“It’s okay, sweetie,” Buns assures me as I look at her face in confusion. “Brownie feels responsible for what happened. She thinks that there must have been a way that she and Russell could have avoided being captured by Valentine.”
“How could she have seen him coming?” I ask. “He was… brutal and resourceful.”
“Just like Brennus,” Buns says, staring into my eyes. “You survived, Evie. We’re amazed by you and proud of you. We just want to help you come back to us. Let us know how we can do that and we’ll do it.”
“You already did it,” I say in a soft tone. “You never let me forget why I needed to come back…you never let me forget that you’re my family.”
Buns gets up from her seat and comes around the table to hug me. “You’re home. That’s what matters. We’ll be okay now. I’m going to go see if I can talk to Brownie.”
Buns walks away from the table and I gaze at Reed next to me. “Do you want to see the island?” Reed asks me.
“Yes,” I reply, smiling in relief that I won’t have to answer any more questions now.
Reed gets up from his seat and then pulls my chair out for me. After he helps me up, he says, “We’ll take the Jeep. I want to show you something.”
“Will you be back for lunch?” Zephyr asks Reed, while rising from his seat and picking up his golf clubs.
“Don’t count on it,” Reed replies, smiling at Zephyr. Reed picks up a couple of muffins and wraps them in a napkin.
“Then we will not wait for you,” Zephyr smiles. “Evie, I am glad you are home.”
“Me too,” I say as he reaches out to touch my cheek lightly. “Call if you plan to miss dinner,” Zephyr says to Reed, dropping his hand from me.
“Okay,” Reed agrees. Zephyr turns and heads in the direction of the large, white plantation house on the hill.
“Why aren’t we staying with them at the plantation house?” I ask Reed as he leads me along a path behind our bungalow where a 4-door Jeep is parked.
Reed opens my door for me and helps me into the car before moving supernaturally fast to the driver’s side. “I wanted to be alone with you for a while,” Reed replies, starting the car and driving between the dense trees and over the jungle-like path that is posing as a road. I smile as I hold on to the door handle and glance at Reed’s beautiful profile.
“How did that go over with the rest of the crew?” I ask, watching the scenery whip by faster than necessary.
“Not well, but since you are my aspire, they had to deal with it,” he replies, his eyes shiny with satisfaction.
“Pulling rank again?” I ask, watching his hand reach out and cover mine as it rests on the console between us.
“I will do whatever it takes to be alone with you, Evie,” he says, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips.
“I never thanked you, Reed,” I breathe, feeling my heart contract.
“Thanked me? For what?” he asks.
“For avenging me…and my uncle,” I say, watching his eyes change from question to understanding. “For what you did to Casimir.”
“It was over too fast, Evie,” Reed says, his lips turning down a little as his eyebrows draw together. “He was shown too much mercy. He did not suffer enough.”
“He intended to make me his slave,” I say, feeling chilled by the fact that if Reed hadn’t been there, I would probably be in Sheol right now.
“That is not going to happen. I will fight to see that no one ever makes you their slave again,” he says with his jaw tense.
I let go of his hand and reach up to touch his cheek. He closes his eyes for a moment, savoring the contact. “Thank you,” I say, feeling like my words are still so inadequate for what I mean by them.
“You never have to thank me, Evie,” Reed says with a sultry look. “It’s my mission—you are my mission.”
The car emerges from the lush jungle into a clearing. I hear the roar of a waterfall before I see it. When we drive around the bend of an outcropping of stone, I almost lose my breath at the majesty and power of the cascading water above us. Parking the car near the edge of the water, Reed climbs out. He comes around to my door and opens it for me.
“I want to show you something,” he says, picking up a backpack from the back seat of the car, he hands it to me as he pulls me into his arms. His wings sweep out of his back, causing me to feel a little thrill at seeing them. As we lift off the ground and into the air, Reed whispers in my ear, “Prepare to get wet.”
