Caged_A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Romance

by Grace White

  Now all I had to do was get the guys on side.

  7.

  “Honey, I’m home,” Endo’s voice filters down the hall and I smile.

  We’ve fallen into a strange routine. And although I’m desperate to leave the house, I’m not entirely hating being here either. Cael and Endo make it virtually impossible, smothering me with attention and distractions.

  “Mmm, something smells good.” He goes to the kitchen drawer, taking out a spoon and waving it in my direction. I guard the pan possessively. “Oh no you don’t. It’s not ready.”

  “Which is why I need to give it the taste test.”

  “Endo Machiavelli,” I swish the towel at him as he drawers closer. “Back away from the pan.”

  He pouts. “But it smells so good.”

  With a heavy eye roll, I fix my attention back on the pan but let out a little squeal when two hands slide down my waist and slip in front of me. I’m caged in. Endo at my back, the counter at my front. “Not funny. Let me out,” I scold even though my heart is doing little flips at the feel of him pressed up against me.

  “I just want one taste, Glow.” Endo dips the spoon into the sauce and brings it toward us, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Just one little taste.” I’m not entirely sure he’s still talking about the sauce until he brings the spoon to my lips, not his own. “Open up.”

  My lips part all on their own. It’s his voice, all deep and husky. Tomatoes and garlic hits my taste buds and I groan.

  “Shit, Terra. I didn’t know it was that good. Let me try it.” He goes in for a second spoonful, this time bypassing me and trying it for himself. “By the gods, she can cook.”

  “Hey,” I protest. “Damn straight I can cook.” Unlike him who managed to burn toast this morning. Twice.

  Endo drops the spoon on the counter and folds his arms around my waist, drawing me closer. His lips brush the shell of my ear as he whispers. “I missed you.”

  “At least you got to leave the house. There are only so many reruns of Big Bang Theory you can watch before you lose your mind.”

  “You could do that thing called studying.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? I’ll study when you let me out of here.” Childish? Yes. But it’s the principle of the matter. Besides, if this thing drags out any longer, I’ll fall too behind with my classes to make up the semester. Something they must have considered.

  But I guess school takes a back seat when the fate of the world rests on your shoulders.

  “Are you going to tell me what your other ability is yet?” I change the subject. Endo remains tight-lipped. Which can only mean one of two things: either it’s dangerous, or it's so completely unimpressive he’s embarrassed to tell me.

  Turning me in his arms, he lowers his face to mine. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

  “You did not just quote Aristotle at me.” I fight a bemused grin.

  “The lady is impressed.”

  “The lady needs to finish the sauce.” I arch my brow and Endo chuckles.

  “Fine. I shall leave the lady to her work.” I go to move but his arms tighten. “But not before doing this.”

  His mouth captures mine in a heated kiss. I sink into it, enjoying the feel of his tongue against mine. But all too quickly I feel the energy inside me build and I tear away, refusing to lose myself again.

  “I should get back to dinner.” I force a smile, unable to meet his eyes.

  “Terra, what just happened?”

  “Nothing. Nothing happened. I just need to finish the sauce and you need to stop distracting me.”

  Endo lingers for a second, but I focus on the pan, trying to ignore the hunger clawing through my stomach.

  You can’t have him, I silently say. Because this time I recognize it before it overwhelms me. The instantaneous burst of need. The desire.

  Gaia’s power swarming me, trying to take over.

  Endo skulks away, and I hate that I’ve put a wedge between us, but I can’t do this right now. Because something has changed.

  The lines are blurring, and I feel like I’m losing myself. I no longer know where I end, and she begins. And that terrifies me.

  BY THE TIME DINNER is ready, Cael and Ross are back too. The four of us sit and eat together. I'm quiet while the three of them fill me in on the events of the day... or lack of them. Amalia is still plain old Amalia, and Earhart is still cloaked in darkness. Whatever that means. The guys are no closer to finding out who or what is causing it. And I’m no closer to being released from house arrest.

