by Cecy Robson
Genevieve replies, the way she adjusts her hold over her long staff making her appear more regal. “It’s with great regret I share what I do,” she begins.
“I’ll bet it is,” Tye says.
She ignores the slight, looking to Ines who nods in a way a doctor would when he tells a new resident to pull the plug.
“The creation of Fate and Destiny are determined by powers and magic beyond ours,” Genevieve explains. “And while they share abilities such as their accuracy for predicting the future, that’s where their similarities end and where the magic bestowed upon them collides.”
“Resulting in all this,” I say, motioning to the devastation around us.
“Yes, Taran,” she agrees.
For the first time since I’ve known her she appears at loss. What I wouldn’t give for her to know what to do and make everything right.
She adjusts the hold over her staff again. I don’t believe it’s a nervous gesture. I think she’s preparing to act against Tye, unsure how he’ll respond to what she tells him. “Because of the chaos their mutual existence brings, the first born, be it Destiny or Fate is allowed to live. Whoever follows must be killed within the first year of life.”
Emme’s horror reflects in Shayna’s features. Koda stiffens, his need to comfort her warring with his obligation to guard Tye. “But it’s not his fault,” Shayna says, eyeing Johnny.
He sits on the ground, his arms curled around his legs, trying to stay warm and attempting to shield himself from what’s coming. “No,” he says. “It’s not my fault.” His expression is blank as he looks ahead. He’s been very quiet, not wanting to risk disturbing the lion in his presence. “I didn’t choose to come into this world, and I didn’t choose to be what I am.” He turns to look at me. “Just like the rest of you. Can’t you see, my only crime is being born?”
“No, not your only crime,” Tye says.
He’s referring back to the witch law, the one that states Johnny has to die.
“It may be a crime to have two of the same or whatever,” Shayna says, appearing to struggle with everything happening. “But why does death have to be the penalty? Johnny has gone this long without anything happening to him or Destiny.” She shakes her head, causing her long dark ponytail to swing along her back. “I mean, up until they met both were living and okay.”
“But the world wasn’t,” Genevieve reminds her. She looks at Johnny. “You’re what? Twenty-two?”
“Twenty,” Johnny mumbles, lowering his head.
“And what’s happened over these past two decades?” Genevieve questions. “We’ve had Tsunamis strike the earth, quakes that have leveled cities and buried humans alive, demon lords that found a way into our world, one supernatural war, another just beginning, and the start of an evil even the strongest among us will fall to.”
I don’t move, listening, remembering.
“Look at all we’ve faced since the coming of the Fate.” She points to my arm. “Look at all the inconceivable disruptions and betrayals. Our appointed Guardians of the Earth turned against each other, and cast a blow that could have finished us all.” Her lips form a firm line when I tense. “All this darkness, we’ve blamed on simply darkness itself. But now we know the real cause.”
“But why is all this happening to Destiny and Johnny now?” Shayna questions, motioning to Johnny with a tilt of her sword. “If this is all real and how it’s going to go down, why didn’t they react this way sooner?”
“Proximity,” Genevieve replies. She turns in Johnny’s direction. “I presume you’ve never been close enough to trigger such a clash?”
Emme interrupts before Johnny can answer. Like me and Shayna, she wants to spare him. “So if they’d never crossed paths, both would be fine and no one would have suffered?”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, Emme,” Genevieve responds. “As much as their powers collide, their magic eventually calls to each other, forcing them to meet.”
“Oh, my God,” I say, rubbing my face. I glance up to see everyone watching me. “Destiny had never heard Johnny’s music. But she told us that something about it called to her. She had this strange look on her face when she said it. I should have guessed something was wrong.” I glance at Johnny. “I’m sorry. I should have kept them apart.”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Genevieve says. “When their magic calls, they must answer. It’s too powerful to resist. They would have found a way to meet.”
“All right. They met. But what if we keep them separated?” Emme offers. “If we put enough distance between them, perhaps Destiny can recover.”
