The Final Calling

by Angela Colsin

And uncertainty.

  Edith had no idea if she felt the same way in return, and was far too caught up in their wild lovemaking to figure it out. But as their bodies moved together, glistening with a sheen of sweat from their exertions, she did know the thought of having this with any other man wasn't one damned bit appealing.

  Their efforts soon had her spiraling toward a second climax, and this time, Isaac was right there with her. Edith delighted in the way he grunted, his back bowing after slamming home with a pleasured shout. Grinding his shaft deep, she could feel spurt after spurt of his hot seed releasing inside her, the euphoria of their simultaneous release forging a connection she hadn't thought possible.

  Finally, he collapsed on top of her with a deep, ragged groan of her name, his arms latching tightly around her while rolling to the side. Settling against him, Edith affectionately nuzzled his neck, her thoughts drifting back to the prospect of an eternal relationship.

  It still baffled her, and maybe she'd have to actually be immortal before finally piecing it all together. Yet imagining eternity with anyone but Isaac was simply impossible now, and she didn't even try.

  Love or not, Isaac was the man she desired above all others, and she didn't want a damned thing to do with eternity if she couldn't have him in it.

  “I didn't hurt you, did I, angel?”

  Still panting from their hard round of sex, Isaac asked the question despite the way Edith had cried his name during her last release. He'd tried his best to be careful, to keep his strength in check for her, but she tempted him far too deeply not to be concerned.

  Yet she whispered in response, “Are you kidding? At the risk of sounding corny, that was amazing.”

  Isaac grinned and kissed her temple, glad to hear it.

  But then she gripped him more tightly and added, “I just wish I wasn't … ”

  When she trailed, he prodded softly, “What's wrong?”

  “Nothing. Just hold me for a while, okay? I-I need to be with you.”

  Isaac had absolutely no qualm doing precisely that, reveling in the simple sensation of having Edith right there against him. But deep down, he knew why she sounded so troubled. Earlier, she'd denied his eternal vow, wanting to wait until she was an immortal with the ability to return such a sentiment—and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't blame her.

  There was nothing Isaac wouldn't do to ensure her safety and survival, but prophecy or not, the future was never set in stone. For all they knew, she'd acquire her immortality only to die taking Rothario down later.

  Very few things actually scared Isaac anymore. But that was his biggest fear of all, and he knew he'd give everything to make sure it didn't happen.

  The thought had his grip tightening around her while whispering, “I need the same thing. Know why?”

  “Hmm?” she asked sleepily.

  Against her ear, he spoke seriously, “It's like I said. I'm yours, and right now, you're all mine, Edith. Whatever happens later, this moment is the one that matters.”

  Edith didn't respond, but she affectionately kissed his neck, and Isaac shut his eyes, their blissfully peaceful moment lasting long after he'd drifted off to sleep. During the night, her body sporadically shifted against his, intensifying that sense of contentment, and no dreams, or even Edith's gentle stirrings after sunrise brought it to an end.

  But waking in the afternoon to the company of two Perosian assassins was a different story entirely.

  Thirty

  • • •

  “Edith's right, sweetness. It's not a great idea.”

  “No, you're both wrong! I'd be fine.”

  Edith and Ulric groaned in time over Charlotte's stubborn insistence on joining her friend during the impending trip to Perosia. Normally, such an addition to their journey wouldn't be a problem, but taking a sun fae to a realm of darkness?

  Probably not the best plan.

  “You'd be fine for a while,” Edith pointed out, “but even still, it's better not to travel in a large group so we don't draw much attention.”

  Ulric nodded to enforce her point. “Agreed. This is a stealth run. Edith just needs to get in and out without being noticed.”

  Charlotte grumbled under her breath, obviously unhappy with their verdict. “Okay, fine. But just know that whenever you go to take fucknut down, I'm not sitting it out!”

  Edith quickly nodded to placate her. “When my Calling's completed, I'd be able to enchant a sun sphere for you, too.”

  “A sun sphere?”

