“Oh, Neala, of course I still love you.” That voice. Neala’s eyes snapped opened and she looked up to see Eltera towering over her, a look of sadness etched into her impossibly beautiful features.
“Eltera?!” Neala’s voice cracked with disbelief.
“Yes, my daughter?” She reached forward and her hand pressed against Neala’s cheek, a humming sensation filling her as the golden light that radiated from the goddess touched Neala’s skin.
“I -” she started sobbing again, the pain in her chest too overwhelming, “I can’t keep going. Not without him. I can’t do this for another two thousand years, or more. I’m sorry, I want to be strong for you, I’ve tried to be strong for you, but I can’t go on without him.”
“I had never planned for you to be without him.” Eltera removed her hand from Neala’s cheek and leaned down to rest it on Kiernan’s chest. “But I had to know if he was the right one, if he would, in fact, sacrifice everything for you. I had to know he deserved you.”
“What?” Neala sat back, confused. “You - you knew about this? You knew he would kill Marik? You knew he’d die trying to protect me?!”
“I sent you a warning to prepare you.” Eltera’s speech was calm and straightforward, which infuriated her even as Neala’s mind jumped back to the dream of blood pouring from the mark on Kiernan’s chest. Of course the goddess would send her a jumbled, confusing, abstract message, and assume it was clear. She couldn’t just show up in her head and say ‘Hey, Kiernan is going to kill Marik when he steals you back’, that would be too easy, too literal.
“But why didn’t you stop it?!” Neala screamed, and when Eltera’s eyes lifted to hers they glowed gold and fear quivered in her stomach, reminding her to be respectful. Adopted mother or not, Eltera was still a goddess, and her tolerance for insolence was practically non-existent. “I love him,” Neala whispered meekly and the short-lived irritation on Eltera’s face melted back into compassion.
“I know you do, and it took so much effort to bring you two together.” Eltera was glowing more brightly, the light diffusing the edges of her so that Neala had to blink against it. “I had to kill your last master, not an easy feat when I had to use you as a conduit and make sure my power didn’t kill you as well. Then I had to send the right idea, at the right time, for Kiernan to check on you so he would have the urgency to go to you and rescue you. So many moving parts when working with mortals, so many decisions to affect.”
“So you did kill Nikola?” Neala asked, still a little surprised to have it confirmed even though she’d guessed it herself.
“We both did in a way, Neala.” Eltera’s voice echoed in the hall, lyrical and powerful. “I may be locked away, I may be Gormahn’s slave, but I have never abandoned any of my Faeoihn. In a way I am always with you. I love each of you, and my plan is to give you all the happiness you deserve.” The light grew blinding, and out of it came the echo of Eltera’s words, “Starting with you, Neala.”
The light disappeared and Kiernan gasped. He sat up straight, coughing and wheezing, and his eyes were wide – and green. Neala let out a sob of disbelief, and when his head turned he immediately cupped her face and kissed her hard. Neala’s heart was pounding, the tears on her cheeks suddenly happy ones as she thrust her hands into his hair to hold him against her.
He was alive, he was alive, he was alive. She pulled back, and though she probably looked like a wreck from the fighting, the blood, and the crying, she smiled and let the words tumble from her.
“I love you! I love you, Kiernan, and if you ever try to leave me again I’ll beg Eltera to bring you back again just so I can kill you.” Neala laughed through most of it, so overwhelmed by the joy of having him with her again that she couldn’t even say the threat seriously. His wide grin took her breath away before he kissed her again; their lips pressed so hard together it felt like they might bruise.
“I love you too, Neala.” He spoke the words against her lips, and then he looked down at his chest, running his hand over the place where the bullet had gone in. That was when she noticed the ouroboros, a serpent eating its own tail, surrounding the dark sword on his chest. A symbol of ends and beginnings, of the power of nature and life. Eltera’s symbol. The vines were still crowding the sword, but Kiernan was breathing – he was alive. He had seen the new symbol as well, tracing his fingers across it. “But… how? How am I -”
“Hello, Kiernan.” Eltera cleared her throat and smiled down at them both, and when Kiernan turned and saw her he almost choked. He scrambled to get into a kneel, bowing his head.
