by A Y Venona
The last one was delivered by Xander. It was about time he talked. He sounded even more beautiful in a cheap amp com. No wonder the world was screwed. The gods spent more time perfecting this one person.
“Are you positive about it?”
“I was given the headmaster’s confirmation,” Adrian said.
“So they will turn Alpha Academy into a jail?”
“Just for this special occasion, Ant. Besides, the academy has the most secure prison.”
“But Adrian, you said Eli was there when the Shield shut down. Didn’t he give you any information about what he sensed or saw?”
“He saw nothing. Our magical scanner was giving us conflicting information, so until we sort it out, he will need protection too.”
“I’m on it,” Sara said. “I have someone in mind.”
“That’s great. So any questions?”
Silence.
“All right, that’s it. We’ll reconvene next week. And keep your comm open. You’ll be hearing from me anytime.”
I should have turned off the amp the moment I heard Xander say he was staying a little bit longer in the library. This announcement was followed by a smooching sound and then Adrian saying not to stay long in a voice that was no doubt code for “we’ll have sex tonight, so don’t make me wait.” But my self-flagellating nature decided I should just go ahead and torture myself even further.
I heard the door closing.
And then:
“I know you’re awake and have been listening to our conversation. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell Adrian. But I have a favor to ask. I’m going to knock at your door, and please open it. I need to talk to you. This is very important.”
Son-of-a-kraken-breed!
* * *
“Here,” Xander said, handing me the amp transmitter that I’d placed in one of the bookshelves. “I ought to arrest you for spying on us.”
His words may have been threatening, but the sexy smirk on his face was far more potent. No wonder Adrian was smitten. It was a moment like this that made my claim over Adrian pathetic.
In response to his opening statement, I glared. We walked toward my little sitting area, and I gestured for him to take the seat opposite mine.
“What do you want?” I asked as soon as we were both seated.
He stared at me. His eyes seemed to have changed color from golden green to more greenish. “We talked about the mating ritual. He’s been asking for a date, for when it is going to be.”
My hands started to become clammy.
“I don’t really want to hear it.”
“I want to make sure that he is not your true mate.”
“Am I the person he chose to mate? No. It’s you. So it doesn’t matter what I feel, or what I think about him. It all depends on you. Do you love him?”
“Yes,” he answered with no hesitation.
“Then, go ahead. Plan it out. I don’t care.”
“Eli, it doesn’t matter what I feel or what he thinks he feels toward me if it turns out that you are his true mate.”
“Look, you’re right. I found the spell I made, and it wasn’t the Mating Spell. So you’re good. He’s not my mate. He is just my dream guy.”
“He can still be your true mate.” I shook my head. “Listen,” he continued. “There is no way of finding it out unless we perform the real Soul Spell.”
“You don’t have to. Go to him. I don’t care anymore.”
“But I do care.”
“I don’t need your pity.”
“Remember the first time we met?”
I raised my brows. “I don’t remember.”
“You were sitting on top of Adrian’s shoulders. You were probably around nine years old.”
“What’s your point? You’re not that much older than me.”
“Yes, but to my eyes, you’re young, you’re little. I want you to be my little brother too. But I always felt this animosity you have toward me, so I thought I should work harder to be able to win you over. Clearly, I failed.”
“You have the whole world worshiping you; you don’t need mine.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. So I want to be very certain that you two are not true mates. I can call someone who is qualified to perform the spell if you only want it. Here.” He picked a pouch from inside the pocket of his trousers and gave it to me.
“What is this?” I asked, staring at the pouch in my hand.
“The ingredients and the spell.”
My gaze returned to him. His eyes were back to golden green. He was staring at me so intently that for a second there I thought he could read my mind. “It’s so kind of you. I found the Soul Spell in the book you gave me; the ingredients are not easy to find.”
“It’s difficult because they don’t exist anywhere except for the places where their owners live. Luckily, I know the owners,” he said, grinning.
My mind automatically came up with a list of people who would possibly own some of these ingredients. Professor Melo? Definitely. And then, who else?
“Listen.” The sudden drop in his voice jerked my attention back to him. He moved his chair a little bit closer to mine and then leaned toward me as though he were about to reveal a secret. “Werekin and faes.” His voice was soft, conspiratorial. “It’s hard for them to know whether they’re old souls or new ones.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Only old souls have true mates,” he said, ignoring my confusion. “For the new souls, they have to choose the mate for them.”
All right, I could definitely be on board with this kind of weird topic for conversation. “So, how would I know whether I’m a new soul or not?”
“If you have a true mate, then that means you’re an old soul.”
If I had a true mate? For quite a while I had thought Adrian was mine. Until he wasn’t. Did I want a true mate that was not Adrian? I sighed, and he smiled at that, a sad smile.
“How about you? Don’t you think Adrian is your true mate?”
“It’s different for my kind because we know whether we are either an old or a new soul.”
“Oh, wow. Good for you. So what is Adrian to you, then?”
