Eli frowned and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. But it wasn’t the fornication part that caught my attention. It was the bit about the caves.
“Those are a lot of rules,” I said.
Her gaze was sharp. “If you stay, then you promise to follow them. If you break them, you must leave immediately or risk incurring my wrath.” A cool wind whipped through the room, and the Oracle’s white hair billowed behind her. “Trust me. You do not wish for such a thing.”
She spun on her heels and strode toward the open archway that led to the gardens.
I took a step after her. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“This mansion belonged to the goddess, not me.” She pointed a thin finger toward a building just beyond the eastern edge of the gardens. “My home is just there. If you need anything, that’s where you can find me.”
“You’re just going back to your house?” I asked. “But I have so many questions. There’s so much I want to know.”
“There’s nothing I can tell you. Enjoy your visit.” And then she was gone.
With a frown, I turned to Marcus. “What the hell was that all about?”
“The Oracle isn’t really a people person,” Marcus said with a quirk of his lips. “She has lived centuries in isolation. I suspect she isn’t thrilled to have guests, but she can’t turn you away, Rowena, since this home is somewhat yours. It’s her duty to provide you with guest right.”
“Centuries?” I turned to Eli, who still had that strange aloof expression in his eyes. “What the hell is she?”
“She’s an immortal of some kind, but no one knows exactly what,” Eli said. “She seems to be the only one of her kind. A servant of the goddess but a servant of no one else.”
“She certainly has some strange rules,” I mumbled, glancing around at the strangely vacant room. No alterations of any kind. Did that mean we couldn’t shift the sofas closer to the light streaming in through the archways?
“Yes, though it seems you’ve already broken the no fornicating rule,” Eli said, his voice tight.
Marcus pursed his lips before taking half a step back. “I’m going to go make sure that Sebastian isn’t trashing the place.”
No. I wanted to grab Marcus’s arm and force him to stay. Ever since the moment in the bathroom, I’d been avoiding Eli in any and every way possible. I couldn’t be alone with him, especially not now. He’d clearly seen or heard what had happened in the forest between me and Marcus. And talking about sex with Eli, even if it had been with another man? Well, it didn’t seem like the smartest idea in the world.
After Marcus had gone, I inched closer to the nearest wall to put as much distance between us as I could. Eli noticed, his eyes focused on my feet as I took step after step after step.
“When I was in the guest house, I glanced out the window. It gave me a great view of the gardens, and I saw the Oracle disappear into a thick growth along the edge of the forest. I was so excited that I’d found her for you, so I took flight. It was the only way I could make sure I didn’t lose her. Turns out, I needn’t have bothered. She found you.”
Heat crept up my neck. Eli had flown over the forest to track down the Oracle, and he’d seen me with Marcus, naked and in the throes of passion. I shouldn’t feel bad. I was in a relationship with Marcus, and everyone knew it, including Eli. Besides, Eli and I could never have anything together anyway, regardless of how we might feel about each other.
None of it should matter. But it clearly did.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I said. “But you knew that I was involved with Marcus.”
“I knew, but—” His voice went tight. “It’s one thing to know, and it’s another thing to see.”
“So, you’re upset that I’m with Marcus.” I blew out a breath and threw my hands in the air, pacing from one end of the couch to the next. “That’s not fair, Eli. Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t even know you had feelings for me. And it isn’t as if we can act on it anyway. Don’t make me feel bad for being with someone else, someone who makes me happy, someone who cares for me in a way that I never dreamed I could have.”
Eli’s mask of indifference dropped away, revealing an expression more closely related to shock or surprise than pain. “Is that what you think, Ro?” He crossed the room and took my arms in his hands, anchoring my feet to the floor. “I’m not upset that you’re with Marcus. I’m not angry that you care for him or that he cares for you. Hell, I’m not even upset that I saw you having sex with him. I’m happy for you, Ro.”
