by Meg Anne
“The power?” Lucian asked, his deep voice ragged, the memories as fresh for him as they were for her.
Effie swallowed and shook her head. “The knowing. How can you carry the weight of all you learn without succumbing to the burden?”
Lucian’s eyes flashed with understanding, the bronze flecks momentarily overtaking all other color. “You learn how to close yourself off from all but that which you are seeking. But there will be times when you find yourself a slave to the power, helpless to do anything but absorb everything regardless of your own will. That you can only endure.”
She shuddered as she remembered Smoke’s reaction to her past; the tormented sound of his voice in her mind as he revealed what it had cost him to relive it through her. Now she understood. The inescapable horror of living through someone’s pain and not having a way to process or purge it.
“It is part of the balance,” Lucian explained.
Effie nodded mutely. The man from his memory—his uncle—had said that Guardians maintain the balance. She’d misunderstood at first, thinking he spoke of something as simple as good versus evil. But what he’d really meant was the cost of a Guardian’s power. Their gift came with a price. Immortal they might be, and granted the ability to transform the world around them, but that did not make them immune to the darker side of nature. If anything, they were more intimately aware of it. Souls may be beautiful, stunning even in their purity, but no one was untouched by the cruelty of pain or desperation. In order to be worthy of the beauty, they had to also experience the sting of despair.
She had no doubt only the strongest among them could withstand it.
All of this she expressed without speaking, her eyes never leaving Lucian’s as she fought to control the unexpected tempest his memories had unleashed within her. They were a part of her now, just as hers were part of him. Because of it, they were united in a way not even death could unravel.
Lucian cupped her cheek, the gentle scrape of his thumb against her skin as tender as his whispered words. “And now you know.”
Effie’s heart ached with equal parts joy and sorrow. He wasn’t just referring to how to tap into her power, but also what she’d learned about him and what he felt for her in the process. She hadn’t doubted that he loved her. No man would willingly go through hell and back to save a woman he didn’t love. What she hadn’t realized was just how long he’d been waiting for her.
There was one memory, so well-worn and faded it was clearly a favorite. Effie had been confused about how that could be since they’d only just spent hours wrapped around each other in the prison a few nights past. Given her newfound understanding of sharing and taking prophecies, she now recognized the vision for what it was.
Kieran might have dreamed of her, but he wasn’t the only one to know before Effie was born that their fates would be intertwined. Someone had told Lucian Effie was coming, gifting him with only that one moment as proof of what he could have if he was brave enough to fight for it. Miranda had broken every rule to give Lucian that piece of his future, but her love and hope for her granddaughter had made her bold.
Her grandmother’s words, spoken to Lucian so many years ago, passed between them. “She will need you, Guardian. The Mother is generous, but Her most precious gifts never come without cost. See what can be, and know what will be lost if you fail.”
Taking Lucian’s hand in hers, Effie pressed it over her heart. “All this time, you knew . . .”
Lucian’s eyes burned with emotion. “I hoped. No future is certain, and when I saw—” he broke off, his voice rough. “If the Triumvirate know anything with certainty, it is that a Keeper’s vision is simply one potential path. A single choice can determine what comes to pass. I was told not to fail, and when I found you in the citadel after the attack, I feared I already had. But I had to try. For decades all I had was the promise of you, but then I met you, and it was only then I could truly appreciate what my failure would mean.”
It was a battle not to cry, but somehow Effie managed. There were no words she could give him that would do justice to the gift he’d just given her. But Lucian didn’t need them. Connected as they were, he already knew.
Taking a deep breath, Effie glanced around the room. “I guess I get my rule-breaking tendencies from my grandmother.”
Nord and Kael had remained silent, providing her and Lucian with the illusion of privacy, but at her words they burst into laughter. It wasn’t long before Effie joined them, her shoulders shaking as she chuckled.
Grinning, Lucian leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. “Thank the Mother for that.”
Chapter 20
Now that Effie had discovered how to tap her power, it was much easier the second time. There was no need for her to picture a door opening within her mind. It was as Lucian had promised, all she had to do was breathe and envision her lungs expanding with power. Her Guardian gifts came eagerly, crackling within her like unformed bolts of lightning.
“There’s something I still don’t understand,” she murmured, reveling in the feel of power surging through her veins.
“Just one thing?” Kael asked with a playful lift of his brow.
Effie shot him a look. “Okay, lots of things, but just one thing in particular at this exact moment. Better?”
Kael flashed her his dimples. “Much.”
Effie rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Lucian, who managed to successfully hide his amusement behind a look of polite inquiry.
“What would you like to know?”
“You told me once that the Triumvirates’ runes help contain their power. If a Guardian’s power is the same thing, shouldn’t I have runes, too?”
“What makes you think you don’t?”
Effie held out her clearly unmarked arms, looking from them back to the Guardians. “Wouldn’t I like . . . feel them or something?”
Lucian gave her one of his enigmatic smiles. “What do you remember of the transformation?”
