His eyebrows rose. “What would be the point in having a union that cannot progress or ever produce children? We slate our needs with one another, but that is all.”
Was he serious? “Geez, I hope that’s not why Heath married me.”
Luke’s expression shifted. Anger consumed his face. “He what?”
Uh-oh. “Nothing.”
He frowned at me. “That sort of statement is not nothing. Are you telling me the former lord of fire wed with you?”
“Maybe,” I said because I didn’t know what else to do.
He threw up his hands. “That man holds nothing sacred.”
“Hey,” I said. “It meant quite a bit to me that he even offered. He wasn’t after my power. He wants me.”
“You keep separating the two. Your power is part of you. When are you going to understand that?”
He wasn’t the first person to tell me that. I shrugged. “What’s the big deal anyway?”
“Marriage is reserved for humans. There is a reason, other than the obvious, we call our unions bonding.”
“Meaning?”
“We have distinguished ourselves from humans to remind us we are not part of that world. We have no right to marry an Elemental. Your creator would not approve of this.”
How would he know? “Well, no one came to stop it. If I know anything about my creator, he is all about freedom of choice. I chose Heath, plain and simple.”
Luke shook his head. “I wish you were right.”
I scoffed, not buying his sincere tone. “I figured you’d be mad because it wasn’t you I married.”
He gave me a sad smile. “I’ve accepted your choice, but I think I am among the minority on that issue, and it is not as though my opinion matters anymore anyway.”
His declaration stunned me momentarily, but I finally recovered long enough to tell him, “Thank you.”
He frowned at me, and the lord I’d rejected was back. “You didn’t give me much of an option.”
I looked away from him, not wanting to anger him further. “Thank you all the same. It’s comforting for me to know I don’t have to worry about you trying to steal me from the last guy.”
His laughter rang through the trees. “You cannot understand how difficult it has been for me to release my claim on you. It wasn’t until Valen took over my place as lord of water that I was able to manage it fully.”
I bowed my head, partly because I couldn’t take the pain on his face and partly because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Valen had made it clear he wanted me, but to purposely get Luke on the naughty list so he could take his place was just horrible. Before I could think better of it, I placed my hand on his forearm. “I never wanted that. I’m sorry.”
Warm fingers brushed my arm in return. For a moment all I could think was I had awakened feelings again in him, yet his expression was anything but heated. If anything he seemed pensive. “He has always been stronger than me. I had hoped to change that with your help, but it seems our union was not meant to be. I truly ache for the loss of you. Whatever you may think of my methods, I’ve cared about you from nearly the beginning.”
I chuckled. “Nearly?”
Light drenched his eyes. “When you fought my compulsion the first time, I thought it was a fluke. When you managed it a second time on that wretched bus and even managed to have some attitude with me, I knew I had someone special. When you rejected my bonding in the tunnels, I was in love.”
I smiled at him then took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I didn’t want him to see my regret. Luke was so many things at once. I hoped one day he really would find someone special, someone that would love him the way he deserved to be loved. It wasn’t lost on me that Ainessa might just be that person, but I couldn’t allow myself to ponder that further.
I bit my lip and glanced at him. “Are you sure there is no other way out of here besides the two portals you told me about?”
He sniffed, running a hand through his golden hair. “There was rumor of a breech within the borderlands. We were told it was fixed, but I cannot confirm that.”
“Has anyone investigated?”
A soft chuckle rose from his throat. “To investigate, we would need a reason. The hellhounds would certainly take care of any wanderers who happen to cross into our realm. Even armed, humans are no match for the beasts.”
I shuddered, although I technically had one of those beasts in my back pocket. Images flashed into my mind from when the lords brought me into Faeresia. The hellhounds had seemed like the worst things in existence. Hang on a minute, if Luke was telling the truth, how in the world did they get me into the borderlands from St. Mary’s? “You’re lying to me. I know it. You guys took me from the tunnels straight to the borderlands.”
He laughed. “Rayla, fae have access to Faeresia from any corner of the borderlands and we’ve even installed a few portals throughout your world, but it is one way access. It is humans that cannot cross over into our lands.”
Good to know. “I guess that makes sense,” I said, giving him a shrug.
The last thing I wanted was to let Luke know he had just spilled the proverbial beans. If fae had access to the human realm through the borderlands, I should have access now, as well. I was bound for heaven’s sake. So even though I couldn’t drift, maybe I could walk out.
Luke narrowed his eyes at me. “What is that pretty little brain of yours coming up with now?” He shook his head. “Whatever it is, don’t do it. You will only make things worse on yourself and your family.”
Luke gave me a pointed stare as if to remind me he still waited for me to answer him, but what was I supposed to say?
I had so many questions about fae life. If it weren’t for the tournament and my increasing trepidation where Travis was concerned, I might have been tempted to ask Luke more questions. The one I couldn’t quite get out of my head was why were men the only ones with real power?
I laughed at the thought. Ainessa had managed just fine to acquire an immense amount of power without having ever bonded. I still couldn’t quite figure out why she thought she needed more.