I shook my head, extracting my arms from his strong hands. “Then, what are you so upset about? Why are you acting like I’ve done something wrong?”
“Oh, Ro. You’ve misunderstood me.” He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand down his face. “I’m upset because I’m bound by my stupid oath. I want to be able to make you just as happy as Marcus does. So that you can be twice as happy. When we came here, I’d hoped that we could convince the goddess to undo my oath to her. I’d hoped I could figure out a way to be with you, too. But I heard what the Oracle said to you, and I realized that I will truly never be able to transform your face into pure happiness. That is what upsets me.”
“Oh.” His words sent a new flush through my cheeks. I had no idea how to respond to that. How long had he felt this way? How long had he secretly hoped?
“You do make me happy, Eli,” I said. “Every day, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to have you in my life.”
He let out a low grunt. “But not like that. It’s different, and you know it.”
“I...” Swallowing hard, I gave a nod. My body yearned to step closer to him, to take his hands in mine and whisper that it was the same. I wanted it to be the same, but he was right. It wasn’t. I couldn’t touch him. I couldn’t caress his back. I couldn’t feel his lips on mine. And that physical gulf between us felt as large as the Atlantic Ocean.
“Maybe we shouldn’t take no for an answer,” I finally said. “Maybe we keep trying until we hear Hecate herself say no.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you suggesting?”
“We find the caves,” I said. “And we ask Hecate ourselves.”
Chapter 12
“There’s only one problem with that, love,” Marcus said as he strode into the room, the heavy thud of his boots echoing against the lofted ceiling. “The caves are hidden. The only way to get there is with the help of the Oracle. Anytime I’ve ever been, she’s obscured the way so no one can remember how to return.”
“Of course. Why was I dumb enough to believe they might actually be normal caves?” Sighing, I plopped onto the stiff couch and dropped my head in my hands. The Oracle was thorough, I’d give her that.
But Eli wasn’t focused on that part of Marcus’s statement. Instead, he shrugged back his shoulders as Marcus stepped closer, narrowing his eyes. The two sized each other up, both expelling a ridiculous amount of testosterone.
“I’m assuming this means you overhead my conversation with Ro,” Eli said, his voice a low rumble in his chest.
Frowning, I glanced at Marcus.
“I overheard the last bit, but that was enough.” Marcus’s wings erupted from his back, a glorious ebony pair that sucked up the bright light of the room. My heart squeezed tight as I glanced from one tense gargoyle to the next. What was happening? Marcus had said nothing else mattered but how I felt for him. He’d said he didn’t care if I had feelings for someone else. In fact, he’d encouraged it. Gargoyle women took multiple mates. So, why did it look as though they both wanted to rip each other’s wings off?
A new pair of wings joined the fray, ripping out of Eli’s back to stretch wide on either side of him. The two shifters began to circle each other, their wings bent forward to form a circle of endless black.
“Guys,” I said, my voice quivering. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Don’t worry about them, princess,” Sebastian’s deep voice rumbled from behind me. With a yip, I whirled toward the shif
ter who had snuck up on me. He was leaning against the nearest wall with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the entire exchange with a look of pure delight and amusement.
“What’s going on? Why are they fighting?”
“They’re not fighting, princess,” Sebastian drawled. “Marcus is the first of your mates. He must challenge anyone new—in this case, Eli—and judge him worthy or not. Knowing Marcus and Eli, this will last two seconds before they’re clapping each other on the back. They like each other. It’s not like I’m trying to mate with you.” He gave me a wink.
“And what if Marcus doesn’t deem Eli worthy?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Then,” Sebastian said with a smile, “they fight.”
But the irritating shifter was right. Soon enough, Marcus and Eli had relaxed. They wrapped their arms around each other and hugged tight, though the testosterone in the air was still so thick I could stab it with my sword.
When they sheepishly made their way over to me, I glared. “What the hell was that all about?”
