“You are mine and I am yours, Timewalker.” He leaned down, and Mari melted into the heat of his kiss. A kiss was different here. Hotter. Sweeter. The roiling emotions she suppressed for this man burst forth from deep within her soul like a volcanic eruption, blowing her heart wide open. And still he kissed her. She tasted love on his lips, the burst of longing and tenderness sweeter than milk chocolate and marshmallow cream on her tongue.
There was no hiding here. There were no secrets, no lies. No deceit or second guessing. Here, they were pure spirit, and they were flaring up, brighter and hotter than a wildfire. One flame.
Two souls, one heartbeat. Connected.
Why couldn’t he have loved her like this before? Why did he have to love her now, when it was too late? Maybe he didn’t. Perhaps this was all just another one of her cruel and cursed dreams. That made more sense. One last excruciating and tortuous dream.
Why not? She’d suffered a thousand nightmares. Died a thousand deaths.
None of them had hurt this badly.
Aching, she tore her lips from her phantom lover, but couldn’t bear to break contact completely, even if he were just a dream, even if touching him burned her essence to ashes. She kissed the corner of his mouth, allowed her lips to linger on the raspy curve of his jaw. It wasn’t fair. Life.
Mari closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Raiden’s clean-shaven cheek. Life was a bitch all right. One cold-hearted, unforgiving bitch. “God, why did I have to love you so damn much?”
“Mari…” Raiden’s hand burrowed into her hair at the nape of her neck and held her to him.
“And why didn’t you love me back?” And there it was. The big question. The heart-breaking, soul-stealing, grind-her-heart-under-a-boot-heel question. The one that really hurt. Why? She’d given up everything for him. Chased myths. Risked her life. Been laughed at. Died. Travelled through time. Loved him.
She’d loved him. Loved him still, even if he didn’t love her back, would never love her back.
Couldn’t love her.
She tried to convince herself that the why didn’t matter, not anymore. Surely, he could have loved her. Or was she too crazy? Too stubborn? Too abrasive?
Was she not beautiful enough? Caring enough? Smart enough?
Perhaps that was it. She was a fool who’d spent her life chasing the monsters under the bed. She’d found them, all right. And they’d killed her.
Not much of a fairy tale, at least not the happily-ever-after fairy princess variety. More like the brothers Grimm, where everyone died. The end.
Red-shirt ensign after all. Cue the curtain.
Mari tried to pull away, to let go of the pain, but Raiden’s arms tightened and he shook his head. “No, Mari. No.”
“What are you doing?” Mari shoved against his chest, nipped at his jaw in an absolute attempt at self-preservation. “Let me go.”
“I can’t.” Raiden loosened his hold just enough for her to lean back and stare up into his eyes. “I love you, Mari. I love you. I don’t care about the war, or the Crux, or the Triscani. I don’t care. Wherever you go, I go. Do you hear me? This life or the next. I am yours. Heart and soul. Alive or dead. I am yours.”
Mari froze, unable to comprehend the vehemence of his pledge. But then his lips found hers again, and the kiss rocketed through her nerve endings like scorching jet fuel from her head to the very tips of her toes. She gasped, and clung to him, starving for more heat, more fiery lust, more love. It poured off him in waves, a halo of energy she basked in. His love for her poured into her and healed her broken heart. It wound its way through her soul and set her skin on fire.
It healed her broken body and jumped-started her dead heart more efficiently than a jolt of electricity could have. And it burned through their bond, made the mark on her shoulder scream with unbridled energy.
Still he kissed her, pressed her body to his, chest to chest, hip to hip, thigh to thigh. Mouth to mouth. He held her, a willing captive, one hand buried in her hair and the other splayed in white-hot seduction at the small of her back.
Alive. She felt alive.
The kiss never faded. One moment she was a spirit, not much more than mist, and the next they were flesh and blood, and his lips tasted of salt and desire. His hands, their pose, the love flowing between them didn’t change. She could feel him now, his soul deep inside her. A part of her. Forever.
