by Heather Long
They were hurting.
This had to stop.
“Justice and I fell,” Tarus said abruptly. “We failed everyone. Our brother. The other Keepers. The humans. Dahlia.” The shards of my heart twisted. “We failed ourselves.”
“We know that now,” Zhan told me, not Khrone. “But we also found ourselves again. We found us because of you. Finding you was the best thing that’s ever happened to us. I’d Dahlia-nap you any day, Lovely.”
“Well, what do you want from me?” Khrone asked in a booming voice. “A cookie?”
Bish sighed as Seth seemed to vibrate.
“We want Dahlia,” he answered. “She needs Time. You can give her that. You can give her a long life.”
“Not really,” Khrone drawled, arms folded. “Her mortal life is over.”
The absolute finality in that statement seemed to crush Seth, but he lifted his chin. Zhan pressed his lips to my forehead and shifted until he sheltered me with his wings. The feel of his arms around me was heaven and hell at once. I wanted to lean into him, I wanted to hold him myself. I wanted to hold all of them.
“Then give her an immortal one,” Seth said. “I’ll sacrifice mine.”
“Wait.” Tarus spun, and Zhan snapped his head up. The word no stuck in my throat. “No, brother, I’ll give up mine.”
“Are you both insane?” Zhan said in exasperation. “Mine would be best.”
Khrone pulled at his lower lip as he flicked his gaze from one to the other, then finally to Bish. “What? You’re not going to volunteer to throw your wings on the pyre of this mortal’s almost flamed-out life? You, who came here to ask for it in the first place?”
All of my loves froze, then turned as one to stare at Bish. I wished I could see his face, but he was just out of my periphery.
“I can’t give up mine for her even if I wanted to,” Bish admitted. It was okay, I didn’t want any of them to give up their immortality. “But I can give her a part of my grace to withstand the change.”
Tarus glared at him. “She didn’t choose you.”
“She doesn’t have to,” Bish told him. “She’s my friend. She loves me. I love her. For some reason, she cares deeply about you three jackasses. If I can help save her, I will.” When Tarus looked like he was about to say something, Bish stepped forward and pointed at him. “But you can just shut up. I don’t want your gratitude or your threats.”
“Thank you,” Seth said, and Zhan exhaled a breath next to my ear as he echoed the same two words.
Bish cut a glance down at me, then gave me a small smile. “I could have given you a glorious life on the other side, beautiful. I might yet. I promise if it comes down to that, you’ll want for nothing. But what you really want are them, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t nod or move, so I hoped he could read it in my eyes.
“Yes, she wants them.” Turning, he faced Khrone. “So no more bullshit. You have a tell. You already want to give them the test, or you wouldn’t be holding onto her last minutes like that. Let’s put them out of their misery, and then I’ll buy you a beer.”
Hope tilted her head upward as Khrone studied Bish, then each of my guys, and finally me before he looked at her. She held up both hands, fingers crossed on each of them.
Khrone exhaled. “Judgment,” he said, his voice crackling with power. “Will you sacrifice your immortality, your grace, and your access to Domum to descend to the life of a mere human with all their restrictions and short lifespans for this woman?”
“Yes.” Seth didn’t hesitate, and I wanted to scream.
“Punishment.” Khrone turned to Tarus and asked him the same question.
“Yes,” Tarus declared. His wings were on full display, and the tattoo on his face pulsed. They were so ethereal, all of them. Well, except Khrone. He really did look like he was one pair of sunglasses away from a Beach Boys concert.
“I would give up everything for her,” Zhan declared before Khrone could even ask him. “Dahlia is our everything.”
Finally it came to Bish, and he folded his arms. “I already told you I would give up part of my grace. I would sacrifice it for her.”
“Even with all the consequences that could bring you?” Khrone challenged him.
“I’m not telling you yes again, you melodramatic twat. Get on with it.”