“It’s an ancient gargoyle mating tradition,” Eli said with an apologetic smile. “The current mates have to accept any new mate.”
“Or not,” Sebastian interjected.
“It’s how we prevent infighting, jealousy, possessiveness,” Marcus said, slinging an arm around my neck and pulling me in close. “As your mate, I always get a chance to approve any new mate who wants to put his hands on you.”
“Okay, I think you guys should have explained this to me before you jumped each other like that,” I said, giving each of them a stern look. “I mean, I actually thought you were going to fight.”
“They can’t help themselves,” Sebastian said. “It’s a male gargoyle’s primal instinct. When a mate and a new mate come into contact, nature takes over. They’re like wild animals, and the magic shifts their feelings into overdrive.”
“Okay, this is a little weird, you guys.” Weird, but kind of cool. “And besides, Eli and I can’t be together. As much as I’d love to reverse the oath, I don’t know if we can. We might never be able to be...mates.”
The word sounded strange coming from my mouth.
Mates.
“Ro, listen to me.” Eli strode closer, but he stopped short of even taking my hand in his. His breath curled from his lips, caressing my skin. It was the most I would feel from him, maybe ever. “The way I feel about you is beyond measure. I want to be yours, even if we can never touch. I know it’s not normal or typical, but nothing about our situation is. So, yes, I can be your mate. If you’ll have me.”
“Okay.” The word rushed from my throat before I even knew what I was saying. My heart was too full for words, though a strange sense of sorrow lingered behind the joy. Because I couldn’t imagine sharing my life, sharing my soul, and sharing my heart without also being able to share my body.
I had to find a way to speak to Hecate.
“Then, that’s settled then,” Sebastian said with a clap. “Princess has herself two mates, and soon she’ll have one more. What’s the status on this whole Jasper reversal thing?”
The happiness in my soul was quickly doused by reality. One thing in my life might be going well, but others certainly weren’t. At least not yet.
“The Oracle refuses to contact Hecate for us, and she’s forbidden us to enter the caves. Not that we could without her help anyway.”
“Wait.” Eli held up a finger. “Rowena, you’re right. One of the Oracle’s rules is that we can’t go into the caves.”
I frowned. “Yeah. I don’t understand why you’re so happy about that. The caves are exactly where we need to go.”
“Think about it,” Eli said. “Why would she forbid us to enter the caves if it was impossible for us to get into them? I’ll tell you why. It’s because she wouldn’t.”
“I see where you’re going, brother,” Marcus said, lips curling into a devilish smile. “She forbade it because there must a way for us to get into them without her help. Now, the question is...how?”
“We need to take a more thorough look around the grounds. There must be a cave entrance somewhere,” I said.
Marcus gave a nod. “Agreed. We’ll have to wait until nightfall. The Oracle was clear. We’re not to go into the caves, so we’ll have to go under the cover of darkness. Otherwise, she’ll stop us and kick us off this island before we even have a chance to get to the veil.”
Chapter 13
The day stretched on and on, every minute seeming longer than the last. We were all antsy to make our move. Sitting in place and waiting? It wasn’t an approach that any of us were particularly good at, though Eli seemed the most at ease. He’d found a small library deep within the mansion, and he’d passed his time combing through book after book.
I sat watching him, drinking in every tiny detail of his face. The way his thin lashes curled against his cheek as he stared down at the pages in his strong and calloused hands. He had three freckles, so small I’d only picked them out just now, even after knowing him in his human form for all this time. They formed a triangle on the bottom of his left cheek, and I had the strange urge to pick up a pen and connect each dot, linking them to each other with perfectly-formed lines.
Eli—and my feelings for him—had really snuck up on me. One moment, he was my nerdy guardian. Often quiet. Always calm. And the next, he was a force of nature who took my breath away. I wasn’t sure what had changed. Him or me. Maybe both.
