by Amy Marie
I flew for hours, not touching down until I reached my cabin, exhausted both physically and mentally. And I was chilled as soon as I shifted back to my human form.
Shivering, I stepped toward the door, intent on figuring out a way to break into my own cabin since I didn’t have a key with me and stopped. Propped against the door sat a weekender bag, a coat, an LED lantern lighting up the door for me, and a set of keys. My keys.
I spun around to search the area because Fizz had to be here somewhere, but I didn’t see, or sense anything or anyone. He’d come, and once he had finished his task, disappeared into the night. My bag and my coat had been in the back of the car, so he had to have left right after I ran away, realizing I’d come here, but I almost hadn’t.
Without giving it much more thought, I opened the door and pushed everything inside. My sanctuary. No one would be able to find me here. Not by phone, email, or anything else. I was officially off the grid.
The first thing I needed to do was take a shower. Between the lake and flying, I felt grimy. The hot water would help to rejuvenate me, and maybe, it would wash away my confusion, hurt…maybe, I could forget about Lorde.
Pat knew.
Did Lorde?
Lorde
“Fizz!” I shouted into the phone when the ringing on the other end of the line stopped, and I heard the call connect. I’d been trying Max, but he wouldn’t answer. For all I knew, he could still be in his bird form flying all over Chicago. In my haste to find Max, I’d called his parents, but they were clueless. In fact, his father acted as if he were more than a little irritated with his son. After trying for a few hours and on the verge of temporarily giving up, someone answered. “Where’s Max?”
“Why?” Fizz questioned in a hard voice.
“I need to talk to him. Where is he?” I didn’t care if I seemed desperate; I was.
The rush of his exhale came through the phone, sounding like a gale-force wind. “I don’t know. There was an incident, and he…” He paused, and I held my breath, waiting for his answer. Another exhale. Category two hurricane? “Whenever he needs to escape and is looking for a break from his day to day life, he’ll go out to his cabin.”
“Cabin where?” I demanded, but he didn’t answer. When he remained silent, I begged, “Please, Fizz. I’m his,” I swallowed, “mate.”
“I realize that, which is the only reason I’m telling you anything. Do you have a pen and paper?”
“Yes.” I didn’t, but I figured I could retain anything he said.
“I’m going to give you a set of coordinates. Do not—and I can’t stress this enough—do not tell anyone. There are only two people in the world who know about this place, and if anything happens to him, I will hunt you down, and by the time I get done with you, you will wish for death. I might put you out of your misery then, but I won’t make any promises. I’m not going to be too far away, and I will be watching the place.”
“Got it,” I hoarsely agreed, forcing the words out of my throat.
He rattled off a list of numbers and some basic directions, and I plugged the coordinates into the GPS device in the car. If Fizz was being that careful, I didn’t know if I could trust the one on my phone. Maybe it was paranoia, but who knew who could be watching my movements, following my signal. In fact, I powered down my mobile, refusing to risk Max.
I missed the dirt road twice before I found it in the pitch black and turned. I’d lost the signal fifteen minutes ago and was relying on my memory to get me to my destination. Surrounded by trees, it was the middle of nowhere, and I had a feeling that even in the bright light of the day, it would still be challenging to locate.
I drove slowly, searching for one more turn that was more than likely not marked. “Bugger,” I shouted when I passed it. It wasn’t even a road this time. It was a path with two groves where a vehicle had been driven enough to mark it. Fizz had been right about the last two roads not being clearly marked. They weren’t bloody marked at all.
I threw the car into reverse and found the path again, turning left to follow it further into the forest. After about fifteen minutes, a cabin appeared in front of me.
This was not what I pictured for Max. At the restaurant my aunt took me to, he’d been surrounded by men and women in high dollar suits, and he wore one himself. He fit in with that crowd. At the gala, his tux was custom and made specifically for him. He could talk to celebrities and foreign diplomats alike. And through research, I discovered he’d bought the whole penthouse floor and made it his own.
Then, there was this one-story log cabin, which could probably fit in half of my aunt’s first floor. It wasn’t ostentatious, but I was coming to realize, Max was not exactly who most believed him to be. The cabin was simple, much like the man I’d had lunch with earlier.
Turning off the engine, I sat there staring at the front door. The only source of light came from the glow in the window. There were no motion sensor lights, or anything of that sort, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think there was nothing. I was almost certain Fizz had concealed cameras and other surveillance equipment around the property.
“You can’t stay in the car all night, you wanker,” I chastised myself and squirmed in my seat. Growling, I ran my hand through my hair, pulling at the dark strands. I’d come all this way to talk to him; I either needed to get out of the bloody car or leave.
I reached for the key and groaned, dropping my hand. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I was scared. Falling backward, I dropped my head on the headrest as my hands gripped the steering wheel, my fingers tapping out a nervous rhythm.
A gentle knock on the window had me bawling, “Fuckin’ hell!”
“Temp is dropping. If you are going to come inside, do it.” Max’s harsh voice was muffled through the glass. His piece said, he returned to the house, leaving the door slightly ajar for me. I figured if I never came in or if he heard me go, he would close it completely.
