Gold

by Talia Vance

  A chill starts at the back of my neck and slides down my spine. “You saw my death?”

  “I didn’t see anything. Blake claimed the right to kill you. It was only logical. You believe in logic, right?” When he turns to face me, his eyes are dark. “I knew I would never give up on you. Not as long as you were alive. Death is the only thing that would keep me from you.”

  My blood flows with ice, almost as if my magic is there. I reach for water, but it’s not magic. It’s just the cold certainty that my fate is coming for me whether I fight against it or not.

  Austin doesn’t move to get out of the car. “We can’t change our fate. Just how we get there.”

  “So you tried to save me by making sure I killed Blake?”

  “I thought I could prolong things. And that worked out well, didn’t it? It’s because of me that you’ve lost your power. I’ve only made you defenseless. By trying to keep you alive longer, I may have hastened your death.”

  “A different path to the same place.”

  “Exactly.”

  I pull my shoulders back, trying to manufacture a strength I don’t feel. It’s what I’ve known for a while now. I can’t run. I can’t avoid the confrontation that’s coming. I need to be ready to fight. “Let’s go down to the beach.”

  “Now? It’s late.”

  “You heard Braden. We have six weeks. Liam still thinks I’m going to be part of his army. We need to know exactly what he’s planning to do. We have to know what we’re up against.”

  Austin watches me closely. “It’s too dangerous. If he learns the truth about your powers, he’ll—”

  “He won’t.”

  “Liam will test you. He trusts no one.”

  “I’m doing this.” I let myself out of the car and start walking toward the path that will take me down to the beach.

  A few minutes later, Austin jogs up beside me. He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it.

  “It’s getting harder for me,” he says quietly. “I won’t be able to access my power at all soon. In six weeks, I’ll be as defenseless as anyone.”

  “I’m sorry.” I squeeze his hand.

  “Whatever for?”

  I don’t know how to put it words. Austin gave up his immortality, his powers, everything when he saved my horse. As much as it’s his own fault, for killing Dart in a misguided attempt to get me to fight the Sons, he didn’t know what it would cost him when he brought Dart back to life. “You’ve lost everything.”

  He stops me on the path and looks down at where our hands are clasped together. In the moonlight, I can just make out his crooked smile. “That, is where you are wrong.”

  The wind blows cold, still damp from an afternoon downpour, but my body is warm.

  This is Austin, a vindictive god who killed Danu to spark a war between the Seventh Daughters and the Sons of Killian. He killed Dart. He nearly killed Haley. He made me kill Blake. So he’s helping me now. I can’t let myself forget.

  Have I learned nothing from Blake? Physical attraction is not the same thing as love.

  I pull my hand away and walk the rest of the way to the trail at the edge of the bluff. Austin walks behind me, but I don’t look back. I’ve already let myself rely on him too much. I let myself believe I could trust him. How could I let myself forget what he’s capable of? What he’s already done.

  But part of me understands how Austin could do the things he did. I am as much a killer as he is. I will fight for what I believe in. Kill for it.

  The killer in me understands him completely.

  The tide is in, and the waves crash against the two large boulders that lead to the gateway filling the path with water. There is only a small patch of gravel at the base of the cliff, with just enough room for the two of us. Austin stands behind me, so close I can feel his body heat and the puff of his breath on my neck.

  I cross my arms across my chest, shivering in the ocean air. It’s strange to be so close to the air and sea, to witness its power without being able to access it. A gust of wind blows me off balance, mocking me. I struggle to find my footing on the rocks.

  Austin’s arms come around my waist, holding me steady. “We’re stronger together,” he whispers.

  “Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of.”

  It only takes a few minutes for Liam to appear in a burst of white light. There’s not enough room for three of us on the sliver of beach, but it doesn’t matter. Liam hovers in the air above the water. His godliness is a sight to behold, glorious and gorgeous, but it’s cold and tinged with darkness. One look is all it takes to know that Liam is not a merciful god. The awe he inspires is tinged with fear.

