Her expression had softened, so I took my chance. “I met my father, your uncle.”
“My uncle?” Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Theodore?”
I shook my head. “No. Not that one. Monty.”
“That’s impossible. Monty has been dead for—” She stopped mid-sentence. “The realm of the dead. You went to the realm of the dead.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I did. I wouldn’t recommend it as a place to visit, but I met him, and he helped me.”
“I knew it.” Charlotte’s eyes gleamed. “I knew you were special in other ways. How is he? I—I can’t believe this.”
“He was fine. Or as fine as you can be when you’re dead. He told me to remind you of your first kiss with Liam and what you went through afterward. He said you would understand.”
“Why would?” She stopped. “Oh…” she trailed off, and I knew she was lost in thought. They had been simple words, but they had transported her mind to another time.
Rushing her might have been a bad idea, but I had no other choice. “Will you do it?”
“Break your bond? So that you can live without him?” She searched my face.
No. It was so I could die without him, but could I tell her that? “You can destroy the darkness without destroying James. He’s your best friend. You need to save him.”
“I would do anything for James, but even he knows the darkness must be stopped.” A sadness crossed her face before it disappeared suddenly. She tensed.
I looked over my shoulder. James was walking toward us, his eyes completely black, and his expression menacing. “You have to break the bond so he is no longer connected to me as his vessel.”
“No.” Charlotte shook her head. “I cannot go against the Source.”
“But the Source sent me to Monty, who sent me to the Elders. It had to have been for a reason.” I was practically begging her to take away a bond that meant so much to me. “And it will stop the poison.”
I expected James to reach us, but he didn’t. He was frozen in place. I was confused, until I noticed a glimmer of gold. I looked back to where I had last seen Arabella. She was grinning.
“Are you sure you want me to do this?” Charlotte gestured to the flower.
“I know you wanted this to help with your child. And there might still be a way…” I handed over the flower.
She closed her eyes and ran her fingers over it. “You’re right. It doesn’t give a longer life unless that is the will of the Source. It only does what the Source demands.”
“And does the Source want the bond broken?” It was strange talking about a deity, or whatever it was, that I didn’t understand.
“The Source wants darkness destroyed.”
Arabella strode over, back in her high heels that contrasted with the battlefield. What was with these people and strange wardrobe choices? I had no options, yet I was the most appropriately dressed of the women.
Charlotte raised her chin. “Hello, Elder.”
“Greetings, Essence.” Arabella met Charlotte’s eyes.
“Was it you who gave the flower to Ainsley?”
“Yes. And she has promised payment in return.”
“What sort of payment?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “Ainsley is my kin. I will protect her.”
“That is between Ainsley and me. Your kinship will not override the promise.”
Charlotte shook her head. “I will participate in no rite unless I understand the stakes.”
“The stakes are the spread of darkness. I could care less. The darkness will not hurt us if we lock ourselves in the palace. If we wait a thousand years it will all be over.”
“If the darkness wins, no one will survive. Eventually it will come for you.” Charlotte pointed at Arabella.
“I do not have time to waste. Either your break the bond and defeat the darkness, or we are through.” Arabella’s eyes clouded.
“What debt does she owe?” Charlotte demanded. “What did she promise you?”
“You already know, Essence.” Arabella gave a slight smile. “There is no use pretending.”
“The power from the bond…” Charlotte started. “What will you do with it?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.”
“I have to worry about everything. It’s my job.” Charlotte’s hand balled into a fist around the dark stem of the flower.
“Not this.” Arabella shook her head. “Although your hesitation right now may be the end. I can only hold James back so long. He accepted the darkness, Charlotte, and this is your only chance.”
But she had promised to save him. Promised. “But you said he would be—”
“Close your mouth, Ainsley. All will be okay.” Arabella sent me a warning glance.
“James must live!” I could hardly contain my anger.
Charlotte looked between us.
“Reach out for the Source, Charlotte. It will lead you.” Arabella stepped closer to us.
Charlotte closed her eyes, still gripping the flower.
My body warmed, my temperature rising from normal, to warm, then hot. Then the heat turned to pain. I cried out as the pain tightened around me, like an enclosing ring or a cinched corset. I locked eyes with James, and by the expression on his face he was feeling exactly the same. The tightening worsened until I could barely breathe. I gasped out, desperate for air, but I came up with nothing.
And then it stopped. James was no longer frozen, and he started to run toward me. His eyes were back to normal.
I opened my arms, longing to hold him. But this was different. It wasn’t a need, it was a want. It had worked. The bond was broken.
But if that part had worked… I knew what was coming next. I had to die. That was the only way Gregor would truly be destroyed, and without me the darkness inside James would die out completely.
Elron strode toward us, steps behind James who was so close to reaching me. But before he could Arabella raised her hands and pointed right at me. I heard James scream out my name, and then everything went black.
