Fate Forsaken

by Chauntelle Baughman

  Preshea and Tim hovered near the living room window, mugs in hand, watching as Eldon tried to school her in magick manipulation. Unsuccessfully.

  “I told you,” Rho said. “It just happened. I didn’t do anything.” Frustration levels at max capacity, she ground her teeth. Despite trying over and over again, she hadn’t lit so much as a spark of magick.

  “Well, you must have done something.” Eldon held up his hand again. As far as magick movers went, he was one of the most talented movers on the planet. His ability to manipulate the ley lines was exactly what had led her to him in the first place. He’d sold her the spells she needed to guard the Kamen she’d been sworn to protect—the one that had disappeared from inside her own coven. They still hadn’t discovered who’d managed to pull off the spell to steal it.

  Rho’s eyes narrowed. The wind whipped against trees, and she tucked an escaped strand of blond hair behind her ear. “So we’re going to stand here all night until I achieve the impossible.”

  “Not impossible. Improbable.”

  She snorted. “Isn’t that the story of my life.”

  Her life had been nothing short of a magick-infused Lifetime television drama, starting when her parents were killed. She’d ended up in the foster system at the age of fourteen and turned vampire after being assaulted and left for dead at the ripe old age of twenty-four. And now, as if she weren’t weird enough, she had some new ability to manipulate magick. Sporadically.

  Rho stomped her foot and rubbed her palms against her jeans then snorted a laugh. Man, she sucked at failing. Life was made up of winners and losers, and she did not accept placement in the latter category. Nothing frustrated her more than being unable to accomplish a goal. Especially such an important one.

  “Hey.” Eldon wrapped his massive arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. He was so tall he fit her perfectly and so warm he melted her defenses. “At least you’re a vampire. I’m freezing my cojones off over here and you don’t hear me complaining about it.” His voice was deep and smooth, the tenor enough to set her at ease and light her insides on fire at the same time.

  She laughed as she buried her head in his broad chest and settled her arms around his waist. “That’s only because you get to be in charge.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  Squeezing him closer, she breathed in his familiar scent of fresh soap and dark spices. She loved being with him, just like this. Despite every demon in her closet, and in the face of those in their world who would condemn their interracial relationship, he was still here—not leading in front of her or trailing behind, but walking every moment right by her side. And he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. She’d know. She’d been inside his head and could hear his thoughts.

  They stood there for a moment before he pulled away and lifted his hand.

  Damn. She’d thought he’d been proposing a reprieve when really he’d only been offering a distraction. And a tiny bit of warmth.

  Back to business.

  “Ugh, fine. You win.” She lifted her hand, positioning it only an inch from his.

  Eldon gave her a tiny smile. “Come on. You’re not a quitter. You can do this.”

  Damn right she wasn’t a quitter. She’d stand out here in the freezing cold wind all night if that was what it took. Didn’t hurt to have such a motivated—and sexy—coach, either. Eldon’s rugged good looks and unrelenting support were the only things that made this process bearable.

  Squinting against the gusts of winter air, she fixed her gaze on their nearly joined hands and tried to focus her thoughts.

  The problem was, she wasn’t sure what she was focusing on. The night she’d called on the ley line fire, she hadn’t been in her right mind. Eldon had been struck by death magick, and she’d just…snapped. Something had happened inside of her, more of a reaction than a determined effort.

  “Think about what you felt that night,” Eldon said, his voice low. “Trace the magick back to that moment.”

  That moment had scared the shit out of her. She’d denied her tie to Eldon from the very beginning, chalking their telepathic connection up to nothing more than some crossed mental wires. Now she knew it to be so much more. They’d been soul struck.

  It shouldn’t have been possible, really, considering only vampires could be soul struck and Eldon was far from undead. Then again, Rho shouldn’t have been able to spit green fire from her fingertips, either, so who knew what defined normal anymore.

  Rho stifled a shudder. “I don’t want to remember.”

