by Lia Davis
His words were a whisper, meant only for me to hear. My nose tingled as a kaleidoscope of emotions churned in my heart. I hugged him back. “I don’t know what to do.”
“None of us do,” Nate said, stepping behind me. He placed a hand on my back and leaned his head against mine.
I drew from their strength. Clarity hadn’t fully settled in my mind. Too much was unsure. “We should focus on one thing at a time. I’m just not sure where to start.”
Landon released me, then turned me to face Cyron. “First, the two of you have to talk.”
Nate gave me a quick kiss before leaving Cyron and me alone.
Cyron’s eyes changed from crimson to their normal one green, one gold color a moment before he circled his arms around me. Holding me tightly, he buried his nose into my neck. His words made me relax. “Please, don’t go. I’m so sorry. Forgive me.”
Forgive him? “For what?” I whispered.
He pulled back and studied me. “For hurting you. Then leaving you.”
Confused, I stared at him. “I broke your machine—the only hope to reverse the changeling serum.”
He shrugged. “We’ll find another way. I should have listened to you when you said to stop. I was insensitive and greedy.”
“I don’t…” My words died when he tightened his hold on me. Then his mouth covered mine in a raw, fiery need.
I moaned and pressed into him, needing to feel nothing but him.
He broke the kiss much too soon and rested his forehead to mine. After a moment, he took my hand and led me down the long cavern hallway to his room. Once we were inside and the door shut, he tugged me to the couch.
He was so quiet, but I could see the stir of emotions and thoughts churning in his mind. Sadness rolled from him.
My stomach was in knots, but I waited for him to speak.
“A little more than a year ago, my fiancée was injected with the malum serum. She’d escaped and came here, begging me to use the machine. I’d already had many failed attempts, but she wasn’t showing signs of changing. I had hope it would work. So I put her in there.”
He paused and closed his eyes as he continued. “I miscalculated, increased the levels too fast. The separation started to work so I pushed and then her screams stopped. I’d killed her.”
Tears filled my eyes. His regret and sadness reached out to me. Tentatively, I touched his arm. “She would have changed into a malum.” He bobbed his head. Before he said anything, I added, “While in the machine, I felt like I was being burned from inside and being ripped apart.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hush.” I pressed my fingers to his lips. “You did what she begged you to do. Plus, it was your only hope. Do you think she had wanted to live as a malum?”
He shook his head and I scooted closer to him. “And she knew the risk.”
“Yes, she knew.”
I snuggled into him, resting my head on his chest. “And you did nothing wrong with me. My magic has this self-defense thing going on. I was afraid I hurt you at first.”
He folded his arms around me, hugging me close. “I was almost too late to save you outside.”
“But you did.” I glanced up at him and cupped his cheek. “Thank you.”
A ghost of a smile formed as he kissed my palm. “I can’t let you go that easily. Now that I found you.”
My heartbeat sped up at his words. I fell quiet, not sure how to respond. His words confused me. It was too easy to believe he promised me any kind of future. None of us had a future. Not with Crystal ruling the Hollow. Besides, I wasn’t sure of my feelings for him. I liked him, sure. He’d proven to be a good ally. Would he think the same of me?
There had to be something I could do. “Cyron.”
“Um hmm.”
“I don’t really feel different. I mean since the black ice incident and feeling stronger, I haven’t had any urge to rip anyone’s throat out. I still feel control over my magic. Unless I’m in danger or threatened.” What did that mean?
I thought back to when I woke in the cave surrounded by grass and flowers. “Is it possible for the serum to make me use other elements besides ice?”
“It is. I read stories in several different journals on the ice fae being changed. It was another reason Crystal wanted them all dead.” He kissed my temple. “I could run more tests to see if the serum has stop progressing.”
Nodding, I settled back against his chest. “Please do. I hate not knowing.” I paused and let the silence envelop us for a few moments. “What if there is something in my blood that is keeping it from progressing or stopping it completely? Is there a test for that? Then you could make an antidote.”
