Unstoppable

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Unstoppable Page 24

by May Dawson


  “No, this is about more than that,” I disagreed. “Is this about what Alfred said? When he talked about Arthur sealing the rips and there not being any magicians powerful enough to do it in this generation—he implied that you were powerful enough.”

  Silas’s lips pursed.

  “Busted,” I said.

  “The rips keep getting worse,” he admitted. “I think it’s time to close the gaps between the worlds.”

  “Didn’t Arthur die sealing the rips?”

  “Sent into a sleep for millennia, until he’s needed again… which I mean, I think that window has opened a few times, so I don’t think he’s coming back.” He smiled at me confidently. “But I think I’ve got a better idea than Merlin. I’ll die to this world, but you’ll revive me in that one. Coma-free.”

  “So you’ll never be able to go home.”

  “You can see why the stakes are a little high for me personally,” he said.

  “Silas, of course you’ll always belong with us—”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me something. When I say, what if I choose you and it doesn’t work out, well, that’s what I’m worrying about. But you can’t promise you—or Rafe or Jensen or the others—will want me. You can’t pity me into your family.”

  “No one’s pitying you,” I said hotly. “You’re too much of a smug ass for anyone to pity you. But you’re also already part of my family.”

  He was studying me curiously, his hand shoved into his pocket. I could tell he was tempted to trust me, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe what I was saying.

  “Being a smug ass has never been a disqualifier from being one of my men,” I said, which at least made him smile.

  “That’s true enough.” He murmured the words of his spell, and magic swirled around his fingers. “What color gown would you like, my lady?”

  He was clearly done discussing the strange future that lay ahead.

  I could see a vivid blue sea as the ocean sunk low on the horizon. “How about blue?”

  “A gown made of stars or a gown made of waves?”

  “Waves,” I said softly.

  He began to run his hands over my hips, my body, his swirling magic turning into fabric as it wrapped around my body.

  “You know what’s interesting about waves,” I said, “is that they’re always the same water, no matter what form they take. The currents shape them, and we see the wave. But the sea inside is always the same, whatever shape it’s taking.”

  “Either you’re bad at metaphors or I’m bad at getting the point.”

  He made me smile. “I’m saying I’ve always known you, no matter what the shape of the wave was.”

  “I see,” he said. “That’s…charming as ever, Maddie.”

  “What makes it so hard for you to trust that our love isn’t going anywhere?”

  “A lifetime of training.” He moved my hair and kissed my throat. “And yet, maybe that training is failing me now. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. “You just told me you don’t want promises. If there’s another way you save your world, if you don’t have to sacrifice your place in this one to save it… would you choose to come back to us?”

  He hesitated. “I don’t know. I think my world needs me, my friends—”

  “What if it was just your choice?” I whirled to face him, yanking the fabric of my skirt out of his hands. “Would you choose us?”

  “I don’t want any promises,” he said carefully, “And I don’t know if I want to make any myself.”

  Those words hurt, and yet they didn’t make me want him any less.

  “Well, Silas,” I said. “Maybe I don’t need your promises. Maybe I just need you.”

  Those bright green eyes met mine—the eyes I’d recognize anywhere, through any disguise. I’d like to think I’d always know him.

  Then his lips were on mine, his hands on my body.

  And the funny thing was, that all felt like a promise, no matter that he couldn’t say the words.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Rosemary

  I stumbled out onto the green lawn of the academy with the wolves right on my heels. I didn’t dare look back, but I hoped that Penn’s alpha power had held over the pack. I didn’t want to see anyone I knew coming to kill Lex and all the other shifters here.

  I felt sick that I hadn’t left earlier. That was part of why I was such an ass to Lex, and I wished I had a chance to tell him that I was sorry I hadn’t followed him out earlier. I should have. I should’ve come to this stupid academy; it seemed like a miserable place but it was better than waiting at home like a victim.

  An awful lot can flash through a girl’s mind when she’s running for her life.

  As we ran, I glimpsed Clearborn and Piper and the rest of those from the packs that had come to help us. They were spreading out to hold the line, waiting for us to come through the lines before they opened fire on the wolves.

  But was there any hope when they couldn’t shift?

  As soon as we stumbled behind a barricade, Lex grabbed my arm. “You can still shift, right?” he demanded. “You’re still Kierney pack.”

  For some reason, that felt like an accusation. I didn’t want to be Kierney, not when they’d betrayed Lex personally, and all the rest of the wolves generally when they allied with the witches.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I guess I still can.”

  “Get to the infirmary and protect the medics and Skyla,” he told me. “We need you. We’re going to have a lot of wounded soon.”

  Chase glanced his way, his face tight with worry.

  “Take care of the little girl,” Lex told me, and I nodded. I was surprised he had any faith in me left at all.

  “You’ve got this,” Lex said, squeezing my shoulder, his face full of warmth and pride. For no good reason. The world was falling apart around us, and I’d never done anything but let him down.

  “I will,” I said. If he had that much faith in me, maybe I’d try to have some in myself.

  I took off running for the academic building and the infirmary.

