by Lisa Daniels
This is what Darius was warning me about. Shit. She clawed at the air, trying to open a space back to the real world. Focusing on her body, she finally managed to fall out and into her own body. Everything felt wrong as stood up. It was like she was made of liquid and trying to walk with only a thin wrapper keeping her together.
“I don’t have time for that.” Pushing the physical pains and discomfort aside, she started clawing at the air. It took a couple of tries, but it finally opened when she focused on the empty space. She dove in and lay there, calling to mind the only thing that mattered at that moment. A picture of Ignacio smiling at her caused her to let out a sob. His face shifted to one of concern. Rosaline stretched out her arms to try to hug him to let him know she was alright.
Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him to her. “No,” she muttered. “I was wrong.” She opened her eyes and looked at the large number of Unwashed still trying to get at Ignacio. Leaving him in the space, she slipped out. As soon as she hit the ground, Rosaline released decades of frustration, doubt, pain, and longing. The waves of the negative emotion moved out like shock waves, crashing over the Unwashed and any unlucky animals within a five-mile radius. Shakily, she pushed herself off of the ground. Around her were all of the remaining Unwashed, doubled over under the weight of the burdens she had carried most of her life—a life that was longer than any human’s.
Her hand reached out to the space, but she found it difficult to grasp. Closing her eyes, she let all of the images of Ignacio flow through her mind. When she finally managed to open the space, Rosaline wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to take before her body revolted from all of the punishment and magic she had used. She hadn’t even noticed when she broke the remaining bonds, but Rosaline was becoming more aware of it, like a muscle that wasn’t used to being exercised.
She started to swoon and felt a pair of arms wrap around her. “Just what have you done to yourself?” Rosaline looked up into a familiar pair of green eyes. “And what have you done to them?”
Rosaline reached out a hand and patted his cheek, “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
He looked down at her, then Rosaline felt a warm hand on her forehead. “That feels good,” she mumbled.
The sound of his laughter was like a beautiful melody in her ears. “Give me one minute to finish them off, and I will be back for you.”
Rosaline felt herself being gently laid down, then everything was silent. A few moments later, she felt warmth being pressed against her. “You know, in all of the years that I have been using this space, it never once dawned on me that it could be used like this.” Rosaline felt an arm wrap around her. “Are you alright?”
She rolled over and buried her face in his chest, “I am now.”
“What did you do?”
“Darius called it, um, something something something. Can’t I just sleep for a little bit?”
“Of course. But maybe somewhere a little less cosmic.”
Rosaline opened her eyes a little and gave those beautiful green eyes a lopsided grin, “I don’t want to go back to that place. I want to stay with you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold you to that, but for now, I can take you somewhere a little less hostile to a fallen priestess.”
“Your place?”
“What?”
She nuzzled against him, “I want to go to your place.”
There was a welcome laugh before Ignacio said, “Okay. You can stay at my place for a little while. Until you know what you are going to do.”
Rosaline felt herself being lifted out of the area. A moment later, she was resting on a soft bed. She grabbed the warmth before it could pull away from her. “Don’t leave me. I don’t want you to leave me.”
There was a sigh before the surface under her shifted. “You are going to torment me now, aren’t you?”
“Only if you let me.” She didn’t hear what he said, as she pushed her body into him.
When Rosaline finally woke up, she was alone in the bed. Nothing looked right. She scratched her head and asked, “Where am I?”
She was shocked when her question received an answer. “My home, as promised.”
Rosaline sat up and looked around. The place was small, but larger than her quarters. Ignacio rose from the table where he sat. “How much do you remember?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temple. “Um, I remember yelling ‘no’ a lot, but can’t remember why.”
He nodded and pulled a chair over near the bed. “Come here.”
Rosaline scooted over close to the edge of the bed. “Can I help you?” She gave him a sleepy smile.
“Yes, you can eat. Apparently, you need a certain combination of nutrients to help your body and mind sync up.”
“Ooooh, did I do that thing again?” She leaned forward and ate a spoonful of something. “Hmmm, that’s really good. Tastes a lot like what Darius made.”
“So, he knew that you could manifest away from your body?”
“Yes, that’s what he called it, something manifesting. Manifesting something? I don’t remember.”
“Did he mention that it is really dangerous and that people tend to die when they do it?”
Rosaline looked at the ceiling, “That sounds familiar.”
“Then why did you do it? I promised I would protect you, and you almost killed yourself.”
“Then we are even because I promised to keep you safe, and you tried to make me a liar.”
Ignacio looked at her then burst out laughing, “Okay, so now I know that those times when I thought that I was suffering from guilt and doubt, that was you stalking me.”
Rosaline opened her mouth, “No, that was definitely your guilt, manifesting me because, um, I make you feel guilty?”
“You saw me wake up in Ishtar.”
“Yep, yep, I did that until Darius slammed me back into my body. He wrapped me in a time blanket to get my mind and body to sync.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, but I will try to keep that in mind.”
“He also fed me something like that.” She took another mouthful of the soup. “I like yours better.”
