by Sandy James
If every thought she had of Freyjr brought him to her, Sarita was in a world of trouble. All she’d done was remember Freyjr’s visit, and here he was.
“I thought about you, but I sure didn’t call you. Stop reading my mind.”
The smile could only mean he was here to cause trouble. As usual. “But your mind is filled with such...intriguing thoughts as of late.” He shifted his gaze to Ian. “I see you have used your new powers well.”
Rhiannon crossed her arms under her breasts. “I should have known ’twas you making mischief. Seior is forbidden to Amazons.”
“Nay,” Freyjr said. “Only your Amazon. My sister and your compatriots have no such restrictions.”
For a few long moments, the goddess stared at Sarita. Then her eyes flew wide and she pointed. “Your eyes!”
“What are you talking about?” Sarita asked.
“They’re blue, loving.”
“Blue? But—but my eyes are brown.” The mirrors in the bathroom had been fogged over after the showers they’d taken, so she hadn’t seen her own reflection. It wasn’t like she fussed with makeup anyway. Not since the scar. Her memory of Ian telling her she had blue eyes had been dismissed as a faulty recollection from when she’d been exhausted. “How could they be blue?”
Ganga arrived in a shimmer of light.
The Sentinels immediately saluted her. After smiling at the men, she went to Sarita.
The goddess stroked Sarita’s hair. “I am so glad to see you, my child.” After studying Sarita’s face, Ganga smiled. “You have changed. Just as I had hoped.”
“Changed?” Funny, but she didn’t feel any different.
“’Twas the Seior,” Freyjr butted in.
“That’s what I’d assumed too, but...I didn’t know it changed me.”
“He is correct,” Ganga said. “To a point. You made a choice—one I knew you would make.”
“I made a choice?” Despite all of the training she’d had when she’d become an Amazon, there was so much about the world of the Ancients that confused her. “I don’t remember making a choice.”
“You stole your sisters’ powers,” Ganga explained.
Sarita hung her head, still angry at herself for that sin. Yet another reason she was ready to give up the infecting power. “I’m so sorry I disappointed you.”
Ganga put a finger under her chin and nudged her face back up. “You could never disappoint me. You used the combined power of the Amazons and the Seior to prevent a soul from being taken before his time.”
“You mean Ian?”
“Of course. You used all the good inside you to make the strength of what can be evil into something wonderful. Then you gave the borrowed powers—”
“Stolen powers,” Rhiannon retorted.
“Borrowed,” Ganga replied. “They were merely borrowed.”
“Few can accomplish such feats,” Freyjr added. “’Tis why I gave you the Seior. I knew it would not corrupt such a pure heart and would only be for good.”
When Artair, Johann and Ian all scoffed, Freyjr shot them a scorching glare.
This whole conversation only served to confuse Sarita more. “Then I’m not infected by Seior?”
“Nay, little one,” Freyjr replied.
“I don’t have to give it back?” This time, she directed the question to her goddess.
Ganga’s face lit with a warm smile. “You do not have to give it back. Should you do so, the fight you face would surely be lost. Did you not feel the way you controlled the magicks? They no longer control you.”
Sarita thought about it before a smile blossomed. “I did control them, didn’t I? But what does all this have to do with the color of my eyes changing?”
When Freyjr opened his mouth, Ganga stopped him with a slash of her hand. “You trespass here, Freyjr.”
“Trespass?” He pointed a manicured finger at Ian. “I gave her the magicks she needed to save that man. I gave her the magicks to—”
“Nay!” Rhiannon’s angry shout echoed through the house and tree branches slapped against the windows. “You may not speak!”
“It’s okay,” Sarita said. “He’d already let it slip that I needed Seior to save Ian. He’s not telling me something I don’t already know.”
All emotion left the goddesses’ expressions.
Sarita’s stomach tightened into a painful knot. “There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
No one answered her, but her sisters’ agreeing thoughts filled her mind.
“So you won’t tell me why I need to keep it, will you?” Sarita asked Ganga.
“I cannot,” Ganga insisted, her expression stern.
“You can. You just won’t.”
Rebecca leapt into the discussion. “All of you let us run around blindfolded.”
“So far, we’ve been lucky,” Gina added. “We’ve stumbled onto plots and plans we needed to end.”
“This time,” Megan added, “Helen is kicking our asses. If you could help us—”
“Nay,” Rhiannon said with a shake of her head. “We cannot.”
Sarita appealed to Freyjr. “How about you? Will you tell me?”
“Freyjr...” Ganga glared at him. “Do not do this.”
Rhiannon wasn’t nearly as nice. “Leave my Avalon. Now.”
Sarita tried again. “Freyjr? Please?”
“Nay, my beautiful Sarita. I would anger many Ancients should I spill the truth.” Adjusting his jacket, he gave her a cool smile. Then he scowled at Rhiannon. “It would seem my assistance in this endeavor is not appreciated.”
“I appreciate you,” Sarita said.
“Then will you finally repay me for all I did to help you?”
Although it wasn’t wise, she nodded, knowing she owed him some kind of reward for helping her save Ian. “What do you want this time?”