“Neither yet. Because I am a new soul. If I choose him, then he’ll become my true mate in our next life. I know because our kind can remember our past lives. And I don’t have a past life to remember. The werekin and faes don’t have that ability. They don’t remember anything of their past lives, but their souls can.”
It was then I finally understood his need for confirmation.
“I understand now,” I said.
“Think about it, okay?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. And…I’m not staying here tonight.”
“Oh, but Adrian was expecting you.”
He smiled. “My fathers are expecting me to be at home too. Good night.” He rose from his seat, gave me one last smile, and then left.
I stared at the paper in my hand. The Soul Spell was written on it. Xander said he knew someone who was qualified to perform the spell. But it did not feel right to involve someone else in the business of my soul. I took the ingredients out from the pouch, one by one. My mind was telling me it wouldn’t work, but there was another voice deep inside me that was demandingly saying—
Try it.
CHAPTER 14
The Gathering Counter: Tuesday, six days before the Gatherings
I reluctantly opened my eyes. The soft light from the nightstand lampshade made my room dimmer than what could have been a complete darkness. I would have gone back to sleep if it weren’t for the strong scent of a presence that turned my sluggish senses into alert mode.
My gaze found my intruder, a figure sitting on the edge my bed, his head bent down, buried in his hands. But what kicked my heart into overdrive was the sound my visitor was making.
He was sobbing his heart out.
It took me a minute to adjust my eyes and realize who was crying in
my room.
“Adrian?” My voice was soft, concerned and alarmed.
The sobbing stopped.
“What happened?” I asked. Adrian slowly turned his head to me. A pair of bloodshot eyes met mine, and guilt was written all over it. His gaze then lowered and paused right on my neck. His mouth hung open.
I frowned.
“I…I’m sorry,” Adrian stammered. “Oh, by Zeus’s mercy, what have I done?”
The sheer terror in Adrian’s voice gripped my heart and all my insides. With my hand shaking, I touched my neck. A rough patch bumped my palm. Then I froze.
I was hit by an onslaught of images of what could have transpired that night. Hands pushing me down, frantically. Weight on top of me, deliciously heavy. My own arms entangled around the smooth and hard flesh. And then…the penetration. Pain first…and then…urgency…faster. I heard myself say, “Faster.” Then…blissful release.
“Fae-fang! Adrian!” My heart was running amok, my stomach curling into a ball.
“Eli, I swear, I don’t know how it happened. I just felt this urge to see you…and then…I did this horrible thing.” The anguish in Adrian’s voice pierced my soul. What could have been a wondrous moment now turned into a nightmare.
“Adrian, it’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
“What? How is it your fault? I was the one who entered your room without your permission and raped you.”
“Nonono, Adrian, listen to me,” I said desperately as I crawled toward him, tentatively touching his arm. It was a small mercy that he did not cringe at my touch. “I did this. I made you come to me. I cast a spell on you!” Adrian’s eyes reflected the changes in his emotion—from remorse to realization, and then…fury.
“Explain!” he growled.
* * *
Adrian paced. He was furious. I had never seen him like this, and certainly not ever directed at me. Unable to endure his yelling and cursing, I turned to Angus, who was then sitting next to me, and buried my face in his chest. I wished I could hide here forever.
“Adrian, enough!” Angus said.
The yelling stopped, but my body continued to shake. I felt Angus’s arms tighten around me, comforting. “If you cast a spell to summon your mate, and then you, Adrian, responded, would that mean that you are his mate?” His voice was soft, calming.
I raised my head up and dislodged myself out of Angus’s embrace. “Xander gave me the ingredients.”
“Of course, Xander,” Adrian muttered under his breath. “What was it that you two talked about?”
“I’m not going to tell you what he told me in confidence.”
He huffed at that.
“Perhaps we should wait for him, then. I called him earlier, and he said he’ll be over here in a few minutes,” Angus said. “In the meantime, why don’t you both take a nap. Dawn will be here soon.”
But instead of going back upstairs to his room, Adrian sat down across from us.
“You conjured a mate, and I came,” he said. His voice was gentle this time.
“I think so,” I answered.
“Did you include some part of me like hair or something? Are you particularly calling me?”
“No. I swear on my mother’s grave. I didn’t place anything to specifically conjure you. The spell I made was to call for my mate. You know, like what most stupid young singles normally do?”
Adrian stared at me. His eyes were glistening.
“Okay, why don’t you get some rest,” Angus said to me, defusing the intensifying tension in the room. I shook my head. “All right, what about you lie down here,” he said, patting the couch.
Out of nowhere, I was hit in the face with something soft. I turned around and found Adrian staring at me with a sad smile on his face.
“Your pillow,” he said.
I mumbled a thank-you. With the pillow under my head, I stretched out on the couch. I must have drifted off, for it was already daylight the next time I opened my eyes.
“Hey, can I talk to you?”
Xander. The familiar knot in my stomach returned. A part of me was angry at him, angry for introducing me to the spell, for giving me the ingredients, for…simply existing. But another part of me knew he was not the villain in this story. It was me.
“When did you get here?” I said.
“A couple of hours ago. You were asleep then, and I didn’t want them to wake you up. And I… slept in the guest room.”