23
Ainsley
I waited impatiently as a couple stared at the flavor listing above my head. They’d been in the frozen yogurt shop for twenty minutes already. We only offered a dozen flavors. The decision couldn’t have been that hard to make. “We close at nine.” I used the most polite voice possible, but as it was 8:56 I figured they needed a reminder.
I was too exhausted to deal with these people. I remembered sleeping decently the night before, but clearly I hadn’t. No amount of coffee could wake me up, and at the same time I was trying to make sense of the remnants of a crazy dream. The details were all fuzzy, and with every passing second, it was harder and harder to remember. I needed this couple to leave so I could concentrate before it completely disappeared. Normally I didn’t care about analyzing my dreams, but this was different. This dream felt important, as if it held the keys to understanding my life. And if anyone needed that sort of guidance it was me. I was losing it. I pretty much had no life, no discernible career path, and for some inexplicable reason I was thinking about getting a pet bird. A bird? There had been one in my dream. Hadn’t there been? The harder I tried to remember, the hazier the dream became until I knew it was time to give up. Hopefully I’d have the dream again.
“That means you don’t let new customers in after nine. We’re already here. You can’t kick us out.” The guy wrapped his arm around his date’s waist. “Don’t worry, baby, there’s no rush.”
I bit my tongue. Who did this clown think he was? If I wasn’t certain the guy would report me and get me fired, I would have given him a piece of my mind. Instead I started wiping up a sticky spot on the counter I’d overlooked earlier. Now who was that guy from my dream? The one with the piercing eyes? I struggled to remember. I needed someone like that in my life. I needed that kind of guy and a pet bird. Again with the bird. Maybe I just needed more sleep.
“Can I try the vanilla again? I’m not sure I liked it.” The girl pointed
at the hard yogurt in the case in front of her.
Seriously? Who tried vanilla twice? I mean everyone in the world knew what that flavor tasted like. I gritted my teeth. “Sure.” I picked up one of the small pink spoons and scooped a tiny amount. I handed it to her.
She tasted it. “I’m still not sure.”
I glanced at the neon colored clock by the door. It was two minutes after nine now. “I’m sorry, but I really have to close.”
“No you don’t. You’re going to let my girlfriend take her time and pick a flavor.” The guy puffed out his chest like that was supposed to intimidate me or something.
I sighed before glancing at the clock again. I was going to be late meeting my friends for drinks. Or really my friend Grace and her other friends. Saying it in the plural made it sound better.
“Is the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor good?” The girl batted her long eyelashes. I’d have bet a lot they were fake—and not the good fake kind.
“If you like cookie dough, yes.” It was my favorite flavor, but I wasn’t going to offer that kind of personal information.
She nodded as though I’d just shared some life altering secret. “Can I try that one too?”
I sighed again. “Sure.” I took out another pink spoon.
She tried it. “I changed my mind. I don’t want anything.” The girl turned toward the door.
“I agree. Horrible service here.” The guy followed her and slammed the door behind him.
I silently cursed them while I wiped down the rest of the counter.
The bell over the door rang, and I looked up ready to tell whoever it was to get lost.
“Hi, are you still open?” A man waited in the shadows just inside the doorway. “The sign outside says nine, but I just saw a couple leave.”
“We close at nine, sorry.”
He stepped inside into the light. My stomach summersaulted and my heart rate accelerated. It had been a long time since that had—no scratch that, it had never happened before.
“But if you can order quickly, I will make an exception.” I was already late, and spending an extra few moments with this guy seemed completely worth it. If I had had a type he would have been it—what with his well over six-feet height and dirty blond hair. But it was his eyes that got my attention, and that twisted smile of his.
He walked across the seating area toward the counter. “I have never actually eaten this stuff, so what should I get?” He peered into the glass case in front of me.
“You’ve never eaten frozen yogurt?” I narrowed my eyes. Hadn’t everyone tried frozen yogurt before?
“The couple who told me about this place described it as being pretty much ice cream.”
“A healthier version.” And made right it could taste almost as good, especially when you added on some toppings.
He made a face. “But it still tastes good?”
“I think so.” I scooped some cookie-dough into a dish. “This is my favorite.”
“Thanks.” He accepted the dish and took a spoon. “Do you work here a lot?”
“Excuse me?” I tried not to notice the way he slipped the pink spoon between his lips. They were tempting lips. Yes, I was officially losing it.
He stopped before taking another bite. “If I wanted to see you again when you were not ready to close, when could I come by?”
“Oh.” I smiled despite wanting to act like I didn’t care. “I’m here most nights.”
“Great.” He took a second bite of the frozen yogurt. “This is kind of good.”
“So you’ll be back?” I wanted the answer to be yes even if it made me pathetic. I liked the feelings surging through me. I liked wanting someone.
