Binding Ecstasy (The Guardians of the Realms Book 6)

by Setta Jay

  “You’ll see.”

  The cavern opened up to a kind of balcony where you could look up and see the fluorescent lights dancing above as if they were looking up at the night sky. “It’s incredible.” She breathed out. It wasn’t just that, though. She closed her eyes and let the eerily beautiful music take her as he turned and descended down what felt like stairs built into the cave floor. When they came out into another cavern of flat stone, she sucked in a breath. A waterfall of souls blanketed one wall and rushed through a bright shimmering river that flowed through the rock. But it was the music that touched her more. It was magical.

  He set her on her feet and she was mesmerized.

  She felt his warm breath at her ear and trembled when he spoke. “Dance with me, Psihi Mou.”

  When she turned, she didn’t know what to say, what to do. He smiled down at her before guiding her into his arms for a fleeting kiss. He held her close and took her breath away when he started easing her into a slow dance. She wasn’t sure how long she spent lost to the music, the dance. Her cheek rested against his warm chest and she was getting drunk on his scent. It was intoxicating letting the melody take them where it would, letting him lead her.

  “How?” she murmured.

  “Brianne found it centuries ago. We don’t know where the music comes from,” he said as he kissed her forehead again.

  “I never knew. I love it.” The words came out as a breathy sigh.

  “I’m glad.” She loved that he pulled her in tighter.

  They stayed in each other’s arms and she was happy not to end the night, she loved to dance. Loved having a partner who matched her. She looked up into his eyes. “I never would have thought of you as a dancer.” Not when she’d first seen him in leather. Everything about him exuded male warrior, but her male seemed to know how to lead her in any way he chose.

  “It’s not something I generally do, but then again, I didn’t have a mate who loved to dance.”

  “You just met me. How can you be so sure?” She was curious as he turned them in circles.

  “That first night,” he said as if that answered everything.

  “Hmm.” She smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder again. “I don’t want to leave.” She didn’t want worry for her twin to intrude. She didn’t want to think of any of the unknowns. She just wanted to feel and bask in the beauty there. Of being in his arms.

  Chapter 23

  Sander’s Home, Earth Realm

  What in the hell was she doing? Nastia just couldn’t help herself. She was drawn to a male who she shouldn’t want. The Phoenix was the opposite of any male she’d given her time to. He’d never let her tie him up and flog his beautiful body. He was too damned dominant and aggressive, and why did that make her blood sing. She felt compelled to go to him, and most times she resisted, but not tonight, and she had a bad feeling that it was because he was hers. Her fucking mate. A secret she’d keep to the end of eternity if she could.

  She reformed in mist, flitting around in the mountain air outside the huge cabin. She heard the shower running in there and had the almost uncontrollable urge to go inside and see what he looked like naked and wet. She mentally shook her head.

  She needed to get out of there, but it was like she was rooted in the air.

  She thought about her last big conversation with her twin. Tasha had come to her the day after her big ‘date’ with Bastian.

  Nastia clicked away at her laptop, frustrated that she still couldn’t find anything on the Immortals she and her twin knew had been in Earth Realm. She was also searching for any clues leading to Apollo.

  She felt Tasha reform next to her and her eyes tracked her sister’s flushed skin and relaxed features. Nastia shook her head when she saw that Tasha was still wearing the same dress from the night before. “Teleport of shame?”

  “Very funny.” Tasha’s words were filled with sarcasm.

  “I’m guessing it was a good night. And trust me when I say I’ll stab you if you give me the disgusting details,” Nastia added with her hands up to fend off any of that shit.

  Tasha smirked and then proceeded to tell her about the date, Nastia was fucking glad her twin left out the dirty bits. It actually sounded sweet, and she could tell Tasha was completely gone for the Guardian.