“Goddess, I -”
Eltera waved a hand at him, cutting him off. “It’s okay, Kiernan. Relax, we have some things to discuss and I do not have much time.”
He took a deep breath, but the tension didn’t leave his shoulders as he slowly lifted his gaze to Eltera’s face. “Goddess, Eltera, I, …did you bring me back?” His voice cracked as he asked the question, and Neala reached over to grab his hand as emotion swelled in him.
“Yes, I did.” Eltera smiled at him. “Neala called out to me for you.”
Neala smiled when he looked at her again, and she was still shocked by the vibrant green of his eyes. “I couldn’t live without you.” His smile lit her up from the inside, pure joy filling her up like a balloon. She brushed her fingers across his temple. “Your eyes are green.”
“What?! How?” Kiernan looked back up at Eltera and she smiled.
“A side effect of placing my mark on you. By blocking the poison from the Ebon Oak, I’ve also blocked you from Gormahn’s control, apparently that means your eyes have reverted back as well.”
“That is what this does?” Kiernan laid his hand over the ouroboros, looking to Neala in shock before turning back to the goddess. “He can’t control me? He can’t kill me?”
“No, Kiernan. He cannot. Although you were doing a fine job resisting him all on your own.” Eltera winced, and the ghostly outline of the manacles appeared on her wrists, linked by an ethereal chain. She took a shuddering breath, not even acknowledging them as she raised her eyes again. “I brought you back, and I have placed you under my protection, but it was not just for Neala. There is a deeper purpose.”
“Of course.” Kiernan straightened his back and cleared his throat, “Eltera, I will do anything you ask of me, my life is yours.”
“Hmm, well it has been a long time since I have heard a pledge like that.” Eltera’s smile broadened, and her eyes flicked back to Neala. “He is delightful, my daughter. I wonder though, would he be willing to leave you if I asked?” Kiernan twitched and looked over at Neala. His eyes were wide, tense with the painful idea, and her chest ached too because she had no idea why Eltera would even ask that after everything they had been through.
Then he grabbed her hand.
The moment their hands touched Neala gasped as the bands appeared again, blindingly bright for a moment, a dull ache burning up her arms until the pain settled back around the bands.
“No!” Kiernan stood up, and even as big a guy as he was, Eltera still stood half a head taller. That didn’t seem to phase him though as he looked her in the eyes, and started shouting. “This can’t happen! She’s supposed to be free! She’s supposed to be -”
“Yours.” Eltera arched a delicate eyebrow at him, and tapped a finger on the exposed sword mark on his chest, zapping him slightly to make a point that he had no chance to fight her, and that respect was still required.
“Mine?” Kiernan looked confused, and Eltera reached down and took Neala’s hand, placing it in his again.
“Yes, Kiernan, yours. You just claimed Neala for yourself.” Eltera smiled, looking quite proud of herself. “Just as my mark, and your pledge, has made you mine.”
“But, I wanted her free…” Kiernan mumbled as he gripped Neala’s hand tighter, helping her as she stood. Eltera closed her eyes for a moment, the bands becoming more solid by the minute, and Neala knew there had to be pain. The manacles on Eltera’s wrists were
glowing vibrantly, but the goddess took a slow breath and then looked at them again.
“None of my Faoeihn, not even Neala, can be free. For they are bound to me, and I am not free.” Eltera tilted her head slightly. “But you will keep her safe, will you not? You will love her? You will take care of my daughter and protect her while still allowing her as much freedom as possible? You will make her happy?”
“I would do anything for her. I love her.” Kiernan gripped Neala’s hand and she felt like she was glowing, her chest was full to bursting with how happy she was, and for once the sight of the bands on her wrists made her feel good. She belonged with Kiernan, Eltera had said it. His eyes met hers. “I need to know, are you okay with this?”
“Don’t order me to clean your house, and I think we’ll be just fine.” Neala laughed and he smiled and kissed her.
