“It’s a good thing… I haven’t laughed like this in a while.”
She smiled. “It looks good on you.”
“Thanks, it feels good too.”
She smiled. “I bet it does.”
Silence fell between them for a brief moment, but was shattered by Katy Perry’s Wide Awake. Marie almost flinched at the sound and reached for her phone. Her smile fell as she looked at the screen.
“Bastard,” she whispered, and then answered. “What do you want?” she snapped.
Uriah cast his gaze away, looking for something interesting to focus on. He could hear both ends of the conversation and felt like an ass for listening in. When Marie started cussing in Spanish, he couldn’t help but chuckle and look back at her. She smiled. “You’re laughing at me again.”
“I suppose I am,” Uriah admitted.
“Marie… Hey, who is that?”
Marie rolled her eyes and answered Marko. “That’s Uriah… you remember Uriah, right?”
“Where are you?” Marko demanded. Uriah’s brows arched at the tone.
“It’s none of your goddamned business where I am. In fact, you lost the right to ask that when you decided to go sleeping around, you fucking prick.”
“So your response is to spread your legs for the first man that shows you the smallest amount of attention? You can call me a prick, but that pretty much makes you a whore. Then again, I should have known that was what I was getting into bed with when you fucked me the first night.”
“Fuck you!” she yelled before ending the call and throwing her phone down on the couch.
Uriah held back a growl. No matter what had transpired between the two of them, Marko was out of line. Katy Perry’s voice greeted them again. Marie’s phone was in Uriah’s hand before she could even think to reach for it. Her eyes widened, and her head tilted. “What are you doing?”
“Keeping you from engaging in this any further. You don’t need to subject yourself to his venom.” He ended the call, sending Marko to voicemail.
She sucked in a breath. “You heard him?”
Uriah nodded and she looked away.
“I’m not a whore,” she whispered. “I’ve been called reckless and I dive in headfirst, but I’d known him for a few months before I—”
Uriah shook his head and cut her off. “You don’t have to explain it to me. You don’t have to explain yourself to anybody, ever.”
She bit her lip. “Yeah, but it matters to me that you not think that I just jump into bed with guys the first night… I may have slept with him on the first date, but we had known each other for a while.”
Uriah’s heart skipped a beat… It mattered to her what he thought. He thought she was perfect. The phone rang again, and this time he went to answer it. Marie must have caught the intent in his gaze. She launched herself across the couch to tackle him. Uriah caught her with one arm and pulled her to the side, holding her phone with his other hand out of her reach.
“Don’t answer it!” she nearly squealed.
Uriah turned his head to look into her beautiful tanzanite eyes. “Why?”
She whimpered. “Because he’s going to say something shitty about me, and likely you too.”
“Do you think his words would change what I see when I look at you?”
Her blue eyes softened and a stunning smile pulled softly at her lips. “He could taint your opinion.”
Uriah shook his head. “There is nothing he could say that could taint the beautiful woman I see when I look at you. Don’t let him break your confidence and don’t let his words shake your strength.”
Her smile widened. “You think I’m beautiful?”
He laughed softly. “I’m not blind, Marie. I thought so from the first time we met. I also happen to think you are like a breath of life, confident, and what some might call reckless… I call strength. So whatever this asshole has to say to me about you is of no consequence. What he may have to say about me means nothing. He doesn’t know me, and those who cast stones at those they don’t know are cowards who use the defamation of others to boost the low opinions they have of themselves.”
She stared at him as he swiped his finger across her screen and answered her phone.
“Hello.”
“Who is this?” Marko’s anger was palpable in his tone.
“Uriah, we met at one of Bain and Izzy’s get-togethers.”
“Yeah, I remember you and your hoard of brainless muscle. Put Marie on the phone.”
Uriah chuckled. “She’s busy moving on from the little man who resorts to name calling when he’s caught in the wrong. She doesn’t want to talk to you, and she doesn’t want you calling her anymore.”
“Put her on the fucking phone.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen… What is going to happen is that I am going to call some of the brainless muscle from the security firm I own to track all the calls that come through to Marie’s phone and, if you call again, then we will deal with this in person. Do you understand?”
“Fuck you.”
“Does that mean you understand?”
“You can fucking have her. She’s not that great a lay anyway.” Marko spat.
Marie sucked in a sharp breath, and Uriah tightened his grip around her waist as he growled, “One more venomous word from your foul mouth and I won’t wait for you to call back before I seek you out… Have some respect for the woman you claimed to have loved for over a year.”
The line went dead. Uriah set her phone down before turning to see her face buried in her hands. He reached over to guide her hands away, but she resisted. He sighed and adjusted so they were lying on the couch. He wrapped his other arm around her and held her.
She whispered through her hands. “That was mortifying.”
Uriah shook his head and squeezed her. “No, it was the ranting of an asshat.”
She let out a quick burst of laughter and peeked at him through her fingers. “Did the word taste funny on your tongue?”
He smiled at her. “Did I sound weird saying it?”