“Tomorrow night.” He put a handful of gold coins on the counter. “I think that covers it.”
I watched him disappear out the door and couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d met him before somewhere. I examined the coins. They were like nothing I had seen before, and I hoped I didn’t get in trouble for accepting the wrong currency. To be safe I’d put my own money in the register. I pocketed the coins and took a few dollars from the tip cup and put them in the drawer. If nothing else the coins would give me something to research later.
The bell over the door rang again, and I silently cursed myself for not locking it.
I prepared to snap at whoever walked in, but the argument disappeared on my tongue as the same gorgeous guy walked in again.
“Hey, I.” He stopped, then nodded to himself. “Since you are closing and all, maybe we could do something now?”
“Do something?” I tried to stay calm and collected. I couldn’t let him know how appealing the offer was.
“Get a drink, perhaps coffee?”
“Coffee would be nice,” I agreed before thinking. Was I crazy? I didn’t even know this guy, but why not? I couldn’t complain about life passing me by if I didn’t at least try to live it. We’d go to a public place. It wasn’t so crazy. “There’s a place right near here I love.”
“Perfect.” He smiled, and his eyes brightened. “My name is James. And you are?”
“Ainsley.” I smiled, not caring if I seemed over eager. “Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you too. I will have to thank the couple who recommended this place.”
“What couple?” I wondered if it was any of my frequent customers.
“They are not from around here, and you would remember them if you met them.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it didn’t really matter. I dealt with hundreds of customers each week. I finished wiping down the counter before heading into the back. I sent off a quick text to Grace to tell her what I was doing. She’d understand. She was the one who kept telling me to get back out there on the dating scene. I pocketed my phone before grabbing my stuff and returning to the front.
James waited outside as I turned out the lights and locked the door.
“Ready to get that coffee?” James asked.
“Absolutely.” Coffee had never sounded better.
“Were we right about the yogurt?” A beautiful, young, blonde woman walked toward us. Her arm was linked with a man’s. He was a bit older than her, maybe in his late forties.
I blinked a few times. Either I was crazy or the guy had elf ears. Maybe it was cosplay or something.
“Yogurt was good. Staff was better.” James smiled.
“Glad it all worked out.” The woman smiled broadly. “I think we will officially retire from time travel now, huh Elron?”
The man appeared flustered. “Uh, yes. I think so.”
Time travel? Maybe I wasn’t the only crazy one. I smiled politely. “Have a nice evening.”
“You too. May it be the start of something wonderful.” The man with the Elf ears looked into my eyes. “Love is better when it starts out naturally.”
“Um okay.” Love? I was getting coffee with the guy, not marrying him. I stared after them as they disappeared down the street. “That was strange.”
“Very.” James held out his arm. “Ready to get that coffee?”
I accepted his arm, amused by the gesture. “Absolutely. You’ll have to try the biscotti. They make the best kind there.”
“Sounds perfect.”
And it was. The normal kind of perfect you just know will become something amazing.
Afterword
Want more Chronicles? Check out the other series set in the Chronicles world.
The Crescent Chronicles, The Empire Chronicles, The Dire Wolves Chronicles, The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles, The Allure Chronicles, and The Pteron Chronicles.
Please keep reading for a preview of Torn (The Pteron Chronicels #1) a New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy and Corded (The Corded Saga #1) a Dystopian Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy
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Torn
Torn
The Pteron Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Two powerful shifters: one of feathers and one of flame.
Hailey is torn. Everything she thought she knew about her life has been turned on its head, and she no longer knows where she belongs. Losing her job and possibly her best friend makes her desperate—as does the reality that everything she loves might be destroyed.
Wyatt wants one thing more than anything else. Hailey. He has waited centuries to find his mate, and he will let nothing, not even an unimaginable evil, get in his way.
Prologue
Hailey
He lay there completely still aside from his slow and even breathing. I’d never seen him still before. I’d never heard him silent before either, and now he was both.
I treated myself to one last glance at his relaxed face, his eyelids tightly closed and his dark hair tussled from a sleepless night. A thin sheet covered the lower half of his body, but his chiseled chest, complete with an elaborate pattern of tattoos, was on display under the moonlight.
I slipped back into my clothes, trying to swallow down the guilt for what I was about to do. I wasn’t the type to run out on a guy, but he wasn’t just a guy. He was a man who could destroy me—who could rob me of everything I held dear. Yet I also knew he could give me more than anyone else.
What he had to offer wasn’t enough. I turned my back on his sleeping form and reached for my other side—my Pteron side. I released my long black wings and jumped off the mountain side. I glided through the silent, dark night pushing away the clear and urgent warning deep inside my soul. I was making a mistake, but it wasn’t the first time. It also wouldn’t be the last.
1. Hailey
Forged in Light (The Forged Chronicles Book 4) Page 16