Her brows dipped as she thought back. “Not much, really. The sense of floating and then you telling me to fill the vessel—I’m guessing my body was the literal vessel.”
Lucian gestured to himself and then each of the other Guardians in turn. “Our physical forms are a manifestation of how we remember ourselves before the change.”
“So I don’t really look like this anymore?” Effie asked with a frown as she looked down at her body.
“You do, because that is the form that you chose,” Nord interjected.
“I’m sorry, was that supposed to be an explanation?” Effie asked, her voice deceptively sweet.
Lucian was still laughing when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “What do Guardians do, Effie?”
She blinked up at him, feeling like she was back in school and had just found out there was a test she’d forgotten to study for. “Uh . . . guard?”
Kael folded in two, his laughter coming in snorts. “She’s not wrong,” he said.
Effie crossed her arms. “You know, when you guys referred to me as your little sister, I didn’t realize that meant I had actually acquired a bunch of annoying older brothers.” Despite the peevish cast of her voice, the thought actually warmed her. It was nice to have a family in more than name.
Lucian tugged on the end of one of her curls. “You better not be referring to me.”
She raised a brow. “You may not be brotherly, but you are certainly annoying.”
“As long as we have that sorted,” he replied with a wink that had her stomach turning to jelly.
“I wasn’t trying to be vague,” Nord said, once he managed to stop laughing. “Nor was Lucian, believe it or not.”
“That’s a first.”
Nord gave her an indulgent smile. “I think you’re confusing us with our alter egos.”
“Is there really that much of a difference?”
Between one breath and the next, Nord transformed into Mirror Two, his body lengthening and navy runes breaking out along his pale flesh.
“You tell me.”
Effie blinked up into the twin pools of black that had once been his eyes, her heart beating erratically in her chest. “Mother’s tits, I’d forgotten how unsettling you three were.”
“Even me?” Lucian’s question rang through her mind.
Effie spared him a glance, her expression softening. “I didn’t notice the surface as much with Smoke. He was just my friend.”
Lucian’s eyes grew heated, but there wasn’t a chance to say more.
Nord released his illusion and shrugged. “You have to admit it’s an effective visage.”
Effie shook her head. Effective really wasn’t the word she’d use.
“When we are reborn into our power, there’s a moment when we exist outside of any physical trappings. That was the feeling of floating you experienced. As the final part of our transition we choose the form that will contain our power, our body, if you will. Naturally, we return to what we know, although it is possible that we can make modifications—transformation is at the heart of our power, after all.”
Her head was starting to hurt. “So did any of you make modifications?”
The men shook their heads.
“Why mess with perfection?” Kael asked, unable to keep a straight face.
Effie let a ripple of begrudging amusement flicker through their link as she asked, “Can I really change my appearance?”
“Don’t go getting any ideas,” Lucian said in her mind, his eyes narrowing.
“You can create the illusion of any form you choose, and that is what everyone else would see, but the core elements of who you are will never change,” Nord said.
“So you’re saying I’ll always be short?” she asked, making a face.
Lucian laughed. “Don’t be so disappointed. I happen to think you’re the perfect size.”
Effie gifted him with a smile. “But what does any of this have to do with runes?”
“All magic leaves a trace, even ours. Our runes are the evidence of our transformation from human to Guardian.”
“Although,” Kael interjected, “they have the added benefit of allowing us to maintain a physical form.”
The image of locks on a chest appeared in her mind, and for a second she wasn’t sure if the analogy was her own, or gifted to her from one of her fellow Guardians. “I guess you were telling the truth when you told me the runes contained your power,” Effie murmured, glancing back to Lucian.
“I may not have always been able to tell you the entire truth, but I did my best to never outright lie,” he said with a small smile.
She stared at her completely human-looking arm, giving it a little shake. “So where are they?”
Lucian ran a tanned finger down her arm. “Use your power and see.”
It took a second for his words to register over the tingles racing up her skin. Blinking a few times to clear her mind, Effie closed her eyes and inhaled. When she opened them once more, the world was bathed in shimmering gold.
Lucian moved to stand behind her. He wasn’t touching her, but his body radiated heat, which enveloped her as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. It was distracting enough that her vision flickered, the world of light momentary replaced with its mundane counterpart.
“You’re not helping,” she muttered, fighting for focus.
“Yes, I am,” he purred. “You’re just not concentrating.”
More tingles followed his words. Will I ever stop being so affected by him? she wondered, sucking in a shaky breath.
“I hope not,” he replied, startling her.
“I really need to learn to control that better.” Lucian’s low chuckles caused her stomach to clench. “Ass.”
He only laughed harder and ran his palms down each of her arms. “Focus, fledgling.”
This time she was able to mostly ignore his presence as she looked around the room with her Guardian-enhanced vision. Now the breathless feeling in her chest was caused by the beauty that filled her eyes and not the man standing behind her. Nord and Kael glowed like twin beacons from their post by the door. She couldn’t help but smile as her eyes moved over them.
