But, beside me, Charaxus lolls her head on the ground, and she begins to move toward the portal, her body dragged by the suction, by the gravity.
“No!” I cry out, trying to grab her. I manage to snatch up her hand as she swings past me, but she locks her ice blue eyes on mine.
“No,” she tells me softly, quietly, almost impossible to hear over the sound of the portal and the storm, but I know her intent. I know what she's about to do, and I scream out, cry out, but I can't save her. She lets go of my hand, and then she's spinning into the portal, her body swallowed in a heartbeat by the light.
And, in that heartbeat, the pulsing blue-and-white circle on the ground disappears.
Calla and Virago collapse, and I lay down, too, for a long moment. But then, somehow, I find myself on my feet, shaking and racing across the relatively small expanse into Virago's arms.
“She's gone,” I tell her, gripping her shoulders and locking eyes with my lover. “Charaxus saved us, and she's gone.”
Virago's jaw is hard as she glances to her queen and then back to me. “I'm sorry, beloved,” she says. And then she wraps her arms around my waist and draws me closer to her. We embrace for a long moment as Calla gets to her feet, stumbling toward the spot in the earth where the portal appeared. She kneels down next to it, putting out her hand over the place on the earth.
“Where did they go?” asks Virago, getting to her feet and helping me to mine. I'm still shaking, and she knows that, has her arm around me as I hold her tightly.
Calla sits there thoughtfully. Then her hand curls into a fist on her lap, and she glances at us over her shoulder.
“Somewhere,” she murmurs. Overhead, the storm abates, the lightning now only intermittent, and the rain coming down in an almost soft mist.
Not everything is right in the world. Charaxus is gone. I don't know if she's alive—she was so badly wounded—and Charix and his men have gone, too, and I don't know if they're alive, but somehow...I doubt that they'd die. They went through this portal, yes, and it saved our lives, but they could be anywhere in the entire universe. And that's kind of a terrifying thought, because when I close my eyes, I still see Charix's blood-mad face as he tried to kill me.
But right now, my lover is beside me. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist, and I press my full weight against her, and she holds me.
Calla sits back on her hands on the mud on my lawn, staring up at the sky. Her eyes are wide, but she closes them, then, lifting her head back, letting the soft rain wash over her. She's alive.
And we're alive, too. I reach up on my tiptoes, wrap my arms around Virago's neck, and I kiss her fiercely. I drink her in, I drink in all of her; I drink in the rain and the storm and the fact that we are all okay.
And Virago kisses me back, her arms wrapped so tightly around me it feels like she'll never let me go, her mouth on mine, the heat of her skin sending a warm tingle through every part of me.
We’re alive. And we’re together.
Overhead, lightning dances.
And beneath the storm, the rain falls down, covering Virago and me as we stand, kissing away the darkness.
Chapter 16: Other Worlds
“Oh, my God,” I mutter happily, rolling my eyes back as I lick the whipped cream off of my straw and then shove that straw back into my ridiculously sugary drink. “This is one thing Agrotera doesn't have,” I moan. “I missed this.”
Carly raises a brow and then chuckles, sitting back in her chair as she waves to the three drinks in front of me. “You were gone for a couple of days, I'd like to remind you.”
“And I’d like to remind you that they don't have frappuccinos on Agrotera, Carly,” I tell her, horrified, and then I pick up the frap on the right, this one a double caramel with an extra shot of espresso. I take a big sip and smile beatifically. “Ah, that's the stuff.”
“Do you miss Virago as much as you missed Starbucks?” asks Carly with a little laugh.
“Well, she's only been gone an hour,” I tell her, as I set the cup down, but then I blush a little. “But, yeah, I do. She promised she'd be back tonight, though, with my poor baby Shelley. I can't believe she's on Agrotera without me right now! She's probably still sleeping,” I say with a little laugh, “but it's the principle of the thing. So, yeah, Virago will be back soon.”
Carly's smile grows a little more genuine. “You really love her, don't you, Holly? Like...” She leans forward, presses her hands to the table, spreading her fingers, “Like the kind of love that lasts forever, complete with tacky greeting cards?”
“Well, I don’t know about the greeting cards...but, yes,” I tell Carly, and I say that single word with all the fervor I have in me (and, considering that I'm completely hyped up on sugar and caffeine right now...that's a lot of fervor). “Yes,” I repeat, leaning forward. “That kind of love. I'm...I'm going to spend the rest of my life with that woman,” I tell her then, and—at first—I'm surprised I said that, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how completely and utterly true the statement is.
I want to spend the rest of my life with that woman.
“Okay,” says Carly decisively.
And then she glances at her watch.
“Um...I'm sorry if I'm keeping you from work,” I tell her quickly. “Do you have to be back yet?”
She flicks her gaze up to me and shakes her head with a soft smile. “Not just yet. I was just...checking on something. So,” she says, drawing out the word as she picks up her coffee. “Do you know if the Hero's Tournament will continue?”
