Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3)

by Michelle, P. T.

  His eyebrows lift and he smiles. “I’m all for road testing our uniqueness later, but for right now…” He runs his finger down the side of my face, then hooks it under my chin. “I just want to feel you wrapped around me, where the only magic between us is our own skin making as much connection as possible.”

  He just melted my heart and stole my soul. Nodding my agreement, I start to tug him toward my room, but he holds a hand up. “There’s something I want to show you first.”

  Before I can say a word, he walks down the hall and closes my bedroom door. I stare in confusion as he approaches and quickly lifts me into his arms, cradling me against his chest. As he carries me toward my bedroom, I hook my arm around his neck and tease, “It’s going to be hard to get to my bed with the door shut.”

  “Close your eyes,” he says softly.

  When I frown doubtfully, he smiles. “Trust me, Sunshine.”

  With a smile of trust, I close my eyes and instantly feel soft warmth surrounding me from my head to my toes.

  I open my eyes, all I see is darkness, but the sense of protection and security touching my arms, toes, back, and skin everywhere else is so strong, I gasp and reach out to feel what I can’t see. “Feathers,” I whisper in awe.

  Slowly the outside lights splinter through the darkness. I can see Ethan and we’re standing in my room with the door still closed. How did he do that? I can’t help myself, I lean over and touch one of his massive wings. “They’re beautiful.” Ethan shudders, then sets me down on my feet.

  As I stare, he folds his wings against his back. “This is how you got my dad out of that hotel room undetected, isn’t it?”

  He nods. “I can pass through walls on my own. It makes it easier to dispatch an Inferi to Under while the person is sleeping. But my raven wings allow me to bring a person with me too if I wish.”

  I’ve been wondering how Danielle snuck in my room that night. Walking through walls is a whole lot easier than picking locks. “Does it hurt?”

  He shakes his head. “At first it felt all kinds of weird, but now it just feels natural. When I wish to walk through a wall, I can.” While he’s talking, his wings grow smaller. Once his wings completely disappear, I point past his shoulder to where they just were.

  “That’s exactly what I felt every time I was in your dreams. The protective shield I told you about that pulled me out of harm’s way so many times? It was your raven wings.”

  Ethan’s jaw hardens. “It was my Corvus protecting you.”

  I tilt my head and smile. “You can call on your wings when you need them, which is pretty amazing. Are you finally accepting your Corvus?”

  He shrugs. “I use his abilities when it suits my needs.” A grin flashes. “Like when I want to impress my girlfriend.”

  Laughing, I walk into his arms and kiss his jaw. “Every part of you is beautiful.”

  Ethan runs his fingers over the tattoo on my shoulder. Tugging my bra strap down, he kisses my bare skin. “I’m so incredibly lucky to have you in my life.”

  “Back at you.” I kiss his jaw, while I tug on the button of his jeans, impatient for him to shed them quickly.

  As he moves his warm mouth to my other shoulder, I unzip his pants and start to push them down, but he grabs my hips and yanks me close, locking my hands between us.

  “Impatient?” he teases.

  I take advantage of the position and turn my hands around. Touching him through his jeans, I tease back, “If you wanted my hands there, you only had to ask.”

  Ethan laughs, then sits down on the end of my bed with me straddling his lap. Cupping my neck, he pulls me in for a deep, arousing kiss. I flatten my palm against his jaw and curl my tongue slowly along his, showing him how much I want this.

  Ethan grips my waist tight, and then he starts tugging on my clothes just as fast as I yank on his. The sheets suddenly feel so much softer against my bare skin as he leans over me and presses a sensual kiss to my neck while sliding his bare leg between mine.

  The sensations that exchange between us when we touch are beyond words. My fingers trail up his hard biceps, then I thread them into his hair, pulling him down to me.

  Ethan’s kisses turn deeply passionate, his touches tenderly aggressive and demanding. Every stroke builds in possessive intensity, seeking a deeper, closer intimacy. I’m so caught up, I tug on his hair to get his attention and pant, “I’m going to combust without you.”