“Somehow I doubt that you really remember what that first time was like since you were several thousand miles from your body.”
“I also saw you purging after you drew the poison. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that because you aren’t a… poison filter.”
“I would laugh if I weren’t so mortified that you saw that.”
“I felt so guilty, but then you fell asleep. When I got back to my body I was too tired to do anything. Otherwise I would have come and brought you back to camp.”
“You couldn’t lift me with those little arms.” He gave her upper arm a squeeze. “But thank you for staying. My question is how did you heal me?”
Rosaline frowned, “I didn’t. You purged and that was it.”
“No, I mean how did you heal me during the fight with the Unwashed?”
“You call that a fight? You massacred them. Serves them right for trying to kill you.” She fell forward.
Ignacio placed the bowl down and tried to steady her. “I cannot take that as a compliment.”
“You should take it as a sign that you are the ultimate protector. But you shoved me into a cosmic space. Why did you do that?”
“You were about to be hit by a few poisoned arrows. I will never let them get anything into your body. No Unwashed will be able to try to control you as long as I draw breath.”
“You shoved me into the cosmic space, and I found my body. Then I stuffed that sucker into the cosmic space and went looking for you. I thought of all the faces you make and all of the times you cared when no one else did, and then I found you. There was something wrong with you, but I didn’t care. I pulled you into the space and left you alone to think about how you left me alone.” She pointed to herself, “Then I taught them why they were a bunch of ignorant fools by giving them a blast of my lif
etime of regrets and doubt. They didn’t take it very well.”
“That’s what you hit them with? Negative emotions?” He was looking at her incredulously.
“Yes, because they couldn’t take it. They want power, and that took all of their power away. Then I thought about you again and all of the ways that you look at me, and there you were, looking back at me from the cosmic space. This time you looked just fine. Or handsome. You are always handsome. But you looked fine because you were unhurt.”
“Uh, you healed me by shoving me into the cosmic space and imagining me as I was?”
Rosaline wrapped her arms around him, “I’ve been poisoned.”
That got his attention. “That isn’t possible. I made sure none of the arrows touched you. Show me the wound.”
“No, I need you to help me get the poison out.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You don’t have any idea what you are asking for.”
“Yes, I do. I am poisoned, and you need to help work it out of my system.”
“And now you are just being silly. I will rest with you until you get to sleep.”
“I’m poisoned,” she moaned pitifully as he moved her over on the bed.
“Is this what you were like in front of Darius?”
“No, he was all serious and tragically handsome, so he made me tragically serious, too.”
“You seem like you are drunk right now.”
“I’ve never been drunk. But I’m poisoned, and you are just going to let me die after pretending to love me.”
A warm pair of lips caused her to stop talking and look up. “I do love you, and that is why I am not going to do anything of the sort.”
She groaned and rolled so that her back faced him. Before she knew it, Rosaline was asleep again.
Several days passed and she returned to something more closely resembling normal.
They sat at the table eating a late dinner. Ignacio had left a few times to clean up the mess and report what had happened. When he refused to say where Rosaline was, he was told not to return to the druids’ home until he was willing to help them find her.
“They are in quite the tizzy looking for you. As much as I enjoy having you here, you will have to go back. You know that, right?” Ignacio smiled at her.
“Yes, I will, but I won’t stay.”
“What will you do?”
Rosaline sighed, “I am formulating my new path. It’s not as easy as you would think, changing paths at such an old age.”
“Oh yes, you are quite the old woman.” He reached over and picked up her plate. Ignacio went to the sink and began to clean.
Rosaline moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She pressed her face against his back. “Once upon a time, an assassin asked me a question.”
“I’m certain that several assassins have asked you questions. Which time do you mean?”
Rosaline bumped her head against his back, “Fine. Once upon a time, an assassin asked a druid a question. The druid was a bit thick and couldn’t see what a lot of other people saw, so when he asked her the question, she got scared. Later, he opened his heart and told her more and asked her the question again.” She felt Ignacio stiffen in her arms, and she knew that he was nervous about what she was going to say. “She was such a foolish, foolish girl that she turned down the best thing that ever happened to her. After the assassin nearly died, she realized that the worst thing she had ever done was refuse him. Not only was he hurt, but so was she. So she decided to try to make it right.”
“What did she do?”
“She confronted the assassin and admitted she was a fool.”
“And what did he do?” Ignacio’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“She’s still waiting for his answer.”
Ignacio put the dish down and dried his hands. Carefully, he pulled her hands away from his stomach, then turned to face her. “So, are you going to confront me?”
Rosaline stood on her toes and kissed him. Ignacio stood still, his eyes wide open as he looked at her.
Rosaline smiled, “Ignacio, I was a fool. An idiot. And so much worse. I saw you with Dulce and got so jealous, but didn’t understand that. Whenever you left, I had to follow you because I hate being separated from you. I love you.” With that, she jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around him and kissing him.