But now it was impossible to see him as anything but strong and powerful (and sexy, yes) man that he was. My hands ached to touch his skin. My fingers wanted nothing more than to trace the sculpted ridges of his abs. I wanted to touch his hair, his mouth, his...
Eli glanced up and caught me staring. He lowered the book, tossed me a lazy smile, one that showed he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. “What are you thinking, Ro?”
Ro. Just the very sound of my nickname on his tongue shot a heavier dose of desire through me.
“I’m thinking that I’m happy you’re my mate,” I whispered. “Though I wish we could fully explore what that means.”
“As do I.” He smiled. “Maybe one day. Until then, there are other things we can do that don’t involve us touching each other’s bodies.”
My face flushed. “What do you mean?”
He pointed at my hand. Now that we were mated, he didn’t dare touch it, not even in the tiniest and most non-romantic way. Neither one of us wanted to risk our contact being interpreted as anything more than it was. Because if he did touch me, even just his finger on my finger, I knew it would feel like so much more.
“There is nothing stopping us from being in the room together while we touch our own selves.” His voice was low, almost a growl, as if his animalistic nature was coming out in full force at the thought of watching me experience pleasure, even if he wasn’t able to take part himself.
I swallowed hard, my entire body heating up a thousand degrees at the thought. There was something...dangerously exciting about his suggestion. And the idea of it made me more nervous than I would have thought.
“Would that not tempt you to break your oath?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m certain it would tempt me. In the very best way possible.”
“You mean, like this?” I slid my hand up my stomach, splaying my fingers across my breast. I was fully clothed, but it didn’t matter. The stiffness in Eli’s pants was unmistakable.
“Exactly like that,” he said in a rough voice as his eyes flashed. “So, what do you say, Ro? If we’re unable to contact Hecate, we can have a try?”
My heart squeezed tight, and strangely, my core began to ache. I wanted nothing more than a night locked in a room with Eli, but I just hoped I’d be able to control myself. It would be hard as hell to stay on opposite sides of the room, especially if the desire in his eyes looked anything like it did right now.
I gave a nod, and he smiled.
A few more hours passed like that, Eli reading, me quietly watching a
nd thinking and wondering. Marcus and Sebastian had decided to train in the gardens, half-practicing their fighting maneuvers in case anything went down tonight and half to keep an eye on what the Oracle was up to since she’d disappeared out of sight. Nightfall came, but we didn’t rush to the forest just yet. We waited until the darkness deepened, bringing with it a heavy cloud of shadows to keep us hidden.
When we finally made our move, we parted the trees and shrugged past towering twisting limbs that blotted out any sign of the moon. The Oracle’s home was on the opposite side of the mansion, tucked into a fingernail-shaped curve in the mountain. From there, she wouldn’t be able to see what we were up to with both the enormous mansion and the thick forest blocking us from view. But that didn’t stop the shiver of dread from sliding down my spine. It felt as though we were being watched.
“Do you not find it strange?” I whispered to Marcus as we plunged deeper into the forest. So far, we’d seen nothing but trees and more trees. No sign of a cave entrance, though we hadn’t yet made it to the edge of the mountain yet, where the rock met the sea.
“Are you referring to our mating ritual?” Marcus quirked his lips and waggled his eyebrows at me. “I’m sure it would seem a bit strange to me if I hadn’t grown up with it, but it feels as normal as a marriage ceremony would feel to humans.”
I blushed. “No. I meant the Oracle. Though I have to admit I find your mating ritual thingy weird, too.” And strangely exciting…
“Everything about the Oracle is strange, love,” he said. “She’s always been this way.”
“But she asked us to stay as guests, even though she hates visitors. And then she disappeared for the rest of the day. It feels like…I don’t know. Like something is wrong.”
“The Oracle is a unique kind of creature.” He pushed aside a branch for me and motioned for me to go first. I smiled and ducked past the tree, waiting for him to follow before plunging forward. “No one knows what she is or where her powers come from. She’s an enigma.”
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