His brows furrowed, and he drew me close again. “Do not worry,” he ordered, cupping my head in his hands. “Nothing is as certain as my love for you.”
A slow smile spread across my face, and our eyes met for the longest time. Endless seconds passed before I realized that I could stare into his eyes forever- and that I looked like a dork. I reached for his kiss, gathering his hand in mine.
“Do you know what you’ll say to your father?” He asked as we left the tent, moving toward the camp.
“I think so,” I stretched, waving to a little boy who stopped to watch us.
“You have to know. If you make the slightest mistake, our entire futures may be altered.”
“Will, obviously I don’t make a mistake, because we’re here. Now… breakfast?” I followed the delicious smells near the fire, and he rolled his eyes. “Hey, how’s your ankle?” I realized he wasn’t limping, and he pulled at the knee of his pant leg.
“The swelling has gone down. Sprained.” He gestured to Sinti, and I hurried toward the meat that he offered.
“What made you decide to… ravish me last night?” I asked boldly, remembering my comment the night that I agreed to go with him to Icepond. He looked up sharply at Sinti, who had the decency to lower his face to hide his grin.
“You did,” he spoke through clenched teeth, attempting to silence me.
“I’ve been here all along, Will.”
“Indeed. However,” he took my plate, catching my lips in his as I tilted my face upward. His mouth moved over mine slowly, gently, and I moaned into his kiss. “I’ve only just fallen in love with you.”
I stood, eyes closed, swaying on my feet for a long second before opening my eyes. He smiled with amusement and kissed my forehead, then led me to an oversized log to sit. We balanced the crude plates on our knees.
“I love you too, Will. And I’m pretending not to think about the other… scary things that Vadoma said last night.”
“Our future is what we make of it, Eva,” he repeated.
We ate in silence. After cleaning ourselves again at the lake (fully clothed) I began recognizing the nervous energy in my body. I’m just going to chat with my dad. He’s just my dad. He’s not a stranger. I’ve known him all of my life! I love him.
I miss him.
“Key points. The world will end if he does not find her. They must conceive a child who will save the world.”
“I wonder who that is,” I murmured, trying for humor and failing.
“His coordinates will appear when she is born, and hers will appear when they touch. Two Alters, evil- Troy and Logan-…,”
“I can’t call him Logan! What do I call him?”
“Explain the soul Alter. Your mother and Logan- immortal souls. West and Troy- physical immortals.”
“I need a cheat sheet.”
“Eva.”
“And the dreams, I have to explain the dreams…,”
“Yes. And do not forget the last life, and the doors.”
“Right. Doors. Last life.”
“He is your father, Eva. Do not worry.”
“Right. Just my dad.” I paced, moving from one tree to the next, dragging my fingernails over the bark. “Just my dad.”
“We must go, now, love. Are you sure that you are prepared?”
“Couldn’t you come with me? I could just explain that you’re my… friend or something…,”
“I will be hiding, and waiting. But I cannot show my face, Eva. You have met my father.” He lowered his eyes to the ground. “You see the resemblance.”
“Will, you are a thousand times better looking than your father.”
“Thank you, but not the point.”
“I know.” I sighed, attempting to flatten my hair. “I hope he doesn’t take one look at my crazy curls and run away.”
He grinned, shaking his head. “Eva, we are but moths to your flame. You must assume a most comforting manner. Your father has been devastated by the supposed loss of his father in that fire last night, and he has spent the night and day healing. He will be in a shaken state. He needs answers, and you must give them to him, love.”
“Yes,” I nodded quickly, remembering the heat from the flames on my father’s skin.
We walked from the camp toward the town, and Will reached for my hand. I gripped his fingers, glancing around the forest. The sun poured through the trees, highlighting small insects in the air. “He will be out here, somewhere, Eva. Trust that you’ll find him. Lead yourself to him.”
I nodded, letting him squeeze my fingers in his once before letting go. “I have the gun. I am within shooting distance from you at all times.”
