“He’s all over the news,” his mom said. “Apparently he’s being revered as some sort of hero.”
“It was like that when we left, too. He set it up to look like he fixed everything.”
“Other than that, we haven’t seen him.”
Dakota looked down at Ana as she slept. Her face was relaxed, and she looked peaceful. The magic must’ve drained her. He pulled her closer against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
He could still see the way she had stared down at him, the absolute agony on her face when she’d thought he was going to die. The way she’d looked as magic snapped in the air around them. He’d felt it too—the strange bond they’d shared in that moment.
The threading of power that surged through him had been the most intense thing he’d ever experienced.
He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep to the steady sound of Ana’s breathing.
51
Seattle
Dakota
“Mom, I’m fine,” Dakota assured her as she tucked yet another pillow behind him on his couch. She’d managed to break him free of the hospital with the promise to be on bed rest. She refused to let Ana take them back to Terrenia until he’d had more time to heal, just in case something went wrong.
“Can I please have some coffee?” he begged, folding his hands together in a plea.
She fought back a grin and he knew he’d won. “Fine, but only one cup and then you sleep. How’s your pain level?”
“Can’t feel a thing.” He smiled and pinched his arm for good measure.
“Good.” She turned and headed to grab his coffee.
“Hey, Mom?” He craned his neck around to look at her.
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dakota. Now sit still.”
“Hey, Tony, can you hand me the remote?” When Tony just stared at him, he added, “The thin black rectangle with the round symbols on it.”
“Oh.” Tony handed it to him and Dakota clicked the power button. A commercial about toilet paper came on and Tony was immediately sucked in to the images of a cartoon bear family in the forest.
“It’s called a cartoon.” Ana smiled and stepped from his bedroom, wearing a pair of his sweats and a t-shirt. How she managed to look mouth-watering wearing his gym clothes he had no damn clue, but she did, and unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
She finished towel drying her hair and walked into the kitchen to help his mom with the coffee.
“So how long are we stuck here?” he asked.
“Just until we make sure you aren’t going to come down with any kind of secondary infection,” Tony answered, his eyes still glued to the television screen.
“Tony and I are going to head back to Terrenia in the morning, just to check in. We’ll be back as quickly as possible. I just want to make sure everything is fine and let them know you lived.” Ana handed him a cup of coffee and sat on the chair next to the couch.
She looked so perfect sitting in his space, so incredibly beautiful, that it tied his stomach in knots. He blamed the pain meds.
“Probably a good idea.” He took a drink of the coffee and groaned. “You have to make sure you take some of this back for your grandmother.”
“I will.” Ana tipped her mug and took a drink.
“It feels like we’ve been gone forever,” Dakota commented. “Damn good thing my bills were on auto-pay, otherwise we wouldn’t have had anywhere to come back to.”
His mom glared at him. She’d told him auto-pay was lazy and he should handle things ‘like a grown ass man’, as she so eloquently put it.
“You better watch your tone, or I’ll withhold the coffee,” she retorted.
“Just saying, Mom, how many late bills do you have stored up?”
When she didn’t answer, Dakota turned to her. “You did it too, didn’t you?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I looked into it, yes.”
“Ah-ha!” He winced. “Ouch.”
“You had better sit still,” his mom scolded, and Ana snorted.
“I’m having childhood flash backs over here.”
“How did they get inside of it?” Tony asked in awe as another commercial came on.
“They aren’t inside of it.” Dakota laughed. “It’s happening somewhere else and then gets broadcast to the television.”
“Broadcast?”
“The images are sent through cables, and they appear on the TV.”
“This makes no sense to me,” Tony said as he stared at the screen.
“I’m not explaining it very well either. I am honestly not even sure how exactly it works.”
When Vincent’s face filled the screen, Tony jumped from the chair, grabbing his sword from the table beside him.
“Wait!” Dakota yelled.
“He is here!”
“No, it’s a broadcast, remember? Don’t skewer my TV, Tony.”
Vincent’s voice came through the speakers, and at the sound of it, Dakota’s stomach churned.
“I’m so happy to have been working side by side with Mayor Roberts in an effort to curb the recent violence caused by the horrific Brutes. Rest assured, we are working diligently to make sure you are safe.”
“Lying asshat,” Dakota’s mom said. “I can’t believe everyone is buying this crap.”
“Fear is a great motivator,” Dakota muttered.
“But why? Why not destroy this world as he’s done Terrenia? I haven’t seen any evidence of death in this world—at least not like back home. We have plants and animals dying every day because of him, so why not here?” Tony asked.
“Maybe he likes this world,” Ana responded angrily. “Maybe he has bigger plans for it.”
“We need to stop playing defense and find his ass.” Dakota said.
“Agreed.” Ana answered. Mood killed, they sat and watched commercials and sitcoms until the day turned into night.
52
Anastasia
Anastasia rolled over and checked the readout on Dakota’s clock. Four fifteen am, great. She and Tony were traveling back to Terrenia today, and the last thing she needed was to be short on sleep.