Mari gasped, anticipating the pain that she knew must await her in her physical form. There was none. She glowed, literally glowed with soft golden light as warmth flowed through every cell and her body was made whole by the energy of her bond to Raiden. The healing pulse of Mother Earth caressed her with softly cresting waves that swirled and rocked them from the waist down where they somehow stood in the water.
Raiden held her upright. Safe. In his arms. The only place she’d ever really wanted to be.
“Was it true?” She wanted to believe him, wanted it more than she wanted to breathe or eat or live. But she’d been burned by him too many times, lived through too many nightmares. Frankly, she no longer trusted her judgment when it came to him. She’d give him everything. Believe anything. All he had to do was ask…
Raiden inspected her with his eyes as he frantically ran his hands over every inch her body. “Are you well? Your injuries, are they healed?”
When she nodded, he wrapped her up and lifted her in his arms, squeezing until she could hardly breathe. He buried his face in her neck and stayed there. “By the gods, woman. I am never letting you out of my sight again.”
She wiggled to break free. He hadn’t answered her with words, but her shoulder burned, sending jolts of desire to her core. Just looking at him made her tremble with the need to touch, to be touched.
She was alive and she was still in love with a man who didn’t love her back. “Damn it. Put me down.”
“No.” Raiden threw back his head and laughed. She hit his shoulders and punched at his chest.
“Let me go.”
“Never again, amata mea. Never again.”
Mari stilled and Raiden lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist. She complied, then placed her hands on his cheeks, brought his face down to hers so she could look him straight in the eye. “What is amata mea?”
“My love. That’s what you are. My love. My heart. My soul. I am yours and you are mine, Mari. Forever.”
“You love me?” Mari tightened her legs, pressed her core closer to the masculine proof of his desire. She could take him here, now. Claim him for now and forever as her own. If only he meant what he’d said. If he’d let her love him.
“Yes, Mari. Yes. More than anything or anyone on any of the known worlds. More than life.” He kissed her again, a soft gentle kiss of complete and total reverence. “Without you, I am nothing. You are my heart and soul, woman. Start taking better care of them. No more running off alone. From now on, we stay together. If you’re angry with me, scream at me, but don’t run. Never. Again.”
The kiss this time was meant as punishment and dominance, an exclamation mark on an order to be followed. Mari gave as good as she got. Don’t lie to me, and don’t keep secrets, Raiden.
Never. Again.
Foreheads touching, they shared air. Shared life. “I love you, Raiden.”
“That’s good, because I’m never letting you go.”
Teagh cleared his throat and Mari jumped. Raiden calmly turned her in his arms and swept her off her feet. She relaxed against him, head on his shoulder, arms around his neck. Trusting him with her body, her heart, and her life. With everything. Forever. Her shoulder burned with sweet agreement and Raiden’s love flowed through her like hot bubble bath cleansing the pain of her past from her very blood. Intoxicating.
Arousing.
“You two finished?” Teagh had his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing grin on his face.
“Hell, no.” Raiden walked onto the beach and faced off with the other male. “She’s mine, Teagh. Touch her and it’ll be your head.”
&
nbsp; Mari stiffened in alarm but Teagh laughed. “Calm yourself, little mortal. I felt the moment the Mark faded. You carry her Mark now. And that is a rare and sacred thing, respected, even by a lost cause like me.”
Raiden grunted but didn’t press the issue.
Teagh addressed her this time. “Thank you, Timewalker, for saving my life.” He held out his hand and a beautiful white crystal dropped into her palm.
“What is this?”
“It’s for you. It will allow you to lure the soul trapped within you. The Queen’s Remnant could hold on for decades longer, especially with your bond to Raiden. But the Queen is a true Immortal and eventually she will burn through you both and destroy you. The Triscani souls as well.”
Raiden laughed and swung Mari around in his arms. She’d be free of the Remnant, free of the Triscani. He stopped, and looked at Teagh. “Thank you.”
Teagh raised an eyebrow. “Don’t thank me. Mari is a very strong healer. She will see it done.”
Mari closed her fist over the stone and nodded at Teagh’s serious tone. “Thank you. But why is this stone white, not black? And how will one stone hold all of those souls?”