A laugh burst through me, even if I couldn’t move or giggle. Khrone exhaled. “Consider my debt paid, Death,” he informed him, and then Khrone’s gaze was on me, and I sucked in a deep breath of air as I could move. I clasped Zhan’s arms.
Then Khrone focused on me, and the world darkened, swirling. “No…” I wanted to tell them goodbye, something, but I was already tumbling down. The last thing I saw was the strangled expressions and tears on their faces. My heart burst for them.
They were going to lose their grace, their immortality, and everything, and for what? For me to die anyway.
No. That wasn’t their fate.
It shouldn’t be.
They deserved more.
I floated in darkness, and bit by bit, my grief faded away.
“Dahlia.” A voice called to me, and I twisted to look for it.
There was nothing.
“Dahlia.” The voice came again. Closer this time.
Where…
“Let go.”
Of what?
“Just. Let. Go.” Impatience creased the voice.
But I didn’t want them to suffer. The darkness shifted with streaks of indigo, the purple, orange, and reds, then silver and white began to twirl through it, and I reached out a hand as though I could capture the colors in my fingers.
My loves were all around me. Then the world shifted, and I stood in the center of the clock-filled room. Not only that, my loves were there in all of their glory, and they stared at me in wonder. They were okay.
Khrone had given me time. I clapped my hands together, and there was a huge crash.
I jerked around and then crashed into something before strong arms steadied me, and Seth stared into my eyes and then behind me.
Behind?
I turned my head.
Oh.
Shit.
I had wings.
Zhan let out a whoop, and Tarus’ eyes shimmered. Swinging my gaze back, I met Seth’s startled, pleasure-filled eyes. “I have wings.”
“You have wings,” he murmured as he crushed me to him. I flared the wings for balance, but I held him tight, even as I looked to Khrone.
What would this cost them?
Resolve hit me. He couldn’t have them. He couldn’t take their sacrifices.
“Oh, relax,” he said with an aggrieved sigh. “They passed the test. You all did. I’m not messing with Fate. Even Time isn’t that stupid. Fate comes for you, whether you will it or not.”
Wait.
Fate?
Bish bit back a smile, then glanced at me with a wink. “See you soon, beautiful. Find me at Sinner’s whenever you want. C’mon, Khrone. I owe you a drink.” Then he was gone, not letting me thank him.
Wait. What just happened?
Hope laughed and blew me a kiss. “Call me!”
Before I could say a word, all three of my guys had a hold of me, and the world swirled and exploded in a riot of colors before we landed back on the balcony of the apartment in Domum.
Then Seth kissed me, and I forgot my questions as I sank into his embrace. When he passed me to Zhan, I hitched my thighs to his hips, trying to balance against the wings which were heavy as fuck, but they didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest. Then I was in Tarus’ arms. Torn between laughter and moaning, I fisted his hair.
When he lifted his head, he pinned me with a look. “I love you, Beauty,” he whispered. “I love you with everything I am.”
“I love you, my sweet,” Seth said, curling a lock of my hair around his finger and tugging my attention to him. “I’ve never felt this way for anyone before, not the way I feel for you. You are my present and future.”
&nb
sp; “And mine,” Zhan added, closing up next to me until I had to pull my wings in tightly, and still, they seemed too large, but they formed a triangle around me, caging me in with their arms. “Our perfect Fate.”
Holy crap. I was an angel.
And I had my guys, and they loved me.
Tears flooded my eyes, and I threw my head back as laughter burst out of me.
They loved me.
I had freaking wings because they loved me so much.
29
‘To tempt Fate’ never held such a meaning as it does now. And these sexy as hell Keepers lived to tempt Fate. I’m not complaining. - Dahlia
Tarus
There was nothing more powerful than the sacrifice someone was willing to make for their loved ones. Their willingness to exchange their life for Dahlia’s was what ultimately brought about her immortality, even though they sacrificed nothing in the end. At times, Tarus felt ridiculous that they hadn’t thought of petitioning Time themselves. Then at others, he just had to glance at Dahlia and her shining aura shot with the colors of sunset, the deepest of indigos, and the softest whites, to truly know what happiness felt like.