“Will, if you shoot my dad, I’ll divorce you,” I cleared my throat, intimidated at my voice as it shook in the most unfamiliar way.
“Be strong,” he added, backing toward the trees.
I nodded again, smoothing my long, green gown and starting forward.
Minutes turned into an hour. Comforted to know that Will was close behind me, I let my mind wander over the events of the past few weeks… especially last night.
Will’s hands on my body, his mouth on my chest…
A fallen leaf to my right burst into flames, and I shrieked, stamping it out with my shoe.
No Will.
Instead, I turned my mind to Vadoma’s words.
You shall rule, but your brother shall reign.
Christopher? I thought of my brother, imagining him in Will’s position as the king. I laughed out loud. King of the XBox, maybe.
What waited for us back in Icepond? A battle? You will mourn, Vadoma prophesized. My breath caught in my throat. If Christopher would reign… Who would I mourn? Please… not Will, please. My chest tightened at the unfamiliar emotions coursing through my body, settling into the middle of my stomach. This is being in love? I feel like barfing.
“My lady, are you ailing?”
I stopped suddenly.
Chapter Nineteen
My father moved from the edge of the path, holding his hand out. “Shall I call for someone?”
“No, no… I’m fine,” I answered, straightening. I pushed my hair back, and when I did, I watched him stagger.
“Your eyes,” he said, obviously bewildered.
“Yes, my eyes. You recognize them, do you not?” Don’t worry about contractions. You’re sounding like Yoda again.
“I do. Who are you?” His eyes, that familiar blue storm, encouraged me to continue.
“Your name is West Perry, and you are an immortal. You did not die in the fire last night. Because you are immortal.” I added. At least use correct grammar, Eva. Jesus.
“How could you know-…,”
“Please, listen. Carefully,” I added, automatically reaching for his hand.
He accepted my grasp, standing before me. I fought back the urge to curl into his arms.
“I am listening,” he acknowledged, laying his free hand against my cheek.
“There is a prophecy… an ancient prophecy. This world is going to end. There are two evil men, called Alters. One is immortal, as you are. His name is Troy. One has an immortal soul. He is born again and again with a different name and… appearance. They work together.”
“Born again? As Plato and Pythagoras believe?”
“Um, sure.” I nodded, shivering as his hand held mine. “You have seven chances to find a woman… she is born again. You have to protect her… and you have to have a child with her. The child will… save the world.”
“A woman?”
I was losing him.
I covered his fingers over my cheek and searched his eyes. Finally, I took a deep breath.
“Look for me… memorize my eyes. Find me, create a child… with me,” I struggled to hold back my entirely-grossed-out shudder, “And protect me from Troy… and the other Alter. When I’m born again,” I pulled his hand away from my face, tracing my fingertips on his inner, left forearm, “You’ll feel it. It will be painful… coordinates, my loca
tion in this world. Find me, touch me, and I’ll receive the same painful coordinates. Mine will locate the soul Alter.”
“Coordinates?” He appeared confused.
Why don’t I listen when he talks about history? Damn it! “Uh… lines… on a map. With numbers and letters. From the poles.” From the poles? “Right… anyway, you know, longitude, latitude…,”
“This world is round,” he proclaimed, as if I had just confirmed a theory he’d struggled with his entire life.
“Yes, it is round,” I nodded encouragingly.
He stared at me for a moment, his long, dark blonde hair catching the breeze on his forehead. He looks like Prince Fucking Charming. Mom doesn’t stand a chance. “Why am I to search for you, if you are right here?” He reached for my face, and I ducked out of his grasp.
“No… not this life. You have to wait. Now, listen,” I straightened as his eyes clouded the same way that they did when he stared at my mother. Closing my eyes tightly, I shook my hands out at my sides, trying not to freak out. “Listen. Our child… will save the world. The Alters will also have coordinates. They locate me. Save me. Protect me.”
“I will protect you,” he vowed solemnly.
