by Ophelia Bell
Before he could voice her name, Belah pressed a hand lightly against his shoulder.
“Evie will recover, and I am well. I can feel the worry in you, Marcus. Contrary to what you believe, you helped us, and no one can fault you for that.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder. “My mates will come around in time.”
“I promised them Evie would be safe. I was wrong.”
Marcus looked away, feeling unworthy of the kindness she gave him. As his gaze drifted over the room, he saw Evie’s brothers standing nearby and grimaced. They both glowered at him with their arms crossed. He deserved it.
Belah looked over her shoulder again. “Let him have some space for a little while. Go see how Evie is.”
“He lied to us,” Lukas said. “After what he let happen, why should we let him live?”
“Because nothing you do can kill him. It would be a waste of effort. He’s an Elite Ultiori hunter. They can’t be killed, except by dragon fire. If you want specifics, go talk to my brother—he’s the only one of us who has ever killed an Elite.” Her gaze held theirs, unwavering until the brothers let their arms fall to their sides and they both stalked out of the room.
As he left, Iszak turned back. “Call us if anything happens.”
The woman only nodded slightly and turned back to Marcus when the door closed.
She smiled down at him, her gaze filled with sympathy. “Forgive my mates. They’re extraordinarily overprotective of me lately.” Her hand rested lightly on her abdomen, the slight gesture more than enough to indicate the reasons.
Marcus chuckled. “I never imagined it was possible for the North brothers to settle down. And both of them with you? My condolences.”
Belah laughed, and the entire room brightened. Christ, she was a beautiful woman. He inhaled sharply at the effect she had on him, his brows twitching in confusion. Somehow all his emotions seemed to rise to the surface at once and he felt compelled to confess every one of his sins to her.
“They are my heart, but they’re confused and hurting now,” she said. “They don’t know quite how to deal with everything that has happened, but they’ll come around, if you help them.”
Marcus closed his eyes. “There’s no reason they should come around. I deserve their hatred. If I hadn’t been so terrified of losing Evie, I’d never have taken her away. When I promised them she’d be safe until she was rescued, I should have known Nikhil could come at any time.”
Belah clutched his chin and he opened his eyes. “You were following a path Fate laid out for you. Never blame yourself for that. Lukas and Iszak will forgive you because I know what’s in your heart. I saw every moment of your dreams while you were unconscious. You are linked to my brother in a very special way that I am trying to understand for my own reasons. That blood bond is going to be your redemption. And your love for Evie is as bright as any star. Don’t give up on her, Marcus. She will need you.”
“She doesn’t need me. All I did for her was bring her misery. Is she all right now? That bastard made her bleed. He was so brutal with her.”
Belah wrapped her hand around his and squeezed. “She is fine. We are healing her physical wounds, but she will need to see you for her soul to fully heal. She believes you’re dead.”
That was some consolation, at least. “Let her believe I’m dead. And please, if you have any sympathy for me, make it the truth. You said it could only be dragon fire that kills me, right? So… you’re a dragon. Kill me now.” He stretched his arms wide, baring his naked chest to her. The despair inside him pressed like a heavy stone against his breast and he wished for nothing less than oblivion.
She only smiled at him tolerantly and he sensed some deeper understanding in her gaze.
“I won’t kill you, Marcus. First, you are more valuable to us alive. I hope you understand this. Second, if I killed you, it would destroy Evie. And my mates would never forgive me if I did that, no matter how much they may wish you dead at the moment.”
“She already believes I’m dead. It won’t matter.”
“Not anymore. Ked is telling her the truth now.”
Marcus closed his eyes. In his mind he could even hear the dragon talking. He could feel the dragon’s arousal, too, it was no different than he’d felt every time he was close to Evie and somehow it didn’t surprise him a bit that his counterpart would feel exactly the same. Yet he longed for her.
“Kill me or free me. I need to be with her if you won’t let me die. And trust me, I have enough strength left to get to her if I want to.”
Belah stood and gestured toward the door. “You are not a prisoner, Marcus. She is in the bath house with Ked now. Find the widest path and follow it up the hill. You should have no trouble finding my brother.”
Marcus sat up and stared out the door. He could see all the way through the living area to the open front door. Outside was a long porch with a flagstone path beyond, surrounded by lush vegetation and lined with stone lanterns that cast a warm glow in the darkness. He craved Evie’s contact more than anything, yet he settled back onto the pillow.
“No. She’s finally free—I won’t burden her with my love any longer. Even if you won’t kill me, she is better off believing I am dead.”
Belah crossed her arms and scowled down at him. Her blue eyes flashed imperiously. “Just like her brothers were better off believing she was dead for fifty years? Perhaps they were, but it broke their hearts to learn the truth. They would have died to save her, and they deserved the chance to try—to have that choice. Evie deserves a chance, and so do you.”
“She has a chance. With him.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ked
Dragon Monastery, Sunda Islands
Present Day
Evie lay limp in Ked’s arms. Soft didn’t begin to describe how she felt against his skin. But she wasn’t moving now, and his mind reeled as to why she might have checked out. She’d been alert for the entire trip. He hoped it was only exhaustion.
