He faltered. The expansion of his physical form ceased and his eyes flared. “You do not have the power.”
“Oh no? You don’t think I have noticed my friends bleeding through? You don’t think I know my Aunt Trin – the real one? Or Ryder? Or the Mystic? Yes, I know you tried to silence them, to snuff them out before they could reach me, but you failed. You failed miserably.” Storm had pieced together the real messages, the real way and she felt rather proud of herself. “You see, Un. It was really foolish of you to go against me in my own head. You exposed yourself to me without realizing it I suspect.”
“This means nothing. You cannot defeat me. You are just like the others.” His words did not sound as though he was convinced. He added petulantly, “I am forever.”
Storm envisioned Willow Wood, the study with its real décor. She settled behind the massive antique desk and watched the suddenly shrunken version of the Unseen staring at the room in disbelief, his mouth ajar.
“This is not possible.”
“It is quite possible, I assure you, Un. Not only have I figured out how to expel you from my mind, I know how to defeat you in the permanent sense.” Storm played with her desk pad, peeling at the corner as she’d done so many times before. “Now, as I was saying, any last words before I send you off? I will gladly accept your surrender now if you so wish.”
“Never.” He glared at her defiantly.
“Very well. Have it your way, Un. You know, you really should not have messed with me after I gave birth. You cannot keep me from my daughters, it was foolish to try.” Storm stood and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She stretched and flexed just for show, eyeing him the entire time. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This will probably hurt a bit.” Storm walked over to the chaise and stretched out. She closed her eyes and blocked him out, imagined his physical embodiment shattering and blowing away. Storm envisioned herself back at home, sleeping in her own bed. She paused for a moment to revel in her triumph before clearly speaking the words as they came to her. “I see what is real, I know what is false. I expel you from my mind as I wake up!” Storm felt as though she were being turned inside out, split from head to toe with every fiber of her being screaming out simultaneously. She swore she heard the voice of the man, shrieking in protest and fury as she fell.
When the weightless sensation ceased, Storm opened her eyes to find Ryder looking at her in shock. She pushed on her arms and grinned. “Well, that was quite a bit easier than I would have thought.”
Ryder
“Storm?” His heart leapt in his chest. Storm’s eyes were open, bright green orbs with golden rims as if she had just exerted a good deal of power. He would worry about that later. She was awake. His Storm was awake and talking to him. Sort of. What was she saying? Her mouth moved but the words were garbled somehow. “My love? Slow down, I cannot understand you.” She stopped for a moment but then started talking again, slower than before but still not any language he recognized. Again, he reminded himself that it did not matter, his Storm had beaten whatever took her mind hostage. Ryder leaned in and slanted his lips over hers, wrapping his arms about her as he pulled her close. For just one moment, everything was right in the world. Storm wrapped in his arms returning his kiss. Then she pulled away, looking frantic and fevered. Again she spoke, trying to tell him something but again he could not understand.
“She speaks an ancient tongue, Immortal.” Damarra must have entered the room at some point because she and Roane stood just inside the doorway looking worse for the wear. “It is a side effect of the spell.”
“Will it go away? What is she saying? What spell?” Ryder had too many questions and little patience at the moment.
“We will work on it. For now, we need to be grateful she found a way out of it on her own.” Roane smiled broadly at his granddaughter. “Damarra felt you wake up, Storm. How are you?”
Storm spoke a few more words and shrugged. Damarra fell on her, pushing Ryder back a bit as the goddess embraced his wife. She whispered a few words into Storm’s ear but Ryder could not understand them either. He was quickly growing annoyed as it seemed that even Roane understood everything.
“You understand this too?” Ryder questioned Roane, perhaps a bit harsher than he should have.
“Of course. I am mated to a Goddess, it goes with the territory.” Roane smiled apologetically. “It should not last long.”
“How can you be sure?” Ryder did not like any of this. He never should have allowed her to go to the hospital. He should have listened to Damarra. None of this would have happened.