  The sound of wolves snarling and bullets firing was loud behind me until I stumbled into the quiet hallway. I closed the doors behind me and debated sealing them, but Lex had said they’d be bringing their wounded this way.

  So many wounded. The sight of all those wolves barreling toward the humans… I couldn’t think about it, not when my brother was out there. Instead, I turned and sprinted down the halls until I found the medic’s office. I headed past the doctor and the medics who were on call and burst into Skyla’s room. We had a few minutes and I wanted to try to tell her not to be afraid, even though my own fear had my chest tight.

  Skyla turned from the window to look at me, her eyes wide. She was watching the battle rage on the lawn.

  “It’s going to be all right,” I promised, even though that might very well be a lie. It looked desperate out there.

  Then I added, “I’m here to protect you.”

  If I can.

  She nodded. “I’m Skyla.”

  “Rosemary. Lex’s sister.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Oh. It’s nice to meet you.”

  She trusted Lex so much that I could see her transfer that trust to me, and it made a strange mix of emotions wash through me—fear that I’d let her down, even more potent than the fear of having to face down a fully-grown male wolf as it raced through the halls outside. And pride.

  “Lex certainly seems to make an impression,” I said. “I’m going to have to change into a wolf, all right? I don’t want you to be scared.”

  From what Lex had said, she’d been kidnapped by wolves, so the words seemed ridiculous. Of course she was going to be scared.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “You’re…not going to freak out?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not afraid of wolves. I am a wolf. I’
m afraid of bad people—whether they can turn into wolves or not.”

  “I see,” I said. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever thought I was good before.

  That wasn’t true. Lex did.

  And maybe I could see why he’d chosen this miserable school, this life of protecting other people.

  Because I knew then I’d protect Skyla until my last breath.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Maddie

  Castle Eastbrick was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

  If I hadn’t been a criminal Otherworlder out to steal one of the Greyworld’s most prized possessions, I could’ve felt like a princess.

  I twirled, my skirt flaring around my legs, before I tucked my hand over Rafe’s and Jensen’s arms. Silas walked ahead of us, looking broad-shouldered and dapper in his suit.

  Maybe I could feel like a princess anyway.

  The four of us went into the ball, passing the bouncers who stood there with wands gripped lightly, surreptitiously checking for traces of magic. One of them stared at my gown, then relaxed as he realized the magic was only in the ever-changing silver waves that chased each other across the hem of my skirt.

  Well, and in the tools hidden in the folds of all this beautiful fabric.

  As we entered the ballroom, Silas’s hand fell on my lower back. “A turn on the dance floor, my lady.”

  It wasn’t a request. It was better if Silas and I danced; in all of our preparation for our time in the Greyworld, having the men all take dance lessons had never come up. Although I realized suddenly that was a missed opportunity.

  Silas pulled me close as the two of us danced to a bouncing reel. He was a good dancer, and he led easily, making me feel graceful and smooth even though he’d only taught us the steps that evening.

  Until I wasn’t.

  Silas said, “Oh, you stepped on my toes,” with a face etched in pain.

  I was wearing stiletto heels, but still, I’d seen Silas take punches to the face with less dramatics. Then I realized he was pretending to give us an excuse to hobble off the dance floor and toward another room that branched off from the ballroom.

  “Sorry,” I hissed as he limped dramatically.

  “It’s all right.” He waved my worries off as we entered another room, mostly empty, where an elaborate display of food was arranged. He took two glasses of champagne off the table and offered one to me. I took it and we raised our glasses in a wordless toast to each other.

  Then he led me down a hallway, and the two of us took a brief tour of the ground floor of the castle, searching for the shield.

  Whenever we heard people, Silas kissed me, his hands gliding all over my body, and despite the danger—or maybe because of it—those quick teases of touch excited me.

  “Quick thinking, pretending I stepped on your toes,” I teased him.

  “You did step on my toes, but normally I’d be too much of a gentleman to admit it hurt.”

  “Oh? You’re a gentleman now?”

  He ran his hand up my spine to cup the back of my neck loosely. The touch reminded me of Echo, and strangely, liquid heat pooled between my thighs. The way his lips pursed to one side in a smile was all Silas, though, and that turned me on too. He leaned forward and whispered into my ear, “Never.”

  The heat of his breath against the shell of my ear had me biting my lip, because I couldn’t jump him right now.

  Silas was complicated and always-changing, and he thought that meant he might not be good enough for me in the long-term. But what if that was part of what I loved about him?

  Silas wasn’t perfect, but the man was also never boring for a moment.

  We found the shield in an empty room off the main hallway, a spotlight on it and a handful of other artifacts scattered around the room. The other worlds all seemed obsessed with the story of Camelot—the true story we’d ruined in our world, where Guinevere became a villain —and there were more images of Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere in here too. There was even one of just Arthur and Lancelot, who apparently had lost Guinevere for the night but were doing just fine without her.

  Silas glanced at the pornographic statue of double-penetration across from the shield and said, “We won’t be alone here long, and we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. Someone will take this art work as an invitation. We should return to the dance and wait for later, when everyone’s drunk and sated and ignoring us.”