“Impossible,” Ines replies. “The world can only have one Fate or one Destiny, its magic has insisted upon it since the formation of magic itself.”
“What if Fate goes and Destiny stays?”
The malice behind Tye’s question is so blatant it reeks of poison. The wolves gather around him, closing their circle.
“Uh-uh,” he says, pointing at Johnny when he scrambles back. “You weren’t supposed to live, she was.”
Tye leaps, changing, his large claws protruding and aimed at Johnny. The wolves collide against him, trying to hold him back, their bones crunching from the force of the impact.
Johnny takes off in a sprint. As Shayna and I rush after him, the eagle inked into his shoulders sprouts from his back, growing as it extends and flaps its wings. He separates from Johnny, clutching his arms and lifting him away.
My lightning builds as my arm shoots out, sending a bolt straight into the now immense bird. Johnny screams, and the eagle explodes in a wash of color, dropping Johnny on the hard forest floor.
The small stones and debris dig into my feet. I ignore the sting, anxious to reach him before he attempts his next great escape. We find him trying to crawl away, the skin on his shoulders where the eagle emerged raw and blistering. He’s sobbing, but I don’t think it’s just from pain.
“I’m sorry,” I say, knowing I hurt him, and recognizing how much he hurts in return.
“I didn’t ask for this,” he says, thick tears dripping onto the ground in front of him. “I didn’t ask for any of it.”
Shayna rubs her nose, trying to beat back the tears. We know how he feels, just like we know there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. “I’m sorry,” I repeat quietly. “But we can’t let you leave.”
“Tye,” Genevieve says, her voice tense and stern. The wolves have secured him again, and he’s returned to his human form. But he’s still fighting, making it hard to keep him in place. “It’s not in your charge to kill a Fate or a Destiny that duty, as witches, is ours alone.”
“But you won’t fucking do it, will you, Genevieve?” Tye demands, the skin on his face and neck straining with each word. “You’re going to keep him alive now that Destiny’s dying because you need a new royal to worship. Even though most of you bitches shunned the one who was always there—always. No matter how many God damn times you’d rip her apart the moment she turned her back.”
Emme gasps. I don’t blame her. This isn’t the Tye we’ve known.
Genevieve raises an elegant brow, ignoring the insult. “Our laws only permit the execution within that first year. Killing him now would be murder and could potentially send the world on a collision course.” The small crease along her forehead relaxes when he doesn’t appear to budge. “Don’t you see, Tye? Fate and Destiny are as much a part of the world as the magic that defines us. Without either, there’s no predicting what will happen.”
“That’s all you care about, isn’t it?” he yells. “Some pussy lackey to give you the heads up!”
“Tye, listen,” Genevieve urges.
“No, you listen. He did this to her!” Tye growls. “He made her sick and he’s making her die. If he goes, she’ll live.”
“We do not know that, young lion,” Ines interrupts.
“One way to find out,” Tye says, lunging forward.
“You kill me, the tigress and her ba
bies die.”
My head whips in Johnny’s direction, sparks of fire exploding from my fingertips. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” he says, his reddening face meeting Tye as he answers me. “There’s a tigress. Not a were, but a woman who becomes one. I’ve seen her and the wolf she calls her mate in my visions. Those children they’re supposed to have, they’ll meet their fate with me.” He huffs. “You listening? Hurt me and they’re the ones who’ll pay the price.”
“You’re lying,” Tye accuses.
“Am I?” Johnny fires back. “Why don’t you try me and see?”
“Don’t,” Emme says, veering around her eyes brimming with tears. “Tye, you can’t risk anything happen to Celia.” He doesn’t respond. “Destiny is your friend,” she tells him. “But Celia is, too, and there’s a great deal riding on her survival.”
“No,” Tye says. “That’s straight out shit and you’re all eating it up. He needs to die. Don’t you see? It’s the only way to save Destiny!”