Her wounds were healed now, thanks to Gavra’s breath during their long trip, but her dark hair was matted and stringy, her skin still streaked with blood.
Sweet Mother, in spite of how utterly wrecked she looked, she was so beautiful. She would be even more beautiful once rested and awake.
When they’d arrived, instead of carrying her down to the secluded mountainside bungalow set aside for him, he had turned and walked along a different path, heading for one of several private bath houses situated over the hot springs bubbling up from beneath the mountain.
He sensed Marcus’s consciousness in his mind now, heard his sister’s soft voice, as much through Marcus’s link to him as through Ked’s link to Belah. It betrayed the closeness of his connection to the man. Marcus likely didn’t understand what it meant yet, in spite of what Ked had told him when they started their trip. The unmistakable despair still flooded Marcus’s mind—his singular wish to leave this world, buried deep in decades of regret, but still filled with the ache of love for Evie that he never believed he deserved.
Looking down at Evie, he knew she would be the key to bringing Marcus back, even though she was the reason for the depth of his darkness.
Ked let his conjured clothing fade away as he entered the lantern-lit bath house and stepped into the fragrant, steaming pool of water. Once Evie’s body was submerged, floating on the support of one of his arms, Ked moved to one of the benches around the edge and sat, cradling her on his lap.
Scented soaps and soft cloths were scattered around the edge of the pool, and he used them to wash her. Over and over, he brushed the cloth down her arms, over her chest, over her back, careful of the newly healed marks where her regrown wings would manifest when she shifted. He slowly washed away all evidence of her torture. She was so strong. She had to be, to have withstood so much agony and still maintained consciousness for when he found her.
His own s
ister hadn’t managed as much so long ago, and carrying Evie away from that place had left Ked with the same dark anger he’d experienced that day he’d rescued Belah. Just after he and Gavra had landed and he silently requested that Belah see to Marcus, he shared a long look with her. Belah was his closest sibling, even without having shared that ordeal, and her expression had been filled with purest sympathy when he’d carried Evie away, as if to let him know she understood his pain.
He ventured a surge of dark breath now to check on Evie’s state, and was relieved to note that she was merely sleeping. The combination of Aodh and Gavra’s breaths could be potent, and healing could be an exhausting process when her body was urged to do it so quickly. Once her body was clean, he simply held her close.
“Now that I’ve found you, I will keep you safe. For the rest of our lives, you’ll want for nothing, and the enemy will never touch you again. That, I can promise.” He inhaled slowly, reveling in her closeness, but not allowing himself to become aroused by her soft, naked body against his. All that mattered was that she was here in his arms now. He could wait an eternity for everything that would come after.
“Are you sure you can promise that?” Evie groggily replied.
Ked tightened his embrace and looked down at her. “I don’t make idle promises. I also promise to destroy him the first chance I get.”
Evie only stared at him, her eyes wide and assessing. Ked held his breath, as though waiting for her judgment, for the first time worried about what another being thought of him. What must she think? He was probably terrifying her with his power, which he realized was nearly blocking out the sparse light in the dim room.
With a slow inhalation, he pulled the darkness back into his lungs and the lights brightened.
Evie’s expression grew only grimmer.
“Don’t hide yourself from me,” she said. She shifted around on his lap, pulling herself up into a sitting position and twisting to face him. “I know you are the one. My One. I want to know every part of you, even the darkest part.”
“I am nothing but the darkest part,” he said, though at least one part of him felt distinctly like it might start to glow a little bit of its own accord.
Evie’s aura brightened and her mouth twitched. “I beg to differ,” she said and reached between them to rest a hand against his stiffening cock.
“We don’t… you don’t have to…” Fuck, why was he stuttering over simply being touched by her? Ked gave up speech and let out a low groan when she stroked him, her hand slowly exploring his entire length beneath the warm water.
His eyes never left hers, and what he saw in her gaze brought back another surge of his power. Just as dark this time, but not with the need for vengeance against his enemy. This time, it slid over him like midnight velvet, arousing all his senses and rendering the lantern light a sultry, intimate glow around them. Privacy was the thought that had gone through his mind, even though the residents of the monastery had a tendency to give him a wide berth. He simply wanted to create a more intimate cocoon for himself and Evie if she had the urge to become so familiar with him so quickly.
“I like that darkness,” Evie whispered. The dimmed quality of the light cast Evie in coppery gold highlights, the water glistening on her skin making her look gilded.
Ked’s eyebrow twitched. “Does it feel good to you?” In his entire existence, he’d never once heard a positive comment about this particular use of his power.
She leaned into him and let her lips brush his ear as she continued to stroke him. “I think anything that comes from you would feel good. That’s how it’s supposed to work when you find your true mate. Everything you are is beautiful, and the darkness suits my mood.”
“You said Marcus was your true mate before. I thought turul only ever had one,” he said.
