Amon leaned back to rest his head on a pillow, folded his arms behind him, and looked up at her. “That goes without saying, angel.”
“Just how many houses do you own?”
“We. We own,” he corrected.
“Okay. How many houses do we own?”
“A few,” he said with a sly smile. “But the one I want you to see the most is in Greece.”
“Greece! Just the thought of owning a house in Greece is a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to visit Greece, and now I have a house there?”
Thea climbed on top of him and straddled his hips. “How did I get so lucky as to have a man like you?”
Amon looked up into her innocent blue eyes and the history of their time together caused guilt to surge in him. “Thea, in the time you’ve known me, you’ve been kidnapped twice, held hostage by a sadistic bastard who kept women as slaves, and been in more danger than I prefer to think about. I don’t think that’s lucky.”
Bending down to kiss him, she pressed her lips to his and then whispered, “Thank God your destined one is tougher than she looks.”
The body that pressed up against his felt anything but tough. Running his hands down her sides, he reached her ass and squeezed as he pulled her into his body. He felt her warm breath begin to come in short pants next to his ear, exciting him more. The feel of the softness of her body made him want to possess her at that moment and protect her forever, no matter how strong she claimed to be.
Flipping her over, he pinned her wrists above her head and smiled devilishly down at her as his eyes roamed over her body.
“This is part of that lucky thing I was talking about,” she purred before she hooked her legs behind him and around his waist and pulled his body into her warm and waiting body.
Amon felt the emotions of the past few days overwhelm him, and he plunged into her needing the oneness that making love to her could give him. Slowly at first, he thrust into her, desperate for the sensations her body gave him, needing to know at least he could be sure his body could bring her happiness.
Pulling him to her, she cradled his head in her hands. “I love you, Amon.”
With her words the tension ebbed from his body, and what he’d been searching for in her body’s response he found in her simple declaration of love. As they finished, he whispered, “I love you. I can’t imagine life without you.”
Stroking his back, she said, “You don’t ever have to.”
Later, as they dressed, Amon watched her dry her hair and felt happy. Truly happy, like he had all those lifetimes ago in Turkey.
“Marry me.”
Thea lifted the towel from over her head and peeked out at him. “What did you say?”
“Marry me. I know you have no real need to since as Aeveren, destined ones don’t require marriage to be truly committed, but...”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t need to explain. I knew the answer to that question the first time you looked at me.”
Amon stood up and smiled. “I do like a woman who can make up her mind.”
Just as Thea finished explaining that she’d been in love with him since the day they met and wanted to marry him from that moment, they heard a knock at the front door. By the time she joined him downstairs, he had a summons from the Council at Nil in his hand and a bounty hunter on each side of him
“Amon, what’s going on?”
“I have to go for a little while. All the information where the houses are and where my money is located is in the desk drawer there. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
He wasn’t sure how truthful those last words were. If he wanted, he could slip right through the bounty hunters’ hands and be lost to them in a million places in time, but he was too far away from Thea to grab her to take her with him, and he wouldn’t run without her.
Reading her thoughts and sensing her worry, Amon said, “Destiny wouldn’t bring us together just to separate us. Believe that and believe I’ll be back.”
“Amon, I remember what you said about your past. They’re not going to let you come back to me, no matter what destiny has planned. I’m going with you.”
Amon began to protest, as the bounty hunters said, “We only have orders for you.”
“I don’t care. I’m coming.”
The two men shrugged and mumbled about hoping to get bonus pay for bringing in two people.
As they hovered over Amon, Thea marched up and put her arms around him. “I have no intention of letting you go now, Amon Kalins.”
*
Before he could put his arms around her and again tell her he loved her, they were standing in the chambers of the Council at Nil, his wrists and ankles shackled.
He was a prisoner once again.
Amon watched as Thea looked down between their bodies, stunned at the restraints on his wrists. His black dress shirt remained on his body as it had at the house, but against its darkness was the silver metal that kept his arms immobilized in front of him.
She released her arms from holding him and took a step back. For the first time, she saw him as who he was.
“Thea...” he began, but what could he say? He belonged in this place.
He waited until she lifted her eyes to meet his, desperate to know what she was thinking after his powers had been taken as soon as he’d gotten there. Did she see him like he saw himself—a criminal who deserved the punishment he’d receive?
Quietly, she spoke to him, and her words buoyed his hope that she still loved him. “I know what you are, and I don’t care. You’re still Amon, my destined one. Have faith. Destiny wouldn’t bring us together to separate us.”
Somehow, when she said it, he believed it.
Amon lifted his hands to hold hers and bent down to kiss her. He hoped to God she was right but feared this would be the last time he’d ever feel the softness of her lips against his.
“If this doesn’t end the way we want it to, remember what I said at the house. I’m sorry that’s all I can do,” he whispered to her.
The sound of the council members coming in to the chamber made him turn around and look up. Instinctively, Thea stood in front of Amon, her arms slightly out at her sides, to protect him from whatever they planned to do.