  “Yeah, they're kind of like the light spheres you see around Nalona. I just need an empty sphere I can enchant to hold sunlight. That way, you've got a battery to fuel your energy for a while.”

  “Cool,” Charlotte stated with interest, and Edith grinned, glad she didn't seem completely upset by staying behind.

  Now all they needed was for Dalia to return with news. But considering it was only noon, and Perosians were nocturnal, Edith had no idea how long it'd take. Even Isaac was still asleep upstairs—though, in all fairness, their night together hadn't been mundane. Still can't believe we broke the bed.

  She just wondered how many other items they'd end up breaking as time went on.

  But despite their vigorous lovemaking, Edith got out of bed a little early that day in case Dalia arrived. She'd also wanted to relate the update in her Calling to her friends, and inform them that she and Isaac would be leaving for Perosia soon.

  At that time, a knock came to the front door, and Ulric went to answer it, though Edith doubted it was actually Dalia. Instead of knocking, the demoness would've likely teleported directly inside to keep from being seen, and her assumption proved to be right when she heard a man's voice asking where the Nalonian library was located.

  Still, the voice actually sounded familiar, and as Ulric started giving directions, Edith walked to the door to see someone she definitely didn't expect.

  “Marcus?”

  The young mage blinked in surprise when he saw her standing behind Ulric. “Whoa … hey, Edith! Guess it's a small realm after all.”

  Looking between them, Ulric asked, “You know him?”

  “Yeah, we accepted our Calling at the same time,” Edith explained, then asked Marcus, “Is that why you're in Nalona?”

  Marcus nodded with a tired expression, the circles under his eyes and stubble growing on his jaw proving he'd been more than just a little busy. “Yep, I'm still running around, looking for a petrified cockatrice egg right now. Just needed to find the library here to research where they roost.”

  As if weary of the subject, he then inquired, “How's yours coming?”

  “Pretty well,” she stated vaguely, hoping to keep Marcus from feeling slighted by her successes so far. “I haven't had to research anything, anyway.”

  “Lucky,” he smiled, rubbing an eye in fatigue. “Kinda weird that I knocked on the door and you're here, though.”

  Edith couldn't disagree with that, though she suggested, “Maybe fate directed you here because I know where you can find some roaming cockatrice flocks. Just go to Dra'Kai's temple.”

  Ulric nodded in agreement. “You'll find plenty of nests around the canyon. The eggs probably wouldn't be petrified, but magic could accomplish the job.”

  “Yeah, that's actually what I'd planned,” Marcus related. “Otherwise I could search for years and never find one. Seems like that's the only kind of stuff my Calling's been giving me.”

  Edith shook her head, actually feeling sorry for him. Though Marcus could be overly dramatic, she recalled how the Assembly had been so torn on whether he was truly ready for this challenge, and it definitely looked like they were right to question it.

  So she suggested, “You should come in and get a decent meal before leaving, Marcus. You look tired.”

  “Oh,” he drew out, glancing at Ulric and back again. “I don't want to impose, but I wouldn't turn it down either.”

  Nodding, Ulric opened the door wider and said, “It's fine, come on in.�
�

  Doing just that, Marcus parted his lips to offer thanks. But he only got half the word out of his mouth before he saw Charlotte.

  The fae had turned her back to the door with her full attention now on her cat, Pepper. She hadn't had the heart to leave the feline in Terra, and apologized to him for forgetting to fill his bowl that morning before scooping him up with the intentions of feeding him.

  Marcus continued staring as she walked away, his expression strangely pensive, prompting Edith to ask, “You okay?”

  Snapping out of his stupor, the mage nodded. “Oh yeah, I'm fine, I've just never seen a fae before. I didn't think they actually … glowed.”

  Edith grinned as Ulric led the mage to the kitchen, realizing in the process that she no longer paid much attention to Charlotte's natural radiance. Must be used to it now.

  Deciding to tell her friend that later, she turned around to shut the door—and nearly bumped into Dalia.