“A little,” she admitted. “You’re very old-world gentleman … or at least, that’s mostly how you’ve appeared every time we’ve ever talked.”
“I like to think of myself as a gentleman… I think that’s a good thing, though.”
“It’s a really good thing… You just don’t see it very often.”
“Chivalry is not dead, Marie. Maybe you just haven’t found the right guy.”
She smiled and relaxed against him. Maybe she just had.
“Good night, Uriah.”
He started to get up to let her go to one of the bedrooms, but she flung her arm over his waist and snuggled her face against his chest. “Can we just stay here?”
He pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over them. “Sure thing. Good night, Marie.”
“Night, thanks for being there for me,” she said on a yawn.
He smiled as stage seven came and moved on… He was feeling like plain old Uriah once again.
Chapter Eight
Makyle strode through the dark halls of his castle. He moved with confidence, his eyes drinking in the details of the black marble that created the only home he’d ever known. He couldn’t remember what life was before he found himself in the walls of the castle that housed the rulers of the Dark side of the Underworld. All he knew was who his family was and what he was supposed to do.
Rules—his life had been born of rules. It was what defined him and his siblings. Only he didn’t like or understand the rules anymore. He wasn’t really sure he ever did. With a quick scan around the hall, he slipped inside Jelena’s room. Darkness surrounded him. Only the light of a dark red moon peeked through the thick drapes that hid and protected Jelena and Makiah from the prying eyes of the Underworld. Making his way to her bedside, Makyle gently shook her from her sleep. She rolled over to look at him, her eyes heavy with sleep.
“Makyle?”
“Get up; it’s time to go.”<
br />
Her eyes widened and her head shook. “It’s too soon. I need more time with him.”
Makyle smiled as he looked past her to the sleeping baby at her side. “He’s going with you. Now come on, we need to hurry.”
Jelena didn’t ask any questions. She just slipped from the bed. Wrapping Makiah up in a blanket, she held the child against her chest and slid into a black cloak Makyle handed her.
“Leave everything; we’ll get you what you need once we’re out of here.”
Jelena nodded, and Makyle flipped her hood over her head to conceal most of her face.
With a quick check to see that the coast was clear, Makyle hurried her down the dark hall and out into the shadowed courtyard.
“You ready to run?”
She nodded.
“Good, we need to make it to the trees before we can use any magic.”
With her arms wrapped around Makiah, who still slept soundly under the cloak, she placed a hand under his bottom and another in support of his head, before they sprinted for the tree line. They continued to move through the forest before finding a clearing that provided enough space for Makyle to let loose a set of massive, dark, titanium-colored wings. Jelena let her own molten-copper wings free, and they took to the skies high above the black castle that had held her prisoner for nearly ten months. With the warm air caressing the feathers of her escape, Jelena sighed a quick breath of relief. Her gaze shifted to her brother, his feathered wings taking on the slick appearance of armor. She looked behind them to see that they were alone in the sky.
Makyle smiled. “I’d rather be prepared.”
She nodded, wishing her wings shifted to armor like her brothers. Just another thing that made them the perfect rulers of the Dark side of the Underworld.
The flight was quick, and Jelena felt the press of air in her lungs. She felt free. Her hands still supported her babe, who stirred slightly but stayed sleeping throughout the flight. They landed in the fields of Limbo, the neutral space between the Dark and Light sides of the Underworld. Limbo housed the wandering souls that couldn’t find comfort in the Light side and hadn’t lived a life that deserved the punishment of the Dark side. Limbo was of no consequence to Makyle. He’d traveled through the field many times as he visited his sisters, but for Jelena, who’d never ventured to the Dark side of the Underworld until Zarek collected her after the battle, Limbo was surreal and uncomfortable.
Jelena’s feet hit the swaying, wheat-covered soil. Her arms instinctively tightened around the little buddle hidden beneath the black fabric.
“This is sad. Do you feel their sorrow?” she whispered to Makyle as he guided her forward.
“It is nothing compared to some of the levels in the Dark.”
Jelena looked up at her brother, studying the strong, stubble-strewn jaw and focused gaze as they pushed forward. She didn’t ask any more questions.
They reached the edge of the field where a path gave way to the entrance of the Light lands. The souls didn’t venture past the field, which allowed Jelena to relax slightly. She didn’t fear the souls. She just wasn’t comfortable with the lost look in their eyes. So many Fae who had ventured off the path just enough to be denied entrance to her domain, but stayed just on the other side of what would give them to her brothers. It was a sad end for anyone.
It didn’t surprise either of them that their sisters arrived at the gates just after they reached them. Acacia threw herself at Jelena, who stepped back to avoid the crushing embrace. Acacia’s brows furrowed, and Meriah cocked her head.
“Oh, don’t look me at me like that,” she said, shucking the cloak and handing Makiah to Makyle so she could fully embrace her sisters. “I couldn’t have you crushing him.”
Both Meriah and Acacia were wide-eyed as they held Jelena and watched Makyle hold the small baby.
Finally pulling back, Jelena wiped at the tears that trickled down her porcelain cheeks.
