“Come again?” Her agent’s eyes took a swift sweep of her surroundings. Besides the fallen bodies of Fernando and his soldiers, her team was now standing behind Knox. Butch was spotted with a big slash wound on his forearm, while Gus and Vivi were both looking the worse for wear.
“Butch, you all right?” Her chin tilted toward his gashing wound. He nodded back at her solemnly, but his eyes were showing a rare sign of concern. In fact, the same concerned looks were coming off Vivi’s and Gus’s expressions too. Her team must be thinking she had lost her mind, hissing and growling at anyone who dared to come near her and her lover’s dead body.
Knox brought her focus back to him. “There’s nothing you could do to save Rei. It’s done. This is meant to be.” For all the years they had been friends, she could always tell when he was not telling the entire truth. And he wasn’t now. She let go of the handmaiden and stepped in front of him, staring up at his towering body. “What are you holding back from me?” She squinted because she saw a soft glow coming off Knox. That was just crazy. Rei told her about the gods that he served. He told her that one way to spot a deity was the faint, soft glow that appeared around them whenever their emotions were highly charged. It couldn’t be. She blinked her eyes, wanting to make sure her desperation did not trick her eyes. And sure enough, the glow was gone. Disappointment enveloped her. She asked him softly this time. “Knox, how do you know all this?”
His hands grabbed on her shoulders gently, as if trying to anchor her through the chaotic emotions.
“Remember what I asked you when we took the Comparative Literature class at Columbia?”
She was confused by his question. What did that have to do with anything? Then it came to her. She loved literature, especially romance literature, from the highbrow ones to the more sizzling commercial ones.
“Selfless love,” she whispered, and Knox’s hands left her shoulders. That was her answer. She kneeled down next to Rei’s body and pressed a gentle kiss on his already cold lips. “I love you, Rei.” Her hands caressed his handsome face one more time. Then she looked up to the handmaiden with a nod.
The handmaiden pulled out a vial from her sleeve, and Skyla accepted it without any hesitation. The vial held a deep red liquid inside. How utterly tragic and romantic it was, almost like Romeo and Juliet. One of her all-time favorites.
A commotion sounded off behind her. “No, Skyla. Stop!” It was Gus. He was yelling at her through gritted teeth, as if he was trying to push through a brick wall. Another frustrated growl came from Butch. “Step away, Vivi. Don’t make me break my rule about no hitting women.”
“Try it, big boy, and see who would be bleeding first.” Her fearless Vivi, a sister she had never had, casually answered his threat. And when Butch was mad, no one in the Agency would dare to challenge him head on. Skyla smiled, remembering the innocent times she had shared with Vivi and Knox when none of them knew blood and terror, or to be more accurate, when she did not remember blood and terror.
Sounds of bones and flesh coming in contact, and then a low menacing grunt from Gus. “You bastard. You are going to let her sacrifice herself for that no-good mercenary, aren’t you? The director will skin you alive.”
“It must be. Either her life or his. It is a choice she has to make.” Knox sounded out of breath too. Another battle cry roared from Gus. And more fighting. Time was running out. Gus was known for fighting dirty from his terrorism days. Knox wouldn’t be able to hold him off much longer. With a swift tilt of her head, Skyla gulped down the liquid from the vial.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The liquid tasted surprisingly pleasant, like the fruit wine Rei had shared with her just a few nights ago. Drowsiness blanketed Skyla suddenly, and her body dropped slowly on top of Rei’s. Then all hell broke loose. First it was Gus and Butch yelling at her to stop. Then the ground shook as if there were an earthquake, and the sky parted with hurricane-like gusts of wind. The tremors of the ground were strong enough to knock her over. But within a few seconds, everything was back to normal. She could hear the river running in the quiet, desolate winter air. She looked around and saw Gus and Butch facing off against Knox and Vivi. There was no sign of the handmaiden. Just as she was about to stand up, a strong, familiar hand took hold of hers. Her body froze, not sure what to make of it because she was afraid her sanity had truly slipped away from her. Before she looked down at her hand, a tingling sensation was traveling up and down her spine, just like the first time she met Rei inside the bank vault. She looked up, and there he was, his stormy gray eyes staring down at her with a mixture of confusion and relief.
“Skyla…” He was leaning up on his elbow.
“Rei!” She paused, not sure if she was seeing things. “Rei…”
“Yes, love. I’m here.” He pulled her palm up, rubbing it against his face.