  “Come to pay your respects?” Liam says the words to both of us, but he’s glaring at Austin.

  “I’ve come to invite you to stay.”

  Liam smiles, and it’s unclear whether he notices the barely contained venom in Austin’s voice. “You finally realize your place? Prepare your best room. I’ll be by in the morning.” Liam vanishes, leaving only a dark shadow where he had been.

  “You invited him to stay with us?” I shudder. “You want to keep an eye on him, don’t you?”

  Austin’s right. It will be easier to learn Liam’s plans this way. Still, the guy freaks me out a little.

  I don’t hesitate when Austin offers his hand to help me back up the path to the house. I don’t let go until we step inside the warm entryway.

  “It’s late,” Austin says, his gaze drifting to my lips.

  I nod, but don’t move toward the stairs. “What happens before?”

  Austin’s brow furrows into those little lines I’m starting to love. “Before what?”

  “This ends badly.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If it ends, does that mean that we’re together?”

  Austin closes his eyes. “God, I hope so.”

  “What if I’m just using you to get over Blake?”

  “Is that what you’re doing?”

  Is it? It’s exactly what I had in mind a few nights ago. Now I’m less certain. “I don’t know.”

  Austin’s jaw tightens, but his hand is gentle when he rests it lightly against my cheek. “I was not a patient god. I find I’m a much less patient man. But I will wait for you to find your way to me.”

  “What if this is all there is?”

  “It’s not.”

  I let myself wish that everything was different. That I hadn’t let Blake take me out of Austin’s room that first night. That I hadn’t sent Haley back in to take my place. That I never let myself bond with Blake. That I never loved him. That I never killed him.

  It’s pointless. There’s no going back. Not really.

  “I can’t forget what you did.” What I did.

  Austin steps away, moving toward the stairs. He places a hand on the banister and turns to look at me. “I don’t expect you to forget, Brianna. But maybe, you will be able to forgive me?”

  I watch him disappear up the stairs.

  Too bad he no longer has an eternity. The bandia aren’t exactly known for forgiveness.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Mick announces Liam’s arrival with all the enthusiasm of a cat eyeing a bath. Austin barely glances up from his cup of tea, but I turn to watch Liam’s grand entrance. Liam places his hands on his hips and surveys the large living room, almost as if he’s already mentally redecorating. There’s a flicker of movement behind him, and gorgeous young woman follows him into the room.

  Sherri Milliken steps forward, her dark hair shining in the light from the large picture window. It’s still a shock to see Sherri, who had seemed so mousy before her seventeenth birthday, looking every inch the gorgeous descendant of a goddess. She runs over and gives me a hug, squealing like a sorority girl. “Thank God you’re alive!”

  Sherri ran away the night Sasha was killed, but it’s no surprise that she’s here now. Answering the call. Looks like Liam found her first. Sherri curls up next to Liam, wrapping an arm around his wa
ist. “Have you met Liam?”

  He smiles down at her. “You two know each other? Excellent.”

  Sherri presses closer to Liam and mouths, “Isn’t he hot?”

  Hot is not the word I’d use. He’s cold. Icy. Liam’s beauty is hard, more like a marble statue than a flesh and blood person. I nod my head, more to avoid an argument than anything else. Liam pulls Sherri up against him and starts making out with her right in front of us. I stare down at my hands.

  Austin sets down his tea. “Mikel, perhaps you should show Liam to his room.”

  Mick nods. “My lord.”

  Mick was addressing Austin, but it’s Liam who comes up for air to respond. “Yes, Mikel, show me the way.”

  Mick scrunches up his face as Liam walks out of the living room in front of him.

  Sherri runs over to the couch and sits next to me. “So tell me everything. How did you get away? Did you kill any of them?”

  In a manner of speaking. I don’t want to explain any of this to Sherri. So I don’t. “No.”

