That vortex…
It wasn’t made for Lykens. Or humans, either. Just Fae. Or Dark Fae, she guessed.
Had her She-Wolf been connected to her as she ought to have been, Thalia didn’t even want to think about the repercussions of going through it twice. She highly doubted it would have been ‘nice.’
Scared to open her eyes lest her captors use her awareness to their advantage, she tested her surroundings and from the rocking motion, realized she was in a van.
A moving van.
Underneath the tires, there were many rocks, and it made the ride jerky, and had the van swaying with a motion that made her feel slightly sick.
The nausea made her wonder if that was related to the baby that only Morningstar had sensed, and like that, she heard him.
Thalia!
It was a desperate scream down that path that belonged only to him.
Oh Gods! Rafe! she yelled back, so desperate to hear his voice that she didn’t even care about the headache that was bound to come later as a result of him talking to her this way.
Where are you? His desperation bled through and made tears prick her eyes.
I don’t know. I think I’m back on Earth. At least, that’s where I’m supposed to be.
You only think?
Before she could reply, she heard voices. The normal way. Via her ears.
Rafe, wait a minute. I can hear something. I’m in a van, but the driver is talking. Wait.
When he fell silent, relief swirled through her as she pricked her ears to listen into the conversation that was taking place in the cab.
She was obviously in a van that had a separate compartment to where the driver and passengers sat. Unsure if that was to her benefit or not, she strained her ears, managing to make out:
“Morningstar’s insane to let her go.”
“No way can we leave her loose,” the male, Lossiah, agreed. “They’ll hide her from us until kingdom come.”
The female hissed. “We need to store her somewhere. She can’t go back to Heden.”
“But where? You know his reach is abundant. He’ll find her. He always does.”
“We just need to figure out a way of making sure he doesn’t.”
“While making sure the child survives. You know him. You know he won’t be wrong. He never is where this shit is concerned. If he says the child is his future bride, then the child is his.”
“I don’t dispute that. I just dispute the fact he wants us to return her to the Fae.”
“The child needs to be born in the waters.”
“Who else do we have who we can tempt? Maybe we can store the female and then, burn a contact to help her birth in the waters?”
“Seems like a lot of hard work,” the male grumbled.
“To return to our rightful place? We’ve done far less in the past for such a prospect, Lossiah. Stop being a sloth.”
A snicker came from the male, but all Thalia heard was the word ‘store.’ And, the words, ‘his future bride.’
This couldn’t be happening.
It just couldn’t be.
Her baby, whether the child existed or not, was no way becoming the bride of Satan!
Dear Gods, even thinking it made her want to break out into hysterical laughter.
This couldn’t be real. It just…couldn’t be.
Thalia!
What? she snapped, her terror prompting her to take it out on the man she loved.
What’s happening?
Rafe, I don’t even… Though she wasn’t speaking using her voice, she still swallowed because the words were lodged there. Magda took me to Morningstar.
I know. We saw. We’ve been trying to find you, but…
I know. Where he took me, I can’t even tell you where it is. She sucked in a shaky breath. He told me I’m pregnant.
Silence fell at that, and she could sense Rafe’s astonishment. But I didn’t scent anything.
I know, she replied, her tone dour.
How the hell could he? I was with you this morning, dammit. You had no scent.
I don’t know, but he did. He says we’re having a daughter and… Her lower lip wobbled. He says the child will be his future bride.
More silence fell, then her name boomed from him. Thalia! You need to get out of there.
You’re telling me! she snarled. Did he think she hadn’t figured that out for herself?
She peered around the back of the van and saw it was just artificially dark. Her senses hadn’t disappeared entirely, even though her She-Wolf’s absence had reduced them by a significance that never failed to piss her off.
Are you tied up?
She blinked, peered down at her hands. No. I guess I should be thankful for that. But I don’t think they want to do me harm and I don’t think they believe I’m a danger to them.
Do you know where you are?
No. Just that I’m in a van. Which means I’m on Earth. She hadn’t exactly seen vans roaming around Heden.
What kind of van? Is there an internal door handle?
She squinted but it was so damn dark she couldn’t see anything. Carefully rolling onto her knees, she scrambled over to the sides where a meager strip of light glowed through the crack in the door. With her hands, she felt the walls of the van, seeking a handle and not finding one. Not even a lever. But that had to be the door. There wouldn’t be a crack otherwise, would there?
Are you strong enough to kick the door out?
She hated that he had to ask that question. Had her She-Wolf been there with her, it wouldn’t have even crossed his mind.