“When I meet you, I’ll have dreams that make me remember you, and fall in love with you. It’ll make it all easier. But… the soul Alter has them too. They make him… want to kill me.”
“How will my child save the world?”
My mouth fell open, and I raised my eyes. “I honestly… don’t know.”
“And my father?”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, backing away toward the path before suddenly remembering. The doors! A caravan of horses and wagons approached from the distance, and I caught Will’s movement from the trees. “Wait! The last life… if you get to seven… there are doors that only I’ll know about. They’ll give you another chance to succeed… if you fail six times.” And you will.
“Come away with me now, beautiful prophet,” he reached for me, but I shook my head.
“I can… not. Just… know that… I love you. I love you so, so much. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry-…,”
“Eva,” Will’s hush from behind me silenced my pouring apology.
“Wait!” He called.
I turned and broke into a run, darting through the trees. He followed me, fast as ever, and I cursed, knowing his long stride would catch up with me in seconds. I could barely make it to first base before Dad would tag me out, I remembered, thinking of our family baseball games.
I stopped suddenly, wrapping my arms around myself. Disappear… Disappear…
Disappear.
My father lurched to a standstill, his eyes searching the forest as I stood before him.
He can’t see me. I am invisible!
“Woman! Come out,” he shouted, and then glanced toward the people nearing the path. Finally, he turned back toward the town.
I waited for more than ten minutes, finally walking in the direction of the Romani camp. I saw Will moving through the trees ahead, and I hurried to him. “I did it- Will, I-…,”
“Good God! Eva, I cannot see you.” He held his arms out, and I fell into them.
“I turned myself invisible… but I don’t know how to turn it off,” I jumped into his arms, and he caught me, tucking his hands below my gown. I wrapped my legs around him, pressing my lips to his. He closed his eyes, turning his face to catch my lips in a better angle.
“You did well,” he breathed into my mouth, turning to press me against a tree. The sunlight streamed through the leaves, warming the air around us.
“He believed me, I really think he did.” I lowered my feet to the ground, pushing him back. “Lay down.”
“Not here, Eva.”
“Be quiet.” I watched him fall back, laying over the soft moss. I knelt over him, tugging at his pants while bending to his neck. “Can you see right through me?”
“I see nothing,” his voice was strangled as I slid my hands under his shirt, kneading into his stomach.
“Can you feel me?”
“Yes.”
A flame burst just behind his head, and I waved my hand in irritation.
Extinguish.
“I put the fire out,” I sat up, staring in awe. He tried to pull himself up, and I immediately pushed him back over the ground. “Wait.”
Straddling him, I eased him into me, listening to his sharp intake of breath with satisfaction. Three flames ignited to my right, catching his attention, but I doused them all with the shake of my hand.
“You are controlling the flame,” he realized, and I moved over him rhythmically, slowly building my own fire deep within my body. “I want to see you.”
“See!” I cried, my back arching as I gripped his chest.
I appeared to him at the same time the forest around me exploded into an inferno, and I barely had time to wave away the flames before he turned me so that I lay on the ground. “There you are,” he managed, sliding his fingers into my hair before capturing my lips.
As he words of love mingled with his kisses, I stared at the skyline, watching new buds and leaves spring to the branches a full month early. The wind dissipated, and the clouds parted swiftly to allow the balmy sun to warm the earth. He fell over me, his mouth against my skin.
Unexpected urgency settled in my mind. I sat up as he continued to drop kisses over my neck. Taking his face in my hands, I pushed him away to meet his eyes. “I think I can get us back,” I realized, taking his hand.
“How?” Still breathless, he lifted his gaze, his expression moving from satiated to startled. “Did you do this?” Birds sung from the treetops, and wild violets bloomed at our feet.
“This is how you make me feel, Will,” I gestured to the forest, the sun brightening my eyes as I smiled at him. “Inside.”
He slid his fingers around my neck, tilting my face as he bent for my kiss. “In all of my years, I could never have expected this. You.”