I cringe as we fly directly towards the waterfall. I close my eyes, thinking that we will crash right into the cliff face behind the falling water, but instead, we pass under the pounding deluge right into a cavern hidden behind it. Smooth rock lines the space, a clear indication that water had spewed from this opening until it had been redirected elsewhere at some point. Light shining through the cascading water is reflecting on the rock walls that have crystallized quartz embedded in them. Sparkling points of light shine on both Reed and me, making us look like we rolled in glitter.
“How did you find this place?” I ask, gazing around in wonder.
“I had a hard time sleeping without you,” he says, taking the backpack from my hand. “I wanted to work all the time, but Buns insisted that I come to the island to rest every once in a while. Russell and Phaedrus were working on trying to find you. We didn’t know where they had taken you for so long.”
He frowns, pulling a blanket that is still mostly dry from the bag and spreading it out on the ground. “For such a little thing, Buns manages to get her way.” Reed looks up, smiling at me and my heart contracts at how lovely he is when he smiles. “But, when I arrived here—I rarely slept longer than a few minutes at a time, so I wandered around. I knew you weren’t here, but I kept searching for you anyway,” he says with pain in his tone.
I move to him then, reaching up to cup his face and bring it to me. I cover his lips with mine, feeling his arms wrap around me. “I couldn’t find you, Evie,” he whispers against my lips.
“I’m right here,” I whisper back, feeling my clothes falling away from me as he unties the strings. My body covers his as we lie on the blanket together, the sound of the rushing water echoing around us. We fit together perfectly, as I show him everything that is in my heart. All the pain and regret melts away and it is just the two of us.
Lying in Reed’s arms afterward, I rest my cheek against his chest, tracing shapes with my finger on his perfect abdomen. Reed’s fingers trace a path over my back. His fingers pause for a moment, and then continue slower than before. In a hollow voice, he asks, “Did he…did he hurt you?”
My fingertip halts on his skin as I close my eyes, realizing what Reed is asking me. “No,” I say, before lifting my head and looking in his eyes that are dark from the passion we just shared. “He…he kissed me a lot…and I kissed him,” I admit, choking on the last words. “I had a plan. I collected my own blood when I was in the shower. I would cut myself and store it in perfume bottles. Then, when I had enough, I tried to see if I could make him bite me. Lust and bloodlust are entwined in them. I thought that he might lose control if I pushed him a little.” My cheeks fill up with color as a flush of shame passes over me.
Reed remains silent so I go on, “He wanted me. He was getting to a point where he began to press me to respond to him. But, what he really wanted was for me to come to him. To ask him to love me,” I explain, watching Reed struggle to keep his features blank. “I think that to someone who has always had women throwing themselves at him, it was repulsive to him to force himself on me…he would rather try to seduce me into it.”
“So…you two never…” he says, his hands tightening around me.
“No, I was his queen in name only,” I reply to his unspoken question, watching Reed close his eyes.
“Evie, when I told you to do anything to survive…I truly meant anything,” he says, staring into my eyes. “If you had to lie, cheat, steal, and seduce him to get away—to retain your soul, then I could ha
ve lived with that, just to have you back.”
“Well, I did do most of those things…I just wouldn’t sleep with him,” I reply, watching his face change from tense to euphoric.
“But, he bit you…you must have felt something for him,” Reed says, looking blissfully confused.
“I felt something for him,” I admit, trying to explain my attraction to Brennus. “He is…compelling and complicated. He makes it difficult to see anything clearly when he’s around. But, what I felt for him…it pales in comparison to having you in my blood,” I reply, leaning down to nibble on his earlobe. “You’re my angel. I need you like I have never needed anyone.”
“I thought I was losing you when you wanted to stay,” Reed says, sitting up with me in his arms and shifting me so we can face each other.
“You can never lose me,” I say, pressing my chest to his and hugging him. “I didn’t want any of you to be in danger. I thought if I could have the Gancanagh defend me from the Fallen, then I could protect you.” I hear a growl escape him and I pull away, looking at his sullen face.
