her in his arms.
They appeared in the library. Nothing was hurt. It was just the way River left it. She let out a sigh.
“This place is you. I would never let anything damage that. I swear Umbra was not chosen to be brought down until seconds before you walked through that door,” he said again.
“Mason you don’t have to justify your reasons to me, we both know the final call was Indie’s.”
“It takes all of us. We have to agree on the soul. It’s not a conscious decision, it’s one that we feel in our soul. The supernatural soul behind Umbra felt right to me. I can’t explain why.”
“Skylynn is free. I won’t say without a doubt that she found her soul mate, but I will say that if they love each other half as much as we do, they’re going to be fine. They’re at least visible to one another.”
“Camlin’s gone?”
One nod.
“So maybe he will leave your dreams, too?”
“The thing is when you sleep with me they don’t happen,” she smiled shyly. “So maybe The Queen of the Veil will loan you her jet so we can spend as many nights together as possible.”
He grinned audaciously, before pulling her hand. He moved her through the library until they reached the center point, the point where all the sections angled together to look like some erratic star. In the center, there was a wave of light, one he was walking River to stand within. She clenched his arms telling him to hold up a second.
“Trust me,” he whispered, his arm clasped around her, and one step later she smelled sawdust and wet paint.
Her townhome. He had transported them to her townhome, and they were standing in the living room.
He laughed at her wide-eyed, mouth gaping gaze.
“Releasing those souls in the clocks at the manor, that energy, opened this.” He gazed down at her. “Now you can come to me anytime you want...no space between us.”
He pulled her against him. “Phoenix’ spell, the one that vacated all the souls, good and bad, made this. It’s safe.”
“Phoenix did this for us?”
“It was a group idea it seems. Gavin told him and Indie that Skylynn had mentioned a portal was needed. Phoenix made it happen. They want us together. They don’t want us to feel trapped by fate.”
“I want us together, too.”
His hand cupped her face, “We are never going to be apart again. I swear it to you.”
Their lips collided, their kiss was deep and reverent, full of every emotion. They had been through hell in both lives they had shared then and now, and still found their way to this bliss.
They were proof that love conquers all, that nothing can keep two souls made of one separated, for all of the universe will conspire to ensure that they find each other time and time again.
The End For Now….
Where To Find Jamie Online:
authorjamiemagee.com
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Other Books by Jamie Magee
Edge
“Web of Hearts and Souls”
Insight (Book 1)
Embody (Book 2)
Image (Book 3)
Vital (Book 4)
Vindicate (Book 5)
Enflame (Book 6)
Imperial (Book 7)
Blakeshire (Book 8)
See (Book 1)
Witness (Book 2)
Synergy (Book 3)
Redefined (Book 4)
Derive (Book 5)
Rivulet (Book 1)
Contemporary Novels:
Impulsion
Friction
Deploy
Acknowledgements
Over the past four years I have published seventeen novels and each of the acknowledgements are moved from one novel to the next. That wasn’t done to take short cuts, but because on this journey I have been blessed enough to keep the same souls at my side. I wanted to take the time with this acknowledgement to state how precious they are to me.
My husband, no doubt, deserves some kind of medal! The man is there from the first instant the idea is thought to life, through the long days of writing where I slip into another world. He manages the blessed life we have built, taking care of our little ones, making sure that there is some kind of substantial meal on the table for each of us. He’s a saint when it comes to telling me what day of the week it is, and letting me know that dawn is approaching and it might be a good idea to get some sleep. He understands that music drives me and is just fine with the same song playing on repeat for days until I have the scene trapped in words. He’s used to having a conversation wit
h me and in mid-sentence I stop and rush to write a line down. There is no doubt that he didn’t sign up to share his wife with the fictional family that always dances in my mind, but he rocks it all the same. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to have someone want your dreams as much as you do, someone that never lets doubt creep into your mindset.
My children, they make me smile every day. They are now to the point where they’re all for naming characters, dancing to that same song that plays over and over. They love to joke about ‘mom’s bubble’—they know that mom dreams wide awake and tease me when they have to pop that bubble to tell me something.
Steffini Walker, Sabrina Hoover, Janet Galloway—there are not words to express how thankful I am to have found you both! Your love for these characters inspires me each and every day. I love you girls!!
Special thanks to Amy Donnelly for working through the edits on this novel!
Graphic designers are one of the unsung heroes of the publishing world. Which is sad because they’re the ones that give your daydreams a face, they bring the emotion and definition to your work that readers new and old will recognize over time. Emma Michaels is another gift; she not only helped me find the image for my debut novel, Insight, but has also been through each of my covers since. She has a way of understanding exactly what I envision and does not rest until that vision is there before us both. This cover was far different from the others. It had to be more than an image that may or not change over the course of time. It had to be a logo, a brand, something that could be identified with this story for seasons to come. Emma rose to that challenge, and I have to say this is one of my favorite covers. It’s almost as if she saw the emblem in my mind clear as day and worked until it was created. Emma, you are amazing!
My Betas are amazing. It’s their truth that makes them that way, how they are not afraid to tell me what they like and don’t, how they don’t bat an eye when I hand them a contemporary story, a YA story, or this story. They read each with an open mind and their feedback is priceless. There is not a doubt that it always mirrors the feedback my readers will give me once the story is published for the world at large.
I have the best street team ever! Thank you girls for sharing my daydreams with me!
Readers. I swear to you, to this day it blows my mind that there are people on this earth that I will never have the chance to meet that have shared these stories with me, people who get it, who leave reality and step into my daydreams with me if only for a moment. You humble me. I can’t stress that enough. Thank you so much for taking a chance, giving up your time to read my work.
As you can clearly see, people often think that writers have solitary lives, and in some real fashion we do, but more so than not, the story you are reading was impacted by not only those that walked the publishing line with the writer, but the world at large. Inspiration is everywhere, in every dark and positive moment, in every song, drive, commercial. Everything is inspiration. Life is beautiful, even the dark stressful moments. You just have to find that beauty, and thankfully I have outstanding people in my life that ensure that I notice it each and every day.