“Because he was in a similar state.” Damarra pushed off the bed. “He was taken and hidden from us in an attempt to neutralize me and anybody else sent after him. Our enemy greatly underestimates the bonds of love and matehood. Fortunately for us, he never learns.”
“What do you mean?” Ryder felt an overwhelming need to understand, like a very important piece of information was evading him – on top of the language barrier that now existed between him and his wife.
“You bear a mark for Storm, do you not?” Damarra gestured to Roane who raised his shirt to reveal an elaborate flower tattooed on his side. “So Roane bears one for me. There is a reason for the tattoos. I am bound to Roane and that mark led me to him. I kept bleeding through Roane’s false visions and no matter where he was moved, I could feel him through the mark. You must understand that the mark is more than a symbol of the bond, it is a mystical link that binds you to your mate until one or the other of you expires. As much as our Storm feared the idea, it was that mark that brought her back to you and it is through that mark you would have found her should you have gone in after her.” She waved a hand at him, “Yes, yes, I know how worried all of your friends were, how they feared the danger you would both be in should you attempt it. I found it quite amusing actually. You were both in more danger when the others attempted to enter her mind. Thankfully only Trin and the Mystic actually went in. Given their shared blood the peril was not as great.” Damarra pushed a few wild hairs out of her face. “Well, now that Storm is awake and you are up to speed, I believe I will enjoy a shower. I understand we are to have company and I hear that showers are quite enjoyable modes of cleansing.” She took Roane’s hand in her own and moved toward the door. “You may want to shower as well, we have company coming and it will not do for you to look such a mess. The babes are being fed so you have some time. Help her bathe, Immortal, she will need it.”
Storm said something in the ancient tongue, a distressed look on her face. She tugged at Ryder’s arm and gestured toward the hall. Roane interpreted, “She wants to see the girls.”
“You should bathe, dear. They will be well enough and you look a fright.” Damarra frowned at Storm. “Reason with her, Immortal. She will understand you even if you cannot understand her.” Before he could argue, Damarra pushed Roane out the door in front of her and shut it behind them.
Ryder turned back to his wife, her eyes flaring gold. “Perhaps you should clean up first, my love.” Ryder pushed her hair from her face. “We rushed you out of the hospital so fast and you have been sleeping so long. The girls are well cared for and you could use a change of clothes at the very least.” Storm looked down at herself, noticing for the first time that she still wore the hospital gown she delivered in. The look of horror on her face let Ryder know he reached her even if he could not understand a thing she said. “Please, my love, understand what it was like. You just fainted and the battle started and we barely made it back. We have much to tell you and we can certainly do that after you are clean and while you are holding the girls. I promise, as soon as you bathe and dress we can go downstairs.” Ryder pled with his eyes and his words, hoping that she would concede. Several expressions passed over her face until she finally bit her lip and sighed. That he understood. Something he had seen only a few times before, resignation.
Ryder helped Storm out of bed, carefully guiding her to the bathroom. She appeared bored and restless
as Ryder washed her, head to toe, careful when he reached her midsection and repressed his shudder when he noted how swollen and bruised she was. He made a mental note to have Damarra check her over. As the water rinsed her clean, Ryder peppered featherlight kisses over her abdomen, again grateful for what she went through to bring their girls into the world. He wanted her then, more than ever, wanted to wrap himself in her warmth and forget about the enemy and the battle to come. Tracing his fingers up her sides and standing so that he could look down on her, Ryder kissed his wife full on the lips, not caring that his own hair and clothes were getting soaked in the spray. He leaned in and whispered, “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in all my years upon this world.” As he withdrew, Storm pulled him back in, locking onto him with a deep kiss. She traced the lines of his arms and his chest, pulling him closer and awakening the need in him like only she could. Wrapping his arms around her so that he could pull her closer, Ryder breathed in her scent, clean and sweet. Sophia’s words came back to him as Storm reached for the button on his pants.
“She cannot lay with you for a time, not until she heals.”