  “Oh!” Edith gasped, startled by her sudden appearance. “Did you just get here?”

  “Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.” At that, she glanced after Marcus and Ulric and asked, “Are you busy?”

  Shutting the front door, Edith shook her head. “Not specifically, we just had a visitor. Why, did you find something?”

  “Vulen did, and it's good news,” Dalia confirmed, lifting her hand to show Edith a rolled up parchment. “He knows of a mine in the Lower Quarter region of Perosia that should be easy to reach from the portal sphere. He's been there more than once to free Dok'aal, and marked it on this map with a few directions.”

  Edith eagerly took the map and headed over to the coffee table to unroll it while Dalia placed a few heavy objects on the edges to keep it open.

  On the paper was a landmass that had been cut off at the north end. Over a portion of the mountain range on the southern peninsula was a black circle with directions naming three landmarks and the turns to make at each, which sounded simple enough to follow.

  Still, it prompted Edith to ask, “Can't we just teleport to the mine from the portal sphere?”

  “Not directly,” Dalia started. “A few years ago, Rothario seriously limited the availability of teleportation to a select few people, such as the Imperial Army.”

  “Why?”

  The demoness muttered, “It's his reaction to our sabotage and attempts to free slaves. Still, it's unlikely we'll run into much trouble over this short a distance, but we should go as soon as possible. It would be about midday in the Lower Quarter now, and you wouldn't be able to see well in Perosia at night, not without magic.”

  Edith thought that over, musing aloud, “I could always turn myself into a Perosian. The illusion would give me more strength and better vision. Besides, a human traveling in Perosia might be suspicious, and I doubt anyone believes the enchantress of that prophecy is a demon.”

  As if thinking that was a good idea, Dalia nodded. “Then all we have to do is go, get the oyalite, and return, and I can teleport us to the castle ruin whenever you're ready.” Glancing around the living room, she added, “Where's Isaac, anyway? Still asleep?”

  “Yeah. I'll go get him—”

  An agonized bellow sounded upstairs before Edith could finish, punctuated by a loud crash and a door breaking open.

  The two exchanged a confused glance, and in answer to their unspoken question over the source of the sound, Isaac was heard taunting someone to do fucking better than that.

  Immediately, the demoness grabbed Edith's arm to teleport them upstairs. There, laying on the floor just outside of the guestroom, they found a man clad in black from head to foot—or shoulders to foot as he'd been decapitated.

  And inside?

  Isaac was completely naked with blood spatters staining his skin while engaged with another nameless assailant wearing the same concealing garments as the dead man.

  Considering their outfits, they had to be assassins. But Edith's attention was soon distracted entirely because of her Calling—and it wasn't only a matter of discovering a new item that got her attention.

  Instead, when Isaac disarmed his enemy and jerked him around to lock in a choke hold without noticing his companions' arrival, it offered Edith a side view of the assassin's full face mask. The image easily revealed that some type of mask was necessary to complete her staff.

  And Edith knew in her bones it was the last item.

  The Final Calling … was finally ending.

  Her jaw dropped over the discovery, excitement filling her even as Isaac brutally stabbed the assassin through the back with his own weapon, then repeated the motion until the tip erupted from his chest.

  Leaving the blade there, he gripped the man's head in both hands and growled savagely, “So, you fucks wanna kill my mate, huh?”

  Without pause, he squeezed his palms against his enemy's cranium, biceps bulging as several gruesome crunches of bone sounded. Blood started spilling out over the assassin's mask, his hands grasping at Isaac's wrists in a futile effort to stop him.

  But all too soon, his entire body went limp, his head caving in completely under Isaac's strength.

  Edith couldn't help but cringe in response, watching as the assassin slumped over on the floor. With everything silent once again, Isaac turned, his eyes filled with fury—until he finally noticed his company.

  Then he blinked and casually remarked, “Oh, didn't hear you come in.”

  Studiously gazing away from her brother's naked body, Dalia replied, “Don't mind us, we just thought there was actual trouble. You know, a reason to be here.”