Gnawing at her lip, she thought about it, truly thought about it, and decided that yeah. She could. In a pinch.
She was weaker without the She-Wolf humming through her veins, and though it pissed her off, she knew she had one real chance to not fuck this up.
The minute they knew she was awake, the minute they knew she was attempting to escape, they’d tie her up.
She wasn’t even sure why they hadn’t. Unless… she peered around the van, and realized there was nothing in here. Nothing at all. Maybe they hadn’t had anything to use on her?
But then, how did they get access to the van?
There were so many questions, but she didn’t have time to find the answers.
Before she thought about slamming down the doors, she remembered that sometimes, vans had side apertures. They slid open too.
Dragging herself along the back of the truck, she winced as her knees began to ache once they connected with the uneven metallic floor. Sucking it up, she made it to the side and as there was no sliver of light, figured there was no opening there but she had to try; the opening could just have been sealed well.
On the other side, she hit gold dust.
She slid her hands over the plastic inserts that covered the side of the van and when she hit real pay dirt, she felt tears prick her eyes.
There’s a handle. I think I might be able to get out.
Won’t they have locked it? The doubt in Rafe’s voice made her heart break.
Of course they’d have locked it!
Still, she had to try.
The wind didn’t help her any at first, but she realized the door wasn’t locked. It opened, but the momentum pressing against the door as the van moved was making things harder.
They were going downhill, she realized, and that wasn’t helping either. She waited, hoping they’d reach a ‘stop’ or a ‘yield’ sign that would help her escape.
When, a few minutes later, the opportunity knocked, she slid the door open and felt like sobbing when it jarred.
That was why it wasn’t locked.
The mechanism was broken, enabling her to see a precious foot of freedom.
Push it! Rafe screamed, and she didn’t even have it in her to question how he knew the door wouldn’t open. Didn’t even care.
She was focused on the door. Focused on escape.
With all her might, she shouldered the door, using brute forc
e to jimmy it open. But the force was too much. She’d gained her captors’ attention—the engine stuttered as the driver braked.
Realizing this, she knew she had seconds on her side. Releasing a roar, she jammed her feet against the back wall and pushed.
When it moved, just a sliver, Thalia knew there was the barest room for her to slip past.
She nearly fucking choked on the way out because the gap was so tiny, and as she managed to alight, she fell headfirst. Her low whimper sounded extra loud now that the engine had stopped, and she was only feet away from the passenger door, where one of Morningstar’s people could grab her.
Without taking in her surroundings, she ran down the hill, knowing she’d be faster than if she headed up. Then, she peered around and realized she was on the top of a fucking cliff.
At her side, it was a bare drop and the road was so rocky because it wasn’t even a road, more of a dirt trail.
At her back, she heard the male and female screech at her. She heard her name but she was focused on escape.
Focused on anything but them.
The heat scorched her, burning her shoulders which weren’t covered by the light fabric of the toga. There was a faint wind that shot dust up from the ground with her feet, and she wished like hell for a pair of yoga pants to cover her—there was no point in even wishing for her She-Wolf. The creature was as disconnected as ever.
Even in Thalia’s time of need.
With her eyes darting left and right, it was no wonder that her ankle turned over on a dip that appeared out of nowhere in the uneven road.
But even as she sank to her knees, she scrambled up again. This time, when she ran, agony poured through her joint.
I’ve got it, Thalia. Just focus on running!
She felt the healing warmth come from her mate as it started along their connection—the channel where they spoke—and spread throughout her body. It burned wherever it touched, even healed the faint scorch from the sun on her shoulders.
But, it was too late. She’d been slow for a handful of seconds, and she heard them behind her.
Approaching.
To her left, there was the cliff face. To her right, there was a drop. As she looked up and down, she knew there was no hope for anyone finding her. There was no traffic here, no chance of anyone driving by and managing to see her.
She literally had no option but to go with her captors.
Or…
She looked to her right.
Behind her, her child would fall into the hands of the Devil himself.
And, before that, she’d be in these people’s hands. They’d do only the Gods knew what with her because Thalia didn’t even want to know what ‘storing’ meant. In a world where the human lovers of the Dark Fae were kept on hand for Morningstar’s wiles, storage took on an evil connotation.
But this was more than about her. Her child, an innocent born from the love Thalia felt for her baby’s fathers, could fall into the most evil creature in the world’s clutches.
No.
No!
The word shrieked in her mind, and she heard it but she had to ignore it.
Don’t you fucking dare, Thalia. Don’t you dare. Where there’s life, there’s hope!