  “So,” I say when everyone is finished. “Are we going to talk about the fact it’s been six days and there’s been nothing?”

  My eyes dance over the three of them waiting for Endo’s witty reply or Cael’s attempt to pacify me. But they never come and my stomach knots furiously.

  “Guys?” I push because this can’t be good. “Will someone tell me why the three of you look like someone died?”

  The entire meal they had been fine. Talking. Eating. Even laughing. But now that I think about it, Cael was a little too enthusiastic about how good my spaghetti was, and Endo cracked one too many jokes than usual.

  “What happened?” I grind out, feeling my fingers tighten around the fork.

  “We hunted a pack of hellhounds on campus last night.”

  “A pack of what?”

  “Hellhounds,” Endo repeats. “You know? Bringers of death. Ugly stinking things.” He shudders.

  “I know what a hellhound is,” I say dryly. “But this is a joke. You’re joking. Because I’m sure you just said you caught a pack of hellhounds on campus last night.” I say, even though I know it’s not a joke. An Asodomi had infected me with a lust enchantment, and if it hadn’t been for Sol, who knows how that would have ended up. But hellhounds? I can’t wrap my head around that.

  “Terra, you know other things exist, and Kansas is a beacon for the supernatural.”

  “I know but... hellhounds?” My instinct to refute what they are saying melts away and I let out a heavy sigh. “What did you do?”

  “We disposed of them,” Ross says flatly as if he didn’t just insinuate the three of them killed a pack of mythological dogs said to guard the gates of hell.

  “I’m guessing their presence isn’t a good thing?”

  “Hellhounds are harbingers of death. Their presence is never a good thing.”

  “They can feel whatever is coming,” I whisper, unable to disguise the quiver in my voice.

  “Yeah. And if they’re already here it won’t be long until others come.”

  “Others?” My eyes widen with alarm.

  “Atchison is about to become a supernatural hotbed.” Endo’s eyes simmer with emotion. “Which is why we need you to hang tight a little longer. We know it’s not what you want, but right now this is the safest place for you to be.”

  “Isn’t there something you can do? What if you returned to Elysia to ask for help? Maybe the Oracle can—”

  “Kitten,” Cael sighs. “It doesn’t work like that.” There’s something about his tone that sets alarm bells ringing in my head.

  “But you are Gaia’s Chosen. It’s your divine duty to protect Earth. Surely the High Council will help you if—”

  “Terra,” Ross interjects. “It’s not possible.”

  “Ross, man.” It’s Endo this time.

  “Maybe she should know?”

  “He said it wasn’t time,” Cael adds, and I don’t need him to spell out who said it.

  “What doesn’t Sol want me to know now?” I narrow my eyes trying to figure out what I’m missing. The three of them keep sending one another silent messages and I resent being on the outside to their shared bond again.

  “Ross?” I give him my full attention. “What doesn’t Sol want me to know?”

  “He doesn’t want you to know that we forfeited our place in Elysia when we decided to follow Gaia.” Fury is etched into every crease of Sol’s face as his eyes pin me to
the chair.

  “I- I don’t understand.” I hate that my voice cracks. That I sound so weak. But this isn’t the Sol I’ve come to know. He’s a shadow of this guy standing in the doorjamb looking ready to kill.

  “I thought I said it wasn’t time?” He’s not addressing me, even though his cold stare remains on my face, burning through me.

  “Sol, come on; things are changing. We can’t keep her in the dark forever.”

  I stand on shaky legs forcing myself to keep my eyes on his. “You told me I needed to start acting like your Queen. Well, I demand to know the truth.”

  His jaw tics as he rubs a brisk hand over his head. “And you think you’re ready to hear it?” he sneers. But I refuse to cower. Sol Ericson is a product of his duty. To Gaia and to Earth. He’s cold, calculating, and fearless because he’s had to be. Because his duty has demanded it of him. And if what he said is true and the four of them came to Earth at the cost of relinquishing their entry back to Elysia, then part of me can even understand why he resents me. Because they came for Gaia. They have been stuck on Earth for the last nineteen years waiting for their Queen, and instead, they got me.

