by Julia Mills
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Aidan stood as still as possible, waiting for the Cleansing Ritual to begin. He stared into the face of the most perfect, wonderful gift he had ever been given, his Grace. He was completely mesmerized by her beauty not only on the outside but even more the inside. She was just magnificent with a heart of gold, a spirit that could not be stopped and so fierce and determined, absolutely everything he could have ever wanted in a mate and so much more. He was truly the most blessed in history.
The scent of the healing herbs filled the chamber from the incense and candles the healers had burning on every surface. He sent up the most fervent prayer to the Universe to restore his miraculous mate to her near perfect self and waited for the ceremony to begin. Just as the healers began their chant he could have sworn he heard Grace’s voice in his mind. It sounded like she was calling to him. He closed his eyes and focused on what he was sure he had heard just a few seconds ago. In his mind’s eye, he could see a light shining off in the distance. He increased his focus, knowing deep in his heart it was Grace and that she was trying to tell him that she was still in there somewhere and was fighting to come back to him. He could feel it, her feelings of love, warmth, strength, and a fire to not let the evil win. It was his mate, his beautiful mate and she was doing everything within her power to beat a foe she had no knowledge of until very recently. He could feel her confusion and focused all his energy on the light, certain that it would bring her back to him. The chanting of the healers rang in his ears as Siobhan led the Cleansing Prayer along with Eric, another highly skilled Healer Elder. Using everything he had learned in all his years, he channeled all the energy he could absorb and pushed it into that light, trying whatever possible to make contact with Grace.
His shoulders began to shake and sweat gathered on his upper lip and ran down his back as he continued to push. Almost ready to give up, he gathered all he had left and shoved everything he was into his mate and then it happened, Grace’s fingers fluttered against his. He gripped her tighter and began speaking to her, mind to mind. “Grace, solas mo anam, please come back to me.” He pleaded. “I love you, mo chroi. Follow my voice. Let me lead you back to me.” He continued to talk, saying anything and everything that came to his mind, not sure he was even making sense, but nothing mattered, as long as she came back to him.
The healers continued to chant and he continued to coo, cajole, beg, and finally ended up telling her all the plans he had for their future together. He worked his way from sublime to sexy. The more heated his description, the brighter the light burned, until he wished for a pair of ray bans. He had just reached one of his personal favorite fantasies for their future, when the light just went out. From one heart beat to the next, it was gone. His eyes flew open. He placed his fingers to the side of her neck looking, praying for a pulse, but felt nothing. He watched her chest and waited for the next breath that never came. He even laid his lips upon hers, hoping against all hope to feel her breath, but there was nothing.
He threw his head back and roared. Long and loud he bellowed, begging her to come back to him, but nothing changed. He fell to his knees, clinging to Grace’s hand like the lifeline she truly was. He realized the cavern had gone silent, the chanting had stopped. It wasn’t until Siobhan laid her hands on his shoulders and began to knead in earnest, whispering that everything would be ok, that he realized he was sobbing. Long anguished cries of pain and loss that he never would have believed he was capable of. For the first time since he believed his younger brother dead, he cried, real tears tracking down his face and wetting his chest.
He slumped to the side, resting his head on the edge of the table that held his mate, gripping her hand with all his might, still careful not to hurt her in any way. At least he had stopped screaming, but nothing he tried stopped the tears from flowing. How had he failed her? How had he let this happen? He had one job that truly mattered, and that was to keep her safe. He had done nothing since actually meeting her but lead her into danger. Plain and simple, he had failed. Just like he believed he had failed in that clearing all those years ago, but this time it was real, there was no subterfuge; she was gone and there was nothing he could do but sit there and hold her hand, praying that his true death would come quickly so that he might follow her.
With no clue how long he sat there, he finally heard the healers leave the chamber as Siobhan gave his shoulders one last squeeze, rose to her feet and left. He knew that he should be doing something, anything except sitting on the ground in a heap but he couldn’t move. It hurt to breathe, to think. This had to be what it felt like when your heart broke, only this was more, so much more. Not only his heart was broken but so was his dragon’s. Both souls now had a gaping wound, a vast dark hole of nothingness that felt like death itself. And it was death, the death of their mate. The light from their soul had been extinguished and now they would live in darkness until they could follow her to the heavens. He now understood what his father had meant when he told him that his life had ceased to be a life after his mother had gone, that was exactly how Aidan felt. He could not live without her now that he had experienced life, no matter however brief, with her.
He had no idea how long he sat there, holding her hand, feeling lost and broken. He had even stopped praying. He was empty. There was nothing left. The beast inside him felt the same. He could see the once majestic creature lying on its side, curled as tightly in a ball as he could get, grieving the loss of the life they had dreamt of but lost. He knew he should be out searching for the traitor. He should be ripping the very heart from his chest, but he couldn’t leave her, not yet. He knew she was gone, but he wasn’t ready to let her go.