“This time?” Ian was suddenly at her side. “You have seen this man—”
“Man?” Freyjr narrowed his eyes. “I am an Ancient, you pathetic human.” He raised his hand.
Sarita put a restraining hand on Freyjr’s arm to keep him from punishing what he had to have seen as Ian’s disrespect. “No. Please.”
Blue eyes drilled through her. “You think to constantly ask for my favors and never repay me?”
“I owe you, Freyjr. I know that. What can I do to thank you?”
He grasped her hand and led her across the room. She didn’t resist. Everyone could see them, so she didn’t have to worry. Her sisters would have her back.
Then it dawned on her Ian had been jealous.
She didn’t have time to think about that development long, because Freyjr leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What I ask, little one, is a kiss.”
“That’s it? Just a kiss?” She kept her tone every bit as hushed, hoping to spare herself some embarrassment. While she might have pushed aside the night Freyjr had come to her, she didn’t want to trot the episode out for all to hear.
“Aye. A kiss. Just one kiss.”
Sounded harmless enough. “Fine.” Rising on tiptoes, she pursed her lips.
He put his hands on her shoulders to push her back down. “Nay.”
“But you said you wanted a kiss.”
“What I want is a kiss freely given.”
“It is freely given.”
“I want a real kiss, Sarita Neeraj—freely given from your heart as if you were kissing the man you did so much to save. It must be heartfelt and as full of love as the ones you give to him. Elsewise, I shall consider you in forfeit and will take back the gift I have given.”
Had he made the same threat only a few moments ago, Sarita would have laughed and told him to go right ahead and take it back. She didn’t need magicks anymore.
&nb
sp; Things had changed. It was clear those magicks would be needed for something important, and her guess was without Seior, they’d never defeat Helen.
She had no choice. At least she would owe him nothing else once it ended. “Fine. I’ll kiss you.”
“You agree?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Aye. You do. The kiss must be yours to give, not one stolen.”
“Why?” She couldn’t figure out why he wanted this from her. She’d made it crystal clear she had no romantic interest in him. What was he trying to prove? “Why are you always after me?”
He sighed, sounding far more human than she’d expected. “You are a bright light in a dark world, little one. To know—just this once—the healing power of your love? For that I would risk anything—even angering the other Ancients by granting you what you should not possess.”
She was speechless. “You win, Freyjr.”
Freyjr opened his arms wide. “Then come to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ian couldn’t believe what was right before his eyes.
The god—the one who watched Sarita the way a wolf eyed a fat sheep—was leaning in as if he would kiss her. Expecting her to rebuff him, Ian could only gape when Sarita rose on tiptoes to meet him halfway. Then she looped her arms around his neck as Freyjr embraced her, lifting until her feet dangled.
Had his sword been handy, Ian would have grabbed it and marched over to the couple. After jerking Sarita from Freyjr’s arms, he’d have gutted him—god, though he might be—because he dared touch her, especially so intimately.
But his sword wasn’t nearby, and to Ian’s dismay, Sarita was not only allowing the kiss, she kissed Freyjr back. Passionately.
His heart shattered.
After what seemed like an eternity, Freyjr eased her back to the ground as she back. Once on her feet, Sarita stared at him, confusion plain on her face.
“Ah, little one.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Such a temptation you are. Would that I could take you back to Alfheim with me. I would treat you as a queen. I would shower you with riches and have servants grant your every wish.”
Sarita shook her head and backed up a step. “You’ve been properly thanked, but that’s as far as this goes.” She glanced at Ian.
Having been taught by Artair long ago that a warrior should hide anything he felt, Ian kept his expression calm. His insides churned with anger and hurt, but he wouldn’t hand the smug god victory by letting him see any of the strong emotions running roughshod over him.
She approached Ian in hesitant steps, her new and startling eyes studying him. “Please don’t be mad, jaanu.”
“You kissed him.” Damn, he hadn’t meant to say a word.
“It was what Freyjr wanted as payment for giving me my new power.”
“’Twould seem you paid him back quite well. One might think you love him after an embrace such as that.”
“Love?” She snorted. “Hardly. I had no choice. He wanted—”
“I know what he wanted.”
“Sarita?” Rebecca asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, although she rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth.
“He didn’t force you?”
“It was just a stupid kiss. That’s all. One stupid kiss so I don’t owe him anything anymore.”
“Nay,” Freyjr said, his eyes never leaving her. “’Twas only a beginning.”
“No, Freyjr,” Sarita replied. “It wasn’t. I gave you what you wanted, just like I promised. And I appreciate you giving me the magicks that helped save Ian. But that’s it. There’s nothing else between us.”
Ian had heard quite a few things lately that he didn’t understand. Helen had given him an education about the Amazons—mostly what he needed to know about their weaknesses and how to exploit them. She’d obviously left out a few important things. Added to the fact that everyone in the room shared a history he knew nothing about, he found himself at a disadvantage.
One thing, however, he now understood, having caught it being discussed more than once. Sarita had put herself at risk to gain powers, and she’d done something that perilous to save him.
