Kismet Dating Agency Box Set: Fated Mates Romance

by Haley Weir

  “I think Madeu would agree.”

  “Can I see him?” Rina asked. “I just want to know more about him. There’s something in his eyes that’s different from the rest of you. He seems...lost. I want to help him if I can.” Caleb kissed her, and Rina smiled. “What was that for?”

  “It’s for being the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. I love you, Rina.”

  She peppered kisses on every inch of his skin revealed by the sheets that had slung low on his hips. Rina doubted she would ever get tired of holding Caleb. He wasn't the only person who wanted to go back in time. If Rina could have turned back the clock, she would have smacked herself for being so foolish. Caleb was the only man she had ever loved. Though there had been dates and lovers before him, Rina couldn't remember a single one when she looked at Caleb. Damien was a good friend when she had needed him, but he wasn't Caleb.

  She played with his hair while he laid against her. Caleb's hair wasn't as long as Madeu’s or Balor's, but he had a slight curl to the end of his finger-length locks. "You need a haircut."

  "And a shave. Unless, of course, you don't mind a bit of beard burn between your thighs."

  ~*~

  Caleb sat with the others while Rina changed into her dress. The palace was buzzing with excitement over Casey being crowned as Giddeon's queen. There had been talk of postponing until after Madeu was dealt with, but Balor had insisted that they give the people something to be happy about for a change. Caleb couldn't agree more.

  He stood beside his brothers in the ballroom, looking at the throng of people that danced to the music. It was strange to think that all that remained of their kind fit into the room with space to spare. There had been a time when his people wouldn't have fit on all of Kodiak Island without spilling into the sea. He was filled with a deep sadness. "Do you think this is what the gods intended?"

  Giddeon looked over at Caleb. "What?"

  "Do you think the gods wanted our kind to fade away with time? I mean, look around you. Aside from the shifters on the island, this is all that's left of us," he pointed out. "Even the royal bloodline is mating with humans. Eventually, enough of us will die or breed with humans until there's no trace of magic left."

  "If that's what Atë had in mind, then I applaud her." Balor drained his glass of wine and disappeared into the crowd of dancers. He swept up a young maiden and twirled her around the dance floor. There were so few females of their kind left and most of them had been married to the warriors for many years.

  Fate could have easily given them a shifter to mate with, but so far, only human females had been chosen. It was logical to assume Seth and Balor's mates were also human. Caleb didn't know what that meant for his kind, but he wondered what the future might hold.

  The doors at the top of the grand staircase opened and Rina stepped into the warm light cast by the chandeliers. It caused her skin to glisten as she walked down the stairs on one side while Casey took the other. Caleb was enchanted by the beauty of his mate. Her exotic features and raw sensuality made him yearn for a kiss. She walked right up to him and smiled. Caleb stood stunned as he gazed at the delicate fabric that hugged the curves of her body and accentuated the warm hues of her complexion. Caleb bent at the waist and kissed her hand before tugging her onto the dance floor.

  "I don't waltz or anything like that," she giggled.

  "No? What dances are you familiar with? We can do them even if no one else is."

  "Can you twerk?" Her question came as a shock. Caleb gaped at her for a long moment before he realized it had been a joke. "I'm kidding."

  "Even so, I think I might like to see you try." Caleb pinched her rear, causing Rina to squeak and look around at the other guests with a faint blush upon her cheeks. She swatted at him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

  "Come on, Prince Charming, show Cinderella how to dance at the ball."

  He chuckled and led her into a simple waltz that matched the tempo of the song. Rina stared down at her feet and moved awkwardly at first, but—once she stopped stepping on his toes—she learned the steps rather quickly. Caleb spun her around the dance floor, marveling at the sheer grace in which she moved after she grew more accustomed to the dance. He was impressed. "You look beautiful," Caleb said. "What took you so long?"

  "We were planning a wedding."

  Caleb saw the cunning twinkle in her eyes. "You want us to get married after all, then?"