  Ethan kisses my neck and whispers, “Not this time, Sunshine,” as his hand curves around my thigh. Lifting my leg around his hip, he locks my body intimately against his hard one and slowly eases inside me. My breath catches and I dig my nails into his shoulders, but he bends close and starts to sing a couple of lyrics from Together ’Til in my ear. His deep baritone jacks my pulse even higher as we begin to move to the soulful beat, finding our perfect harmony.

  When Ethan’s hand slides inside mine and he holds our hands tight against the bed, I arch into him and welcome the crescendo of his powerful emotions as love, loyalty, and devotion roll through me, one after the other. Holding him close, I tremble through every forceful wave while echoing my own promises back with just as much intensity.

  As our breathing slowly evens out, Ethan gathers me close and presses a tender kiss to my temple. “I didn’t think it was possible to love you more, but being with you like this is beyond…” He swallows and exhales. “It’s indescribable.”

  I nod and slowly lace my fingers with his. “In case it wasn’t clear, you just got my ‘forever kiss.’ I love you too.” When he smiles, I lay my head on his chest and settle against him with a happy sigh.

  I’ve just closed my eyes for a second when Ethan’s low chuckle rumbles against my cheek and I quickly lift my head. “What?”

  He clasps my waist and quickly pulls me across his chest until we’re nose to nose. “I’m not going to waste a single minute of this alone time with you. Don’t plan on getting much sleep tonight, Sunshine.”

  As his hands slowly begin to massage their way up my back, I press a kiss against his sexy mouth. This is what it feels like to be branded, consumed, and thoroughly worshiped.

  Nara

  My whole body aches, especially my shoulder. I roll over and rub it, thinking I must’ve pulled a muscle last night. I start to snicker, but realize Ethan’s still asleep, so I smother my laugh and look over at his tousled bedhead with an amused smile.

  Watching him sleep makes me want to run my fingers through his thick, dark hair. Sighing, I move to my dresser and grab some underwear, a pair of yoga pants and a zip-up jacket. Every muscle protests my movements, but it’s a happy ache, the hard-earned kind you don’t want to fade away too quickly. A hot shower will ease the soreness in my shoulder.

  After I’m done with my shower, I step out of the tub into the steamy room, tucking a towel around my body. Just as I pick up my comb to run it through my hair, a cool breeze blows across my bare shoulder.

  Suddenly the fog in the mirror clears up in a single circular spot, then quickly fogs over once more. I stiffen my spine. It might be too moist in here to feel the electricity in the air, but I know Fate’s cold presence.

  “What do you want?” I hiss.

  Words start to form in the fog on the mirror as if drawn by an invisible finger.

  He’s

  The

  Master

  Corvus

  My green eyes widen before the letters completely fog over once more. “Who is?” I whisper.

  Ethan

  My stomach pitches and my gaze narrows as Ethan’s name starts to fog over. “You’re lying!”

  He

  Needs

  To

  Know

  “How do you know?” I ask in a low voice, but suddenly the heaviness in the room is gone.

  Once I’ve pulled on my clothes, I still shiver as I walk out of the bathroom. I instantly seek out the sunlight shining in my window. I turn my back to its bright rays splaying across my carpet and desk and so
ak in its warmth as I watch Ethan sleeping.

  How am I going to tell Ethan this? Is it even true? Or is Fate screwing with me once more? But why would he do that? He definitely looked scared when Ethan threatened him. I can’t deny Ethan had been powerful as he faced Fate. Even I felt that.

  My gaze travels over Ethan’s face. He looks so relaxed in his sleep. Does he already know he’s Master Corvus, but he hasn’t told me? Tension creeps into my neck, making my shoulder ache all over again.

  I roll my head from one shoulder to the other, trying to work out whatever tense muscle is causing my soreness. As I reach up to press my fingers over the curved edge, digging into the sore shoulder muscle, I turn and my gaze snags on all the purple marks I’d made on the map on my desk.