“We both know I’m the neat one, if you had your way the house would be a mess.” He grinned and touched his forehead to hers, squeezing her hand as she kissed him again, not wanting to admit the truth of that out loud.
“Just remember, Kiernan, if you ever did hurt her, you do belong to me of your own volition. And while Gormahn’s power is still inside you - and it will continue to keep you immortal and heal you – mine is the power keeping his poison from killing you.” Eltera’s smile remained calm and serene, which almost made the threat a little more frightening. With a snap of her fingers his ruined shirt and jacket disappeared leaving him shirtless and suddenly clean of blood. Gormahn’s vines were pushed back below his elbow, and Neala’s eyes widened with the incredible power it must have taken Eltera to do that.
“Yes, Goddess.” Kiernan bowed his head, and Eltera nodded to him. But as Neala watched, she saw the goddess go pale, a tremble rushing through her, and the bands pulsed a vicious golden light.
“I wish I could stay, my daughter.” Eltera moved forward, cradling Neala’s cheek before she placed a single, soft kiss to her forehead. “Yet, I am bound by my own pledge, and it has taken a great deal of energy for me to come here. I know you will do what I need you to. I know that together, both of you will.”
She stepped back shakily, and Neala spoke up fast, “Thank you, Eltera. Thank you for this, but what do you need us to do? What can we do to repay you?” Neala gripped Kiernan’s hand tighter in hers.
Eltera looked impossibly sad for a moment, her features still beautiful but so full of sorrow that Neala’s heart almost broke for her. Then she spoke softly, “You can save your sisters.”
Then there was a rumble of thunder, and a flash of golden light, and she was gone.
Epilogue
1 Month Later
Seattle, Washington
“No. I already said no, and I mean it, Neala.” Kiernan had his head in his hands, his elbows propped up on his new desk.
“You’re so stubborn, what happened to us having an equal partnership? You not abusing your power and all that?” She sat down on the edge of Kiernan’s new desk and smiled down at him, running a hand through his hair. He looked up at her through his fingers and grumbled quietly. “Come on, let’s try it.”
“No.” His answer was muffled against his palms and she sighed in frustration. Neala pushed his chair back and knelt in front of him, grabbing his hands to pull them away from his face. His gorgeous green eyes settled on the bright bands of light circling her wrists and he tried to turn away from her again.
“I know you hate them, I hate them too, so can we please at least try to get rid of them?” Neala was on the verge of begging; it had been a rough few weeks. After Eltera had disappeared, Kiernan had tested whether he could take her with him if he popped somewhere else. Once he knew it worked they had reappeared on top of the house. There they had watched as the Ontario Provincial Police had arrived and swarmed the premises. Several vans had appeared to take the girls away, and Neala had watched Lena climb into one of the vans as well. The guards had been stripped of their weapons and carted into various police cars. Coroner vans had arrived for the dead.
Ráj Manor was being shut down.
Once they were sure everyone she cared for was safe, they had returned home. The first few days had been blissful, and they’d spent ninety percent of that time in bed. Kiernan had refused to leave even to go shopping, and they had enjoyed every form of deliverable food the mortals had. It had been perfection.
Everything had been perfect, but the bands were always there. Bright and shining, even though their dull buzz against her skin had faded into the background of her life with him. They never hurt, but she couldn’t go anywhere. If the mortals saw them it would bring too many questions, draw too much attention, and attention could bring the other Laochra. So they were at home. All the time. And Kiernan hated himself for being the cause of it, hated that she was still bound by Gormahn’s curse, and lately any time his eyes landed on the golden light of the bands they seemed to sap him of any joy he had.
Neala was over it. It was time to see if he could order them to disappear.
“Mo ghaol, I couldn’t stand it if I hurt you. I’ve seen what they can do to you, and I – I just can’t be the one that causes that.” His thumbs brushed through the light, cradling her wrists.
Neala brought her eyebrows together as she asked, “Shouldn’t that be my choice?” That caught him, and she knew it. He groaned and looked up at her, and she knew he was tortured by the idea he would hurt her, but being trapped in his house dealing with his guilt was torture for her.