How was it she slept better on a handmade mattress than Dakota’s plush pillow-top? Probably all the damn noises. As if on que, someone honked a horn in the street below. Dakota folded an arm behind his head and she stared down at him.
She reached out and gently stroked a finger over the scar next to his left eye, one he’d gotten climbing over to her window when they were twelve. He’d slipped and smacked his head on the windowsill and Anastasia had panicked. Both for her best friend, and for whatever Mitch’s retaliation was going to be.
To her surprise, though, Monica had bandaged him up and sent him on his way and, to her knowledge, had never mentioned the incident to Mitch. It had been the first—and last—shred of hope that both the people she thought were her parents didn’t hate her.
Anastasia placed her feet on Dakota’s soft carpet and stood. No sense in living in the past. What’s done is done.
She made her way to the bathroom for a shower—her third one since they’d been back. Hot showers were the one thing she missed that she couldn’t get back home.
Forty-five minutes and all the hot water later, Anastasia walked back into the bedroom. She turned to head out to the living room and realized she and Dakota weren’t alone.
Not having a weapon, Anastasia placed herself in between Dakota’s bed and Vincent.
He threw his hands up. “Easy, I come in peace.”
His eyes were bluer than she’d ever seen them, the silver barely threading around the edges of his iris’s. Vincent’s face was clean-shaven, revealing an angled nose and sharp jaw, and he wore a suit with a tie. He looked so out of place in this world, even though he was trying to blend in. The resemblance to Gregory was a stab to her heart.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she growled.
“Co
me on, Anastasia, if I wanted him dead, I could have killed him while you were in the shower.”
Anastasia rolled her eyes. “What do you want, Vincent?”
“A truce.”
“Excuse me?”
“My plans are going really well for me, and I’ve realized that I don’t actually need your help.” He laughed. “Wish I would have realized it sooner, as it would have saved me a ton of trouble, and I could have just killed you to start.” At her glare, he waved his hand in the air. “But that’s beside the point and in the past, so let’s move on. What I want now is a truce: I’ll go my way, you go yours, and neither one bothers the other.”
“A truce.”
“Yes.”
“How can we have a truce when you want to destroy my world?”
“Oh, I’m leaving this one alone. I am finding that I quite like it here. Magic is not well known, so I am both feared and revered here. I love it.” He brushed his hands over his suit.
“You’re leaving this one alone, but what are you doing to Terrenia?”
“That’s part of the truce; you leave Terrenia alone.”
“I leave it alone?”
“Yes, you stay here, in Seattle. I will make sure you never want for anything, dear niece. You will have money, food, Dakota, and he and Elizabeth can both have their jobs back.” He shrugged. “Hey, even Tony can do whatever he wants. You can all live out your lives in peace, together, rather than continuing with this silly feud we have going on. I can even bring your grandmother here—as long she follows the rules, as well, of course.”
Anastasia’s jaw dropped. “Feud? You think we are in a feud? We are at war, Vincent. You have murdered hundreds of people I care about, and you want me just to walk away? To leave my people at your mercy?”
“Look, I don’t even have any interest in Terrenia anymore, but old debts have to be paid. I personally will not harm a single Terrenian ever again. I promise.” He held his hands up in surrender.
“I don’t believe you even for a second,” she spat.
“If you don’t believe that, then believe this.” He stepped closer to her. “If you continue with this ‘war’, as you call it, you will lose everything. He almost died.” He paused, motioning toward Dakota. “Are you prepared for that almost to become fact? Are you so set in your vengeance that you would allow him to suffer? You’d allow Elizabeth to lose her son?” He shook his head, clicking his tongue in disproval.
“I won’t walk away from my people.”
“I told you I wouldn’t harm them. I am happy in this world. I have more power than I ever dreamed of. I have women in my bed every night. I am no longer the man I was before, and I no longer need you. Which means I won’t hesitate to strike you down next time we meet if war is what you choose. I am only giving you this as a gift to my brother. I owe you nothing and consider you nothing more than a thorn in my side. Make your choice, Anastasia, before I lose my patience.” He faded away, and Anastasia turned to Dakota.
He was awake and staring at her. “Please tell me I’m not hallucinating.”
“You’re not.” She climbed into bed next to him.
“So Vincent was really here?”
“Yup.”
“And offered you a truce?”
“Yup.”
“Well, that’s interesting.”
“Yup.”
“We can’t accept it,” Dakota said firmly.
“I know, but he doesn’t have to.” She smiled widely. Maybe they could use this to their advantage, make Vincent think they had a truce when in reality they were just waiting for the right opportunity.
“So he offered you a truce in return for a normal life?” Tony paced Dakota’s living room.
“That sums it up.”
“And he said he has no plans for Terrenia?” Grey eyes locked onto hers and she shook her head.
“Not exactly. He said old debts had to be paid, but that he personally wouldn’t harm anyone in that world.”
“Those are some twisted words if I’ve ever heard them,” Elizabeth commented.