  “Kitten, that’s—”

  “This isn’t your fight, Cael,” I say without looking at him. “I’m right aren’t I? You followed Gaia even when she forbade it. Even when she told you that whatever was coming was something she had to face alone, you still came. You were banished from Elysia and I’m a reminder of that. I’m a reminder of what you've given up.”

  “Terra—” one of them says, but I’m not sure who it is. I can’t see past the stoic guy in front of me. Sol is rigid. His eyes are set into thin lines. Fists balled at his sides. He looks like a guy one second away from snapping.

  And I’m not sure I want to be around when he does.

  “I’ll be in my room. Please don’t follow me. I need space.”

  Sol steps aside to let me past and I feel the weight of his stare as I hit the stairs. But I don’t look back. I can’t. Because Sol told me to start acting like his Queen, and I’m pretty sure Queens aren’t supposed to break.

  Upstairs in my room, I lock the door and pull out the duffle bag Violet left for me. It mostly contains feminine products, but she’d also included a couple things she thought might come in handy. Grabbing the smudge stick, lighter, and small ceramic bowl, I change into my sleepshirt and climb into bed. Inhaling a couple of deep breaths, I clear my mind of everything: the guys, the coven, Amalia and her supposed betrayal. I force it all out until there’s nothing. Lighting the tip of the smudge stick I waft it around me a couple of times and chant,

  Elements of the sun, elements of the day

  Please come this way

  Powers of the night and day

  I summon thee, to protect me

  So mote it be.

  Setting the stick down in the bowl on the nightstand, I roll my shoulders back and center myself, close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

  In and out. In and out. Letting each breath wash over me. Cleansing the negative thoughts. When I’m on the precipice of the deep abyss, I hold back. Searching for a thread of the energy I know lives inside me. But not from Cael, Endo, Ross, or Sol. Not my connections to them but my connection to the cause of all of this.

  Gaia.

  When I latch onto her spirit, I hold tight and let myself fall.

  Earth

  He wanted to hurt something. A demon. A human. It didn’t matter. All he needed was to feel control. To watch someone—something—bend to his will. He needed a reminder of his strength, of his power, because around her he felt completely powerless. Stripped of reason and logic, he didn’t like how it felt. And yet, he wanted more. He wanted her to stand her ground against him. He wanted to see the Queen he knew her to be. Because like it or not, Terra—not Gaia—was the key. He realized that now. Gaia had to know what would happen when she fell. She had to know that the human body she would be reborn to would absorb her power.

  Terra was Earth’s salvation. It was her burden to carry. Her battle to withstand.

  It was one of the reasons they had agreed not to tell her the truth about the events which led up to Gaia falling from Elysia. She was going to have enough to shoulder without feeling the weight of their sacrifice too. But maybe it had gone too far. Maybe they should have been more upfront from the start. Of their true feelings for Gaia, and how that played into their new relationships.

  Fuck. Everything was so messed up. Back in Elysia things were simple. And he’d relished the simple life. Thrived on it. For he was born to be a Chosen. Duty and honor burned in his veins. Without it, he felt like a ship adrift. But somewhere along the way, she’d become his anchor. He tried so hard to fight it. To resist the magnetism between them. He wanted to hurt her and then love her. Punish her and then soothe her. He wanted to make her cry and then scream his name. Unlike the others, he was having a hard time separating his feelings for Gaia and his feelings for Terra. Because she was right, every time he looked at her, he saw Gaia’s betrayal. But they were right. He’d pushed her too far.

  And he had to find a way to fix it.

  8.

  “So, we’re all in agreement?” Sol’s strong voice rings clear in the Great Hall. Gaia pushes closer to the side entrance, the door the lesser hands use. She hadn’t intended on being here, but she wanted to explain to them, to make them see why she had to do this. But as she reached the Great Hall, she heard their voices, and the urge to listen was too seductive.

  By the gods, it hurts. Every time she considers what must be done, a pain so intense burns deep in her chest, stealing the very breath from her lungs. But she can do this. She must.