  "It isn't for me. I couldn’t care less whether or not we marry," she uttered. "It's for them." Rina turned her gaze to the people in the ballroom. "They put their faith in me and I want to give them no reason to question whether or not I'm here to stay."

  He bent forward and kissed Rina until her steps faltered. She wiggled free from his hold with a few giggles and they danced for three more songs. Caleb even swallowed his pride long enough for her to dance with Balor and Giddeon. Casey tugged on his sleeve, and he followed her gaze. The crowd parted, and Seth walked towards them.

  "You came..." Caleb reached his arm out to shake his brother's hand, but Seth sidestepped him to stand beside Casey. They whispered for a moment before Seth spoke with Rina. Once they were finished, he wandered back through the doors as if no one else existed in the ballroom. Caleb stared after his brother with a heavy heart.

  Giddeon stepped onto the stage and pulled a velvet cloth off of a gilded display. Sitting on a bed of silk was a beautiful crown, one that hadn't been worn since Caleb's mother's death. He held Rina's hand and watched Casey join her husband on stage. Everyone tuned in as she lowered herself to her knees and Giddeon placed the crown on her head as she spoke the ancient oath. Caleb was proud of Casey and the steps she had taken to fit into their world. He turned and smiled at Rina, but his smile died on his lips as she dropped to the floor.

  Screams filled the air and people gathered around Rina.

  “Get back! Give her some room to breathe.” He pressed his ear to her chest and heard her heart beating faintly. Balor rushed over and removed his jacket to drape over Rina.

  “We need to get her out of here.” His youngest brother cleared a path to the door as Caleb lifted her from the floor. Giddeon motioned for the band to begin playing once more, and the party was back in full swing. Caleb shuffled through the corridors and followed Balor into a room beside the kitchen. Balor threw open a door that looked like a hidden apothecary and rustled around in jars of herbs.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “I thought we had more time...”

  “Balor!” Caleb grabbed his brother by the lapels of his waistcoat and shoved him against the wall. “What the hell is going on with my mate?”

  “Atë is taking her.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s taking Rina as payment.” Balor shook off Caleb’s hold and went to Rina. He whispered something indecipherable and tossed the contents of one of the vials into the air. It fell into a perfect circle around her on the table. Caleb touched the black residue.

  “Tell me what’s going on! Whose payment?”

  “Yours!” Balor snapped. “You don’t remember. You weren’t supposed to remember. Not yet, anyway. The gods told me this would happen...” Balor’s eyes glowed a brilliant silver as he worked his magic. Two red lines were drawn beneath her eyes from something that came from yet another of his brother’s vials.

  “What did I do, Caleb?”

  “It wasn’t Madeu who summoned Atë. It was you, Caleb.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rina stood in a field of white flowers.

  She walked along a narrow path, making her way towards the woman who stood just below a large tree. When their eyes locked, there was no mistaking who the woman was. Sarina. She beckoned Rina closer and pointed down to a battlefield. Blood soaked the earth just beyond the beautiful flowers. A gentle breeze carried the scent of death. “Why am I here?”

  Sarina crossed her arms and leaned against the tree. Her armor was splattered with dirt and the blood of her enemies. “Because you d
eserve the truth,” she replied in a heavy accent. Rina watched winged creatures lift bodies into the air. They appeared like demonic angels with taloned feet and bat-like wings. “Harpies. When I was a child, I feared going to war. There were stories told that the harpies flew over the battle, waiting to drag us into the underworld.”

  Rina watched until a burst of light flashed in her eyes. Sarina pressed a finger to her lips and led her into a tent where Caleb knelt over his dying father.

  “This...is your fault,” Samael gurgled. “They will all die...because of...you.”

  “Leave them out of this, father!”

  “Do you think...Giddeon will ever...forgive you?”