  “You have to.”

  Her brows furrowed as she tried to tap into her memories. The ball of green fire had been laced with black fog, the telltale sign of death magick. It had torn across the sky and into Eldon’s chest before she could stop it. All for some relics she and her teammates had been commissioned to locate and return to the Council.

  That whole night had been her fault.

  If she’d never broken Eldon’s protection circle, he wouldn’t have gotten hit with a death mark—the one she now bore on the inside of her right forearm. When he’d struggled under the weight of that poisonous spell, she’d convinced Jess, his little sister, to perform the translocation and transfer the mark to her instead. So far, the mark hadn’t hurt her.

  But according to Jess, the pin in the grenade had been pulled, and it was only a matter of time before the mark would come to claim her life. Eldon and his sisters had been hunting for a way to remove it ever since she’d absorbed it a week ago, but they hadn’t found a thing.

  She glared at her hand, willing the fire into her palm. Still nothing. Could the death magick interfere with her ability to call on her gift? She knew so little about her aptitude, there was no way to tell.

  Minutes passed before he asked, “What are you thinking about?”

  “That night.”

  “Are you sure?” Eldon’s eyes narrowed as he tilted his head.

  “Of course I’m sure.” Rho shot him a nasty look. “Would you like to relive the night I almost died? Because this sucks.”

  When the fae had attacked the first time, Rho had taken a silver dagger to the chest. Ordinarily, her vampire healing abilities should have made recovery a snap—but the silver had nearly done her in. Boiling her blood on contact, she’d almost died in his arms. Jess had saved her.

  His warm hand settled on her cheek. “I know it’s hard. I’m just trying to help.” He brushed his thumb along her bottom lip, and she stifled a shudder. Damn him, he knew how much she liked it when he did that. This was playing dirty.

  “I know you are.” She heaved a sigh and lowered her hand. “Maybe I’m tired.” Her body was numb from the cold, her mind exhausted from trying to channel energy without really knowing how.

  “One more try.” He smiled. “Just one more and we’ll go inside.”

  Of all the things Eldon was, defeatist was not on the list. She knew he only wanted to help her harness her power, whatever that might be, and it was for her own good. He might not know about the Council’s plans for her, but they both knew her ability to control her magick could benefit the team. She would not be powerless, incapable of handling the fire, if her teammates needed her. She would not let her fate with the Council be sealed without putting up a fight.

  No, giving up wasn’t an option.

  Holding on to that thought, she squinted against the harsh winter wind and stared at their almost-joined hands. She allowed her fingertips to touch his but kept their palms apart. She shook her head. This was insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. What had Rhyannon done differently?

  A thought struck her. This wasn’t how it had been when she’d stolen Rhyannon’s energy. She hadn’t been working with someone, waiting for the magick to happen. Rhyannon had thrown the energy, launching it like a weapon and pushing it into her opponent. Maybe that was the key.

  “Again.” She glanced up at him, reminded again of his impressive height.
“This time let’s try something different, though.”

  “Oh?”

  “Try to push the fire into me.”

  He arched a dark brow then nodded, his eyes narrowing with intense focus. Rho fixated her thoughts on their hands, channeling every ounce of the passion she had for this life into finding the blue light. It was her key to survival. This was the only way out.

  Moments passed.

  She closed her eyes, shutting out the world. Everything fell aside but herself, Eldon, and the blue fire he held in his hands. Her mind calmed until she could sense nothing but him and the determination seizing her chest. Slowly, she opened her eyes to stare at their touching hands.

  A blue spark ignited between their palms, a tiny stream of blue ley line fire traveling from his hand into hers.

  “Look,” he whispered, excitement in his voice. “You’re doing it.”

  She was. The magick trickled from him in a steady river of tiny blue flames toward her tingling palm. She smiled, absorbing the energy he gave her. “We’re doing it.”