  Nastia leaned back from the desk and felt her lips curve, feeling a sad tinge even through her happiness for Tasha. He’d earned big points with her by attempting to woo her sister, mainly because his link to her sister was already a done deal. They were together forever, and that thought gave Nastia hives. It was just insane.

  It didn’t mean she hadn’t been twitchy all night, watching her sister’s link just to be sure the Guardians hadn’t planned to exile her twin. Especially since her twin had told her that Bastian mating Tasha was the reason the Guardians hadn’t descended en masse to take them to Tetartos Realm. Tasha had explained, right before the date, that Drake wanted to have their bloodsucker take their memories and judge whether they were safe enough to leave out of a cage. Because of Nastia’s watchfulness, she’d known Bastian had taken Tasha to Heaven last night. It sounded corny as hell, but she liked him for going outside of the box and trying to do something special for her sister. Tasha deserved all the sweet corny gestures the bastard could come up with.

  Tasha suddenly looked somber.

  “What is it?” Nastia asked, leery all of a sudden.

  “He explained a few more things this morning.”

  Nastia narrowed her eyes. “What else?” Jesus, how much was he going to drop on them, not that she wouldn’t gladly take all the information he would give her twin. No matter how disturbing, like the fact that the mating frenzy her sister was in would only get worse until they did some kind of blood exchange. That sounded disgusting.

  “He explained some things about the Gods.”

  “What?”

  “We can’t kill Apollo,” Tasha bit out.

  Nastia stilled and then snapped, “Why?”

  Her twin explained the Gods being put to sleep by the Creators. That the Great Beings had prophesized that the Deities would someday be needed for some big important shit, but they didn’t tell the Guardians what that was.

  “Bullshit. That bastard couldn’t possibly do anything worthwhile in the world. He’s a fucking dick,” Nastia snarled. “What are the odds that the Creators just didn’t want the Guardians to kill off their asshole kids when they left the world.”

  “I agree and so does Bastian. It’s the ‘what if’ factor that’s the problem.” Meaning what if they killed the bastard and he was needed. Doubtful! Her twin blew out a steady breath and continued. “And he said there have been a lot of matings in the recent months, mostly Guardians.” Tasha looked uneasy and that only made Nastia feel the same. “Once the bond is complete, my powers and Bastian’s will kind of mix together.” Tasha didn’t look any more pleased than she was. “He said it used to be decades or even centuries in between matings, which is odd. The Guardians think that if they’re getting added power, it has to be for a reason.”

  She was still wrapping her mind around her sister getting Guardian powers. “Shit. They don’t know what? And does that mean you’ll be able to get through the confinement spell to Tetartos?”

  “No. They don’t know. And I might get that ability. Only one of the mates has that ability so far, and get this, she’s a female that was also living in Earth Realm.”

  Nastia stilled at those words.

  Tasha continued, “So we know what happened to some of the Immortals we were spying on in Earth Realm. Alex is mated to Uri and Vane is with Brianne.”

  Nastia just stared off for a second. She didn’t like the feeling that something big and bad might be coming. Worse yet, she had a feeling one more Guardian had a mate, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that to her twin. She felt drawn to Sander and he could somehow detect her mist when no one else could. She felt her heart pounding in her ears. She didn’t believe in fate and she
sure as hell wasn’t a fucking mother. Not to mention there was no way in hell she’d put herself through what her twin was dealing with.

  “So the Creators could be right? The bastard Gods might really be needed for some big cosmic shit storm.”

  “I know. The Guardians have no idea what’s coming. Or when. It could be decades and things are just starting to play out. For now they’re trying to find Apollo and get him locked away,” Tasha said, and Nastia could tell she was just as worried about what this all meant.

  “Then I’ll lure the bastard.”

  “That’s the other thing. Apollo doesn’t have the Deleastis Rod. The Guardians do. We can’t lure him that way.”

  Nastia grinded her teeth. That had always been a possibility. The Guardians protected the Realms; they wouldn’t have left the Rod out somewhere for the God to find.

