by Lexi Blake
“What does that mean?” I didn’t like the sound of that. Especially the time line. Tonight was right freaking now. If something was going on, I needed to be wherever it was happening.
Bellamy passed me a wine glass. It was filled with a rich amber fluid that probably didn’t taste anything like wine.
I glanced back at Matthew. “When are you going to give my brother back to me?”
I was beginning to believe we should have had Matthew sign that contract, too.
“When my own brother is alive and this can be done,” Matthew explained. “He must transition or his usefulness to our father is at an end. He’s been stubborn and rebellious, and I can’t stand the thought of him crushed under the boot of some minor Hell lord, but that’s what will happen if he has no value. I love my brother. I’m willing to risk a lot to save him. How about you, Hunter?”
“Kelsey, don’t.” Gray’s hand came out to stop me.
I swallowed the drink as quickly as I could. Truly, I’ve learned nothing of white magic tastes good. In my days, I’ve had to take more than my share of a witch’s tonic and brews to heal and help. There’s always an earthiness to it that makes one think of dirt or other things one doesn’t particularly want in one’s gut.
Oh, but dark magic tastes like the finest of liquors. It touched my tongue and was easy to swallow. I wanted more the minute I finished because it was sheer perfection. It soothes and eases down your throat right before your body catches fire.
I gasped and pitched forward, right into Gray’s arms. He caught me, cursed, and then he too was drinking the potion down.
I held on to him as all the fates of the world swamped my senses.
“Ease her down on the bed.”
I was moving. Someone held me. I wasn’t sure. My mind couldn’t keep up with the flashes, the warnings, the moments that might be. They flashed through my head, tendrils I couldn’t quite catch.
“Kelsey, I need you to follow the sound of my voice.”
I could make out the words but they seemed so far away. The low moan that came from my mouth was much closer. I moaned because my body ached. Age. I could feel it. So much age and death. Those were certain fates, and those lines seemed to crawl across my flesh like ants, biting and stinging their way. Anger. There was so much anger in the world. It was fuel for fate. So many different outcomes could be traced back to a single act of fury.
“If you don’t follow my voice, none of this will work, youngling.”
Jacob. He was the way out of this terrible place. I caught on his voice and tried to follow.
“That’s right. Grab on and ride with it. Come to me.”
The flashes of fate changed suddenly to vines. The world around me was filled with a million plants and trees. The leaves and branches were infinite possibilities. I strode through the jungle I found myself in, pulling away when the vines would try to wrap around and haul me back in. If I got lost, I would be here forever. I would be adrift in the never-ending potential. As one fate became reality, another formed to take its place. As one event occurred, another tree or bush sprouted.
“Hello.” Jacob was suddenly in front of me. He turned, taking in the space we found ourselves in. “Everyone views this place differently. It says something about you that the worst possible fates are dandelions. An interesting choice.”
Anyone who’s ever had a yard knows how awful the fuckers are. One small breeze and one weed becomes a hundred. “How do I stop this? I don’t even understand any of it.”
“You don’t need to, though I should note you’re handling it beautifully. The fact that you formed a world for yourself to walk through is testament to your strength. Most would simply sit and scream. Your mind found a way to take some control. You’re taking a great deal of pain from him. The physical transformation is…unpleasant.”
“Will he live?” I glanced around. Things were making more sense now. The vines still tried to cling to me, but I was able to brush them off. It was all about acceptance. Sometimes the worst pain is made better by simply accepting it, riding it, and knowing it has some purpose.
The answer was here. All answers were here.
My eye caught on a massive tree in the distance. An oak. It was thick and strong, and it was coated in numerous flowering vines that looked as though they might choke the tree. Gorgeous blossoms covered the trunk with a possessive clasp.
“That’s us. That’s me and Gray.” I stepped closer and noticed a second vine. The flowers were stunning, opening for me even as I watched. As though they knew I stared and they wanted me to see, to see that two vines coveted that great oak.
Someone else loved Gray.
“Silly girl. Why on earth would he be the oak?” Jacob’s hand was in mine. “Your choice now. You can stay here and seek answers or you can do what you came to do. Already your lover has lost himself. You were correct. He’s trying to hold on to that one moment, but it’s changing, morphing, and he can’t handle it.”
I glanced back at that tree, trying to see it, but we’d somehow moved away. That tree represented all of the potentials of my life. Was I the oak? Or one of the vines competing? I studied the tree more closely and saw what I hadn’t before. The vines had been as wrapped around each other as they had the tree. The vines had somehow learned to need each other. They had to in order to hold up the tree. The tree felt so heavy at times, the branches weighing it down, but the vines lifted, gave it strength, brought great beauty.
“Kelsey? It’s your choice,” Jacob reminded me.
My choice. Save Gray or see the possibilities of my own life.
A whole bunch of those possibilities wilted and died if Gray didn’t pull this off. I turned firmly away from the tree. “What do I do?”
He stared at me for a moment. “It’s going to be fun to be around you, Kelsey. I miss my last friend. I find so few. He left me for a woman in Bali. Married with a baby. He’ll have a good life, but I miss his spirit. I think you and your group shall enliven my existence again. I do so love to watch the important events play out. Take my hand.”