“Okay.” Kiernan sounded so defeated, but Neala bounced up with renewed energy. Finally. A chance to get rid of them. He spoke again, “What do I need to do?”
Neala held her arms out in front of her, so used to the bands on her wrists that she wondered how it would feel for them to fade again. “Just demand that they don’t show. Make it a command.”
He leaned back in his office chair, looking miserable. “I don’t want to do this.”
“I know you don’t, but you have to. Come on.” Neala grinned at him, but he didn’t return the smile. He took a steadying breath and blew it out, and looked somewhere near her sternum, unable to meet her eyes.
“Don’t let the bands show, Neala.” His voice shook as he spoke, and lilted up at the end as if he were asking a question. Nothing happened.
“It has to be a command, Kiernan. You have to mean it. Talk to me like you do when I make a mistake in a sparring session!” Neala stomped her foot on the ground and he finally looked her in the eye. She continued, “Don’t you want to be able to go out? To the community garden? Meet with the contractors together? Let Elsie come over? She’s going to break down the damn door the next time you try to turn her away!”
“Yes, I do. Yes to all of it.” Kiernan was resigned, but the guilt he was feeling came out in his voice.
“Then don’t do it for us, do it for me, because I want to go see the cottage they’re building in the daylight, not in the middle of the night, alone. I want to be able to walk down the street and hold your hand, and let everyone see us together. I want to go on another date.” Neala smiled and leaned back against the wall, stretching so that the shirt she was wearing pulled up to reveal some of her stomach. Kiernan’s eyes followed the edge of the fabric and a hunger quickly replaced the guilt there. “I want everyone to know who I chose.”
“Neala?” Kiernan’s voice had an edge to it, his eyes moving over her curves. She smiled and answered with a questioning sound. His voice was dark and intense, the kind of voice that made heat coil between her thighs. “I never want to see those bands again. Ever. Do you understand?” The bands hummed. “Make them disappear.”
Neala gasped as a sharp pain rocked up her arms, and Kiernan was in front of her holding her arms before she’d opened her eyes again. She looked down just in time to see the bright bands wink out. The pain faded instantly, and the relief and the joy made her grin. “Do you see?!” She screamed, bouncing with excitement. Kiernan shouted a cheer and picked her up against him, swinging her around.
“By the gods, you’re beautiful.” Kiernan said just before he pressed his lips against hers, and then they were wrapped in each other. Her back hit the wall and she wrapped her legs around his hips to hold herself there.
The darkness and the guilt between them was gone, and all that was left was the brightness of hope and the heat that flushed her every time he touched her. Neala reached for the bottom of her shirt, but he got to it first, shoving it up her ribs to get his hands on her skin. His lips trailed down her neck, grazing her skin with his teeth as he groaned, “I want you, please tell me -”
“Yes, yes, yes, I want you too.” Neala grinned, and pressed herself harder against him. His guttural growl made her shiver as he turned and laid her out on his brand new wooden desk. Papers crinkled underneath her, but she ignored them as he grabbed the top of the yoga pants she wore and ripped them off, with her underwear, in a single sweep. Kiernan groaned as he pushed her thighs apart, his eyes feasting on her spread out before him.
“So. Fucking. Perfect.” He trailed his mouth up the inside of her thigh, and her hips lifted unconsciously, seeking the contact she knew would bring her delirious pleasure. Kiernan paused, hovering over her mound, the warmth of his breath sending a shiver over her. She propped herself up on her elbows to look down at him, and he locked eyes with her just as he dipped down and trailed his warm tongue between the lips of her pussy. Neala moaned and arched against his mouth, but he pulled back before he made contact with her clit.
“Kiernan!” She complained, but he stood up and reached for her, yanking her up to a sitting position so he could kiss her. She tasted herself on his lips and felt the hard steel of his erection rubbing against her. Would she ever get tired of his incredible body, or his unreal skill at turning her into a warm puddle version of herself?
There was no way.
“You’re so damn impatient.” He grinned at her, ripping her shirt over her head, and then sliding his hands around to her back to flick the clasp of her bra so she was suddenly, wonderfully, naked in front of him.
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