by Grace White
“Both of us?” I gasp.
“It makes sense, Kitten.” Cael presses another kiss to my shoulder. “Over time I’m sure your abilities will far exceed our own.”
You’ll be able to kick our asses with a mere look, Vasilissa.
“Good morning, grumpy head.” My fingers glide over Endo’s waist creeping along his abs. He snags my hand and brings it to his lips.
“Good morning, Vasilissa.” He unhooks my arms and rolls over so that he’s facing me. His eyes catch Cael’s over my shoulder and he smirks. I’m pretty sure Cael is smirking back.
“What was that for?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” He winks, but I can’t let it go. Focusing on their thoughts I try to pluck the meaning from their minds but come up against a wall.
“You’re blocking me,” I say.
“Well you don’t think we’re just going to give any old person free rein into our thoughts, do you?”
“Hey.” I pinch him. “I’m not just anyone.”
His eyes simmer. “No, no you are not.”
“This is far less weird than I thought it’d be,” I admit, surprised the words were there to tumble out in the first place. “I mean, it’s not weird, right?”
“Not weird at all,” Cael says, his breath dancing over my bare shoulder. “Endo?”
“No weirdness here either. We knew where this was heading, Vasilissa.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “But serious talk time; we didn’t go too far?”
“No, everything was... great.” I swallow.
It had been unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The two of them touching me, kissing me, whispering sweet nothings into my ear. Taking me to places I didn’t even know existed. But they never pushed me. And we hadn’t gone all the way which I’d been both relieved and disappointed about.
“Kitten, get your head out of the gutter.” Cael laughs softly behind me and I feel his erection brush up against my butt.
I blush deeply as I say, “I don’t think it's me who needs to get his head out of the gutter.”
Endo howls with laughter, giving me a wink of approval. “I like this new and improved version of you.”
“Well, I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered.” I arch my brow.
“Flattered, definitely flattered.” He begins to shuffle away from me. “Okay, I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll check in to see where Sol and Ross are at and start breakfast. I’m starving.”
“I could go for some bacon,” Cael says, his stomach rumbling in agreement. “Make extra but don’t burn the toast.”
Endo climbs out of bed stark naked, flips Cael off, pulls on his shorts, and pads out of the room as if it’s completely normal.
“Kitten, you have drool.” Cael thumbs the corner of my mouth and I roll my eyes.
“I do not.”
“So you weren’t checking him out?”
“I was...” I snap my mouth closed.
“I can’t say I blame you.”
“You... and Endo?”
“What? No.” His cheeks burn. “No! I didn’t mean...”
“You’ve spent all this time together, fighting at one another’s side, loving Gaia from afar. You’re telling me you’ve never—”
“Never. Not even once. But I’m comfortable in my own skin enough to notice a good-looking guy. Takes one to know one after all.”
I snuggle into him. “This feels right.”
“It does, Kitten. It really, really does.” Silence envelops us. I could get used to this. Waking up between them. Feeling the heat from their bodies.
“I could get used to it too,” Cael whispers against my hair. “This is all we’ve ever wanted.”
I don’t want to ruin the moment, but I have to know. “Cael?”
“Yes?”
“What do you think happens now Gaia is gone? I mean, can she be reborn back in Elysia? Is that how this works? If we defeat the darkness, will she...” I trail off, unsure of where I’m going with this. There are still so many uncertainties.
“Hey, hey. Don’t do that. Don’t doubt yourself. Gaia knew what she was doing when she fell. We’d be foolish to think she didn’t. As far as I’m concerned, this changes nothing.”
“But you loved her.”
“And now I love you.” He brushes my nose with the tip of his, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “I have to trust this is how things are supposed to play out. That she knew how things would go. It’s all we can do, Kitten.”
His words sink into me. He’s right. We have to trust that Gaia knew the end game. Which means I have to figure out a way to find the right memory.
“Ssh,” Cael says. “Don’t overthink it, not right now. I want to enjoy this. Just for a little while longer. The crazy will wait.”
And therein lies the problem. Within the walls of the safe house it’s easy to forget what awaits us on the other side. This—us playing house—is an illusion. An unrealistic fantasy. But Cael is right, we may as well make the most of it while we can.
Because who knows how much longer we have?
ENDO IS IN FULL CHEF mode when we arrive in the kitchen, and he’s not alone.
“Something smells good,” I say, hopping up onto one of the stools. Peeking over at Ross, I add, “You’re back.”
He gives me one of his tortured looks. “It’s not like I had anywhere else to be.” The corner of his mouth lifts in the faintest of smiles, giving me hope. Hope that one day things will be okay between us again.
“Have you managed to access Gaia’s memories yet?” Sol still sounds pissed, back to all business and no emotion. But I’ll let him have his sulk—for now.
“I can access them, but I have no idea where to look.”
“So it was all for nothing?” He uncurls and curls his fist on the counter, staring at it as if it holds the secrets to the universe.
