She waved her arm for me to follow.
“Lead the way, Druid.” I grinned. “I will follow.”
Yes, you will. My demon smirked at me. Like a puppy.
Chapter Thirty-One
Fionna
My limbs couldn’t stop shaking; even my brain was wobbly. Whatever had happened between us was so frickin’ intense I couldn’t seem to find steady ground or breathe enough air since he pulled away.
Nothing my arse. That was the opposite of nothing. Only his hands touched my arms, but I had felt him everywhere. He filled my body and mind, rubbing against every nerve like a cat. He invaded my veins, my soul, sending such brilliant desire through me I thought I would implode. And I welcomed him, letting him penetrate as far as he wanted, as though he owned the place. It should have been invasive. Violating. And it was the opposite. I had liked him there, rolling and running around similar to a dog in a park. I had felt safe and happy.
And now I was cold, empty, and forlorn.
I detested those emotions. The only thing keeping my temper in check was the fact, at the height of—what do you call it?—inner orgasm, images of the cave flashed into my head.
I siphoned all my energy into that, emptying my head of the rest. Cauldron. That was why we were here. The goal and focus. Not the multiple orgasms he’d already given me today.
“Here.” I held out my hands over what looked like a solid rock wall. The buzz of energy was so well guarded I could see how we passed it the first time. The magic and energy of the entire place was the perfect disguise.
“Here?” Lars gazed skeptically at me.
Without thinking I grabbed his hand, taking it up to the stone, holding mine over it. “Do you feel that?”
His chartreuse gaze drifted up to mine, looking between my eyes. “Yes. I do.”
Shite. I did too. Wait, what were we talking about again?
Clearing my throat, I dropped my hand away. I was normally not nervous around men, but feck if Lars didn’t turn me into a prancing goat, bopping all over like a Muppet.
My fingers returned to the rock, and I closed my eyes. Magic protecting the rock zinged up my arms as though it were excited to see me.
“Can you break it?”
“Shut it,” I muttered, trying to find my center, getting settled in it. The moment the spell cascaded over my teeth, I sensed Uncle Isaac’s magic. When I was a child, he seemed so formidable. A legend. At age eight, I could never have dreamed of achieving his level of magic. Yet not only had I reached his level, I surpassed it, which had me doubting myself for a moment. It couldn’t be this simple. He had to set up a trap behind the spell, but I searched and found nothing, his spell easily giving into me.
“Good job, Ms. Cathbad.”
My lids popped open to see the solid wall was only an illusion. A cave entrance hid behind hanging roots and weeds, the opening narrow and dark.
“It felt too easy.” I frowned.
Lars jumped up on a boulder, holding out his hand to help me up.
“Isaac was deep into black magic. My parents trusted him to hide it from the Seelie Queen. It was kindergarten level.”
“You’re exceptionally powerful, Fionna.” The sound of my name on his lips gave me gooseflesh. “You have far surpassed the teacher.”
“Perhaps.” I still felt itchy, ready to react as we stepped into the cave. The low headway gave way to a massive cave.
Lars tugged a torch out of his pocket, flicking it on, taking steps deeper into the cave. But as soon as we turned the first corner, daylight streamed down from an opening above, igniting a milky pool of water in the middle of the cave, similar to a spotlight.
Magic hummed around the cave, but it seemed to greet me instead of block me, brushing up against me as though it were happy to see me. Strange. It felt way too familiar. I knew Isaac, but his magic shouldn’t feel this intimate. This wasn’t similar to the magic I broke through to get in here.
I moved in deeper, looking around the cave. Something wasn’t sitting right with me. This shouldn’t feel like this.
Fionna.
I inhaled hard, scanning for the source. Did I just imagine my name being called?
“What?” Lars followed my gaze over the room.
“Nothing. But I swear—”
Fionna. This time I had definitely heard it. I took a step closer to the pool. Fionna.
“There.” I pointed to the water. “It’s in there.” I heard it calling me. It knew me.
I foresaw you coming, Fionna. I jumped, the voice even stronger. A male voice. One I recognized from childhood.
“What’s wrong?” Lars touched my arm, but then I no longer saw or heard him.
A ghost of a man stood across the pond, hovering at the edge of the water with long white hair, brown cape, and walking stick.
“Uncle Isaac?” I stepped closer to the mirage.
I’ve been waiting for you.
“Waiting for me?”
The riddle. I placed the memory inside you. It had been waiting for you to reveal it. To recall the night I told it to you.
Now I understood why getting in the cave and solving the puzzle had been so easy when I knew it shouldn’t have been. Isaac had made it for me.
I took some of your blood the night I left. This spell is you, Fionna... not me. My purpose was merely to put it in place for you. This was always your destiny. Your fate to play out.
“Play out? What do you mean?”
I could never tell your parents what I had envisioned for you. What I saw in your future. It would break their hearts, and your mother already pictured their lives would be ending soon. I wanted them to go in peace thinking you and your sister were safe.
“What are you talking about?”
Isaac’s expression grew weary; his shoulders sagged with sadness. You will die here, Fionna.
“What?” My hand went to my stomach.
The cauldron needs you, your strength, to fight what is coming. This is your destiny.