If she was as lethal as I figured she was, she should have been able to take over the council without her brother’s help. I’d originally assumed she didn’t have very many supporters, but given what I knew now, I was starting to reconsider things.
She was offering to make a new world for her people, and if I understood her correctly, she wanted human bodies to occupy. If she could get a few humans to sign up, the creator’s hands would be tied.
Free will. Something so fragile, yet all desire it. It must have been placed inside our souls from the beginning. Some of us just didn’t seem to get the memo on how to use it.
Luke cleared his throat. I hurried up and gave him a, “You’re probably right,” even though I didn’t quite remember exactly what he’d said.
He sniffed in a long breath then reached out and touched my cheek. The feeling of his skin against mine used to make my heart dance. Now, it beat steady. The connection between us was completely gone, yet here he was with compassion in his tropical eyes. He was every bit as devastatingly handsome as he had always been, but I might as well have been watching him on TV for how much he affected me. His voice filled with a mixture of regret and sarcasm. “Don’t do anything stupid. Here’s a thought: do the opposite of what you’re considering.”
Right. Like that was going to happen. I needed to find out if Gibbit had been right. I’d need to find my way to the borderlands and see if I could even cross. I’d also have to see how I could ditch Zach.
Now, if I could just get Styx to help me find Cerberus.
A man came for me before I was even half way to the Castle. His face held a grim stiffness that made me think he’d been dead for a few hours and revived just before rigor mortis set in. “Rayla Tate,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
I gave him a healthy smirk and asked, “Where do you want me?”
He didn’t even flinch, crac
k a joke, or for that matter a smile. “You are required in the council chambers.”
Of course I was. I let my chin dip in a nod then stepped in line in front of him. I was tempted to set into a run, push the limits of this body of mine, but I set a steady pace considering I was barefoot.
Lysanne met me in the hallway, tsking me before I had a chance to say hello.
She circled me, her face growing more severe with every pass. “Who dressed you this morning?” When she eyed my dirty feet, she gasped.
“Come on, Lysanne. You can’t expect me to wear those freaking dresses every single day.”
“You are a lady. You are royalty to us. You need to act like it.”
I cocked a hip, highlighting my jean clad frame. “Maybe I don’t want to be royalty. Heck, I don’t even want to be here.”
She whizzed up to me and covered my mouth with her dainty hand. “You mustn’t say such things.”
“I’ll say whatever I want when I want. No one here owns me.”
She raised her brows. I didn’t want to think about what might happen in a matter of hours, or at the most, days. I didn’t want to admit how scared I was that I might not make it out of here before Valen got to me.
If he could compel me it wouldn’t matter what I wanted anymore. The only thing I’d be able to do would be to please the creep. The thought shot vomit halfway up my throat. One of these days I was going to puke all over someone, but I wanted it to count.
Lysanne didn’t waste time in frilling me up. I frankly wouldn’t have cared if she dressed me in polka-dot pantaloons and dyed my hair purple. In a world full of beautiful people, it just didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t even check the two story gilded mirror on my way into the chamber. What was the point?
Who knew what I expected to see going in, but having Valen stand there dirt ridden in armor with his hair mussed to the sky just wasn’t it. He held his hand out for me like a carrot on a string. I frowned at him. I was no horse.
I stared at his flat blue eyes and said, “What?” This was so not worth getting dressed up for, even if it did only take two seconds for Lysanne to blink this outfit on me.
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “You will not wander the woods alone. Do you understand me?”
“Yes. Anything else?” I wasn’t lying to him. It wasn’t my fault he hadn’t specified who I had to be with. The next time I wandered the woods, I fully intended to have Styx with me.
His lips turned in a tiny smile while he sighed. “I knew you could be reasonable with a bit of guidance.”
It took a lot more than it should have for me to stand there, silent.
He went on, not needing my input to continue the conversation. I might as well have been a cardboard cutout. “It will not be long now, and you will officially be mine.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore. My lungs heaved in a huge breath, and I let it out slowly. “Is that really supposed to excite me?”
He shrugged. “You need to get used to the idea.”
He was delusional, plain and simple. “Who’s left?”
“We are down to fifty participants.”
That wasn’t much of an answer, so I asked a specific question. “Is Zach one of them?”
He grunted. “There is no point in you continuing to hope for another bondmate.”
I scoffed. “He is my bondmate.”
His eyes iced over. “In name only. You have not completely connected with him.”
And what made him think I would do anything more if he managed to best Zach in the tournament? That was just gross. Zach was at least a decent person. Valen was a power hungry cockroach that needed a good squashing.
“Anything else?” I asked again, tapping my foot against the cold stone floor underneath my bell like gown.
His brows furrowed. “Do you have a pressing appointment somewhere?”
I plastered my face with saccharine, searching my mind for the perfect excuse to be unavailable. “I’m having dinner with Cassie.”
He shook his head, stepping closer. “Your plans have changed. You will be dining with me tonight.”
My heart pretty much stopped at that last sentence. “Sorry. No can do.”
His blank expression didn’t change. “I won the toss. You will sup with me.”