I’m so out of my mind right now, it’s all I can do not to light Tye up like a torch. He lunges forward again, and again, his animal side taking over all reason the man within him knows.
“Don’t do it,” I plead. “Don’t hurt Celia!”
“He won’t,” Gemini answers. He snatches Tye by the throat, his vicious stare drilling into him. “You ever threaten Celia or her children’s safety, I’ll kill you myself.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Destiny is Tye’s mate, isn’t she?”
I’m so quiet, I barely hear myself. But Gemini, Celia, and Aric’s hearing being what it is, I could probably whisper the words in the bedroom behind us and they’d still hear me.
“Yes,” Gemini answers, his eyes on Celia and Aric where they sit across from us.
“I thought they were friends,” I add when no one else speaks. “Close friends for sure, but not more than that.” I turn to Gemini, my heart so heavy, it’s hard to keep talking. “How come his lion never recognized her as his before? They’ve been friends since before they could walk. They could have been together. Why did it take all this for them to see it?”
By “this”, I mean Destiny dying. It’s hard to think the words and even harder to say them, and I’m not alone.
“Sometimes, it takes a tragic event for weres to recognize their mates,” Gemini answers his comment as heavy as his tone.
My butt sinks into the soft cushion of the couch as I cross my legs. The furniture is almost the exact match to the set we have in our living room in Dollar Point. Aric wanted Celia to feel more at home in the Den and had their suite decorated accordingly. He wants her happy. But this isn’t home and given what’s happened, we’re all a long way from happy.
Gemini keeps his arm around me, stroking my arm lightly. I freaked out when I learned Celia and Aric were among those in the caravan of SUVs barreling down the mountain. I should have known he would try to get her to safety. But between Destiny’s wretched screams and all of nature threatening to split the world in two, you can say I was a little distracted. Distraction, though, can be a gift. No way could I have pulled off what I did had I known she was in danger.
It didn’t take them long to return once they knew the storm had passed and the threat was over. What did take long was settling Tye. Watching the Pack drag him away was tough, but seeing my sister, who just wants to have her baby in peace is harder.
Aric cradles her protectively. His hold is gentle, it always is when it comes to Celia, but the ire darkening his features is too much. I look away, disturbed by the anger and fear it carries, and weepy over the love it holds, too. Like Celia, he wants that chance to hold their child.
Gemini meets his gaze, as second in command, and as his friend. “We’re watching Tye closely,” he assures him.
Aric clenches his jaw, speaking slowly and carefully. “It may not be enough.”
Celia takes in a breath, her hand sliding over his thigh. “You can’t kill him, love,” she tells him.
“I can if he risks your safety,” he tells her.
Like Tye, Aric is thinking more with his beast than with his head. “Aric,” I say, cautious not to look at him directly. “You count on the North American Were Council to protect Celia and as an ally. You can’t go around threatening the president’s son.”
“Actually, he can,” Gemini responds, doing nothing to ease the tension making me its bitch.
“You’re not helping,” I sing.
“I’m only stating what’s true,” Gemini counters. He leans back, extending his arms across the back of the couch. “As one of the lead Guardians to the Earth, and as our president, Omar has an obligation to the greater good first and foremost. In challenging Johnny, Tye risks Celia’s life and that of her children, and by extension the world’s future. This leaves Omar with a choice to make: Step down and protect his son, or remain where he is and allow us to do whatever it takes to ensure Celia’s safety.”
“What if he’s lying?” We all look at Celia. She’s been silent, and sad, and too many things I don’t want her to be. But she isn’t staying silent now. “Johnny was desperate, he could have lied about my life ending with his. For all we know, that’s one of his strengths.”
“Did you sniff a lie?” Aric asks.
“No,” Gemini replies. “And I’ve been careful to take in everything he says.”
“But we don’t know if masking lies is among his abilities,” Celia stresses.
“Even if it is, I don’t care,” Aric tells her. “I’m not taking any chances when it comes to you.”