“I doubt it,” I tell her, shaking my head. “With everything that happened, Calla told me she was going to postpone it. And since it’s definite that Furo wanted to overtake Arktos, that’s enough of a reason for a postponing. They need to make sure that King Charix is definitely somewhere that he can't hurt anybody.”
“Yeah, how are they going to do that? Didn't you say that since the magical crystal bit—”
“The shard,” I tell her, trying to keep a straight face. I grin, anyway.
“The shard,” she says, chuckling. “Since that made the portal, it was impossible to trace?”
“Yeah,” I tell her, poking at my straw and thinking about how Charaxus let go of my hand. It was so stupidly noble, but she didn't have to do it. She didn't have to, but she did, anyway.
And now she could be anywhere. In all honesty, she might be dead. But, whatever happened to her, in the darkest moment, she had kindness and strength that most people only dream of.
“Well,” says Carly, reaching across the table and patting my arm, “I'm sure it'll be all right. I'm sure they'll find her.”
But I'm not so sure.
The front door of the Starbucks opens, and I don't usually look up at the people coming in, but for some reason, right now, I do.
And my jaw falls open.
“Aidan, what are you doing here?” I ask him excitedly, standing and hugging my brother tightly. He grins at me, shaking his head as he hands me a Tupperware of cupcakes. Orange-vanilla—God, I’m probably going to eat all of these in one sitting..
“Because Carly told me to come here. Didn't you tell her, Carly?” he asks, looking down at my best friend, his brow furrowed.
“Tell her what?” asks Carly with a wide smile.
“Uh-oh,” I mutter, sitting down. Aidan goes up to order his usual extra-vanilla, extra-whipped cream, extra-sprinkles frap from the barista, and I stare at Carly, my eyes narrowed. “What's going on, Carly?” I ask her.
“My beloved Holly,” she says, spreading her hands and leaning back in her chair so far, I'm fairly certain the front two legs are up off the ground. “This is an intervention.”
“Oh, no,” I groan, and my brother heads for the table with his frap, already drinking it down.
“What'd I miss?” he asks, and Carly grins at him as he takes a seat.
“I just told her this was an intervention,” she says, nodding, and my brother groans a little, too.
“No, no,” he says, waving his hands and smiling at me, “it’s a good intervention.”
“Are there really good interventions?” I ask them, and Carly folds her arms in front of her and just smiles at me, quite a bit like the Cheshire Cat grinned at Alice.
“Look,” says Carly, “we love you—”
“Here it comes,” I moan, shaking my head. “But I talk too much about Virago? We're too lovey-dovey? I'm sorry, guys,” I tell them with a sigh, “but I really love her, and I can't dial it back, and—”
“Well, no, we don't want you to,” says Aidan, and he looks a little sad as he reaches across the table and takes my hand in his own. “But that's why we're here.”
“You guys are scaring me,” I tell them as I look from Carly to Aidan, and I note that both of them are no longer smiling.
“Holly, we love you,” says Carly resolutely, “and we want you to be happy.”
“And you're really happy with Virago,” my brother continues.
“So,” says Carly, drawing out the word, her head to the side, “we think you should go live on Agrotera.”
I stare from Carly to Aidan, and back again to Carly. “You can't be serious,” I manage.
“Why not?” asks Carly, shaking her head. “It's a magical world. Even though you almost died on it, you haven't been able to stop talking about it since you got back. You obviously love it there.”
“And what's more important,” says Aidan, raising a finger, “you're happy there. Because you're with Virago. And she makes you happy.”
I stare at my brother and best friend, and then I glance around me. I glance at the tables and chairs in Starbucks (really, one of my favorite places on this, or any other planet). I think about how very, very much I love Aidan and Carly, and how very, very much I'd miss them. It's hard to go through portals, if shards aren't involved (and, anyway, we still don't know what the shard was costing to create those portals, and maybe we never will), and I don't know how often I'd get to see them.
But, really, besides books and my job...there's a lot I don't love about this world. The hate and the greed and the global warming… I mean, I'm assuming Agrotera has two out of those three, but somehow, Arktos and Arktos City makes all of it better. I didn't get to explore the country of Arktos like I wanted, but I love Arktos City. I love it. I love everything about it. I love that it's populated with women like me, I love the magic, I love the magical animals, I love...
Everything about it.
Just like I love everything about Virago.
“But...but what about you guys?” I manage, tears springing to my eyes as I think about how little I'll be able to see them. “I love you both so much,” I say, shaking my head.
“And we love you, too, Holly,” says Aidan with a long sigh. “Which is why we want you to be happy.”
“And, when we do get to see you,” says Carly, tears standing in her eyes as she gives me her biggest and bravest smile, “you'll have even more ridiculously romantic stories to tell us, so, hey—you can save them up,” she says with a watery laugh. “And then you can get all of your love-colored confetti out at once.”
“We will see you again, Holly,” says Aidan, holding my gaze. “And, in the meantime, I can try to figure out inter-world communication. Hey, I'm a witch,” he says, puffing out his chest. “It should be a snap for me.”