He stilled. When I glanced up, I saw he was in deep thought. Then he nodded. “We could do that. It makes sense. You might have a strong enough resistance to the serum that it could work. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find any more information about ice fae.”
“Well, we have me. And we can figure it out on our own.” Hope filled my insides. My blood could be the key to changing the changelings back to normal.
17
With a gentle hand, Cyron drew four vials of my blood. This was a different side to him than the clinical researcher from when I first came to the village. Now, he was tentative. His hands were warm and gentle. A connection between us and Landon and Nate had formed.
“So, you’re a fire fae.” It was a lame attempt for conversation, but I needed a distraction. Plus, he didn’t seem to use his powers.
He stilled his hands for a brief second, then lifted his two-tone gaze to mine. One dark brow lifted, but he smiled and played along like he knew what I needed. “Half fae. My mother was human. I didn’t know about my fae side until I was injected with the serum.”
A mix of anger and sadness filtered into his eyes, shifting the colors to red, then black, then back to the normal gold and green. I guessed the anger came from being changed. The serum must have awakened his fae genes. “What were you like before the ice age?”
I smiled at him, but his return smile didn’t reach his eyes. He called what the princess did to the Hollow an “ice age effect,” and when I used his term for the frozen hell, he chuckled. “I was on the human council and a doctor with a love for research.”
Placing a small bandage over the needle as he pulled it out of my arm, he sighed. “I wasn’t on the council long—maybe a year before Crystal rose and froze everything. My family was among the first to be captured and changed. I was able to escape because I didn’t turn into her mindless malum. My family was lost to me. Like yours. All but Soora and Brandon. Of course, I had Landon and Nate.”
We fell silent and I glanced to the floor. His pain and misplaced trust mirrored mine. I hadn’t understood it earlier. Or he was hiding it from me and everyone else. We had a common motive to end this nightmare.
A moment later, he moved to stand between my legs and lifted my chin with his fingers. Meeting his gaze, I almost cried for both of us. Too much pain and evil surrounded us. If only there was a way to spread more love throughout the land.
My brother’s words came back to me. Your magic is the same, but yours is so much warmer.
Tae had never referred to me being warm. Ice fae were never warm, except when it came to the heart. Mom had always told me I was full of life and love. Was that what he meant. My heart was warmer? Crystal’s was cold as in not being able to love?
Sighing, I shook my head. It was too simple of an answer. I was a fool to hope for love and peace after losing everything. However, I wasn’t ruling it out just yet.
“We will stop her.” Cyron’s words broke into my thoughts.
Focusing back on him, I nodded. “Or die trying because I’m not going down without a fight.”
He gave me his brilliant, panty-wetting smile and I had to fight off a groan. “I’ll be by your side every step of the way.” Stepping back, he picked up the vials and moved to his microscope.
I watched with interest as he put drops of
my blood on a slide and slid it under the lens. “You’ve been looking for a cure for a long time.”
“Yes. At first, I was desperate to get my family back. After time, I realized it was easier said than done. When I met Beth, she held the same passion of finding a cure. But she believed she could cure them and grow an army to kill the princess.” He lifted his head and frowned.
Guessing that Beth was his fiancée that had died, I shrugged. “That thought has crossed my mind.”
Cyron flash another smile, but his features were haunted. “The serum has fused with your blood.”
I jumped off the bed and crossed the room to him. Dread hit me in the gut. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand it. The serum has fully fused with your DNA. I’ve only seen this in malum and familiars. Custos, like me, don’t absorb it. It’s like we have a natural resistance that isn’t strong enough to create an antidote from.”
“But I don’t have any signs of changing other than the increase in power. What does this mean?” I started to panic. Cyron reached for me and tugged me into his arms. I hugged him back, shaking my head. “I’m scared. I don’t know what this means for me.” For us.
“I know. We’ll figure it out.” He kissed my temple, sending a shockwave of desire straight to my core.