“Mr. Kalins, I see you’re not alone,” Naomi Cooper said with almost an air of respect in her voice. “Have you brought the rest of your entourage with you?” she asked as she scanned the area around them.
“Gethen’s dead, councilwoman.”
Even over the mumbling noises of the fellow council members, Amon heard Naomi Cooper’s sharp intake of breath. As tears threatened her eyes, she composed herself and began to speak to him as if it were only the two of them in the chamber, her voice hitching on the first few words.
“I’m so sorry. How did it happen?”
“Your bounty hunter killed him with Anjer,” he said as the sad memory of his friend’s last moments flashed through his mind.
“And you then killed the bounty hunter?”
Amon knew she knew the answer to her question but sensed she wanted to hear him say it, not to confirm his guilt but in some way assuage some guilt of her own.
“Yes. I killed him for murdering Gethen.”
“Gentlemen, your services are no longer required. You may leave.”
The bounty hunters moved from Amon’s side and silently left the chamber, leaving Thea standing in front of him.
“Thea, you may stay, but you must move to the side during these proceedings and remain silent,” the head councilwoman commanded.
Thea stood defiantly staring up at the council members. “I’m here to plead Amon’s case, and I prefer to stay right where I am.”
Suddenly, the chamber went silent, and the councilwoman’s angry response shot back at her in ancient Etruscan. “Move to the side now or I’ll remove you from these proceedings!”
Amon watched in confusion as Thea reluctantly moved off to the side, and he wonder
ed exactly what had been said. But his attention was quickly directed back to the proceedings before him.
“Now, Mr. Kalins, as to you, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
Unlike the first time a year earlier when he stood in this same spot to hear the recitation of his crimes, he dreaded what would be said now because Thea would hear just who he’d been for so many lifetimes. He turned to her and saw her wide eyes looking up at him and knew he couldn’t let her find out who he’d been. Not all of it.
“Councilwoman, I request my destined one be removed from the chamber,” he said flatly as he stared straight ahead.
Thea grabbed his arm and tried to turn him toward her. “Amon, no! Don’t do this!” she pleaded as he struggled to look away.
“It looks like she prefers to stay, Mr. Kalins. I’m inclined to accede to her wishes as she is a respected healer of our people for forty-five lifetimes.”
Amon hung his head in resignation. She’d hear everything and refuse to remain his destined one, just as Sevine had. He knew he was going back to Nil, never to see Thea again, but it was killing him that what she’d think of him after he was gone wouldn’t be how much he loved her but the details of all his crimes.
“So to begin, Mr. Kalins, could you please provide this Council with details on your powers? All of them, please.”
Amon saw where they were going with this. He’d list each of his powers and then they’d have him confess to his crimes once again, categorized by the abuse of each power. They’d use his powers to show how much a monster he was.
“I have the ability to manipulate time—I can travel back in time, return to the current time, stop time. I can teleport within time in addition to through it. I can insert ideas into others’ minds, and I can read people’s thoughts.”
Despite having much of this information in front of them, the Council sat silently, some with their mouths agape, at the laundry list of his powers. For a moment, he enjoyed the feeling of superiority it gave him, but then he remembered what was to come next. Turning to Thea, he saw the shock on her face at hearing the first complete list of what he could do.
“That’s quite an impressive list, Mr. Kalins.”
For a brief moment, Amon wondered if he was supposed to answer the councilwoman.
Yes, I’m impressive. Now let’s get this inquisition over so you can throw me back into that shithole you call Nil.
“Careful, Mr. Kalins. You aren’t the only Aeveren with impressive powers.”
“Then use them and send me away. But don’t force Thea to listen to an entire hearing of what kind of fuck I’ve been for far too many lifetimes.”
Several council members rose from their seats and approached Naomi Cooper’s table. As he waited while they surely discussed his lack of respect, he turned to Thea to speak to her for possibly the last time. “I’m sorry, Thea. Why didn’t you leave? Now you’re going to have to listen to everything I’ve done.”
Thea stepped next to him and took his hands in hers. “Amon, I don’t care what they say you’ve done. I don’t care if you admit to every crime they claim. I love you. You are the only person in forty-five lifetimes to be meant only for me. That’s got to count for something.”
Standing on her toes, she kissed him sweetly on the lips and then whispered, “I don’t think she likes it when people argue with her. Instead of anger, use charm.”
“Let’s continue, Mr. Kalins. Please inform this council of the reason the former head councilman had to hold a centuries old grudge against you.”
Now it begins.
Amon took a deep breath and tried to remember Thea’s words from a moment ago. “In my time as Riordan Blake, I committed adultery with his wife.”
He knew he had to finish the explanation and that Thea had already heard Adams tell the sordid details of his real crime, but the words seemed stuck in his throat.
“And she committed suicide after I abandoned her.”
To his surprise, no one in the chamber, including Thea, made any shocked noises.
“This Council has heard the details of Victoria Adams’ death at your first trial, Mr. Kalins, so there is no need to reiterate the information here. And if the Directorate’s records are accurate, while you may have never been punished for your crime until this last year, the sons you had as Riordan have been.”