It was incredible, this ability. The world was not comprised of shapes and colors, but of pure, radiating light. Even so, she could discern each individual item in the room. The threads of life that ran through objects such as the bookcase or bed might be dim in comparison, but they were no less spectacular for it. It was the difference between the white-hot blaze of the sun during midday, or the almost silvery glow of the moon at night, and every shade in between.
Her breath caught on a giddy laugh as streaks of sunlight moved through the spider-web-thin strands of gray that comprised the walls. The mice looked like shooting stars, their tiny hearts pulsing a blinding white as they scuttled past.
“Amazing,” she whispered.
Lucian’s hands settled on her shoulders, grounding her. Lifting her arm, Effie looked at herself for the first time. Her limbs were a network of shimmering white-gold strands. As she twisted her arm, she made out the snaking runes. Instead of inky blue, they were a stunning shade of silver, transparent but impossible to ignore.
A soft “oh” of wonder left her lips as she lifted her eyes and made out the same ghostly shapes on both Nord and Kael. The runes had always seemed a bit eerie, nothing like the masculine beauty of a jaka—the warriors’ tattoo that branded both Ronan and Von—but now, seeing them in their true form, she was drawn to the ethereal markings.
Twisting beneath his hands, Effie turned to face Lucian, suddenly desperate to see what he looked like with the trappings of mortality no longer between them.
It hurt to look at him, he shone so brightly. Like staring up at the sun. If she was white-gold, Lucian was liquid metal. The core of each thread white while the edges shimmered a lovely, burning bronze. It was almost the same color as the flecks in his eyes, but more potent. Everything about him in this form was more. Lucian had always called to her on some subconscious level. First as a protector, and then simply as a man. But that paled in comparison to the effect he had on her now. Perhaps because she knew she was as close as she’d ever be to seeing his soul, and it was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her feelings were a complicated tangle as she stood before his glowing form. She felt equal parts unworthy and utterly at peace. As if she was in the presence of some holy figure. But this was Lucian. The man who knew her as well as, if not better than, she knew herself.
Desire spiraled through her, making her more aware of her physical body and its reaction to him. It was hard not to reach out and touch him, pull him to her and remind herself that he was in fact real.
Lucian’s hands spasmed on her shoulders, his fingers digging in as she stared up at him. The pressure in her chest grew painful, and Effie realized she’d forgotten to breathe.
The outline of his runes shimmered, and her fingers itched to trace them. Lifting her hand, she murmured his name, still concentrating on his runes when a thundering knock sounded on the door. Effie blinked and the world was dark once more. For one long second, she couldn’t see anything in the sudden gloom.
Lucian let out an angry hiss. “Get rid of them,” he told the others.
Nord’s eyes were wide, staring pointedly at Effie. “How do you suggest I do that without anyone catching sight of her?”
“Effie, I need you to hide your runes,” Lucian said, his voice low and insistent in her mind.
Effie was disoriented, her body feeling ungainly and cumbersome in the abrupt absence of her power. She blinked up at him. “What?”
Worry flickered in his dark eyes. “Your runes. While you were accessing your power you managed to manifest them. You need to undo it.”
The knocking sounded again, even more impatient this time.
“Undo it? I don’t even know what I did in the first place.” Panic was making it hard to breathe. She absolutely could not be caught with her runes on display. She’d been a Guardian for a few days, and she was already about to g
ive away one of their most closely guarded secrets.
Before Nord or Kael could say anything, the door started to swing open. Lucian moved fast, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her body behind his. As he did, she felt heavy cloth settle around her head and shoulders. He’d managed to conceal her with a cloak in the space of a heartbeat, although it’d happened so fast she hadn’t seen what he’d used to make it.
“Apologies for the interruption, Guardians, but there’s someone that’s insisting on speaking with you.”
A muffled, clearly feminine voice was muttering something indistinguishable from just beyond the distressed-looking speaker.
“Now really isn’t the best time,” Lucian began.
Lucian’s worry lapped at her. It was a mirror of her own. From behind the folds of her hood, Effie watched a pale hand wrap around the messenger’s arm and pull the boy back.
No longer muffled, Effie’s heart stopped when the voice spoke again. “Trust me, they’ve been waiting for me long enough.”
Helena. Ronan’s messages must have finally reached her.
The Kiri had arrived.
Chapter 21
“Where is she? Where’s Effie?”
Effie’s mouth opened, a response on her lips as her body prepared to launch itself in her friend’s arms, only to come up short. The flash of scarlet in the corner of her eye reminded her just in time why Lucian hid her in the first place. Am I still runed? How do I check without alerting everyone to the fact I’m not actually a member of the Triumvirate? Or explain what I’m doing pretending to be one of them in the first place?
“I’m right here,” a soft voice called.
For the second time in as many minutes, Effie’s heart stopped. There, just beside Kael where Nord had been leaning against the wall, stood . . . well—her.
While Lucian had sprung to action robing her, Nord must have cast an illusion to take her place and thereby maintaining the pretense of their meeting.
“This isn’t your first time doing this . . .”
None of the Guardians’ expressions betrayed them, but Lucian managed an infinitesimal shake of his head.