“W—what is coming? Why me?”
I do not know. I am merely a shade of my human self. I only know what he did. Isaac’s ghost flickered, the illusion dimming.
“No.” I reached out for the specter. “Don’t go. Tell me whatever you know.”
I am sorry, my dear girl. You know how fond I was of you. The moment I met you, I knew our lives would always be linked. I didn’t know how until the day your parents handed me the cauldron to hide. Then I saw what was to be. I died to hide it, and you will die to protect it. I wish things could be different. But we were meant to keep the treasures safe, out of hands that will only use it to destroy, whatever the costs. I fulfilled my part. Now it is your turn.
“No…”
You cannot fight fate. The vision has already been prophesied.
With his last words, his image faded away, becoming the rays of light filtering down, glittering on the water.
“No. No…” I shook my head, stepping forward. “Isaac! Come back.” But I knew it was too late. He would not be coming back.
“What?” Lars’s fingers wrapped around my arm and turned me to face him. “What just happened? What did you see?”
Obviously he had not seen or heard what I had.
“I…” I peered over at the small pond, my brain registering what Isaac had told me. It was true; my gut seemed to understand this before I wanted to. The cauldron waited for me. Similar to a strighoul it wanted to use me, consume all my magic for itself, to defend itself against something. What? I didn’t know, but it needed the same blood, the same magic, that first produced it. A Cathbad.
“I really hate those treasures.” I tried to joke, but a sob crammed my throat.
“Fionna.” Lars’s voice was demanding and deep. Warm hands cupped my face, bringing me to his chest. “Tell me what is going on.”
“Do you know why we found it so easy to get in here?” I gulped, trying to get past the knot in my esophagus. “It’s because the cauldron has been waiting for m
e.”
“I do not understand.”
“Isaac…he knew I’d be coming here. Foresaw it. He designed the spell so I could pretty much walk right in and take it.”
“Well, that is convenient. Finally something positive for us.”
“No. You don’t understand.” I choked, my head falling into him, wanting to crawl inside and let him protect me. I could already feel the pull to the object. The hold on me grew stronger with each passing moment. The cauldron knew I was here. It wouldn’t let me go now.
“What aren’t you saying?” Lars pulled back, searching my face. Dread twisted his features into anger. “Tell me now.”
I inhaled, rolling back my shoulders, turning my shock and terror into determination. Isaac was right: you couldn’t fight what was already foretold. You could only control how you did it. I would go with my head held high. “I have a purpose.”
Lars pursed his lips, his eyes weary, ready for me to continue.
“I won’t be leaving this cave.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Lars
“I’m sorry?” I tilted my head, one eyebrow curving up.
“I’m going to die, Lars.” She glanced away, licking her lip. “Isaac’s vision saw my life was meant to protect the cauldron. It needs my magic. Cathbad magic. I failed to defend the spear. I will at least do this right.”
“No.” I growled, ire twitching my muscles. “You are being ridiculous, Ms. Cathbad. No one is dying here. Certainly not you and not because some old ghost said so.”
Fionna shifted back, her head shaking. “It doesn’t work like that. It already knows I am here. You can’t change fate.”
“Like hell you can’t.” I roared, rage itching the muscles in my legs to move. “Your sister changed a vision, why can’t we?”
“It’s different.” She bit down on her lip as if she were in pain.
“The FUCK it is!” My demon smashed against the thin barrier. The desperation and fear coursing through my veins only heightened what I experienced earlier with Fionna. I could lie to myself all I wanted, try to pretend it was nothing more than lust. But the fact became blindingly clear. Fionna Cathbad was mine. Mate. I had linked with her. I was not going to lose her. Not now. Not ever.
“Stop.” She put her hands on her hips, defining me. “This is not your decision, is it?”
“Do not test me.” I stomped up to her, wrath crackling off me. “I will carry you out of here over my shoulder if I have to. The cauldron be damned.”
Fionna wrenched backward, her eyes widening. “What?”
“Fuck the cauldron. Fuck it all.” I countered her retreat. “It can stay buried.”
Her lids blinked slowly, her mouth parted. “Are you serious?”
“Don’t I look serious?” I tugged her to me.
“You would give it up?” Disbelief defined her features. “For me?”
“Yes.” My fingers squeezed down on her wrists. The answer slid off my tongue so fast and easy it should have startled me. It did not. I only felt more determined to make her see how foolish she was being.
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head, a pained chuckle coming from her mouth. “This is so my luck,” she muttered.
I was about to ask her what she meant when she snapped back to me, her legs going still, her chin high.
“Whatever I feel for you. Whatever could have been…it’s too late.” She pulled from my grip, her teeth grinding together, beads of sweat dotting her hairline. “You may not understand, but I have to do this. It calls to me. I have to go to it. We’re linked. My soul understands this... even if my heart does not.”
“No,” I snarled, grabbing for her, cupping my hands tight around her face. “No.”
“It’s too late, Lars.” Sorrow shaded her eyes like clouds. “The moment I stepped into this cave, I sealed my fate. The cauldron won’t let me go.”
“What do you mean?”
A flinch of pain creased her brow as she bowed forward.