His anger eased. When she held out her hand to him, he grasped it and pulled her closer.
“You may go now, Freyjr,” Rhiannon ordered.
The god hadn’t stopped ogling Sarita. “My beautiful Sarita, fare thee well ’til we meet again.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
* * *
Sarita heaved a sigh of relief. Who knew what Ian thought when she’d given Freyjr the kiss he demanded? She hadn’t enjoyed it, feeling nothing but relief that was all he’d demanded as payment. To force herself to kiss him, she had to picture Ian and try to pretend his lips were the ones touching hers. When she’d pulled away from Freyjr and seen the hurt on Ian’s face, she’d wanted to cry.
The man had been hurt so much in so many ways, and she’d made that pain worse. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was just a stupid kiss. Honest.”
He squeezed her hand, which she tried to take as a good sign.
“’Tis time for him to leave as well,” Rhiannon said.
Sarita narrowed her eyes. “Ian’s not going anywhere.”
Ganga strode over to Ian and set her hand on his shoulder. “He will stay here.” She patted Ian. “You have a new life now, but no one can make up for your suffering at the hands of your people.” She tossed a fierce frown at Rhiannon. “My Amazon is correct—this is your fault. You should have wiped the man’s memory. The rules were put in place to prevent this kind of mishap.”
“I merely forgot,” Rhiannon said with a huff.
Sarita sensed the rage and pain flowing through Ian, but there was no true way to fix his past. All she could do was guarantee his future was full of love—if only he could love her in return.
Only time would tell, and there was no guarantee she was anything more to him than an obligation.
Ganga glared at Rhiannon. “This man shall be welcome in Avalon.”
“I should have been asked!” Rhiannon insisted.
“I believe you owe him this much and more.”
“Oh, aye, you would believe so. Your Water is bedding him.”
Sarita’s cheeks burned. There were never any secrets in Avalon. Now that their bond had returned, her sisters had to know how happy Ian made her and how much he pleased her when they made love. When they got her alone, there’d be a world of questions to answer.
One problem at a time.
“And,” Rhiannon added, “you have the audacity to erect a home for her in my sanctuary without asking my permission or my blessing.” Ever the histrionic, she closed her eyes and dragged the back of her hand across her forehead. “Will the insults never cease?”
“She is my Amazon. I shall see to her comforts as I see fit. Now, you must make this right for Ian.”
The Lady of the Lake blinked a couple of times. “Who is Ian? Were we not speaking of Darian MacKay?”
Ganga’s growl sounded so much like her own, Sarita almost smiled. “Do not try my patience further, Rhiannon. Ian MacKay is welcome in Avalon, and you will grant him a boon.”
Rhiannon arched a blond eyebrow. “And exactly which boon shall I give Ian?”
“The same you offered to his brother when Rebecca restored his life as Sarita restored Ian’s. You will make his life match that of his savior, his mate.”
Rebecca was the first to smile, clearly understanding something that escaped Sarita. “Perfect solution, Ganga.”
“Thank you.” The goddesses smirked at Rhiannon. “I thought so as well.”
Sarita had only heard and understood one word.
Mate.
“Ganga
, no.” She tugged on her goddess’s golden sari. “He’s not—I can’t—”
“What is wrong, my child?”
“Ian’s not—I mean—we might have slept together, but he’s not...”
The goddess had a wonderful dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. “This is not simply for you, Sarita.” She glanced to Ian. “You, sir, have given your life three times—”
“Three?” Artair asked. He stared at his brother. “I only know of one.” His head bowed. “Now, two. After what our clan did...” He swallowed hard. “Two deaths.”
“There were three, Sentinel,” Ganga replied. “Sarita was granted the power to heal all people when Ian’s life was slipping away here in Avalon. She saved him before he slipped to the other side.”
“Aye,” Ian said. “She did. I owe her a life-debt.”
Sarita shook her head. “You don’t owe me anything, Ian. You took that sword for me or you wouldn’t have needed saving. I’d say we’re even.”
The goddess’s hand cupped Sarita’s cheek. “Few have been worthy to receive this power. Your heart is pure.” Her other hand traced the scar running down the right side of Sarita’s face.
It took every ounce of Sarita’s strength not to drag her hair over the mark.
“No matter what befalls you, you put the happiness of others before yourself. Never once have you vainly begged me to remove the mark Sekhmet left. And you used the power of Seior—a power that can turn a person to evil—to save an innocent man.”
“Does that have something to do with the color of her eyes?” Gina asked. “Why they’re not brown now?”
Ganga nodded. “She now practices Seior as white magicks.”
“That’s why her hair was white as well?” Ian asked.
Sarita gasped. “My hair was white?”
“Aye,” Ian replied. “White as snow when I first came back. As the glow on your hands faded, it returned to black.”
Sarita’s gaze searched Ganga’s. “What does all this mean, Ganga?”
“It means you are a benandanta—a practitioner of white magicks. It means your powers are greater now than you could have imagined. Since you are my Water Amazon, you have taken all which I endowed in you and expanded them. You may now heal all people, as you did Ian.”