“Watch out.” He steadied her as she came around the corner and her white wing slapped into the wall. The small painting Seth had mounted gently slid back and forth before stopping on a crooked angle.
“Shit,” she cursed, and laughed at the same time. “These babies are harder than I thought they’d be.”
“You’ll get it. They’re new muscles you have to exercise regularly before it comes naturally. Think about a toddler learning to walk. Consider yourself the equivalent of an angel toddler.” He smirked down at Dahlia before stealing a kiss.
“Okay, you’re making this slightly creepy, but noted. Exercise.” Her face screwed up into an adorable grimace. She could pretend she hated exercise all she wanted, even though her wild delight was on display every time she glimpsed her new wings behind her.
“You know, we never got to toss you around over the cliffs. Seth had been afraid for your delicate mortal life, but that’s not the case now though, is it?” He stroked a hand over the inside curve of her wing. She shuddered and leaned into him.
“This is going to add a whole new dimension to our sex lives, isn’t it? I swear, they’re more sensitive than my clit. And I don’t think your game is going to work anymore. The wings would be counterproductive to imitating a ball.”
“Ah, but you wouldn’t be a ball, you’d be a new angel learning to fly.” He chuckled when the light came on. Now she was understanding.
“I think I’ll pass right now. That seems a little scary.” Dahlia shuddered again, this time for an entirely different reason.
“What’s scary?” Zhan walked in and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter. Tossing it up, he caught it, then took a bite.
“Tarus here thinks that tossing me over the cliff is the perfect way to teach me how to fly.” She rolled her eyes and missed the mischievous glint that entered Zhan’s gaze. He was a fan of the idea.
There were so many new experiences they would have with Dahlia now that she was the Keeper of Fate. He couldn’t wait to teach her everything about immortality.
“She doesn’t realize that you’re serious, does she?” Zhan whispered to Tarus as she walked back toward the balcony after grabbing a drink.
A devious grin surfaced as he imagined how much fun they’d have teaching Dahlia to fly. He could already see her flying through the air, arms pinwheeling, hair flying as she screamed bloody murder. Then he’d swoop down and save her, and collect his gratitude when they reached the house.
Yeah, eternity would be fun.
Zhan
“Lovely, I need you.” Zhan followed Dahlia out onto the balcony where she was braced against the wall. Against the cotton candy colors of the sunrise, a soft pink glow shone over her wings. They were the whitest white he had ever witnessed, but now, they were painted pink, fuchsia, and violet.
His hand fisted over his heart as he willed the ghost pain of her death away. Days had passed, and still, he feared this was some elaborate dream he’d unknowingly fallen victim to.
She looked over her shoulder and smiled softly. “I think I’d rather have you over here with me.”
Zhan didn’t need any other coaxing as he immediately molded to her back.
“Tuck your wings in tight,” he murmured against her shoulder, and she pulled them in.
She was mastering her wings quicker than they’d expected, though she didn’t believe them. She was too impatient to do all the things they did, but in truth, it would probably be decades before she was that strong of a flyer.
“Did you ever think we’d be here?” She relaxed against him, pulling his arms tight across her chest.
“Considering we let Bish take you before we got our fingers out of our asses?” Zhan remarked dryly. “No.”
Her laugh soothed the worst of his aches, and he buried his nose in her hair.
“I love you, Dahlia. No matter what, never forget that you have my love.”
Twisting her head, she caught his lips in a passionate kiss, licking the seam of his mouth until he opened for her. He could drown in the beauty of her so easily.
She ended the kiss with a hard press of lips. Not kissing exactly, simply enjoying the intimacy of touch.
“I know you do. I have never, not for one minute, doubted the love you, or Tarus, or Seth, have for me. And I never will.”
The bloom of warmth in his chest had him grinning. Dahlia’s laughter washed over him as he nuzzled another kiss to her ear. She leaned into him, and he sighed, content to just hold her.