“My sons?” Amon asked, unsure why or how they would be punished for his crime.
“Yes. It seems Mrs. Adams was the daughter of a witch who cursed them, and while I’m not at liberty to divulge the information, I can say they’ve suffered for your actions, Mr. Kalins.”
The sick feeling of regret churned inside him. He’d never truly paid for what he’d done to Victoria, but his sons had? He could only imagine what Victoria’s mother had done to them, a witch hell bent on vengeance.
“So this council must now deal with your more recent offenses: your escape from Nil and the murders of Kiril Gault and Ryu Jansen.”
At least none of those were unknown to Thea, but Amon knew that didn’t help him. He was still going back to Nil.
“Mr. Kalins, it may surprise you to know there is no penalty for your escape from Nil. A fortunate bureaucratic oversight due to the simple fact that there have been only a handful of escapes and this council has no official penalty in place for any punishment.”
Amon saw the sheepish look on the council members’ faces as Naomi Cooper explained that he was going to get off scot-free for escaping from the supposedly impenetrable and inescapable Nil. They hated how their oversight gave him an out, even if it was for just minutes as he stood there.
But Kiril Gault’s and the bounty hunter’s deaths are a different story.
“Now, as to the deaths of Mr. Gault and Mr. Jansen, there are official penalties for those crimes. However, we will hear any defense you wish to present now, Mr. Kalins.”
Amon wasted no time beginning his defense for stabbing Kiril. For this crime, he had no remorse whatsoever. “Kiril and Harold Adams kidnapped Thea. Gault chained her up with his human slaves and when I got to her, had a dagger to her throat. He would’ve killed her if I didn’t kill him first.”
“So you killed him to defend your destined one’s life?”
Amon looked up defiantly. “I don’t regret his death. As her destined one, I have every right to defend the woman I love.”
Satisfied by his explanation, Naomi Cooper moved on to Ryu Jansen’s murder. “And your defense of your actions that resulted in the death of Mr. Jansen, a bounty hunter for this council?”
He dropped his head slightly at the memory of the man lying on the ground next to him as he faded away from his life. “The bounty hunter murdered my friend, intentionally stabbing him with a knife coated in Anjer, a poison deadly to the Sidhe, that he likely received from this council as a tool to capture me.”
Amon knew his tone hadn’t been deferent or charming, but he didn’t care. If he was to blame for Ryu Jansen’s death, then the Council shared part of that blame. And he blamed them for Gethen’s death as much as he blamed himself.
“So your killing him was revenge?”
“Yes, I tried to reason with him, but he had nothing to live for, no reason to not blame me once Adams was out of power and all the things promised to him disappeared into thin air. So he killed Gethen because he couldn’t get to me.”
“This council apologizes for the actions of Mr. Adams and the tragic consequences from them.” Naomi Cooper closed the folder in front of her and continued. “I’m ready to pass judgment. Do any of my fellow council members object?”
Amon waited for any objection, but none came.
“Then the chambers will be emptied. This will be a closed verdict,” she announced.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Thea grabbed Amon’s arm, intending to resist if they tried to force her from the chamber, but she quickly realized the councilwoman had meant she would deliver the verdict without her fellow council members present.
�
��What’s happening?” she asked Amon as she watched the Council and their assistants leave their places above them.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think I have much time, Thea. I need you to know that I’ve never regretted all the things I’ve done as much as I do right now. I don’t know why you were stuck with me as your only destined one, but don’t ever forget I love you more than you can ever know.”
Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she sobbed. “No.”
Behind them appeared Naomi Cooper, and they turned to face her and whatever verdict she had to deliver.
“My heart is heavy because of these proceedings. What my fellow councilman did to endanger your destined one and to contribute to Gethen’s death weighs on my conscience. You can be sure his actions will not go unpunished.”
Sure this may be her last chance to plead Amon’s case, Thea reached out to touch the councilwoman’s hand and began to speak in ancient Etruscan.
“Please, for our shared heritage, have mercy. Destiny has finally blessed me with a destined one to love and care for. For the first time in forty-five lifetimes, I have true love. Please don’t take that away from me. Is there nothing I can do to change this?”
Naomi Cooper cupped Thea’s cheek with her hand. “There are few choices available, child.”
“I’ll do anything.”
“She’s not the one on trial. Whatever the verdict is, deal with me.”
“Thea, someone must give two lifetimes for your destined one’s crimes,” the councilwoman said in their ancient language.
“Done. I willingly give two of my lifetimes for his freedom.”
Naomi Cooper turned to Amon. “Your destined one has given two of her lifetimes in exchange for your freedom. The final lifetime sentence is commuted due to your part in helping this council see the true nature of Councilman Adams.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “No. I won’t let her do that. I refuse.”
The councilwoman smiled. “I’ve accepted her gift. It’s done.”
Before Thea’s eyes, his wrist shackles and ankle restraints disappeared. Amon turned to Thea and in his joy, lifted her into his arms and kissed her.
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