  Savoring the sensation, she took a mental snapshot of the moment. The weight of her emotions hung like a noose around her heart, the intensity of her feelings for Eldon combining with her desire to live.

  “You feel how I’m pushing the energy into you?” Eldon asked. “That must be the key.”

  She nodded. The energy he handed her brushed gently against her hand, a light weight against her open palm. The pressure was as steady as the glow, creating a clear imprint in her consciousness.

  A blue light flashed across the night sky. Their connection faltered, flickering until nothing but darkness existed between their hands.

  Rho cursed and stared at her hand.

  “I think I’ve got it!” Nick shouted from across the lawn.

  His familiar voice would ordinarily be welcome, but right now, Rho could strangle him. That flash of light meant he’d jumped the ley lines, using them as a lightning-fast means of transportation to the safe house.

  “This had better be important,” Eldon muttered.

  “Seriously, Nick?” Rho said sharply. “We were on the verge of a breakthrough.”

  Rho and Eldon pivoted around to face Nick in unison. A culmination of hours of work and effort had finally achieved that connection, and now it was ruined. What if she couldn’t get it back?

  Nick raised his hands and bowed his head slightly, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. His blond hair had grown too long and he needed a haircut, but somehow the easygoing style matched his personality. “I promise, I wouldn’t disturb your magick fun sessions if I didn’t have a good reason.”

  Eldon arched a dark brow. “Talk.”

  “I think I’ve found a way to get rid of your mark.” Nick extended a leather-bound book to Eldon. “Page two hundred seventeen.”

  A way to remove the death mark? Could it even be possible? Rho suppressed her enthusiasm. The very last thing she could afford was to get her hopes up, only to have them crash to the ground again.

  Eldon thumbed through the pages then cracked the book open gently. He ran a hand over the script and stopped halfway down, pointing to the center of the page.

  He frowned and glanced up at Nick. “You know there’s only one way to pull this off.”

  “And only one person I can think of who can do it.” Nick’s lips curled into a devious grin.

  “No.” Eldon snapped the book closed. “I won’t even ask.”

  Rho frowned as she glanced from one man to the other. “Won’t ask what? What are you talking about?”

  Nick snatched the book from Eldon’s hand. “There may be a way to undo the spell. Reverse it.”

  “Is that possible?” Rho asked.

  Eldon shook his head. “No, it’s not.”

  “Yes, it is,” Nick snapped back.

  “Okay, well, only one of you is right. So which one is it?” Rho was already irritated from losing the magick she’d only barely captured tonight. Her tolerance for their bickering was zero.

  Nick folded his arms across his chest. “Eldon and I have an old friend in Paris who may be strong enough to pull this off.”

  “I won’t involve her.” Eldon’s brows knotted as his lips thinned into two slashes.

  “Won’t involve who in what?” Rho tilted her head up to fix her stare on Eldon, his six-foot-four frame towering over her by a foot. “I’m not following.” If they were talking about a trip to Paris, the timing couldn’t be more impeccable.

  Nick answered the question. “Trinador Laurent is a friend of ours and an emulator. Eldon doesn’t want to involve her because they aren’t exactly on good terms, but she may be our only chance at making this work.”

  “Find another way,” Eldon said.

  Rho turned her attention to Nick. “What’s an emulator?”

  “An emulator can read spells. They can actually trace them down to their individual parts, which is a handy trick if you need to reverse one,” Nick said.

  Rho tapped a finger on her chin and arched a brow. “Like a death mark.”

  Eldon pointed a finger at the book in Nick’s hands. “That book says nothing about reversing a death mark.”

  “But it does say they can reverse spells.” Nick tapped his finger on the book’s cover. “This could work.”

  Eldon’s scowl deepened until Rho started to wonder if they shouldn’t ease off the subject a little. It wasn’t like him to get angry.

  “You don’t even want to try? For her?” Nick’s brows rose as he pointed a thumb in Rho’s direction.