I sat there for another minute, allowing my body to settle after the man almost gave me a heart attack. There should be some rule or something about sneaking up on another person.
I couldn’t keep sitting there, acting like a coward. “Be a fucking man and go in there,” I ordered myself.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and almost shut it again. It was bloody freezing. Instead, I slammed the car door and covered the few yards at a dead sprint. I threw myself against the thick wood with a thud and rushed into Max’s cabin. A simple, rustic chandelier made out of weathered iron hung from the ceiling in the living room, lighting the space. Past that and to the left, sat a full kitchen with an island. Smaller than ours back home, but it had everything he needed like a stove, oven, refrigerator, and sink. To the right of that was a hallway, and from my vantage point at the front of the cabin, there were three doors.
And then there was Max, who sat on a black leather couch watching me as flames leapt in the fireplace, wild shadows fluttering over his face. His arms were crossed over his chest, and the muscle in his jaw ticked. He was probably furious I had encroached on his personal time, and it didn’t help that I wasn’t supposed to know this place existed.
“You were right. It was getting cold out there.” I attempted light, trying to break the tension. It didn’t work. His brows pulled down into a fierce frown, and he tilted his head to the side. I also noticed his fingers were digging into the flesh of his arms with so much pressure, they were turning white. Bollocks. After clearing my throat, I tried again, “I know…scratch that. I don’t know what’s going through your head. My aunt has a way of forcing an issue.”
“Why the fuck are you here?” he demanded in a low, calm voice, which sent shivers down my spine. He was royally pissed.
“We need to talk.”
One eyebrow went up, but he still ground his teeth. “Really? About?”
He wasn’t going to make this easy, not that I expected any less. “About us. About what happened at the beach. About—”
“I have no
idea what you are talking about. I’m here because I had a fight with my parents, and since I didn’t want company, this was the best place for me.”
“Yeah, Fizz said they didn’t know about it.”
“So, you talked to Fizz, and he gave you my location?” he spoke through clenched teeth.
“I asked him to tell me where you were because…” I didn’t continue.
“Please, do go on. Why the fuck are you here?”
“Why doesn’t anyone know about this cabin?”
“That’s my business, which means it’s none of yours.”
“I know you can turn into a swan,” I blurted and sucked in a breath. That was not the way I wanted to broach the subject, and I mentally belted myself for it.
His lips pressed into a thin line, and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You sound like you’re crazy. Men turning into swans? Really? This isn’t a fucking fairy tale,” Max shrugged, scrunching his face, “and you aren’t the handsome prince who is going to break the spell.”
“It was my family who bespelled yours,” I shouted.
Widening his eyes, he sucked in a breath, made to stand and promptly fell on the floor. Usually, I thought he was as graceful as a swan, but not at that moment. Maybe an albatross landing?
Max shoved the coffee table sitting in front of the couch so hard, it flew across the room and crashed against the wall. “What did you say?”
I closed my eyes and repeated my words, my voice softer, “My family bespelled yours. It was my ancestor who turned your ancestors into swans. We are linked by the same blasted fairy tale in that stupid book.” I was afraid to look at him, but I opened my eyes to find him gaping at me.
“What are you here for then? To curse me some more? To turn me into a swan full time? Or maybe you want to make it to where I’m only human for fifteen minutes every day like in the story? Get out. Get the fuck out of my house. I’ll refund you everything you donated to the charity out of my own pocket. I never want to see you again,” he roared, and I didn’t blame him, but neither could I give him what he wanted.
“I’m here because I couldn’t stay away.”
“You knew. You’ve known all this time. Your aunt has known, too, hasn’t she?” The question was rhetorical, so I didn’t answer. “Leave.”
“No.” I moved a couple of feet toward him.
“How much? Name your price, and I’ll pay it. Just leave.” His face was flushed, becoming redder by the second, and his eyes were glassy, but I’d bet every pound I had, he would refuse to cry one tear while I was here.
“Nothing.” I took a step closer.
“How much to reverse the curse and take it away? Name it. I’ll give you anything.”
Shaking my head, my soul hurt for him. “No way exists. It is as much a part of you as your skin, hair, and eyes. It cannot be undone.”
“Then why the fuck are you here?”
I stood inches from him. If I reached out, I could touch him, but I didn’t. I kept my hands at my sides. His eyes were wild, and whether he knew it or not, a tear traveled down his cheek toward his five o’clock shadow.
“Because I love you,” I whispered.
Snorting with laughter, Max backed away from me, his head moving from side to side, his hands up in the air tacitly telling me to stay put. “No, you don’t. We’ve known each other for a matter of days, but then again, we really don’t know anything about each other. Do we? Like, I didn’t know you were related to the witch who cursed me and made my life a living hell. And you’re supposed to be my mate?”
“I am your mate!” I shouted, wondering if Max realized what he had said.
“Why are you here?” he yelled.
“The truth?”
“No, lie to me.”
“Originally, I was sent to kill you, but not any longer,” I spoke softly, hanging my head in shame.
“Wh-What?” he stammered. “To… Get out!”
I heard a door close, and Max was gone.