He reached out and the rest of my jungle seemed to quiet. He was the master of whatever wild plane we found ourselves on. We couldn’t possibly still be on Earth. I hesitated for a moment, but took it. The minute he touched me, my mind felt calmer, more centered.
“Will I retain any of this ability?” I asked, not sure which answer I wanted.
“Perhaps, but unlike Grayson, your gift will likely come in the form of dreams that have to be interpreted, and they’ll be sporadic at best. Even what Gray sees will be highly open to interpretation. It’s the sad fact of our existence. If we could simply tell a person which path to take, the world would be so much simpler. Such is life.” He turned, gently moving me with him, and I saw a door in front of us.
“Does that mean Gray’s blood won’t ever leave my system?”
Jacob began walking toward that very elegant door in the middle of the jungle. A low light came from around it, giving the entire door a halo. “Ah, if it had only been Gray’s blood, then yes. It would leave. But there was another component, wasn’t there? The king’s blood is an interesting thing. It has long-term effects, especially when used the way you did. Almost always his blood is ingested when he heals his loved ones. Only once before did it go directly into one’s bloodstream at a precious, changeable time. Yes, I’m certainly waiting to see how that plays out. The next several years are going to be fun. But enough of that. What you’ll see behind that door is a single future moment. I’ll be with you while you experience this particular possibility. Don’t be surprised if it changes in odd ways, though the setting will remain the same. It’s merely the circumstances of the moment affecting the potential outcome. I’ll be gone when you wake, but make sure Gray knows I’ll come for him soon. I’ll teach him our ways.”
“You said he would be an abomination.”
Jacob smiled, a truly brilliant thing. “I said I couldn’t actively affect the outcome. Of course, I ne
ver said a prophet can’t lie. I lie quite well, thank you.”
“Nice.” It was good to know the prophet had some human flaws.
His hand squeezed mine, giving me strength. “I might lie on occasion, but never to myself. That’s what people like Winter and Gray’s father get wrong. What they don’t understand is they choose. The demons believe they are one way, that they were born to do evil. In fact, they were not. They choose. They choose their culture, choose what those around them deem as acceptable. It takes true courage to see the rottenness of what is familiar and choose to change. Gray is brave. Tell him that though a prophet might be dark, though his power might have come from evil, how he uses it is the true gift our father gives us all. We choose who we are every single day. That is what all of this is about. So choose wisely, Kelsey Owens. So much rests on who you are.”
The door opened and I walked through.
Chapter Twenty
He is my husband. It’s hard to believe. After everything we went through, we made it to this day. I stare at the man on the bed. Naturally he insisted upon this hotel and this room. It was where he first saw me, first understood the potential of me.
I saw him for the first time standing in my hallway all those years ago. I’d been coming out of the bathroom, trying to pull myself together after going on a bender.
I look nicer tonight. Tonight I wear a white silk gown that clings to my every curve. It plunges to show off the slope of my breasts. The color makes my skin appear luminescent. Or maybe that’s the fact that I love him with all my heart.
“Kelsey mine.” He gives me that slow smile that makes everything female inside of me respond.
Gray hasn’t taken off his tuxedo pants and white dress shirt, though he ditched the tie and jacket long ago. He got rid of them during our first dance. I can still hear the song. It’s from a few years back. All of Me.
Our wedding was perfect. My family surrounded me. I suppose it was odd that one of the bride’s former lovers gave her away, but Marcus and I have found a comfortable friendship since we parted. I even love his new companion like a sister.
My mind fights the image. It’s wrong. Pain flashes through my system, an alarm bell telling me to wake the fuck up.
Let it happen. See all the possibilities. Jacob’s voice whispers to me, reminding me that I’m still me. This is all one long “what if” scenario playing in my head. I relax. I won’t fight this. The moment I accept what’s happening, I’m right back in the moment.
He sits up and I can see a flash of perfect skin peeking from behind the buttons of his shirt. I love his chest. Smooth and warm, I love to lay my head on it and hear the sound of his heart beating. When I need peace, I’ll lay for hours wrapped around him. He holds out his hand and I walk to him.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” Gray’s eyes skim my body. He tells me all the time. He’s told me so many times, I’ve started to believe him.
“Have I told you I think about you all the time?” Years of training with Marcus and the academics have made me comfortable with talking about how I feel. I’m a different person. A better person.
He pulls me close and drags the pretty gown off my shoulders and exposes my breasts. I stay still. He likes to look at me, treating my body like a private work of art. Slowly his hand comes up, fingers brushing from my neck along my collarbone.
“You’re all I think about, Kelsey mine.” His hand cups my breast as the other curls around my neck, dragging me close for a kiss. His lips meet mine, soft velvet rubbing my lips, seeking entry.
I give it to him. I give him everything I have.
I only miss Marcus at odd times. It’s been so long and I know he’s happy, but there are moments I wish I hadn’t walked through that painting. She’d been waiting there. Not for me, but for him. For them all.
The room shifts slightly. It’s such a small thing. The light flickers and I feel a hand on my back.