“So much for big gay brother,” I accused, and he grinned into my lips. “Hurry, we have to get to the lake.”
“The lake?”
“I can open a portal home… in the water. Like my dream. I think,” I dodged trees as he kept my pace, fastening his pants.
The lake loomed before us, and I took his hand. He lifted my fingers, reaching into his pocket to retrieve my diamond wedding ring. I watched him slip it over my finger before lifting my hand to his lips. “My queen.”
“Thank you for being… patient with me,” I gazed up at him, sighing. “When we go back, I promise to be more mature… and take everything more seriously. And to behave,” I added solemnly.
He smirked, lowering his mouth to my ear. “I love you just as you are, little one.”
My grin widened, and I threaded my fingers through his. “Okay, hold your breath.”
We waded into the freezing water, and I inhaled sharply. Once we reached the middle, I lifted my eyes to Will’s voice. “Do not let go of my hand.”
“You either,” I gripped his hand with all of my strength.
We dove at the same time, kicking and paddling awkwardly, hand in hand. I opened my eyes, seeing the familiar light below. Gesturing to the glow, he nodded, and we began swimming downward.
A shadow in the water moved behind Will’s head, and I opened my mouth to scream.
Whatever the woman was, she was not human. The light from the portal below illuminated her face, and I knew I’d have nightmares for as long as I lived. Curved, black eyes with no pupils, slatted nose and cheeks, no lips… all teeth. I pulled Will as hard as I could away from her.
Already she’d lowered her mouth to his neck, sinking a first, and then a second row of fangs into his skin. He struggled, and I narrowed my eyes, concentrating with all of my strength. Blood clouded the water near his face.
Disappear.
I guessed that we had become invisible, since I could still feel Will’s hand in mine but could no longer see him. Keeping my grip, I felt his finger
s grow slack.
The light consumed us, and I continued swimming even as my lungs screamed for oxygen. Finally, after endless seconds, I was being lifted.
I gasped for air, struggling at the arms surrounding me. Sunshine, humidity, and salty air overwhelmed my senses.
We’re home… Icepond.
“Eva, do not struggle,” Eric’s voice. I felt Will’s hand being unwoven from mine, and I resisted, grasping for him. “Let him go, majesty. His wound is healing. Let him go.”
“He’s okay? Will!” I reached for him, clearly able to see him. The invisibility spell did not travel. The sensual unsteadiness of Eric’s touch began to consume my senses.
“I am fine, Eva, breathe,” Will ordered, taking me from Eric’s arms. He grasped me to his chest, and I gripped his shirt with all of my strength. Finally I realized that we were on a massive, wooden ship. “Eric, how did you find us?”
“Asher directed us to the sea to wait for you. You have been gone for three weeks.”
“I am so sick of Asher knowing everything! We need to have a serious talk,” I growled, climbing to my feet. “Immediately.”
“We cannot speak to Asher, your majesties,” Eric turned to his crew, and I watched the solemn expressions pass over their faces.
“What’s wrong?” I turned toward the castle, and then looked up at the sky. The sun was excruciatingly hot; I felt my fair skin burning just by standing on the open floor of the ship. Eric ushered us under the deck.
“Meredith has breached our fortress, Will. She has claimed to have murdered Asher.”
“What?” I fell back, shaking my head. “She can’t! He’s immortal, he-…,”
Eric lowered his eyes to the sea. “There are ways. In the same way Troy’s life ended… She is said to have fed him to the sirens.”
“Sirens?”
“You know them as mermaids,” Will glanced overboard before turning to me. “The thing that attacked me. It must have come through the portal from this land. These oceans are filled with them, thanks to my father.”
My mind skipped. “My grandfather is dead?” I stared at the castle in revulsion; nothing made sense. Mermaids?
“That is what we are told. Meredith orders your surrender. I have sealed off the portal to your world, Eva, but my magic is not nearly as strong as yours.”
Rule (Roam Series, Book Five) Page 18