One by one all the candles in the chamber went out, until he sat in complete darkness. Siobhan must have evacuated everyone from every chamber because the silence was almost deafening in its completeness. He could hear the sounds of the healing springs that flowed into the deepest cavern from an underground source. It almost sounded like little bells tinkling as the water ran down the cave walls and into the lagoon. The simple sound of that warm, clean water streaming into the cave soothed him. He offered up one last prayer to the Universe, imploring the heavenly body that gave them life to bring his Grace back. He prayed like he had never prayed before. Divine intervention was something he had been taught from an early age but when an idea began to form, he was sure it had to be the Universe answering. He prayed with even more earnest, willing the idea to become whole, and just like that, he knew what he had to do. If he worked fast enough, he and his beautiful mate would never be separated again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Grace had no idea what had happened. One minute she could hear Aidan’s voice and was actually getting aroused, and then everything was gone. No more dulcet tones of the sexiest voice she had ever heard, no more tingles from where he held her hand so tenderly in his, not even the breeze that would raise goose bumps on her skin every few minutes; just a big black hole of nothing. She tried everything she could to get back to where she was, but nothing worked. It was complete and total darkness. Total sensory deprivation was just plain freaky!
At first she thought “Oh shit! This is death!” Panicked, cried, screamed, threw a tantrum and then, since that got her absolutely nowhere, calmed down to think. Of course all of this took place in her mind, making it as freaky as the shit she had seen in Wes Craven movies. She couldn’t be dead, she was too aware of the nothingness all around her. Besides, there was no bright white light calling her, or no fiery depths trying to drag her down, so this had to be something else. Probably another creepy side effect of the damn spell thing Andrew had thrown at her. It felt like she was floating, and she could have sworn her arms and legs were moving, but she knew that they weren’t because nothing would move. God knows she had tried that over and over again. She guessed that was what people that had lost a limb felt like. She had heard one of the other attorneys at her office talk about ‘phantom limb’ pains since the loss of his arm in Afghanist
an. He had talked about how crazy it felt to have feelings where there wasn’t anything to feel. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but for her, it was her whole body.
It was time to take stock and figure out exactly what the hell had happened. She knew that she was in the healing caves they had all talked about because there was chanting. It was a beautiful background for her mate’s soothing voice. The longer Aidan had spoken, the closer she had felt to him, and then in the blink of an eye, everything was gone. She remembered all the times in her life that she had wished for a few minutes of absolute calm, but this just sucked. In any other situation she would use this as a learning experience, but she’d had enough of those to last her for a while. The floating should have been calming, but it was infuriating. She really had to get the hell out of wherever she was.
She concentrated on the last thing she remembered; Aidan’s voice. Then she remembered his eyes and what those mesmerizing whiskey colored orbs could make her feel. She really hoped this wasn’t the end. God knew she was having a bunch of near death experiences lately, and if things didn’t slow down one of them was surely going to take her that last step, something she was not at all ready to contemplate. So she focused even harder and remembered how he had made her feel before she had met him. His scent was something she craved. She could get drunk on that rich, masculine scent combined with the scent of the woods after a snowfall, so crisp, and fresh, and clean. If she let it completely overtake her, she could even smell a sweet undertone, almost like the trees just waiting for their chance to bloom at the first sign of spring. She had so many more things she wanted to experience with him. She would find a way back.
The longer she concentrated, the more she came back to herself. It was more difficult than the bar exam and worse than running a mile, but she believed it was worth it; anything would be worth it if it led her back to her mate and her life. So she kept focusing and adding other important events and people from her life. She thought of Kyndel and the baby she was carrying, she had to be there for the birth of her niece or nephew. Kyndel was the closest thing to a sister she was ever going to have, there was no way she was missing any more important events in her bestie’s life. Being an auntie had been something she had thought she would never experience. It was within her reach, all she had to do was figure out a way break the spell the asshole had thrown at her.
Fatigue was creeping in all around her. The bone deep type of exhaustion that makes rational thought damn near impossible. The compulsion to sleep was overwhelming. She snickered to herself, thinking how ironic it was that she could feel tired but not really feel anything. All the images in her mind began to blur. Since sleep was overtaking her, she decided a little nap couldn’t hurt, and with her last thought she prayed, “If I can’t get back to him, God, please keep Aidan safe and let him know love.”
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As he carried Grace down the long dark corridor, he prayed he was doing the right thing. A calm and reassurance filled his soul. He knew in that moment, he was absolutely doing what was required to help Grace. This was sanctioned by the Universe Herself. She was telling him what he had to do to complete the Cleansing Ritual and rid his mate of the spell that was holding her. He had to work fast, he had no idea how long it had been since she had taken her last breath, or even if that mattered. All he knew for sure was the sense of urgency pushing him to act.
When he reached the cavern that held the lagoon, he threw the sheet covering Grace to the side and walked directly into the healing waters, clothing and all. His entire being resonated with the belief that this would bring his mate back to him, and come hell or high water, he was going to do it. He began to whisper what he could remember from the Peace and Healing Chant the healers had used when he was injured by a wizard in the 1800’s. He surprised himself at how much of the stanza he still remembered; it had to be another gift from the Universe. Holding Grace close to his chest, repeating the words he knew would bring her out of the spell restoring her to the beautiful vibrant woman he was so in love with, he felt the hope in his heart grow.