“What the hell is going on?”
“It’s the cauldron…” She grunted, holding on to her knees. “It is getting impatient.”
“It’s doing this to you? Causing you pain?” I looked at the pool of water. My sight zeroed in on the streams of light coming down on the water. I dug into our connection, exploring the newly minted bond. That’s when I saw the light beams stretching to her, wrapping around her like cobwebs.
Fury sizzled off me. I wanted to combat the snares tugging at her. But my hands came up empty.
“Lars. Stop. You are only making it worse.” She bent over her legs, taking shallow breaths.
For the first time in my life I felt truly lost. Confused. Scared. Unsure what to do. This was not something I could fight. “I’m not letting it take you.” I came back up to her, gripping her neck in my palms. “I will not allow it.”
“For once, Lars...” Her lips twitched with humor. “You have no control over something.”
The demon was going crazy, about to explode over the room and destroy everything in its path.
Mine. Mine. Mine. With the first inkling of true understanding, I knew if she died, I would not recover. Like my brother when Aisling was murdered, I would lose myself. The demon would not allow me back in control. It would only want to rain a reckoning down on the earth.
“Holy fuck.” I twisted away, running my hands furiously over my head. My heart thumped in my chest, air strangling in my lungs. I was not expecting this. It felt completely out of my control and went beyond anything I thought myself capable of, even though we were still practically strangers. Deeper emotions were there and more powerful than I ever could imagine, coming so fast and brutal, it was swallowing me up. Women were by far the stronger creatures. Similar to Aisling, Fionna faced her death with strength and fierceness, not even questioning her sacrifice for the greater good. While, like my brother, I would fall apart and let the demon take over, raging vengeance to guard against the heartbreak.
Aisling had been my soul mate, but I did not dissolve when she was murdered, my brother did. He was the one who lost his mind and wanted to destroy the world.
I jumped headfirst into my work to forget. Became regimented and meticulous. However, this time I knew my demon would not recover. The Druid had gotten under every inch of my skin, moved into my soul without my knowledge, taken over.
If she died? Hell would pour down on earth.
“Lars, promise me, you will get out of here. Get far away from your uncle. My daughter…she needs you. Please. I need to know she will be taken care of. Loved.”
I whipped around, my jaw set. “Your daughter will want for naught; I promise you.”
Fionna inhaled, agony tearing over her face. “I don’t care about material things. I want her to feel loved. Safe. Have a family.”
“Then you fucking fight.” My fists balled up. “Because your daughter needs you. And so do I.”
A single tear escaped, sliding down Fionna’s cheek. I stepped back up to her, my hands reaching for her face again. “You hear me, Druid? That is an order from your King.”
“You’re not my King,” she tried to tease, but pain ground her teeth together.
“Not true.” I tipped her face up to mine. “I am certainly yours.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond, my lips smashing down on hers with the force of my pain and passion pouring into her. My tongue parted her lips, deepening it, marking her as mine.
I felt the significance of kissing her in the marrow of my bones; our connection earlier would not be disregarded. She was mine.
You got it, fucking cauldron? She is mine. You cannot have her.
I bit her bottom lip, sucking on it, tugging it between my teeth. She moaned, clutching the back of my head, pulling me closer to her, our mouths hot, desperate, and needy. Our attraction to each other had never been a question, but now I felt our souls latch onto each other, deepening the desire and need. Her mind and heart claimed me, owned me. She was my equal in every way.
<
br /> The nice ass was just a perk.
Fionna hissed in pain and drew away, bending over, coughing, and seizing for air.
“Fionna.” I reached for her, rubbing at her back.
“It’s getting worse,” she hissed, squeezing her eyelids together. “I have to do this now.”
She went on her toes, her soft lips covering mine, quickly but held every word she wouldn’t express to me. Nothing more to be said. Words were pointless. She had to go forward.
Gulping, she turned for the pond, stepping up to the edge.
I stepped up next to her, lacing our fingers together. And so would I.
“What are you doing?” Her eyebrows crinkled together, staring down at our hands.
“What does it look like, Druid?” I said evenly. “I am coming with you.”
“No. Lars—”
“The hell I’m letting you do this alone.” I clenched her hand tighter. “We’re in this together, right?”
“Lar—”
“Three.” I jumped into the water, pulling her body with me, giving her no say in the matter.
She wasn’t the only exceptionally stubborn one here.
~~
Our heads bobbed back up to the surface, and her eyes filled with shock and wonder.
“You are insane.” She slicked back her hair, her legs kicking around mine.
“Seems so. Especially around you.”
“Lars…I can’t...”
“I do not want to hear it. I am coming with you. You have no choice.”
She pressed her eyes closed tightly for a brief moment, before her warm eyes found mine.
“Okay, but once we have it, you have to let whatever happens, happen. Do not intercede.”
“Of course.” I will not. I did not lie, just didn’t finish my sentence out loud.
We bobbed in the small pond. I had no idea how deep or what situation we’d find the cauldron in. Fionna’s lips started moving.
“What are you doing?”
“Spelling us so we can breathe underwater for a time.”
The Fall Of The King (Lightness Saga Book 3) Page 24