by Ford, Rinna
“Please, Mom.”
She looked at the agony on my face, and the fact I called her ‘Mom’ spoke volumes.
“Okay.”
She led me toward the basement door and waited for one of the guards to open it, letting us in and down the stairs. Ronan jumped up from his mattress when he saw the state I was in and grabbed the bars of the door.
“What happened? Is she alright?”
He was shouting questions at my mom, at the guards, everyone, in hopes they would answer. I waved him off as my mom lowered me onto the dingy mattress. She knelt over me, brushing the hair from my forehead and it felt like I was a girl again. She looked at me with such love and concern, like a mother does.
“Thank you,” I told her and swallowed back the tears.
“I don’t like leaving you here, especially like this.”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
She looked from Ronan back to me and nodded her head. My mom leaned over and kissed my forehead then rose to standing and walked out of my cell, wiping tears from her face. She looked at me for just a little bit longer then touched the arms of both the guards, telling them to follow her, which they did just in time.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I waited for the sound of the door closing behind them before I groaned in agony. Pressure began to build more and more behind my eyes, in my ears, and out of the top of my head until it began to move down my neck. My head was still throbbing, but it had begun to spread downward into my body.
I writhed on the dirty mattress as the torment continued to move into my chest and torso, then out toward my arms and legs. And I thought the last time my mark added to itself was bad. The night my mark was complete, it felt like my skin was burning for hours on end but at least my entire body wasn’t on fire like it felt in that moment.
I could see Ronan calling out to me out of the corner of my eye, his hands stretched through the bars that separated our prison cells with tears streaking down his dirty cheeks and into his beard. I wanted to comfort him but I couldn’t even comfort myself.
I closed my eyes tightly and prayed that this torture would end quickly and that he wasn’t going to watch me die. I decided I didn’t care if I ever got my magic back as long as he didn’t have to watch me suffer and perish that way. He was suffering right along with me and I wanted to take it all back and deal with it in silence so he wouldn’t have to go through it too. But there was nothing I could do at that point but just ride it out.
The pain’s intensity kept building in almost a deep, body shaking pulse, but more so around my center. My chest and torso throbbed like a heartbeat, hard and strong until I couldn’t stand it anymore. My back arched off of the mattress and my mouth opened in a near silent scream. It was too much, and I just knew it was going to kill me.
Then suddenly, I felt heat coming from my chest and saw light behind my closed eyelids. The light and heat pulsed along with the pain as it came and went in waves. Then the pulses got stronger and shorter, stronger and shorter until it was one long agonizing beat, then I imploded… and I felt nothing. No pain, no vibrations, nothing.
My eyes were open wide and staring at the cement-covered ceiling, my cheeks wet from silent tears but I was alive. That was when I noticed it, the barest hint of magic stirring, waiting. It was as if it was hiding, scared of something bigger and badder. But my magic was the biggest and baddest thing around and it knew it, so why was it hiding?
I coaxed it out gently, reassuring it that it was okay. I would never lock it up again because it was more than just a part of me. With my vampire side and Soliel, my magic made me who I was. I accepted it wholly and I loved it completely.
My magic enveloped me in a warm hug and I sat up, gasping deep. It was beautiful. It was amazing, and exactly what I needed.
“Emelia?”
I turned my head to see Ronan sitting on the cold, hard floor near the bars of his cell watching me. He looked sad, scared, confused, and full of hope all at the same time. He’d watched me go through it, my magic returning and he suffered with me through every single agonizing second.
“Millie, are… are you okay?”
Sparks crackled on my fingertips as I itched to push the messy hair from his eyes. The sight made him jump to his knees and his mouth opened in wonder. I needed to touch him. The mate bond was pulling at me, telling me he was what we needed, but more than that, I knew in my heart he was what we needed too. Not just to stabilize the magic within me, but because he made me complete.
Xander, Matias, and Ronan were all very different and all three made me strong in different and amazing ways, but together, they made me complete. I never wanted anything like I wanted that.
I pushed off of the mattress and began crawling toward Ronan’s cell, but I’d only gotten a few feet when my body teleported from my cell to his. I landed on top of him, knocking the air out of him with a thud.
“What? How’d you do that?” he asked when he was able to take a breath.
He gently pushed me off of him and onto the mattress where he sat next to me, holding my arms in his hands.
I looked down at where we were connected. “My magic wanted you, I guess,” I told him as if it explained everything. I knew it didn’t but I couldn’t find the right words to tell him more. Then it occured to me that there were eyes and ears all around. “What’s a good illusion spell?” I asked. “I want them to see and hear something different than what’s happening now.”
“What? What are you talking about?” He was genuinely confused and I couldn’t blame him, but I’d planned to tell him everything. I just didn’t want anyone besides him to hear it.
“A spell? We don’t have much time.”
He must have realized that I meant business because he leaned in and whispered a spell into my ear. My fingers sparked again without warning and I prayed my magic would let me perform the spell.
“Grinda palamos.”