He slowly walked the perimeter of the pond as he continued to chant, almost singing as he went. The way her ebony locks floated through the water and the little droplets that caught in her eyelashes like diamonds, mesmerized him. It was darker than night in the cavern, but with his enhanced vision, he missed nothing. He looked at her pouty little mouth and dreamt of the day she would once again return his kiss. He was so lost in thought he almost missed the slight movement of her eye lids. His laser sharp vision locked on her chest, waiting for the rise and fall that indicated she was coming back to him. Time passed at a snail’s pace as he stood waist deep in the healing waters, waiting for something, anything to happen. Then like so many of his prayers, another was answered. Her lips parted and the sound of the slightest exhale of air reached his enhanced hearing. He held his breath, almost afraid to hope, as she took another, deeper breath. Leaning down until his lips were almost touching hers, he felt her breath on his lips. His soul filled with a hope that hours ago he was sure he would never feel again. Grace was coming back to him. Whatever spell the traitor had used had definitely been one of the strongest, to make one mate believe the other dead, but they had beaten it. When he caught Andrew, and he would catch him, he was going to get the name of the witch that had helped him create such a spell. He knew it was not a wizard because the taint of magic was not black, and the absence of white magic let him know it was not a mage or another dragon either. The best way he could describe it in his mind was gray, which meant a witch; one that had to be found and neutralized if she was powerful enough to create spells as potent as the one they had just defeated.
Reining in all his thoughts except those of the woman he held in his arms, he focused his almost inexhaustible energy on guiding her back to him, as he watched her breathing became deeper and more regulated. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear her heart beating steadier and stronger by the minute. He watched as her eyes moved beneath her eye lids like she was in a deep sleep and lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a chaste kiss on her palm. He moved his head until he could lay his cheek in her hand. Continuing his chant, he walked until he felt the muscles in his thighs begin to shake, then moved to the side of pool, sitting on the ledge while keeping as much of Grace’s body immersed in the healing spring waters as possible. He tilted his head back, still reciting the words that were bringing his Grace out of her coma, praying even more fervently for her health.
He was drifting in an in-between state, not quite awake, not quite dreaming, when he heard the barest of whispers. A sound so low and breathy, that even with his enhanced hearing he could not make out what was said; the only thing for certain was that it had come from Grace. He had reached out several times with his senses making sure the healing caves were abandoned, save him and his mate. Afraid to move, afraid to even breathe, he waited for the sound again. Minutes ticked by as he felt what was left of his patience fraying, and then it came. Just a fraction louder, a little less breathy, but amazing nonetheless; it was his name. He jerked Grace upright. Face to face, staring at her closed eyes, hands under her arms, he waited. Her eyes fluttered. Then the most beautiful sight he would ever see in this life or the next, her beautiful blue eyes, were looking right at him, a little lost but so very awake.
He watched her mouth open and close several times. He held himself and his beast at bay, giving her time to get her bearings, when all he wanted to do was crush her to his body and kiss her mouthwatering lips. He saw her throat work as a look of pure determination crossed her eyes, then the most melodious sound he had ever heard came from her lips; “Aidan.” Her voice was low and gravely from lack of use, but absolutely stunning to his ears.
“Oh mo ghra’, you are back.” With his obvious declaration, he slid his arms around her, pulling her face to his and kissed her with every emotion churning within his heart and soul. The kiss was long and deep, slow and tender, complete in his rediscovery of the w
oman that owned him body and soul. She slowly responded and then became a very active participant in their kiss. When her fingers threaded through his hair, he let the tears he had been holding back fall unchecked down his cheeks. Never had he cried so much, not in all of his hundred years, as he had since finding the woman that he held in his arms. The mighty Dragon Guardsman had been brought to his knees by the one the Universe had made for him, and he would happily crawl for the rest of his days to keep her happy and whole.
He moved her until she was straddling his lap and ran his fingers through her wet locks, tilting her head to get a better angle. He held back his passion not wanting to injure her in any way, but the need to touch her, to kiss her, to reaffirm that she was indeed alive and in his arms where she belonged, was all-encompassing. Their tongues touched and it was as if gasoline had been thrown on the fire that was their love. He felt her hands tighten in his hair as she held him to her. He smiled, reveling in their kiss. His Grace was passionate, fiery, and absolutely perfect. He moved his hands down her body, relearning every curve of her succulent skin, as a low moan rose from her throat. Her nipples hardened through the wet, torn, see-through pink lace of her bra, while he continued his exploration. He reached the top of the jeans she still wore and slid his finger just under the waistband, when the sound of a throat clearing echoed through the chamber. Aidan growled low and deep in his throat, moving Grace behind him and standing, all in one fluid motion. He relaxed immediately when he saw Rayne and Kyndel standing on the edge of the lagoon with matching expressions of surprise.