Toss? Anger flooded me. I wasn’t some prize he could win. “I don’t care what you think you won. I’ve got plans.”
He smiled. It was real, but worse, it was real creepy. Somehow this guy made the grim reaper look like a wannabe. It wasn’t in his physical appearance, either. He wasn’t the most intimidating lord I’d ever seen; he was just the scariest. The creep factor rose from his soul, misting the room with smoky tendrils. His voice remained level, mirroring his expression. “As I have just mentioned, your plans have changed.”
I was getting nowhere with him, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to stick around for more. “Well, I’d better go get ready then,” I said, turning to leave.
“You think me a fool, Rayla.” It wasn’t a question.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t think anything about him, but that would be a total lie. I didn’t like him. Worse, I didn’t like how I felt when I was around him. “No,” I said. “It’s been a long day, and I need to freshen up.”
He laughed, and the sound resembled something real, but it was off. “I am the one that needs to freshen up. You are merely trying to escape me. Wouldn’t you at least like to know why I desire to be your bondmate?”
Oh, heavens no. Why would I want to know the inner workings of evil? It hit me then. That was the thing that twisted his smile into something almost real. Who was this man? And how did I become his prey?
I backed away from him, wanting to look behind me to make sure the doors were still at my back. He laughed, taking a step closer every time I retreated.
“It has been so long since I possessed a spirited woman. I think I’m going to enjoy having you.”
All of the sudden his countenance changed. No longer plain, he was glory epitomized. His once mousy hair shone like a thousand suns, and his eyes liquefied into the Caribbean sea. His skin transformed into golden velvet draped over chiseled muscles.
The scary thing was, a part of me ignored the lie. A part of me responded to him.
His satin voice was like harp-song, soothing away my nerves. “You belong to me, Rayla.” He paused. “Clever.”
I clamped my eyes shut, closing off my emotions as best as I could. “What?” I asked, realizing what he’d said.
“You’re name. It’s not right.”
Taking the distraction, I rode the wave of my frustration to keep him out of my mind. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’ve had the same name for over twenty years now.” The truth was, I had no idea how old I was anymore, and it freaked me out.
“That does not mean it is your true name,” he said, his voice dipping low.
My eyes snapped open. He was a foot away from me. How had he gained so much ground?
“You needn’t fight me, although I hope you do. Once our bond is complete, you will beg for my attentions.”
“You make me sick. In fact, if I were you I’d back away ‘cause I can’t keep it in any long—.” I dry heaved, and then I threw up.
Valen jumped away just in time. Was this me reacting to his attack of my bond with Zach, or was this me reacting to his ickiness?
The doors burst open behind me. I whirled around, expecting to see shattered wood everywhere. What greeted me was an avenging angel.
Zach stalked to my side. The minute his hand pressed against my back, my body relaxed. Too bad my mind wouldn’t follow.
His eyes lasered into Valen. “How dare you! You have no right to compel my bondmate.”
Valen laughed. “The mere fact I was able to accomplish the deed shows how weak your bond is. It will be my utter pleasure to remove you from her mind.”
Zach growled and tucked me behind him. “She’s mine. You haven’t won her yet.”
“Tomorrow,�
�� Valen said then headed for the hidden room.
“I’ll be ready for you,” Zach chimed in.
He whirled around, taking me with him. A shiver slid over my frame. I’d underestimated Valen and his power. He had been toying with me, testing my bond, but also testing my resolve. No doubt lingered. He was the threat Tabitha warned me about.
My whole body shook as we walked but Zach didn’t slow our pace. He pulled me along, cursing under his breath.
When we arrived in our chambers he tossed me toward the couch. “How could you, Rayla?”
“What?” I asked, completely confused. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I told you to stay in this room. Why didn’t you heed my counsel? Why can’t you trust me?”
I bristled at his accusatory expression. “You’ve never given me reason to! All you’ve ever done is lie to me.” He opened his mouth as if to speak but I cut him off. “No. It’s my turn to talk. You claim you want me more than any other Elemental you’ve ever known, but I know that’s a lie. I see it in your eyes when you look at me. You wish I was her, but I’m not. I never will be.”
His boots ate up the distance between us before he pulled me to my feet. “I know who you are. I am standing here in front of you, begging you to be mine. If you released your feelings for Heath, you would see why we need to be together. This is no longer about a relationship. This is about your planet and mine surviving what my sister and that maniac want to do to it. Don’t you understand? You and I are the only two people who can stop the massacre. We are the only people capable, but we will only be capable if you give yourself completely to me before it’s too late.”
Was he really suggesting sex? My mouth hung open. “I can’t, Zach.” My teeth clenched together. I refused to act like a victim a minute longer. “I won’t!”
His face fell. “Then we are doomed. You have sealed our fates.”
“Yeah. I’m the one responsible for this.”
“Even though you do not wish to see it, you are. Your decisions shape our future. You’re the Nexus. We’ve awaited your coming since we first heard the prophecy.” His expression shifted. “At one time, I thought you would never come, that the prophecy was nothing but a ploy to appease us when we had lost hope.”
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