Her arms went around his neck immediately. Not worrying about who was there watching, she kissed him all over, his stubborn mouth, his handsome face, his stubble-covered jaw. And he returned her unabashed passion with just as much hunger and heat.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before Rei let go of her to breathe. “Skyla, I thought—” Before he finished, he fiercely pulled her back to him again, as if he was afraid somehow she would disappear. After a few long moments, he pulled her up but still held her by his side.
She turned to look for Knox. He was standing next to Vivi, and he answered her before she even asked. “Selfless love. That was your choice, and that’s what saved Rei. Not the gods, but you.”
She was about to ask Knox how he knew all this, but Rei pushed her behind his tense body. Skyla tried to get around him but with little success. “Rei, what are you doing?”
Rei ignored her question and bared his teeth at Knox. “You are one of them.” It was not a question. It was not a statement. It was an accusation. Realization gradually came to her. Knox and the gods. She knew it was pointless trying to push Rei away from her when he was in his protective mode. She stretched her neck around to peep from his side. “Knox?” Then she turned to his twin sister, her best friend. “Vivi?”
Apparently, Gus and Butch understood what Rei meant too. They both looked at the twins with identical bewildered expressions. She would have laughed at the comical look on their faces—utter surprise on their normally stoic faces—but for here they went again, another unexpected turn of events.
“I’m sorry, Skyla.” Vivi spoke up first. “We didn’t mean to lie to you or the Agency. But our secret could mean life or death for us.”
“Yes, Vivi and I are descendants of the pantheon of gods that Rei served.” Knox continued, “But we’ve never been part of them. We were cast out when we were toddlers.” His voice sounded distant. “Why or how doesn’t matter. I’ll brief the director when we are back at the Agency.”
Before anyone could ask more questions, Skyla was spun into a black hole. When she opened her eyes, she was inside one of the Agency’s mission rooms, along with her team and Rei. She shot Rei a look of displeasure. “What did I say about sending me through time without asking me first?” Rei immediately took a step back and held up his hands. “I didn’t do it.” She looked over her shoulder at Knox. He was rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and giving her a bashful grin.
“You did that?” she asked incredulously.
Knox was about to answer when the metal doors hissed open. Director Jensen, followed by Curtis, stepped inside the room. She came straight to Skyla and hugged her. After a full minute, the director turned to look at each of them. Her eyes stopped briefly at Butch’s forearm before moving on to Gus, who she lingered over the longest. Once she was satisfied no one needed immediate medical attention, she turned to Rei. “Thank you.”
Epilogue
“I do.”
Cheers erupted and champagne corks popping sounded off loudly around them. Skyla looked up at him and smiled the same bright, warm smile Elizabeth used to have centuries ago. Before the priest had finished pr
onouncing them husband and wife, Rei had already bent down and kissed his bride. His bride. He still could not believe that he somehow had escaped the wrath of the gods and was now married to Skyla in front of her family and relatives and her team at the Agency. It seemed everyone in town was here to celebrate the happy occasion. He tugged her gently toward the center of the dance floor while the emcee introduced them as “Mr. and Mrs. Dusan.” More clapping and cheering erupted. A few suggestive, loud whistles too.
His body came alive as soon as he glided against Skyla’s silky dress. He nuzzled against his wife’s ear while purposely pressing his hard-on against her stomach. “You know, back in my homeland, a new bride always grants her husband a wish for their wedding.”
“Well, what do you have in mind?” Skyla asked him playfully.
His smile widened, and his hand wrapped around her waist tighter before sliding sensually down her backside, resting it on her firm rear before giving it a heated squeeze. “That you’ll love me forever,” Rei whispered into her ear. His normally witty, unabashed Skyla seemed to have been surprised by his request. Her dancing shoes stopped for a moment as if she was contemplating whether she would grant him the wish. Rei didn’t know if he would survive if her answer was any other than a resounding yes. She held him in suspense a moment longer before smiling her seductive smile. “I do. I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” Before he remembered they weren’t alone, he kissed her, mauling her in front of her adoptive parents and all their guests. Several guests called out playfully. “Get a room!” “Uh oh, here comes Mr. Gray.” “Save dessert for later!” No doubt those catcalls were all from Skyla’s people at the Agency, but Rei didn’t care. He kept on kissing her until they were both breathless and until the tempo of the music picked up. He finally let up and spun his wife away and back, dancing to the upbeat tune, feeling genuinely happy and content for the first time in a long, long time. Skyla was giggling from his sudden spinning move. Then the whole party lit up. It seemed like every guest was on the dance floor now, sharing this amazingly beautiful day with them.