“The stone is unique, and can be cleansed by Mother Earth’s energy. The dark stones come from the Black Gate itself, from the fabric of its creation.” Teagh pointed to the white stone she held in her hand. “This stone also comes from the Gate, but it’s been cleansed by White Fire. It will hold many souls between purgings, help you to heal and boost your power. It’s the only stone of it’s kind in existence.”
“Where did you get it?” Happiness fizzed inside her and Mari didn’t even try to hold back her smile.
“A thousand years ago a young girl gave it to me. She was seven years old. Her name was Aria. She was a powerful mimic and the Lost King’s sister. She was born here, on Earth.”
“Where did a seven-year-old get a soul stone?” Raiden stared at the strange white stone. It vibrated with power.
Mari spoke at the same time. “What is a mimic?”
Teagh answered her first, of course. “A legendary being capable of taking the true form of another. Not in illusion, but in fact. In all of the Immortals recorded history, there were only two such beings.” He turned to lead them to the house and continued. “As to how she got the stone, she told me a young girl appeared out of thin air and asked her to give it to me, then disappeared.”
“Who was it?” Mari slid her hand into Raiden’s but he refused to let her be that far away from him and wrapped an arm around her waist as they started walking toward Teagh’s house.
“I have no idea, but the stone has served me well. I give it to you now, healer. If what Raiden says about the coming war is true, you’re going to need it.”
“You’re not so bad, for a Dark Lord everyone seems to be afraid of. Did you get my message about Katherine? It’s important. The star woman will be very upset if you don’t save her.”
“The star girl?”
“Yes. I don’t know who she was, but she was powerful. She said she was part of the dark and that she wanted to reclaim those who were lost. She was sad..”
Teagh froze. “Did she give you a name?”
“No. But she felt ancient.”
“Another meddling Immortal female. That’s all I need.” Teagh resumed walking back to his house. “Droghan was looking for Ajax’s queen, his ‘new Queen’. Do either of you know what he meant?”
“No. In my time, the Queen, Angeline, had been burned to ash by the Triscani and the King disappeared.” Raiden sounded confused, and Mari knew nothing, so she kept her mouth shut.
Teagh held himself in alert silence. “In my time as well. Losing his Queen must have driven him mad.”
Raiden held Mari closer. Now he understood the Lost King’s pain, his loss as he’d never been able to before. Ajax and his Queen, by all accounts, had been very much in love.
Teagh motioned him to carry Mari inside. “Come. You will tell me what you do know, and then I will leave. This new Queen must be found.”
“Yes. And soon. We only have a few weeks.”
“So you said. You need to get the data in your head to the Timewalkers here on Earth and I need to find the woman, Katherine, before she unleashes hell on Earth.”
Teagh sighed and opened the sliding glass door wide enough for Raiden to carry Mari inside. “Tell me everything. You may stay here as long as you’d like. My home is yours for as long as you need it.” Impatient and riled, Teagh slumped into a chair at the dining room table with a newly packed duffel bag at his feet and car keys in his hand.
Mari waited as Raiden set her feet on the floornd pulled out a chair for her at the table. She smiled at him, sure her heart was in her eyes, then turned to Teagh. “Thank you, but we won’t be here long. Maybe a couple of hours to rest.” And make love. And swim with her friends, then make love again…
Raiden sat down beside her and took her hand in his. “You have plans?”
“Yes. I do.” Mari squeezed his hand. And those plans included getting him naked the moment they had an ounce of privacy. “I own a home about thirty minutes from here. We can drive there, rest and map out our search.”
“The caves.”
“Yes.” He understood, without her having to say a word. Her search would continue. Her hunt for the monsters that haunted her nightmares would carry on. She couldn’t stop now, not when she’d seen their map and the countdown that was constantly tick-ticking in the back of her mind. If she wasn’t dead, she’d hunt. And he’d hunt beside her. She’d never be alone again.
Raiden spent the next hour talking about the future, or one possible future. His past. The twists and turns made her head spin, but Teagh just nodded and asked few questions. He and Raiden knew all the players, while she was having a tough time keeping up.