  I’d added the other places I was able to cross reference while at the school library. So far, the pattern is holding true to Madeline’s theory. In an area where an unusual natural event occurs, not long after that, something happens: a man-made or natural structure is damaged, or an entire street’s power is completely drained, or an inexplicable energy surge blows out a power station. The list goes on and on. To anyone else, these events wouldn’t have any connection.

  While I stare at the information and try to figure out how it can be helpful, my shoulder starts to itch. I reach under my jacket to scratch it and feel an edge roll under my finger, as if I’d gotten sunburned and my shoulder is peeling.

  I push my jacket down and look over my shoulder. It’s definitely not a string from my jacket. Pinching the rolled edge of skin between my thumb and forefinger, I peel off the dead piece of skin. Except it’s not my skin, it’s a piece of the feather’s vein. I quickly glance at Ethan, then take my arm out of my jacket to slowly pull the feather away from my shoulder blade. It tingles a little but doesn’t hurt.

  Tugging my jacket back up, I lay the white feather against my trembling palm and run my fingers across the soft vane. I can’t believe I can hold it. It feels like the black feather Ethan had left me before, strong but soft. And now that I can see it up close, the shaft end definitely has a jagged, tooth-like edge along one side.

  I gently run my finger across the sharp points and wince as a bead of blood surfaces. Leaning across the desk, I move to grab the box of tissue on the other side when my gaze is drawn to the map once more.

  Bright lights dance in my eyes like a residual flashbulb response. I blink a couple of times, but the spots don’t go away. When I glance toward the wall, they finally recede, but as soon as I look down at the map, they reflect right back in my eyes.

  I blink when I see a red dot where one glowing spot had been a second ago. I look at my hand and the feather is sitting in it like a pen. Frowning, I glance at the feather’s tip. My finger has stopped bleeding and the tip of the feather is stark white. Where did the red ink come from?

  But the spots continue to pop up no matter how many times I blink. Is this how really bad migraines start? I just want them to go away. Before I realize it, I’ve touched the feather to every single place on the map where I’d seen a bright glow. It’s like I can’t stop until I douse every glowing spot.

  When I’m done, I set the feather down and study the map. What do the red spots represent? As I ponder the widespread red across the globe, the back of my hand itches, so I rub it across my nose while I chew on my bottom lip. None of the red dots overlap. But do they somehow connect to the purple marks I’d put on the map earlier? Or are they totally unrelated?

  I glance to my right, intending to pick the feather back up and study it more, but it’s gone. Panic seizes my chest, and I squat to see if it fell off the desk. Nothing. My worry ramps and I quickly move to the mirror to see if the feather I took off at least left an impression behind.

  I gasp when the tattoo is back on my shoulder blade, but this time the very top of the feather is black; the dark color quickly fades into gray and then back into white. It’s as if the tip has been dipped in ink and only a little of the ink bled down the vane.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Ethan’s suddenly alert voice draws my attention.

  I turn and tug my jacket lower so he can see my shoulder blade.

  He quickly pulls on his jeans and then turns me so the sun shines on the feather. His warm fingers brush against my skin. “Was it like this when you woke up?”

  “No.” I gesture to the map and tell him what just happened.

  Ethan’s expression hardens as he pushes his hand into his front pocket. He hasn’t even looked at the map, but something is bothering him.

  Clasping my hand, he draws me over to the bed and pulls me into his lap. “What is it?” I ask, my stomach tensing. The serious look on his face is worrying me. Is he going to tell me he’s the Master Corvus now?

  Ethan lifts my hand, then kisses the tip of each finger. When he reaches my ring finger, he slides something on it. I smile that he’s putting the silver ring that matches his back on my finger. “You swiped that from my memories box as well, huh?”

  He reaches in his other pocket and then slides his ring back on his finger too. Locking our hands together, he glances down at them. “This is why I was gone for a while yesterday.”

  When I shake my head in confusion, he twists my ring around until I see the new symbol he’d had added; it’s the raven yin-yang symbol.