  Tasha ran a hand through her hair; apparently there was more. “And the Creators cursed Apollo. He can’t harm anyone unless he’s defending himself.”

  That was good news at least. “It doesn’t mean he can’t get someone else to do his dirty work.”

  “Exactly.” Tasha sat on the corner of the desk and sighed. “I want the bastard dead, but I won’t take the chance he’s needed for something big.”

  Nastia nodded. “What now?”

  “I don’t know,” Tasha said. “The frenzy is making me insane. I just wanted to check in and give you the latest. Uri took Apollo’s blood memories.” Aletheia were not her favorite of the Immortal races. She didn’t like the whole bloodsucking memory-stealing aspect. “But the memories he took are really fuzzy and disjointed. I’m going back to see if Bastian finds out anything more.”

  Nastia nodded, still processing all the information they’d gotten in the last few days. She didn’t like the forbidding feeling about the matings and what could be coming.

  She was jolted out of her thoughts by the presence of the Guardian. Sander was shirtless on the big wraparound patio, glaring in her direction, and then he was in front of her, almost touching her mist as he growled, “Re-fucking-form. Now!”

  She felt the heat radiating from his skin and couldn’t help sliding closer to it. She wouldn’t make contact, but hell, she couldn’t get enough of that warmth. Maybe just a little closer.

  That thought jolted her and she ported away before she did something stupid and irreversible.

  She reformed in the home in France, wondering if he knew where to find her. Bastian hadn’t been to this home. Did he know about it through Tasha? She growled at her stupidity in going to the damned Phoenix. If he was her kryptonite, she needed to be as far away as possible instead of lurking in the shadows outside his home. Tasha said the Guardians knew about her fogging Bastian’s and Sander’s minds. She shouldn’t take any more chances. The thought of having a permanent link to the Phoenix was insanely scary, not that he could touch her without her allowing it. She could mist around him and never feel his hands.

  That male equaled permanence and children, and that just wasn’t her. She freaked out at the mere thought of being bound to the Phoenix and him trying to pump a baby into her belly. The act itself might be incredible, images of him hot and naked sent gooseflesh rising over her skin. His touch and wildness would likely drug her out of her mind.

  She ran her fingers through her hair. She was horny and just being stupid. Another kind of jolt hit; this was the one telling her that the wards in the club were tripped, and she knew exactly who’d done it. She waited for long minutes as her stomach buzzed in anticipation. The other Guardians had made some trips to the club too in the last few days. Mainly it had been the bloodsucker asking questions. The power signatures for Guardians all felt similar. It could be Uri again, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the Phoenix coming for her. She closed her eyes and decided she’d wait him out before making her own trip to the club.

  Chapter 24

  France, Earth Realm

  Nastia stared out the window from her twin’s office down into the club below without really paying attention to anything out there. Sander wasn’t there anymore. A quick text to Brigitte had confirmed the Phoenix had been there for a while before finally leaving.

  She ran a hand through her choppy hair and just stared out. She’d come here to be around people so she didn’t feel so lonely and instead she’d holed up in the office. She mentally kicked herself, because a small buried part of her had hoped the Phoenix would come back. Apparently she didn’t know what she wanted anymore, because none of it made sense.

  She needed a better plan of action. Hunting Apollo hadn’t borne fruit; there were just too many places for the bastard to hide. Earth Realm was filled with cities with massive populations, and if the God didn’t have the Deleastis Rod to try to lure her in, then what would he do? In all reality there was a big possibility that he would avoid her altogether rather that hunt her. He didn’t have any way to contain her. There were no more cuffs and he had no idea how powerful she’d become at her majority. He might have guessed that they’d be powerful, but he’d mentioned that they’d already surpassed his expectations all those centuries ago.

  Hunting him was all she could think to do now that everything had changed. She sighed and moved to the door. It was time to join the land of the living, to be around people she knew.