I closed my eyes as I said the spell, waiting to see if it would work. My magic was still very unstable, especially being so close to the one it wants most.
“Is it working?” I asked, one eye peeked open.
“I don’t know, lass. What do you want them to see and hear? Are you picturing it in your mind?”
No I wasn’t. I closed my eyes tightly again and imagined me sleeping on my own disgusting mattress and Ronan pacing in his cell. Once the illusion was complete in my mind, it felt real. I opened my eyes again and saw Ronan looked less solid, in fact, he was nearly translucent. But when I held out my hand to touch him, he felt solid underneath my fingers, but they, too, were almost see-through as well.
I turned my head toward my cell and saw another image of me, exactly as I’d pictured it in my head. My back was turned to us and I was asleep. It worked. Whoever was watching or listening wouldn’t be able to observe the real us, just the image I portrayed in the space we were in.
A smile lit up my face. I’d done it. I used magic the way I was supposed to. I hadn’t had that happen in what seemed like a long time. Ronan smiled happily along with me and I had the incredible desire to kiss him, so that’s exactly what I did.
I pulled on his shirt, bringing him closer as my mouth moved toward his until they met in the middle. He didn’t hesitate, bringing his hands to the sides of my face, holding me delicately but with so much need.
My head spun with the sensation of it, and all I wanted was more. I needed more. I needed it all.
I began unbuttoning the last few buttons that remained on his shirt and he moved us closer to the mattress, laying me down on top of it. He whipped the shirt off, revealing lots of lean, strong muscles that my fingers ached to touch. I didn’t have to wait long for him to come back to me. He kissed me like I was the only woman in the world and in that moment, I believed I was. It was everything.
But then his kisses slowed and he slightly pulled away. Ronan ran his fingers over my cheek and down to the column of my throat, making me shiver with anticipation. My fi
ngertips sparked again in between us making him jump.
“My magic wants you almost as much as I do,” I smiled, jokingly.
“How did you do that?” he questioned. “I thought your magic was taken like mine.”
I shook my head slowly. “When I was captured, I was suppressing my magic all on my own with a potion. Only a few people knew the truth, but most thought my magic was snuffed out because my shifter and vampire sides were too strong. Alec didn’t feel the need to cover my caster side when he covered the other two parts of me because he couldn’t find it.”
“So that was what that potion was, then? It was suppressing your natural magic? Why? Why would you deny that part of yourself?”
He looked sad, almost distraught at the thought of it. I reached up and smoothed down the lines on his forehead that formed when he frowned and took in a deep breath.
“My magic worked like it was supposed to until I met Matias,” I began to explain. “It started with little things going wrong but then when we mated, my caster side went haywire. I think it needed you, my caster mate, to fix it, to make it stable and I couldn’t find you… it nearly got me killed.” His frown became hardened, almost angry. “When I faced off against Ironshot at the cabin, I couldn’t call for my caster’s blade and he stabbed me. It just didn’t come to me. I couldn’t control it anymore.” I took in another deep breath. “So my uncle and a friend of his made a potion for me to take to hide my caster side away, temporarily, just so we could find a way to fix it...but I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find you.”
“You need to bond with me.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, I do. But if…”
He put a finger on my lips, making me stop talking and shifted his body slightly, settling in and getting more comfortable.
“The moment I felt you for the first time, I was so fucking excited, but not because I ever wanted a mate. I never wanted commitment and a picket fence, but with a mate, I had more power at my fingertips. All I had to do was find you and bond with you. But then, my beautiful Millie, I found you. When I saw you, I realized I wanted something else. I needed you and not because of what you could give me, but I wanted you with me always. I have to admit, it scared the shit out of me and confused me to no end.” He chuckled a laugh and smoothed my hair back. “I didn’t know what to make of it, and looking back, I’m grateful you didn’t give in and go with me. They would’ve killed you. I was so fucking stupid to believe I could keep you safe.”
“You were such an asshole,” I grinned.
He gently pinched my side in mock annoyance but quietly laughed with me. “Yeah, I was. I’m sorry. But you have to admit, I’ve redeemed myself.”
I nodded my head in agreement. We met two more times after that and both times, he saved me. He fought his friends for me to help me. He’d definitely redeemed himself in my eyes and that was why I continued to lay underneath him, letting him caress my face lovingly because I loved him too. Not just because I was someone Fate chose for him to love but because after everything, he chose me.
He chose me over fame and power, over his friends and his beliefs. He chose me. Looking into his eyes, I knew he’d do it over and over again without question, forever, and that I’d do the same.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Make love to me.”
I never thought those words would come from my mouth, but I couldn’t find better words to express what I wanted from him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and I felt the need to try and explain it better. I didn’t want him because it would be the answer to one of my problems. “I don’t want you to fuck me because it’ll help my magic…”
His lips crushed mine in a searing kiss, cutting off my flubbed up excuse and pulled the long fabric of my skirt, letting his hand run up my thigh.
“But, Ronan...”