“What do you think he has planned?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not going to be good.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Tony asked.
“Nothing has changed. We need to go back to Terrenia and see that everyone is all right. Then we come back here and bring Dakota and Elizabeth home.”
“Maybe we should all go back now,” Dakota said. “Just in case.”
“And if you come down with a secondary infection?”
“It’s not like Ana can’t bring us back, Mom.”
“What if she can’t? What if something happens? I’ve lost everyone, Dakota. I refuse to lose my last son too.”
Anastasia opened her mouth but stopped. Last son? What the hell did that mean?
“Last son? Mom, I’m your only son,” Dakota joked. “Unless of course you have one I don’t know about?”
She glared at him. “You know what I mean.”
“With Vincent popping in here, I don’t know that leaving you two unprotected is our best option.” Tony folded his arms over his chest.
“As much as I hate to say it, I agree,” Dakota said. “I think the safest option here is for us all to go back. Today.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I see I’m outnumbered. I’ll go pack all my medical supplies.”
53
Anastasia
Twenty minutes later, they stood in Dakota’s living room.
“We ready?” Anastasia asked. She and Tony had changed into the clothes they’d come to Seattle in—minus the blood, thanks to Elizabeth. Elizabeth had chosen a sweatshirt and dark jeans, and Dakota wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a navy colored t-shirt that made his eyes appear impossibly blue.
He stood from the stool he’d been sitting on and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Anastasia closed her eyes and called her magic. The room swirled around them until the portal appeared. Gripping hands, they stepped through, returning quickly to the medical cottage.
The copper tang of blood filled her nose and Anastasia scanned the room. Bloody rags and strips of clothing littered the floor and counters.
“What happened here?” Elizabeth whispered.
Tony ripped the front door open and Elizabeth screamed. Bodies littered the ground outside the cottage. The entire center of the village was covered in death. Eyes frozen open, the lifeless villagers stared at Anastasia as she stumbled down the steps and into the carnage.
“No, no, no.” She knelt beside Selena and Sarah. Blood splattered the front of their pale dresses, and Selena still gripped Sarah’s hand in hers.
“No!” Tony roared, but Anastasia barely heard him. Why had they waited? They should have come back immediately!
“Check for survivors.” Dakota touched her shoulder. “We need to see if anyone made it, Ana.”
She numbly stood, her body carrying on when her mind and heart were shattered.
Someone coughed nearby and Anastasia stepped carefully through the bodies. She crumpled to the ground beside Andrew, who gasped for air.
“Over here!” she yelled to Tony and Dakota.
Andrew’s shirt was splattered with blood, although she couldn’t see where he was injured. His pregnant wife lay lifeless beside him, and Anastasia lifted his head so it was in her lap.
“What happened? Who did this?” Tony asked, kneeling beside them. “Shit, Andrew,” he said when he saw the woman lying next to him.
Andrew tried to say something, but he coughed, and blood splattered the front of Anastasia’s shirt. “She. Did.” He pointed to Anastasia, and it was as if someone drove a dagger into her heart.
“I didn’t do this, I never would have hurt any of you! Please tell me what happened.” Hot tears streamed down her face.
“You caused this,” he said again. “You should have taken the truce.” He coughed, and blood splattered her again.
“Vincent.” She growled his name, a dangerous threat t
hat she fully intended to follow through on.
Anastasia placed Andrew’s head gingerly on the ground and got to her feet. Tony and Dakota stood as well and she spun in a circle, searching.
“Where are you, Vincent? You fucking coward! I know you’re here somewhere.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t sense me before.” He appeared before them, and the bodies faded away until they stood in darkness. “Just shows how out of touch you are with your magic. It’s embarrassing to be related to you.”
Tony made a move toward him and Vincent held up his hand. “If you don’t want to die, I suggest you stop right there.”
“How dare you,” Anastasia growled. She felt the magic pooling in her blood and wondered just what it would take to strike him down where he stood.
“How dare I? I offered you a truce. A way to survive and have at least the chance of a normal life with Dakota, and what do you do? You ignore me!”
“You couldn’t have honestly thought I would take that deal.” Sparks snapped at her fingertips. “You and I both know you weren’t going to keep Terrenia safe.”
“I never said I would protect them, only that I wouldn’t harm them personally. The Trepidos are going to take this world whether I allow them to or not; it’s only a matter of whether I went down with all these poor bastards or not. And let’s face it, I’ve never been particularly fond of this place.”
“So it’s the Trepidos you owe a debt to.”
“Technically, no, that would be their creator, but it was a fairly even trade.”
“Thousands of innocent lives for what? Power?”
Vincent’s eyes flashed blue for a moment. “Anastasia, you need to go,” he warned, but before she could say anything, his eyes were back to silver. “I like power.”
“You disgust me,” she spat.
“The feeling is quite mutual. You have too much of your mother in you. It’s going to cost you your life.”
“Your arrogance is going to cost you yours.”
Fighter Page 19