He added the last one like it was an afterthought. The need to point out that he did not sleep in Adrian’s room was not necessary. I held no claim with Adrian. Mate or not. He had never been mine.
“So…” he started.
“We can use the library,” we both said, and then we smiled, though with a tinge of sadness.
* * *
“First of all, I never really thought it would ever work,” I said the moment I stepped into the room; Xander had barely closed the door. “And even if it would…I wasn’t thinking that he…would turn out to be my mate. I mean…I did the spell because I’d given up on him…and I just wanted to end my stupid, stupid pining and unrequited feelings. I just wanted to find out who my mate was…and not like this!”
“You did find out who your mate is.” His voice was calm like…
“Wait. Why are you not mad at me?”
We were standing opposite each other: he, leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest; and I, standing in the middle of the room, my arms at the back of my head. He was a picture of calmness. And I was a mess.
Despite the significant space between us, I felt the urge to take a few more steps backward, anchoring myself to the nearest bookshelf behind me and situating myself farther away from him. Just a precaution. He was a guardian. A powerful warrior. He could fight toe-to-toe with Adrian.
And then he smiled.
And I felt like a heel.
I copied his posture. Although my arms were crossed, my hands gripped my biceps tightly.
“I’ll be honest with you.” The soberness on his face trampled the smile, and my heartbeat picked up its pace. “I am hurting right now. But I will never be mad at you for reclaiming what has been yours all along.”
“No, he’s not mine!” I threw my hands up in the air in surrender.
“To tell you frankly—”
“If you may, please tell me frankly.”
He glared at me.
“So, I was about to say that the spell should not work…for one obvious reason. It lacked one important ingredient: a higher-level sorcerer. And I believe you are not.”
“So you mean it didn’t work?” I clasped my hands together as if in prayer.
“It doesn’t matter whether it worked or not, Eli. What mattered is that he mated with you and left a mark on your neck.”
“But he’s under a spell! It’s not his fault. So is that it? You won’t accept him anymore because he slept with me?”
“Take a breath!” he said and crossed the gap between us. Now standing an inch closer, he said, “He is your mate. Whatever kind of spell you would perform to call him regardless of it being the lowest tier in type, expect it to work on him. Because you are his true mate. His soul can feel what your heart desires. And it will answer to you. Always.”
“But he doesn’t love me.” My voice was breaking.
“He does. But he confused it to be of a fraternal kind.”
My gaze found his. And it was then I saw the hurt in his eyes. He loved Adrian. But he was willing to let him go. He was selfless like that. But then again, maybe it was my turn this time. And so I did what I thought I could have never done. I reached out and touched his face.
“It’ll get better.”
“Young fae,” he said, sounding like a magus despite his age. “I promise you it’ll get better.”
CHAPTER 15
The Gathering Counter: Wednesday, five days before the Gatherings
Although I was accustomed to having only Angus to eat with me at the dining table, I was not pr
epared to feel as though someone had died when I looked into the empty seat next to me. Angus informed me that Adrian was staying at Anthony’s place on the island. He did not exactly elaborate as to why Adrian was unable to go home last night, but I may have heard his conversation with Anthony over the phone that Adrian was stupidly drunk.
“I’m glad you’re eating well.”
I stared at my plate. It was filled up. For the second time. Apparently, my mood did not completely affect my appetite.
“I think I’m just hungry.”
Angus smiled. “Do you want me to take you to the island?”
With the food still in my mouth, I mumbled, “If that’s what you want.” Then I paused. Of course, he was going to pick up Adrian.
The drive to the island was filled with comfortable silence. Or at least it was until…
“Don’t think about it too much,” Angus said behind the wheel of his truck. We were halfway over the bridge that connected the island to Shore Town.
“About what?” I replied though quietly praying it had nothing to do with Adrian.
“About mating,” he answered without taking his eyes off the road.
To discourage this conversation, I chose to remain quiet. Unfortunately, he was not about to let this one go.
“Although other places may have fully upheld the mating belief, in Lowescir, it is not so. Lowescir values lineage more. Whether or not you’re true mates does not matter to them so long as a delta alpha will come out of that union.”
“Is that why you broke up with Adrian’s father?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t break up with him. I’m still his spouse—a royal spouse to Killian Larsa.” He paused and took a deep sigh. “He said that he was only marrying Gernet to provide him an heir and that Gernet would be a harem spouse. But when Adrian was born, I turned out to become the…harem spouse. I was only able to endure it because Elizabeth was with me.”
Elizabeth was my mother.
“You and my mother…were you ever…”
“Lovers? No. We were more like siblings. When she died, I couldn’t take it, so I’d decided to raise you myself and get out of there. He was mad, really mad, enraged, and threatened me that I wouldn’t be able to see Adrian again. But in the end, he let me see Adrian. When Killian’s anger subsided, he started writing to me, and I replied to his letters. Adrian had become our personal messenger. Then…we just drifted apart. At least he did. Because on my end, I still love him. He is my true mate, no matter what he feels towards me.”