At first they were both a little awkward as they worked through their first kiss. Rosaline giggled and put her face in his neck. “I never thought I would kiss anyone.”
“Yes, it is actually more challenging than it looks.” He brushed her hair back. “I feel certain that between our brains and abilities, we’ll be able to figure it out.”
“Now will you work the poison out of my system?” She looked into his eyes and noticed his face went a brilliant shade of red.
“No, no, no. You don’t—that is—it doesn’t mean quite what you think it means. And I can assure you that no poison got into your system, I’ve checked nearly every day.”
“You missed a spot.”
“I can assure you that you are fine.”
“Draven and Haiden were more than happy to help the women they loved.”
“Well, yes, but I can protect you better and you won’t ever need to worry about it. The Unwashed will never be able to get to you.”
“Can you pretend that I have been poisoned?”
The different shades of pink and red that Ignacio’s face could change to were staggering as he tried to navigate the conversation. “Look, it’s a very intimate process.”
“I know. Haiden told me that it meant that he and Harmony—”
“Oh my gods!” Ignacio kissed her to get Rosaline to be quiet. She moved her body up and down on his, trying to pull him into a deeper kiss. He pulled away from her, “Are you sure?”
“I’ve found my path, and it is right next to yours. If you will have me.”
Ignacio looked into her eyes. Brushing her hair out of her face, he wrapped an arm around her waist and another slid down her hair and rested on her shoulders. Slowly, he walked toward the bed. He lay her down and began kissing her neck. Rosaline pressed her body against his. “I love you, Ignacio.”
“I love you, Rosaline.” He slowly worked his clothes off as his hands moved along her body.
She giggled a little, “That tickles.”
“Good to know. I will save that information for a later time.” He began to remove her top and bra. When that proved to be more difficult than he expected, he ripped them apart. “I will buy you two new ones.” His mouth covered her nipple and Rosaline let out a little scream and pushed her hips into his. She wrapped her feet around his thighs, and began to stroke them.
Ignacio moaned and pulled her body to his. “I am trying to go slowly, but you are making it so hard.”
She giggled, “Isn’t that the whole idea?”
“Oh, you little…” He pressed his mouth to hers as he began to slide into her.
Rosaline flinched, but the pain quickly gave way to a completely new sensation. Her hand went into his hair, and she screamed. “Yes! Oh gods, more!”
Ignacio carefully worked into her, bringing her to climax several times before he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Before he could pull away from her, Rosaline pulled him to her, urging him to release inside her. He placed his head in the crook of her neck and felt her tense again as he spilled into her.
He lay down on her, gasping. She twirled a finger in his hair. “I cannot believe I was going to go my whole life without ever experiencing that.”
He looked up at her, “I thought I would be alright without it, but now I think that I agree with you. I want more.” Ignacio began to kiss her as his nimble fingers stroked a few new areas of her body to see what would happen.
Phoenix’s Assassin
Panthers of Brigantia
Book 3
By: Lisa Daniels
Prologue
The Art of Patience
Orion
massaged his temples, telling himself that he had done everything he could for Ignacio. Darius had vaguely warned him of what was coming, and Orion knew better than to ignore a warning from one of the few people he trusted. While Darius hadn’t exactly provided anything concrete about future events, it was obvious that it was bad. As much as Orion wanted to push him for more details, Darius had kept the discussion short, explaining that he was on a second back walk and had something else that needed his immediate attention.
The thing was that Orion really didn’t need the details. The look in his friend’s eyes had been more than enough to let him know that Ignacio’s life was on the line, but like Darius, Orion had something far more pressing to handle that only he could do. Ignacio would have to learn how to take care of things on his own. The problem was that Orion feared his mentee would take on too much, as Darius had hinted.
Frustration at his own inabilities often made him forget just how vital his role was. Unlike the other shifter types, assassins were completely unique. Panther shifters were more numerous than most other shifter types, and they thrived in the lands considered to be the druids’ domain. It was true that the druids were now the most powerful magic users, but the reason why their country was safe was because of the panther shifters who roamed the lands. Most druids lived their lives rarely tapping into a small fraction of their abilities, but that did not mean that each individual did not have a very accurate idea of what they could do. They prided themselves on their ability to refrain from flexing their proverbial magical muscles. Only the priestesses were untrained in knowing their limits, and few druids were interested in the restrictive life of a priestess, let alone the upper echelon of the order. But druids were more than content to stay near their home. Most of them could mentally stroll the lands without leaving home, which was far safer, even if they could not interact with their surroundings.
When druids did leave, they never went alone. Their magic was too much of a draw for other creatures, and being a rather hot-headed magic user group, it was often the job of an assassin to keep them company—as much for the safety of those around the druid as to protect the druid. It was not unheard of for two assassins to travel with the more powerful druids. Still, with few druids having any desire to leave home, the number of assassins rarely exceeded a dozen. Their missions were largely to assess people that druids found to be a negative influence on the world around them. As the more level-headed shifter species, assassins would go in and determine whether a person deserved to die, and would report back with their final assessment of their targets.