  And she will.

  “I am in.” Endo announces.

  “Me too,” Cael speaks.

  “As if there’s another choice.”

  She is not surprised Ross agrees last. He is withdrawn lately. Melancholic. So many times she had tried to get him to open up but her Chosen are nothing if not professional, preferring not to blur the line of Queen and Subject.

  “Then it is agreed. We will go with her regardless of her decree.”

  Gaia bursts into the room, her heart pinching with what she is about to do but deep down, she’d known it would come to this. They had spent so long protecting her and that which she loved most. To think they would just stand by and watch her fall—an unprecedented event for an Original—was foolish.

  “And what do I find here?” She greets each of them with a swift nod. “Surely you are not conspiring behind my back when I made my feelings perfectly clear?”

  “Your Grace,” Sol addresses her. “We understand you feel that you need to do this alone but—”

  “But nothing, Sol descendant of Ourea. I am your Queen. My word is final. Or have you forgotten the blood oath you swore?”

  He shoots to his feet, eyes glittering with disbelief. “You would question our fealty? When we have done nothing but serve you.”

  “Sol,” Cael warns but his outburst does not offend Gaia. If anything, it makes her heart swell with pride knowing that even now in the face of so much uncertainty, his loyalty is unwavering.

  “You gave us a job to do, Your Grace. I implore you, let us do it.”

  Gaia inhales a shaky breath. She knew they would fight her on this. But she hasn’t anticipated her reaction; the fracture in her heart at the thought of leaving them behind.

  “You know what the Oracle saw, don’t you?” Sol’s voice echoes off the high ceiling.

  Endo groans and Ross shifts uncomfortably. They were her Chosen. A title which granted them certain liberties. Liberties that did not extend to questioning a member of the High Council.

  “Remember your place, warrior.”

  “Okay, okay.” Cael leaps up. “Everyone take a breath and calm down. Like the rest of us, Sol is just concerned that you’re not thinking this through.”

  Oh how wrong they were. Gaia had done nothing but think it through. Trying to find another solutio
n. But the Oracle was never wrong and the future of Earth as they knew it relied on Gaia’s sacrifice.

  Taking a seat in the gold-embellished wingback chair reserved only for members of the High Council, Gaia let her eyes run over each of them. Endo, descendant of fire. Cael, descendant of air. Ross, descendant of water. And Sol, descendant of earth. The strongest, bravest warriors Elysia had, in the relentless war to maintain the balance between light and dark. Good and evil.

  “Rest assured, my warriors, I have given this more than adequate thought.”

  Cael’s mouth snaps open ready to protest, but she silences him with a hard look. “I will fall to Earth and be reborn at the turn of the millennium as a human child. I will forgo my memories until my eighteenth birthday when my powers will be unlocked. You shall remain here in Elysia. You will still uphold your duty to Earth. Eros will issue your missions in my absence.”

  “And if we refuse to remain?”

  Gaia locks eyes with Sol and feels her heart wither as the words fall from her lips. “If you refuse to obey my orders, you will relinquish your free passage between Elysia and Earth.”

  “Meaning we’d be stuck on Earth?”

  “That is correct, Cael, descendant of air. A burden too great even for you to bear.”

  “Do not claim to know what we would or wouldn’t bear, Your Grace.” Sol’s words cut her where she stands. She starts to respond but he’s gone. The door slams in his wake and Gaia lets out a long breath, coming to face the three remaining Chosen.

  “I do not do this to hurt you,” she says. “I do this to protect you. Surely you see that?”

  The three of them rise and she feels herself begin to tremble. “We know you think you’re doing the right thing but with all due respect, you’re wrong.” Broken notes hang in Cael’s voice as his eyes linger on his Queen. “We will leave you in peace now.”

  They move toward the door, Ross and Endo slipping out first. Cael lingers. She wants nothing more than to take it back, to fix the mess she has created. But instead Gaia says, “Don’t disobey me on this, Cael. If you follow me, Eros will banish you from Elysia.”