“Evie, we have to talk about your need to protect me,” he begins, but I cover his mouth with mine, kissing him seductively as my arms snake behind his neck.
“Let’s not talk now,” I whisper, moving against him and feeling him respond instantly.
We stay there for most of the day and lose all sense of time. As the light in the cave begins to grow dim, my stomach rumbles loudly, causing Reed to smile with his lips against mine.
“Hungry?” he murmurs.
“Starving,” I admit, “do you have any more of those muffins left?” I ask.
“No. You ate all of them an hour ago,” Reed says with a smile that almost stops my heart. Reed rises from our blanket and gathers up my clothes, handing them to me. “We have to go back anyway. Buns is planning a barbeque on the beach for dinner tonight. I think she will be hurt if I don’t bring you back.” He watches me slip into the black bikini and wrap skirt. Then he groans and wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. “Evie, you are so beautiful.”
A blush of pleasure rushes over me. “I only really ever feel beautiful when you look at me,” I reply honestly, resting my cheek against his chest and hearing his heart beat to the rhythm of mine. “You’re going to have to help me out of here. I can’t fly very well yet.”
“Phaedrus told me you flew,” he says, picking me up off my feet and holding me in his arms. “I wanted to be with you when you did that,” he says in a disappointed tone.
“It’s probably better that you missed that,” I reply, remembering jumping from the gazebo and being pursued by Declan. “It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
“When your wings grow larger, it will be easier,” Reed replies with a grin. “You ready?” he asks, and when I nod, he launches us through the wall of water in front of us. His wings snap out around us as we glide steadily to the ground.
“Where is Phaedrus?” I ask Reed when he sets me back on my feet by the car. I climb into the passenger seat and Reed closes the door for me.
“He is still with Dominion,” Reed says, starting the car and wheeling it around back towards the beach.
“You didn’t tell him your plan?” I ask, watching his face.
“No,” Reed says, his hand tightening on the steering wheel.
“Why not?” I ask.
“He didn’t tell us of the plans he made with you, so we reciprocated,” Reed replies.
“REED!” I say in exasperation, “That’s not fair! I made him do things my way. He had a mission and he fulfilled it. How can you shut him out like that?”
“How could you shut me out like that?” he asks quietly, slamming his foot on the brake and bringing the car to a screeching halt. “You promised me that you would never leave again, but you did.”
“Technically I didn’t leave you—I just didn’t come straight back when I escaped,” I reason, watching his face grow darker at my flimsy argument.
“No, you’re right. Technically you just pretended that I didn’t exist,” he agrees, and I have to hold on to the door handle as the car shoots forward again at a dizzying speed.
“I…I had to make a choice—what I could live with,” I say, watching the trees whip past the window as the wheels dig up the earth, spattering it loudly against the wheel well. “Valentine wanted me, not them—the time to play it safe was over,” I explain, wanting to close my eyes as the car fishtails a little.
“I wanted you,” Reed retorts, looking hostile.
“I was desperate. They were dying, Reed. Valentine kept telling me how he would kill them—and then he promised me that he’d let them go if I came to him,” I say, my heart racing with panic. “Valentine wasn’t going to stop. He was going to kill them and then he was going to find me…and you. I couldn’t live with that. I couldn’t live knowing I could’ve done something!”
Reed lets his foot ease off the accelerator. The car begins to slow down and I say in a low voice that wavers with emotion, “I know I hurt you, Reed. Please forgive me.”
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Evie,” Reed says, not looking at me. “I didn’t know that I’d have this ache within me, but I do and I thought it would go away when I got you back,” he says, looking confused as he looks over at me. “I know that what you did was necessary…you don’t need to ask for my forgiveness,” he says grimly.
“Reed, sometimes it’s impossible to make your heart believe what your head knows to be true,” I say, crawling from my seat to sit on his lap as he drives the car slowly over the tree-lined path. “Where is this ache?” I ask him, feeling my own heart responding with an ache of its own.