He made it so easy to believe him.
Suddenly the door crashed open and Nate rushed in, skidding to a halt when he saw us. “Familiars are storming the caverns.”
Then all hell broke loose.
18
Cyron and I raced out of the lab after Nate. My heart pounded and all I could think about were the children and families that lived there.
“Get everyone to the escape routes.” Cyron was in full commander mode. His features hardened.
Nate nodded. “Already done. We need to get out of here. Landon is at the north escape tunnel. He will seal it off once everyone has gone through.”
Just then an explosion went off. Rocks and dust fell around us and the ground shook. Fear sliced my heart. There were too many families here.
Cyron cursed, grabbed my hand and ran in the opposite direction. Screams echoed through the cavern. It was hard to tell what direction they came from. My chest tightened. I was torn, wanting to seek safety and search for others who were trapped inside.
"We have of get out of here," Nate repeated beside me and I couldn't agree more. "This way." He grabbed my arm to ensure I'd follow.
I did and a quick glance behind me to see Cyron on our heels sent a shudder of relief through me. Before I turned back, I caught a glimpse of familiars rushing up behind Cyron. I stopped and waited for Cyron to pass. He halted beside me and watched as if he wasn't sure what I was up to. I shot my hand out and released my ice magic. A thick ice wall formed, blocking the familiars from following us. After it was secure, I turned and ran again. Cyron and Nate racing after me.
"It won't hold them long," Nate said.
"I know. It buys us time to get out." Then what, I had no idea.
I almost cried as I saw the light at the end of tunnel indicating the exit. I pushed my legs faster. When we got a few feet from the cave entrance, I turned in a circle looking for Cyron. He wasn't there. "Where is Cyron?"
Nate shook his head. "He was right behind us." Then he cursed. "I bet he went back for his research."
Not thinking twice about what I was doing, I darted back into the caverns. Nate screamed at me not to go back then raced after me. I couldn't leave Cyron. I wouldn't lose another person I cared about. Tears stung my eyes. I did care about him, Nate, and Landon.
The familiars would not take any of them from me.
I came to where I put up the ice wall and it was half melted on one side. Cyron. He melted the ice. Three familiars lay on the ground, dead. Ignoring the bodies, I rushed in the direction of our rooms and Cyron’s lab. I found him in his bedroom shoving folders into a duffle bag. "Cyron, we have to get out of here before we are trapped."
"I have to get everything."
"We'll never make it."
He shook his head and continued to gather his things. And went for another bag. I jerked at his arm. "Let's go."
"There are years of research I can't lose."
I stared into his mismatched gaze and straightened my spine. "I don't care. I can't lose you!"
He stilled, then faced me. My bottom lip trembled. "You stay. I stay."
"Fuck." He dropped the bag and crossed the room. He kissed me hard, but quickly before lacing our fingers and pulling me out of the room and down the way I came.
My heart hammered as the sound of pounding footsteps came from behind us. Cyron turned and thrust his hands out. A stream of fire shot from his palms like a blowtorch lighting up the hall. Then I followed suit and sealed off the hallway with another thick sheet of ice. The familiars' muffled screams would haunt my dreams.
A few moments later, we scrambled out of the caverns. Nate paced by the exit. When he saw us, he rushed over and drew me into a tight hug. “Oh, thank God.”
Glancing around, I didn’t see any sign of Landon or the villagers. "Where'd they go?"
Cyron shrugged and tugged me behind him. Nate followed. "Hopefully, somewhere well hidden. Soora will send word when things have settled. Landon knows where the safe house is."
He sounded sure, so I didn't question him. I was running on blind faith. When my family and I ran, it was just the five of us. This time my guys and I were responsible for a whole village! "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe."
His words were clipped and I winced. I made him leave years of research and data behind. And I wasn't sorry about it. He was alive.
Nate wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Crystal just upped her hand.”