“Guys, I can't leave you,” I start, but Carly shakes her head.
“Are we really the only reason you'd be staying on Earth?” she asks quietly, her head to the side.
I laugh a little, a single tear streaking down my cheek as I squeeze my brother's hand. “Well, that and Starbucks.”
“One of those two things is a good reason,” says Carly sternly, but then she's smiling at me. “You've loved magic your entire life, Holly—and you finally have a chance to live a magical life with the love of your life. Do you know how many people get that chance?”
“Very few,” my brother agrees. “Hell, I'm still waiting for my lady knight in shining armor. But you found yours.”
“Just love her, Holly,” says Carly, holding my gaze. “Love her and live, and be happy. And that's enough.”
Every time I close my eyes, I see Virago. I see her smile and her ice blue eyes. I see her long waterfall of black hair. I see the way her mouth turns up at the corners as her eyes travel the length of my body. I see the way she grins with delight when she's around her knights or when she looks at her horse. I see the way she crouches down to get on Shelley's level, and how she speaks so seriously (and with a great deal of love) to my dog. I see the way she fills out those gorgeous leather pants, and the way she crosses her legs, her brow furrowed, as she reads poetry, often speaking lines out loud in a quiet, hushed whisper, like she's saying a prayer. I see the way she moves, the way she simply is.
Love her and live, and be happy. And that's enough.
“I will,” I tell them, the promise in those words as powerful as any sword.
And that’s exactly what I do.
The End
More from Bridget Essex:
- Forever and a Knight: Follow along on the adventures of Josie, a shock jock DJ from Boston, as she falls through a portal into another world...and on top of the woman of her dreams...who just happens to be wielding a sword. Set in the same world as A Knight to Remember and Date Knight.
- Falling for Summer: On the twentieth anniversary of her sister's drowning, Amanda returns to the lake where she grew up to face her past...and unexpectedly meets Summer McBride.
- Wolf Queen: When they were teenagers, Amber and Stevie were so deeply in love that nothing could drive them apart. Until the one night, when Amber needed Stevie to be there...and, instead, Stevie disappeared without a trace...
- The Guardian Angel: When Erin's life is saved by a gorgeous woman who swears she's Erin's guardian angel...things begin to get complicated.
- The Vampire Next Door: (Co-written with author Natalie Vivien) Courtney's book store is failing, and she thinks her girlfriend might be cheating on her...Courtney doesn't even think she believes in love...that is, until she meets the vampire next door.
- Don't Say Goodbye: Maxine “Max” Hallwell has spent her entire life making the safe, responsible decisions. When her best friend, Jo, introduces her to her new girlfriend Fiona, a stunning, charismatic cake decorator, Max realizes that making safe decisions might have cost her the woman of her dreams...A heartwarming, poignant romance.
- A Wolf for Valentine's Day – Trish Dalton has put her wild, adventurous days behind her. But when she's gifted a weekend stay at a remote lodge in the Rockies, she finds she may have one more adventure left in her. A light-hearted, steamy romance, perfect to read any time of year.
- A Wolf for the Holidays – Mandy’s not having a great December. Her lackluster girlfriend has given her a massive dog--who looks a lot more like a wolf than a dog--as a gift. But all problems seem minor when she wakes up to a gorgeous, naked woman stealing jeans out of her dresser...a woman who swears she’s a werewolf. A warm, holiday romance!
- Wolf Town: Amy moves to the strange little New England village, Wolf Town--but she finds more than a fresh start when she begins to fall in love with the daughter of the Wolf Town patriarch...who also just happens to be a werewolf.
- The Sullivan Vampires: A beautiful, romantic series that follows the clan of Sullivan vampires and the women who love them. Advance praise has hailed this hallmark series as “Twilight for women who love women” and “a lesbian romance that takes vampires seriously! Two thumbs up!”
- Big, Bad Wolf: During a terrible snowstorm, Megan thinks she sees a wolf. But when beautiful, hungry-eyed Kara comes into Megan’s life, she brings more danger than a pack of wolves.
- Dark Angel: Cassandra Griman was in the wrong place at the wrong time when her life is saved by an angel. But first impressions aren’t everything, and the captivating woman who saved her life is no angel. Can love save the soul of a vampire?
These an
d more are available now.
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About Author Bridget Essex
My name is Bridget Essex, and I write about werewolves, vampires and lady knights; about two strong, courageous women who fall deeply in love with one another, living love stories that transcend time. I’m married to the love of my life, author Natalie Vivien.
I’m best known for my Knight Legends series, stories about women knights, real world hi-jinks and love stories that are out of this world. My Sullivan Vampire novellas are a popular series lauded as “TWILIGHT for women who love women,” and I have several other series and stand-alone novellas, and I’m always putting out something new. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when I release something!
You can find out more about my work at http://BridgetEssex.wordpress.com I’d love to connect with you on Facebook! Friend me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008329511329&ref=tn_tnmn
Learn more about Rose and Star Press, publishers of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction, at http:///www.LesbianRomance.org
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