He takes my hand and places it on his chest, above his heart. My eyes fill with tears as I gently touch the spot where my wings are etched. I place my lips against his chest and kiss his skin, before whispering to his heart, “I’m sorry. I love you and I will show no mercy to anyone who tries to keep us apart again. No mercy…I swear it.”
Stopping the car, Reed feverously presses his lips to mine. He lifts me out of my seat and carries me towards our bungalow. My arms go behind his neck as I kiss him back, unaware of anything but him. As we round the corner to the entrance, Zephyr calls out, “You are back!”
Wrenching his lips from mine, Reed answers, “No.”
Reed kicks the door of our villa in and heads to the bedroom with me still in his arms. Using his foot, Reed closes the bedroom door behind us as he strides purposefully to our bed.
CHAPTER 26
No Sunshine
A knock on the bedroom door wakes me from the dream I’m having. As I open my eyes, I look around the room of our bungalow and see the almost complete destruction of it. A blush stains my cheeks instantly. Reed and I had not been very careful when we returned from our visit to the waterfall yesterday. Our room resembles something close to a rockstar makeover. I sit up against the pillows and notice that I’m alone in the bed. I glance around me and realize I’m alone in the room, unless Reed is somewhere under the destroyed dresser, which I highly doubt.
Another knock sounds. “Uh, just a second,” I call out, wrapping a sheet around me and stumbling out of bed. Gingerly stepping around the debris on the floor, I pause at the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” I hear Russell say. I bite my lip, looking over my shoulder at the carnage of the room and then looking up in embarrassment.
After whispering a few choice words under my breath, I say, “Uh…yeah?” through the door, wrapping the sheet around me tighter and running my fingers through my tangled bedhead.
I crack the door a few inches, peeking at him timidly, I mumble, “Hi.”
“Hi,” Russell grins, pushing the door open and forcing me to step back from it as he walks into the room.
“By all means, come in,” I say with irritation in my tone, feeling my face grow beet-red.
“Good Lord, woman…what happened in here?” Russell asks, his face growing almost as red as mi
ne.
“Nothing…uh, what’s up?” I ask quickly.
“Strategy meeting—ya might want to be there—we’re gonna discuss security…” he trails off, picking up my black bikini top that was flung over the lamp.
I pluck what’s left of the top out of his hand and hide it behind my back with one hand while the other hand grasps Russell by the bicep. “Thanks, Russ,” I say, trying to lead him back to the door, but Brownie is right, he is really freaking strong and I can’t move him an inch now.
“You know what this room reminds me of?” he asks, looking around and then at my face. I shrug, wanting to crawl under a rock. “Athens. We totally destroyed our rooms when I came back from the campaign in—”
I interrupt him, “Was I the girl or the boy in that life?” I ask, trying to throw him off the story.
“Definitely the girl, Red,” he grins. “Ya used to make this little squeak when I—”
“Okay! Where’s the meeting, Russell?” I ask, feeling like I can’t be any redder than I am right now.
Russell sees my distress and his grin becomes broader. He seems to look right through the sheet I’m wearing. “It’s at the big house,” he answers, pointing over his shoulder in the direction of Zephyr’s plantation house. “We’re havin’ breakfast there. I bet yer hungry, since y’all missed the barbeque last night. Oh yeah, Zee told me to tell ya that his staff came in early to prepare the food and clean, so ya should try to look human.”
“Okay—when?” I ask, trying to smooth my hair down a little more as his eyes go to it.
“Yer hair is longer,” he says, watching me try to pull the tangles from it.
“Yeah, I should cut it,” I reply absently.
“Naw, don’t do that…I like it,” he says softly, his smile wavers and begins to slip. I catch a glimpse of his true, raw emotion before he brings the mask back up and smiles again.
“Oh, okay,” I say, feeling my heart pick up a little as he looks at me. Then I glance away and say, “I should probably take a shower.”
“I thought we could get together after breakfast…just us. I need to learn all they taught ya ‘bout…magic.” He makes a face. “Damn, sayin’ the word, ‘magic,’ makes me sound so stupid!” Russell says, looking at me for understanding.
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