Ryder groaned against Storm’s lips. He backed away and brushed his lips across her forehead, ignoring the need. “We cannot do this now, my love.” She tried to pull him back to her, pressing her nakedness against him. “No, Sophia says you must heal.” Storm put a hand to his lips and pressed into him again. Ryder leaned in but deftly reached around her to shut the water off. He backed away without meeting Storm’s eye and grabbed a towel, still avoiding her as he wrapped it about her form. She said something under her breath in the ancient tongue and pushed him away. Judging by the fury etched on her face, Storm was not pleased about being shunned. Ryder opted to give her space and slipped out to pull some clothes for her. He selected some of Storm’s favorite loungewear and laid them out on the bed, hoping she would be alright with his choices. The door to the bathroom opened and Storm emerged, still fuming. She glared at him and pointed to the bedroom door. Ryder nodded grudgingly and made for the closed door. He opened it and stepped halfway out before looking back at her.
“I love you, Storm. I want you more than ever but I cannot cause you harm. When you are well enough, I will take up where we left off, I promise you.” He paused, taking one last look at his soaking wet wife in the barely large enough towel before continuing, “I will be back to help you downstairs.” Before she could protest, Ryder slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him. He nearly ran into Kell and Pollux, looking a bit dazed and far thinner than he’d ever seen them. “What happened to you two? Wait, do not answer that. Save it to tell everyone at once. It is just good to have you back.” He slapped Kell on the back and led them toward the stairs. “Come, I am sure we can find you some food.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Pollux offered a lopsided grin. “I swear I must have dreamt about food that turned to dust because my mouth feels like I have been chewing wood.”
“Funny, I dreamt about the leagues of women I have had which leaves me feeling a bit wooden as well.” Kell wagged his eyebrows at Ryder and took off down the stairs, a step or two slower than he normally would have.
Pollux stayed at the top of the steps for a moment, “I don’t believe him for a second. I have landed hundreds more women than he has.”
“I really would not know.” Ryder put his hand up as Pollux opened his mouth to speak again, “I do not want to know either.”
“How is she?” Pollux nodded toward their bedroom.
“She will be alright.” Ryder figured it was best to let Storm speak for herself.
Pollux patted him on the arm, “I understand congratulations are in order then?”
Ryder grinned. “Have you seen them yet?”
“No, but I have a feeling that will be remedied soon enough.” Pollux headed down the stairs. “You’d better stay up here; I understand women shouldn’t do stairs after childbirth.”
Ryder heard a door open behind him. “Under normal circumstances I would agree with you, but that is one woman who does not want help right now.”
Pollux looked skeptical but Ryder had it covered. “There are others here who can help her without causing more strife.” Sure enough, as the pair of Immortals hit the next landing, Damarra was sweeping up the stairs with Roane close on her heels. The couple nodded at him in unison as they passed by and Ryder knew he was doing the right thing in spite of the tug at his heart. “Come on, time to eat, my friend.”
Angeline
“I cannot believe we worked so hard and worried so much about Storm and she just woke up on her own.” Shane lounged against the desk apparently shocked by Storm’s recovery. He kept repeating himself and it was wearing on her nerves.
“Enough, Shane. Enough. I get it. We all get it.” Angeline pushed off the chair she’d flopped in and stalked out the door. She thought somebody made a snide comment about her temper as slipped into the hall but at the moment she didn’t care.
“You seem vexed.”
Angeline whirled to find Jordan hiding in the shadows of the hall. “What are you doing out here?”
“Tell me you were not the least bit annoyed by the Seraph’s repeated rambling?” Jordan stepped into the light. “Don’t answer that, I heard you. Temper, temper.”
“So I guess you know how fun I can be when I’m annoyed then.” Angeline retorted with as much ferocity as she could muster given the close proximity of the shifter.
“I suspect you are quite enjoyable when irritated.” Jordan stepped closer so that they nearly touched. “But then I think you are quite enjoyable all of the time.”