“I’ll find the right memory. I just need some time to get used to—”
“We don’t have time. Wasn’t that the point of your little suicide mission?”
I blanch at his words and Cael snaps, “Sol, man, go easy on her.”
“It’s okay, Cael.” I give him a pointed look. “You’re right. We don’t have time. We need to know what Gaia knew now. I’m trying, I promise I’m trying.”
“Were you trying last night?” His brows quirk up and irritation flares in my chest.
“Low blow, dude.”
“Last night is none of your business,” I grind out, in total disbelief he went there.
“Isn’t it?” He raises a brow. “What happened to ‘we’re all in this together’? The four of us?”
“You can’t hurt me, Sol,” I whisper. “I knew what I was doing when I lured you to the auditorium. I knew I stood to ruin everything, to ruin us. But I did what needed to be done. I thought you of all people would understand that.”
The muscle in his jaw tics as he glares at me.
“Breakfast is served,” Endo announces, cutting the tension like a knife. He plates up for us and the five of us eat in thick silence. Until I can’t take it any longer.
“I’m going to get some air.” A strange sense of déjà vu washes over me. It isn’t the first time I’ve walked away from them during a heated debate, but I can’t sit there and pretend everything is okay when it isn’t. Sol’s right. Time is running out and I need to find a way to locate Gaia’s memories of right before she fell.
The crisp air fills my lungs as I step outside, but I don’t sit. Instead I move to the railing and stare out over the far-reaching lawn.
“What did the Oracle tell you?” I whisper
It’s futile asking her. Gaia is gone. Her memories are there but there are so many of them, I can’t seem to put them into any order. They run in an endless loop bleeding into one another. Moments with her Chosen, walking in the luscious gardens of Elysia. Sending them away on yet another mission on Earth. Meetings with the High Council. Days spent waiting for her Chosen to return, each day her heart growing he
avier. The sheer relief every time they returned. With no guidance on where to look, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
What did you know? I repeat over and over in my head, gripping the railing until my knuckles are white and my palm aches. I’m one second away from giving up when a memory pushes itself to the surface playing out like a motion picture in my head. Only this time, I’m not a fly on the wall.
I’m Gaia.
I see the memory through her eyes.
When the images fade away into the background, I lunge for the back door.
“Kitten, what is it?”
I stand in the doorjamb, eyes wide and breathless. “I know,” I rush out.
“Know?” Cael pushes off the stool and comes toward me. “What do you mean, you know?”
“I know who’s behind all of this.”
Realization dawns in his eyes as his mouth falls open. “You figured it out?”
I nod slowly, my body trembling as I whisper. “Yes, I know. I know what the Oracle saw.”
Tarturus
The transference was complete. He’d felt it the second Gaia’s spirit had melded fully with the human. Oh how much fun it had been watching the human girl and her men debate the ethics of right and wrong. Part of him had hoped for a slightly messier outcome; one which ended with her brain matter splattered over the walls. But this would be just as entertaining, if not more. Because all paths led to the same end: his victory and her demise.
He felt it, the tentacles of evil growing and stretching. First Atchison, next the world. It wouldn’t be difficult. Not once he ripped Earth apart at the seams and let the underworld bleed freely into this realm. And when the darkness spread, and the planet withered, his sister would see the thing she loved most fractured beyond repair. Then and only then would vengeance truly be his.
Thank you for reading Caged. The final book in the series, Crowned is coming August 16th and is available to pre-order now.
You can join the spoiler group HERE
Playlist
Wrecking Ball – Two Worlds
Made to Love You – Dan Owen
To Be Alone – Hozier
Already Gone – Sleeping At Last
Prisoner – The Weeknd ft. Lana Del Rey
Wild Eyed – London Grammar
Hunger – Florence and the Machine
Wildfire – SYML
Tell Me It’s Real – Seafret
Dark Horse – Sleeping At Last
All We Do – Oh Wonder
Hideaway – Dan Owen
Let It All Go – RHODES ft. Birdy
Author’s Note
I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE already three books in ... and one only left to go!
A huge thank you to all of the people who stand in my corner: Andie – my editor; Lucy and Nikki J – my pimpextraordinaires; Anna – my twinnie; my ARC team and readers group; and Amber at Lady Amber’s PR Services. I couldn’t do this without you all!
And last but not least, to the bloggers and readers who have gotten behind this series. Thank you so much for reading Caged, the third and penultimate book in Terra’s story, and supporting the series. I am forever grateful (and I hope you’ll stickaround for Crowned)!
Until next time,
Grace
About the Author
Grace White is the paranormal pseudonym of romance writer, L A Cotton.
She resides in the UK with her family, and lives for binge watching series on her Firestick, losing herself in a good book, and reliving her younger days through trashy teenage movies ... not necessarily in that order.
For all the latest news, you can follow Grace at:
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