Rei had no regret for the centuries he had spent looking for Skyla. It was meant to be. The only regret he had was that Sloan was not there to share his joy and contentment. No matter how angry he was with his brother for selling out Skyla, Sloan was his only family left. Now that he had joined the Agency, he was sure he and his brother would cross paths again. He would bring his misguided brother back, no matter the cost. After Knox flashed them back to the twenty-first century, the handmaiden visited him and told Rei that he was released from his bargain with the gods and that the gods had chosen a new leader for his men. Rei wouldn’t be surprised if they had chosen Sloan to be the new leader of his men, of the gods’ private army. Before his thoughts could lead him farther down the road of regret, Skyla reached up to him and kissed him warmly, happily. And his soul soared.
•●•
Knox took a gulp from a long-neck beer and quietly looked out at the festive dance floor in the middle of Skyla’s parents’ garden. Guests in colorful summer attire danced to the festive tune. His gaze honed in on Skyla, dressed in a simple white silk gown, which modestly covered her front but was wide open at the back. Classic yet sexy. Her hair was tied into a casual knot with a white peony resting low on the nape at the back of her neck. And now she was laughing from being spun around by Rei, who was in a casual beige linen suit with his necktie loosened. Even though Knox wished it was he who was dancing with Skyla, he was genuinely happy for her, that she and Rei had finally found each other. He smiled a sad smile. Then someone bumped not too subtly at his shoulder, taking his attention away from the dance floor.
Butch tipped his beer bottle forward. “I’ve never seen Skyla smiling and laughing so much.” Then he looked at Knox. “You doing okay, buddy?”
“Yes, it’s not meant to be. Fate always has a wicked sense of humor.”
There was a long stretch of silence before Butch spoke again. “So you and Vivi are staying?”
He nodded. There was nowhere else for them to go. They were not simply orphans. They were two demi-gods banished because their mother was a mortal who had dared to defy the gods. He was surprised their adoptive parents had managed to hide them for this long and that the gods had not struck back now that their covers had been blown.
“Look, Vivi and I are still who we were. We were smuggled out of the pantheon when we were just toddlers and were sent to the late twentieth century. We actually didn’t remember any of it until our adoptive parents told us about it on our sixteenth birthday.”
“Hey, man, that’s not what I meant.” Butch sounded almost insulted. “I don’t give a crap where you and Vivi come from. Gus and I have both of your backs no matter who or what you are.” Butch’s fierce loyalty, along with the rest of the team’s and the rest of Agency’s, brought a smile to Knox’s face.
Nonetheless, he wanted to change the subject. “Where is Gus? Haven’t seen him since the ceremony.”
“The last I saw, he and the director were heading to Mrs. Gray’s greenhouse at the back.” Butch answered as if it was nothing unusual, but Knox had a feeling there was more going on between the director and Gus than they let on. He was about to tell Butch of his suspicion when Vivi, dressed in a soft yellow satin cocktail dress with spaghetti straps, called to them from a couple of tables away. “Come on, guys, Skyla and Rei are about to cut the cake, and the bride specifically requested her team stand by her when she does it.”
He and Butch looked at each other, both wondering if they could get out of it, but Vivi was already in front of them, smoothly sliding between them and looping her arms around each of theirs. She pulled both of their heads lower toward her mouth and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. “Anyone in for a cake fight?”
About the Author
Lily has spent her entire adult life working for several Fortune 500 companies, but has always dreamed about being a writer. Her first encounter with “Anna Karenina” in college was love at first read. Throughout her corporate career, Lily never truly let go of that first love and eventually garnered enough courage to try her hand at writing. And it was the most amazing and fun experience she’s had in a long, long while. As any happily-ever-after story should go, the rest is history.
Follow her on Twitter: @worthingtonlily
Hartwood Publishing
Stories that linger in your heart long after the book is closed.
The Hartwood Publishing Group thrives on introducing you to new authors and great stories. If you enjoyed this book, please spread the word.
Table of Contents
Time ETernal by Lily Worthington
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Epilogue
About the Author
Hartwood Publishing
Stories that linger in your heart long after the book is closed.
The Hartwood Publishing Group thrives on introducing you to new authors
and great stories. If you enjoyed this book, please spread the word.
Time Eternal Page 24