Chapter 22
Max
Lorde’s admission was like a mirror shattering, and each shard tore into my heart, ripping it apart. Broken heart? No. Destroyed, imploded, roadkill. Those fit a little better. This hurt so much more than the guy in college, someone I’d known for months. Lorde had been in my life for a matter of days.
My parents and everything else was forgotten when I heard Lorde’s admission. At that moment, I had to get out of there. I had to leave, and I ran away as my MO dictated. It had become my get out of jail free card and my go-to mode of dealing with things I’d rather not. Maybe, if I were lucky, Lorde would be gone before I got back.
Running through the trees with nothing to light my way except the moon and stars, I didn’t worry about hitting anything. I knew this place, my swan knew this place, and when I reached the clearing where the small pond sat, I stripped out of my clothes and shifted.
My own mate had come to kill me. The mate I didn’t want or need, the one I didn’t ask for. Hell, I didn’t even know he was my mate until my parents told me. Suddenly, it was like I knew nothing about dating or sex. I was clueless. A mate. Me? Oh, and let’s not forget the minor detail that he is a descendant of the woman who cursed my family forever, sent here to do what she couldn’t.
I floated on the water, staring at my reflection in the still surface. Had a swan ever appeared sad before? This one looked as if he was about to cry…and I was.
“Max!”
I snapped my head up and found Lorde standing at the edge of the pond. The swan wanted to go to him, to rub my head against him, swim with him because he was our mate, regardless of why he was here in the first place. I fought it, yet, the more I did, the closer we got, stopping only about five feet away from him.
“Max, I know you don’t want to hear anything I have to say, but I need you to listen. I can’t leave until I’ve told you everything. My whole life has been spent honing my magic and learning to harness my power so I could destroy you. My mother said I was the only one who would do it. I was told the king asked my ancestor to get rid of his children, but they couldn’t be murdered because then they would be found. So, she turned them into swans and gave the princess a way to break the curse.”
I tilted my head to the side.
“I know it didn’t work,” he rushed. “I don’t know why. I got curious one day and found the spell which was supposedly used, but according to that, it should have worn off within one blue moon. It didn’t, and the fix only changed it so you could transform at will. I have no idea what happened. Maybe the princess did something wrong or didn’t follow everything perfectly. Aunt Pat thinks it has to do with the translation. The original spell was written in a different language.” He stopped and shook his head, waving arms in front of him. “That doesn’t matter.”
Dunking my head into the water, I willed him to be gone before I re-surfaced. He was still there, and without realizing it, I had floated closer.
“Mila, the person who cast the spell, had a daughter named Gretchen. Gretchen watched her mother get tortured and killed. She saw it all happen. She was saved by her aunt, who happened to be the princess’s mother-in-law, Isla. When Isla knew what was going to happen, she put the girl in a safe place and instructed her to remember everything. She did. The hate and need for revenge have been passed down from generation to generation. But it’s more than that. Mila and anyone related to her were hunted down like animals. They were beaten and tortured before they were finally, blessedly allowed to die.”
I shook my head. No, this couldn’t be true. Yes, Mila died for what she did, and I found out about Gretchen recently, but the rest? No. Why would we hunt the innocent? His family wasn’t the only one hunted. My family had their own crosses to bear thanks to his ancestor. We were accused of witchcraft and killed after we were tortured, too. When was enough blood going to be shed?
“The night I arrived in Chicago,” he paused to clear his throat, “I went out to a secluded part
of the lake and performed a locator spell. I didn’t know your name or what you looked like. I’d only been told that it was my duty to wreak revenge for generations past. It was beaten into my bloody head!” Lorde tapped the side of his head and dropped to his knees. “The spell, it showed me your image, your eyes. Something about your eyes flipped my whole world on its axis. I was second-guessing everything. My aunt tried to tell me I didn’t need to seek retribution for the sins of the past, but my mother’s voice was still there, telling me that you were my destiny. Funny thing is, you are, but not in the way she intended.”
I swam to the edge of the pond. If he genuinely wanted to hurt me, he could. It wouldn’t take much.
He glanced up, meeting my gaze. “I think I fell in love with you that night. I couldn’t get you out of my head. You were all I thought about, and your eyes haunted me. They held a sadness and a desire for more, but I didn’t understand what more you could possibly want. I saw you at a restaurant. I think my aunt knew you were going to be there. When she wishes, she can see into the future. I can too, but I never saw you coming. Mine are merely impressions, while hers are actual visions of events. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you that night, and then at the party, I didn’t want the night to end. It’s why I ran away. At the time, I was trying to stay focused and get through this mission, so I could live my own life. I was absolutely convinced, if I killed you, my mom would have no other use for me, and I could find love or move to Greece or do whatever the bloody hell I wanted with my life. But I can’t. Trying to imagine a world without you in it,” he shook his head, “I can’t do it. I don’t want to imagine it. You do so much good, even when you’d rather hide in a corner away from the crowds. And you have a passion for life. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have spent a month in Fira, or any time backpacking around Greece. Your face lit up when you talked about it. The thought of killing you turns my stomach, but it’s more than that. I can’t. I cannot kill you because it would be like killing myself. I fell in love with you, Max, and you can choose to believe me or not, but it’s the truth.”