“I would like some of that, bella,” a deep voice says.
Gray’s lips curl up against mine. “Give him what he wants or he’ll pout.”
I turn and Marcus is there, his night-black hair falling over his forehead. His eyes heat as he looks down at the breasts Gray has revealed.
He smiles at me, a sexy hint of fangs peeking between his generous lips. “I don’t pout, bella. Please tell our partner this. I’m far too old and proper to ever pout.”
The very thought makes me grin. I reach out and begin to unbutton his dress shirt. He and Gray were in gorgeous, matching tuxedoes. My men. “I don’t know how proper you are, baby. You participated in a wholly illegal marriage ceremony.”
“I was promised that ceremony was entirely legal in Fae society,” he replies.
He kisses me while I undress him.
“And if you ever try to leave us, we’ll take you right to a sithein,” Gray promises.
Gray slides in behind me. I can feel the heat of his breath on the nape of my neck. It makes me shiver, but I’m certainly not cold. I’m trapped between their bodies, and it’s where I love to be. It’s my favorite place in the world.
Four hands on my body. It’s certainly not the first time they’ve made love to me together, and it won’t be the last. This is my future. This is my home.
Slowly, I find myself naked, but it’s all right because I am with them.
Fangs scrape over my neck and I shiver.
“You like that, don’t you?” Gray whispers in my ear. He’s watching Marcus as he drags those fangs, barely breaking the skin before my vampire runs his tongue back over the line of blood before I heal.
I am breathless. I can do nothing but nod.
“He’s not the only one who loves the taste of you. I’m going to spread your legs, Kelsey mine. I’m going to lick you and suck you and taste you. My favorite treat.”
“I believe I’ll like watching that, bella,” Marcus promises. “But I want to touch, too.”
His hands find my breasts, cupping them, and I lean back against Gray, offering myself to Marcus. He falls to his knees in front of me and before I can take my next breath, he’s leaning forward to lick my left nipple. The sensation pours over my skin. I start to squirm as he sucks the nipple inside his mouth, but Gray is there. His strong arms form a cage around me, holding me still for his partner.
They’re truly partners now. How slowly that happened. One day rivals and then slowly, so incrementally, friends and partners in my pleasure. It’s hard for me to believe that Marcus walked away from her. He’s waited for her all his long life, but he chose me.
He’ll live long after me because of that choice. He’ll never have the one woman he could love enough to follow into death.
I am holding him back from what he needs.
The world flashes and it’s Gray at my breast now. Marcus is gone and we’re alone, our wedding a quiet affair. No family. No friends. Just him and me. After everything that happened, there’s no one left who would celebrate with us.
“I love you,” Gray says, pressing me back against the bed. “I don’t need anyone but you.”
We’re on the run. It’s probably dangerous for us to be here, but we couldn’t resist. No one knows of our wedding anyway. I was forced to make a choice between my job, my loyalty to the royal family, and my love.
I’ll miss them all, but I will always choose him.
My legs hit the back of the bed and I let gravity do its work. I fall, the soft comforter covering my skin.
Gray spreads my legs. I am submissive to his desires. It’s easy since his desires mirror my own. We play at this. Dominance and submission are games for our bedroom. I’m his partner in life and accept nothing less than to stand beside him. I have friends who choose to submit on other levels, but this is all I can give and it works for us. He’s softened and I’ve relaxed. We’ve grown together.
“I found a place for us to hide for a while.” His mouth hovers over my pussy.
I am a ball of anticipation. So much stress today and all I�
�ve longed for is his touch. “It better be good. I don’t think the king is going to stop searching for us.”
Us. The two of us on the run. There’s something romantic about it. Until I remember what’s waiting for him at the end of his contract. One day his father will come for him. Gray has promised to leave me behind. He will not allow me to follow him into Hell.
One day it will be me. Only me.
I shake off the thought. We have years ahead of us. Years to seek a way out. I should have done this the first time. I should have taken his hand and run.
Then I wouldn’t miss Marcus the way I do now.
“I’ll take care of you,” he promises. His mouth covers me and I stop thinking about anything but the feel of his tongue on me.
I breathe in and there’s music playing on the radio. When did I turn it on? Gray is still between my legs. So good. It feels so good. My hands fist in the sheets. How many times have we made love and it still feels like the first? I still gasp in wonder.
He spears me with his tongue, diving deep inside me while he works my clitoris with the pad of his thumb.
A hand on my head makes me open my eyes, and warm brown eyes stare down at me. “I love watching you come.”
My wolf. I can’t help but smile at him. He’s so big, so flipping gorgeous. It’s hard to believe once I considered him an enemy and then an annoyance.
He was our salvation. Mine and Gray’s. We wouldn’t be alive without Trent.
“That’s good, babe,” I say with a breathless laugh. “Because I really like to come.”
He’s let his hair grow out from that rigid military cut he’d first worn. I loved how it curled a bit now, how he smiled so much more. We live in the apartments I once shared with my trainer, but he’s a fond memory. Marcus is happy in Italy with his wife. His final wife. I’m in love with my men. The king gave me away at our wedding.