  Tears flowed from Caleb’s eyes as he pulled the blade from his father’s chest. Rina fought the urge to go to him. He tilted his head back and bellowed to the heavens in a language she didn’t recognize. A brilliant light appeared once more, but Atë knelt before Caleb. She reached out and touched his face with a gentle hand. “Why do you cry, young prince? This is what you wanted,” she purred. “All those years suffering beneath his wrath, begging the gods to free you...and here we are. You are free.”

  “But my brothers will die.”

  “And why is that?”

  Caleb looked into Atë’s eyes. “Because of the curse. My father prayed to Thanatos, asking that if anyone took his life before the fate’s decree his time had come...that his sons would perish with him and the bloodline of the ancient kings would end, and the world would suffer for it.”

  The goddess smiled and leaned closer to Samael. “He does not have long, young prince. I can save him. You know I can. I can save all of them. You will win this war and your brothers will live as long as the fates decide.”

  “Do it! I’ll give you anything you want!”

  “Anything?”

  “Yes...”

  Atë removed the key from around her neck and placed it in the palm of Caleb’s bloodied hand. She kissed his forehead and healed the wound at the center of Samael’s chest. The king stood up and used his claws to slash Caleb’s. Rina shouted as one vision faded into another...

  A crowd gathered outside of Castle Black. Sarina knelt, naked and battered, before the king. He stood mighty with his sword and shouted to rile up the onlookers. They cheered for the death of a traitor. Caleb ran through the crowd, pushing the others aside so that he could reach her. But Samael severed Sarina’s head from her shoulders. He lifted it up with a fistful of hair, and the crowd cheered louder. Bloodthirsty warriors spat on the platform where Sarina had been executed, cursing her name for having attempted to assassinate the king.

  Caleb dropped to his knees and cried into the night. He looked beyond his father and his gaze landed on the goddess who had claimed to save them all. And Sarina’s life had been the price. Caleb removed the key from around his neck and placed it in Sarina’s hand as he stood up to face his father. Rina watched from the crowd, but the goddess’s gaze fell upon her. Atë smiled and flashed right before Rina’s eyes. “There you are.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want you to kill Calleus.”

  A scream tore from her chest, and Rina fell back onto the table. She looked up at Caleb and Balor, feeling rather sick to her stomach. She rolled onto her side and heaved onto the floor. Caleb rubbed her back, but Rina trembled with the force of her nausea. Balor leaned her back onto the table and shoved something into her mouth. She gagged a little but swallowed whatever it had been. Even when she was torn between reality and something far more mystical, Rina trusted the youngest of the Black siblings.

  He removed his hand as Caleb shoved him back.

  Rina uncurled her fingers and stared down at a key that rested in her palm. Caleb returned to her side and stared down at the key. “Where did you get that?” he asked.

  “You gave it to Sarina. She showed me things...”

  “How did it get here from one of your visions?” Caleb reiterated.

  “I don’t know, Caleb. I’m not the one with magic. You are.”

  “I don’t feel right about this, Rina—”

  “She told me to kill you,” Rina blurted before he continued. “Atë looked right at me. She told me to kill you, Caleb. I don’t know what to do. The visions are different now, but I’m still not able to control when they happen.”

  Balor helped her from the table once the shivers subsided. He steered her past Caleb and into the bathroom connected to the small room. The door closed, and Rina sat on the side of a copper bathtub. Caleb had looked at her as if she was a stranger.

  ~*~

  “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Balor snapped. Caleb was jostled out of his daze as his brother scurried around the room. He leaned against the table and crossed his arms in frustration. Rina was frightened, and he shouldn’t have treated her the way he had. It was difficult for him to process everything after what Balor had told him while she had been unconscious. “Caleb! Snap out of it and go see your mate.”

  He pushed off the table and approached the door. His knuckles rapped softly on the wood before he opened it. Though the water ran in the tub, Rina was nowhere to be found. Caleb jumped into action. He ran over to the window and saw footprints just outside. Her shoes had been left behind as well as her dress. Caleb hurried from the bathroom and Balor followed closely behind. “She’s gone,” he announced. “Help me track her down.”