Celestina’s name came up. That one she knew.
Raiden believed that Celestina was the one who gave Gerrick the stone, but he had no proof and Gerrick hadn’t mentioned the Seer by name. Whoever she was, she’d told Gerrick that a Timewalker would find Raiden and claim him. And Gerrick’s messenger had told him this a hundred and fifty years in the future.
Raiden never let go of her hand. “I couldn’t figure out how a Seer who could only see a three-day window could possibly know that my ship would end up here, over a hundred years in the past.”
Teagh looked grim. “Celestina is here, in this time. And she is a true Immortal. If she gained knowledge of your meeting, of all of these events, she would easily be alive over a century from now to set things in motion with Gerrick.”
Mari had no freaking clue. Her brain was about to explode. Still, she had one more question. “Star woman also called us Sicarii. She said that Raiden and I were the first in a long, long time. What does that mean? What was she talking about?”
Teagh tensed, then sighed. “The Sicarii were death dealers before the Triscani were given a name. Before they had their own realm, long before they were called Forbidden Sons, the males in the royal bloodline were revered for their power to defeat all enemies. They were called Darkwalkers then. But only those who found a compatible female to bond with could survive the process. Once bonded the couple were known as the Sicarii, the two-edged blade, the Immortals assassins. A small band could decimate armies, turn Immortals to ash and walk away unscathed.”
“If they could stop the Triscani, why create a separate world for their own sons? Why not just bond them all to healers and let them be?” The more she learned about Itara, the more and more disgusted she became by these Immortals.
Teagh answered her question. “They were too powerful, too hard to control. They obeyed only by choice, and that’s never been good enough for the Queens of Itara.”
Raiden grew grim beside her, and pulled her closer. “They hunted the females, didn’t they? Killed the healers so their sons would have no hope and no way to heal.”
“Yes. The Queens hunted all of the Timewalkers. Without Marked Mates, and with no
bond to the living gate, the forbidden sons were faced with their own destruction. Instead of gifting their sons with power and love, they saved their own skins and damned their sons to eternal suffering.”
Mari was disgusted. “The Queen’s family did that to their own sons?” Just as Raiden’s mother had done to him.
“Yes, and banished them for several millennia.”
“Your mother better hope I never run into her.” Mari squeezed Raiden’s hand in a show of love and support.
Raiden smiled and gave her a quick kiss. “That won’t be an issue, I’m afraid. I have no idea who my mother was. But since we are discussing Immortal females, I need to warn Celestina about something that happens to her in the future.”
“What is it?”
“She is imprisoned on Itara for decades. The Queen wanted her dead, but the human government intervened. She was stuck in my father’s dungeons for years.”
“Why? What was her crime?” Teagh asked what Mari wanted to know.
“It was said that she tried to assassinate the Queen.”
“Hmph.” Mari leaned her head on Raiden’s shoulder. “Maybe that bitch deserved it.”
Raiden thought of the Remnant he’d carried, and the Queen’s plans for any Timewalkers found on Earth. “She still does.”
Another hour passed with Raiden and Teagh talking in circles before Teagh was finally ready to leave. They made a call to Tim and arranged Teagh’s travel to the island then went outside. Teagh opened the gate, they rearranged all of their vehicles, and she waved as Teagh took off in her rental car. Convenient that he’d offered to take it back to the airport for her.. Very convenient.
The moment he was gone, Raiden carried her into the house and straight to the shower.
Heaven on Earth. Movie over. Happily-ever-after true princess style.
Raiden set her down on the edge of the tub and started the water. They were both filthy, covered in salt, sand, and blood.
When his shirt came off, it didn’t matter.
She stripped, eager to touch him. When he held out his hand to her, she placed her palm in his and allowed him to pull her under the spray of warm water. Raiden washed every inch of her skin with gentle hands, the warm glide of his palms and soap leaving trails of fire in their wake. He stopped and played at her breasts, circling the round tips and kneading her flesh until she moaned and let her shoulders rest against the cold tile. She arched into his touch, needing more.
Blue Abyss: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 3 (The Timewalker Chronicles) Page 27