Angeline stepped back but Jordan moved forward. “Stop that.”
“What? Do I make you uncomfortable, fairy?” Jordan smirked, the cocky, smug look that he so often wore.
“You were not so bold in front of Damarra.” Angeline enjoyed the flicker of fear that broke across Jordan’s face for a moment.
“Not many are bold in front of ancient Goddesses, including you.” Jordan sized her up, staring deep into her eyes. She felt his hand slide around her waist but couldn’t manage to move away. He pulled her closer and she let him. “I can be bold in front of you, Angeline. I can make you feel things, give you the life you’ve denied yourself for so long.”
“I have obligations.” Angeline breathed the words with so little conviction she didn’t believe them herself.
“This war will end, the Emerald will prevail, choose me now and we will move on together.” Jordan leaned in, his lips nearly on hers when a throat cleared behind him.
“Sorry to interrupt, but you are sort of blocking the entrance to the kitchen.”
Angeline slipped out of Jordan’s embrace and leapt around him into the arms of Kell. He held her close enough that she could tell how thin he was. “Kell! It is good to see you. Come, let’s get you some food.” She turned into the kitchen avoiding Jordan. “What would you like? The Seraphs made a feast.”
“So I hear.” Kell allowed the door to swing shut behind them. “Who’s the shifter?”
“Jordan. He’s a half breed, shifter and something unknown.” Angeline spoke matter of fact, ignoring Kell’s bemused expression.
“And he is quite interested in the fair Angeline, I see.” Kell settled at the island and started picking at the food. “How many suitors do you have now?”
Angeline made for the fridge, ignoring him though she knew her ears burned pink enough for him to notice. She grabbed two beers from the door and popped them open handing one to Kell and taking a deep swig from the other. Pollux and Ryder walked in just in time to save her from the awkward moment. Angeline set her bottle down and gave Pollux a hug, offering her appreciation for his return as well. “How is Storm?”
“You can see for yourself soon enough.” Pollux began rummaging through the remnants of food. ”What the hell happened while we were gone?”
Angeline exhaled loudly. “There is too much to tell.” She watched Ryde
r as he silently made his way to a cupboard and withdrew a plate. The sudden silence in the room caused her to glance back at Pollux who seemed to be glaring at her over two handfuls of food.
“Fine. Long story short. Storm went into premature labor, she got her way and forced the Seraphs to take them to the hospital but there were complications.” Angeline took another drink of beer. “Storm went into a mystical coma. Ryder and Lucian barely got her and the babes out of there when the battles began. It was ugly, it’s still ugly but we seem to be getting better. How about you?”
“Went after Roane, got cursed, got found, ended up here in bed unable to move until a bird-dragon thing sang to me with my mentor’s mate who came back from the dead a few months back.” Pollux turned to his brother, “verdict? Who’s story is better?”
Kell rolled his eyes and returned to drinking his beer.
“Perhaps you should eat some food too, Kell.” Angeline pushed a plate of fruit toward him. “Seriously, eat something.”
“I’m fine with the beer, Ang.” Kell’s mood seemed suddenly sullen.
“Eat. The. Food.” Angeline leaned forward.
“You don’t scare me, fairy.” Kell refused to make eye contact. He’d just been joking with her, what happened?
“What’s the problem, Kell?” Angeline tried to catch Pollux’s eye but he ignored her in lieu of the food.
“What’s not the problem, Ang?” Kell set his beer down and stared at her, “Look at what’s happening around us. Hell, look at us. There is not enough beer in this world to make things right.”
“What are you saying, Kell? Are you giving up?” Angeline felt her shoulders go lax and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pollux pause mid-bite to watch his brother out of the corner of his eye.
“Nothing, Ang, just forget it.” Kell grabbed his beer and practically bolted from the room leaving Angeline gaping as Pollux shoved more food in his mouth.
The Storm Sullivan Saga: The Emerald Seer Series Box Set Page 63