  She looks over at Austin and back at me. She lowers her voice to a whisper. “He’s not one of them is he?”

  Austin leans forward. “I can hear you perfectly.”

  Sherri straightens her spine.

  Austin laughs. “I remember you, bandia.”

  Sherri’s eyes narrow. I can almost see the magic bubbling up.

  “It’s okay, Sherri. Austin is here to help us. Like Liam.”

  Sherri looks him up and down. “How? Liam opened the gateway. He’s the only one who can cross over.”

  Where does Sherri get her information? I need to see what I can find out from her.

  Austin leans back on the couch. “I am Liam’s predecessor.”

  Sherri still looks skeptical, but she settles into the couch.

  “Where have you been?” I ask.

  Sherri shrugs. “Here, mostly. I figured the last place they’d expect me to go is back home.”

  “You didn’t answer the call to arms.” If Sherri was here, why didn’t she go to the gateway?

  “What is that supposed to mean? I’m not the one who bonded with a Son and got Sasha killed.”

  She blames me for Sasha’s death? “You’re the one who decided to attack without knowing exactly who and what you were up against. And if I recall right, I saved your life.”

  Sherri rolls her eyes. “Fine. We’ll call it even.” Her eyes drift to the doorway. “Is Liam hot or what?”

  “How did you meet him?”

  She laughs. “I answered the call.”

  “But you weren’t there.”

  Sherri stands up and stretches. She glances over at Austin, but he doesn’t look up. “You weren’t there,” she mocks my voice. “Really, Brianna, are you still so clueless?” She walks to the doorway. “You were the one who missed the call. Even the hybrid was there.”

  Then she disappears down the hall.

  I turn to Austin. “What does she mean? I didn’t miss the call. I was there, on the beach, when the Gateway opened. I was the only one.”

  “Maybe he called them more recently? After your powers disappeared?” Austin leans forward. “She’s a bit of a true believer, that one.”

  “A bit? You missed out on her. She would’ve fought like the devil for you.”

  “I might’ve killed her myself before she got that far.”

  But he’s smiling, and I can’t help but think that Sherri is everything that Austin wanted me to be.

  “You say that now. But at the time, all you wanted was to find a bandia to fight for you. Look at her. She’s perfect for you.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”

  Am I? I freeze in place.

  Austin shakes his head. “I did find Sherri. I was at Hunters the night she attacked the Sons. But I didn’t go after her, Brianna. Not even when it was clear that you would never fight.” Austin reaches across the couch and lifts a strand of hair from my shoulder. “You thought I was looking for a bandia, any bandia, to carry on the cause. As it turns out, I was only looking for you.” He twists the lock of hair around his finger. “My fate is tied to yours, and yours alone.”

  I throw my arms around his neck and pull him to me. I crush my mouth against his. He answers with a kiss so deep it fills me with an ache for more. He pushes me down on the couch, letting his weight settle in all the right places. My hands find his hair, then his shirt, then his waistband, until my fingers brush the warm skin underneath. His hands are on me too, drawing circles that make my heart race and my breath come in hard gasps.

  I want, I want, I want. It’s the only thought that I can manage in the flood of sensation. I want to feel every part of Austin. I want him to feel every part of me.

  “God,” Austin says, his lips tracing the line of my bra. “Please say you want this as much as I do.

  I smile into his gold-brown eyes. “I want this, Austin. I want you.”

  His lips find mine. As he kisses me, I can feel the emotion behind it. Whatever Austin’s done, I want him to love me. I want him to show me everything.

  I can give him this. I can give him this part of me at least.

  Austin stops kissing me. “What?” His breath is coming fast, but his eyes are serious.

  I try to read the question there. “Don’t stop.”

  “You hesitated.”

  “I didn’t.” I lean up and nip his neck.

  “Damn it.” He sits up and straightens his shirt.

  I push a tangle of hair away from my face. “What’s wrong?”