  Isaac grinned, and all Edith could do was stare. He'd just crushed a man's head with his bare hands while completely naked and bloody—to protect her—and though it was gruesome, the first thought that came to mind was Damn, I want him so bad.

  Was it wrong that his ferocity turned her on so much? Because she wasn't one bit sorry about it. Or maybe the discovery that her Calling was soon to end had her too relieved to care about propriety. She was only two items short of completing her staff, and as Edith let the fact register, she realized something surprising.

  The prospect of actually attaining her staff was no longer what excited her most. Instead, becoming immortal so she could be with Isaac in all ways did, revealing the undeniable truth.

  I'm completely fucking in love with him.

  The thought hit her without warning, and felt inexplicably right, as right as her decision to accept the Final Calling and become an archmage.

  Still, she didn't get the chance to comment on any of her discoveries before Ulric and Charlotte appeared in the doorway, probably drawn by the commotion—and they immediately looked away when they realized Isaac wasn't dressed.

  Still, Ulric asked, “What the hell's going on?”

  “Perosian assassins,” Dalia answered, her gaze fixed on the decapitated head laying near the dresser.

  Lifting it from the floor, she proved herself right by removing the man's face mask. Though his red eyes were dim, his pupils were slitted and his gaping mouth revealed fangs.

  “These men weren't hired muscle, they're from the Imperial Palace.” Carelessly letting the head drop back to the floor, she gave Edith a grim look and summarized, “Rothario knows you're here.”

  “Guess it's a good thing I'm leaving then,” she qualified, lifting her hands to shoo everyone away. “Okay, I've got some oyalite to get, so go grab the map, Dalia, and I'll fill Isaac in on the details. Oh, and I'm really sorry about the mess, Ulric. I'll come back to fix whatever's broken when I have my staff. Like the bed.”

  She hoped her wording would make them think it was broken during the fight. But Isaac pointed out on his way to the bathroom, “And just to be clear, we broke that last night.”

  Edith groaned, but it was pointless to chastise him for indecency, particularly when he was naked and covered in blood. Still, she barely stifled her laughter at Charlotte, who cast a scandalous look over her shoulder from the hall that said oh gurl, you so durty.
>
  Snickering, Edith shut the door just as the bathroom's shower faucet was turned on. But she stopped herself from immediately joining Isaac for two reasons. First, she didn't want one thing leading to another by helping him wash, and she knew it would if she walked in and revealed her most recent discovery over her feelings.

  Second, they were about ten minutes from traveling to a dangerous place, and focusing on the task at hand was important to hopefully avoid entanglements. So it was probably best to wait until she'd acquired the oyalite before exposing that bit of information.

  Still, she didn't get the chance to even let him know their plans before a knock came to the door with Dalia asking her name.

  “Edith? There's been an incident.”

  Somehow, the demoness didn't sound very happy, and Edith opened the door to see that her expression matched her tone. “What's wrong?”

  “Marcus is gone.”

  “So?”

  “So he left without taking any food, and the map was out on the table for all to see while everyone was up here.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  Isaac was nearly done showering off when Edith's frustrated declaration sounded in the bedroom. So, with the blood washed away, he turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the shelf, exiting the bathroom to find out what the hell was going on now. It's always something.

  Edith was already heading in his direction, coming to a stop as soon as she saw him emerge, and explained the problem without hesitating, “There might be trouble if we don't go to Perosia ASAP.”

  “Why?”

  Edith started her explanation by laying out the plan she and Dalia had devised, then told him about Marcus's visit, summarizing everything with, “Marcus isn't the type to do spy work, but Rothario could be blackmailing him. I mean is it just a weird coincidence that he showed up at the same time as those assassins, then disappeared while we were all upstairs without taking his food?”

  Isaac growled, tugging on a pair of black leather pants on before answering, “I wish I could say yes. Still, if he was looking for dirt, you'd think he would've grabbed the map and taken it with him.”