“Neither will we,” Gemini assures him. “If it comes down to it, the lion goes.”
“The lion?” I repeat, fuming when Gemini and Aric regard me without a trace of doubt or regret. “His name is Tye. He’s our friend, or have you forgotten everything he’s done for us?”
“A friend wouldn’t risk my mate’s safety,” Aric grinds out. “And regardless of his past deeds, they don’t absolve him from any threat against her.”
I shake my head. “You weres and your laws.”
“Do you have a problem with us trying to keep your sister alive?” Aric fires back.
“Easy, Aric,” Gemini says, meeting him with equal force.
“Actually, I do have a problem. Want to hear it?” I stand and point to Aric, not waiting for a reply. “You’re all about black and white, rules that can’t be bent or broken. Tye won’t risk harming Celia, and if you could reason past your anger and your insane need to protect her, you would see it.”
“It may be black and white to you, but it’s not to us,” Aric answers, his voice sharp. “It’s what’s helped us keep the world safe since the dawn of time.”
“You know, all that dawn of time crap is getting really old,” I add. “Seriously, enough already. The last thing we need right now is for were to be pitted against were.” I lift my arm. “You saw how well that worked out for us last time.”
“Tye, isn’t going to hurt me, Aric.” Celia’s voice is so soft, I don’t quite hear it, and it’s so distant, I just want to hug her and bring her back. “He’s upset, and rightfully distraught. His mate is dying, that means he doesn’t have much time either.”
She’s right. When weres lose their mates, most die from the grief by the rise of the next full moon.
“Let him be, and give them space,” Celia asks gently. “Please, Aric, allow them to live whatever time they have left in peace.”
Aric cups her face. “It’s not that I can’t sympathize with his anger or his sadness,” he tells her. “Believe me, I can. That doesn’t mean I can just let it go and hope he’ll do the right thing. We don’t know what his grief will do to him or how he’ll respond because of it.” His focus returns to Gemini. “How many are watching him?”
“Enough,” Gemini answers. “He’s with Destiny now, and my guess is that at least for the moment, that’s where he’ll stay.”
“And where is she?” I ask. Gemini and Aric exchan
ge glances, as if debating whether or not to tell me. “I’d like to see her, she’s our friend, too.”
“At the house,” Gemini answers. “It’s the only stronghold we know is still safe.”
I play with the edge of my shirt. A quick shower and change in to jeans and a T-shirt were all I had time for. “Good. It’s a nice place for her.” I blow out a breath and walk toward the kitchen. “It’s home.”
“Can I see her?” Celia asks. “I want to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible.”
Seeing that she’s dying and no one can help her.
Aric’s hand strokes her side. “Soon. I want to make sure nothing happens over the next few days with Johnny here at the Den. Ines and Genevieve have returned to Europe. We won’t be able to get you off the mountain safely without them.”
I straighten. “The queen bees are back in Europe? Already?” I ask. “Never mind,” I add, motioning like I’m waving a wand. “I get it.”
Aric’s attention skips briefly my way. “They’ll return if I call them. But that will only happen if Celia needs to be immediately transported from the Den.” He looks at Gemini. “Or if Destiny’s and Johnny’s power clashes again.”
“If I have to be transported, will it be to the lake house?” Celia asks.
My chest clenches. It’s the place the Omega secured and where Celia is to give birth.
“No, sweetness,” Aric replies. “Being a new stronghold, we can’t be sure it hasn’t been compromised.”
Celia’s face falls into her hands, the weight of everything that’s happened over these past few months appearing to hit her at once. “So for now, we stay here?”
Aric pulls her against him, kissing her head. “For now.”
“You’ll stay with me, right?” she asks. “You’re not going to leave me to fight whatever is out there?”
It takes him a moment to answer. “I’m not going anywhere,” he replies.
“Yet,” is what he means. I know Aric, it won’t be long until his wolf compels him to find what hunts his mate.
Gemini and I leave them. They need a moment and perhaps we do, too.