  Balor nodded and went in the opposite direction. They searched the courtyard and the surrounding buildings before heading into the palace. There were no tracks leading out of the gates, but Caleb found a few crumbs of dirt just outside of the door that led to the dungeons. He cursed under his breath and stepped into the darkness. Quietly, he made his way down the stairs as voices became evident. Caleb stopped and peered around the corner.

  Rina stood before Madeu’s cell in nothing but a silk slip and corset.

  “I never knew my parents. I’m an orphan,” she told him. “I used to think I was unlovable, that no one wanted me. I thought the couple who adopted me had done so out of a sense of duty. Now, I know that I was lucky. I guess it’s better to have never known my parents than to have loved them and watch them die.”

  “Is this their new tactic? Use a woman to soften my resolve before Giddeon’s sword falls?” Madeu moved closer, and Caleb squeezed his hands into fists to keep his anger in check.

  “They don’t know I’m here.”

  “Then why have you come?”

  Rina placed her hands on the bars. “Because I think you can understand me more than they can. I love Caleb. Giddeon and Balor are like brothers to me and I’m sure Seth and I will become close once he’s healed...but...they don’t know what it’s like.”

  “What what’s like?”

  “Being an outsider,” she replied. “They’ve all had their problems, I’m sure. But none of them have ever been thrust into a world where they didn’t belong...they’ve never watched the people around them suffer and be helpless to stop it. They’ve never been human.”

  “And you think I have?”

  “I know you have, Madeu. I’ve heard your story.”

  Madeu lowered his head and gripped the bar just a few inches below her hand. “Maybe I understand what it’s like. But what does this have to do with anything?”

  “I came to tell you the truth about Octavius,” Rina answered in a whisper. “The talisman around his neck belonged to your father. Samael was wearing it when a rival soldier attempted to kill him. For some reason, I see visions of the past. All of them are fitting together like a puzzle—except one. I don’t know how Octavius got the talisman, but I know he intends to betray you with the information he hid on a flash drive inside of it.”

  “Octavius saved my life. He treated me like I was his son. Why would he betray me?”

  “Because he wants the throne for himself.” Rina pulled the key from between her breasts, and Madeu’s breath caught. “He wanted me to give him this.”

  “That key is
far more powerful than you think.”

  “I’m sure it is,” she said. “But if Octavius is looking for it, I’m willing to bet he made a deal with Atë, and he needs it before she comes to claim her prize.”

  Caleb watched as Madeu stepped away from Rina.

  “Why are you telling me this? You owe me nothing.”

  “I pity you, Madeu. As much as it might pain you to hear it, it’s true. I look at you and I see a wounded child that never got the love they deserved. I see a warrior still fighting to earn the approval of a father who should have protected him.”

  “You don’t know anything!” Madeu shouted. His voice echoed through the dungeon.

  “Tell me what the key does and I might be able to help you.”

  “No.”

  “We both know you won’t get a better deal than this,” she supposed. “If you don’t give Giddeon and the others what they want—if you don’t surrender to them, they’ll have no choice but to kill you for your crimes. And I doubt you want to stand toe to toe with Thanatos after knowing Samael bargained for his life with the suffering of his children.”

  Caleb thought back to his conversation with Giddeon in the courtyard. Perhaps Balor was right. Perhaps Caleb always knew his father had made a deal with the gods to live long enough to plot the demise of his heirs. Knowing the downfall of his people was inevitable was both a relief and something that struck fear into his heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sunlight peeked through the window of Madeu's cell. The silken strands of his dark hair glistened in the light. Rina saw genuine sadness enter his gaze as he looked down at the key. "You know what it does, Madeu...please tell me. I need to know why Atë wants me to kill the only man I've ever loved."

  He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the bars. "It opens a door hidden in Atë's temple. The legend says that the key bearer can use it to reverse one of Atë's deals. Maybe even reverse death itself."