“Hush,” he gently commanded. “You will never have to ask me for that, ever. I’ll give it to you gladly, even if it were only to bring your magic back. I’d do anything you’d ask of me.”
His nimble fingers slid down between us and through my slick heat. I wasn’t wearing any panties only because I wasn’t given any, but as I lay there beneath my caster mate, I was so damn glad. He pushed through my folds expertly and all I could do was sigh.
“Besides,” he murmured against my jaw, “even if this is to get your magic back and nothing more, you’ll be stuck with me. I’ll have eternity to make you need me as much as I need you.”
His tone was light and joking but I could tell it was a worry of his. I put both of my hands on his face so he was looking dead in my eyes.
“You don’t need eternity for that. You already have me too.”
I kissed him again, showing him there was nothing to doubt, not when it came to me and how I felt. I’d want him, I’d need him even if he wasn’t Fate’s chosen mate for me. He was perfect for me.
His fingers moved away from my pussy and I felt him unzip his zipper, freeing himself. His hardness nudged against my folds and I held my breath in anticipation.
“I’m sorry we can’t take our time, lass. This is going to be quick, but only because I don’t know how much time we have before the illusion wears off.”
He slid inside of me steadily until he was all the way inside, and I moaned again.
“Next time,” I sighed. “Next time you’ll have to make it up to me.”
“And every time after that,” he agreed and began moving in and out of me.
He pulled my left thigh up, making himself go even deeper. Being with him like that was Heaven right there in the middle of Hell. I nearly forgot the dirty mattress and damp cell we were in as our bodies moved as one.
“Fuck,” he groaned as the pressure built where our skin touched, my hands on his arm and back and his on my thigh. “So… perfect.”
Like Ronan, I knew our bond was solidifying and although this wasn’t the first time for me, it still amazed me too. It was quite literally the most beautiful feeling in the entire world to have our souls attach to one another, and I was the luckiest woman to be able to experience it again.
“I love you,” I whispered as the tingling moved from my skin inward toward my center. I needed him to hear it from my lips, to see it in my eyes, and to feel it in my soul.
“And I, you,” he replied, his words strained as his movements became more frenzied.
The end was coming. It was obvious in the way the pressure and tingles built, until I didn’t think I could hold back any longer. I covered my mouth and screamed into my hand as the world around me shattered into a million pieces, igniting like fireworks. It was magnificent, it was everything.
I lay there boneless as the world righted itself, Ronan was raining kisses over my face and laughing. I looked at him in wonder and marveled at the feeling of our souls merged together as one.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he groaned, still smiling but he knew as well as I did we’d have all the time in the world for it, as long as we got out of there.
“I love you so much, Ronan Young,” I sighed happily and kissed him once more.
Without warning, the door at the top of the stairs burst open and loud footsteps made their way to the basement floor. I looked to the right, not seeing the image of me laying on my mattress and knew immediately the carefully woven illusion I’d made shattered the moment I came undone.
Ronan sprang to his feet and pulled me up beside him.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“You run,” Ronan replied, his voice low and strong. He was telling me to leave him behind.
“Nope. Not happening.”
I grabbed his hand and tried to teleport us out of the basement but nothing happened. Confused, I knew my caster side was back and in full effect, but still nothing happened. Realizing that it must have been protected against that kind of magic, I cursed out loud.
With my next thought, still holding Ronan’s hand, I looked inside of him for his magic. I knew it wasn’t taken away or destroy
ed because it wasn’t possible to do either, but Ronan’s magic was hidden inside of him. I just needed to find it and give it back to him, if I could.
The steps got louder as Dixon reached the bottom and moved toward Ronan’s cell, his eyes full of smug contempt. But when he put his hand on the lock, it wouldn’t budge. He tried again and again and nothing happened, making him roar.
“Are you doing that?” Ronan asked.
With my eyes closed, I nodded my head. “I’m buying us a little more time.”
“Time for what?”
His magic was buried deep, under layer upon layer of rubble. When Ronan’s magic was suppressed, it wasn’t just hidden, it was buried. They didn’t want him to ever get it back, the bastards.
I reached in further, into the rubble and magically it moved aside without much effort. It seemed like that wasn’t how it was meant to happen but there’s something to be said for souls that work as one. His soul would recognize mine and work with it rather than against it.
Just a little further. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I strained even more until I felt its warm light and pulled it out of the debris.
“Time for this,” I explained. Ronan gasped as he felt his magic return back to him and his grip became tighter in my hand.
He kissed the back of my hand. “You’re amazing,” he told me and let go, returning to a fighting stance in front of me, ready for anything that would come for us.
“I need my dragon and vampire,” I said, knowing the caster side of me was the weakest offensively. I hadn’t had as much training with magic as I had with the other parts of me. I needed a fighting chance and the only thing I could think of was getting back the rest of me.
Ronan nodded his head in agreement, but never took his eyes off the growing number of Council casters massing in front of the cell door.
“How long can you hold the lock in place?” he asked.
I felt the strain from it as the casters worked to break through the barrier.