  She stretched her shoulders and slipped from the relative silence of the office to the thumping beat of the club. She made her way down the steps, ignoring the hopeful glances from her admirers. She’d leave them to someone who was actually interested in playing with them, because she wasn’t and hadn’t been for a while now. The Phoenix seemed to have ruined everything for her from the moment she’d first laid eyes on him. Bastard.

  Brigitte raised an eyebrow when she spotted her. “Wow. This is new.” Nastia was in patent pants with horizontal cuts from the tops of her thighs all the way down to her deadly stilettos. The black leather corset cinched her tits to the ceiling, which was more skin than she usually showed, but she looked damned good and needed a change tonight.

  She smiled down at the Mageia. “I’m heading to the bar, you coming with?”

  The place was in full swing, but they never let it get overcrowded where people were packed so tight that security couldn’t see what was going on.

  “I have to check a room. I’ll meet you after,” Brigitte said.

  “Problem?”

  “No. Just housekeeping.” Which could mean any number of things, all harmless. The Mageia winked and left in that direction.

  Nastia hadn’t even made it to the bar before some inner alarm sounded in her gut. She turned and scanned the room. She felt the wards a second later, and for a second hot anticipation hit. It was gone in a second when she realized the power trip felt just a hair off.

  She saw Brigitte alternate her route to the front door and yelled for her, but the music was too loud for the Mageia to hear her. The sound also swallowed some choice expletives about mortal hearing as her long legs ate up the ground.

  That’s when she felt it. Like snakes slithering over her skin.

  She mentally tripped the fire alarms and water streamed down as security ushered people out. Her heart hammered in her chest because Brigitte was too close to the door. The Mageia looked back the second water began raining down. Nastia pointed to the right and mouthed for her to get the fuck out, indicating the exit by the private rooms. Brigitte nodded and started moving others toward that door, and Nastia breathed out in relief that her friend wouldn’t be in there for what was about to walk through the doors.

  Nastia’s fingers went to the narrow blades hidden in the sheaths that made her corset’s boning. They were curved slightly but sharp enough for what she planned to do.

  She would capture Apollo, but that didn’t mean he needed to go to the Guardians without a few scrapes. She didn’t even care that he could defend himself. She was looking forward to that part.

  The arrogant bastard strolled right through the front doors with his God-
blue eyes nearly glowing in the dim lighting. He was wearing a fucking suit that was currently getting soaked through by the sprinklers. It had to have been custom made to fit his seven-foot frame, only the best for a God, though, right? Prick.

  How had he even found her there? It didn’t matter; she was happy to finish this.

  She kept walking straight for him as he paused and gave her a thousand-watt smile as if it were some fucking happy reunion. The place was clearing, with mortals darting between them without a clue that a God was in their midst.

  “You’ve grown even more beautiful, my lovely Chaos.” His words snaked over her. She hated that name right along with the bastard who’d given it to her. She just needed to stall a little longer until the humans and Mageia emptied the place. She didn’t need any complications and couldn’t chance him using one as a shield.

  “I haven’t used that name in a very long time.” Just twenty more feet and she’d be there.

  “Pity. It was fitting. What name did you choose?” he asked as if they were having polite conversation amid the fleeing mortals.

  “Why are you here?” Did he really think she was going to skip off into the sunset with him?

  “To discuss the future.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Whose?” Because his was bleak.

  “The world’s.”

  And there was the confirmation that he hadn’t gotten any less arrogant. “Is this some pitch about ruling the world at your side? Because that just sounds exhausting.”

  His eyes flashed. “I’m surprised you don’t already rule it. I can almost feel your power from here.” That was a lie, her power signature had always read low just like Tasha’s. Though, maybe he felt it differently… She was taken out of that thought when he spoke again. “Where is the beautiful Nemesis? I expected to find you together.”

  Sarcasm looked like it would be lost on him. Pity, because she had a million great quips for where her twin could be. “She had a hot date.”