  “I drove to three jewelers before I found someone willing to do it while I waited. What better place to add a symbol that protects you from demon possession than on the rings you had made for us?”

  I kiss him on his jaw, enjoying his scruff against my lips. “Even though you don’t need it, you had it put on yours too?”

  “It’s a matching pair. Of course I had it added.” His smile fades as he cups the side of my face. “I’ll do everything I can to protect you, even if that means giving up seeing you in my dreams. Right now there’s a faceless Inferi running around out there who knows who we are. I won’t take a chance with your safety. Please don’t ever take this off. Protecting your soul is more important than seeing a day ahead.”

  I lay my hand over his on my cheek. “I won’t. I promise.”

  “Good.” Tension eases from his shoulders as he glances toward my desk. “So what have you plotted out over there?”

  I stand and tug him to look at the map. “Remember the night after the dance when I showed you the video of that airplane accident from when I was a child?”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “I remember being surprised we could both see the veil tearing open the sky, considering our abilities are different.” Lowering his hand from his neck, his eyes light up. “Did you ask your dad about it?”

  I nod. “I showed Dad a couple videos in the hospital, but he didn’t see it.” I gesture to the purple marks I’d made. “I’ve only mapped a few, but some of these marks are events that occurred in our world that resulted in veil thinning. Other purple marks are my guesswork based on natural events coinciding closely with inexplicable accidents.” Shaking my head, I continue, “But I have no idea what the red dots mean.”

  Ethan stares at the map for a full minute before his fingers tighten around mine. “We need to shred, or even better, burn this.”

  My gaze jerks to his. “Why? Don’t you think we should try to figure out what all this means first? Like if my purple marks in any way correlate? We at least know what those represent.”

  Ethan expels a tense breath. “I’m pretty sure I know what the red dots are.”

  “You do?”

  He nods and points to the eastern coast of the United States, right around where our state would be. “That’s me.”

  Heat drains from my face, and I grasp the edge of the desk to stay upright. “Are you telling me I just mapped out the location of every single Corvus in the world?”

  Ethan nods, his expression grim. “I don’t know how you could know this information—I only recognize myself. But a buzz hums as I stare at the other dots like it always did when Danielle was near, so my gut is telling me
these are Corvus.”

  “How can I know where all the Corvus are when you’re the Master Corvus?” I ask, my voice quivering.

  Ethan’s gaze jerks to mine. “I’m not the Master Corvus. What makes you say that?”

  I want to bite my tongue for letting it slip like that. I grimace and gesture to the bathroom as I tell him about Fate’s visit.

  Ethan’s face grows stony, then he points to the map. “There’s your proof. I couldn’t have mapped all those, Nara, because I don’t know them. I sense them while staring at them, but that’s what Corvus do, they sense other Corvus. I don’t know what new games Fate is playing, but don’t buy into his bullshit.”

  As he runs a hand through his hair, tension reflecting in his gaze while he studies the map, I say, “Why do you want to destroy this map?”

  Ethan reaches over and smooths his hand down my damp hair. “I’m sorry if I sounded harsh. I just don’t like Fate screwing with our heads.” Nodding to the map, he says, “This information is too dangerous. Can you imagine what demons could do if they got their hands on it?”

  Understanding dawns and I dip my head in agreement. While Ethan begins to fold the map, I run downstairs.

  Grabbing a metal bucket from the garage, I head back into the kitchen. Just as I pull open the kitchen drawer to retrieve the matches, I see someone standing in the garage door I’d left ajar.

  Before I can scream, the blond man holds a finger up to his lips.

  There’s no point asking how he got in my garage. He’ll probably disappear in an instant anyway, so I ask the most important questions. “Who are you? Why are we so important to you?” My heart thunders.

  He shakes his head. “You can’t destroy the map yet.”

  I scowl. “I refuse to listen to anything you have to say unless you answer my questions.”

  When a superior look crosses his face, as if he knows what’s best, I stare him down.

  “Let’s just say I have a vested interest in your success.”