  He closes his eyes and opens them again. “Can you tell me you love me?”

  “What?”

  “That sounds like a no.”

  “Austin, please.”

  “Definitely a no.” He stands up. The little furrow at the top of his nose is back. “I know I’m asking too much. You can’t forget what I’ve done. And I’m going to waste whatever time I have with you because of these stupid human emotions.”

  “They’re not stupid. They’re kind of sweet.”

  “I’m pretty sure no one has ever called me sweet.”

  “In how many thousand years?”

  He laughs. “Watch yourself.” His eyes find mine.

  I can see the barely contained desire in them. Oh yes, I want him. But love? I thought I loved Blake. I did love Blake. But now I wonder if I was confusing lust with love. In the end, neither one of us fought very hard to be together. I threatened his sister and ran off to Ireland without even trying to stay and make him understand. Blake may have kept the Sons from killing me, but no question, he expected me to help the Sons find Sherri Milliken. Without the bond, we were quick to challenge each other’s real motives.

  There was no trust. That can’t be love.

  I trust Austin. Even after all he’s done, I trust him with my secrets. That’s not the same as loving him, but it’s closer, maybe.

  I stand up and close the distance between us. I take his hand. “Can you say you love me?”

  “What?” He’s caught off guard.

  “I guess that’s a no then.”

  “I told you, I’ve loved you since you threw that quarter into my lap.”

  “You believe in love at first sight?”

  “No, of course not. But it wasn’t the first time I saw you. And there were times I had my doubts. But fate will out.”

  “Doubts?”

  “Let’s see. You set me up with your best friend. Twice, I might add. Then you let me nearly get killed by Jonah before you finally stepped in. Oh, and there is the small matter of you falling in love with someone else.”

  “Okay, I get it.”

  “I’m not done. You tried to kill me with those damn fireballs. And when that didn’t work, you lured me to the gateway and banished me for a thousand years.” His lips curve into that crooked smile. “Perhaps I should rethink this.”

  “You’re right. Why do you even like me?” I’m only half-joking.

  “Don
’t you know?” He kneels in front of me, bringing his hand to the back of my neck. His thumb strokes my throat. “You have the heart of a warrior, yet you long for peace. Even so, you fight fiercely for those you love, no matter what it costs you personally. You are, quite simply, a goddess.”

  I have to remember to breathe. “Okay. I might like you a little.”

  Austin kisses my forehead, before he stands up. “Let me know when you’re sure.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Something Austin said stays with me all night. When I wake up, it’s still there, a niggling thought that won’t let me go.

  It wasn’t the first time I saw you.

  The night I met him at his party wasn’t the first time he saw me. Had he come into Magic Beans with Blake before we met at his party? I don’t think so. The magic in my bracelet made me invisible to guys then. No one looked at me. I definitely would have noticed if he saw me.

  Does he remember meeting me as Aaron? Is that why he took me to the ruin?

  I storm through the house, past the living room and down the hall to Austin’s office. I barge in without knocking.

  But it’s not Austin hunched over the antique desk. It’s Liam.

  “Well that’s more like it,” he says, taking in my wild hair and fury. “Perhaps you are a fighter after all.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Planning the new world order. Would you like to help?”

  I can’t stop the eye roll.

  Liam raises his eyebrows. “I see you will have to learn your place the hard way.” He lifts a finger and a shock of lightening arcs in the air.

  I reach for my power, but there’s nothing. I can only duck behind a chair as the lightening flies at my head. It barely misses me, exploding with a crack into the floor beside me.

  Liam stands. “I’m disappointed. I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

  I’m helpless, crouched on the floor while Liam walks toward me, electric currents pulsing around him.

  I scramble for a small statute of a rearing horse on the table next to the chair. It’s heavy, probably brass. I lob it at Liam’s head.

  He laughs as it glances off his shoulder. The room goes bright white and a loud crack reverberates in my ears. I barely feel the hard floor as my head hits it.