“You said you needed me,” she murmured.
He had said that. Zhan took a deep breath, rubbing his cheek against her hair. “I do,” he whispered. “I’m always going to need you.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that your fate is to be stuck with me forever.”
“I have no arguments with this fate.” At her giggle, he kissed her again. He really did enjoy the fact that he could kiss her whenever he wanted. Never would he get tired of it. He’d come to get an apple after showering, and Dahlia had been in the kitchen with Tarus… Oh. “Right, do you want to go to Sinner’s tonight?”
Surprise flickered across her expression, and she twisted in his arms to face him. “Really?”
They hadn’t been back since that fateful day. Seth had actively avoided even mentioning it, and Tarus wouldn’t likely bring it up. They’d gone to the ranch twice. Once as a test run for Dahlia to transport herself.
They weren’t doing that again anytime soon. While she’d found it hilarious that she ended up in the cow field thirty acres away, Zhan’s heart had stopped and Seth had nearly lost his mind looking for her. Tarus had taken one look at her giggling as they finally caught up to her and paddled her ass right there in that field.
The making up after had been extraordinary, but yeah, no more transports for Dahlia for a while. They would take care of that, and she could learn. But avoiding Sinner’s?
It was time.
“Have you talked to Seth or Tarus about this?” Ah, she knew him well. “No, you haven’t, because if I say I want to go, they’ll probably listen and give in.”
He gave her a hopeful smile, and she cupped his face.
“It’s a good thing I love you.” She beamed at him, and he enfolded her close to drop another kiss on her lips.
“It’s a wonderful thing.”
Seth
“Are you sure you want to go to Sinner’s?” He stared at her. There were literally thousands of places on the planet they could escape to, and she wanted to go back to the bar where they’d nearly lost her so many times.
“Yes,” she said, beaming at him. “I need to practice my human guise.” She knelt on the bed, wings spread out for balance, and he sighed as he stroked a hand along the ridge of one wing. Her lips parted at the caress, and her eyes darkened, if that was at all possible. They were fathomless as the
night sky.
“You do need to work on that.” She’d tried not too long before when Seth had finally gone to see her mother as he promised her. The woman was definitely grieving, but Seth carried with him a letter from Dahlia, one he’d found after he introduced himself as a friend of hers. While he hadn’t read it, whatever her mother found in the words had helped her grief.
Dahlia had, in one small act, put the woman on a new path, and the shadows of her loss, while still present, had lightened. As Keeper of Fate, she still had a lot to learn, but no one needed to teach her how to trust her heart.
“And you want to go to Sinner’s?” he verified, well aware that Zhan and Tarus listened intently. While neither commented yet, he gathered they waited for his judgment call.
Like he was really going to argue with Dahlia.
“I do,” she whispered, running her fingers up his chest. “It was where I met Zhan and Tarus. Where you found me that first time. It’s our place. I want to take it back.”
Disgruntled or not, he nodded and cupped her face. “As you wish, my sweet.”
Excitement filled her eyes, and her aura seemed to glow even brighter. Seth adored making her smile, and even if he didn’t particularly want to go, he found himself looking forward to it.
“But you need your human guise first,” he cautioned her, and she half-bounced to her feet on the bed and stretched out her arms and her wings.
Zhan chuckled at her antics, as did Tarus, who gave Seth a long look. He wasn’t looking forward to Sinner’s either, but how could they deny her?
His brother nodded. They couldn’t.
“Okay… One human guise coming up.” She began to spin on the bed and hum a tune to herself. All three of them cocked their heads to the side as she made a crashing sound and then stopped and posed, hands on her hips. “Well?”
Her wings gleamed brilliantly, and her eyes sparkled.
“Beauty,” Tarus exhaled. “You’re perfect.”
She was.
“But let’s try that again,” Zhan suggested. “Maybe with less spinning.”
“Fine.” She closed her eyes and concentrated.