Testing her this way wasn’t fair. He knew that her connection to the other man was only due to the change Marcus had undergone after being transfused with Ked’s blood. Evie’s prior connection could have been with anyone, as long as they’d had a measure of Ked’s blood inside them. Of course, it hadn’t been anyone. It had been Marcus—a Blessed. Ked distinctly sensed the hand of Fate involved in the situation.
“Marcus was, but I know you are, too. I can’t explain it other than to say I think it was meant to be this way. He died in my arms, and then there you were. And I have never wanted to be with anyone as much as I want to be with you now. You’re going to mark me, aren’t you?”
Ked closed his eyes and released a soft hiss. He would love nothing more than to mark her now. To spin her around in the dark and lay her down on the thick velvet of night he’d conjured around them. To cover her body with his and fill her up with every single bit of him. But now was not the time, not so soon after her ordeal.
They may be entwined in the dark now, but he couldn’t keep her shrouded any longer. He wrapped his hand around hers and stilled her stroking. It was all he could do not to squeeze her around him and urge her onward.
“You need to know the truth before you commit to me, Evie. Marcus isn’t dead. Not truly. Before I can mark you, I need you to talk to him. Make him want to live.”
She struggled to pull away from his grip and he reluctantly released her. “Take me to him,” Evie said tightly, standing and hauling herself out of the pool. She glanced around and headed toward the towels stacked on shelves in one corner, robes hanging on hooks beside them. “I have to see him before I’ll believe you. His heart fucking stopped when he was lying in my arms. He shouldn’t have even been in my cell with me, but we hadn’t touched each other in so long… I craved it too much not to have you one last time.”
Ked closed his eyes and silently cursed at the word she just used. He didn’t even think she was aware she’d done it. I craved it too much not to have you one last time.
Ked left the pool, absently clothing himself within the two long steps it took to reach her. She cast a sidelong glance at his conjured attire and muttered what he thought was “fucking dragons” while shrugging into a soft, woven robe. She winced as the fabric draped over her shoulders, as though her skin was still tender from the torture she’d endured.
As she closed the robe around her, she seemed to wobble, her face growing pale. She reached out a shaky hand to steady herself, but hit only air. Just as she started to topple, Ked caught her, picked her up, and cradled her in his arms.
“You shouldn’t be so weak now. Not after Gavra’s healing.”
Evie let out a bitter laugh. “It’s never happened this quick before. Usually it takes a few more days.”
“What has happened, Evie? If I’m going to help you, I need to know.”
“I’m pregnant. Again.”
“Sweet Mother, Evie,” he said. “I’m not taking you to see him until you tell me everything.” He’ll live, Ked thought bitterly. In spite of the memories from both Marcus and Evie that he’d already experienced during the trip, he found it difficult to find sympathy for a man who would have turned against a woman as precious as Evie, especially if she was carrying his child.
She clung to him, twining her hands at the back of his neck and burying her face in his chest. Her hot tears seeped through his shirt, warming his skin as he carried her down the path to his private bungalow.
Lanterns lit the high-ceilinged bedroom in a comforting glow. The windows up here had no glass in them, thanks to a temperate climate and an utter absence of insects and other wildlife living within close proximity to the monastery. Evie gasped when she saw the view. Nothing but endless, starlit sky stretched for miles, only broken here and there by lush mountain peaks illuminated by a huge moon hanging low and full over the horizon.
“The last time I saw a view like that was fifty years ago,” Evie said. “It was the last time I saw the sky before you pulled me out of there.”
* * *
Canadian Rockies
Spr
ing 1966
The place Marcus took them to turned out to be a huge research compound hidden deep in the Canadian wilderness. Evie’s alarm bells went off when they rounded a bend in the curving, narrow road that led through the mountains to get to it. Marcus slowed on the rain-slick pavement and pulled up to a painted concrete guard station and a huge security gate. Beyond the gate, Evie saw more wet road winding up higher through the trees and foggy mist.
In spite of the trepidation that overtook her, she held her tongue. She’d never been so bombarded with conflicting signals in her life. The Wind’s messages one moment would carry a warning of danger ahead, but at another moment, would tell her that she was still headed in the right direction.
Finally, she just clenched her teeth tighter and twined her fingers through Marcus’s after he put the car in gear again and moved slowly through the now-open gate. She had to believe they were doing the right thing, and even if they were stepping into dangerous territory, at least they would be together.
Around a few more curves in the road, the landscape flattened and they headed downhill into a narrow valley. Along one bank of a raging, glacial river, the compound glimmered like a line of diamonds laid out in a row.
It took Evie a moment to register that what she saw were windows reflecting the sparse vestiges of sunlight that broke through the clouds above them. The facility seemed to be made entirely of glass, which was at odds with the image she’d had in her head of what they might be headed toward. Of course, in her irrational worry, she’d imagined being captured by the enemy and held in a dark dungeon built of impenetrable stone, with iron bars and no windows to see the sky.
The place couldn’t be that bad if it had such endless views from every room.
Once inside, she managed to relax. The facilities were comfortable, the people friendly. The entire procedure seemed more like checking into a luxury hotel than anything else. So much so that she could easily pretend that was precisely what they were doing. Not running away, but enjoying a romantic holiday together.