  Eldon ground his teeth and stared down at her. She met his eyes, the emotion in his stare telling her he was torn between what he wanted to do and what she needed from him. While she might be curious about what this Trinador chick could do, if he was this adamantly opposed to going to see her, Rho wouldn’t ask him to do it.

  She stepped toward Eldon. His arms were tight across his chest and she pulled them down, wrapping her fingers in his. “No one is making you do anything.”

  He searched her eyes for a moment before his shoulders relaxed, his defenses melting in her hands. He let out a long sigh. “It’s fine. We’ll talk to the team about it tonight. If we all decide to go, I’ll make the arrangements myself.”

  “Good. I’m glad you see things my way.” Nick smiled in triumph and pivoted around to head toward the house. “I hope that sister of yours has made some grub. I’m starving.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Rho grinned as she followed Nick and Eldon through the back door of the house and into the kitchen. There was a chance, however small, they were going to take a trip to Paris. Which not only opened the door on the possibility of removing her death mark, but also meant they could get the hell out of town.

  Exactly as Frederick had told her to do.

  The warmth of the house covered her skin, removing the chill she’d felt from standing outside for hours. She shrugged off her coat and hung it on the rack by the door before heading directly to the coffee pot. The scent riding the air was divine, a combination of Texas chili and coffee. Even if she couldn’t enjoy solid foods anymore, at least she hadn’t lost her ability to drink coffee. That would have been tragic.

  She poured a cup before turning to face her teammates as she leaned against the countertop. Preshea and Tim had moved to the kitchen table, sitting side by side. Preshea’s cropped hair had been smoothed at the front and spiked near the back, the contrasting black and white streaks even more dramatic under the kitchen lights. She whispered to Tim and he laughed, his bright smile vivid against his tan skin and his hazel eyes crinkling a bit in the corners. Rho eyed Eldon as he took his seat at the head of the table.

  “I see you found your coffee.” Adelle, the eldest of Eldon’s two baby sisters, stood by the stove. Her shoulder-length red hair swayed as she leaned forward and stirred a pot of homemade chili. She and Jess were fantastic hosts, and considering this wasn’t even their primary home, they’d done a hell of a job accommodating the team
.

  “Sure did.” Rho nodded and lifted her mug. “Thanks for putting on a pot for me.”

  Adelle glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. “Figured you’d be freezing, considering how long my brother’s had you out there practicing. Did you figure it out yet?”

  “Almost. We got a spark to flare up for a second before Nick barged in.”

  “Well, that’s something.” Adelle turned her attention back to the stove and set the ladle inside the pot before pulling on some oven mitts.

  “You need help?” Rho asked.

  “Nah, I got this.”

  Jess rushed ahead of Adelle to set a towel down on the table, along with a pile of clean silverware.

  “Dinner’s ready!” Adelle called as she headed for the table with careful steps.

  Rho pushed away from the countertop and strode over to the new kitchen table. The entire set had been constructed of exotic mango wood and could easily seat eight. Over the past few weeks, Eldon had purchased several new pieces of furniture to accommodate the large number of houseguests in their secondary home, and had storm shutters installed on every window to keep the daylight out.

  When Rho had protested him spending money on her behalf, he’d justified the changes by saying they were for the safety and comfort of the team, not just her. She didn’t believe him, of course, but he had plenty of cash and she wasn’t going to tell him how to spend it.

  “Hey, watch it,” Rho snapped as Nick bumped into her, nearly splashing her coffee all over the brand-new table—and Eldon’s lap.

  Eldon shook his head, his shaggy brown hair falling around his face. His eyes met hers and she smiled. He sat at the head of the table, Rho in her normal spot to his right. Tim and Preshea sat to the right of her. Vectra took the spot next to Preshea, her big sister.

  “Sorry,” Nick said as he took the seat beside Eldon.

  Everyone was salivating by the time Adelle lifted the ladle from the pot. “Who’s hungry?”