  He said the last words in a whisper, because we’d both heard footfalls outside. I looked up to see Jensen and Rafe round the corner.

  “Too early,” Silas said in a whisper, his hand settling firmly on my lower back before we headed toward them. He jerked his head to the party beyond. “We need to wait.”

  “We’re alone,” Rafe said. “There’s no better time to get the shield and get out of here.”

  “There is a better time,” Silas promised him, and ran through his reasoning.

  Rafe stared at him, unimpressed. “You just want your chance to dance with Maddie and eat bon-bons while the rest of us stand around.”

  “That all sounds terrific,” Silas agreed, “but mostly, I want the shield. Without bloodshed. Because it will take us time to get the damn thing loose without using magic, and magic would raise an alarm, and alone won’t hold forever.”

  “Maddie and Jensen will watch the doors,” Rafe said, overruling him.

  Silas’s jaw ticked. “You really have decided I’m just a worthless asshole, haven’t you?”

  Rafe regarded him steadily. “This isn’t all about you, Silas. Believe it or not, Mr. Incredible, not everything is.”

  “Rafe,” I said, my voice warning.

  Neither of the two alpha males staring each other down spared me a second glance.

  So I tossed my champagne over the two of them.

  They both turned to me with shock written over their faces.

  “I am done,” I told them crisply. “We’re on a mission now. No more of this.”

  Rafe stared me down, his jaw tense although the effect of his flashing, angry eyes was ruined a bit by the champagne trickling down his face.

  Silas raised his hands, after a beat of thought. “Fine. We can do it now. But it’s a mistake.” His voice was sardonic when he told Rafe, “You’re in charge.”

  A long look passed between them, just for a heartbeat, and then we were all moving. I began to shed my dress, and my men moved around me, helping me unlace it and step out of it.

  When they saw what I was wearing underneath it, they all stopped and stared. It was nice that I could make them all stutter to a stop, just for a moment, no matter where we were.

  Rafe cleared his throat, and I ducked my head to hide my smile at his expression as he said, “Ah, okay, let’s get to work. You two keep watch.”

  Silas pulled the bundle of lock picking tools out of the skirt and tossed it to Rafe.

  Jensen and I went to the doorway and then into the antechamber beyond, where we could keep an eye on anyone coming this way.

  He took the empty champagne glass out of my fingers and set it on a nearby pedestal. “You look like you might crack that in two with your grip, sunshine.”

  “They are so exasperating,” I said.

  “I know. They’re terrible.” He stepped close to me, although my skirts seemed to be between us. The two of us used our kisses as a cover, although both of us watched out of the corner of our eye lest someone approached.

  Jensen cupped my cheek with his hand and added, “You have terrible taste in men.”

  “I chose you,” I reminded him glibly, my lips brushing against the smooth, hard angle of his jaw.

  “As I said.”

  Between kisses, I told him, “You’re a nice man.”

  “Try again.” His lips turned up at the corners, right before he kissed me again.

  “You’re mine. I don’t mind if you’re a little bit dreadful too.”

  “The truth comes out.” He whispered in my ear, and then his hand was in m
y hair drawing my head back, and his lips were on my throat.

  The two of us were still trading kisses when two couples walked toward us, their shoes noisy on the polished floors. We stumbled back into the room where Silas and Rafe were working on freeing the statue, still kissing.

  Silas immediately stopped, his tools vanishing up his crisp sleeve in a heartbeat. But it took Rafe a heartbeat longer—he wasn’t a hardened criminal like Silas—and I could see frustration flash across his face, just for a second, as suddenly those other couples were in the room with us.

  “What are you doing?” One of the men asked, cocking his head to one side as if he wasn’t sure if he’d just seen what he thought he saw.

  The other guy was too distracted by the two women draped over him, all three of them trading kisses, to even notice. They barely managed to glance our way. But they were still potential witnesses.

  “We were just looking for a private spot,” Silas said mischievously.

  Then suddenly, he lunged forward, and his lips were on Rafe’s.

  Rafe, for his part, managed to put his hands on Silas’s arms and not push him away. The two of them shared a brief kiss that was convincing enough for the couples. It was strangely hot to me, but from the look in Rafe’s eyes, that was the one-and-only memory of their soft lips caressing over those hard jaws that I’d ever have.

  “Us too.” The guy said, shaking his head as his friend and the laughing girls fell on top of the table. Then he said, “Ah, we’ll get out of your hair.”

  “But this table is on my bucket list!” One of the girls called.

  “It’s just a reproduction of the Round table,” he told her.

  “It’s close enough!”

  Rafe tilted his head up as if he were praying. The entire Greyworld seemed to be testing him, and he and Silas were still tangled up intimately close together.

  “It’s not fair,” the other guy said firmly. “They had the table first.”

  “But it’s just a reproduction!” said the girl who had claimed it was on her bucket list.

  He managed to shoo the three of them out, and grinned over his shoulder at us.

 

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