Rafe was babbling in her head, trying to encourage her, trying to keep her from doing what she knew had to be done.
But she had no choice.
There was no choice.
She couldn’t let her child fall into Morningstar’s hands.
She couldn’t.
Thalia stopped, peered over the edge of the cliff and into nothingness. There was nothing around. Nothing to see. No viewpoint for her to figure out where she was, nothing she could tell Rafe to advise him as to her location.
There was dust and there was rock.
It wasn’t the best final resting place, but better that than wherever the fuck Morningstar’s people kept women like her.
She sucked in a deep breath, let it flood her lungs, and then, she took up running again. The whisper of someone’s touch at her back told her how close she’d been to capture, but she didn’t look back.
She veered right.
A scream escaped her, and in her mind, Rafe screamed again, No!
The word was drawn out, and it, along with the adrenaline and fear cocktail swarming through her blood, seemed to rob her of breath. Then, momentum and the wind did the rest.
As she fell, the world swirled around her in a big yellow blur. She didn’t have time to feel fear, didn’t have time to feel anything.
Save for one thing.
She closed her eyes, and along the channel that was hers and Rafe’s alone, whispered, I love you.
Then, she screamed it. “I love you! Mikkel, Theo, Rafe! I love you!”
The words were torn from her, and whipped into the wind. She didn’t care. She’d spoken them. She knew Rafe would have heard.
A sharp splintering agony tore through her back, making her think she’d hit the side of the cliff face and had scraped her shoulders. But it carried on, and then, she let out another scream.
Terror and rage swirled together, uniting as she faced her impending death.
But, while she wanted more, more years to be with her men, the chance of a life with her family around her, she could not, and would not, allow this child to fall into the Devil’s clutches.
And like that, she embraced her fate and let go.
She’d been born to fight and this was the ultimate rebellion.
Her baby.
Her body.
Her fucking choice.
To be continued
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I can’t even begin to tell you the whole amount of crazy that is about to go down in this series, so stick along for the ride. When I put in my teasers that you have to rethink everything you knew about paranormal romance, I wasn’t lying.
This world? It just keeps on growing. And even as my Betas are hollering at me over this ending, demanding answers, I can promise you now. I haven’t written more than a few scenes of Triumph. What’s about to happen is all just a jumble of ideas and crazy madcap theories in my head.
It will, of course, be ready in time for a late November release. I’ll try to get it ready before Thanksgiving, but if not, afterward. November is Triumph’s month. :D
I’ll be dropping the cover for Triumph, book four, on Triad’s release day in my reader group, so be sure to join! ESPECIALLY if you want a MASSIVE clue as to what’s going to happen.
As always, feel free to email me on [email protected]. Whether it’s to bitch at me, *grins*, or to tell me you love the series or (hopefully not) loathe it. Please, get in touch. You’ve no idea how much inspiration and energy it gives me when you guys do. Also, if you love the book, please leave a review. I’d really appreciate it. <3
If you’re not a part of my Diva’s reader group, the link is here: www.facebook.com/groups/SerenaAkeroydsDivas. I know some of you might not want to be in there, but I hold a lot of giveaways and also, you get updates on the books I’m writing. More so than you would with my newsletter, which I only use to promote releases. (You can sign up for that here: www.serenaakeroyd.com/Newsletter)
As always, thanks for being here, thanks for reading, and hope you’re psyched about the November release!
Love
Serena <3
AND REMEMBER: Book four, TRIUMPH, coming November 2018!!
Other titles by Serena Akeroyd:
Kingdom of Veronia
Perry & Her Princes
Her Highness, Princess Perry
Long Live Queen Perry
QUINTESSENCE
Charmed by Them
Healed by Them
Worshipped by Them
Protected by Them
Loved by Them
Anchor Pride Series
Claimed by Caden
McKinnon’s Mate
The Sanguenna Chronicles
Christmas: Dragon Style
Valentine’s:
Dragon Style
The Corsakis
Three’s Never A Crowd
Old Enough to Know Better
The Federation
A Menage Made on Madison
Jayce Ventura – Ghost Detective Series
Ghost Detective
Ghost Avenger
La Belle sans La Bete Series
Menage Material
A Thoroughly Modern Menage
The Luck of Love Series
The Luck of Love
The Power of Love
The Strength of Love
The Depth of Love
The Triskele Prophesy
Trinity
Triskele
Triad
Triumph (Coming November 2018)
Touched
The Raw Touch
Table of Contents
Triad
The Void
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
To be continued
Triad (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 3) Page 28