I wasn’t sure how long we’d walked or where we were heading. Cyron hadn’t spoken to me since we left the caverns. Nate was quiet, too. I knew both of them were worried. I was. And scared I’d never see Landon again.
The farther we walked, the more the shock wore off, and the more my heart hurt. Thoughts tumbled in my mind, dark and consuming. How many did I kill in the caverns? Oh gods, I trapped people in the caves to die.
My lung burned with each breath I took. I stopped and dropped to my knees. The cold from the snow seeped through my clothes. I relished the numb feeling, drawing power from the ice beneath me. I didn’t want to feel anything. Not sadness or guilt. And not the grief.
Strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me from the ground. Cyron kissed my forehead as he started walking again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and snuggled into him. There wasn’t much more death I could take.
I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Cyron was lowering me onto a bed. Opening my eyes, I studied him. Dark circle started to form under his eyes. His forehead creased but he wasn't angry. I didn't think so anyway.
Nate crawled in the bed on the other side of me.
Curling in a ball on my side, I hugged my knees. "I'm sorry."
The bed dipped at my back and Cyron threaded an arm around my waist and spooned me. "No, you're not. And it's just research. I'm not sure if it even matters anymore. The familiars seem more determined than ever to get to North Mountain."
"Crystal's powers may be growing." Once the words slipped past my lips, cold fear filled me. If that was true, there was no stopping her.
Cyron tightened his hold, then forced me to uncurl from my ball. As I did, he rolled me to my back, then settled between my thighs. Desire flooded me as I gazed into his eyes. Then he kissed me, pushing his tongue through the seam of my lips.
Nate scooted closer, stretching out beside us. He traced a finger up my arm. Kissing Cyron while Nate was there, touching me, fueled the desire and passion. I wanted both of them right then. Maybe I needed to forget everything just for a night.
I moaned as I threaded my fingers of my left hand in Nate’s hair and wrapped my right arm around Cyron’s back. The world around us melted away. It was
just the three of us. If only for a little while. No evil princess destroying our world. No monsters lurking in the night to drink our blood until they drained us dry. I’d have it no other way.
“Make me forget about everything. Even if it’s for a few minutes.” I traced my nails along Cyron’s back, then down to the bottom of his shirt and tugged.
He broke the kiss and yanked his shirt off. Nate then ripped his off and tossed it to the floor. Nibbling on my bottom lip, I reach out and ran my fingers down each of their muscular chests.
Their eyes blazed with passion as they began to undress me, Nate removing my top and Cyron my pants. Then they removed the rest of their own clothes.
Cyron glanced at Nate as if unsure. Nate smirked but nodded. “I’ll watch.”
A giggle bubbled up at his tone. It quickly turned into a gasp when Nate reached over and cupped my breast and rolled my nipple between his fingers. Pinpricks of pleasure rippled through me.
Cyron rested between my thighs, teasing my entrance. Lowering his head, he kissed me on the lips then trailed kisses to my neck and gently bit down. Fear spiked within, but I relaxed after a moment and he didn’t break the skin.
“I could never harm you,” he whispered, obviously sensing my fear.
I nodded and threaded my fingers through his hair. My nails scraped against his skull and he groaned, pushing his hips into me. His cock rubbed against my clit and I whimpered, wanting more of him.
Nate hissed out a groan and gripped his cock. It was erotically amazing to see. Both my guys were beautiful and masculine.
As if knowing what I craved, Cyron pushed inside me. I gasped as pain and pleasure washed over me. Cyron stilled and stared down at me, eyes wide. Pressing a finger to his lips, I said, “I’m fine. Please, don’t stop.”
He kissed me and began moving, slowly at first. Pleasure built, making me dizzy and panting. My senses were overwhelmed.
Nate kissed me and trailed his fingers across my belly and down until he rubbed my clit as Cyron thrust in and out.
I dug my heels into the mattress and lifted my hips, taking Cyron deeper and increasing the intense bliss of the mounting climax.