Acacia and Meriah both swiped at their eyes before Meriah finally spoke. “He’s yours and Uriah’s?”
Jelena nodded and reached out to take the bundle from Makyle. “Meet my son, Makiah.”
Acacia nearly squealed as she reached out to run her fingers gently over his head of black velvet hair. “He’s beautiful.”
“Yes, he is,” Meriah agreed.
“And you need to get him into your domain and protect him.”
Meriah cocked her head at Makyle. “What did you do?”
“We always knew Jelena would end up back here with you both, but there have been disagreements over what would come of the child. Three to one believe he belongs to our domain, and they will come for him. The only place he is safe is behind those gates.”
“Then let’s get him inside,” Acacia said, moving past the thick, gold gates that led to the sisters’ retreat. Meriah followed.
Jelena turned to Makyle, a brilliant smile on her face. “Thank you. I will never forget what you have done for me, and I’ll miss you.”
He nodded, knowing that there was punishment in his future, and that there was no return for Jelena once she crossed the gates.
“May I?” he asked, gesturing toward the now-awake child in her arms. She nodded and handed him Makiah.
Makyle stared into the mismatched eyes of his nephew, something deep inside of him pricking with both pain and love. Makiah grasped Makyle’s finger and a small coo came from his little lips. “You be a good little man. Make sure your momma tells you all about your Uncle Makyle and how much he loved you.”
Jelena lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Makyle’s cheek. “Thank you for everything. For giving me a future with my son. I know what you have sacrificed for us.”
Makyle looked to his sister and nodded. He didn’t know exactly what would come of him once his brothers figured out what he had done, but there was no price too high. Makyle pressed his lips to the soft skin of Makiah’s forehead.
Reaching towards Jelena, he went to place Makiah in her waiting arms. The blast of energy that came from behind him nearly sent Makyle to his knees. He clutched Makiah close to his chest as Jelena was thrown back past the gates and into her domain. Fighting the forceful wind, Makyle turned his head to see his brothers approaching.
“No,” Jelena screamed as she fought to get out of the gates and back to her son, but there was no leaving this place for her. Acacia and Meriah were at her side, fighting a losing battle against magic to get to Makyle as he fought to his feet and ran towards them.
Makiah cried out as the magic that held Acacia, Meriah, and Jelena in kept Makyle out. Tears streamed from Jelena’s jade eyes as she locked her gaze with Makyle. She spoke one word before Makyle threw a stream of magic at his brothers and took to the sky. “Uriah.”
Chapter Nine
Izzy and Bain stood at the foot of the couch. Her brow cocked as she peered down at the pair cuddled on the couch. Bain was smirking; it took all her strength not to smack his chest.
“She could do much worse,” Bain whispered reassuringly.
Izzy sighed. “I know that. Really, she couldn’t do better, but she has a boyfriend, and he’s still mourning.”
“I get the impression that both those points are no longer valid. Besides, they’re adults and you can’t tell me that it doesn’t make you a little happy to see him looking peaceful. Finally.”
Izzy tilted her head and sighed. “Of course I love seeing him look happy.” Lifting her foot, she kicked the bottom of Uriah’s foot.
He stirred slightly and cracked open one heavy lid to see Bain and Izzy staring down at him. His gaze shifted to the petite frame curled up next to him. He sighed and shook his head. “It’s not what you think.”
Bain laughed. “Famous morning-after words.”
Izzy didn’t resist the urge this time. The back of her hand made solid contact with his chest. Uriah rolled his eyes and tried to shift out of Marie’s hold. She murmured something softly and held on a little tighter.
“It looks like you are
pretty damn comfy with my baby sister.”
Bain cocked his head slightly and grinned. “Yeah, but it looks like they are both still dressed.” He dodged her hand this time and moved out of the living room. “I’ll get the coffee going.”
Izzy watched him go, before turning back to Uriah. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s been trying to get a hold of you. She showed up here yesterday after she fought with Marko… He’s a real prick, you know that?”
Izzy’s brow furrowed. “Why? What happened?”
Uriah looked to the still-sleeping Marie in his arms. “He called her and said some pretty hurtful and unacceptable things last night.”
“What happened?”
Uriah frowned. “They broke up.”
“I gathered that since she’s asleep in your arms, but why?”
“She found out he cheated on her.” One corner of his mouth tipped up slightly. “She called him a cheating slime-ball asshat.”
Izzy suppressed a laugh. “That sounds like something Marie would say.”
Uriah felt Marie shaking next to him. Casting his gaze back to her, he caught her attempting to hide a smile.
“You’re awake,” he accused.
She laughed and opened her eyes. “Yeah,” she admitted before looking to her oldest sister briefly and then back to Uriah. “I was eavesdropping, but when you say asshat, it just makes me laugh.”
Uriah shook his head and shifted, forcing her to sit up as he did.
Marie narrowed her gaze as she focused back on Izzy. “I tried to call you… like a lot yesterday.”
Immortal Rapture: Immortal Heart Page 5